It happened 1020 years after the signing of the Treaty of Friendship... the year of the 102th Festival of Heroes.
The Summoning of someone from another world has already been repeated more than 100 times. Each country does this on a rotating basis, and this year, where the Archlesia Empire was the one in charge... the first irregular summons occurred.
Two otherworlders appeared from the Hero Summoning, which would normally summon only one person. One of them was definitely this year's hero, but the other one was an irregularity in every sense of the word.
Since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, the Hero Summoning Magic Circle has been adjusted to summon otherworlders close to the age of the First Hero when she was summoned, so the otherworlders who visit should have been in their late teens.
However, the other person who appeared was "23 years old"... A being that was originally shouldn't have been possible to summon. His name is "Miyama Kaito"... The first clear irregularity since the Treaty of Friendship...
The Marquis of Archlesia Empire, who was in charge of the Hero Summoning this year, was puzzled by the presence of this Miyama Kaito. This was an unprecedented situation, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
Even though he was an irregularity, they couldn't treat a person from another world, someone from the same hometown as the First Hero, without respect. However, they didn't know how to treat this being that is clearly unusual.
As a result, Kaito was prudently sheltered by that March as if he was some sort of tumor.
(T/N: March is apparently the Duchy equivalent for a Marquis)
It may sound good when one hears how he is being cared for. By no means did they treat Kaito unfairly. Rather, he was treated so hospitably to the point that it feels like Kaito was an important patient in a hospital.
Perhaps, was that the reason why? He was suddenly thrown into a strange world, and suddenly being treated like a tumor deeply hurt him.
He isn't being treated unfairly. But that doesn't mean they welcome his presence. This environment, which made him aware that he was an irregularity, made the loneliness in his heart grow larger and larger.
The most ironic thing is that he had a great talent for a magic called Sympathy Magic, even though he didn't realize it yet...
And even though he was unaware of his magic, he still found out... that he wasn't welcome here...
He found out... that they're not happy with his presence here...
He found out... that he had no place here...
As a result, Kaito confined himself to his room in the mansion and rarely went out. The Marquis, who was in charge of him, pretended to be unaware of this matter, thinking that it would be better if he could live through this year without any trouble.
Just like that, Kaito endured and spent the year with painful loneliness... isn't what happened.
Yes, there was a being who found Kaito, who had almost already become a hikikomori in the March, and took an interest in him. It was the God of Creation, Shallow Vernal, the God of this world.
She took an interest in the irregularity, Kaito, and invited him to her Sanctuary... Or rather, she forcibly kidnapped him and drank tea with him.
Then, perhaps on a whim, Shallow Vernal made a suggestion to Kaito. "If you wish for power, I will give it to you"... she asked.
In response to this suggestion, the weak-hearted Kaito reached out his trembling hand, turning his imploring eyes to Shallow Vernal... but still, he "refused" her suggestion.
He himself didn't know the reason. But somehow, he felt that if he accepted it, he would never be able to get what wanted.
However, the change that answer brought to Shallow Vernal was dramatic. Shallow Vernal, who liked the way Kaito's mind worked, made another suggestion to Kaito. "Why don't you stay here in the God Realm?"... she asked.
Although her suggestion was sudden... Kaito accepted.
At first, Kaito was puzzled by Shallow Vernal's lack of expression and intonationless voice, but for better or worse, he thought of Shallow Vernal as a natural airhead.
The unreserved way in which she stepped into his mind was extremely comforting to him, who had been treated like a tumor.
And then, since he began to stay in the God Realm, Kaito has gradually started changing. Because he was invited by Shallow Vernal herself, the Gods treated Kaito with a certain amount of courtesy, but it wasn't excessive.
The three Supreme Gods were especially concerned of him and were friendly to him as he was caught up in the Hero Summoning.
And above all, in the days he spent with Shallow Vernal, who was somewhat absentminded, but shows straightforward affection for him, Kaito's heart, which had been stuck in his shell, was saved.
Shallow Vernal became more and more fond of the changing Kaito, and when she was alone with him, a smile would sometimes appear on her lips.
At some point, Kaito became "special" for Shallow Vernal, and Shallow Vernal also became "special" for Kaito.
Kaito, who had completely blown off all his worries and regained his original strength of mind, also came into contact with the Six Kings and the Human Rulers through Shallow Vernal's introduction, and began to bring change to many of them.
Even though the number of people who liked him increased and the days he spent in this world became full of happiness for him, Shallow Vernal's presence still remained in the deepest part of his heart.
And... Standing next to Kaito, who had decided to stay in this world after conveying their emotions with each other, was Shallow Vernal who had a soft smile on her face, as if the fact that she had been expressionless before was all a lie.
...This is the future that they should have arrived... the future that someone had wanted to arrive at.
Originally, this was what should have happened. She should have moved to reach such a future.
However, destiny "moved the needle forward through the intervention of a third party".
The misaligned cogwheels changed the future they were supposed to arrive in, derailing to a future far different from what it should have been.
First... Miyama Kaito wasn't the "only irregularity", but one of the three people caught up in the Hero Summoning. The fact that there are others who are in the same situation as him brought great relief to his mind.
Second... Lilia Albert, the one who happened to summon him, was a noble who doesn't act like one, but a kind-hearted woman. She never treated Kaito as a tumor, but took the initiative to talk to him like a friend, confronting him with sincerity. This greatly alleviated the loneliness he felt.
Third... The one who saved Miyama Kaito was Kuromueina, not Shallow Vernal. There was nothing she could do. That's because when Shallow Vernal finally noticed Kaito's arrival in this world, he had already been saved.
The Central Tower stood tall over the city, the venue of the Six Kings Festival. Standing at the top of it, Shallow Vernal gazed at the figure of Kaito walking towards the Central Tower.
She wished for it multiple times... She wished for it for a hopelessly large amount of time... She had been moving to make her wish happen... She wanted... to become Kaito's ――.
However, everything is too late now. The future that Shallow Vernal wanted... left her hands.
[...Kaito-san. Why can't you... just appear... 20 years in the future?]
Muttering in a voice that no one could hear, Shallow Vernal disappeared.
The future she saw wasn't all that different from the future they've arrived in. In fact, even in this future they've arrived in, Kaito still won Shallow Vernal's interest.
However, there are some things that are definitely different. And for Shallow Vernal, it's something she can't give up...
No one noticed it. No, there's no one who can notice it. This is because she had only spoken "those words" to Kaito...
Kaito couldn't notice it either. No, he wasn't able to understand. What Shallow Vernal had always been telling him... The nuance of her usage of the words "Just Kuro is unfair.", and how she had only ever said it when Kaito appeared in this world...
Yes——– Miyama Kaito has become Shallow Vernal's ――.
However———— Shallow Vernal... couldn't become Miyama Kaito's ――.