Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 10 - Chapter 2

Searching for Her Mother

After their pinky swear, Koutarou and Kii returned to the Cradle. It was growing late. They’d already been at the search for a while, and continuing to wander around the mountain with no direction would be dangerous. So Koutarou decided to return to the Cradle for food and rest.

Koutarou had been worried that Kii might oppose this idea, but she was unexpectedly cooperative. She fully believed in the pinky swear that they had exchanged. She would find her mother’s star and watch the Kabutonga movie together with Koutarou. To her, his word was gold. And to that end, she would do anything he asked.

“...And that’s why I’ll be looking after this girl for a little while.”

“You really do attract trouble no matter where you go, don’t you?”

When Koutarou gave Clan a rundown of the situation, she slumped her shoulders and gave him an amazed look. The first thing he’d done after returning to the Cradle was come to report the new developments to Clan. He’d left Kii in the Cradle’s living quarters so he could talk to Clan alone.

“What else was I supposed to do? This isn’t my fault.”

“Well, that’s true... but I have things to do, so you’ll have to look after her.”

“I know. I won’t cause any trouble for you.”

Clan had to make preparations for their return to the future. The plan was to freeze time aboard the Cradle, sleep for another ten years, and wake up when the time was right. Though it sounded simple enough, freezing time was a delicate procedure that involved a lot of prep work. That would be Clan’s job, so the responsibility of looking after Kii naturally fell on Koutarou.

“Oh, and Clan, do you have anything you’re willing to let go of that would be worth something?”

“Worth something?”

Unsure what he meant, Clan cocked her head to the side.

“I don’t have any money I can use. But I have to take Kii to the movies, so I’ll need a little cash.”

The money currently in circulation in this age would be reissued in a few years’ time. Koutarou had money from the future, but trying to use that would raise a lot of questions. So in order to blend in, he’d need currency from this day and age, which is why he wanted to know if Clan had anything that might be sellable.

“I’ll work to repay you later, so could you give me something that’ll be worth some money?”

“So that’s what you meant.”

As a princess, Clan was a bit naive in that department. The idea of trading something for money hadn’t even occurred to her. Now that she understood the situation, however, she approached a big cabinet that held materials she was using for research.

“Veltlion, platinum is a precious metal on this planet, isn’t it?”

“It should be, yeah.”

“I’m sure I had some to use as a catalyst around here somewhere...”

Clan opened the cabinet and began searching the shelves inside. Unlike the wardrobe in Koutarou’s room, Clan’s cabinet was neatly arranged and she was quickly able to find what she was looking for.

“Ah, here it is.”

She pulled a lump of platinum from a shelf and brought it back to Koutarou.

“How about this?” she said as she walked over to a desk.

Pure platinum was incredibly dense, making it much heavier than one would guess just by looking at it. As such, when Clan plonked the lump down on the desk, it made a surprisingly loud sound and shook the whole desk.

“This is just spare material, so I still have plenty more. Feel free to use it as you please. If that’s not enough, then just come back to me.”

Seeing the platinum, however, Koutarou flew off the handle at Clan.

“Are you stupid?!”

“Wh-What is it now?!”

Surprised by his sudden shouting, Clan visibly recoiled. But even so, Koutarou didn’t relent.

“As if I could sell this in a pawnshop! I only need a fragment of that!”

“I-Is that it?!”

The lump of platinum Clan had put on the desk weighed at least five kilograms. And since platinum was valued at four to five thousand yen per gram, the mass Clan had tried to give him would be worth at least twenty million yen. It was highly unlikely that a pawnshop or second-hand shop would have that kind of cash on hand.

“Just how spoiled are you?! You should learn what it’s like to be a commoner! You want to become the empress, don’t you?!”

“Th-Then I would just appoint someone that understands commoners to―”

“No one wants such an out of touch empress!”

It would be a while yet before Koutarou was finished with her and actually managed to get the couple of grams of platinum he needed.

While Clan was targeting Koutarou and Theia, she’d installed a TV in the Cradle’s living quarters. She used it as a means to gather information, study culture and language, and analyze broadcasting techniques to get a good estimation of how advanced Earth’s technology was. For example, by examining the strength of the encryption used in digital broadcasts, she could calculate the standard processing speeds of computers.

When Koutarou returned to the living quarters, Kii was glued to Clan’s TV, clearly invested in whatever was airing. Since the TV used one of the ship’s multipurpose monitors, it was over a hundred inches wide. Because of that, Koutarou could see the screen clearly despite Kii standing right in front of it.

“Oh... so they’re rebroadcasting that...”

