Arika, Pep Talk in the Big City

“You spoke of her in past tense. Is the real Mage Hero Angelica….”

Rama caught on quite fast, it was rather unexpected. He was even considerate enough to not finish his sentence. I couldn’t help but smile gently, visibly looking proud of him. Maybe I do end up growing some attachments to him and Rana by this time, with them being the first people I met in this world.

“Yeah. I thought if I go to this world, I could meet her again, and that’s how I ended up here anyway, but it’s not that easy.” I nodded, confirming his suspicions either way.

“Even if you go to another world, that doesn’t usually mean you can meet people who have already passed…” Rama said as a matter of fact, and I can’t help but giggle at his ironic declaration.

“Who knows? In my world, it’s a pretty common belief that people that passed could’ve been going to another world…”

I can’t be explaining the whole isekai fantasy genre in fiction to Rama right now, but that should do it. I gazed out to the window of the inn, aimlessly at the endless rows of trees that now I knew existed as skyscrapers, decorating the night sky full of shining dots I could think of as stars.

I did call this place an inn, but it does feel more like a hotel in modern terms with its extravagancy— it even existed on top of a skyscraper. Apparently, it’s the only room in this hotel that’s currently not booked at the moment.

“Your world has a strange belief. People who died can’t just go to another world. They’d just go to the afterlife to stay with the Goddess.”

“In that case, don’t you think an ‘afterlife’ is another world on its own?”

“Now that you said it…”

Rama’s expression was quite one that took things way too seriously from something I mentioned casually, that I needed to tap on his shoulder to pull him back to reality.

“Don’t think much of it!” I said, trying to reassure him as I tapped his back. “Either way, I don’t have any way to confirm it! It might be unrelated, anyway!”

“I— I see. But that means you’ll never…” Rama stopped himself before he continued speaking the rest of his words, and threw his face away from me. “...Nevermind.”

Unfortunately for him, I’m not as dense as he thought. I could’ve guessed what he’d say right away— don’t underestimate the power of a working adult in reading the room and situation around her!

“You’re right. I don’t think I’d meet my Grandma that easily either. I was just thinking it’ll be nice, but I don’t expect I’ll actually meet her.” I tried to reassure Rama that it’s alright by patting his head again, despite his protest that I’m treating him as a kid again. “It’s fine. There must’ve been an actual reason why I’m summoned to this world as her— my Grandma, and we’re trying to find it, right?”

Rama went silent for a while, as his face turned gloomy. It does worry me, especially after he spoke up.

“But if we find out the reason you’re here is unrelated… That’s just unfair for you, isn’t it? Aren’t you annoyed by that? That it doesn’t have any meaning at all?”

….Oh, right. I was supposed to give him a pep talk as the seemingly more mature, composed lady here, why did I end up making him feel depressed upon my own problems and making him worried about me?!

“It’s fine. I’m used to living in such an unfair world, anyway. ‘Earth’ as I called it wasn’t a fair place to live either.” I tried reassuring Rama with a forced smile as I remembered some unpleasant memories from my old world. “And we still don’t know exactly why I’m here, and there’s more chance of it being related, I swear! After all, I can still use her magic and even her money, right?”

“If you say so…” Rama turned away from me.

….Somehow, at this exact timing, I was reminded of something. Ever since Rana came to the picture—- Rama hadn’t even called my name even once. It’s probably because Rana is such a tease from what I knew of her, that she’d just tease him a lot about just any girls but specifically me— can’t help, I’m radiating such an alluring older lady energy anyway!

Wait, if I wasn’t wrong, when I was half asleep, Rana said something about Rama liking humans too… But it’ll be safer not to mention that in this situation, since I’m not entirely sure if I heard it right either.

“Anyway, Rama, why don’t you call me by my name?”

“Huh? W– what do you mean by that?”

“My name. Arika. You ended up just calling this woman ‘you’ all the time, and I think that’s kind of rude!”

