Side: Amahashi Kakeru

A post-rite meal with the whole extended family gathered together. There were people who couldn't make it, of course — some lived too far away, some had things come up at the last minute. Even so, a few dozen of us had come together for the meal.

Looking around, people were deep in old stories everywhere. They reminisced about the days when Grandpa and Grandma were still alive, then turned their thoughts to a present that was steadily changing, and to what lay ahead.

As for Pricia and the others, the relatives kept striking up conversations with them, and they were holding their own. What surprised me, as ever, was just how good they were at communicating with people.

Grandpa and Grandma had always had a wide circle, and old acquaintances had often dropped by, so my family was fairly open about that sort of thing. Even when everyone gathered for New Year's, there'd usually be some unfamiliar face mixed in, so maybe that was why no one batted an eye.

When the meal wound down and night came, all but a few relatives who were staying over at Grandpa's and Grandma's family homes headed home.

Left behind were my uncle and aunt, a handful of relatives, and then me and Pricia and the others. My uncle and aunt were getting dinner ready for us.

As the dishes were laid out, Pricia bowed her head modestly to my uncle and aunt.

"I'm sorry you've had to look after us too…"

I had to hand it to her — even among the four of them, Pricia's knack for this kind of thing really stood out. She'd been born and raised in a completely different world, a completely different station, and yet here she was, smoothly reading the room and matching whoever was in front of her.

Maybe she'd been brought up to do exactly that.

"No, no, think nothing of it. Here, drink, drink. It's the local sake, so I don't know if it'll suit you, but."

"This is why men are hopeless. One look at a pretty face and he goes all soft."

"Hehe, I'll gladly accept."

My uncle was in high spirits, no doubt helped along by all the beautiful women. My aunt needled him for it, but even that was loosening the mood.

Back when Grandpa and Grandma were still well, scenes like this had been a common thing.

"It'd be nice if one of you became Kakeru's girlfriend, eh?"

Whoa, hold on, Uncle. You couldn't say that. These days people would make a harassment issue out of a comment like that.

"Dear…"

"I — I'm joking, I'm joking."

Yeah, my aunt reined him in. Though to be fair, Pricia and the others weren't bothered in the slightest — they just let it wash over them.

If Pricia and the others stayed here, then maybe, eventually, they'd each strike out on their own and live their own lives. Come to think of it, I had no idea what kind of men they liked. There weren't any chances for them to meet anyone right now, so there was nothing to be done about it anyway.

Well — for now, getting them used to this world came first.

The cheerful party carried on like that, late into the night.

Thoughts of Grandpa and Grandma, the present, the days to come. Talking about all of it, this and that.

Side: Sanctina

I could see wooden pillars and a wooden ceiling. This country seemed to have a lot of wooden buildings. Was it because wood was plentiful here?

The house Kakeru-san grew up in was a comfortable place. The culture and the way of life were different from where I was born and raised, and yet — maybe it was that the air of a home where people lived their lives felt a little the same.

We were in the guest room. It had tatami laid down — something we'd had nothing like in our country — with futons spread out over it.

How much time had passed, I wondered.

Just as I was about to drift off, Filia-san woke me.

"It seems Kakeru's gone outside."

Pricia-san said she was worried, so we all decided to follow after him.

"…The stars…"

Stepping outside, the spread of stars across the night sky took me by surprise.

In our world they hadn't been anything rare. It was only that the town where Kakeru-san's house stood was bright even at night, so you could hardly see the stars there.

They were beautiful, but I couldn't very well just stand there gazing at the stars. We followed after Kakeru-san, careful not to let him notice us.

Where was he going? Just as I was wondering that, Kakeru-san stopped. It was by the large tree behind the house.

Under the moonlight, Kakeru-san sat down with his back against the great tree, and without doing anything in particular, he gazed up at the sky and out at the scenery.

It was then.

Because it was night and we were some distance away, I could only just make it out — but it looked like Kakeru-san was wiping away tears.

"Let's go back."

When Filia-san, who had seen it too, whispered it to me, we slipped away from the spot.

"Kakeru…"

"It's something he needs in order to move forward. I think we should leave him be for now."

Pricia-san, who had a stronger sense of responsibility than anyone, did seem shaken, but Filia-san took it in a more positive light.

Kakeru-san had finally come back to a place where he could cry. Maybe, for now, that was something to be glad about.

"Shouldn't we be thinking about the present over the past, the upsides over the downsides? There's every chance Kakeru could gain something worth more than all the hardship of these three years."

When we got back to the room, of all people, it was Noctia-san who spoke up to the downcast Pricia-san.

"With a power you could even call heretical, what is it Kakeru would gain? What more than a quiet life…"

"Is that really what the human race wants — a life and days as pure and spotless as all that? Any creature with intelligence has desires. Whether the human race, elves, or the demon race. The values differ by race and by individual, and so do the desires they chase. But once Kakeru settles down, he's bound to have a desire or two of his own. To help him with that, and share in it together — days like that wouldn't be so bad, you know."

Those words took me aback, but Filia-san's expression was closer to agreement. It was true — this might well be when Kakeru-san was suffering the most.

Three long years of days that never let him rest, and the grandmother he'd lost.

"Noctia-san… you…"

"Widening the possibilities isn't a bad thing. Your power, your experience, and your beauty — every one of them could become something irreplaceable to Kakeru. You don't want to go back either, do you? Then forget about what's past. If anything, you should switch your thinking over to living here. The ones in power are the same in every world."

It was as though Noctia-san saw straight through all our inner conflicts, our whole situation. She really was someone chosen to be the Demon Lord precisely because she was meant for it — I was reminded of that all over again.

"You're right. We should build a new relationship, beyond being temporary comrades."

Filia-san, too, affirmed Noctia-san's view.

If anything, I leaned the same way. There was a part of me that wanted to see my real parents back in the other world one more time — but I had no wish to go back to being a Saint I'd never wanted to be. More than that, I wanted to think about how to live in this world.

What kind of relationship did Kakeru-san want with us, I wondered?

Comrades, friends, or perhaps…