NoFutsuu Specials: Five – Thank You

“Just how and when should I tell Sera that I love her…?”

Those words… Those words are from someone who has a feeling of affection towards someone. It is indeed true that words itself can alter a dimension of perhaps a certain pair.

▪ ▪ ▪

Five days after Princess Sera’s arrival in the country of Avarco…

The escorting continues like it is just a normal day. In the following days, there’s not a day that the escorting was missed, and the duty is being fulfilled.

However normal the day is, something has definitely changed.

The channels of our body are indeed powerful. It serves as a medium to store information, or memories inside our brain. How powerful it is exactly? Let’s just say that it can change one situation drastically.

The silence of the morning was suddenly expelled by a knock on the door of a certain room.

“Prince Nero. It’s time for you to wake up. It is getting late.”

“Don’t want to, Gram…”

“Hahh… Please stop being stubborn, Nero… You have work today.”

“…”

The doors of Nero’s bedroom are locked. I think he is planning to sit out this day.

“Giving up now, huh,” I whispered. “Alright, Nero. I’m going to take my leave. Just call for me if you need something…”

Exactly sixteen seconds later…

“…is what I would like to say, Prince Nero,” a voice sounded, but not in front of his door.

“…! How did you…?!”

Nero’s room is in the central building of the castle and it is on the third and highest floor. Regardless, I entered through his window.

“Nero… you said it yourself. You’re a prince and you do your duties at your best with our assistance.

Or perhaps… Are you done with everything?”

He has been in a bad mood ever since that night, but here I am stirring up his temper more intentionally.

Up until this point, Rin and I are feigning ignorance. Meaning, we’re pretending to not know about what happened. He did not ask us if we knew what happened that night, so we did not ask him too.

Nero got up with an extremely tired face, and got dressed up without saying a word.

~ ~ ~

“What’s on today’s list, Gram?”

“Sorting out documents and… and then we will head out like usual.”

“…

I see…”

“Miss Sera’s with Raiha in the dining room. She’s preparing breakfast right now.”

“I see… Then let’s go.”

I may have forgotten to say this… but Sera is just like normal, aside from talking to Nero minimally. At the usual times of escorting, she enjoys herself. But it is important to point out that we can’t leave those two alone that is why we aides are always tagging along.

~ ~ ~

“Another delicious breakfast, once again. What type of fish is this, Raiha?”

“That’s smoked mackerel.”

“Oh, it’s simple yet very tasty. I really like this, Raiha.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Sera. I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s already time. I have a call with the king.

See you all later.”

“See you at lunch, Miss Sera.”

…

“Alright, Nero. Let me have your empty dishes so we can get it washed.”

“Ah, here.”

I left the dining room and went to the kitchen to assist Rin in cleaning up.

“Here are the dishes, Rin.”

“Thanks.”

While I was putting down the plates, I noticed a jar containing a dark brown powder. I took a look at it and the aroma suddenly wafted on my nose.

It was such a nostalgic smell…

“Rin… How did you get your hands with coffee?”

“Oh, you noticed. I placed a direct order of purchase. I bought at least two bags of beans but those alone are a bit pricey since they came from another country.”

“Our pay is combined, right?”

“I took the bill from there.”

“Then, that’s good. Thanks, though. I’ve missed drinking coffee. Do we have some cream somewhere?”

“At the cabinet below you.”

“Want to make a cup for you?

Found it.”

“Yes please.”

~ ~ ~

At a later time, in Nero’s office.

“Hey, Gram. I think it’s late to ask but…”

“Is he going to open up now?”

“I smelled something coming from the kitchen earlier when the two of you were cleaning. What was that?”

“Bah. I’m expecting too much…”

“Oh, that… it’s coffee.”

“Coffee?”

“It came from a country a bit far from here. It’s a drink that wakes you up generally. Do you want to try?”

“I will…”

Instead of using ground powder, I took out a handful of roasted beans, granulated them to my preferred coarseness and placed them in an improvised filter and poured hot water on it.

“By the way, where’s Raiha?”

“She delivered coffee to the king and Miss Sera. She’ll probably be back soon.

Here. Try it if it’s good,” I placed the cup on his table.

“It’s black…”

He lifted the cup slowly and blew off the smoke. He took a sip and flinched.

“Wha… It’s bitter…”

“Oh, really? I already added a bit of sugar in it.”

“Can you add more sugar in it?”

“Denied.”

