My, Kanata Kuramoto's, family is a conventional four-person unit: my mother, my father, my older sister, and me. Both my parents work and come home late, and before I regained my past-life memories, I remember feeling a little lonely about that. My sister, who's currently a high school freshman, often took care of me. I suspect the reason I still can't just ignore her worrying is because of that shared history.
My sister, Manami Kuramoto, is a perfectly ordinary person. Naturally, my parents aren't from some noble bloodline either; they're just normal people living normal lives. We are, in every sense, an average, ordinary family.
That's why I'm the only one here with this occult phenomenon—a Sacred Gear and memories of a past life. No matter how you look at it, I'm the only anomaly, a mutation.
I don't regret being born into this family. They are irreplaceable to me, and this is a precious place. But the reason I can't tell them the truth is likely due to my own weakness and my desire not to destroy this warmth we have. Even if I told them, it would only increase the chance of them being dragged into danger, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. They might warn me to stay away from the hidden world, and they might even try to understand, but my feet freeze when I think about the possibility of being rejected.
Issei Hyoudou probably felt the same way, which is why he couldn't tell his parents for so long. (Though I'm a little amazed he kept it a secret even after his house was magically remodeled into a mansion filled with beautiful girls). When his parents were kidnapped by Rizevim, they finally learned the truth about their son, but they continued to love him. You could say "it's just a story," but as someone who also has an ordinary family, I can't help but feel envious.
Is it right to hide the truth until the very end? Or is it right to face it? Part of me thinks, "My family would surely..." but then I remember the "Night Reflection" user from the Khaos Brigade. I believe he also came from an ordinary family. And he was rejected. He fell into despair, was picked up by Cao Cao, brainwashed, and used his power recklessly, not caring if he was treated as a disposable pawn.
As long as I continue to step deeper into the hidden world, this is a problem I'll have to agonize over until I find a solution.
So, why am I thinking about such heavy topics on the very day I finally returned to the human world, after going to the Underworld to save Creuserey and finishing my talk with the Emperor?
The reason is simple. ...It's pure escapism.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all, Kana's family. I am Lavinia Leine, and I am Kana's partner. I hope to continue supporting each other and working hard together, always. Though I am inexperienced, I look forward to our future."
The golden-haired girl, not in her usual magician's robes but in a coat she'd worn for her Japan trip, was led into the living room. She straightened her posture, knelt formally, placed her hands neatly, and bowed deeply. Given her serious personality, she probably thought that since she was in Japan, she should use a formal Japanese greeting. It was a bit tooarchaic and polite, but it wasn't wrong.
However, the words that accompanied that beautiful greeting made my face twitch.
Silence. Stillness. A complete freeze.
Lavinia, with a radiant smile, had just delivered a completely artless, word-deficient introduction that brought my entire family, including me, to a grinding halt. She was already overwhelming them with her sheer beautiful-girl-aura.
I know, I know. She was trying to be careful not to mention the hidden world, and with her polite and naive nature, this was the inevitable result. But Lavinia... "I'm his friend" would have been just fine...
"...Oh my goodness! I need to go buy red bean rice to celebrate!"
"Honey, get some celebratory sake, too! To think our Kanata would bring home such a cute girl... He stopped taking baths with me around second grade, but he's really grown up as a man..."
"Kanata's partner. I can't believe my elementary school brother beat me to it... Wait? Does this mean this adorable, doll-like girl is going to be my little sister? A little sister... A little sister... Kanata, you've done well!"
"Mom, put the shopping bag down. Dad, don't start crying. Sis, stop giving me that thumbs-up with a sparkle in your eyes. Everybody, calm down. Seriously calm down."
She's just my partner at work! It's just a colleague relationship! She's just naturally like this! If they were part of the hidden world, I could just explain about her being a magician or being under Lord Mephisto's protection, but I can't explain any of that to my normal family. And since Lavinia is foreign, the word "partner" is being read into way too deeply.
