Serving Meals In Another World (Light Novel), Volume 1 Chapter 8

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Volume One, Chapter Eight: The One Awaiting the Saint, and Chicken Bento

Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle!

I coated chicken thighs, which had been marinating in sake, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a little grated onion, with flour and potato starch, then fried them in oil.

It was best to use plenty of flour. That way, the coating would turn crisp and stay delicious even after it cooled.

I started with oil at a slightly lower temperature.

When I dropped the chicken in, big bubbles burst and popped in the oil. I fried it slowly, without rushing. Once the bubbles turned finer and the sound rose to a higher pitch, I lifted the pieces out before the heat reached the center.

The color should be on the pale side. Golden brown at this point is no good.

I left them for a while on a wire-racked tray to cook through with residual heat.

Then, right before eating, I heated the oil until it was scorching. It was just right when it was almost startlingly hot.

After resting, moisture had seeped out from inside the chicken thighs, leaving the coating a little limp. When I boldly slid it into the oil, the moisture burst with a startling crackle-crackle-pop-sizzle-sizzle!

It wasn’t a good idea to fry it for too long, either. The trick was to stop as soon as the surface became crispy.

Fry it quick, lift it out quick. That removed just the right amount of moisture from the surface, leaving me with a perfectly crispy karaage, traditional fried chicken.

“Big Sister… taste test…”

“No. If you have one, you won’t be able to stop, Hiyori.”

“If I don’t taste-test, I’ll die! My mouth is going to rot if it doesn’t get fried chicken right now.”

I was hopelessly soft when it came to my little sister, so I laughed, said "Oh no, that would be terrible," and popped a piece of fried chicken into her mouth.

Taking advantage of the moment, I ate one too.

—Crunch, juicy burst.

I bit through the crispy coating and tore into the meat, and juices flooded my mouth. Because I’d finished it with residual heat, the chicken was moist. Thanks to the grated onion, it was tender. Then came the savory aroma of soy sauce, with garlic and ginger working hard behind it to make their presence known. My mouth was wrapped in blissful, mellow richness. It was so good I hated to swallow.

“Hah. So good… One more.”

“Denied.”

“Big Sister, you meanie!”

I dodged my sister’s reaching hand and set the fried chicken aside to cool a bit.

I glanced at the pot I’d been heating.

Inside was boiling water, bacon, and peeled potatoes.

Next up was potato salad.

You could microwave the potatoes for potato salad, but boiling them made them much moister and tastier. Boiling the bacon alongside them also let the potatoes absorb its savory juices, adding a great deal of flavor. Frying the bacon separately and mixing it into the potatoes along with its rendered fat was delicious too, but I preferred this method because it tasted lighter.

After boiling the potatoes for a while until they were thoroughly tender, I drained the water. Then I turned up the heat and shook the pot.

As the potatoes rolled around in the pot, their moisture evaporated rapidly. It was important to dry them out thoroughly at this stage; otherwise, the salad would turn watery. Once most of the moisture had evaporated, I transferred the potatoes to a bowl and mashed them while they were still hot.

I mashed them vigorously until no lumps remained, then added a generous amount of mayonnaise and a little whole-grain mustard.

One finely chopped boiled egg went in, along with cucumber I’d salted and squeezed beforehand. Finally, I ground pepper over it with the mill to tighten the flavor, and it was done.

“Big Sister, I want umeboshi and salmon for my rice balls.”

“I couldn’t get any salmon, so please make do with salmon flakes.”

“Whaaat!? Ugh, this other world is the worst! My salmon!”

“I’ll look for something salmon-ish eventually.”

As we chatted, I packed the side dishes into the bento. I included sweet rolled omelet, potato salad on a bed of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and meatballs on skewers. I filled the remaining spaces with fried chicken and added two small rice balls.

I put the lid on the bento box and wrapped it in a cute cat-print cloth, and it was finished.

“Heh heh. It’s been so long. Big Sister’s bento.”

“Just the standard side dishes, though.”

“That’s what makes it good! Sometimes I just crave it like crazy.”

“Really?”

My sister hugged the bento box to her chest, delighted.

I sat on a chair and watched her.

It wasn’t even seven yet, but the sky was already quite bright.

There wasn’t a cloud in it. At this rate, it might get warm enough to work up a light sweat by noon.

A refreshing early-summer morning.

—Today was the day my sister set out on her purification journey.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The Kingdom of Gilberta lay on the largest continent of this other world.

Scattered across that continent were tainted lands where miasma spewed forth.

The taint that naturally arose from the life activities of all living things in this other world first seeped into the earth. It accumulated deep underground and grew more concentrated until, once it reached a certain quantity, it began leaking back to the surface. There, it became miasma, defiling the land and contaminating any living creature it touched.

Once contaminated, living creatures fell into darkness of mind and became savage monsters that thirsted for blood. These monsters injured others and destroyed everything around them, silently multiplying as they generated yet more corruption.

Although they appeared to have lost all reason, the monsters never left the tainted lands. It was unclear whether this was due to the miasma’s influence, but for some reason, they remained there, devoting all their efforts to steadily expanding the corrupted regions.

The knight orders of every nation and region poured their very hearts into exterminating the miasma-contaminated monsters. Reducing their numbers to a certain level could hold back the encroachment of the tainted lands. In this way, people had protected their nations, their families, and the lands where they lived.

Yet the balance between miasma and humankind, maintained through such steady effort, collapsed with terrifying ease.

Deep underground, miasma that had lain dormant without reaching the surface finally had nowhere left to go as the corruption continued to accumulate—and it began to burst up to the surface all at once.

—The miasma surge period. It marked the beginning of a miasma flood, an event that had also occurred several hundred years ago.

People’s efforts proved futile. The eruptions of miasma increased dramatically, and the monsters multiplying outnumbered those the knight orders could cull. Before long, towns were destroyed and plundered by monsters, and the tainted lands spread rapidly. People came to live in fear of the miasma and of the monsters.

One after another, the kings of the various nations sent envoys to the Kingdom of Gilberta. They desperately appealed to Gilberta, the only nation that possessed the secret art of summoning a Saint capable of purifying miasma.

—Give us a Saint! The only being who can purify miasma!

Gilberta, for its part, had not stood idly by and watched this situation unfold. Anticipating the miasma surge, it had spent years, even decades, preparing in advance to summon a Saint to this world.

And then the miasma flood they had feared struck the world.

The Kingdom of Gilberta decided to carry out the summoning ritual. Performing it once the surge period arrived was the pact it had made with the surrounding nations.

The summoning ritual was carried out without incident… and so the Saint, the hope people had been waiting for, was summoned.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

I stood on the pure white castle wall, a place I usually only looked at from a distance.

It was quite high off the ground. The gate guards below looked like ants.

A strong wind blew, whipping my hair and clothes about.

I gripped the edge of the wall tightly and watched the company of riders grow distant.

Bathed in the early-summer sunlight, the knights’ armor glinted fiercely, so bright at times that I had to squint.

How many of them were there? At the head of the many knights rode Dazil, alone in jet-black armor, astride a black-coated horse and carrying a long lance.

Near the middle of the company was a large two-horse carriage.

My sister and Prince Cain should be inside it.

“—…Akane.”

“Mr. Jade. My sister will come back safe, won’t she? I’m sure she will.”

Without taking my eyes off the carriage, I asked, and Jade answered, "Yes. I’m sure of it.”

After a while, when the carriage had disappeared from view, I finally loosened my hands, which had been gripping the edge the whole time. I must have squeezed hard, because my fingertips had turned white.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The market was as noisy and crowded with people as ever today.

Holding the jar of umeboshi I’d finished making the other day, I visited the herb merchant.

