Kuro's Teleportation Magic brought me to the Hero's Hill, the place
where we teleported to earlier today.
Standing in front of the huge stone monument that was once said to be
left behind by Neun-san, Kuro turned to me and spoke with a gentle
smile on her lips.
[Kaito-kun… Thank you so much.]
[Ahh… Well, I'm glad that Kuro and Dr. Vier were able to reconcile with
each other.]
I immediately understood that the words of gratitude she said to me
were referring to Dr. Vier's matter.
[Unnn. If you hadn't made your move, Kaito-kun… I don't think Vier and
I would ever have a chance of reconciling… Perhaps, we'd never have
made up if you hadn't made your move.]
[...…]
[I'm really glad… I could feel happiness from the bottom of my heart. As
I thought, Kaito-kun really is amazing. I'm so happy that I've met you
and became your lover… Once again, thank you.]
…How strange. Because of this matter, I've been through a lot and am
extremely tired.
But seeing Kuro's smile, I felt like all that tiredness I felt was worth it.
In the end, the reason why I had moved around that much… I
understood that there was no difficult logic to it, for all I wanted was to
see Kuro's smile.
Kuro smiled like that for a few moments before she reached out a hand
towards the night sky.
[…Kuro?]
[Wait for a bit, okay?]
As she said this, powerful magic power that seemed to shake the air
was released from Kuro's body.
[…Twilight of the Stars, Memory of the World, Afterglow of the Distant
Day…"Planet Memory".]
[Eh? Wha!?]
As Kuro calmly spoke those words, in that moment, the scenery in my
eyes drastically changed.
The night sky, which was supposed to be slightly cloudy, suddenly
turned into a starry sky… C- Could this be what Kuro was doing earlier?
She… changed the weather?
[…This is the "Starry Skies of a Thousand Years Ago".]
[A- A thousand years ago?]
[Unnn. I'll just slightly mess with the world for a little while.]
She's just nonchalantly saying that, but that sounds like a really big
deal… In other words, what she's saying is that she had rewound the
time of the sky back to a thousand years ago…
In front of the astonished me, Kuro continued to speak while staring at
the huge stone monument.
[A thousand years ago, under this starry sky… I had presented Neun…
No, Hikari-chan with a choice.]
[A choice? To Neun-san?]
[Unnn. I had her pick a choice between "going back to her previous
world" or "staying in this world".]
As I recall, Lilia-san told me that the stone monument and the Japanese
katana here were endowed with a very powerful State Preservation
Magic.
And the words she said just now… It's just a guess, but I think it was
Kuro who casted that magic… However, why was she telling me this
story after making the same starry sky that was present thousand years
ago?
As soon as this question came into my mind, Kuro looked away from the
stone monument and gazed at me.
[…The truth is that, if I had wanted to, I could have "sent Kaito-kun back
to your previous world" without having to wait a year.]
[…U- Unnn.]
That isn't anything surprising. Kuro is Shiro-san… The God of Creation's
half-body, so her power is comparable to that of the almost omnipotent
Shiro-san.
It wouldn't be strange if they were able to send me back to my world.
However, the questions in my mind just increased… Why is she talking
about this now?
[…Kaito-kun. I told you that I wouldn't ask you about this until after the
Festival of Heroes, didn't I? I said I would respect your choice…]
[U- Unnn.]
[…However, can I be… a little selfish?]
[Ehh?]
I haven't told Kuro what I'm going to do after the Festival of Heroes
ends.
No, I tried to tell her. But Kuro didn't want to hear it, saying that I could
tell her about it after the festival was over.
It doesn't matter what choice I make. After she told me that she would
respect my choice… The topic was never brought up again.
But now, after mentioning the question that she would ask after the
Festival of Heroes ended, Kuro stepped forward, moving closer to me.
Then, hugging me with her small body, she spoke.
[…Kaito-kun. Please don't go back to your previous world… From now
and forever… I want to stay in this world that I love, together with my
beloved Kaito-kun. That's why, in this world… I want you to stay by my
side.]
[…Kuro.]
She's a kind girl. She doesn't want to make me feel like she's narrowing
down my options, so I didn't dare mention my choice until now.
But now, Kuro had made it clear to me that she doesn't want me to go
back to my world… To be honest, I couldn't help but feel happy.
Gently hugging Kuro's body back, I spoke as gently as I could to
reassure her.
[…Kuro, I've actually made a request to Shiro-san.]
[…You did?]
[Unnn… I asked her to allow me one chance to "say goodbye" to the
people who took care of me in my world.]
The request I made to Shiro-san… It was a request to let me say
goodbye to my uncle and aunt who had taken care of me, whether it's
by letter or through other means.
In response, Shiro-san agreed to let me "return to my original world for
some time, before returning back to this world"…Well, that's apparently
something she would grant if I pass some kind of final ordeal…
[K- Kaito-kun… Does that mean…]
[Unnn. I'm not going anywhere… I'm also going to live in this world…
standing beside Kuro.]
[Kaito-kun…]
Kuro… Errr, ummm…"I love you".]
[ ! ? Kaito-kun!?]
I was feeling embarrassed, but I somehow managed to express my
feelings… To which, Kuro hugged me tightly.
[I love you too! Kaito-kun, I love you… I'm happy, I'm so happy.]
[Ahahaha… It somehow feels embarrassing though.]
Kuro tightly clung on my body… Not wanting to let her loving warmth
escape, I tightened my embrace.
Still hugging my body, Kuro looked up and smiled, looking really happy
from the bottom of her heart.
[…Hey, Kaito-kun.]
[Unnn?]
[…I want to kiss.]
[Unnn, me too…]
Under the light of the stars shining upon our bodies, Kuro's face and
mine came closer together… until the distance between us finally
became zero.
Dear Mom, Dad———– Under the star-filled sky, I told Kuro of my
choice, just as Neun-san had done in this place in the past. It's not that I
don't have any lingering regrets in my previous world. However, I've
already made up my mind. Even after the Festival of Heroes ends
———– I'm going to live in this world.