Chapter 2

The Boy from Earth and the Girl from Another World Tsukasa Mikogami’s awakening began with a touch. Specifically, the feel of a damp cloth wiping his hand. The sensation pulled his consciousness up from the depths of darkness. Tsukasa heeded it and slowly opened his eyelids. His heterochromatic eyes—one a frigid blue, the other a fiery red—began taking in light. The first thing he saw…was a dull wooden ceiling. The next was a beautiful girl dazzling enough that he could make her out with perfect clarity despite his bleary vision. Her outfit was predominantly white and light green, bearing a close resemblance to the dirndls he’d once seen in Germany. She was gently wiping his hand with a damp cloth. “Ah…!” Suddenly, their eyes met. “You’re awake? Oh, thank goodness.” As she spoke, a relieved smile spread across her youthful face. How lovely… Rather than a beauty, she’d be better described as a cutie. Also, her ears were quite long. Perhaps it was some sort of genetic quirk. She looks almost…like an elf. The kind you’d find in fantasy novels, thought Tsukasa. But more importantly, who was she? She wasn’t anyone he recognized. And also, what was he doing…wherever it was he was? Why was he lying down? His memories were all jumbled up. “Wh…ere…? OW!” But when he tried to sit up and voice his confusion, a sharp pain ran through his entire body, like his bones were cracking. His body was so hot, he felt like he was burning up. “Oh, no, you mustn’t! You’re badly wounded; you need to rest!” Badly…wounded? Ah, that’s right. I was… Upon hearing those words, Tsukasa finally remembered what had happened to him. “I wanna write a special article on all of us High School Prodigies.” An old acquaintance of his, the journalist Shinobu Sarutobi, had invited him. So he, Shinobu, and the five others had all crossed the Pacific aboard an airplane piloted by Ringo Oohoshi’s AI. Midway through that flight, though, the plane had been abruptly engulfed by a massive thundercloud, rendering it impossible to navigate. A shrill alarm had gone off. Swallowed up by some sort of waterspout, they’d suffered severe turbulence. Then, as they’d watched themselves descend, a conspicuously large shock had rattled the plane. That was everything that had happened before Tsukasa lost consciousness. The moment he remembered, Tsukasa immediately ignored the pain burning through his body, wrenched himself up, and firmly grabbed the girl’s slim shoulders. “Hwah—” “Please…! Oh…” He paused for a second, not sure what language to use when conversing with this clearly non-Japanese girl, but then pressed on after remembering that she herself had spoken in Japanese just a moment ago. “Please, tell me! There were six other people on that plane…! Did they make it out…?!” Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face contorted in pain as Tsukasa asked about the well-being of the other passengers. The girl had initially been confused at his sudden outburst, but she quickly gave him a soft smile to set his heart at ease. “They’re all fine. Including you, we found seven people. All collapsed in the same place. We brought you all here to watch over you.” She glanced around the room as she answered the boy’s question. When he followed her gaze, Tsukasa saw six familiar faces all bandaged up like him and sleeping on pelt beds. “Don’t worry. They’re wounded, but it looks like they’re all going to make it.” “Ah… Thank you…” Given that they’d been in a plane crash, surviving would have practically taken a miracle. Knowing that, Tsukasa had been prepared for the worst. Upon hearing that everyone else had been rescued like he had, the tension drained from his body, and he collapsed back onto the bed. “Oh man… Thank God…” “You seem like a very kind person.” The girl gazed at him with eyes the color of lapis lazuli as she placed a cool, damp cloth on Tsukasa’s sweaty forehead. “…Any public figure worries about the safety of his people.” The cool rag helped relieve the heat and pain in his body. The sensation caused him to break out in a relaxed smile. He looked back at the girl taking care of him. “Forgive me, I’ve forgotten my manners. My name is Tsukasa Mikogami. Might you do me the honor of telling me yours?” “Who, me? I’m Lyrule.” “Well, Lyrule, it would appear we owe you and your people a great debt. I speak for all of us when I express my gratitude for your generous, diligent treatment. Thank you.” “Oh, we wouldn’t have dreamed of just leaving you there. We people of the mountain look out for one another.” Seemingly embarrassed at Tsukasa’s earnest words of thanks, Lyrule quickly stood up after replying. “It’ll take some time before your injuries are fully healed, but now that you’re awake, let’s see if we can get some food in you. Would you mind waiting here for a minute?” And with that, Lyrule trotted out of the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a steaming pot in her hand. “It’s a stew made from goat milk. Here, let me cool it down a bit.” She scooped up a piece of soft meat with a wooden spoon, then brought it up to her full pink lips and blew gently on it. After doing that a few times to clear the steam, she moved the spoon toward Tsukasa’s mouth. “Here you go. Say ah.” “It feels kinda like I’m a kid again.” It was a little embarrassing. That said, his body did crave the nourishment. Doing as instructed, Tsukasa opened his mouth wide to accept the soft chunk of meat. But the moment he tried to chew it, it immediately tumbled out. He couldn’t close his jaw well. Even with how soft the flank was, his body was too weak to bite through it. “…My apologies. It would seem I haven’t recovered enough to eat just yet.” However, Tsukasa’s weak words prompted Lyrule’s expression to sour slightly. “Well, that won’t do. When you’re injured, you have to eat meat, or you won’t get better. Here, just a moment,” she said, picking up the dropped piece of goat meat with her fingers and popping it in her mouth. Then, after chewing it almost too thoroughly… “Mmm…” “Mph…!” …she laid her lips over the prone Tsukasa’s. Upon feeling her soft, supple lips placed gently against his, his eyes went wide in surprise. She slid her wet tongue into his mouth. Then she pressed down on Tsukasa’s teeth with the back of her tongue, opened his mouth, and poured in the masticated, mushy goat shank. Once the deed was done, she separated her mouth from his. “This way, you’ll be able to get food down…right?” she asked, averting her gaze. Her face was so red it looked like it had caught fire. It had doubtless been a deeply embarrassing act. However, she’d pushed through her shyness in order to help Tsukasa eat. A clear testament to how dedicated she was to his recovery. “…Thank you. I suppose you’re right; that is one way I can eat.” Tsukasa elected to gratefully accept Lyrule’s kindness. Turning her down at this point would honestly come across as rude. “Would it be all right if I depended on your goodwill for the time being?” “…Why, yes. Of course. Let’s fill you up so you can go ahead and get better quickly.” Lyrule’s mood lightened, having seen that her unusual actions hadn’t given Tsukasa any strange impressions. Her charming smile returned as she carried another spoonful of stew to her mouth. Then, just like before, she thoroughly chewed it up, and… “Mmm—” …brought her face close to Tsukasa’s so she could feed him mouth to mouth, but…