"Uh, you all might be misunderstanding. Lavinia and I are just normal friends, and 'partner' doesn't mean that..."
"...Huh? Kana?"
"Ah, Lavinia, no, that's not... We are partners, but my family is having a massive misunderstanding right now and thinks we're partners in that sense, so I'm just correcting them. So please don't look so sad. I'm sorry. I'm really, genuinely happy to be your partner!"
What is this? They're all supposed to be on my side, but I have no allies. I'm not even fighting anyone! Why does my stomach hurt this much just from inviting a friend over? Ah, thanks, partner. I appreciate you making the stomach pain go away, but could you maybe... fix this situation, too? ...No, you can't. Yeah, I figured.
"Thank you for looking after Kanata during summer vacation. He told us about his homestay and showed us pictures, but I'm so happy to finally talk to you. I hear you two keep in touch often?"
"Yes. We speak every day."
"Hoh... every day..."
"...Sis, I already cleared up the misunderstanding. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well, I mean... every day."
"...It is every day, but..."
Despite the rough start, we managed to get through it. I'd told my family in advance that Lavinia was coming for a sleepover, so for dinner, we had high-grade sushi as a special Japanese meal. I watched Lavinia wince at the wasabi, and I think we all had a fun dinner.
Now, the three of us—my sister, Lavinia, and I—were relaxing in the living room. That's when my sister launched a surprise attack. I have lots of reasons for contacting her every day: to take magic lectures, to study about the hidden world, to report on our situations. All reasons I could easily state to someone in the know, but not to my family. However, I did have a cover story.
"You remember how I told you I was interested in the company run by Lavinia's guardian... Mr. Mephisto? The one I toured during the summer? I want to work there in the future. It's an overseas company, so I'm asking her what I can study now. Lavinia skipped a few grades and is already helping him, so she tells me about English, certifications, and stuff."
"Oh, right, Lavinia's father is a company president, isn't he? I know I'm late in saying this, but that's amazing..."
I let out a small sigh of relief as I heard my sister's impressed voice. I'm currently a member of the 'Gray Magicians,' and I'll be working for them in the future. As Lavinia's partner, as Lord Mephisto's subordinate, as a magician. I'm prepared for my future to be set, now that I've joined. Because of my Sacred Gear, I can't just leave, and I have no reason to betray them.
Incidentally, magicians have a reasonable presence in the open world, too. Like the travel agency I was indebted to over the summer, they run a lot of companies you'd recognize. As the largest organization of magicians, they provide backup to make it easier to operate in human society. Since they were originally a human organization, blending in is simple. Lavinia told me that magicians, while neutral, lean toward the devils and have surprisingly deep roots in all three factions.
So, I've already told my family I want to get a job at one of the overseas companies Lord Mephisto manages. It has a real, public name and will look good on a resume. It allows me to create the fiction that I'm working as an employee there, so it won't look suspicious from the outside.
"Overseas, huh... I don't think I have the confidence to live in an all-English country. I'm already struggling with the English on my final exams before winter break."
"Oh right, it's that time of year for high school."
"It is. You'll be in junior high next year, Kanata, so you won't be able to ignore test periods either."
I've watched my sister panic before tests ever since she was in junior high. Still, junior high... I plan to go to the local school just like my sister, but I'll definitely be in the "go-home-early" club. My afternoons will be busy with work and training. I'll probably have to miss some days, so I'd better keep my grades up. I don't want to worry my family.
But... come to think of it, it's almost been a year since I entered the hidden world. Things have changed so dramatically. Last year, I was just a lowly civilian. I've met so many characters from the original story, I'm receiving training, and I've completely shattered the original plot. This is exactly what they mean when they say "you never know what life has in store."
"English? If you'd like, I would be happy to help you while I am staying here."
"Huh, really!? Wait, but you're an elementary schooler... but I really can't afford to fail English..."
"...By the way, Lavinia, can you solve this?"