“Well, hello. It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while. …This is the salt-cured batch. You can eat them now, but if you leave them in a cool, dark place for about three more months, the saltiness mellows out, and they taste better.”

When I handed the jar to the herb merchant, he hummed, thought for a moment, and peered inside.

He sniffed, looked briefly surprised, and popped one into his mouth.

Ah, I thought, but it was too late.

“—!?”

It must have been sour enough to hurt, because the herb merchant clapped a hand over his mouth with watering eyes and crouched down.

“A-Are you all right…?”

Still crouched, he waved one hand as if to say don’t worry, pulled a bottle of water from a wooden crate at the back of the stall, and gulped it down.

Then he puckered his lips and spat out the umeboshi pit, and suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ahaha! What is this stuff? So chiko fruit gets this sour when you salt it! For a moment I thought something had gone wrong with my mouth!”

He found it so funny that he laughed for a long while.

When the laughter finally subsided, he wiped his tears and settled back into his usual spot at the stall.

“Ah, that was hilarious. —Normally, I’d expect you to laugh along with me, miss. But today, you seem… a little down?”

As he spoke, he pulled an orange glass from inside his robes.

“Here, the cup I promised. May happiness come to you, miss—”

I accepted it with mixed feelings.

Up until now, every time I received one of these glasses with their lovely patterns, I’d felt happy, as though happiness really would come to me. But today the herb merchant’s words somehow rang hollow.

I felt a little guilty toward him, since he was so kindly giving me cups from his homeland.

“Thank you. …I’ll treasure it.”

As if he’d seen right through my feelings, the herb merchant grinned with his crimson eyes, made a point of standing up, and gave my head a couple of light pats.

“…You’re back.”

When I returned home, a sullen face greeted me for some reason.

Luvan was sitting on the veranda, throwing the ball Leon kept bringing him, over and over.

Pooong, pitter-pitter-pitter-pitter! Pooong, pitter-pitter-pitter-pitter!

Leon, tongue lolling out, came trotting back with the ball to Luvan, looking extremely satisfied.

…What is this man doing, exactly?

“…Could you tell Leon to stop, please?”

“Uh… sure.”

“I keep telling the dog we’re finished, yet it brings the ball back endlessly. Honestly, it’s becoming rather troublesome.”

He pushed his silver-rimmed glasses up with a click, wearing a deadly serious expression as he said this.

If Dazil had been here, he would surely have burst out laughing. The scene nearly made all the strength drain out of my body.

“I think you should just hide the ball.”

“Hm. …I see. So that’s how it works.”

Luvan seemed to get it, and he put the ball into the pocket of his civil official’s uniform. …The pocket bulged out, looking awfully suspicious.

Leon, having lost the ball out of nowhere, sniffed Luvan’s hand, then snuffled around, searching the area.

…Even though it was plainly right there, my beloved dog couldn’t find it. Was this pitiful? Or should I say that foolish children are the cutest? I couldn’t decide.

“…So, what brings you here today? The research session is supposed to be off today, right?”

The only reason a busy man like Luvan would come here was for research. And Leon, who had apparently become his friend, seemed to go visit Luvan on its own whenever it pleased.

At my question, Luvan let his eyes wander for a while, mumbled to himself, and then produced a large ceramic jug from behind him.

“Ah, well. …Dazil asked me to give you a little something.”

“Mr. Dazil did?”

When I took the jug he thrust toward me, it was heavy, and I heard liquid sloshing inside.

“…It’s a milk wine commonly drunk in the fishing villages of this region. …Mildly sweet and easy to drink, but quite strong. …It’s just right as a nightcap for sleepless nights.”

“…Eh?”

“You like drink, after all. He said it was thanks for the meals you always treat him to.”

Luvan said this with his gaze slightly averted from me, then stood up straight and made to leave.

I’d been frozen by the sudden gift, but seeing him go, I hurriedly called out to stop him:

“Wait… Mr. Luvan! Please wait there!”

“What is it? I am busy.”

Leaving the suddenly disgruntled Luvan waiting there, I dashed into the kitchen. I took out the lunch box my grandfather used to use, hurriedly packed it with what was left from the bento I’d made for my sister, and returned to the veranda.

“Please return the container another day. It’s for your lunch.”

Luvan made a strange face at me, muttered something that sounded like thanks under his breath, and left.

I looked at the jug of milk wine in my hands. It was the same drink Dazil had given me once before, when I was cooking the milk shells.

A small smile came to my face.

I looked up at the sky, and the sun was dazzling.

—Before I knew it, it was almost noon.

As I was thinking that, Jade invited me to lunch.

“Now that the Saint has set out, why don’t we take the rest of today off and relax?”

I hesitated for a moment, but drawn in by the gentle smile on his face, I found myself nodding.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Under the cherry tree in the garden, whose leaves were now lush and green, I spread out a picnic blanket. Jade, who had gone back to the knight order’s barracks and changed into civilian clothes, and I sat down on it together.

He had suggested eating out somewhere, but I wasn’t in the mood, so we decided to share the bento instead.

The early-summer sunlight was gradually getting harsher, but the shade was still cool and just right.

I poured ice-cold barley tea from the thermos into cups, and we put our hands together and said, "Itadakimasu.”

Fried chicken was delicious even when cold.

It lost that juicy quality it had when freshly fried, but the fried chicken had been thoroughly marinated, and the garlic and ginger gave it a savory saltiness that made you want to eat more rice.

Still, I didn’t remember eating much cold fried chicken. Whenever I made it for dinner, my sister would say it would make her fat and then finish every last piece. Our grandmother and I used to watch her in exasperation.

The sweet rolled omelet my sister liked. Personally, I preferred mine seasoned with soy sauce. Whenever I occasionally put unsweetened rolled omelet in her lunchbox, she’d eat every last bite and then come home to complain about it.

Meatballs in teriyaki sauce. My sister always said she preferred teriyaki to ketchup flavor…

Potato salad was another of her favorites. She always saved some until the next day and, at breakfast, piled it on toast with cheese and baked it. …I’ve never tried it, but she always eats it with a big smile. …Is it good?

After sampling each side dish in turn, I drank some barley tea. With a sigh of relief, I thought that my sister would be eating her bento about now.

My sister got cranky when she was hungry, so I hoped she’d managed to eat before her stomach got too empty.

I bit into a rice ball. The sea scent of the nori. The rice, cooked slightly firm, and the sourness of the umeboshi whetted my appetite.

“…Akane.”

Just then, Jade wrapped his arms around me from behind.

The illustration’s description: Jade wrapped his arms around Akane.

—Mr. Jade, I told you sexual harassment is a no-go, didn’t I?

I wanted to say it, but with my mouth crammed full of a rice ball, I couldn’t make a sound.

—My vision was blurring, and I couldn’t see the scenery.

—The rice ball tasted saltier than usual.

“I think you’re wonderful when you’re strong… but…”

I finally swallowed the rice ball I’d been chewing.

“You don’t have to be strong even at a time like this.”

—Why? My throat twitched, and I couldn’t draw a proper breath.

With trembling hands, I put the rice ball back in the bento box.

Jade’s warm hand wrapped around mine.

“I… I only have my sister left…”

Jade listened in silence to my halting words.

“Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma… everyone, everyone is gone… All I have is my sister. I’m supposed to protect her! I’m her big sister, and yet…! And this whole thing, too! If I really cared about my sister, I should have stopped her from becoming the Saint, even if I had to hit her! Something with a risk to her life! A big sister should have put a stop to it! I probably could have stopped her, but… but…!”

…I didn’t want Jade to see the ugly side of me.

But I couldn’t keep it in.