I grinned teasingly, as I pointed at myself. Somehow, Rama’s blushing reaction had made me understand Rana’s feeling of wanting to tease him a little more. If I had a cute twin sibling like this, I would be teasing him all the time too, no matter if he's a younger or an older twin than me.

It seems like it’s a worry that Rama held as an excuse to not call me by name either.

“Ugh, but if I did call you that by tomorrow morning out of nowhere, Rana would—”

“A. Ri. Ka.” I insisted with a grin smothered in my face. “Come on, it’s easy to spell, at least more than ‘Angelica’. And I’ll explain it to Rana if you’re worried about that.”

“Okay, okay, I got it…. Arika.”

“That’s good! Call my name more, please!”

“U– Ugh, fine, fine, Arika! Don’t be that close!”

….Rama’s surprisingly kind of easy when you’re pushing him around like this. It does make me feel a little worried, but that should be the least of my concern. As I yawned indicating my own sleepiness, Rama stared at me fiercely as he tried to push me away.

“Wait, wait! What’s wrong, Rama?”

“I just remembered you’re lacking mana and haven’t taken much rest! You should rest up, Arika! Just take the bed, I’m fine sleeping with Rui as my bed!”

“Eeeh? That’s kind of unfair, I want to be the one who sleeps with Rui as my bed instead! It looks so warm and fluffy!”

“You already napped on top of him today! Just let us be, you Cheshire-mania!”

I couldn’t argue with him once he said that, so I took his command and took my beauty sleep on the inn’s bed.

~*~*~*~

I thought I was going to have a peaceful, dreamless sleep like when I was napping on top of Rui just before. But instead, I could see her— the one person I really wanted to meet when I stepped myself into this world. And it’s not like me or she’s being ‘Angelica’ either, it’s just me as a child sitting on her lap as I remembered from my memories of a past world.

“Grandma, why did you bring me into this ETO-like fantasy world? I mean… it must’ve been you who did this, right? It just didn’t feel right if it wasn’t you.”

That question, however, was purely from the perspective of myself from today. Myself who is in the world of elves, sleeping soundly as she dreamed of her Grandma who was supposed to be the ‘real’ Angelica before the servers of ETO closed down and she passed away in the real world.

At first, Grandma didn’t say anything, as she just smiled gently at me, caressing my head as she did so. So I asked again, this time the question I asked was simpler than before.

“Hey, Grandma. Is there any reason I was summoned to this world?”

Grandma’s hands stopped caressing my head, but at least she answered, though it was with another question.

“...Arika. Do you think everything in life needs a reason to be?”

“I really have to think it was, at the very least.”

“I guess so.” Grandma chuckled. “But isn’t it fun?”

“What’s fun?”

“Having an adventure with friends, just like you were a kid again. There’s even giant cats!”

I blinked confusedly. Could it really just be the reason Grandma brought me to this world? I feel like there’s more… there should be more, isn’t it?

“Grandma, I— I don’t get it… what were you trying to do with this?”

“Ah, looks like my time is almost up here. Guess that one little ‘piece’ wasn’t enough.” Grandma kissed my forehead gently, as she usually did in the good old times when we’re together a lot. “Arika, don’t worry much. It’s not like you have to do something or anything as long as you find your own way. But if you really need a purpose, well there’s at least that….”

I feel like I’m waking up, as light starts to seep from my eyelids and I feel like I’m turning into ‘Angelica’ once again. No, please don’t. Not when I could actually talk to my Grandma! I could feel my eyes getting teary, too— I guess I just missed her so much, after all....

“Purpose…? Grandma, please, just tell me—”

“I’d at least say those ‘pieces’ could help you find me. Those magic stones I dropped, that got you teleported to Marconne which should’ve had another one, something like what that child— Dellney had. With those, you may be able to meet me again like this….”

I realized that I woke up with my tears overflowing after hearing that.