"Calculation problems? This is part of my job, so I handle this level all the time."
"!"
I handed Lavinia my sister's nearby math textbook. She flipped through the pages and said it like it was nothing. For her, a magician, math and science are no enemy. I'd already told my sister that Lavinia was a genius who had skipped grades, and this seemed to drive the point home.
Seeing my sister burn out on every test, my past-life knowledge makes me want to help, but as a "normal" elementary schooler, I can't. But for Lavinia, who already seems otherworldly, there's less resistance. And Lavinia had said she wanted to help out around the house, so I thought this would be a good idea. (She's on her own for liberal arts, though.)
"Ugh... my pride as a high school student... but I can't pass up the allowance increase I get for good grades. Lavinia! Please, teach me functions! And English, too!"
"Yes, you can leave it to me!"
"If you do, I'll take you to that super-popular pancake shop tomorrow. It's an authentic place from Hawaii, and it's sogood. My treat, of course!"
"Wow, thank you!"
The two girls, both lovers of sweets, chatted excitedly. As the only guy, I felt a little left out, but that's to be expected. Thanks to this, the tension between them seemed to vanish, and they were soon excitedly talking about different food cultures and fashion.
Lavinia might visit again in the future, and I wanted them to get along, so this is a good outcome. Lord Mephisto had also mentioned he wanted Lavinia to experience interacting with normal girls. I shrugged, left the two of them to their fun, and headed to my room. I figured I'd grab a change of clothes and kill some time by taking a bath.
After my meeting with Mr. Dihauzer ended, I returned to the human world immediately. I used a magic circle to update the Kuoh Town group on what happened and what comes next. By the way, when I told them, "We've decided to go on strike," the entire Belial peerage shouted at me in unison. Yaegaki just mused, "Devil society is a tough world, too..."
The first one to recover from the shock was Creuserey. "I absolutely must record my brother's glorious strike! Aah, but I can't connect to the Underworld channels from the human world! I want to cheer him on directly, but I can't make any selfish moves... Ugh, my brother's one chance to look so cool...!" She was crying frustrated tears, but she was her usual self, which was a relief.
"Come to think of it, I haven't contacted Mill-tan yet. If the strike goes as planned, it should happen around Christmas. And if it follows the original story, the 'purge' shouldn't have happened yet. It's late today, so I'll contact him tomorrow."
It had been a packed schedule: return from the Underworld, contact the Kuoh group, go to where the Mil-key magicians were, pick up Lavinia, and come home. Once I'm done with these reports, I should be able to rest for a while. There's nothing urgent until things start moving in the Underworld, so I should rest when I can. Besides, Lavinia came all this way to see Japan.
Oh, right. I've only spoken to Mill-tan via communication circle. And Lavinia was in their care. Maybe I should go show my face. Though I'm terrified I'll be roped into "magical girl" training...
"I should probably contact Mr. Dihauzer tomorrow night. I need to check on how his talk with Lord Belphegor and Lord Abaddon went."
I looked at the clock on the hallway wall, and my conversation with the Emperor came flooding back. To be honest, I think I unknowingly flipped his motivation switch way too hard, and I'm worried (for his opponents). He was just so... invigorated. His refreshing smile as we parted was reliable, but also scary in a different way.
Mulling this over, I headed to my room, planning to finally get some rest. I opened my bedroom door.
And I silently closed it.
I took a deep breath. Calmed my mind. That's weird. I thought I saw something in my room that definitely shouldn't be there. Maybe I'm just hallucinating from exhaustion. I opened the door again.
And there it was, just as I'd seen it a second before—a full futon set, laid out on the floor right next to my bed.
"...Hey, Mom! Why is Lavinia's futon in my room!? She's a girl, she should sleep in my sister's room! What? 'She'd be nervous with sis since they just met, and you're both just kids so it's not embarrassing?' That's not the point!"
"Kana sure is energetic," I heard from downstairs.
