A Future Together

When I saw the ceiling of my room, which I hadn’t seen in so long, I felt a mix of nostalgia and relief, but also confusion.

Was everything I experienced just a dream?

That was my first thought, but when I tried to get up, the pain I still carried from the battle against Darkahia, along with the clothes Liz had lent me, were still with me. None of it had been a dream—everything had truly happened.

I felt a bit nostalgic. Even though I hadn’t spent too much time in that world, I still held the memories of wonderful people and moments there, and realizing that I’d forgotten to return Liz’s clothes in the end made me feel a little guilty. I guess I’ll keep them as a memento.

“That girl…”

Eventually, and despite the nostalgia, I managed to get up and change clothes, and just when I was about to prepare something to eat, a sound caught my attention.

Knock

Knock

Knock

It was my door; someone was knocking. I had no idea who it could be, so curiosity got the better of me and I hurried to open it. My room wasn’t big, so I only had to take a few steps, which in retrospect felt a little sad.

When I opened the door, a chill ran down my entire body. Standing there were people I never thought I’d see again so soon after returning to my world: my older brother, followed by my parents.

“Naoya, it’s been a while,” my brother said.

“You… Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked, startled. I hadn’t expected to see them so soon, and I hadn’t spoken to my parents in years—why were they showing up now?

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see the message I sent you?” my brother asked.

Message… that’s right!

Before being summoned to the other world, my brother had sent me a message I chose to ignore. I had completely forgotten about it with everything that happened, and because my phone’s battery had died a long time ago. Still, this felt far too sudden.

“We saw your fight last night. The truth is, our parents—”

“No. I won’t go back to them,” I cut him off.

Maybe that had been the plan before, but after being summoned to another world, after proving that everything I had learned had been worth it, and most of all, after Liz showed me her support, everything had changed.

Maybe this time I had a bad run, and maybe later I’d have very low moments in my life because of my choices, but I would accept it and rise again no matter what. That was my resolve.

“Naoya, we…” my mother began, but I kept talking. I had to make my stance clear once and for all.

“I know you think my career choice and my training are foolish and would lead nowhere, but you’re wrong. I’ve lived enough to see people happy with my dishes, and I’ve helped others in need,” I said, recalling my journey in the other world. “I know it won’t be an easy life, but even so, it’s the one I chose, and the one that makes me happy.”

It was my life choices that let me see the smiles of Liz and Lui, that gave me the chance to protect the people I cared about and even help many more—and for that reason alone, despite the hardships, I know it will all have been worth it.

“Mom, Dad, I choose to continue with my life, and I won’t—”

And just as I was about to conclude my speech, my parents rushed forward and embraced me. The scene shocked me so much that I fell silent for a few moments, unable to understand what was happening.

“We’re sorry, son…” my mother said through tears.

“…What?”

“We’re sorry for treating you that way… We never should have forced something on you that you didn’t want.”

My parents… were apologizing?

Despite having been summoned to another world full of magic and monsters, this was, without a doubt, the hardest thing for me to believe. They had thrown me out of the house for not following what they wanted, they despised me for not being what they expected, and now… why?

“We’ve been watching you for a while. We saw how hard you worked, how much you enjoyed what you did, and… we realized we were wrong.”

“We want you to know that, despite everything, we’re proud of you, son,” my father added. “Despite everything, you stayed true to your desires and fought for them. As a father, I couldn’t be happier.”

Those were… the words I had always wanted to hear. Even though I had always stayed true to my own desires, I had always wanted my parents’ support. I wanted them to understand that this was the life I wanted and that I enjoyed it—that’s why my first true defeat crushed me so badly, because I felt like they’d look at me and judge me, saying I was wrong.

“…Why now?” I asked. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“We were afraid of how you’d receive us,” my mother replied. “But when we saw your fight, we knew you would need support. And even if you didn’t want us here, we wanted you to know we were with you.”

Those words finally broke me down, and as my parents kept hugging me, I returned the embrace with tears in my eyes. I had held resentment toward them; I thought I hated them for what they had done—but none of that mattered anymore. All I wanted was to receive the love I had longed for so badly.

“…Thank you.”

It felt as if time stopped right then and there. I had no idea how long we stayed like that, but it didn’t matter. A part of me—one of the heaviest burdens—had finally been lifted.

