Chapter 7

"I can't wait until tomorrow, because it's today!"

"Mom, let's go quickly!"

The twins, who had finished their lunch, ran to the back entrance of the kitchen. Today, the family was going on an outing to Kilfan. Dragon, who had the afternoon off, planned to return home with the twins, pick up some cherry blossoms, and then head to Kilfan by carriage.

When Dragon, who had finished work and changed clothes, headed to the back entrance, he found the twins stuck to the floor and two bees. Tilting his head, Dragon looked at the two.

"That's it... Thank you, Pochiko!"

A metal bar was wedged in the gap between the wall and the stairs. Previously, a commotion had occurred when a small person couldn't get out, so iron bars were installed in the gaps next to the stairs throughout the castle to prevent children from entering.

However, Pochiko, who was the size of a newborn, could just barely fit and was dragging various things out from inside.

Next to the twins were baskets and dishes, some withered items, and blankets and sheets. Gathering them all, Hachiro, who was stuck to the floor, was reaching out to receive something from Pochiko.

"Oh, that's it. ...There it is."

Squinting, Hachiro was gripping something tightly.

"What is it?"

Suddenly, Dragon's voice made the twins jump. With a thin smile, Hachiro put the item in her usual diagonal bag.

"It's nothing. Look, I was worried because the things I brought in were left lying around. Help me carry them, Dad."

Dragon realized what she meant.

"You brought in so much. It looks like a mouse moving house."

"Ouch, I'll go throw out the trash."

"Then I'll clean up the dishes."

The small person, holding what seemed to be the remnants of food, ran out as if escaping.

Watching them, Dragon carried the blankets and sheets to the laundry area.

"Oh, what's the matter with you three?"

Sakura, seeing the dusty trio, widened her eyes. Hachiro and Dragon were talking about the secret hideout. Hearing this, Chihaya puffed her cheeks.

"Hiro was doing things without telling his brother. You left him out."

Dragon and the small person exchanged glances.

Unable to explain about their past lives, the two smiled wryly. Chihaya, sensing their discomfort, patted Hachiro's shoulder and offered help.

"Then, Chihaya can make a secret hideout too. It's called a secret hideout because it's a secret from everyone."

Smiling, Sakura nodded, and Hachiro followed suit.

"Sorry, brother. Stay the way you are, okay?"

While feeling a bit uneasy about Hachiro's future, the small person clasped her hands together in her heart.

"Wow, it suits you well."

Dressed in yukatas by Sakura, the three of them changed. Dragon wore a deep indigo yukata with white and yellow patterns. His broad build made the yukata look good. The twins wore different colored tsumugi, with dragonfly and pampas grass patterns. Hachiro's was red, and Chihaya's was blue. Sakura wore a vermilion yukata with a dark red base and fine cherry blossom patterns.

"Alright, let's go."

The Dragon family, along with Naya and Sasha, got into the carriage. The bees were left to watch the house, and the whole family went out. Dolphen rode alongside the carriage.

Today was the festival in Kilfan.

Every year, the children were excited, and the Dragon couple looked happy watching them.

"That mysterious dance was from Kilfan, huh."

"Well, they are from the same hometown, so it's not strange to know it."

The Frontier group, who had solved a long-standing mystery during yesterday's carriage incident, were surprised to learn that the dance, which had been called the "small person dance," was actually a popular dance in Kilfan.

While the men had been smiling wryly during the carriage incident, Sakura had been clapping along with the dancing small person. Despite it being a new song and dance, she answered nonchalantly when Dragon looked puzzled.

"What? It's the Kodenashi Otokobushi, a standard Bon dance, isn't it?"

"Right?" The mother and daughter smiled at each other.

It was the first time the Dragon family had heard of the Bon dance. They learned that it was also performed at recent Kilfan festivals. In the past, Kilfan, which was part of the newly established kingdom, didn't have the resources for large festivals, so only small, internal ones were held, and the Frontier side knew nothing about them. However, with the capital established and more resources, a slightly larger festival was planned, and they decided to attend.