I took and showed my own cup of coffee to him, as if I am telling him that mine is also black and took a good sip of it in front of him.

“It’s bitter, yes…

Get used to it. However bitter it is, conquer it. Nero, move forward as you take a sip of that bitterness. You need to man up and face your problems and eventually, you’ll get used to that bitter taste.”

“…

You say that as if that’s part of your tragedies.”

“What do you know? I was placed in a position where death was in front of me for two or three times now.”

He froze on his chair, and sweat slowly trickled down to his cheeks as his whole body shivered.

“Man~ Coffee is amazing, isn’t it? A small piece of bean is giving us a lesson in life. It truly is impressive.”

“…”

“Well then, my prince. It is now my break, so can I take my leave?”

“Ah… You may go.”

~ ~ ~

I made my way to my room just to see a box placed just in front of the door.

“Hmm… What’s that?”

It felt light as I carried it. I entered my bedroom and sat on my bed together with the box on my lap. I opened it and the moment I folded out the covering, I immediately saw a paper bag that is containing something.

I ripped off the seal and then I took out some sort of a black fabric.

“Ohhh~!”

It was the same uniform I am currently wearing, but on a stealthy black color.

“Woah, sweet! This looks sick!”

I found the tag, and saw that it came from the same tailor where my uniform was made. I immediately wore it and looked in front of the mirror.

“Gee. Thanks Tailor-san. I’ll definitely show this to Rin once she gets back.

Anyways, let’s go for a bit of exercise!”

▪ ▪ ▪

Meanwhile, in King Nevan’s room.

“Excuse me, King Nevan. This is Raiha.”

“You may enter.”

“…

Pardon my intrusion. It won’t be long. I’m here just to serve his highness and the princess coffee.”

“Oh, coffee? I haven’t had that in ages. My, the feeling of nostalgia makes me feel old.”

“Please don’t say that, your highness.

I shall take my leave now.”

“Please halt, Miss Raiha. I wish for you to join us in our conversation.”

“Sir?”

“While we’re at it, why don’t you have a game of chess with Princess Sera? Do you know chess?”

“Yes, sir. I have played it a lot in my country.”

“Then, while you are playing, why don’t you listen?”

“I will certainly.”

The king then opened a book and started reading on his seat.

~ ~ ~

Rin and the princess are almost halfway through the game, but not a word has been uttered from any of them.

“Miss Sera, check.”

“Mhm.

…

Hey, umm… Raiha…”

“Yes? Is there something you need to say?”

“Do… Do you think… I am acting weird as of late?”

“There is nothing that in particular that I have noticed. Why do you ask?”

As Sera is holding on to the piece of white queen, she asked in an almost muted voice.

“Do you know what happened after our first supper together…?”

…

“I thought so…”

“King Nevan, may I ask if this is your conversation while I was not yet here?”

“Indeed, that was,” he answered while nodding his head continuously.

“The cat’s out of the bag…

We actually heard what the prince have said at that night. As of right now, Prince Nero does not know that Sir Gram and I are currently aware of what had happened in the past few days.

We do not entirely know what happened, but it seems that you ran outside after you heard the words of the young prince.”

“So you both knew…”

She put the queen down and let out a sigh. The princess’s face slowly turned red subtly.

“I was very shocked when he said that. I know that he might have said that accidentally but, those words have been whispering through and through in my head.

I became anxious, and that is why I ran away without any second thought. I wanted to ask him, but I don’t have the courage to face him due to this anxiety.”

“True… my son has a habit of saying his thoughts out loud whenever he is overthinking.”

“I am trying my best not to show my anxiety in front of all of you so I am doing my best to act as normal as possible. But it is very hard. Just seeing him makes me worried…

I came to this country because I really liked this place, and I became fond of my memories of the last time I came here. I really want to have more fun in the time I am staying here, but it seems that it might not be the case…”

In the eyes of Rin, she was instantly reminded of her friend, Shiro, and the expression Sera is currently making. It was the same face that Shiro made as she opened up about having issues of trusting her past “friends.”

“Miss Sera, why does seeing the prince made you worried?”

“I… I can’t really… explain why…

I am worried, but at the same time I feel relieved just by seeing him.”

“Gin has done a lot of things now. It is my turn to do something.”

“Miss Se-

Sera, I will ask you bluntly… How exactly do you feel about Nero?”

She slightly flinched and her fidgeting hands stopped. Her once lowered head slowly rose up, elevating the gaze to the maiden that is sitting in front of her.