I was desperate to spit out the black thing that had gathered deep inside my heart.

“I was thinking of myself! Once I came to this world, as long as I was the Saint’s sister, food, clothing, and shelter were guaranteed. If I refused and got thrown out into a world where I had no connections at all… it was obvious I’d struggle. I had no idea what would become of me…”

Ugly. How ugly I was.

For my own sake, I had offered up my sister to the people of this world like a sacrifice.

I could never say this to her. Even someone like me couldn’t give up the desire to be a big sister my sister could rely on.

“Mr. Jade. This is the kind of person I am. So… please, don’t be so kind to me…”

My body had lost all strength.

I wanted to curl up right there, seeing nothing and being seen by no one, but Jade held me too tightly for even that.

“Even so, I will be kind to you.”

“…”

“Even so, I won’t stop spoiling you.”

There was a note of pain in Jade’s voice.

“You have no idea how much you and the Saint have saved us. I want you to know that. This world, which was heading toward ruin, has finally found a ray of hope thanks to you two… even if it was built on your sacrifice. I know no apology could ever be enough. I know that apologizing changes nothing. But we were powerless, and this world was hopelessly stuck—we had no choice but to cling to the existence of a Saint. So let me say this. Akane. Thank you… Thank you for coming to this world.”

Unable to bear it, I shook my head in refusal.

Jade held me even tighter.

“Thank you for always smiling and cooking such delicious meals. Thank you for supporting the Saint. The Saint was able to keep smiling because you were there. Not just anyone could do that. You should be proud of it. I’ll wait with you. Let’s wait together for the Saint and everyone to come back safely. Let’s keep doing what we can. No matter what you may be thinking in your heart, to this world—and to me—you are salvation.”

A sob escaped from deep in my throat, unstoppable.

Jade’s warmth was so comforting. His voice was so gentle. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t hold back—I turned around, buried my face in Jade’s chest, and wept aloud.

The way Jade patted my back, pat, pat, so gently, was the same gesture I used to make for my sister once upon a time.

A sudden, overwhelming longing for her welled up, and the tears spilled over again.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

When I woke up, I cleaned and ate breakfast. I went to the market to buy ingredients, and while making lunch, I prepped for dinner too. After that, I stood on top of the castle wall and gazed in the direction my sister would be coming home from.

That was my routine these days.

Lately I’d become acquainted with the soldiers guarding the wall, and we’d gotten friendly enough to chat a little.

The top of the wall had no shade, and even though it was early summer, it was quite harsh. I used a parasol, but my arms had still gotten faintly tanned.

Two weeks had already nearly passed since my sister’s departure. Word was that my sister and Prince Cain were doing wonderfully in every region, and news of purifications kept pouring in. That was the only thing that eased my heart.

Ever since the day I made doughnuts, the twin princesses had been visiting our house from time to time. Naturally, Crux had been left behind somewhere.

Apparently, when the twin princesses later learned that I didn’t know the saint of legend had "died on his journey," they’d turned pale. After being thoroughly scolded by Crux and the other adults around them, the twin princesses realized they’d wrongly assumed I knew everything except about the Saint’s Festival, and they’d apologized to me in tears for having hurt me.

Ever since then, perhaps as a form of atonement, the two of them came to play together, bringing delicious snacks as gifts.

It was probably a child’s kind of consideration. The twin princesses’ adorable appearance was very soothing, but it reminded me of my sister when she was little, and my chest ached a little.

I didn’t know whether Titania had listened to my plea to protect my sister, but she hadn’t shown herself since that day. Knowing how capricious the fairy queen was, perhaps she simply hadn’t felt like visiting. Even so, I could only hope she’d help my sister in some way.

Today, too, I kept gazing far off toward the east from atop the castle wall.

Jade always accompanied me in silence. I really was always relying on him.

A breeze, heavy with heat, brushed my cheek.

Just then, a beautiful voice, like the ringing of a small bell, sounded right beside me.

“—Ah, I’m weary. You, there’ll be a drinking party tonight. I shall drink to my heart’s content. None shall stop me.”

I looked around instinctively.

“Hush. Do not look about so. I am speaking so that only you can hear. If the armored male hears, explaining will be a bother… sigh.”

—Titania!

I nearly shouted, but I swallowed it down with all my might.

Tilting my parasol low, I spoke in a voice too soft for Jade to hear, to the unseen Titania.

“…Why are you here?”

“Ho. ‘Why,’ you say…? Have you forgotten your own wish? Humans are so forgetful; it is most trying.”

I sensed Titania laughing near my ear.

“Tonight, I desire the fruit steeped in liquor, and the white snacks of fish and milk. Do not forget. If you forget, I shall curse you.”

With those parting words, Titania’s presence vanished.

I couldn’t stand it any longer, and I left my parasol behind and broke into a run.

“Huh—!? Akane!?”

Far behind me, I heard Jade’s startled voice.

I flung the door open and rushed down the stone stairs inside the wall, my feet tangling now and then.

My heart pounded loudly. It was hard to breathe. Sweat kept pouring out.

—Titania’s words! If they were true, then I’d serve her cheese-tara and all the liquor she wanted! I’d give her such a lavish welcome she wouldn’t have time to curse anyone!

—Get ready, Fairy Queen!

I kept desperately racing down the steep stairs until I finally reached the very bottom.

The castle gate towered high, still tightly shut.

Many soldiers were bustling about near the gate in a flurry.

Standing before the gate, I steadied my breathing and faced straight ahead.

Just then, as if on cue, the gate began to open with a dull creak.

Through the gradually widening gap, in the little bit of scenery I could see, a company of riders gleamed in the distance, glinting brightly as they reflected the light.

I gulped and started running again.

Voices calling for me to stop reached me from somewhere, but I paid them no mind and kept running.

At the head of the group, the jet-black knight—Dazil—noticed me and turned his horse back. Then, hoisting someone onto the saddle, he came galloping toward me at full speed.

I want to see her, quickly—with that single thought, I ran even faster.

“Hiyoriiiii!”

Her ears probably couldn’t hear me yet.

But I didn’t care, and shouted anyway.

“Hiyoriiiii!”

“…Sis!”

I could faintly hear it.

The person on horseback—my sister—was shouting too.

“Big sister!”

Tears threatened to spill over, but I bit them back and ran on, nearly stumbling.

I kept running and running until, just as my stamina was almost spent, I finally reached the black horse. And from atop the horse, which was circling wildly from its own momentum, my sister leapt down toward me.

There was no way I could support her; the two of us tumbled to the ground in an embrace.

When our momentum finally died, we lay side by side on the ground. My sister sprang up, threw her arms around me again, and said, with a beaming smile:

“I’m home! Big sister!”

I answered with a tangled, twisted smile of my own.

“—Welcome back, Hiyori…!”

We hugged each other so tightly, it almost hurt.

The illustration’s description: Akane and Hiyori are hugging each other.

“Big sister, please make a feast tonight! I’ll die without your cooking!”

“Ahahaha! It’d be a problem if you died. Let’s make a feast. I’ll make lots of your favorites.”

My whole body ached from running so hard. My airways were wheezing, and my throat was parched. I was a wreck, but my heart felt bright and clear.

“Leave it to your big sister!”

“That’s my big sister. I’m counting on you!”

And so we laughed together.

An early summer afternoon, fresh and bright.

My sister’s first purification journey had come to an end.

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Serving Meals In Another World (Light Novel), Volume 1 Chapter 7

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Volume One, Chapter Seven: Twin Princesses and Fluffy Donuts

After finishing lunch, I carried the dishes off to clean up. In the kitchen, Jade was already doing the washing.