"I've attended Kilfan's festival several times, but I always returned before dark. I didn't know there were dances at night."

"They start after the lanterns on the watchtowers are lit. The children were young, so it couldn't be helped."

Planning to participate in the night events as well, the Dragon family took the next day off and planned to stay overnight. After a couple of breaks, they arrived in Kilfan and headed to its capital, Akitu. This city, which was back-to-back with the capital of Frontier, was a beautiful, bustling place about three hours away by carriage.

"To think it could become this much in just four years. It's a country with the technology of modern Japan, after all."

Although the small person had visited the city before, the return of her past memories made her feel even more nostalgic.

There were no modern buildings, but the city, centered around one-story houses, had a nostalgic atmosphere and a charming, elongated landscape.

"Oh, it's been a while, Dragon and Sakura."

The Dragon family, who had just gotten off the carriage, were greeted by Kosei. He was still working energetically as a consultant in Kilfan.

A transfer from Earth to another world.

The now-defunct Kilfan Empire was a country built by many Japanese transferers. The gods of Arcadia, who had realized their mistakes due to the gods' quarrels, brought the souls borrowed from the gods of Earth to bring a civilization without magic to Arcadia.

When the world's shape was established and the gods' quarrels were resolved, the borrowed souls were returned to the Earth world. The souls that had increased here were left, and the remaining people founded a new Kilfan Kingdom in the wilderness next to Frontier.

Kosei was probably the last transferer.

"Welcome, Hachiro and Chihaya. This year's festival is a bit different, so enjoy it."

Kosei smiled proudly.

When they were led to the festival grounds, the Dragon family was speechless.

At the center of the original square, large decorations like kusudama hung along the main streets in all directions. Each decoration was unique, with long, colorful ribbons. Hachiro recognized the bustling decorations hanging from the ceiling.

The story of the heavens related to textiles.

So, today is...

The seventh day of the seventh month.

"The Tanabata Festival, huh..."

The young girl's casual remark made Kosei stare, and he suddenly noticed the monsters on Hachiro's shoulder.

Pochiko, Mugi, and Mii.

Familiar faces that hadn't been brought last year. Kosei's eyes widened even further, and his trembling lips asked.

"Hachiro... is that you?"

A lower voice than before. Sensing its meaning, the small person smiled broadly.

"I'm back, Kosei."

The smile etched in the depths of his memory. Kosei covered his mouth and stood speechless, then smiled weakly with a tearful face.

"Welcome back."

A miraculous encounter.

Their time was instantly rewound to four years ago.

"I've been working hard since then. You know?"

"Yeah."

"It was really tough. You logged out alone, and I suffered so much."

"Sorry."

"Really... damn it."

While spouting complaints, Kosei, with a twisted mouth, hugged the small person. Hachiro, grabbing Kosei's arms, which were handling her like a fragile object, looked up at the Tanabata decorations.

"Wow, are you from Ichinomiya?"

"No... Gifu Prefecture. I went to the Tanabata Festival every year because it's just one train ride away."

Wiping away his tears, Kosei looked at Hachiro.

"Enjoy yourself. This is the first Tanabata Festival. It will be held every year."

Hachiro nodded and patted Kosei's head with both hands. The small, moving palms.

"Thank you, Kosei. It's amazing, I'm so surprised. You've worked hard, haven't you?"

Kosei's eyes welled up with tears at the familiar smile.

"You bastard, I was trying to hold back! Are you trying to make me cry, you devil, demon!"

While being scolded, Hachiro was hurriedly led to the festival grounds by Kosei. Following, the Dragon family headed to the center of the square. There was a large watchtower in the center, and food stalls lined the periphery of the square. The main streets extending from the square were also lined with stalls, and colorful banners and curtains fluttered in the wind, creating a beautiful scene.

It was a nostalgic Japanese festival.

Masks, pinwheels, candy sculptures, and caramel cookies, among others, which had become rare in modern Japan, made the small person's heart leap.

"Wow, which one should I choose?"

Sakura smiled wryly at the excited small person.