Her eyes are wide open, her mouth opened out of surprise, and her tears rolled down to her cheeks.

“I… I…

I have loved him ever since…”

“Congratulations, Nero.”

“King, Miss Sera… I might as well tell you this since Prince Nero is the only one that knows.

Gram and I have been a couple long before we came here.”

“Hoho~ That is news to me.”

“Miss Sera, what do you wish to do?”

“…

Ever since that night, my mind became a total mess. I don’t know what to do anymore, nor do I even know what it is that I wish for.

What do I say? What do I do? I love him, but I don’t know what to do anymore!”

At that sudden burst of emotion, Sera halted with a hand place on her head. She quieted down, but the falling of her tears are not about to stop yet.

“Saying that you don’t know… are you implying that you want to suddenly leave and go back to your country?

Or… should I ask…

What is the real reason you came in this country?”

“…” Sera did not respond.

“We sought for those who we love. And we find each other even if we were apart. You share the pain with one another, and you live with it as time goes on.

The wounds will eventually be healed. But we do not know when it will happen… because it depends on us.

Maybe a couple of months are still a short time. But through those times that I spent beside Gram, I learned a lot about the world and about his sufferings. I loved him because of how he resiliently overcame the trials of life. Thus, I stayed beside him and shared both of our pain.

Sera, I will ask one last question…

Do you want to be together with Nero, not as the prince, but as a person you endear?”

Her head once again lowered, but she stood up. She lifted her head and her tears flew in the air as she bravely looked both on the king and the maiden.

“…I want to be together with him, not me as a princess, but as person who I endear.”

“You finally said it…

We are the same age, so just a small advice. If things go well, do not rush, and don’t act on impulse. In our age, we are still naïve and we need the guidance of the elderly. The right time will eventually come, you just need to patiently wait for it.

And currently, Gram and I are both playing the waiting game.”

“You say it like that, Miss Raiha, but it looks like you have matured a lot after those experiences.”

“It makes not that much of a difference, King Nevan. The two of us are still naïve as it is.”

“…

Raiha… I think I now know what I want to do…”

“Miss Sera…?”

“King Nevan, and Raiha. I shall take my leave now! I have once again found my way, and I shall conquer the things that are conflicting on my mind.”

She walked fast, but as she approached the door, she stopped.

“Now that I think of it, I suddenly got nervous…”

She looked back to the king and Rin with a clumsy smile while her legs started shaking.

“Now I know what Nero and Miss Sera have in common.

They’re both hopeless.”

Either way, she left the room going to who-knows-where-she-will-go.

“It is probably the greatest opportunity to tell you, King Nevan.”

“What is it, Miss Raiha?”

“To tell you the truth, Gram is actually planning something regarding this issue.

But it involves something that even you, the king, will freeze in surprise when you know what Gram is trying to do. He really knows how to shake up others.”

“Huh?”

"Anyways, can you please join me in this halted game of chess in the princess's stead?"

▪ ▪ ▪

Around the same time, on Gin’s side of things…

“Haahh… Aah… Achoo~!

Oh-hoh… That was a loud sneeze.”

It is my break so I decided to make my way in the mountains just like a normal person would do. It is my first time taking a walk to the mountains alone, but it sure is quiet.

However, I am worried because there is a horse parked in the west gate and the guards don’t want to tell me who owns that. And just to point it out, they looked really nervous.

“I think it’s this way and then…

Oh, that’s the opening.”

Just like last time, the light from that place is blinding after going out of the woods. It was certainly bright since it is almost noon…

And I thought I was the only one here.

“Hmm?”

There is a man who is sat down in the marble chair. He has a brown colored cape that is covering his upper body and some simple looking outfit.

He’s probably around the age of the king… but I suddenly came back to the thought of him wearing “simple” clothing.

“Uhh… May I know who you are, mister?”

“Oh, young man…

My name is Aven Quira. What’s yours?”

“Mine is-

Wait. ‘Quira…?’”

“Yes, Quira is my surname, lad.”

“NANI?!

You mean, the King of Varia, Sir Aven Quira?!”

“Ahaha… So I am quite popular in this country, huh?”

“Such a great coincidence, King Aven! I didn’t expect you to arrive this quickly in our country, but I welcome you.

I am the one that wrote a letter to you—this in front of you is Gram Sancht in person.”

He blinked two times while looking at me, and laughed like there is no tomorrow.

