“Whew…” I fled the din of the royal palace’s ballroom and stepped out onto the veranda. I looked up to take in the twinkle of stars and the soft light of the moon. The sight brought peace to my mind, exhausted as I was from all the socializing.
I get that celebrations are important and all, but being at the center of a big to-do is tiring… Tonight, the royal palace—no, the whole of Bauer—was celebrating the defeat of the Three Great Archdemons and the end of our longstanding war with the demons. All the major players in the battle had been invited to the royal palace, where they had been honored with words of gratitude and reward from Thane.
Naturally, I was one of those invited, but there had been simply too many strangers coming up to commend me. The barrage of gratitude was only bearable for a little while, but it quickly grew tedious. I mean, I wasn’t even the kind of girl that liked these kinds of big, clamorous events in the first place!
But what was especially troubling was how I’d get asked to dance every now and then. I wasn’t very good at dancing. I was way worse before I’d practiced a while back, but even now, I wasn’t on a level that could keep up with these high-life socialite types.
“Will you show me what you learned?”
Come to think of it, I did vaguely recall having danced with one of those high-life types before, and I didn’t think I had been this in the dumps after. When was that, I wonder?
“Th-there you are, Rae. I’ve been looking for you,” a gentle voice called from behind me as I basked in the night breeze and strained to remember.
“Miss Lilly…”
“Sh-should the star of the celebration be skipping out?”
It was a formal event, but Lilly was still sporting her Spiritual Church habit. Habits were apparently permitted as formal wear. Incidentally, I’d heard through the grapevine that there were calls to promote her back to cardinal.
As though it was natural for her to do so, Lilly walked up to my side and passed me a drink. To my happy surprise, it wasn’t alcohol but fruit-infused water. What an angel.
“Don’t know, don’t care,” I said. “I can’t bear being in there for another moment. I’m tired of pretending to be all nice.”
“Wh-why not just be yourself?”
“Yeah, right. All the people invited here are super VIPS from Bauer and elsewhere, right? I’d be disgracing His Majesty Thane.”
“Heh heh, so you actually put some thought into this,” she giggled.
“What, you expected me to not? So mean. I think a lot, I’ll have you know,” I said with a pout.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any offense. U-um, what are you thinking about now then?”
“Now? Hmm… I guess I’m wondering what we should do next.”
“O-oh?” she said curiously.
“Yeah, with the threat of the empire gone, and our battle with the demons over, I’m not too sure what comes next.”
“I-Isn’t that obvious? We can finally settle down and live a normal life. All four of us, plus one water slime.”
I knew what she was hinting at: Come home already. Truth was, I still hadn’t returned to our home in Bauer. Using my recovery as an excuse, I was staying in a room at one of the Spiritual Church’s clinics. My body was already healed for the most part…but something deep inside of me just didn’t want to go home.
“Miss Lilly, why don’t we slip away from this celebration?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“I feel like going for a walk.”
“U-um, can we do that?”
“Why not? The ceremony’s already over; all that’s left is the eating and mingling. Nobody would mind if we sneaked out.”
“I-I suppose. Yes, let’s do that then.” Lilly gave her glass to a waiter before returning to walk with me.
“Where are you going, Rae?” a masculine voice called out.
“O-oh, Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law,” Lilly greeted.
“Oh, and Lilly’s with you. Aren’t you two the star of the party today?” another voice said.
These two were my parents in this world, Van Taylor and Mel Taylor. They’d come running from Euclid after hearing I fell comatose following the battle with the demons. I was happy I could stand before them again, safe and sound.
“We’re just heading out for a walk,” I said.
“Just the two of you?” my dad asked.
“Yep.”
“But there’s no celebration without—”
“Oh, don’t be a bore, dear. Right, Lilly?” my mom said with a wink, having come to some conclusion or another.
Lilly blushed and nodded.
“I see. It’s cold out. Take care,” my dad said.
“We will.”
“W-we’ll be off then, Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law.”
“Take care!” my mom said.
They saw us off as we left the celebration behind.
We left the palace grounds and stepped out onto the streets to find the capital bustling with activity. The elated cheers of people celebrating victory could be heard all over. This world lacked photography, so not many knew our faces, which allowed us to walk the streets without being stopped.
“Wh-where are we going?” Lilly asked.