The show playing was an old anime, but it was so famous that even Koutarou, who wasn’t into anime, knew about it. It was Kabutonga, the King of Beetles, an animated hero show featuring characters designed after beetles. It seemed they were using reruns to generate some hype for the theatrical adaptation, a common promotional tactic.

“Look out, No. 1! Behind you!”

On the screen, the show’s protagonist, Kabutonga No. 1, was in danger. Doing her best to help him out, Kii was clenching her small fists and desperately cheering for him. She was such a big fan of the show that she’d run away from home to see the Kabutonga movie that had been released just the other day. And her passion was obvious. She was so caught up in cheering for Kabutonga that she didn’t even notice Koutarou entering the room.

“There! Give him your Kabutonga Kick!”

“Heh, she looks like she’s having fun.”

Kii looked so happy that Koutarou decided to leave her be. He quietly walked through the back of the room to get to the ship’s kitchen, where he was going to prepare dinner while Kii was watching the show.

Wait, Kabutonga?

However, Koutarou stopped dead just as he entered the kitchen. The name “Kabutonga” tickled something in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Unable to place it, Koutarou gave up on it and went back to what he was doing. Right now, dinner was more important than some old hero anime.

“Aaaaahhh! That’s unfair, Scarab King! Stag-man, hurry! You have to save Kabutonga!”

With Kii’s shouting in the background, Koutarou opened the pantry in the kitchen. Inside were all kinds of ingredients.

“We should eat these up soon...”

Koutarou pulled some of the containers from the shelves. The food in the pantry on the Cradle fell into two categories: food that had been there since before the start of Clan and Koutarou’s ordeal, and food that had come back with them from past Forthorthe. The former was packaged to be indefinitely preserved, but the same wasn’t true for the latter. That’s why Koutarou was planning on using up some of it for dinner. Though the pantry also functioned as a refrigerator, he didn’t want to risk any of it starting to go bad.

“Stag-man! Your drill! You can just use your drill!”

“Ah, so today’s episode is ‘Kabutonga Dies at Daybreak.’ No wonder she’s so fired up...”

Koutarou talked to himself as he pulled some cookware from a different shelf and stuffed it into a basket with the ingredients he’d picked out. With the basket in hand, he then headed towards the storeroom where they kept most of what had come back from Forthorthe with them.

“Here we go.”

Koutarou picked up a bundle of firewood. Then, with the basket tucked under his right arm and the firewood tucked under his left, he walked back through the living quarters.

“Kabutonga, open your eyes! Kabutonga!”

Koutarou passed behind Kii once more and headed out through the airlock to the outside. He was planning on making dinner outdoors. Since all of the ingredients he was using were from an age long since passed, he thought it was more appropriate to prepare them on a campfire than in a cutting-edge kitchen. It was like how an indoor barbecue was never as good. He also didn’t like the Cradle’s overly advanced kitchen, so he preferred cooking outside anyway.

“First off is...”

Once outside, Koutarou gathered some large stones to build a small wall to act as a shield around where he would make the fire. That way, even if the wind blew, the fire wouldn’t go out of control. That was something he’d learned while in Forthorthe. Next, he placed the firewood inside the ring of rocks. The trick was stacking it in a way that still allowed for air to flow through. With experienced hands, he crafted an expert campfire.

“Now it’s this thing’s turn.”

Once everything was ready, Koutarou took out a long stick he’d picked up from the warehouse. More accurately, it wasn’t a stick, but rather a beautifully decorated staff about a meter and a half long. Holding it in both hands, he held the tip of the staff up in front of his face.

“Um... fire, appear!”

As if obeying Koutarou’s words, a small flame lit up the end of the staff. Despite not having anything for fuel, it burned like a candle above the staff. It would have been a very bizarre sight for anyone who didn’t know any better.

“Yurika is gonna freak out when I give her this...”

The staff was a present Koutarou had brought with him from past Forthorthe for Yurika. It was an authentic magical staff called Encyclopedia. It had been used by one of Koutarou’s enemies, a man by the name of Grevanas who was the head of the court magicians. Though he’d been cast out of the universe in the end by Clan’s Super Space-time Repulsion Shell, his staff had been left behind alongside several other tools.

Magical staffs were normally used to assist magicians in casting spells. A staff heightened a magician’s concentration and amplified their mana to make their spells even more potent. There were also staffs that had special abilities on top of that. Encyclopedia was one such staff.

Encyclopedia’s special ability was the power to read its users mind and cast spells using its own mana. As a result, the user of the staff could cast a spell of their own while simultaneously using the staff to cast another. It was an incredibly powerful tool that could give a serious advantage in a fight between magic users.