"Honestly, Kanata... He's so fussy about the strangest things," my sister added.
"It's my first time at a friend's sleepover, so I was really looking forward to it!" Lavinia chimed in.
"Is that so? Well, you should tell Kanata that," my sister said. "He'll refuse if he's really against it. But otherwise, he's always been a softy who can't say no when asked."
"Fufu, is that so?"
In the end, I was powerless to refuse Lavinia's smiling request, and I was forced to sleep in the same room. I resigned myself to it and decided to just enjoy the sleepover. I did, however, ask my partner (my Sacred Gear) to wake me up immediately if she started sleepwalking into my bed, so it should be fine.
"So, you can finally relax for a little while?" Lavinia asked.
"Well, yeah. I still have to deliver Creuserey's Christmas present to Yaegaki and check on the Church, but for now, all I can do is wait."
"I see. You have been working so hard, Kana. You will break your body if you do not rest. If you collapse, everyone will worry."
"You think so? ...Yeah, I'll be careful."
Her straightforward concern made me scratch my cheek in embarrassment. I could tell she was genuinely worried, so I took her words to heart. I seem to have a habit of rushing in, so having Lavinia here to act as a 'stopper' is probably a good thing.
"Right, sorry again about yesterday. Did extending the Underworld trip cause you any trouble?"
"Not at all. I was able to join your friend and fulfill a young girl's wish as a magical girl!"
"...Huh? My friend? Magical girl? A young girl?"
The conversation, which we'd started after getting into our respective bed and futon, immediately hit a snag. I didn't know why, but some kind of instinct was screaming at me that I needed to ask for details. When she said "my friend," she probably didn't mean her fellow magicians or the devils. So, who else...
"...Wait. Lavinia. Did you meet Mill-tan?"
"Yes! I have never seen someone so sincere about becoming a magical girl! I feel I, too, was greatly inspired!"
"Ah... I see. Oh, right. Yeah, it's not surprising. I'm the one who introduced him to the Mil-key fans. Well, if you two got along, that's... good, I guess?"
"It seems Mr. Shidou Touji's daughter wanted to find food that was good for her father's stomach, so we helped! Together with Mill-tan, we toured the 'Land of Mystery, Zipangu,' and after a battle with the Dark Creature 'Gelgelmo,' we successfully obtained the legendary Fantasy Ingredient!"
"What do I do? I'm from this 'mysterious country' and I don't understand half of that."
This is bad. Lavinia, who was a traditional, orthodox magical girl, is turning into a D&D-style magical girl. Is she evolving in the same absurd direction as Mill-tan and Lady Serafall? Wait, as her partner, should I stop this? But in the original story, the D&D-style magical girls are one of the most powerful, top-tier absurdity-frames in existence. Getting stronger is vital for survival, but... how should I handle this?
"...So, what happened to this 'Fantasy Ingredient'?"
"We gave it to the daughter that day, of course. Apparently, her father ate all of it and cried tears of joy! Our hard work paid off!"
"...Mr. Shidou. He ate that whole... mystery fantasy ingredient."
Both Mill-tan and Lavinia acted out of 100% pure goodwill... Mr. Shidou's manliness and love for Irina are incredible. He's apparently been suffering from stomach pain for ages, but is he really okay? He's taking this much mental damage before the purge. No wonder in the original story he asked Yaegaki to kill him as atonement. Once this is all over, I should probably send Mr. Shidou some stomach medicine.
After that mind-boggling status update, we turned off the lights and went to sleep. It was my first time sleeping in the same room as a girl other than my sister, so I was tense for a while. It's just puberty; it can't be helped. We'll talk more tomorrow.
...The next morning, the futon next to me was empty, and a scream erupted from my sister's room. This was, in a way, predictable. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping, but it seems this world is very stingy with 'lucky' events for mob characters.
I yawned, figuring Lavinia must have sleepwalked into my sister's bed, and dragged myself up to go retrieve her.
***
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