Side: Amahashi Kakeru

In the few days since, the dungeon business had quieted down at school. There were still grumbles about the first schoolyard being off-limits, but, to put it another way, that was the extent of it.

As for the dungeon itself, there was a rumor going around that people who looked like contractors were coming and going from a prefab shed built to hide the entrance.

Nine times out of ten, they were surveying or exploring the dungeon.

The truth was, Filia and Noctia could keep an eye on it with their far-sight magic—not constantly, but now and then. Even so, since there was a non-zero chance someone skilled in magic could see through it, they weren't watching.

There might be people in this world who could use magic too. And if there were, that opened up the possibility that Pricia and the others' true identities could be exposed. I had no intention of handing anyone a tail to grab on our end.

I was finally getting used to classes. Though catching up on all the material I'd forgotten over three-plus years in the other world was rough.

Even looking at it objectively, I'd say these were peaceful days.

"Right, I'm off to club. See you, Amahashi."

Kitamura had apparently joined the soccer club, and once class ended he headed straight there. Move your body, and with any luck get popular. Something like that, probably.

In the end, I hadn't joined a club. A few of them had invited me, but with Pricia and the others to think about, I'd rather not come home late for the time being, so I'd turned them down.

When I left the classroom to head home, my timing happened to line up with Horii-san.

Since that whole incident, we'd started talking a little. Not that it went beyond exchanging greetings—we still didn't get into anything deep.

"Filia-san and the others are the talk of the town, you know. About these gorgeous women being around. Apparently people spot them at the supermarket nearby and places like that."

"Yeah, they did say they'd be cooking for themselves."

The magic items' effect was the kind that wouldn't draw suspicion. The moment their existence was recognized, they'd be appraised accordingly. Foreigners weren't exactly rare, but if they were in the same area not far off, I supposed they'd become the subject of rumors.

"Amahashi-kun, your mood's changed a bit. Ever since Filia-san and the others showed up. Is taking in homestay guests really that nice?"

It was probably an offhand remark. There was no hidden agenda behind it, nothing she was angling for. Still, the fact that she'd noticed the part I was keeping hidden nearly threw me for a second.

"I wonder. It's more fun than being on my own. And running into values different from mine is refreshing."

I'd learned how to lie well over there too. You mix truth and lies, and the one you deceive isn't the person in front of you. I'd taken to thinking of it as deceiving yourself.

In the end, Horii-san and I walked together as far as the nearest bus stop.

That night, my uncle called.

It was about Grandma's forty-ninth-day memorial.¹My parents, who lived overseas, would apparently be absent, but I'd been talking on the assumption that I'd attend.

By rights it was something my dad, the eldest son, should be handling. But since he'd spent so much of his life abroad from a young age, my uncle, who lived near the family home out in the country, had arranged everything.

The date was set for Friday, the day after tomorrow, and he was just confirming roughly when I'd arrive.

"The forty-ninth day?"

I explained it to everyone right away, but, sure enough, it didn't seem to click. Over there they'd had customs for mourning the dead too, but they hadn't had anything like the forty-ninth-day memorial.

"Yeah, it's like a ceremony that comes after a funeral over here. I'll be away for a bit."

"I see. Things'll feel lonely, then, won't they."

"We'll keep the house safe while you're gone."

For some reason, Pricia and Sanctina put on the kind of forlorn faces they rarely showed. What was that about?

"Will you be away long?"

"Hm? Oh, one night, two days. I'll be back the next evening."

I tilted my head, thinking something was off, when Filia asked about the schedule and I answered. At that, the two of them looked startled.

"Hee hee, in this world the means of travel are well developed. Places that would take the human race a year to reach over there, here you can travel in a few days."

The one who wasn't surprised was Noctia, who started explaining with a little chuckle. Ah-ha—so Noctia had known about the misunderstanding and kept quiet, had she? Just to see how everyone would react.

"Wha—! How misleading!"

"That's right. You said the countryside, so I thought it was far away!"

No, you two were the ones who jumped to conclusions before you even asked about the schedule, right? Why am I the one getting blamed?

Or rather—was this just them covering their embarrassment?

Filia. She was basically a poker face, so she looked the same as always. But she'd probably been on the misunderstanding side too. She was sharp and didn't make a fuss, so it didn't show.

"No, sorry. I never imagined…"

At the two of them looking ready to get mad, Noctia chuckling away, and Filia watching with an indescribable expression, I ended up laughing too.

Honestly, even one little thing we said or did could cause misunderstandings.

"Hey, Kakeru. Can we come along too?"

Just as I was thinking I couldn't keep laughing forever at the two of them covering their embarrassment, Noctia abruptly changed the subject.

"Noctia, it won't do to be a nuisance."

"I won't be a nuisance. I want to investigate Kakeru's family home. Why Kakeru was chosen as the Hero. I thought I might be able to figure it out."

I was mulling over the unexpected proposal when Pricia, after objecting on the spot, started to waver a little at the reason Noctia gave.

"You don't have any solid proof, do you?"

"I don't. But at times like these, the basic move is to make the unknown clear. You can't call investigating the Hero a waste."

It was just a hunch, but I figured Noctia's guiding principle was curiosity. Filia seemed to have caught on to that and put in a word, but Noctia's reasoning wasn't wrong either.

"I don't see why not. We've got to go out anyway."

I didn't think there was anything at that house, but bringing them along nearby should be fine. I'd have them stay a night at some cheap business hotel, and I'd spend the one night at the family home, I supposed. It would all be experience.

It didn't bother me, but in Pricia and Noctia's case, this house might feel cramped too. They were people who'd literally lived in castles, after all.

They did seem to go out, but if there was a chance to take them out, I ought to take it.

Still—the forty-ninth-day memorial already, huh.

For me, it was something that had long since passed back in the other world. But by this world's time, it hadn't passed yet.

"Noctia, can you do something like turning back time?"

A question that suddenly surfaced, and I couldn't stop myself from saying it out loud. Of course, I understood it was no good.

"Magic having to do with crossing time is forbidden by the gods. That said, in theory it's probably possible. Judging from how you experienced three years over there and then returned to your point of departure…"

"Sorry. Forget I asked."

I had no intention of going back. Grandma had lived longer than the average lifespan. You could say she'd lived out her full span of years. There'd be no point even if I went back.

Just one more time. I'd only wanted to hear her voice.