“Hahh… Sorry for my rudeness…

It seems that you children are tied up on my daughter’s problems, huh? I permitted her to visit here but I didn’t think this would turn out in such a way that needed my presence.”

“Well, sir. It wasn’t really that necessary for you to be present but I figured you would want to see your daughter in the shadows.

Anyways, I hope that my dearest already told King Nevan about this since I kept it a secret for us only.”

“You talk bluntly but I like how you work in the sideline. One peculiar knight, indeed.”

“I don’t really know what is happening inside the castle so… shall we be on our way inside?”

“I’ve had enough rest. I shall follow your lead.”

“I specifically described the situation in my letter. What will the king do regarding the issue, I wonder?”

“All is good, all is good…

I’ll just leave the decision to my daughter and I at least want to watch her. Anyways, I was persuaded by her to come here so here I am after the positive descriptions of my daughter about this country.

Don’t worry, Mister Gram, I will keep my identity hidden.”

“What do I say? I sincerely thank you for answering my unjustifiable requests.”

“Ahahaha…! You humble yourself a lot!”

“I see… so this is what they meant of being ‘cheerful…’”

▪ ▪ ▪

Seven normal days later…

“Rin, we really can’t make a great ending, can’t we?”

“We sure can’t. But it’s like a shoujo manga in real life, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, right? We’ll see about that.

I better climb now, Rin.”

“Be safe. I don’t want you falling from the third floor.”

~ ~ ~

At the prince’s room. Nero overslept a lot today.

“Gooooooooooood morning! Prince of the country of Avarco, Nero Cajima! It sure is an enthusiastic day, isn’t it?

So, how’s your night? Had any good dreams?”

Nero's aide climbed, his blanket flew, and his whole body jumped out of the bed.

Around two feet, airtime is less than a second

“What the heck… Did you eat something spoiled?

No, never mind. That won’t happen since you only eat Raiha’s food.”

…

“WAIT, THAT’S NOT THE POINT!!!

What in the world are you doing, waking me up like it’s the end of the world?!”

“It’s a good day for a walk, you know?

And I am currently feeling great today. I’m in a great mood!”

“Are you really Gram?

By the way, what’s up with the all black outfit? Never seen you walk around with that.”

“You idiot. You’re making me cry, you know. So you just noticed that I’m wearing my new uniform?”

“It’s cool, though. Keep up the good work.”

“Otsukaresamadeshita.”

“What did you just say?”

“Don’t mind. Should I cite your schedule for today while you are changing?”

“No need.

And also, can you pipe down a bit, Gram? Too much happiness will equate to sadness, right?”

I have not seen him that serious for a while. It does seem that he’s still being continuously bothered by that night. Little does he know that…

“You’re right, Nero. We don’t want any sad or tragic things to happen anytime soon.”

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID.

~ ~ ~

It is morning and the routine has not been changed. The princess still joins us with the meals, but something has changed about her.

She became a lot more awkward. It’s not like I don’t know, but Rin filled me in with everything that has happened ever since. Currently, King Aven is still hiding in incognito.

“Sorry for being late, Raiha.”

“Just in time, I just finished preparing.”

“Good morning, Miss Sera.”

“Good morning too, Gram and… Nero.”

“G-Good morning…”

And for today’s breakfast, it is once again Napolitan.

…

“Mmm… The taste never gets old.”

“This is really delicious…!”

“Is this the first time you have tasted this, Miss Sera?”

“Yes. You really are a great chef, Raiha.”

At the other side of the table, Gin’s forehead suddenly slammed to the table after Sera’s comment.

“Gram, is something wrong?”

Note: Gin’s occupation was as a sous chef of a restaurant.

“Ahh… everything hurts.”

~ ~ ~

It has once again become quiet, and such, the normal day continues in the room of Nero, working as usual.

As Rin is sorting out the books in the shelf, almost all of the books from the highest shelf fell down.

“Raiha! Watch out!”

…

“Phew… Safe.”

“Thanks… Gram.”

“I’ll help with sorting them out, in case it falls down again.”

“I appreciate the help.”

“Be careful, you two.”

While we are busy piling up the books, a messenger knocked and opened the door.

“Excuse me. Sir Gram Sancht, you have a letter addressed to you.”

“Thank you. Can you please put it on the tea table?”

“Yes, sir.

I’ll leave now.”

“'Good work.'”

…

“Ah, the time.”

Rin looked at the clock and saw that it was already passed ten.

