Chapter 2

The next night, he had that dream again.

Although he had woken up, Tatsuhiko remained lying on his back on the bed, gazing blankly at the ceiling, recalling the dream he had just seen.

A dream that was vividly clear, down to the smallest detail, strangely realistic.

Moreover, it seemed to him that the realism of the dream was increasing day by day.

In a dimly lit basement-like place, the holy maiden was, as usual, praying with all her heart.

In today's dream, he could clearly see how desperately she was praying.

The beads of sweat on her skin, as white as virgin snow.

Soon, the beads of sweat slid down her motionless skin and dripped onto the stone floor.

Tatsuhiko could see all these minute details clearly.

"Why... why do I keep having such dreams...?"

Tatsuhiko muttered to himself, still looking up at the ceiling.

If he kept having the same dream so frequently, there must be a reason.

A common scenario would be that someone was calling out to Tatsuhiko—what is known as the summoning pattern.

However, while such unrealistic things might happen in novels or comics, it was unlikely to happen in real life.

Besides, there was no reason for him to be summoned. Tatsuhiko was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old boy with no particular talents.

Indeed, in novels, it's a common setup for a princess from another world to randomly summon a hero to save the world, but it was hard to imagine that happening to him.

More importantly,

Tatsuhiko himself knew that he couldn't keep going on like this.

He needed to look forward. It wouldn't do to keep dragging Chiiko's memory behind him.

Today, as he told himself this again, Tatsuhiko got out of bed and slowly started to change.

Now that he had dropped out of high school, he should at least try to find a part-time job. With that in mind, he finished changing and washed his face.

He thought about going to a nearby convenience store to buy a job listing magazine. However, when he caught sight of the birdcage where Chiiko used to live in the corner of his vision, the sadness of losing Chiiko welled up inside him.

The happy times he had spent with Chiiko in the past played over and over in his mind.

And once again, he realized that Chiiko was no longer there.

When that happened, it was all over. The grief of losing Chiiko would come back, and he would lose all motivation to do anything.

Since losing Chiiko, he had lost his appetite and was only eating the bare minimum, mostly instant food he had bought in advance.

In the end, that day, like so many others, Tatsuhiko spent the day holed up in his room, doing nothing.

He sat on the bed and stared at the photos of his family and Chiiko on his phone. In the middle of this, Tatsuhiko reached out and picked up the guitar he had propped up next to the bed, idly playing it.

This acoustic guitar was a memento from his late father, who used to play it for Tatsuhiko when he was a child.

His father had formed a band in his youth and aimed to become a professional guitarist. Although he eventually gave up on that dream, he had gotten quite far, as he often said.

Tatsuhiko had learned how to play the guitar from his father and could play to a certain extent, though he was far from being good enough to become a professional.

He strummed the guitar absentmindedly, making a soft, plucking sound.

"Come to think of it, when I played the guitar like this, Chiiko used to sing along with it, didn't she?"

Recalling this, Tatsuhiko's mood darkened again.

In the past, when Chiiko was still healthy, she would chirp along with the guitar as if she were singing.

Thinking of her in those days, Tatsuhiko quietly strummed the guitar.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly, light began to rise around the bed where he was sitting.

There was nothing on the bed but sheets and blankets, no source of light.

Yet, a mysterious light phenomenon suddenly erupted from the bed. The light danced around, and Tatsuhiko could only squint and observe, unable to do anything else.

To be precise, he was so taken aback by the sudden strange phenomenon that he could only squint and observe.

The light was silver and felt completely cool. It was a bright yet gentle light that exuded a sense of sanctity.

When the surroundings were completely bathed in silver, Tatsuhiko noticed something at his feet.

It looked like some kind of geometric pattern, surrounded by letters and symbols.

In the bright light, Tatsuhiko's limited knowledge identified it as something like a magic circle.

As he made this realization, his consciousness was swallowed by a dark void, the opposite of the light that surrounded him.

---

He opened his eyes, feeling dazed.

The surroundings were quite dim. Perhaps it was still before dawn.

Tatsuhiko moved his head to look out the window above the bed.

But there was no window where it should have been, only a thick stone wall. On the wall, an expensive-looking candelabra with intricate decorations was mounted, and the candles on it were lit.

"Huh? Was there a stone wall and a candelabra here?"

Tatsuhiko thought, still half-asleep.

After losing his family, Tatsuhiko had moved into an apartment with Chiiko. It was a small 2K room, but it was spacious enough for one person, and Tatsuhiko had quite liked it.

There was no way there could be a stone wall in that room. In fact, there were hardly any stone-walled houses in Japan these days.

So, this wasn't Tatsuhiko's room. Then, where had he been sleeping? He sat up and looked around.

The surroundings were completely covered in stone walls. Not just the four walls, but the ceiling and floor were all made of stone.

Where have I seen this before? And recently, many times.

Tatsuhiko scratched the back of his head and looked around again.

Then, his eyes caught something.

A woman was kneeling, staring at him with wide eyes.

She had long, silvery-white hair and ruby-red eyes, and was incredibly beautiful. For some reason, a single strand of hair protruded from the top of her head, like a "fool's hair."