“Good work, Mr. Jade. Let’s have some tea when you’re finished.”

When I said that, Jade smiled and replied, “Sure,” before continuing to wash the dishes.

I glanced in his direction, but he was acting just as he always did. There was nothing unusual about him at all.

—I started to wonder if that whole plum-pickling incident had been some kind of illusion, or a figment of my imagination.

I gently touched the spot where I believed he’d kissed me.

Ever since that day—since I’d declared him guilty of "sexual harassment"—his overly familiar touches had decreased somewhat. His kindness hadn’t changed, but he seemed to have settled closer to the normal distance appropriate between a man and a woman.

Somehow, that felt a little… lonely, too.

“…!?”

W-What on earth was I thinking?!

I shook my head vigorously to chase away that strange thought.

Surely the lingering mental damage from encountering the fairy queen and those flying fish—all those bizarre beings beyond human understanding the other day—was still affecting me.

Deciding to believe that, I mindlessly began drying the washed dishes.

Once I’d finished drying and putting everything away, I suddenly craved coffee, something I hadn’t had in a while.

Since we only had whole coffee beans at home, unground, I climbed a step stool to reach for the grinder in the overhead cupboard. It was tucked far in the back and wouldn’t come out easily, so Jade held the stool steady while I fumbled around for it.

In our kitchen, there was a window directly above the sink. There wasn’t anything in particular outside that window. Occasionally, a patrolling soldier would pass by, but it was rare to see anyone there.

Standing on the stool, with a higher vantage point than usual, I noticed something I wouldn’t normally see—two unfamiliar heads pressed against the outer wall just below the window.

…Rather small heads. Children, probably. The owners of those heads had their foreheads pressed together against the wall, whispering something conspiratorially. Every so often, their shoulders shook faintly, as if they were laughing.

“…”

While I stared, transfixed, at those two heads, Jade—still steadying the stool—called out to me. I turned around silently and pressed a finger to my lips, shushing him, then pointed down toward the window.

Jade’s eyes widened briefly, but he seemed to grasp the situation immediately, his expression turning serious as he quickly left the kitchen.

I watched his retreating back, then turned my gaze back toward the window outside—and the instant I did, I found myself staring straight into four wide eyes.

The two children outside blinked several times in quick succession. Then, in perfectly synchronized motion, they slowly raised their small hands to their cheeks, and—

““Kyaaaaaaaaaa!””

—let out simultaneous, high-pitched screams.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

“Oh my…”

An admiring sigh slipped out of me unconsciously.

Two small girls stood before me. I gazed at them, utterly enchanted by their sheer adorableness.

To cut to the point: the ones who’d been plastered against the kitchen’s outer wall earlier were none other than the princesses known throughout the kingdom as the "Golden and Silver Twin Princesses.”

They looked to be around four or five years old. The little twin princesses sat primly on the sofa, holding hands and snuggling close together, perhaps feeling a little uneasy.

The golden princess was the elder, Princess Selphie. Her glossy, beautiful golden hair, waving gently, reached down to her waist, partly braided and pinned with a silver hairpin shaped like a flower.

The silver princess was the younger, Princess Sylphy. Her silver hair, in a color contrasting her sister’s, was styled the same way, pinned instead with a gold hairpin.

Both shared the same blue eyes as Prince Cain. Their large eyes, framed by long lashes, a perfectly straight nose bridge, plump adorable lips—their features arranged with such flawless balance that one could easily imagine how stunning they’d grow to be.

Yet their childishly rosy cheeks, constantly shifting expressions, and every aspect of their diminutive frames gave them a fragile, delicate quality that stirred an overwhelming protective instinct.

Dressed in matching, soft cream-colored dresses, the twin princesses looked around eagerly, curiosity written all over their faces, occasionally whispering something to each other with growing excitement.

“Your Highnesses, what became of your guard knight?”

Jade, who had brought them in, asked with a puzzled expression. The twin princesses exchanged a glance.

“We gave him the slip.”

“We left him behind.”

“Such a slow guard knight.”

“Crux is so slow.”

““Riiight!””

They said it together.

Whatever was so amusing, the twin princesses giggled to themselves.

Crux was probably the twin princesses’ guard knight.

I felt genuine sympathy for the man, no doubt frantically searching for them somewhere right now.

—Still, what peculiar children they are.

Whenever they spoke, the elder Princess Selphie always went first, with the younger Sylphy following in agreement. Their manner of speaking was rhythmic, almost musical, like watching some kind of theatrical performance.

Perhaps I had been making a particularly strange face as I watched the twins, because Jade quietly explained, “They seem to have taken quite an interest in wordplay lately.”

…A quirk unique to childhood, perhaps.

Despite my complicated feelings on the matter, the twin princesses leaned their heads together once more, whispering, before turning their bright, curious little faces toward me.

“Are you the big sister of the Saint?”

“The big sister who makes food?”

…Gah! They called me big sister…!

I felt momentarily dizzy from the sheer power of being called "big sister" by them, but managed to compose myself and nod, "Yes.”

“Found her.”

“Found her.”

“She’s kind of plain, isn’t she, Sylphy?”

“Kind of plain, isn’t she, Selphie?”

Eeh…

Well, I was already well aware of my own plainness, so it didn’t sting too badly… but seeing two adorable faces looking equally disappointed at once made me feel strangely compelled to apologize.

“…What exactly brings Your Highnesses here today, if I may ask? Um, did you happen to get lost while shaking off your guard knight?”

Recomposing myself, I asked, and the twins shook their heads in perfectly synchronized motion.

“Does big sister know, I wonder, Sylphy?”

“No, surely she doesn’t, Selphie.”

“Then let us tell her. Tomorrow is the Birthday Festival of Saint Ferfaitos.”

“A day to express gratitude to one’s beloved ones.”

“We’re searching for a wonderful gift.”

“We’re searching for a special gift.”

“…Oh, yes. I’d almost forgotten that it was tomorrow.”

At the twins’ explanation, Jade nodded, seeming to understand.

“In this kingdom, the Birthday Festival of Saint Ferfaitos is traditionally observed by spending time with family and giving gifts to loved ones. …Perhaps Your Highnesses came looking for a gift from another world, for someone?”

““Exactly!””

The twins nodded eagerly in unison.

“For Father, pressed flowers.”

“For Mother, embroidery.”

“For our eldest brother, potpourri.”

“But we can’t decide what for our second brother…”

“Only our second brother’s gift remains undecided.”

The twin princesses pouted, tilting their heads with troubled expressions—utterly adorable.

Their “second brother” must have been Prince Cain. And their “eldest brother” was probably the First Prince—someone I’d never met, said to be the kingdom’s next ruler.

“But we’re troubled.”

“Yes, troubled indeed.”

““Our second brother’s gift must be special, though.””

“What should it be?”

“What ought it to be?”

The twin princesses looked utterly, genuinely stumped, hands pressed to their cheeks, glancing repeatedly in my direction.

…In other words, they wanted me to help pick something out for them. Somehow, this level of composed, deliberate behavior from girls barely four or five felt strangely mature, leaving me with mixed feelings.

…But a gift, they say… hmm.

I glanced around the house, looking for anything suitable.

This house, built by my grandfather, was fundamentally old.

An aged pendulum clock, a framed group photo of who-knows-who, a mysterious carved wooden mask, the obligatory bear figurine, a faded souvenir tapestry, and several paper lanterns bearing place names for some reason—decor utterly divorced from anything stylish, cluttered together haphazardly. …Truly the atmosphere of an old-fashioned home.

I tried picturing Prince Cain in my mind, but I couldn’t imagine anything in this house being fitting for him.