“Raiha? Are you going to prepare lunch? It’s still early, though.”

“The menu for today is a bit special, Nero. So I want to take my time making it.”

“I’m looking forward to it. You can go.”

She slowly ran out from the room, and then she disappeared from our sight.

I can’t help but grin seeing that Rin is enthusiastically doing her “work.”

“Hey… What are you grinning about, Gram?”

“Nothing… I guess I’m simply captivated by her?”

“…

Weirdo.”

After roughly twenty-five minutes, they heard an approaching sound of footsteps coming from the outside.

“Gram… Nero…!”

“What happened, Raiha?! Why do you look so exhausted?”

“Miss… Miss Sera… Hahh… Hahh… I can’t find her anywhere…!”

“What?! Gram!”

“Let’s go look for him, Nero!”

As I was running, I noticed the letter that was in the tea table. Before heading out, I opened the envelope and read the contents of the letter.

“Argh…! Why is this letter addressed to me?!”

“What is it, Gram?!”

“Just read it… and after that we’re going to thoroughly search the castle.”

“Sera Quira will depart from the country at the thirtieth minute of the eleventh hour of this day.”

Nero crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor. He ran as fast as he can to the hallway with an incredibly pained face.

“Gram…! I’ll go look in this direction! You take the opposite end!”

“Got it!”

Instead of running, I just stood in front of the doorway with Rin. I waited until we are out of Nero’s sight.

“Still out of breath, Rin?”

“Nope.”

“Should we go now?”

“Yeah. It’s like we’re going to watch a romance movie.”

“But seriously… I didn’t even know that there’s a place like that in the castle. The architecture here is confusing.”

“I was so thankful I didn’t get lost earlier.”

“Just so you know… I won’t permit you to become an actress.”

“I don’t want to, anyways.”

And so, the two walked out of the scene like no urgent situation is happening.

Let us rewind the time going back to 25 minutes.

▪ ▪ ▪

Rin just left the room and headed straight to place where she could possibly find the princess.

She found Sera sat on a bench in the courtyard, watching and joining the birds hum on their own tunes.

“Miss Sera!”

“Raiha? What brings you here?”

“I have something to show you, come quickly! I know you’ll like this.”

“But… don’t you have work?”

“It’s okay. I’m on break right now. So please just let me accompany you for a bit.”

“O-Okay…”

~ ~ ~

They made their way to a passageway that is difficult to find in the castle. It was a staircase leading to a huge balcony with a garden of white roses that is being illuminated by the bright and relaxing light of the sun.

“Waaahh~ This is so beautiful!”

“See? I told you that you’ll like this.”

It was such a great view of the mountains from the west gate and the sharp-edged lump of clouds displayed a surreal rim light that is reflected in the clouds.

“Ah, I’ll be right back, Miss Sera. I think I forgot something.

Can I ask you to stay put here?”

“I can look at this view all I want, so take your time. I will wait here.”

Just after she went down the stairs, she ran straight to Nero’s office that is quite the distance to that balcony. Rin pushed the door with much force while catching her breath.

“Gram… Nero…!

Miss… Miss Sera… Hahh… Hahh… I can’t find her anywhere…!”

▪ ▪ ▪

It continues to where the desperate prince is at now. He has looked half of the castle already as he tirelessly ran.

His overflowing emotions defeated the limit of his body, leading to the point that his legs are somewhat moving on its own.

“Why… Why does this have to happen…?

It’s so sudden… I can’t accept this. Why is she going to leave? Without even saying any farewells? Why…?”

He suddenly stopped, and fell on his knees. His whole body trembled and his eyes opened wide as the tears came out like a waterfall.

“Does she… not care about me…?

I am such an idiot… Why did I even assume that I am significant to her…? I really am an idiot… I’m the dumbest of the dumbest…

Aghh…

WAAHHHHHH!!!!!”

A scream that loudly echoed came from the pained prince. He was at the point of realization where he finally concluded that his love is just in vain.

But he was stopped by a voice.

“Nero… you said it yourself. You’re a prince and you do your duties at your best with our assistance.

Or perhaps… Are you done with everything?”

His clenched fists slowly opened, and he stood up with every last bit of strength he has.

“I can’t… I don’t want to give up…

Gram… I am not done yet… I’ll show you… I can’t…

I can’t…”

“I can’t…

I CAN’T LET EVERYTHING END LIKE THIS!!!”

