In a different world and a different time, there lived a girl in a small village
near her nation's outer border. She was in her teens, had her black hair in a short
bob cut, and had tanned skin. Judging by the plain, worn dress that she wore, she
wasn't very wealthy. If she put more effort into taking care of her appearance,
she could have been beautiful, but it was clear she didn't care.
Other girls in her village did whatever they could to dress up and make
themselves look pretty, but she was perfectly content with her plain clothes. No
one in the village looked down on her for dressing so plainly, though.
"Hey, Sheeni! You're looking awfully energetic today!"
"Of course I am! Who do you think you're talking to? I'm the prettiest girl in
the world!"
"Ha ha ha, I see that that self-confidence of yours never wavers!"
"I'm just speaking the truth! A truly beautiful person is beautiful on the
inside too, so I can't go around telling lies now, can I?"
"Good morning, Sheeni-onee-chan! I see you're as annoying as ever!"
"Good morning to you too! I'll get you back for that insult; just you wait!"
Sheeni put a smile on everyone's faces, regardless of who they were. She was
an orphan who'd been dropped at the village orphanage's doorstep when she was
a baby. But from the way she carried herself, it was clear she didn't find her
situation depressing. She had a natural charm that drew people to her as well.
To top it all off, she was a great help to everyone. A few years ago, she'd
opened her business "Jack-of-all-trades Sheeni-tan" and started going around
doing odd jobs for all of the villagers. She was a hard worker and clever to boot,
so they all trusted her. In fact, there was no one in the village who didn't know
her.
It was still early in the morning, but Sheeni went around greeting everyone
with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Her job today would be helping
out at the village's largest store. The owner had gotten an unexpected shipment
of new goods and he'd asked Sheeni to help sort out the inventory.
This wasn't her first or even fifth time helping out at the store, so she and the
other employees were good friends by now. When she arrived at the store, they
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greeted her warmly and together they got to work unloading and unpacking
crates. Once the work was done, the other employees settled down for lunch
while Sheeni took her pay and started heading back to the orphanage.
"H-Hey, Sheeni. Why not eat with us before you go?" a boy around Sheeni's
age said, stopping her before she'd gone too far. He was actually the eldest son
of the shop owner. Though he normally looked a bit rugged, right now he was
blushing and fidgeting like a shy young boy.
The other employees watched on with interest, waiting to see what Sheeni's
response to the young master would be.
As the boy waited nervously, Sheeni turned around and said, "No thanks!"
The boy's shoulders slumped at the immediate rejection, and the other
employees sighed in exasperation.
"Wh-Why not?!"
"I promised the kids at the orphanage that I'd make lunch for them!"
With that, Sheeni turned on her heel and began walking home once more.
Normally, this was when the boy would begrudgingly back down, but not
today. He chased after her and shouted, "W-Wait! Is it true you're going to be
leaving the village?!"
He'd heard the rumors from the other villagers that she'd been working all
this time not just to support the orphanage, but also to save up travel expenses. It
had been quite a shock, since he'd assumed that Sheeni would stay in this village
her whole life. He was hoping that Sheeni would refute the rumors and say of
course she wouldn't go, but once again, she betrayed his expectations.
"Oh wow where'd you hear that? But yeah, it's true, I'm going on a
journey!"
In this country, people were considered adults once they turned fifteen. But
while Sheeni was free to do as she pleased, it was rare for people to leave their
home village. Most orphans didn't even leave the orphanage until they found
stable employment, and that was harder to do outside the village than in it.
"But...what for? Do you even have a destination in mind?"
"Nope!"
"Why do you sound so happy about not having a plan?!"
"I'm just at that age where I want to go out and see the world! Gotta travel
freely, you know?"
"Excuse me?!"
The boy couldn't understand Sheeni at all, but that was nothing new. He was
the one who'd fallen for this weirdo, so he couldn't really complain.
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"A girl like you shouldn't be traveling alone. You should just stay here.
Besides, I already talked to my dad about it and...he'd be fine with you sticking
around and helping me! Forever!"
As far as confessions went it was an awkward one, but the boy had still
worked up his courage to say that. Not only were the employees all watching
with bated breath, but the son's parents were watching from the doorway as well
now.
Sheeni wasn't so dense that she couldn't tell what the boy was proposing.
And when someone was being serious, it was in her nature to respond seriously
as well.
"I'm sorry," she replied simply with no hint of teasing or deflecting.
Everyone gasped, surprised at how solemn she'd become.
"But ever since I can remember, I've had this suffocating feeling that
something isn't right. Every night I see these dreams, but when I wake up I
forget them and all I'm left with is this horrible feeling that something is
missing."