But thanks to its special ability, even people who weren’t magicians could use the magic of the staff to cast spells. As its name suggested, Encyclopedia had access to a wide variety of spells. But as result, the power of each spell was lessened. The staff held a finite amount of mana, so the number of spells recorded in it was inversely proportionate to the power behind them. But even though its spells were weaker than most, with the power of Encyclopedia, even someone with no magical talent could become a mediocre magician. That was specifically why Koutarou had gone out of his way to bring it home for Yurika. With it, she could be a magical girl like she’d always wanted.

“Magic really is convenient...”

Koutarou held the flaming tip of the staff to the firewood to start his campfire. It only took a few seconds for all the wood to ignite into a big, burning red glow of a fire. It was more than hot enough to use to prepare a meal. Since getting a proper fire going normally took a good deal of time, the staff was quite useful.

“All right, then let’s get started.”

And so Koutarou began preparing dinner on the fire he’d started with magic.

Even after the show ended, Kii was still wired. The hero she adored had been defeated by his enemy, but then he’d made a miraculous recovery and won in a huge turnaround. She couldn’t help being excited about it, and she was dying to talk to someone about such a thrilling episode of her favorite show.

“Onii-chan, where are you?”

That someone, of course, would be Koutarou. He was the only one she really had to go to, and she felt like he would listen to her.

“Where did he go?”

Kii looked around the living quarters. Since it was the residential area of a small spaceship, it was really only about as big as a normal living room. As such, it didn’t take her long to realize that no one was around.

“Huh?”

As she looked around, however, Kii caught a whiff of something. She paused and took several sniffs to try and figure out what it was.

“Hmm, something smells really good...”

What she’d detected was the fragrant smell of cooking food. As soon as it hit her, Kii’s stomach let out a growl, and she finally realized that it had been a while since she’d last eaten.

“It’s coming from this way... isn’t it?”

Lured by her curiosity, Kii’s tiny nose twitched as she followed the smell. She left the living quarters and walked down a corridor that led to the hatch of the ship, which had been left open. Stepping outside, she identified the source of what she was smelling.

“Wow! It’s a feast!”

There was a pot over a red flame, and inside it was a boiling soup made from seafood and vegetables. There was also a hunk of meat on a spit above the fire. Covered in lots of herbs, oils, and spices, the roasting meat was dripping meat juice all the way down to the ground. There was even bread laid out next to the fire to get warm and soft. The smell of it all was what had lured Kii outside. Though she had been completely focused on her show until just a moment ago, the only thing on her mind now was the food in front of her.

“You’re finally here, Kii-chan.”

“Did you make all of this, Onii-chan?!”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing special.”

Tonight’s dinner was a fish and vegetable soup, roast chicken, and a bread made with a lot of nuts. While Koutarou had only warmed up the bread, he’d made the other two dishes all on his own.

Koutarou was competent when it came to domestic chores. He’d grown up with a single father, so he’d taken on things like cleaning to help out. He’d even learned to cook. But since the invaders were in charge of the cooking in Corona House, he’d never really had a chance to show it off to the girls.

Travelling to past Forthorthe, however, had given him all the chances to cook he could have ever hoped for. As a result, his outdoor cooking skills had improved considerably. Though he couldn’t call himself a proper chef, he was good enough to serve others. That said, these were all simple dishes from past Forthorthe.

“That’s not true! It looks really good!”

“Well, I guess we’ll see when we dig in.”

“I want to dig in right now!”

“It’ll be done soon, so just sit tight for a little bit.”

“Okay!”

Even though her stomach was still growling, Kii obeyed Koutarou and sat down on a log near the fire. As a clever child, she knew that she would be able to eat sooner if she didn’t get in the way of the cook.

“How’s the soup...? Ah, good, it’s come out nice.”

“Heehee...”

Obediently sitting down and waiting, Kii followed Koutarou with her eyes. As she watched him, she could feel a warm and fuzzy feeling rising her chest, and it wasn’t from the fire. Rather, it was the sensation of precious memories coming over her.

“Mom, is dinner done yet?”

“Not just yet, so have a seat for now.”

“Okaaay! What are we having today?”

“It’s your favorite, Kii-chan.”

“This smell is... fish!”

“That’s right. It’s almost done, too. We just have to be patient for a little bit to let it finish cooking, okay?”

“Okay! Kii will wait like a good girl!”

Someone she adored was making food for her. In that past, that person had always been her mother. She couldn’t help thinking of her as she watched Koutarou cooking, and those pleasant memories warmed her chest.

