The dark and handsome crow in front of her stirred memories of Eriri's simulated life.
Dark Wings, who had been with Chisato for a long time, later stayed by her side. Eventually, he even helped care for her children and got along exceptionally well with her family.
In the end, he lost his vitality and was buried in the garden of her home. He had become like a family member.
In a sense, no one could help but feel excited when an important family member returned from the dead and appeared before them.
Girls tend to be more emotional than rational creatures, and Eriri was no exception. Therefore, seeing the crow in reality made it impossible for her to hide the joy in her heart.
"Dark... Wings?"
"I did give it that name."
Chisato smiled, stretched out her right hand to his shoulder, and the crow jumped into her palm, allowing her to hold him up and present him to Eriri.
"Can I touch him?"
Eriri extended her trembling hand, but it hovered mid-air, not daring to come down.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. He doesn't seem to be very scared of you. You two should get along very well."
"..."
Eriri's outstretched fingertips finally descended gently to feel the smoothness and softness of Dark Wing's feathers.
At Chisato's encouragement, Dark Wings narrowed his eyes slightly, tilted his head, and gently rubbed against her palm.
Then he flapped his wings and landed on her shoulder, making a sweet cry.
That's right—such an appearance, those human-like eyes, and a cry completely different from ordinary crows.
There is no other crow like this in the world. Without a doubt, it was the one she had seen in her dreams, the crow that followed Chisato!
But why did it appear in reality?
Eriri's expression gradually shifted from surprise to confusion.
Chisato noticed her doubts, and while tearing open a package of peeled walnut snacks and handing them over, she explained what she had prepared.
"I told Eriri before that I don't remember many things from my dreams."
"Right."
"But I still have some impression of the memory of the Dark Wings. It just so happens that after I woke up from the dream that day, I found an egg on the windowsill of my house."
"An egg?"
Eriri paused her feeding actions, then placed the small walnut on her fingertips into Dark Wing's mouth, pointing at him incredulously.
"That is…?"
"Yes," Chisato nodded.
"It hatched from that egg. I know this seems a bit incredible and hard to believe, but..."
"No! I think it's completely normal!"
To Chisato's surprise, Eriri interrupted her words excitedly.
"I knew that the Dark Wings would never die like that. It was reborn, to some extent, traveling through time and space to return to you!"
She set aside the walnut in her hand, reached out, and gently held the crow, rubbing her face against its feathers.
The dark wing had a look of helplessness. The bird turned its head to look at its master, but Chisato winked and urged it to be patient a little longer.
Ten minutes later, Eriri's excited emotions finally settled down. The dark wings flew off her, landing on the table to preen its ruffled feathers.
Because of this, Eriri felt more certain than ever that she and Chisato were a perfect match made in heaven.
This creature from her dream had come into reality to find them, and the story felt deeply romantic.
She looked at Chisato with even more joy and happiness.
This was an unexpected surprise, and he just wanted Eriri to accept the presence of Dark Wing and Chisato.
When cleaning the room, her eyes would frequently fall on Dark Wing, and she would intermittently ask various questions about him.
It was during this time that Eriri suddenly recalled the description of Chisato that she had heard from her classmates the day after she had that dream.
At that time, they had already been chattering about the bird they saw next to Chisato. How could they have forgotten about it later?
Sure enough, it must be because that troublemaker, Kasumigaoka, had distracted her!
Eriri directed her annoyance at Utaha, who was dozens of kilometers away, lounging on a cozy sofa at home, reading a book and imagining wonderful plans for the next day.
"Eh!"
Eriri gave a quick and cute reaction of confusion.
Chisato, who was arranging his desk, turned to look at her. Eriri's face was red as she squatted in front of his wardrobe.
Maybe she saw some underwear.
"I'll handle it myself later. Eriri, just sit down and rest for a while."
"..."
Eriri did not respond but leaned over, took out a piece of clothing, and held it in front of her, covering her mouth while revealing her shy eyes.
"Chisato... why do you have this in your closet?"
Chisato turned his head at the sound of her voice. When his eyes landed on the clothes in Eriri's hands, his eyelids twitched.
How could I have forgotten about this?
"Ah, this..."
He hesitated, contemplating the explanation that could address the situation, but because it had happened suddenly, he couldn't provide a reason immediately.
"... it fits me quite well."
After presenting the pink and white cosplay costume to her and gesturing, Eriri muttered softly, seeming to understand something.
She recalled the methods she had used against Chisato in her second dream when she and Utaha had not yet established their relationship.
Back then, she often visited his house, pretending to be seductive while bringing different outfits: sailor uniforms, nun costumes, Lolita dresses, magical girl outfits...
Everything began to make sense.
She wasn't the only one looking forward to tonight; Chisato seemed to be excited as well, so he had prepared this outfit for that purpose.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed that this was not an ordinary magical girl costume, but rather one that looked cute at first glance yet was quite daring and risqué in its detailed design.
Could it be that... it was just like in the first dream… seven.. seven round…
It doesn't matter; I'm just thinking too much.
Eriri folded the clothes in her hands and placed them in the suitcase.
She scolded herself for being so chatty and reflected on why she was so slow to grasp things in reality.
"... I understand, so there's no need to explain."
She quickly took out two pairs of folded stockings from the closet.
She placed one familiar pair in her suitcase and tossed the other into the trash can before rushing to the bathroom to pack her toiletries.
"..."
No, what do you understand?
Chisato couldn't figure out how Eriri had come to any conclusion about the situation.
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