His eyes came back, and it’s as if the prince’s strength came back to him and ran faster than he could.

A lot of thoughts came back from his past memories. May it be significant or random, it all flowed continuously to his mind.

Until he reached a memory that he thought of very familiar to him.

“That balcony…”

It was a scene that he has long forgotten.

A young girl was running with her arms widely spread as she spun in between the field of white roses. There, the king was also present in the scene, laughing to his heart’s content with much joy.

Afterwards, the girl spoke with amazement.

“This is so beautiful!”

“I… I can’t forgive myself for ever forgetting that…!”

It did not take the young prince a long time to find the staircase that leads to that balcony he suddenly recalled.

“If I ever found her there…

Sera… I don’t want you to leave.”

The lights exploded to his eyes and everything became white for a certain time. He regained his sight, and saw the wind from the east making the pure white roses dance gracefully.

And in between them… is a certain white rose that is unique to the others.

“Nero…? What happened? Why do you look so tired…?”

“…

Ahh… So this is all… just a dream…?”

The tired prince once again fell to his knees but this time, his eyes closed as he collapsed from exhaustion.

~ ~ ~

“I still have time… Give me… Give me at least a second… I just want to see her… Please… I don’t want her to leave…

Sera…”

“S… Sera…”

“Thank goodness, you’re finally awake…!”

“W-What… happened…?”

“You don’t remember? More importantly, are you feeling better now, Nero?”

“Ahh… yes.”

Perhaps Nero took quite the time to realize that he’s seeing Sera’s face from below and realizing that his head is rested on Sera’s lap.

Coming back to the reality, he vigorously stood and tripped.

On the other hand, the two aides are currently watching from the roof of the entranceway going to the balcony.

“A lap pillow, huh.”

“Did you say once that I fell asleep on your lap, Gin?”

“Ah, yeah. That happened at the base.”

“I’ll give you one some time.”

“I sincerely appreciate it.”

…

“Geez, Nero. You’re as clumsy as ever…

Anyways, what in the world happened to you?”

“Ah. I was looking for you everywhere.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I saw from the letter that you’re leaving today…”

Sera’s expression suddenly became confused.

“HUUUHHH?! Where did that come from?!” she exclaimed.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“Wh… What the… Are you saying that you’re not yet leaving…?”

“Huh? No. It’s still just a few days of my stay. I can’t just leave without saying anything to-“

Was it even a second? It was as if no one saw Nero embraced the princess, tightly at that. The princess’s face immediately turned red.

“W-W-Wha-?! Nero?! What’s wrong?! Are you still not feeling well?!”

“Thank goodness…”

“…Nero…?”

“I thought you were going to leave… I was so scared… I thought I won’t see you again for a long time…”

“…”

He stepped back after releasing Sera from the embrace, and held her hand as he focus her whole gaze to the young maiden in front of her.

“I apologize for saying it carelessly at that night, but…

I’m truly in love with you, Sera. Not as a prince, but as a person.”

It was silent once again. Huge drops of tears of the princess fell down to the hands of the man that suddenly confessed.

Her look can’t be easily described. Is she sad? Scared? Happy?

No one knows.

“I did say and you noticed that the letter that was sent to you does not have a limit of time.

The reason for that… is because of you… Nero. I wished to visit this country because I longed for you. You’re the reason why I have come to like this country… because I love you.”

The prince laid his back to the backrest of the wooden bench. He let out a sigh and smiled.

“I thought it was going to end with something bad…

You know, Sera… I suddenly became happy just now… Is this even true? Am I dreaming?”

“No. You’re not dreaming, Nero.

To be honest, I became very anxious after that night. I do not know what to do and what I wished for anymore. But somehow, I sorted out my mind, and regained what I wish for…

I want to be always beside you.”

“Then, I have a request for you,” he stood up and reached his hand to the maiden.

“I’m listening.”

“'Please accompany this selfishness of mine', Sera Quira.”

“I will, gladly,” she answered and took the hand of the young man that reached out his hand.

Thus, their love has finally been carved in the stone.

~ ~ ~

“By the way, Sera. How come you ended up here?”

“Raiha actually led me here. She said she forgot something, but never came back. It was around the tenth hour.

Anyways, my memories suddenly came back and I remembered that I used to be in this exact place.”

“Awww… I was just enjoying the show, but it ended at the time we least expected,” a voice from somewhere spoke.

“Who’s there?!”

“Up here…! You two!”