“Kii will wait like a good girl... so make it delicious.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”

It was a special warmth Kii hadn’t felt for a while now.

Koutarou turned the basket he had used to carry the ingredients upside down and made an impromptu table for Kii. He set it with tableware and served her soup, chicken, and bread. Seeing it all in front of her, Kii’s eyes sparkled as they went wide.

“Can I eat it now?! Can I?!”

“Go ahead. Make sure you don’t get anything stuck―”

“Thank you for the food!”

“―in your throat.”

Kii excitedly dug in before Koutarou could even finish his sentence. Holding a spoon for the soup in her right hand and a kabob of chicken in her left, she alternated between the two. Based on how quickly she was eating, it certainly seemed she was enjoying the food.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Sensing that Kii was satisfied, Koutarou flashed a small smile and picked up some bread for himself. After splitting a roll open, he put some chicken between the two pieces of bread. This had been his favorite way of eating in Forthorthe. After a bite, a familiar and pleasant taste spread throughout his mouth. It was a nostalgic sensation that reminded him of his time in Forthorthe.

I’m sure Clan will give this a passing grade...

While eating his dinner, Koutarou’s mind turned to his partner who had shut herself up in her laboratory. He’d saved her a portion of what he’d cooked, and he was planning on taking it to her later. Raised as a princess, she was picky about the taste of her food, but Koutarou was sure she’d compliment dinner tonight. He was rather proud of what he’d made.

As Koutarou was thinking about that, however, he realized someone was staring at him. He slowly looked up to find a pair of large eyes peering at him. It was Kii, who was intently focused on what was in his hands.

“I want to try too!”

Mimicking Koutarou, Kii split open her roll, put some meat in it, and took a bite.

“Delicious!”

She seemed to enjoy it, and took bite after bite of the sandwich. She looked like a squirrel chowing down a nut.

“If you eat that fast, you’ll―”

“Hueh!”

Before Koutarou could warn even Kii to slow down, a piece of bread got caught in her throat.

“Ack... Hrngh...”

“Here, drink this.”

Koutarou quickly presented Kii with some soup. She gratefully took it and began drinking directly from the bowl. After a few seconds, she finally lowered it from her lips and let out a big sigh of relief.

“Haaahh, I thought I was going to die...”

Fortunately, she’d managed to swallow down the troublesome bread. With the ordeal over, her expression returned to her normally cheerful smile.

“That’s what happens when you eat so fast.”

“But it’s just so good.”

As Koutarou admonished her, Kii blushed in embarrassment.

“I’m glad you like it, but nobody is going to take it from you. And there’s more where that came from, so take your time.”

“O-Okay, I will. Heehee...”

Eventually, she smiled and let out a little giggle. Seeing that, Koutarou smiled too and began eating again.

This kind of reminds me of everyone...

Koutarou was having a noisy but fun dinner, just like he would have in room 106 or past Forthorthe. He was ten years in the past from home, and lightyears away from Forthorthe, but he felt strangely close to both right now. It was thanks to Kii’s company.

“Heehee... Hee... Hnn... Hnngh...”

While Koutarou was reminiscing, the sound of Kii’s laughter slowly changed. When he looked over at her, he could see the light of the fire reflecting off the tears running down her cheeks. She was crying.

“What’s wrong? Did it taste bad?”

Alarmed, Koutarou took a sip of his soup, but it tasted just fine to him.

What is it then?

Koutarou looked back to Kii in confusion. Despite the tears running down her cheeks, she had a calm smile on her face.

“That’s not it. It’s good. It’s really good. And I’m so happy...”

Kii shook her head as she spoke. The tears on her cheeks scattered to the left and right, illuminated by the firelight as they fell to the ground. But even though she said she was happy, she wouldn’t stop crying.

“It’s just... it’s been a long time since I had such a nice, happy dinner... So, so I... Hnn, I don’t... understand either...”

Hearing Kii’s answer, Koutarou realized what was going on.

I see... Kii-chan really misses her mother...

After losing her mother, Kii had been at odds with her father. They had a hard time understanding each other, and that had driven Kii to run away from home. It had been quite some time since she’d had such a lighthearted dinner with someone she cared about, and that made her reflect on happier times. Just like Koutarou was reminded of being with his friends, Kii was reminded of being with her family. He had a pretty good handle on how she was feeling because he’d once been through something similar.

“But... But you know what? I made up my mind! Hnn... Wh-When I grow up, I’m going to cook! Hnnngh... I’ll learn to cook as g-good, as Onii-chan...”

Kii resolved that if she was going to see her mother again, she wanted it to be over a delicious dinner like this with lots of smiles.