The woman, who looked shocked, remained motionless, staring at him intently. Tatsuhiko couldn't help but stare back.

Then, he realized something.

He had seen this woman before.

"......The holy maiden from my dreams......?"

Yes, she looked exactly like the holy maiden who always prayed devoutly in the dreams he had every night.

Looking around again, Tatsuhiko realized that he was indeed in a place that closely resembled the basement from his dreams. No, it wasn't just similar; it was the exact same basement.

Was the woman also the same person from his dreams?

Just as Tatsuhiko was about to look at the woman again, a strong impact hit his body.

Tatsuhiko, who had been sitting on the bed, fell backward onto it, unable to withstand the impact.

What the hell is going on! Tatsuhiko, in a mild panic, saw the woman's silvery-white hair flutter in his vision.

Then, he felt a strong embrace and a sweet scent tickling his nose.

It was only then that Tatsuhiko realized that the woman had tackled him and was hugging him tightly.

The woman who had suddenly tackled Tatsuhiko hugged him tightly with her slender arms, then slightly pulled back to look at his face.

Their eyes met at close range.

The woman's ruby-red eyes were shimmering with tears, yet she smiled happily at Tatsuhiko.

"Finally... finally, I can see you again... I've been waiting for this day for so many years..."

"Huh? Uh... We've met before...?"

"Yes... ah... this appearance, this voice... and this scent... it's you... I've never forgotten you for a moment..."

At that, the tears in her eyes finally overflowed and fell onto Tatsuhiko's face.

Feeling the tears on his cheek, Tatsuhiko remembered his current position and blushed.

He and the woman were hugging on the bed.

Moreover, the woman was on top of him, and he could feel the softness of her body all over.

However, he didn't feel heavy. She was about the same height as him or slightly shorter, but probably much lighter.

What he couldn't help but notice were the two incredibly soft things pressed against his chest. Of course, they were the woman's breasts.

Every time she moved, they softly tickled his chest.

He hadn't noticed in his dreams, but the woman was wearing only a thin piece of cloth wrapped around her body.

The room was dim, but with such close proximity, he could see the color of her skin through the thin fabric.

Involuntarily, Tatsuhiko's gaze was drawn to the deep cleavage of her chest.

The pink nipples were hidden by his chest, but it was clear that this woman had a very impressive bust. He estimated it to be around 85 to 90.

Even in such a situation, Tatsuhiko found himself thinking about such things, a sad aspect of being a man, he thought to himself, a form of escapism.

Noticing Tatsuhiko's gaze, or perhaps not, the woman smiled again and said something incredible.

"I'm so happy to see you again... Master."

"Huh? What? W-What did you just say...? M-Master? D-Do you mean... me?"

"Yes, you are my Master."

She smiled brightly.

Earlier, she had mentioned that they had met before.

Tatsuhiko frantically tried to recall his memories, but he had no recollection of meeting this beautiful woman.

Moreover, he didn't know any foreigners, let alone have spoken to one in his life. Maybe once or twice when asked for directions.

And this woman, with her beautiful silvery-white hair and ruby-red eyes, was so distinctive that he would never forget her if he had met her.

As if reading Tatsuhiko's thoughts, the woman continued.

"It's understandable that you don't remember. The me you remember is not in this form."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Seeing Tatsuhiko's puzzled expression, the woman chuckled. She then pulled away and sat up properly on the bed.

"Please forgive me. My name is Chalcedony Chrysoprase. I am a priestess in the Survive Sect of the Kingdom of Largofillia."

She bowed her head respectfully.

"Huh? Ah, I'm Tatsuhiko Yamagata."

"Yes, I know."

Chalcedony smiled.

Her smile was so beautiful that it could make most men fall in love. It was a smile that could make anyone believe she was experiencing great happiness.

However, despite her smile, Tatsuhiko's confusion only deepened.

Not only did she know his name, but her words contained several unfamiliar terms.

At that moment, a hypothesis formed in Tatsuhiko's mind. But before he could voice it, Chalcedony continued.

"Master, you don't know me at all. But I know you better than anyone. No, I remember you."

She stared intently at Tatsuhiko. Her sincere gaze gave him a sense of déjà vu.

He had seen such a gaze before, from very close up.

For example, from his hand. From his shoulder. Sometimes from his lap.

Yes, her gaze reminded him of his beloved small family.

"......Chiiko......"

The name slipped out of Tatsuhiko's mouth. The moment he said it, Chalcedony's smile widened even more.

It was a blissful smile that left no doubt that she was experiencing great happiness.

And from her lips, words that gave Tatsuhiko a tremendous shock.

"Yes...! Yes, that's right! I... I am Chiiko! Master... your Chiiko!"

---

"Pet Saint" update.

Now, suddenly, I've been writing these afterwords for a while.

However, I've heard that some people prefer not to have these afterwords.

So, from this work onward, I'll basically avoid writing in the afterwords and only use them for practical announcements like delays due to work or other issues. If there's anything to report, I'll do it in the activity updates.

Thank you for your continued support.