"Wh-What are you saying?"
The boy could see the unbending will reflected in Sheeni's brown eyes. It
was hard to believe a girl of only fourteen could look so determined.
Everyone watching felt as though they were looking at someone whose very
existence transcended their own. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop her.
After all, when Sheeni set her mind on something, no one could sway her.
"I want to know what it is I'm missing, and so desperately trying to find
again."
Sheeni knew she wouldn't find it if she stayed here in the village. Even if she
didn't know where it was she had to go, she had to get moving.
She smiled gently at the boy, and that tender expression tugged at his
heartstrings.
"That's why I have to go. I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings."
It was a gentle, but firm refusal to his proposal. And so, when she once again
turned around to walk away, no one called out to stop her.
Sheeni avoided the main streets on her way back to the orphanage, sticking to
the back alleys. She wasn't confident she'd be able to respond to any villagers
who greeted her with a smile. It felt as though her head was filled with fog, as if
a haze had been cast over her memories. She knew something extremely
important was hidden beyond that haze, but no matter what she did, she couldn't
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see through it.
That feeling had been with her for as long as she could remember. When she
was younger, it had even made her cry on numerous occasions. Even though the
couple who ran the orphanage and all of the other kids living there were kind to
her and loved her, she felt inexplicably lonely.
I feel like I'm forgetting something important...but I can't think of what it
might be.
Sheeni hadn't ever suffered from amnesia, and yet she kept thinking
memories were missing. The ever-present haze was suffocating and
isolating...and she had only one hint to guide her.
Just who...are those people?
Though she could never remember the dreams she had, she did vaguely recall
seeing the same six silhouettes in them. Her recollections were vague enough
that she couldn't recall their appearances or their clothes or any other notable
features, but she felt like all six of them were saying different things to her,
though she could never remember what. All she knew was that whenever she
thought about them she was overcome by a burning desire to meet them.
One of them, she especially felt like she had to see.
That one... Why does he look so sad?
Whenever she thought about that particular silhouette, she was overcome by
an overwhelming urge to cry and a boundless sense of sadness. Whatever
feelings she harbored for that one were different from how she felt for the other
five.
Sheeni clutched her chest and stopped in her tracks, looking down at the
floor. But just then, someone called out to her.
"Oh, there she is! Shee-onee-san!"
Sheeni looked up and saw a younger girl standing a bit farther down the road.
She was one of the girls from the orphanage.
"H-Hey, what's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?" Sheeni asked as she
managed to make a cheerful smile and put the thoughts of the mystery figure in
the back of her mind for now. However, the young girl didn't seem to notice
Sheeni's inner struggle and dashed over to grab Sheeni's arm.
"Hey, wait, what's going on?!" Sheeni asked as the girl started dragging her
back to the orphanage.
"Come quick! There's a noble at the orphanage!"
"A-A noble?! Why is he visiting us? We don't receive any money from
nobles, and we're doing fine without their help, aren't we?"
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The couple that ran the orphanage funded it with the profits from their other
business, and the children who grew up and left it often sent back money as well.
There was no reason for a noble to come and offer financial support.
"I don't know! He's not even from this country..."
"A foreign noble? Then it makes even less sense that he'd visit our
orphanage."
"I don't know what's going on either, but mom said to go get you, Sheeonee-san!"
"Huh, why me? Wait, has he been stricken by my overwhelming charm and
come to propose to me? I'm sorry he came all this way, but I need to travel the
world and—" Sheeni started rambling as usual, but for once the young girl didn't
retort back with a cutting remark.
"That might actually be the case..." she muttered instead.
"H-Huh? Umm, I was just kidding, though," Sheeni replied, confused.
"I mean, it's possible? The noble's just a little older than you. Maybe he was
in the middle of his travels and when he stopped in the village, he saw you and
fell in love at first sight!"
"Well, we can't have that. I'm going to meet my prince charming during my
travels, I'm sure of—"
Sheeni once again thought of that mysterious figure who kept showing up in
her dreams. As she blushed a little, the young girl gave her a pointed stare and
said, "Shee-onee-san, you're practically an adult. Only little kids dream about
meeting their prince charming, you know?"
"Please don't give me that look. You're going to make me cry."
The young girl's pitying glance caused Sheeni a lot of psychological damage.
"Anyway, he seemed like a nice person, but you never know what could
happen when you make a nobleman mad, so let's hurry!"
"Fiiiiiine."
Sheeni let out a sigh, not really wanting to meet this nobleman.
I just hope he isn't too pushy or anything...
Fortunately, Sheeni's fears proved to be groundless.