After that, Koutarou and Kii discussed all kinds of things while they ate. Though they had introduced themselves, they still barely knew anything about each other.

“By the way, what do you do, Onii-chan? Are you a cook?”

“If I was, the food would be a lot better than this.”

Kii had finally stopped crying, and she now smiled at Koutarou with more affection than ever. Seeing that she had regained her smile, Koutarou was happy. A child her age should always be smiling, he thought.

“Maybe. But Kii knows better.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Taste alone isn’t what makes a dish delicious.”

Kii carried a kabob to her mouth as she smiled. She seemed to have taken a real liking to Koutarou’s cooking, and she chowed down on the food at a fearsome pace as she cheerfully chatted away with him. She was already on her third helpings of all dishes.

“Onii-chan could become a real cook.”

“Ahahaha, I’m flattered. But I’m not a cook. I’m actually a traveler in the middle of a journey.”

“A journey? Is that when you go far away?”

Unfamiliar with the word, Kii tilted her head as she asked Koutarou to explain. He gave her a firm nod in response.

“Yeah. To be more accurate, I’ve finished my journey and I’m now on my way back home.”

“Hmm... So is that why you were around here?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

Koutarou kept his explanation vague on purpose. He couldn’t exactly tell the truth, and even if he did, telling a six year old girl that he was returning to the future would only confuse her. Saying he was on his way back home seemed like the best compromise.

“Your home... like where you live, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Going back home, huh...?”

All the talk of home made Kii think of her own. The home she’d left behind when she’d run away. She shook her head as if to drive the thought from her mind and smiled at Koutarou again.

“So where did you come from, Onii-chan?”

“Hmm, that would be hard to explain, but...”

Koutarou racked his brain for a moment to come up with a satisfactory answer. It was difficult thing to explain to a six year old girl.

“If I had to say, from an endless time and an immeasurable distance.”

In the end, Koutarou answered with a theatrical tone and gesture. It was enough to distract Kii from the heart of the matter, and she started to laugh cheerfully.

“Ahahaha, you’re trying too hard, Onii-chan.”

“I was actually just thinking the same thing.”

Koutarou laughed bitterly.

I’m really not cut out for acting... I’ll have to retire after we finish the play...

After telling himself that, Koutarou looked at Kii and shrugged.

“So where is your home really?”

Kii understood that Koutarou’s answer was a joke, so after they’d stopped laughing, she asked him again.

“It’s not far from here, but getting there is a bit complicated, so I don’t think you can come with me, Kii-chan.”

“Is it like a maze?”

“Yeah. But when you grow up, I bet it’ll be really easy.”

“Hmm...”

Making a face that indicated she was uncertain about his answer, Kii looked towards the city at the foot of the mountain. She could still make out Harukaze City in the dark, and thanks to the headlights of cars that occasionally passed by, she could even tell where the roads were.

I would get lost...

Koutarou’s answer seemed believable. Kii was sure she’d get lost in the complexly intertwined roads of the city. Satisfied, she looked back at Koutarou again.

“But it’s around here, right?”

“Yeah. Once I’ve taken a break here, I’ll be going home.”

Seeing Koutarou nod, Kii smiled.

“Heehee, I see...”

Kii looked especially happy. Curious as to what she was smiling about, Koutarou asked her about it.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing. It’s a girl secret.”

Kii refused to give him a real answer. She was hiding whatever it was behind that cheerful smile of hers.

“Girls have a lot of those...”

In that moment, Kii seemed just like one of the invaders. She was giving him the same smile they would whenever they were up to something or teasing him. So despite not getting an answer, Koutarou shrugged it off with a warm smile.

“Heehee! A maiden’s heart is an eternal mystery.”

In truth, Kii was smiling because she was thinking about what would happen after she parted ways with Koutarou.

If he’s from around here, I’m sure we’ll meet again...

Since Kii had promised that she would go back home after finding her mom’s star and watching the movie, she would eventually have to leave him. But if he lived nearby, she might meet him again if she came to town some other time. That was very happy news to her indeed.

After finishing his meal, Koutarou left Kii with the fire and went to take Clan her dinner. She was still in her laboratory, working on preparations to get them back to the right time. While staring at a hologram floating in the air, she quickly calculated something on the computer. Koutarou went over and set the food down on a table she used for breaks. If he left it there, Clan would eat it whenever she took a break next. After setting out the dishes, he quickly headed for the door so as not to get in her way.

“Thank you, Veltlion.”

“I just hope you like it.”

That was all the two said before Koutarou left the room.

Really, I just hope she doesn’t ruin her health...