"Look, look, you should write a tanzaku first. It wouldn't be right to the bamboo, would it?"

That's right.

Hachiro, suddenly coming to her senses, looked at the many bamboo poles lined up along the watchtower and stalls, each decorated with tanzakus and ornaments.

The twins hurriedly wrote their wishes on the colorful tanzakus provided.

"I'll take the red one."

"Then I'll take the green one."

They wrote their wishes in ink on the tanzakus they held, and Sakura made paper strings by twisting thin paper.

This was also nostalgic. When Hachiro was a child, she often twisted the strings for fireworks wrapped in gunpowder as part of her grandmother's side job.

The twins threaded the twisted paper strings through the tanzakus and hung them on nearby bamboo poles. The tanzakus swayed in the wind, and the many tanzakus hanging from the bamboo poles made a cool, rustling sound, as the song goes.

"When will my wish come true?"

"Even though Orihime and Hikoboshi can only meet once a year, they spend the whole year waiting. It will surely come true soon."

The woman distributing tanzakus smiled and nodded at the cheerful siblings.

"You're from Frontier, right? You know a lot. The yukatas suit you, and the weather is nice today. The wishes of cute children will surely be granted soon."

Following the woman's gaze at the sky, the Dragon family also looked up. The sky was tinged with a thin twilight, and a large star was shining.

Despite being in another world.

In this season, the first star in the sky would be Jupiter on Earth. Its large, bright light shone without being dimmed by the artificial lights on the ground. Although it might be different here, a similar large star was shining in the sky of Arcadia.

What was even more different was the number of stars.

As the darkness deepened, countless stars appeared like ripples on the sea. The stars scattered across the sky were, to use a cliché, like a jewelry box.

Imagining this in her mind, the small person smiled and ran to the stalls.

"I'm hungry, I want to eat okonomiyaki!"

"Ah, wait, Hiro, I want to eat yakisoba."

Chasing after the children, who preferred food to flowers, the Dragons also joined the festival crowd.

The twins shared okonomiyaki and yakisoba, and even snatched some of Dragon's takoyaki, holding their heads in pain from the brain freeze. The Dragons rolled their eyes and laughed, watching the innocent children run around.

"Really... we're so happy."

"Right?"

The earl and his wife leaned on each other, feeling sentimental.

We will never let this happiness be destroyed again, even if it is the will of the gods.

Kosei, watching them from a distance, felt the same way.

To never lose the small person again, Kosei would do anything, even if it goes against human ethics.

While each of them deeply resolved in their hearts, the small person was just being herself.

Running around curiously between the lanterns, the high-sounding taiko drums, and the music, she led the way in dancing.

Chihaya was also imitating the dance.

The Bon dance is not a difficult dance. The gestures and movements make it look good, and the simple, repetitive rhythm is fun.

The children's dancing must have stood out. There were few children in the newly established Kilfan. The people dancing around them were smiling, careful not to bump into the children.

Wearing matching yukatas in different colors and beaming with smiles.

The cute children were about to be jostled in the dance circle. Before Naya and Sasha could intervene, the people of Kilfan lifted the twins and carried them up the ladder to the watchtower.

"Since you're our honored guests, it's better to dance from here."

Recognizing them as Frontier people, the man with a raised smile descended from the watchtower.

"Wow, what a great view!"

"Amazing, I've never seen so many people before."

Hundreds of people were dancing in three concentric circles around the watchtower. The twins, running around and dancing wildly around the taiko drums placed in the center of the watchtower, were the center of attention.

The lively night quickly deepened, and when the Dragons, who had been called up to the watchtower, saw the two children, they were lying down, exhausted from dancing.

Satisfied, the twins were sprawled out, and the Dragons were speechless.

Lifting them with exasperated looks, they descended from the watchtower. Even in their dreams, the small person mumbled.

"....sano yoi yoi"

After a moment of silence, the Dragon family and the surrounding adults burst into laughter.

A truly happy family moment.

While the adults were thinking about making the children happy, the small person was happily enjoying herself on her own.

A happy moment. I hope you enjoyed it!