“The academy.”
“O-oh, I’m sure you have a lot of memories there.”
“That I do.”
The Royal Academy wasn’t far from the palace. We reached it in no time at all, went through the formalities for night entry at the entrance, and headed inside. The campus was practically dead silent compared to the streets of the capital. The students had probably had their own celebration of sorts as well, but lights-out time had already come and passed. I could see some lights still on in the research ward, but the majority of the academy was at rest.
“Y-you shared a room with Misha, right?” Lilly said.
“Yeah. She’s helped me out a lot during my time here.”
Despite being the cold, blunt sort, Misha hadn’t ever hesitated to lend me a hand. Especially when it came to matters regarding…
Huh? Regarding what?
“Rae?” Lilly said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I blanked for a moment there.”
“M-maybe you’re tired from the celebration. Why don’t we sit down?” Lilly pointed to a gazebo in the courtyard. I did as she suggested and sat. “W-was your time at the academy fun?”
“Yes, very. I could immerse myself in my passion and even had a part-time job.”
“R-really? That sounds nice. I wish I’d gone to the academy too. Then maybe I could’ve met you even sooner.”
“Heh heh,” I giggled, but something I’d said left me unsettled. What had I immersed myself in again? And what had I done for my part-time job?
“R-Rae, are you all right? You’re trembling.”
“Huh?” I hadn’t noticed until she pointed it out, but I was hugging my arms and shaking slightly.
“A-are you cold? You shouldn’t push yourself; you haven’t made a full recovery yet. Let’s go back.” Lilly grasped my hand. It was so warm. But it didn’t make my trembling stop.
“Miss Lilly, I think I’m forgetting something important.”
“H-huh? Something important?”
“Yeah. Something I wasn’t meant to forget. Something critical to my very being.”
She looked flummoxed.
I calmed my trembling and continued, “This world has peace now. The empire is no longer an enemy, and our battle with the demons is over. I have you, May, and Aleah. This should be all I ever wanted. And yet…”
“It’s okay. G-go on,” Lilly gently urged.
“It’s not enough. Something is missing.”
“Oh, Rae…”
“Even if the world is so peaceful, even if nobody else feels something is off, I know there’s something I’ve forgotten, something I mustn’t forget—something I desperately need!”
I was sure Lilly would be disgusted with me. She had every right to disparage someone who refused to come home to a loving family and gave in to such outrageous outbursts. Or maybe instead, she’d cry like she always did. Apprehensively, I waited to find out which it would be.
“I see,” she said. “Then you’d best remember as fast as you can.”
Contrary to my fears, Lilly smiled tenderly at me.
“You believe me?”
“I do. It’s coming from you, after all. Now and forevermore, I will always be there to believe in you.”
“Miss Lilly…” I had no words. Lilly probably understood: Whatever it was that I wanted to remember would shatter the happiness we shared now. She knew if I forgot about this nagging feeling and accepted my life with her, we could live happily together forever. But she didn’t try to change my mind. She unconditionally accepted my choice. “Why…? Why, Miss Lilly?”
“It’s simple: I love you, Rae. My happiness comes from your happiness. That’s why I can’t stand to see you force a smile for me.”
So she’d known something was wrong. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Miss Lilly…”
“Aha ha… It’s okay. I’ve always thought it was weird that someone like me could wind up together with you.”
“Don’t say that!”
“It’s fine. This doesn’t mean I’ve given up. After you remember what you’ve forgotten, I’ll work my hardest to make you my lover again. Just you wait,” Lilly said with a smile. I was sure her heart was torn, but she still managed to beam without a hint of sadness.
“Oh, Miss Lilly… I—”
“A-anyway, can you tell me what you think you forgot? Do you have any clues?” She cut off my attempt to comfort her and moved the conversation along.
I wanted to apologize again but swallowed my words and answered. “I don’t have anything concrete, but occasionally I hear somebody’s voice in my head.”
“A voice, huh?”
“Yes. One full of pride and confidence, but also just a bit brittle.” I was surprised to find I could describe it in such detail given the fragmented bits of memory I yet retained.
An unfamiliar voice suddenly broke in. “Hm, perhaps my pseudo-hypnosis was too shallow after all?”
I turned around and saw an unknown girl behind me wearing the academy uniform.