Thud

And just at that moment, a sudden banging sound startled us. We quickly turned toward the source of the noise, which seemed to be coming from under my bed.

“Did you have pets?” my brother asked.

“…No.”

The sound returned, but this time not as a bang, but as a cry of pain.

“Ahhh! That hurt!” a female voice exclaimed.

Hearing it, my eyes widened in shock. It was a voice I had grown so familiar with through everything we’d been through. A soft, high-pitched voice that had been with me during my darkest moments, one I remembered with affection—one I thought I would never hear again.

“Where the hell…? Huh?” Liz said, crawling out from under the bed.

When I saw her, it felt like everything around me froze. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, confused and unable to sort out our thoughts, until eventually, we both broke the silence.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?” we both screamed at the same time.

Without knowing how or why, Liz had arrived in my world.

***

After the initial shock, I had to explain to my parents that she was a friend of mine and that there was no problem, so I asked them to head home while I took care of the situation. Of course, I promised I’d visit them when I could, which put them at ease.

“Now… what the hell are you doing here!?” I shouted.

“I don’t know!” Liz answered. “Suddenly Lui gave me this thing and pushed me into the portal!”

I hadn’t noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, it was true—she was holding some sort of crystal orb.

Did Lui give it to her? Why? We had so many questions, but then I had an idea.

“How about you try channeling some mana into the sphere?”

“Channel mana? Okay.”

Following my suggestion, Liz began channeling her mana into the crystal ball, which started to emit a brilliant light. When the glow faded, an image of Lui was projected on its surface.

“Ah, Liz! How are you, little sister?” Lui asked casually.

“Lui!? What the hell did you do!?”

Lui, looking far healthier than before, laughed at Liz’s reaction as if she had just played a small prank, and without losing her smile, explained the situation.

“Liz, you set everything aside in your life just to take care of me. I’m grateful for that, but I couldn’t help but feel bad watching my younger sister waste her life on my behalf.”

“Lui, that’s not—”

“That’s why I made this decision. I wanted you to live your life and fulfill your dreams, and I believed the best way to do that was to send you to a better world with the man you love.”

Hearing Lui say that Liz loved me made me recall the kiss she had given me before I entered the portal, which made me blush—and when I noticed, Liz was just as red as I was.

“But… what about you?” Liz asked. “You’ll be alone…”

“Don’t worry! I made a deal with the great tree Mildfir’s consciousness,” Lui explained. “I asked for a way to communicate with you in exchange for becoming one of the tree’s guardians.”

As she explained her plan, the surface of the crystal ball shifted to show the relaxed, sleepy face of the great tree’s consciousness, greeting us with a peace sign. Just when I thought I was beginning to understand her, she completely flipped my expectations—she really was something else.

“Don’t worry about me, Liz,” Lui added. “You already sacrificed years of your life for me—it’s time you lived your own. If you ever want to talk to me, just use this sphere the same way you did now. I’ll always be here for you, little sister.”

“Lui… alright.”

Satisfied with her younger sister’s answer, Lui smiled, and shortly after, she finally said goodbye, claiming she had to prepare for her new duties as a guardian. It seemed she was going to have busy days from then on.

“Lui, you…” Liz murmured, throwing herself onto my bed. “What am I supposed to do now?”

It was only natural for her to feel overwhelmed. She had spent so long caring only for her older sister, and to top it off, she was now in a completely new world she didn’t know. Luckily, she wasn’t alone in this.

“You heard her—live your life,” I replied, sitting down beside her. “Now you know how I felt back then, huh?”

“Ha ha… yeah. It’s just… this is so complicated. How am I supposed to live in such a different world?” she asked, staring at the ceiling.

“You’ll have to learn little by little. But don’t worry—I’ll teach you everything.”

“Naoya…”

“I know, how about we go out and see the city for a bit? We could even buy you some clothes—I’m sure you’ll love this pla—”

But before I could continue, Liz suddenly kissed me again. I didn’t mind at all—in fact, I returned it. We spent a couple of minutes feeling each other’s warmth until we finally pulled apart, Liz breaking the silence.

“Then I’ll count on you, Naoya,” she said with a smile. “…I love you.”

“I love you too, Liz.”

And with that mutual confession, we both got ready to head out on our first date in the city. I didn’t know what life would bring us from now on, but with Liz by my side, I felt like I could handle anything that came our way.

And thus, at last, my adventure as a hero in another world came to an end.