…I doubt he’d be thrilled receiving a carved wooden bear, either…

“…Another world is kind of plain, isn’t it, Sylphy?”

“More than expected, isn’t it, Selphie…?”

The twin princesses seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Eyebrows drooping, they exchanged troubled glances with each other.

I thought hard, hmm.

I couldn’t bear to send these adorable twin princesses away empty-handed after they’d come to rely on me.

Something I could actually do… right. There was only one option.

No need to think it over further.

I proposed the idea that had come to me to the twin princesses.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

There were children’s aprons that Hiyori and I had used when we were little and helped out at our grandparents’ house. A bit large for the twin princesses, but I managed to fit them by adjusting the ties.

The baby-pink apron had a bunny appliqué, and the pale-blue one had a bear appliqué—adorable, both of them. Originally plain, our mother had sewn on the appliqués we’d chosen ourselves—a cherished keepsake.

The twin princesses rolled up their sleeves to keep their cream-colored dresses from getting dirty, tied their hair back with ribbons, put on the aprons, and stood in front of a mirror brought into the living room, happily twirling around to admire their reflections.

I was prepping ingredients in the kitchen, with Jade helping… when—

A sudden clattering of footsteps rang out, and someone came bursting into the living room from the veranda.

“P-Princesseeeeeeesss!”

““Oh, Crux.””

A man with black hair streaked with white, disheveled and flustered, came rushing in—most likely the guard knight the princesses had given the slip.

His slightly drooping eyes were gray. Raising his otherwise gentle-looking eyes as wide as possible, Crux confronted the princesses.

“Your Highnesses, I’ve been searching everywhere! Why would you leave me behind!? Protecting you both is my duty, and I can’t very well do that if you abandon me!”

Crux pressed close, sputtering with agitation, while the twins turned their faces away with obvious distaste, muttering a half-hearted "Sorry?"—clearly not remotely repentant.

Incidentally, Crux appeared to be in his early thirties. Streaked with white hair already… could it be from sheer accumulated stress?

“So noisy, Crux.”

“So annoying, Crux.”

“Your Highnesses, that’s so cruel!”

—Undoubtedly premature gray hair from stress.

“In any case, Your Highnesses, why are you here today, of all places… Prince Cain will be furious.”

“Hehehe. We’re making a gift.”

“Hehehe. We’re making a special gift.”

“A gift—you mean for Prince Cain? Have you decided what?”

““Donuts, Crux!””

“…Doh-nuts?”

Crux tilted his head in confusion, and the twin princesses gave a scornful little snort.

““Donuts, Crux.””

“How ignorant, Crux.”

“How foolish, Crux.”

“Your Highnesses, that really is cruel!”

With Crux at the center of their teasing, the twin princesses giggled and circled around him mockingly.

…They really seemed to get along well.

The twin princesses looked genuinely delighted, and despite his frustration, Crux seemed a little pleased too—this must be their usual routine.

“…So, you’re planning to make this otherworldly confection with Their Highnesses.”

“We don’t have anything suitable to give a prince, so… a sweet from our world should at least be a novelty.”

“Denied.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The Saint’s older sister. Lady Akane, was it? Denied.”

Crux declared this with a completely straight face.

“Um. …May I ask why?”

“Having the princesses make a confection themselves… those tiny little hands, squishing dough all over… oh, no! Absolutely not! What if their precious skin got irritated!? So, denied!”

“That’s WAY too overprotective!”

I couldn’t help but shout that out.

Jade, too, looked visibly taken aback.

The moment the twin princesses heard Crux’s words, their expressions went blank, and—

“Crux is gross.”

“Crux is a pervert.”

—they hurled insults at him with icy stares, gradually putting distance between themselves and him.

At the twins’ reaction, Crux seemed to snap back to himself, letting out a small "Eek!" and hastily backpedaling: “Wait! I take it back! I take it back!”

Casting Crux a lukewarm glance, I decided—now that the guardian, Crux, had given his (reluctant) approval—to take the twin princesses into the kitchen and get started on making the donuts in earnest.

I also pointed out that Crux was still wearing his shoes, at which he panicked greatly, hopping on one foot trying to remove them, and promptly took a spectacular fall.

—Somehow, a rather unfortunate sort of guard knight.

I pulled myself together and reached to shut the sliding door between the kitchen and living room. Just then, I overheard Crux murmur to Jade, “Are you sure about this?” I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, though, and simply brushed it off.

Today’s project: glazed donuts.

Made with yeast, for a fluffy texture.

The classic donut you see at donut shops, coated with glaze—that melted sugar coating. Simple, but the kind you could eat endlessly, a genuinely sinful treat.

First, I cut the butter into small pieces to make it easier to mix, and let it come to room temperature.

And then, the eggs…

“How exciting.”

“How nerve-wracking.”

The twin princesses stood frozen, each holding an egg, looking troubled.

Even when told to lightly tap it against the edge of the counter to crack it, they only tapped timidly, tap, tap, not managing to crack it at all.

Watching the twins’ progress with even more anxiety and tension than the girls themselves was Crux.

…Please, at least blink occasionally…

His bloodshot eyes were genuinely frightening.

Just as my patience was wearing thin, the elder Princess Selphie declared with sudden resolve, "Sylphy, I’ll do it!" and cracked the egg against the counter’s edge with a bit more force—knock!

And would you believe it? …A beautiful crack appeared in the shell…

“Your Highness Selphie, magnificent!”

Crux shouted, while Jade desperately tried to hold him back.

Completely ignoring Crux, Princess Selphie gently showed the cracked egg to Sylphy, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

Sylphy, cheeks flushed with surprise, watched, then met Selphie’s eyes and nodded.

She too tapped her egg against the counter with just the right amount of force—knock!—and, confirming the crack in her own egg, the twin princesses beamed happily at each other.

Then, carefully cracking the eggs open over the bowl, they turned to show me proudly—"We did it!”

…So… cute…!

I patted both their heads in praise for cracking a single egg so beautifully, and the two flushed slightly with embarrassed pride.

I thought I heard someone collapse behind me, but I chose to ignore it. …Jade, I’ll leave the cleanup to you!

Next, I warmed the eggs and milk in a small saucepan until they were about body temperature.

I mixed cake flour, bread flour, salt, sugar, and dry yeast, then gradually added the warmed egg mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula until it came together. Thanks to the warm egg mixture, the dough came together pleasantly warm, and I placed it on a kneading board set up on the low table in the living room…

“Alright! Time to knead!”

“I’ll do it!”

“…I’ll do it too.”

At my enthusiastic announcement, Selphie eagerly raised her hand first, followed more timidly by Sylphy.

Anticipating exactly this, I’d already divided the dough into two portions beforehand and placed them before the twin princesses.

I picked up my own dough too, intending to make my own portion.

The twin princesses, poking at the dough tentatively with their small hands, nervously mimicked my movements as they began kneading.

As they kneaded, they gradually seemed to discover the sheer joy of working with something soft, and grew increasingly enthusiastic before long.

…Playing with clay as a kid really was inexplicably fun, wasn’t it?

Once sufficiently kneaded, next came working in the softened butter.

“It’s sticky, big sister.”

“It’s mushy, big sister.”

““It feels so weird!””

I understood that feeling all too well.

Once you knead butter into that soft, pillowy dough, the butter’s slickness clings to it, creating an indescribable texture. To make matters worse, the dough that had finally come together turned incredibly sticky—almost like slime—and clung to your hands until the butter was fully incorporated.

That feeling of “Ugh, what is this?!” was probably something only people who had actually made this kind of dough could truly understand. This sort of thing happened with most breads that required butter to be kneaded into the dough, so it could be quite a struggle until you got used to it.

