Chapter 5

"I'm terribly sorry for being late!"

Calseonia entered the reception room where Tatsuhiko and Giuseppe were waiting, apologized immediately, and bowed deeply.

"What were you doing? The groom has been waiting for you."

Giuseppe chided his granddaughter with a gentle laugh.

"Ah, no, talking with Giuseppe was quite enjoyable, so I don't think he was waiting too long..."

"Really? That's good..."

Calseonia placed her hand on her ample chest and let out a sigh of relief.

Giuseppe watched the two of them with a smile and then instructed Calseonia to sit next to him.

"Since Calseonia is here, let's start the detailed discussion."

At Giuseppe's words, Tatsuhiko straightened his posture.

He had no doubt that he had been summoned to another world. The question was why.

It couldn't be something as cliché as becoming a hero to defeat a demon king, he thought to himself as he listened to Giuseppe.

"First of all, welcome to the Kingdom of Largofiri, Groom. My granddaughter Calseonia and I welcome your visit from the bottom of our hearts."

"Ah, no, thank you...?"

Tatsuhiko was unsure how to respond and ended up expressing his gratitude. Giuseppe and Calseonia found his reaction amusing and chuckled.

"Also, we must offer our deepest apologies. After all, we summoned you here unilaterally. We are truly sorry."

Giuseppe and Calseonia bowed deeply together this time.

"No, no, that's... please, both of you, raise your heads...!!"

"But... we... I summoned you here without considering your convenience. I forced you to abandon your previous life."

Calseonia, still bowing, spoke, and Tatsuhiko's expression changed in surprise.

From her words, it was clear that while they had summoned him, there was no way to return him to his original world.

That's why Calseonia said she had "forced you to abandon your previous life."

"But... please, raise your heads. And... can you tell me? Why... why did you summon me to this world... the reason?"

Despite knowing there was no way to send him back, and feeling guilty for summoning him unilaterally, Tatsuhiko wanted to know the reason.

Finally, Giuseppe and Calseonia raised their heads at Tatsuhiko's request.

Tatsuhiko stared at them intently.

A moment of silence filled the reception room. Suddenly, a loud sound came from outside the window.

The sound of a bell ringing repeatedly. It was the bell that announced the time, set up somewhere in the Savive Temple. Listening closely, similar sounds could be heard from a distance, indicating that the same bell was ringing in other temples.

The bell rang three times. As soon as it stopped, Calseonia began to speak.

"The reason I summoned you to this world... the biggest reason... is... I just wanted to see you again."

Calseonia, her cheeks flushed pink, placed her hands on them and spoke shyly.

"Eh...? Just that...?"

Tatsuhiko's face showed surprise.

Anyone would be surprised to hear that the reason for being summoned to another world was simply "I wanted to see you again."

At the same time, he felt a bit relieved that it wasn't a cliché reason like "become a hero and defeat the demon king."

"Yes... and..."

Calseonia, who had been looking at Tatsuhiko with a happy expression, suddenly became serious and continued.

"I was... very worried. I was so worried that I couldn't stand it. That day... seeing you in my hands, watching me live out my natural life... the look of deep pain on your face, as if you had lost all hope in the world... I couldn't forget that look. I was afraid that you might... take your own life... That was my only concern... my only regret..."

Hearing Calseonia's words, Tatsuhiko's body trembled.

The moment Chico died in his hands, Tatsuhiko felt as if the world had come to an end.

And as Calseonia pointed out, he had often thought about following his family and Chico, even attempting to take his own life with a razor blade. He had never actually cut himself, but only because he lacked the courage.

"Concerned about you being left alone... I started researching the magic to travel between worlds from a young age. Fortunately, my grandfather, who took me in when I was young, brought me to the Savive Temple. There were many resources on magic here, which helped me a lot."

"Eh? Taken in...?"

"Yes. For a certain reason. I adopted this girl as my foster daughter when she was young."

Calseonia, adopted as a foster daughter by Giuseppe. Their actual relationship was "foster father" and "foster daughter," but due to the age difference, they treated each other as "grandfather" and "granddaughter."

After thanking her grandfather with a smile, Calseonia turned to Tatsuhiko and continued.

"At first, I intended to travel to your world. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find any rituals or documents on how to travel between worlds... In the end, what I found was..."

"...Not a way for you to travel to my world, but a ritual to summon me here...?"

Tatsuhiko asked, confirming, and Calseonia nodded slightly.

