Promise of the Full Moon
With her assurance that I could return, I was able to converse with her in a much more relaxed frame of mind afterward.
"...I see. So you helped that boy James and received the white flower as payment. It must have been a tough decision to aid a child who'd betrayed you once before."
"At the time, that kid was being threatened by some really nasty bully. It's not much of an excuse, but... I felt bad that he'd lost something as precious as his grandfather's keepsake."
I carefully lifted the teacup and took a sip. As the warm energy slid down my throat, the lingering tension melted away, and a subtle floral scent lingered at the tip of my nose, warming my heart.
"Oh, by the way, in our world, this flower was called 'Luminaris's White Flower.'"
"It's... almost like my name."
"Not almost—it's probably named after Lumina. You said this flower was created by Lumina's younger sister for her, right? Lumina... Luminaris... It's obvious!"
Lumina glanced aside for a moment, then cradled her teacup in both hands and smiled quietly. But that smile somehow seemed lonely.
"It could be..."
At that moment, a gentle breeze from the garden rustled the petals, and a brief silence fell between us.
"Come to think of it, you still seem so young—did you already use the flower petal?"
"...Yeah. They said it would spoil if I didn't use it soon..."
I fidgeted with my fingers and averted my gaze without thinking. Like a child caught doing something wrong...
"If the white flower's effects manifest in your body now, you might not grow for a long time."
"Eek!!"
A chill ran down my spine in an instant. The thought of spending my life in this small, fragile body was not what I wanted at all.
"You didn't know that much, did you?"
"No... I just thought it'd make my skin nicer and make me prettier..."
My voice grew smaller and smaller, my head bowing automatically. A cold shadow seemed to creep over my heart, leaving me feeling glum.
"In that case, I can pause the flower's effects for you. Shall I?"
"You can do that?!"
Hope surged suddenly, my heart pounding. My teary face lit up brightly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Please!"
I nodded vigorously with all my might.
"Very well..."
Lumina rose from her seat and approached me. As her fingertips touched my forehead, a soft light spread out, enveloping my entire body, and I felt something inside me gently come to a halt.
"There. I've set the flower's effects to activate again after you've grown enough. If you want, it wouldn't be hard to trigger it midway."
"Thank you, Lumina!"
Unable to contain my joy, I jumped up and hugged her. Being so short, I naturally clung to her waist, but I could fully feel her warmth.
"!?"
Actually, her body felt a little cool. But it wasn't unpleasant.
"Mmnya~"
Lumina stiffened in surprise for a moment... but she didn't push me away or reject me; she just wasn't used to such displays of affection.
"Hehe~"
She belatedly patted my back lightly and gave an awkward smile.
"By the way, Lumina... how long have you been trapped here?"
Lumina's gaze lingered in the air for a bit, as if sifting through fragments of ancient memories, lost in thought.
"It's been so long, I can barely remember."
Her words were so vague, I couldn't even begin to fathom the time. I couldn't imagine how many lonely years she'd endured alone.
"Didn't you ever want to escape or get out of here?"
"I'm not sure..."
Lumina shook her head quietly.
"Weren't you bored or lonely?"
"...Bored or lonely? That's an interesting question. It'd be a lie to say I wasn't lonely at all, but fortunately, I've spent most of my time here asleep. Compared to the time I've lingered in this place, the moments I felt those emotions might not have been that many."
I was suddenly enveloped in an inexplicable, hollow silence.
"Will you go back to sleep once I leave?"
"Sadly, that's not easy. Once awakened, you can't just fall asleep again right away. It takes at least a hundred years in your time to slumber once more."
"...Gasp!"
I suddenly recalled our first meeting—how she'd mistaken me for someone else and said she'd awakened.
"Wait... did I... did I wake you up, by any chance?"
Lumina didn't answer, merely giving a wry smile. That alone was enough to confirm it.
"I'm sorry... Ugh, uwu... because of me..."
"It's fine. A hundred years might seem long by human standards, but to me, it's not that much."
"Still... having to be alone all that time isn't right."
Without realizing it, I clenched my fists. Her loneliness felt like it was piercing my own chest.
"Teresa really is a kind child..."
I blanked out for a second.
"...Mmnya? Me?"
I'd never heard anyone call me kind before, nor had I ever thought of myself that way.
"No... that's just your misconception, Lumina."
"Maybe. What counts as kind or good is all subjective, based on personal perspectives and objective standards. But by my measure, you're like a pure gem. Talking with you... it just makes me feel good, somehow."
"Mmnya..."
My chest tickled strangely. It felt odd... but not bad at all.
"...Teresa."
"Yes?"
"If possible... on nights when the full moon rises, would you come visit again? Be my companion in conversation?"
"Companion?"
I tilted my head quizzically.
"I'm not forcing you. You don't have to come every month—just whenever you feel like it."
"Of course! But I..."
"But?"
"I don't have any more of Luminaris's white flowers."
My gaze naturally drifted aside. The garden was filled with blooming white flowers everywhere.
"Ah! I can just take some from here!"
But she shook her head.
"No, unfortunately, you can't bring flowers from this place to your world."
"...Uh, ugh..."
Disappointment flooded me just as my face started to fall, but she continued.
"Instead, I'll give you something even better."
"Something better?"
"This is a gift for our fateful meeting."
Her fingertip slowly approached, gently touching my right eye.
"!"
Strangely, it didn't hurt or scare me. A cluster of light seeped from her finger into my eye, and I quietly closed my eyes, accepting the gentle influx.
It felt like ripples of light were forming deep inside, as if something new had taken root in my eye.
"All done."
"...?"
Lumina withdrew her hand and stepped back.
"Now, whenever you want to come here, you won't need the white flower—just your will and a glimpse of the full moon will suffice."
"Just by looking?"
It felt like something had changed, but I couldn't quite grasp what.
"What changed?"
"Why don't you look up at the sky?"
"The sky?"
That's when it happened.
"Uh...?"
As I glanced up absentmindedly, an unseen veil that had shrouded the sky lifted away. Beyond it, a colossal blue moon loomed, radiating light as if to swallow the world.
"A massive... moon?"
No, it was too enormous to call a moon.
Can a moon be this big...?
A vivid blue star, clear enough to see the flow of clouds. Different from Earth's, but I understood what it was.
Am I... standing on the moon right now?
Which meant... at this very moment, I was on the moon, looking down at the world I lived in.
"It seems time's up."
I looked down to see my body gradually turning transparent. Even my fingertips were fading, emitting a faint glow.
"...See you again."
In that instant, I understood her words.
"...Ah!"
Darkness briefly covered my eyes.
... .. .
Moon Eye
(Gift from Lumina — Reveals truths.)
When I came to, I was submerged in water, accompanied by the familiar cascade of alert chimes.
My lungs, which had been holding their breath, burned as they constricted, and a dull heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"Pwah!!!"
I thrashed my limbs desperately, breaking the surface. Air rushed into my lungs in a gasp.
"...Hah... haa, hah... haha, aaah..."
Panting raggedly, I tried to calm my heaving chest. The ensuing chill brushed my soaked skin, and only then did I fully realize with my whole body that I'd returned to my original world.
Glancing up, a brightly shining full moon hung in the sky.