“Bear with it, both of you. Keep kneading, and it’ll come together, I promise!”

The twin princesses eyed me with obvious suspicion, grimacing as they continued working the sticky dough with squelching sounds.

It was, understandably, quite the workout for young children. Beads of sweat gradually formed on the twin princesses’ foreheads. Watching the two of them, still so young, working diligently at kneading the dough, was heartwarming.

—They really do love Prince Cain.

Children tend to lose interest easily, as a rule.

And yet here these children were, the twin princesses, throwing themselves so earnestly into making these donuts. This alone was proof enough of just how much they cared for Prince Cain.

Somehow enduring through it, continuing to squelch away at the dough, the texture gradually grew smoother. The kneading board and their hands, once thoroughly sticky, became clean again, and once the dough came together into one cohesive mass, it was time for the next stage.

I switched to a different kneading technique for the dough.

Setting the dough on the kneading board, I grabbed one end with one hand…

Slap!

And slammed it forcefully down onto the board!

Then folded the stretched dough in half, grabbed the same side, and—slap!

At this somewhat rough process, the twin princesses’ faces stiffened.

The dough hitting the board made quite a loud sound, after all—they were probably startled by it.

…And I had to repeat this about fifty or sixty times…

“Your Highnesses!”

Crux, jolted awake by the slapping sound, rushed over in a panic.

“What’s this!? What happened!? Was that a slapping sound just now!?”

“Ahaha.”

“You…!? What did you do to the princesses!? No—what were you about to make them do!?”

Wow. Even setting aside the twins, this man was seriously annoying. Exhausting, honestly…

I explained the kneading technique to Crux, and he insisted on doing it himself.

His reasoning: “I cannot allow Their Highnesses to do such a thing." Well, on reflection, this probably wasn’t something a kingdom’s princess ought to be doing anyway. Crux’s reaction was, in a way, entirely reasonable.

Wondering what to do, I glanced at the twin princesses, who—understandably exhausted by now—both looked thoroughly worn out.

Since there was still plenty of time before completion anyway, I decided to graciously accept Crux’s offer.

Crux washed his hands and eagerly began slamming the dough against the kneading board.

“Your Highnesses! Witness my valiant form!”

SLAP!

“Muahahahaha!”

Slap, slap, SLAP!

Watching him continue to slam the dough down with such gusto, I began to wonder if Crux wasn’t the one having a hard time after all, but rather the twin princesses… I couldn’t help worrying about the two young princesses.

Once Crux’s one-man show finally concluded and the dough was fully kneaded, I rounded it so the surface pulled taut, placed it seam-side down in a bowl, misted it lightly with water, and covered it with plastic wrap to prevent drying. That settled things for the moment.

Now all that remained was to leave it alone for a while and let it rise.

With spring drawing to a close and temperatures gradually climbing, the yeast in the dough should work nicely.

While waiting for the rise, I decided we’d take a break for about an hour. I put away the kneading board and got ready to serve some tea.

Thinking the young twin princesses might prefer something sweet, I pulled yuzu syrup from the refrigerator. I’d made it before coming to this world. The thick, golden syrup contained finely sliced strips of yuzu peel and the fruit itself, with the seeds removed.

It was easy to make. All you had to do was put chopped yuzu and rock sugar in a container, then leave them for about two weeks, shaking the container every day to mix everything together. In summer, you could dilute it with soda, or add it to shochu in the evening. But my favorite way to enjoy it was mixed with hot water.

I scooped some of the contents, fruit and all, into heat-resistant glass cups with a spoon, and poured in hot water. As I stirred each cup in circles with a spoon, the syrup dissolved, and the lovely aroma of yuzu rose into the air.

Through the heat-resistant glass, the pale yellow-tinted water with yuzu pieces drifting gently was a beautiful sight.

When I set the cups in front of the twin princesses, their faces lit up, and they peered intently into their cups.

The two exchanged a glance. Selphie went first, blowing gently on it before taking a sip.

Her face immediately brightened, and she turned excitedly to Sylphy. Sylphy, reassured by her sister’s reaction, cautiously blew on hers and took a sip too.

Her expression melted into softness, and she too turned to Selphie with a happy smile.

“Sylphy, it’s delicious.”

“Selphie, it’s so sweet.”

…! I’ll give you as many refills as you want…!

Something about the twin princesses’ adorableness felt dangerously charming, as if opening some door better left closed. All the fatigue from kneading dough seemed to evaporate instantly.

“By the way, this Saint… Ferfaitos, was it? I’ve never heard of that Birthday Festival before. Are festivals dedicated to saints common in this kingdom?”

Curious, I asked Jade.

Jade, looking slightly reluctant to answer, replied with a small smile:

“…No. Saint Ferfaitos holds special significance for this kingdom specifically.”

Before I could press further, the twin princesses demanded more tea, and Jade went off to attend to them, leaving the topic unresolved.

After an hour of leisurely tea, checking the dough revealed it had roughly doubled in size within the bowl. It had risen nicely, it seemed.

The twin princesses cheered excitedly, and I had them punch down the risen dough with their fists. Sinking a fist into the plump, puffed dough and watching it deflate with a soft fwoosh, seemed to delight them greatly. The twin princesses laughed merrily.

I gathered the dough into a round shape. Now even softer and smoother than before rising, it had a wonderfully pleasant texture.

I divided it into individual portions, tucking the cut edges inward and rounding each piece again.

Since cutting damages the surface of the dough, I let it rest briefly to heal—about fifteen minutes or so.

Then, finally, shaping.

Since it rises slightly more during the resting period, I gently released the gas and stabbed chopsticks straight through the center of each round piece of dough.

“Hee!”

“Heh!”

That seemed to hit exactly the right spot for the twins. Letting out odd little giggles, they peered curiously through the holes made by the chopsticks.

I widened the hole by inserting my thumb into the soft, springy dough, forming a ring shape.

Then, placing each on a square of parchment paper, I misted them and covered them with plastic wrap for the second rise—about forty minutes. After that, I removed the wrap and let them sit uncovered for about five minutes.

The surface of the dough would dry out a little, but that was intentional. Letting it dry slightly helped prevent wrinkles during frying, giving the donuts a smoother finish.

“Alright, time to fry!”

“I’ll d—”

“No.”

I shut that down instantly, and Selphie’s cheeks puffed out in a pout.

…Adorable, but handling hot oil was definitely an adult-only task.

I set the oil temperature a bit lower than usual for frying, placing the donuts parchment-side up.

When tiny bubbles began fizzing around the donuts and they had turned a nice color, I flipped them over. At this point, I peeled off the parchment paper while it was still in the oil.

Taking care not to fry them for too long, I lifted them out of the oil. They were a beautiful, appetizing golden brown.

I prepared a bowl mixing powdered sugar, honey, lemon juice, and milk, dipped the fried donuts halfway in, and let them dry—and just like that, fluffy glazed donuts were complete!

I set aside the ones meant as gifts, and the rest became our own snack.

Freshly made donuts have an exceptional flavor. Something everyone deserved to enjoy together.

I plated one donut for each of us, along with freshly ground black coffee for the adults, and fragrant tea for the children, with milk or sugar available to taste.

We all gathered around the low table—and Itadakimasu!

““Woooow!””

The twin princesses squealed adorably, cheeks flushed bright red.

Feet kicking happily, faces melting into blissful smiles, the twin princesses had their cheeks puffed out like squirrels, mouths stuffed full of donuts.

The fluffy donut had a wonderfully light texture.

The well-risen dough gave gently under the teeth, its sweetness dissolving away before the oiliness could even register.