She had searched not only the library of the Savive Temple but also, with her grandfather's help as the High Priest, various other places. But the only thing she found was the ritual to summon Tatsuhiko to this world.

"But, in this situation, I thought it was fine. To you, I might be the one who unilaterally summoned you to this world and forced you to abandon everything. Even if you hated or disliked me for that, I still wanted to see you again..."

And I was worried about you, she added in a small voice.

"Hey, Groom."

After Calseonia finished her explanation, a silence fell over them.

Giuseppe broke the silence and looked at Tatsuhiko.

"Can I ask you a few questions now?"

"Ah, yes, if I can answer..."

"Then... why are you so calm?"

"Huh?"

Tatsuhiko looked back at Giuseppe, confused.

Giuseppe's gaze was sharp and authoritative, unlike his usual gentle demeanor.

"Normally, when someone is suddenly summoned to an unknown world, they would be more flustered, wouldn't they? But you aren't. You seem confused, but you're not flustered at all. In fact, you seem unusually calm... Why is that?"

"Eh, well..."

Tatsuhiko's face turned slightly red, and his gaze wandered.

After a moment, he glanced at Calseonia and then looked back at Giuseppe.

"...Well... when I came to this world, I was immediately... hugged by such a beautiful woman... I was more focused on that... Besides..."

Tatsuhiko's gaze shifted to Calseonia again.

"...When I realized that she... Calseonia is Chico... Well, to be honest, I can't completely believe it... But if it's true that she is Chico reincarnated, I would be grateful rather than resentful. I can see Chico again... even if her appearance has changed, I can see her again..."

"Master..."

Tatsuhiko almost believed that Calseonia was Chico reincarnated. She knew many facts that only he and Chico knew, and her aura was very similar to Chico's.

Tatsuhiko stared at Calseonia intently, and she, moved by his gaze, felt tears well up in her crimson eyes.

Giuseppe watched the two of them with satisfaction and chuckled.

"I understand your feelings, Groom. But do you have any regrets about your original world?"

"No, I have no regrets about the original world."

The world without his loved ones, his close friends, and especially without Chico. There was nothing in that world that Tatsuhiko felt drawn to.

Giuseppe's question was met with a firm nod from Tatsuhiko.

Someone knocked on the door of the reception room.

Giuseppe asked who it was, and a young woman's voice came from the other side.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, Your Holiness. Is Calseonia-sama here?"

"Yes, I'm here. What is it?"

"The time for the sermon is approaching. The congregation is already gathered in the chapel."

"Ah, yes, the third hour bell just rang. I understand, I'll be there soon."

Calseonia, having answered the young woman, stood up and bowed to Tatsuhiko and Giuseppe.

"Grandfather, Master, I have to go for the service, so I'll take my leave for now."

"Indeed. As a servant of the gods, it is important to convey the words of the gods. Do not take it lightly."

"Then, Chico... I mean, that might be inappropriate... um..."

"No, Chico is fine. I would prefer to be called that by you."

Calseonia bowed lightly again and left. Giuseppe, her grandfather, noticed her slightly flushed cheeks but smiled without comment.

Calseonia, followed by the young priestess, walked toward the chapel where the congregation was waiting. On the way, the young priestess spoke.

"Um... Calseonia-sama...?"

"Yes? What is it?"

Calseonia turned to the young priestess with a bright smile.

"Today... how should I put it... did something good happen?"

The young priestess, usually reserved, was surprised.

Calseonia was usually calm and composed, with a serene expression. She always greeted everyone with a gentle smile and a consistent attitude. During sermons, she was especially dignified and stern, embodying the words of the gods.

Her dignified and stern demeanor was one of the reasons her followers admired her. But today, she was unusually cheerful, and her steps seemed to bounce.

The young priestess, who occasionally chatted with Calseonia, could tell that she was clearly elated, even overly so.

That's why she asked her.

Calseonia, showing a bashfulness that was uncharacteristic of her usual composed self, answered.

"Because... he accepted me. And... not only that... he said I was beautiful..."

Her ruby-like eyes glistened with emotion, and her cheeks, flushed pink, were cupped in her hands. Her gaze was distant, as if looking at something far away.

Calseonia, radiating a pink aura, wriggled with delight.

Seeing her like this, the young priestess was slightly taken aback but thought to herself:

– This won't do. If she appears before the congregation like this, it will surely cause problems. Mainly... the collapse of the congregation's idealized image of her.