As they approached the orphanage, Sheeni saw a sturdy two-horse carriage
waiting at the entrance. No ostentatious decorations were adorning the outside,
and it looked to be built for function over form. Honestly, it was hard to imagine
a nobleman riding such a plain-looking carriage. Either this particular nobleman
was a very practical person or he was traveling incognito.
"Shee-onee-san, make sure you mind your manners! If you annoy the
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nobleman, I'm going to put laxatives in your dinner!"
"That's a terrifying threat! Please don't!"
Man, she really doesn't trust me at all. Even I'm not dumb enough to
aggravate a noble... Sheeni thought with a sad shrug of her shoulders.
As she entered the building, she could hear cheerful voices coming from the
living room. They belonged to the orphanage owner, whom Sheeni and the other
orphans all called mom, as well as the other kids. It seemed this nobleman was
getting along quite nicely with them.
Sheeni patted down her dress a little, relieved that this man was seemingly
friendly, and opened the door to the living room.
"I'm home!" she said in an energetic voice.
"Welcome back. I take it you're Sheeni-san?"
As her eyes locked with the young man who was sitting at the living room
table, a jolt of electricity ran down her spine. She stiffened up reflexively, her
mind going blank.
"Come now, greet the gentleman," Sheeni's mom said.
"Are you okay?" her younger siblings asked.
However, she didn't hear either of them.
"My name is Weiss, and I am a member of the Cleyer noble family from the
neighboring nation."
The man got to his feet and walked toward Sheeni. She couldn't take her eyes
off him. He resembled the man in her dreams so much.
She realized now the man in her dreams had always been dressed in all black,
with black hair, but the only thing black about this man's appearance was his
pants. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and even his voice was different. Still,
the kindness in his tone struck a chord deep within her.
"But in truth, I have another name. My oldest friends call me..."
This man, and the man from her dreams, was none other than—
"Oscar Orcus," the two of them said in unison.
The name came naturally to Sheeni, for some reason.
In that moment, memories came flooding in. As memories of a life she'd
never lived filled her mind, Sheeni started to cry.
"I-I...my name is..."
The fog lifted, and the past life she'd forgotten rushed back all at once. She
remembered the battles she fought with her comrades, the people important to
her she lost, the almost endless time she spent in the darkness of her own
labyrinth, the moment when her dearest wish was finally granted, and most
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importantly, the vow the man in front of her had made the day they'd parted.
"Miledi Reisen."
Once again, the both of them spoke in unison. The young man who'd been
her first and dearest partner bowed before the girl who'd once fought against the
world and fate itself. With a gentle hand, he wiped away the tears spilling down
Miledi's cheeks.
"I told you, Miledi. I told you that even if an eternity passes, even if we're
both reduced to nothing but souls, I would find you. That this time, I'd be the
one to come for you."
"Yes...you did."
Miledi had no way of knowing how this miracle could have possibly
occurred, but there was one thing she was sure of. The man smiling gently at her
was the very same man she'd fallen in love with an eon ago.
"I've finally found you."
As he'd promised, he'd crossed the boundary of life and death, of worlds, just
to find her.
Miledi couldn't hold herself back any longer, and now, there was no reason
to.
"O-kun!"
She leaped into his arms, letting free the feelings she'd locked up on the day
she'd decided to wait as long as it took for someone strong enough to inherit all
seven ancient magic types and defeat god.
Oscar, too, was overcome by emotion as he wrapped his arms around Miledi.
They hugged each other tightly, determined to never let go again.
The other children in the orphanage started cheering, while the villagers
watching through the windows from outside started dashing off to tell everyone
the hot gossip, but Oscar and Miledi didn't even notice. They had eyes only for
each other.
"After all this time, I can finally say it," Oscar said softly.
The two of them broke apart but kept their faces close enough that their noses
were still touching. Despite the eternity that had passed, his feelings hadn't faded
in the slightest.
"——"
No one else could hear his whispered confession. It was for Miledi's ears and
Miledi's ears alone.
Blushing, Miledi smiled and looked up at Oscar with sparkling eyes.
"You know, O-kun..."
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She brought her lips next to Oscar's ear and whispered her response.
"——"
The two of them then looked into each other's eyes while the people around
them fell silent.
The sight of Oscar and Miledi pressing their foreheads together was so
precious that no one could bring themselves to interrupt the moment. The two of
them just looked so happy.
In a different world and a different age, Miledi and Oscar once again set off
on a journey. Like before, it started with just the two of them going around to
help people in need as they searched for their remaining comrades. They were
able to live their lives freely, unbound by any sense of duty.
They continued their endless journey, their hearts full of utter bliss