Koutarou had seen Clan in overdrive several times now, like when she was desperately trying to treat the virus in Forthorthe, or when she was trying to freeze time for the first time. When she got serious like that, her expression would stiffen and she would clam up. She would go from spoiled princess to serious researcher, focusing on her work at the cost of all else, including her own needs.

I can’t leave her on her own, but it’s different than with Yurika...

While Clan was in work mode, Koutarou’s job was to look after her. He would fix her healthy meals and take care of chores like the cleaning and the washing. If he didn’t, the Cradle would just end up a mess. As a result, he was practically working as her attendant at times like these.

“I guess I’ll clean up for now...”

Koutarou’s next job was cleaning up after dinner. He had to put out the fire, take care of the dishes, and put the leftovers in the fridge. It was plain, but important work. Koutarou rolled up his sleeves and left the Cradle again. Once outside, he saw that Kii had dozed off next to the weakening fire.

“Zzz... Zzz...”

Kii was exhausted after tromping all over the mountain while keeping up a smile. So after a delicious dinner with Koutarou, she was both mentally and physically satisfied. She fell into a peaceful state, and the day’s fatigue hit her all at once. She’d fallen asleep almost as soon as Koutarou left.

“Well, I guess it’s only natural...”

Kii had run away after fighting with her father. That and everything that followed must have been quite an ordeal for a girl her age. Koutarou flashed a small smile and reached out for Kii. In order to make sure he didn’t wake her while he was cleaning, he would put her to bed in the Cradle’s living quarters first.

“Mmm... Mom...”

But before he could pick her up, she began mumbling in her sleep. Her peaceful expression turned melancholy, and Koutarou stopped to listen to what she was saying.

“Where... Where are you...? Kii is right here...”

Kii’s hand moved slightly in her sleep. She seemed to be moving it in her dream, and her arm naturally obeyed in reality.

“She’s even looking for her mom in her dreams...”

Koutarou could imagine what Kii was dreaming about based on what she was saying and the sad look on her face. She was wandering all alone through the dark forest of grief even now.

“I hope... she can at least find her mother’s star in her dream...”

Koutarou was sad for her. He knew that Kii would never actually find her mother’s star in the real world. And when she came to accept that, it would break her heart. Sadly, there was nothing Koutarou could do for her about that.

And now she was looking for the star while she slept too. But she must have known deep down that it was out of reach. Based on what she was saying, she was still alone even in her dreams. Koutarou found that incredibly sad. He at least wanted her to be able to see her mother again in her dreams.

“But there’s not much I can do when she’s dreaming, either...”

He knew that Kii was sad, but he had no way to comfort her. He could hardly help her as it was, much less in her dreams.

“I couldn’t do anything that magical for her...”

Koutarou was overcome by a sense of powerlessness. It was hard for him to watch such an innocent child crying in her sleep. And it felt even worse knowing that it was ultimately his and Clan’s fault.

Wait, magical... something magical!

In his lamenting, Koutarou stumbled across a solution. It was a flash of brilliance—a revelation.

“That’s right, magic! I just might be able to help with magic!”

Koutarou stared at the staff lying next to the fire pit. It was Encyclopedia, the magical staff he’d brought back from Forthorthe. With it, he might be able help Kii.

“No... that might be even better...”

Next, Koutarou looked towards the Cradle. There was a sword stored on the ship with magic power much more potent than what the staff in his hands possessed.

“I’m sure Signaltin would do it!”

Alaia had always intended the power of Signaltin to be used to help people. Surely the sword imbued with her feelings would be much more effective than the staff. With that in mind, Koutarou rushed inside the Cradle.

Inside her dream, Kii herself wasn’t aware that she was dreaming. She was wandering the vast mountain, desperate and alone.

“H-Huh? What am I doing here...?”

Dreams often start in fantastical ways, but there is usually a connection—some semblance of reality—that makes them believable. People’s rational judgment is often diminished in these dreams, especially when they’re seeing something they want to be seeing or doing something they want to be doing.

“That’s right, I’m looking for mom!”

That was true even for Kii. She didn’t question why she was on the dark mountain alone; she simply began wandering in search of her mother. Deep down, looking for her mother was all she really wanted to do, so nothing seemed strange about doing it in a dream. Her memories of dinner with Koutarou had all slipped away. This was, after all, a dream world.

“Mom! Where are you?!”

Kii wandered the dark mountain forest while calling out for her mother, but the only response she received was silence.

“Mom! Where are you! Kii is right here!”

Kii truly believed the blue star that had fallen from the sky was her mother. There was joy and hope in her heart, but also an unshakeable uneasiness. She was worried that she might not find it, or that her mother hadn’t noticed her, or maybe even that the star wasn’t her mother after all. None of those were possibilities she wanted to consider.