With each bite, the glaze made a satisfying, delicate crunch. That crisp glaze combined with the chewy dough—utterly irresistible. Since the dough itself wasn’t overly sweet, the glaze’s sweetness balanced it perfectly.

The lemon juice in the glaze added a refreshing note too. Not just sweet—a faint tartness that kept every bite interesting.

“With this coffee stuff, even someone who’s not big on sweets can handle it.”

Crux apparently wasn’t much for sweets. Sniffing the coffee’s aroma, he alternated between sips and bites of donut.

I took a sip of coffee myself too.

A fragrant, richly roasted bean aroma drifted up through my nose. Nothing special, just an inexpensive blend, but the smell of freshly brewed coffee, enjoyed after so long, was irresistible.

As I sipped it down, bitterness and acidity swept through my mouth, rounded soft from the donut’s sweetness. My mouth, thoroughly spoiled by the donut, was tightened right back up by the coffee.

—But of course, a maiden’s heart craves being spoiled again right after.

I took another bite of the donut, and my mouth was once again filled with a world of sweetness. A moment of pure bliss.

“Delishuss, Sylphy.”

“Delishuss, Selphie.”

The twin princesses had stuffed their mouths with donuts to the absolute limit, mumbling happily.

They chewed for a while, finally swallowing with a satisfied gulp, then took a sip of their tea. Catching their breath at last, they turned to me with beaming smiles.

“Big sister, it’s wonderful!”

“Big sister, it’s delicious!”

“This would make a truly special gift.”

“This would surely make a wonderful gift.”

““Big sister, thank you.””

The two of them stood up together and gave a small, formal bow—and a wave of happiness welled up in my chest.

—I’m so glad this all worked out.

“It was an honor to be of help to Your Highnesses.”

I gave a small, formal bow back to the twin princesses.

Then our eyes met, and all three of us shared a soft, warm smile together.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Once I’d finished tidying up and returned to the living room, the twin princesses were locked in a serious staring match with a pile of ribbons spread across the low table. They were deliberating, picking through options for what ribbon to tie on the gift. After quite some time, the twin princesses narrowed it down to a few shades of blue ribbon, lips pursed in concentration, humming thoughtfully to themselves.

While I sat leisurely sipping coffee, watching the scene unfold, the twin princesses suddenly turned to me.

“What did big sister choose?”

“What is big sister giving as a gift?”

“…You mean, for the Birthday Festival?”

The twin princesses nodded in unison.

“The gift for the Saint has to be extra special.”

“The gift for the Saint has to be extra wonderful.”

Their innocent voices rang out.

“Special…? Um, is there some particular reason for that? You said Prince Cain’s gift had to be special too, but why can’t it just be the same as everyone else’s?”

““That’s right, big sister.””

The twin princesses exchanged glances, then fixed their beautiful blue eyes on me.

““You do know about Saint Ferfaitos, right?””

The twin princesses said this as though it were simply obvious.

—Honestly, I’d only learned that name for the first time today.

Was this saint so famous in this kingdom that the twins simply assumed I’d already know?

Oblivious to my confusion, the twin princesses continued speaking in their rhythmic, alternating manner.

“The Saint is going on a journey to purify the evil miasma, isn’t she?”

“And our second brother is going along with her too, isn’t he?”

For some reason, Jade tried hastily to stop the twins, but he was too late, and their words continued mercilessly.

“So that the Saint, who purifies the evil miasma,”

“And our second brother, who accompanies her,”

““Won’t end up like Saint Ferfaitos.””

A knot tightened at the back of my neck.

For some reason, I didn’t want to hear what came next.

““Won’t die on the journey to purify the miasma. —We must put a special wish into it.””

Those words, spoken so innocently by the twin princesses’ lips, dragged something dark and heavy up from deep within my chest.

…After that, Crux dragged the twin princesses home, leaving just Jade and me alone in the house.

Wiping down the well-worn low table, I noticed Jade standing there, oddly restless. He seemed to want to say something, watching me closely.

Checking the clock, it was nearly time to start preparing dinner.

I stood up, intending to head toward the kitchen, but Jade stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

“…? Mr. Jade?”

“Saint Ferfaitos was… a member of the Gilberta royal family, long ago.”

Jade’s honey-colored eyes wavered, seeming to reflect his inner turmoil.

“During the previous summoning of a Saint, he accompanied her on the purification journey, just as Prince Cain does now… and he…”

Jade’s eyes lowered, his lips trembling slightly, swallowing his words for a moment before finally, somehow, forcing them out.

“During the purification—he was killed by a monster.”

I’d gone rigid, as if my body had turned to stone, unable to respond at all to Jade’s words.

“Akane, will you listen to what I have to say?”

Forcing my frozen body to move, I sat down on the sofa. Jade sat beside me and, slowly and carefully, began to speak:

“Let me apologize first. It wasn’t that I was trying to hide it from you, but… I hadn’t intended to tell you about tomorrow’s Birthday Festival.”

“…Why not?”

I forced the words out from a throat gone completely dry.

Jade lowered his eyes slightly and, in a quiet voice, explained his reasoning:

“As I said just now, Saint Ferfaitos… was deified as a saint precisely because he died on the purification journey. For you, whose own family member is about to embark on that same journey, I thought learning this… would be too painful.”

A ringing sound echoed in my ears.

—I don’t want to hear this. Stop.

“I didn’t want to burden someone who’s always so cheerful.”

My throat stung sharply.

—What do you mean, "burden"?

I somehow managed to force my voice through my stinging throat. My expression right now must have been horribly twisted.

“Mr. Jade, you coddle me too much… really.”

Seeing my face, Jade’s expression clouded over with sorrow.

I looked away from him, dropping my gaze to my feet.

—I don’t want to hear anything more than this.

“Big sister?”

Just then, the sliding door to the living room opened, and my sister walked in, looking puzzled.

I managed an awkward smile and greeted her as usual: “Welcome home.”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

—That night.

After taking a bath, I was drying my hair in my room when my sister spoke to me:

“Hey, big sister. Let’s sleep together tonight, like old times.”

“Hiyori—”

“Come on, please?”

I nodded silently. My sister smiled happily and said, "I’ll go grab my pillow!" before jogging back to her room.

We squeezed together into the narrow single bed. Pressing our pillows close together, I turned on the small night light for her, since she can’t sleep in total darkness.

The night light bathed the room in a faint, dim orange glow.

My sister squirmed around, searching for a comfortable position, then finally settled and poked her head out from under the blanket, smiling brightly.

“Hehe. Big sister’s smell.”

“…You’re making it sound like I stink.”

“I mean it in a good way! You always imagine the worst, big sister.”

She said cheerfully, then slipped her hand around my arm affectionately.

Feeling my sister’s warmth against my arm, I gazed up at the ceiling, and we naturally fell silent together, letting the quiet time pass.

—But both of us knew this quiet moment would end soon enough.

After a while, my sister spoke:

“Big sister. When summer comes, I’m going on a journey to purify the miasma.”

“…I see.”

“We’re going around the whole continent. Going all at once would be too much, so the plan is to use this royal castle as my base and go back and forth between here and the corrupted lands. …The first trip this summer is to the east. Pretty rural, apparently. It’s the area struggling most with the miasma right now, so I need to get out there quickly and purify it. Ah, but it’s summer, so it might be really hot… I should bring sunscreen.”

“Yeah…”

My sister flashed a wide, white-toothed grin.

“Big sister, you heard about that saint, Fer-whatsit, right?”

My throat closed up, and I couldn’t say anything.

“He died, right? Apparently he was really beloved by the people, and after he died everyone deeply regretted it. Wished they’d done more for him, told him he mattered, told him they loved him, that sort of thing. —So, on the day he was born, people started making a habit of expressing gratitude to the people they love.”