In their eyes, they saw two people waving at them on the roof with such a nonchalant smile.

“Gram…

What was that letter supposed to be?! Did you just frame me up?!”

“Huhh~ Frame up? What’s that, Nero? Aren’t you glad that you’re together with your dearest? At least thank me later after I say sorry.”

“Agghhh…

YOU TWO IDIOTS!!!!”

▪ ▪ ▪

In the end, everything was settled.

Their relationship was formally announced, and soon, Sera’s father eventually showed up by surprise.

Speaking of Sera, with his father, she decided to stay in the castle of Avarco for good, together with Nero.

Everything went well… but, as the two of us thought of that, our bodies suddenly became light.

It is now the fourteenth hour of the day. Rin and I are both standing near the main gate of the castle.

“Is… this it?”

“Gin…”

“Are we really…”

“I want to see the sky…”

“The castle wall is just there. Want to go there?”

“Then carry me to there.”

“Hahaha… Gladly.”

I carried Rin on my arms and jumped a great height. Just like that, we easily landed on top of the castle walls.

“Wow…”

“It’s beautiful…”

A rainbow has shown up. It’s as if both ends of the colorful arc were planted in the horizon. It is indeed one of the greatest scenes we have seen.

"This… Hope…"

…

“So you two are here, huh?”

We turned around, and saw Nero and Sera behind us, with smiles in their faces.

“Hey… I haven’t told you my name, haven’t I?

I am Gin Sakato.”

“My name is Ringo Akanami.”

“The two of us didn’t originally come from this world. But it is true that we are from the country of Orio. That country is not involved in any war, though.

I don’t know why we were sent here. But one thing is for sure. I finally understood and realized the key for us to go back. And that key is fixing a certain conflict here.

We have our own families and friends. We were lonely, but at least, you two covered up from that loneliness, Nagi and Shiro.”

“It was the name of our friends that looks just like you two. We had some great memories in our stay here. Seeing your smiles because of my cooking makes me feel very happy.”

“I guess this will be our last memories being together. I didn’t regret any of it. But this is the time where we will part ways. Look, my body is feeling numb, you know.”

“Hey. Before you leave…

You two, thank you very much for lending us a hand. It was a short time, but Sera and I won’t be together without you. Seriously, I can’t thank you two enough.”

“You idiot… What are you saying…?

We should be the ones thanking you, you know?”

…

A blink. Just with a blink… The sad, but smiling faces of the two disappeared with literally one blink. In the end, there were no traces of the two people named Gram Sancht and Raiha Azelt in that alternate world.

“I wish for your relationship to be good too.”

▪ ▪ ▪

It’s dark.

No… my eyes are just closed. I slowly opened it, and what I first saw is a desk. A very familiar desk with the computer, and art materials on it.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I’m still wearing the black uniform I had. I looked around, and saw the clothes I wore when I came to that world. And surprisingly…

The empty bottle of Natorade came back too.

I looked at the calendar—it says March 24, 2018.

I looked at the clock—it says 3:28 PM.

“Seriously… Just a few hours? I was worried for nothing.”

I changed to a clean set of clothes. And after looking around if everything is real, I opened my window and sat on my chair, looking at the opposite window with a smile.

“I guess everything is real, huh?”

“Gin, we’re back.”

“There’s no place like home.”

One thing is for sure. I will never forget that scene. That scene with the rainbow… it was surely beautiful.

Surely I will never forget that rainbow on the horizon… but I want to see it more.

The END…

…brings a new beginning.


Chapter Message:

(If you find the kaiju, congratulations!)

I guess this is it. For the last time, thank you for reading Normal in Parenthesis!

As I have already announced, I will be releasing a oneshot exclusively here in Honeyfeed. The only thing I would say now is that its title is going to be "Level Zero". It will come out on the next release day of my schedule which is Friday in my time zone, so look out for a cover with a simple white background and a woman whose hair is-

Anyway, further announcements.

The end indeed brings a new beginning! After the oneshot has been released, I will be putting up a new story as soon as possible! Spilling the beans, it will be a continuation from NoFutsuu. The reason as to why this story has ended abruptly is because I want to change a tiny bit of the framework of how I write and to serve as a motivation for me to be better in writing. Continuation or sequel it is, it will be a very direct one as it will pick up almost immediately where this story ended. With this, NoFutsuu has been marked as "Finished."

I hope you look forward to what comes next!

Thank you for reading!

Next

You can find the title somewhere in this chapter~