The truth was that this wasn’t really the first time Kii had gone looking for her mother. Whenever she was at home alone and heard a noise elsewhere in the house, she’d rush to it thinking that her mother had returned only to discover that something had fallen off a shelf. Sometimes she would catch a glimpse of her mother in a crowd, too. But whenever she chased after her, it always turned out to be a complete stranger.

And so Kii’s hopes of finding her mother had been betrayed time and time again. It was almost impossible for a six year old girl to accept that her mother was really gone. But even though she knew it was true, even though she knew it would only lead to disappointment, she couldn’t help hoping. Something deep inside of her just refused to believe that she would never see her mother again.

“Mom! Don’t be mean! I want to see you!”

But things this time were different. Kii had seen the falling blue star with her own eyes. It was just like what her mother had promised her, so she was certain she would find her mother this time. But even then, that certainty was tinged with the crippling doubt that her hopes would be betrayed yet again.

“Mom... why... why won’t you come see me...?”

That doubt took hold of her dreams and manifested as despair. The forest around her grew darker, and silence fell over it. She was utterly alone. Despite all her hope, she was trapped in a nightmare.

“Can’t you hear Kii’s voice?! Or do you hate Kii now?!”

The woods grew so dark that Kii could no longer see where she was going. She grew more and more lonely by the second, which only exacerbated her doubts. In turn, those doubts darkened her nightmare even more. It was a vicious cycle.

“Come find me, mom! Kii’s been looking for you all this time!”

Kii desperately called for her mother. She was practically screaming, but there was no response from the dark forest. It was like the shadows of the night were absorbing her voice, swallowing her grief. As it did, it grew bigger and darker, slowly encroaching on her. Before she knew it, she was completely surrounded by pitch-black darkness. And she was still utterly alone.

“Mom! Hnn... Where am I?! Hngh... Hic... I’m scared, mom! Hnnngh, hurry, come save me!”

All Kii could do now was scream, repeating the same words over and over. She had been betrayed yet again. Her mother was nowhere around. Her heart, which could no longer bear the solitude, was starting to break. That was ultimately why she’d gotten into a fight with her father. She needed affection and warmth to heal her breaking heart, but he had none to spare. She’d run away from home to try and find it elsewhere.

“Nooo! I don’t want to be alone! Mom, mooom! Hnn... hnnngh... Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

A clever girl for her age, Kii had bottled up the solitude and sadness inside of her. She had hidden her grief behind a smile for everyone else, but on the inside, she’d been crying all this time.

“Waaaaaaaah! Auuuaaaaagh!”

And just as Kii was about ready to give up hope once and for all...

“So this is where you’ve been, Kii-chan. I finally found you.”

She heard a nostalgic voice, and her crying immediately stopped.

“Ah...?”

She saw a soft blue light out of the corner of her eye. It was the same color as the falling star she’d seen.

“M-Mom...?”

Kii slowly raised her head and turned towards the light, eyes wide in disbelief.

“It’s been a long time, Kii-chan... I was waiting for you...”

Kii had finally found her mother. She was standing right in front of her, wrapped in a blue light.

“Mom! It’s you! It’s really you, mom!”

Her mother had a bright, gentle smile on her face, just like when she was alive. When Kii saw that, she went running.

“Mom! I came to see you just like I promised! I looked for your star and chased after you!”

Approaching her mother at full speed, she kicked off the ground with all her might. She leaped without fear, never doubting that her mother would catch her.

“My, my, that’s dangerous, Kii-chan.”

“Mom!”

And just as Kii had expected, her mother caught her in a warm embrace. Now that she was finally in the arms of the person she wanted to see most, she was never planning on letting her go again.

“Mom, mom!”

“What’s wrong, Kii-chan? This isn’t like you...”

Kii’s mother wrapped her arms around her small daughter. She could feel Kii’s warmth, and even the force in her arms as she hugged her tightly. Feeling such precious things, tears formed in her eyes too. Just like Kii had wanted to see her mother, her mother had wanted to see her.

Using Signaltin, Koutarou had made a wish: “I don’t care how, I just want Kii to see her mother again, even if it’s in her dreams.” Because of that, he didn’t actually know what exactly Signaltin had done. All he knew was that a large amount of mana had begun flowing out from the sword and into Kii.

“Did it... work...?”

A few seconds after the mana began flowing into Kii, the sadness and pain in her expression softened into a gentle smile. Her labored breathing slowed down, and Koutarou could even hear something that sounded like a little giggle between her calm, heavy breaths.