My sister, gazing off into the distance, murmured quietly, "They’re kind, aren’t they? The people of this country.”

“Hey. Big sister. You know, when I got suddenly summoned to another world, and everyone was like, ‘The Saint!’ and all that… At first I was shocked, but finding out I had this amazing power—honestly, I was happy about it.”

My sister pulled one hand out from under the blanket, holding it up in front of her face, staring at it.

That hand, even now, was still the same slender, delicate, feminine hand it had always been. It hardly looked capable of containing the immense magical power of a Saint within it.

“I thought, maybe, like the heroine of some story, I’d get to use amazing magic, accomplish incredible things, maybe even become a legend… and honestly, it was exciting. I was scared too, but being told only I could do it—I thought that was pretty cool. I figured that if I succeeded, something amazing would happen… So I decided to become the Saint with completely selfish motives.”

──I’m probably the least deserving person in the world to be called a Saint.

My sister’s voice, saying that, sounded a little weak.

“It’s not like I became one because I wanted to save this country or anything! …That’s pretty awful, right?”

For a moment, my sister’s face clouded, but she quickly lifted her head again. "Well, the people of this country who just went and summoned some poor, innocent high school girl to purify the miasma without asking are pretty awful too, honestly!" she said, giving a defiant little sniff.

Seeing my sister return to her usual self, I felt relieved, and couldn’t help a small, wry smile.

After all… I was sure that if I’d been in the same situation as my sister, I would’ve thrown myself into my role as the Saint too. In that sense, there was no denying we were cut from the same cloth, sisters through and through.

“So, anyway,”

My sister prefaced, staring straight into my eyes from close up.

“I’m doing this because I want to. Since I’m doing what I want to do, I’m absolutely going to see it through to the end.”

“Hiyori—”

“I’m definitely not going to die!”

Before I knew it, my sister’s round eyes had welled up, brimming with tears.

“I won’t end up like that Fer-whatsit person! I’m absolutely not going to die! Big sister—will you believe in me, and wait for me?”

My vision blurred with tears.

In the distance, I heard the living room’s pendulum clock chime—bong, bong—probably striking midnight.

…I had to say something too.

──There was something I wanted my sister to know.

“Hiyori. Will you listen? I… honestly, until recently, I didn’t really feel it. Not really.”

My voice trembled embarrassingly.

I always wanted to seem like the reliable older sister in front of her—how pathetic, breaking down like this.

“The reality of coming to another world. The reality that my sister is the Saint. …The reality that my sister is about to risk her life. …Because I didn’t really feel it, even when Prince Cain apologized to me, even when Mr. Luvan told me to be more aware of my position—I could keep a calm face and pretend I understood everything perfectly. I acted like I was someone reasonable, someone who got it… Playing the part, trying to look composed. …When really, I didn’t understand anything at all.”

Tears kept spilling, one after another, unstoppable.

No matter how much I wiped them away, I couldn’t hold them back.

“Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew you might die. I knew it was a dangerous journey, but I pretended not to know. I just assumed, without thinking, that as long as I kept cooking meals at home and waiting like always, you would come home just like always. …Our everyday life has been so peaceful, I’d nearly forgotten what all that studying and training was actually for. —Today, hearing about Ferfaitos, it hit me hard. It’s stupid, isn’t it? Only now, finally realizing you might actually die, and panicking about it… I’m really an idiot.”

My face was a wreck, soaked with tears.

The sound of my sniffling echoed through the room.

“Honestly, what I really wanted was to scream—give my sister back! Don’t drag us into your problems!—and just run away with you. But you were determined to do this, and more than anything, I’m useless. I don’t have any special powers.”

My position was such that, under the wrong circumstances, I could even be used as a hostage against my sister.

If the people of this kingdom had harbored ill intentions, they surely could have used me as leverage to control her.

My sister said she’d become the Saint because she wanted to. But when making that decision, did my presence as her older sister really have no bearing on it at all?

If I hadn’t been here—could she have chosen not to become the Saint at all?

That possibility crossed my mind.

…I’m nothing but a shackle around my sister’s ankle.

“Honestly, I wish the people of this kingdom were villains through and through. Then the two of us could run away without a second thought.”

I sniffled. “Oh, and Leon would come with us too.”

My sister laughed a little at my words, but quickly grew serious again.

“But the people here aren’t bad people. They’ve been really good to us.”

“…Yeah, in the most inconvenient way possible.”

I couldn’t help but frown.

Everyone in this kingdom who dealt with us was kind. And yet, behind that kindness, I sometimes caught glimpses of their frustration at having to entrust their world’s fate to someone else, along with their guilt toward us.

If they were going to be kind, I wished they’d keep it up and be perfectly kind to the very end. They were free to feel guilty, but I wanted them to hide that guilt from us.

Ah—probably, my sister and I, and the people of this kingdom, are all simply too good-hearted for our own good. If we could all be a little colder, a little more ruthless, our hearts would surely be so much lighter.

Wiping my wrecked face roughly with my sleeve, I pulled my sister into a tight hug.

“…I’ll believe in you and wait. Don’t die, Hiyori.”

“I won’t leave my adorable, crybaby big sister all alone. …I’m definitely not going to die.”

“Heh. I’m not a crybaby.”

“You never cry in front of anyone else, but you’re totally a crybaby in front of family.”

“Look who’s talking, causing me nothing but trouble, you little troublemaker.”

“Sorry as always… and I’ll probably keep causing trouble this time too.”

I mussed up my sister’s hair roughly.

She let out a strange little shriek—"Hyaaah!?"—but I didn’t care.

“…It’s a big sister’s job to put up with trouble from her adorable little sister.”

I said it with a smug little “Hmph!” and an air of importance. My sister smiled sweetly, then proceeded to mess up my hair in return.

That night, we kept goofing around, laughing and squealing together in bed, until we were exhausted and finally sleepy.

I could hear my little sister breathing softly in her sleep.

Confirming it, I opened my eyes and quietly slipped out of the room.

Beyond the dim hallway, waiting for me in the pitch darkness, It was there.

“Ho ho. Have you decided on your wish, then?”

“Titania.”

The platinum fairy queen said this with a faint smile.

“So? What shall it be…? I can’t very well send you back to your original world, of course… So. Wealth? Glory? Or perhaps… the heart of the male you love?”

“Protect my sister.”

Instantly, Titania’s brow furrowed.

“Titania, protect my sister…”

At my weak, faltering plea, Titania’s shoulders shook with amusement.

“Ho. Asking me to protect the Saint, rather than yourself. …Heh. Heheheh.”

“…Is that not allowed?”

“The journey to purify the miasma draws near, and so you’re growing desperate—after handing your sister over to this kingdom, you now make such a selfish request.”

“…!”

My heart clenched painfully.

Something I couldn’t even show my sister—the darkest, most stagnant emotion buried deep within me—stirred, threatening to surface.

“Well, no matter. That is simply what humans are. Living selfishly through your fleeting lives—that is what it means to be human. The Saint who purifies. The people of this kingdom who take it for granted that a Saint must be a Saint. …And of course, you as well. Humans are always foolish, and yet always dear to me. I am a whimsical fairy queen. On a whim, I shall protect your sister—what becomes of the outcome depends entirely on you.”

Titania pasted a flawless smile across her beautiful face and took my hand.

“Now then, you. Alcohol. Let us drink—”

The lavish lace of her dress rustled softly, and I found myself unable to look away from Titania, glowing faintly in the darkness of the night.

“—Entertain me properly.”

Saying that, the fairy queen led me toward the living room.

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