After parting from Ryo and the others, the young man was on his way back to the school when he took a breather.
"Phew… I thought my ability had been discovered…"
"──Yuuya-san?"
"!"
The young man, who had just taken a deep breath, was surprised to be called by the name of the person he was looking for.
He immediately looked in the direction of the voice, and there stood a mysterious girl with blue hair… Merl.
Merl looked at the young man, and her eyes widened for a moment.
"Ah… I'm sorry, I made a mistake. You looked like someone I know."
"You are…"
Meanwhile, the young man looked at Merl and was just as surprised.
Because Merl's body was glowing with phosphorescence, and she didn't look like an Earthling at all.
From the perspective of the young man from the future, aliens were not that unusual.
However, in this time period, when there was no contact with other planets, it was hard to believe that aliens existed.
Then, the young man suddenly remembered something.
"Oh… T-That's right, one of my great-great-grandfather's wives was an alien…"
"Um, is something wrong?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! It's nothing. Actually, I'm looking for someone named Yuuya-san…"
"Yuuya-san? But I thought he was studying abroad…"
"Oh? What's wrong?"
"Sensei!"
Then, a woman in a white lab coat came over to them.
After looking at Merl, the woman turned to the young man, her eyes wide.
"Hmm? What's going on, Tenjou? What happened to your study abroad? And what's with that outfit?"
"No, Sensei. This person is not Yuuya-san."
"What? …No, that's right. I was surprised because they have a similar atmosphere."
"That's right, I made a mistake as well."
"Still, I never thought there would be another person like Yuuya. They even look alike; could they be brothers? But I thought he already had a brother, right?"
"U-um…"
The young man looked confused as Sawada-sensei tilted her head in the presence of the young man.
Seeing this, Merl offers a helping hand.
"Sawada-sensei, he seems to be looking for Yuuya-san…"
"This guy?"
"Y-yes, I heard that he was leaving today to study abroad…"
"That's right, he was supposed to leave today. But I don't know what flight he's taking."
"So, is it possible that he hasn't left yet?"
"Well, it is possible, isn't it?"
The young man's hopes rose a little with Sawada-sensei's words.
Immediately, the young man asked for Yuuya's address.
"Excuse me! Could you tell me where Yuuya-san lives?!"
"Hmm? That's fine, but… no, is it okay for a teacher to tell someone a student's address? All right, Merl. Show him the way."
"M-me? Well, I guess it's okay…"
Merl accepted the request, although she was surprised, and Sawada-sensei looked satisfied.
"Okay, I'm counting on you then!"
And with that, she left them alone and walked away.
Merl was surprised by the very free-spirited Sawada-sensei, but she opened her mouth.
"U-um… shall we go to Yuuya-san's house then?"
"Yes, please!"
And so, led by Merl, the young man made his way to Yuuya's house.
＊＊＊
And while Yuuya fought the terrorists,
Lexia was lazing around in Yuuya's house in Japan.
Luna had a reproachful look on her face.
"Hey, Lexia. Is it okay for a princess to be dressed like that?"
"Don't say things like Owen!"
"…That guy's life must be hard."
Hearing Lexia's reaction, Luna thought of Knight Captain Owen in the other world.
"So? Why are you lying around like that?"
When Luna asked her that, Lexia puffed up her cheeks.
"──I'm bored."
"Eh?"
"Like I said! It's boring!"
"….."
Lexia shouted in frustration.
Luna gave Lexia an even more annoyed look.
"What do you mean you're bored…"
"It means what it means! Don't you think so, Luna? Because Yuuya-sama isn't here, you know!"
"Isn't that inevitable?"
"I know, but… but! It doesn't change the fact that I'm lonely! Hey, don't Night and the others feel the same way?"
"Woof!?"
Night, who had been relaxing, suddenly had the topic thrown at him and let out a surprised voice.
"Don't you also feel lonely without Yuuya-sama?"
"W-woof…"
"Hey, Lexia. Don't bother Night."
"Why not? I'm just asking a question!"
"That's what I'm saying. It's annoying."
Even though Luna said that, Lexia didn't listen at all.
"Hey, isn't there something interesting going on? Something to distract us from this situation when Yuuya-sama isn't around!"
"That's absurd… How can I know anything about this world when I don't know much about it?"
"Eehhh?"
Yuti, who was relaxing in the same room as Lexia, who was sulking again, opened her mouth.
"Report."
"Hmm? What is it, Yuti?"
"Rumor. It seems there will be an event called Christmas soon."
"Christmas?"
Lexia's head tilted to the side at the unfamiliar word, and Yuti nodded.
Then, while she was doing housework, Meiko opened her mouth.
"Oh, it's that time of the year already, isn't it?"
"Does Meiko know about it too?"
"Yes! I only know about it as knowledge, though…"
"Hmm… what is this Christmas thing?"
Luna was also interested, and then Yuti answered.
"I heard. It seems that an old man in red clothes goes around giving out presents."
"What's that about…"
Luna was confused by the too short explanation.
"What presents? Can anyone get them?"
"No. Only good children."
"So only good children get presents! That means I'm good!"
"What makes you think that?"
"What's wrong with you? Do you have a problem with that?"
When Luna's words provoked a reaction from Lexia, the usual teasing and bantering seemed to begin, but then Meiko added an additional comment to Yuti's words.
"Haha… Well, Yuti-san's explanation isn't wrong, but it seems that the event originally celebrated the birthday of a certain person."
"I see, so it's a birthday celebration."
Meiko's explanation was easily accepted, as Luna and the others' world also had events to celebrate the birthdays of heroes from each country.
"Yes, but from there, the custom of giving presents arose, and now it seems that people exchange presents with their close friends."
"What, that's wonderful!"
Lexia's eyes sparkled as she listened to Meiko's story.
Luna, who saw this, already knew what Lexia was going to say.
"Then let's prepare presents for Christmas too!"
"That's fine, but do you have the money?"
"Well, you know, we'll just have to ask Yuuya-sama!"
"A present…"
Luna sighed at Lexia's words.
And so, without Yuuya around, the conversation about Christmas slowly progressed.