…Apparently, Jupiter had only seemed confident.
We could hear two sets of footfalls as we walked up a steep mountain path. One of them was mine—the other was Haruka’s.
As for the footfalls we should have heard, those belonging to the third member of our group, well…
“Hey, weren’t you supposed to be the one guiding us home?” I asked.
“…I can’t do it.”
The dejected voice came from behind me. Despite having just left the hospital, I was carrying the girl on my back.
“I thought I could do it. I guess I have a bit less stamina than I thought.”
Only “a bit”?
Why do I have to be the one to carry a sixth grader up a mountain right after I check out of the hospital? Where’s that responsible girl from earlier?
“I’m so sleepy.”
She was on my back, of course, starting to fall asleep. Come on! Why am I the pack mule here?!
“Oh, c’mon,” said Haruka. “Quit being a grump. She didn’t have to invite us out here. I think we can let this one slide.”
“How about you try carrying her around? We can switch anytime you want, Haruka.”
“What?! But I’ve never lifted anything heavier than a katana in my life…”
The saying is ‘chopsticks,’ you goof. Katanas aren’t light!
“So are we almost there, Jupiter?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s not far now.”
“Okay,” I said with a rough nod as I pushed myself farther up the steep slope.
If I just think of this as a workout, I’ll be fine.
Right after we left the hospital, Jupiter had said, “There’s somewhere I want to show you two before we get back. It’s a bit far, but just follow me.”
Jupiter wasn’t the type to make a lot of requests, so we quickly decided to indulge her.
It was fun at first. We rode buses and trolleys, transferring now and then, and enjoying nice views of Sakurabana all the while. I seem to recall Haruka saying something like, “It’s fun to go on an adventure where we don’t have to fight for once.” Oh, sweet, naive Haruka.
We stopped for some kakiage soba for lunch, and it was really good. After subsisting on an oil-free hospital diet for so long, my stomach was in heaven. I ended up ordering seconds, then thirds, then fourths. I ate so much, I thought I was gonna pop. I’m sure I’ll look back on it all fondly someday.
It was only once we ran out of public transit and had to take the shoelace express that I began to get suspicious.
Dungeon #88, “Mother of All,” is one of Sakurabana’s Five Great Dungeons—a massive place with over fifty floors. We’d never dreamed she was taking us there. Rather than exploring the dungeon, however, we followed Jupiter’s lead as she guided us to a nearby mountain path. And the moment we set foot on the mountain, our tiny guide had the nerve to give up.
I get not having stamina, but this is a bit much.
I’d boosted myself with power borrowed from my spirit, and now here I was, carrying her up the mountain. I was starting to think it was time to put the kid through the Kyouichirou boot camp. That said, I was impressed that she’d finally asked me outright to carry her. Maybe she’d done some growing up…
“I’ll try not to bust your balls,” she said.
…Okay, so maybe she’s just gotten pushier.
And it is way too soon to be saying things like that, for all sorts of reasons.
After another thirty minutes of climbing, we finally reached our destination.
“We’re here,” Jupiter announced.
She clambered down my back and then, with careful steps, blended into the scenery ahead of us.
“No way…”
Beside me, Haruka audibly gasped. I could understand why—the landscape in front of us packed quite a punch.
We were looking out over a gorgeous vista. Colorful flowers bloomed in all directions. There were even varieties from all four seasons, blossoming together. It was truly unbelievable.
Summer hydrangeas mingled with spring cherry blossoms. Beneath them sprouted late-summer cosmos and autumn spider lilies. There were roses, lilies, gerberas, marigolds, sweet Osmanthus, sasanquas, daisies, cyclamens, and tulips. The area was bursting with flowers from every month of the year. It was paradise; there was no better word to describe it.
“Are these all real?” Haruka asked.
The small girl nodded as she walked through the field. “They’re real. James says they’re like this ’cause of the dungeon.”
In certain cases, the bosses found inside the Five Great Dungeons were so powerful that they even affected the outside world. Maybe the limitless vitality of Mother of All had created this miraculous phenomenon. The Five Great Dungeons really were on a completely different level; this garden was more than enough to convince me.
“The flowers here never die,” said Jupiter. “They stay pretty forever. This garden is a kind of power spot.”
This area, which felt the effects of the dungeon most heavily, was jointly managed by the Adventurers Guild and the Rosso and Blu clan.
“I used to visit all the time when I was in James’s clan,” Jupiter explained.
“How did you make it all the way out here?”
“Eliza always took me.”
This dungeon was the home of the Rosso and Blu clan. It made sense that Jupiter had come to think of the place as her personal garden.
“I always liked this place. I really liked everyone in the clan, too. Eliza, James, everyone. I liked all of them.”
The girl in her straw hat looked up at the out-of-season cherry blossoms with a mix of nostalgia and sadness. She blended into the scene so perfectly that without even meaning to, I took out my smartphone and almost snapped her picture.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
“Oh, sorry. I was just, y’know… I just thought it would make for a beautiful photo.”
“Yeah. It really is beautiful here.”
She’d misunderstood me, but I didn’t correct her as she nodded in agreement and smiled.
…Wait. She smiled?
“Jupi…”
“Did you just…?”
Haruka and I looked at her.
“Huh?”
For some reason, the central figure in this unprecedented metamorphosis was the only one who didn’t realize what had just happened.
I opened the camera app on my phone and turned on selfie mode so Jupiter could use it like a mirror. Soon, the girl’s crimson eyes filled with surprise and elation.
“I’m…smiling?”
It wasn’t an ear-to-ear grin. The corners of her mouth were just barely turned upward, and her eyes had narrowed only slightly.
But there was no doubt about it—the girl had smiled. And it was no maniacal grin, either. Her smile was modest, yet gentle. It was a sight lovelier than any flower in the garden.
I could feel my eyes growing moist. Beside me, Haruka’s face was already wet with tears.
After years of suppressing her emotions to keep the people around her safe, Jupiter could finally smile.
She had been through all sorts of tragedies, suffered countless hardships. She’d fought long and hard. But in the end, she was finally able to smile.
“I guided you here today so you could see me be reborn. I want my new life to begin here, in the place I loved the most.” Jupiter said all this under the cloudless sky. She sounded just like she always did. “…I’m… I—I…”
I didn’t know if it was because she was thinking about the past or looking ahead to her newfound bright future, but Jupiter began to cry.
The way she scrunched up her face as big tears rolled down her cheeks made her look like any other kid her age. More than anything else, it was proof she was no longer under anyone else’s control. She didn’t have to swallow her emotions anymore—she could finally laugh and cry.
This was an incredible and precious victory, and it had been hard-won. It was that realization that finally broke me, and tears began to flow down my face.
“I… I want to…make lots of…sob…amazing, new memories. I’m gonna be the—the happiest…sob…kid in the whole wide world…”
Haruka and I desperately tried to hold back our tears as we waited for Jupiter to say her piece.
That’s right, Jupiter. You’re a kind girl, and you’ve worked so hard… I’m sure you’ll…
“…I’m going…to be happy…from now on.”
There was no need for anyone to say anything more.