“Heehee... Mom... Heehee”

“I see... so you did get to see your mother...”

Based on Kii’s smile and her mumbling, Koutarou sensed that he had succeeded. He then slowly returned Signaltin to its sheath, careful not to wake Kii up.

Thank you, Your Majesty...

At the same time, he thanked Alaia. He had been able to give Kii some peace of mind using Signaltin after his and Clan’s arrival had stirred up some sad memories for her. Since he wasn’t sure Encyclopedia would have had that power, he was especially grateful for Alaia’s gift of the sword.

“Heehee... I was looking for you with Onii-chan...”

“Heh, do I make an appearance in this dream too?”

Smiling, Koutarou decided it was time to carry Kii inside the Cradle as he had initially planned. Surely she would have a nicer dream tucked into a warm bed than on the cold ground outside.

“Hmm?”

But just as Koutarou reached out to pick up Kii...

Someone else is here?

Sensing someone’s presence, Koutarou turned to look behind him.

“...”

A few meters off stood a lone girl. Based on her appearance, she looked to be around ten years old. She was wearing a school uniform and staring quite hard at Koutarou.

Why would a girl like that be out here at this hour?

It was already past midnight. Disregarding Kii who had run away from home, it was far too late for such a girl to be out and about on her own. She was certainly an odd sight on the mountain in the middle of the night.

“...What are you doing out here?” Koutarou asked.

The girl appeared to be older than Kii, but he still wanted to talk to her and make sure she got home.

“I’m looking for someone,” the girl answered indifferently, without any change in her expression.

“Someone?”

“I thought it might have been you, but I was wrong.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s already late, so you should stop looking and go home for tonight.”

Based on how the girl was acting, Koutarou could tell she was quite mature for her age. She was a lot like Alaia in that sense.

“Yes, I think I’ll do just that.”

The girl nodded and spun around, turning her back to Koutarou. She then casually walked away.

What a mysterious girl... Koutarou thought to himself as he watched her go.

The girl had clear and earnest eyes. He could also sense a strong will in them that seemed contrary to her youthful appearance. Koutarou had met several girls like that before, but this was the first time he’d met one so young. Moreover, the circumstances of the encounter were strange. She didn’t look like she’d run away from home like Kii had, so Koutarou couldn’t imagine what she’d be doing in the mountains in the middle of the night.

“That’s right, there’s one thing I want you to tell me.”

Just before she was about to vanish into the darkness, the girl stopped and turned around to look at Koutarou. Her earnest eyes were staring right at him again.

It’s like she has Her Majesty Alaia’s maturity and Flair’s sense of duty...

Pierced by the girl’s powerful gaze, Koutarou felt a strange sensation. It was especially strange coming from a ten year old girl.

“You... What were you doing to that girl with that sword?”

“Wha...”

The girl’s question greatly shook Koutarou. He found himself at a loss for words and his heart skipped a beat.

Did she see me?!

Koutarou finally understood why this girl had appeared in front of him. She had come to confirm why he’d been pointing a sword at Kii.

How am I supposed to explain that...?

Koutarou hesitated. She probably wouldn’t believe him if he said that he was casting a spell on Kii. And based on her behavior and way of talking, she probably wasn’t going to buy any half-baked excuse he could come up with on the spot. He also didn’t want to say anything suspicious or unnecessary that might get the cops called on him.

Swiftly gathering his thoughts, Koutarou decided to be honest and just omit most of the stuff about magic. He didn’t think anything short of the truth would convince a girl with such earnest eyes. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he carefully chose his words as he answered her.

“This girl just lost her mother. She was having a nightmare, so I was casting a charm on her with this sword. Apparently this sword has some kind of power.”

Pretty much everything he said was the truth. It was about as honest as he could be without revealing Signaltin’s true nature. And surely something superstitious like a charm would be easier to believe than straight up magic.

“I see... Then it looks like your charm worked. She appears to be having a nice dream.”

Saying that, the girl smiled for the first time. Perhaps it was just because she’d had such a serious expression on her face all this time, but Koutarou felt like her smile was especially gentle.

“Children have the right to have good dreams.”

“I agree.”

Still smiling, the girl nodded and turned away from Koutarou again.

“If you’ll excuse me then.”

“Yeah.”

With those few words as her goodbye, the girl then disappeared into the darkness.

How mysterious...

Though they hadn’t exchanged but a few words, Koutarou didn’t feel anything negative from her. Something about her presence told Koutarou she was a good person.

“Damn, I forgot to ask for her name...”

But even though he trusted her, her identity and purpose remained a mystery to him.