Looking out over a broad field of the panacea moonlight grass, Fuuka remembered a day from long ago. She remembered the wind blowing through the curtains, and the gallant, auburn-haired girl who showed up before her. That girl was cheerful to a fault, endlessly positive, and always lucky. She held out her hand to Fuuka as the river surged towards her... but that was now many years in the past.
“Fuuka-chan!”
She heard a familiar, welcome voice. Fuuka slowly turned to look over her shoulder.
There was Miyako, looking more mature and grown-up than the Miyako on that day she remembered. She had tied her reddish-brown hair up, and waved from atop a carriage.
“Nyahaa. Another day of hard work.”
On her lap sat an Undine, one of the four great spirits and master of water... in cat form. Umi gave her tail a sluggish flick.
The black hair which stretched down to Fuuka’s waist swayed in the breeze.
“Welcome back, Miyako.”
“I’m home, Fuuka-chan! We made a killing again today!”
Though there were many ups and downs along the way, Miyako had made a name for herself throughout the kingdom as a traveling merchant. There were no goods she couldn’t sell, and no market she couldn’t break into. That was what people said, and she was skilled enough to justify the praise. Even in regions upset by war or discrimination, the people there would smile when she came to trade. Many called her “The Goddess of the Sun” for her cheerful demeanor—some did, anyway.
“I have to say, Shan Li-san’s customers strike a hard bargain!”
Shan Li, the mysterious traveling merchant and eternal young girl, taught her the ins and outs of the trade.
Shan Li was traveling across the Continent with the wife she loved, the daughter she adored, and a hard-working ex-spy with a self-esteem problem, Odina Florence. The flames of war had died down in her homeland, which was now on the path to recovery. For that reason, she entrusted her customers in Pajan to her student Miyako.
“You say that, but I know you. I’m sure you’re getting along well with them.”
“Well, more or less.”
Miyako’s carefree smile looked the same as it always had. At the sight, Fuuka felt her own lips break into a grin.
“...Welcome back, Miyako.”
“It’s good to be home, Fuuka-chan.”
They took each other’s hands.
They had successfully cultivated the elusive panacea moonlight grass, and Fuuka was now known as “The Moonlit Saint,” an adept healer. She was all the home Miyako needed.
They had a home on the outskirts of the capital. With two women living there keeping a multitude of spirits, starting with their pet cat—or rather, pet Undine—Umi, the locals began to call their home “Spirit Manor.” But that’s a story for another time.
“I almost forgot; I brought a souvenir back for you, Fuuka-chan.”
“A souvenir?”
“Here.”
“...Ah. I love this flower.”
Miyako handed her a single white lily. The lily was uncommon in this world, but within a few years, Fuuka would perfect a method of cultivation. They would fill every inch of this field, and Miyako would deliver them to every corner of the world.
Pure and white, lilies bloomed in another world.
The End