Interlude 1: Rio’s Dream
“Wait? Is this… my school?”
As the statue of the goddess in the Temple shone brightly, I suddenly found myself standing in a familiar place. Looking around, I realized I was in the entrance of my old school. Judging by the direction the other students were heading, it must be morning, as everyone was changing into their indoor shoes and making their way to class.
“Well, I guess I should head to my classroom…”
After changing into my indoor shoes, I walked towards my classroom. Upon opening the door, I noticed that almost all the students had already arrived. About half of them turned their gazes towards me, but it was only for a moment. No one seemed to pay me any mind. Instead—
“…there he is.”
I spotted a boy slumped over his desk in the second-to-last seat by the window.
“Shuu…”
I whispered his name softly while still holding my bag, moving closer to him, only to be unexpectedly grabbed by the hem of my uniform.
“Hey, Rio, where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh? Oh… g-good morning!”
“Yeah. Good morning.”
It was Yamashita Chino, the only person in class who would talk to me. Upon realizing it, I had almost passed my own seat, intending to call out to Shuu. Chino’s seat was one row to the right and one seat ahead of Shuu’s. Reluctantly, I sat down at my desk, placing my bag on top and stowing my textbooks inside.
Thinking back, there was a possibility that Shuu might not even know who I was. Just moments ago, I believed we were in the midst of a wedding ceremony, but the Shuu here might not share the same memories.
“Hey, are you okay? Your face keeps turning red and blue all of a sudden.”
Chino’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“Ah, um… I’m fine.”
I had been distracted by the fact that I was married to Shuu, but that didn’t necessarily mean the Shuu in front of me was the same. I felt like I needed to observe the situation a bit longer.
“Well, that’s good…”
I continued to watch Shuu, but he showed no signs of lifting his head from the desk.
“Alright, everyone, take your seats! We’re starting class!”
Before long, the teacher arrived, and the first period began. Shuu finally lifted his head, but despite my hopes, he didn’t look my way.
“You seem to be staring out the window a lot today. Is there something outside?”
“Uh, um…”
During the break between the second and third periods, Chino finally spoke up as I kept glancing around. When I briefly looked at Shuu, Chino followed my gaze to the window. Of course, there was nothing outside.
“There’s nothing out there, but… wait…”
Chino’s gaze returned to me, and it seemed she had noticed something, as she then looked towards the boy by the window. When she turned back to me, her lips curled into a smirk, as if she had discovered something amusing.
“Oh, so that’s what it was?”
It seemed I had been found out. In the past, I might have felt embarrassed if Chino discovered my feelings, but now it didn’t seem to bother me as much… though I could feel my face heating up a little.
“Yeah.”
“Oh my, you’re not denying it.”
“I’m not. I like Shuu.”
Shuu remained slumped over his desk, but I thought I saw his shoulder twitch slightly at my declaration. Did he hear me?
“Wow… I thought you weren’t acting like this until yesterday. What happened? And you’re even calling him by his name now.”
I had instinctively called him by his name, but I couldn’t help it since I used to call him that all the time.
“Um… well, it’s just that I don’t really know how to explain it…”
“What’s with the hesitation? Are you saying this is going to be a long story? That sounds interesting, so I’ll listen to the end!”
I hesitated because I doubted she would believe me, but I genuinely didn’t know how to articulate my feelings.
“Um, well…”
As I struggled to find the right words, the bell rang, signaling the start of the third period.
“Oh no, time’s up! But well, I guess I’ll have to hear all about it during lunch!”
Chino chuckled mischievously, and I felt overwhelmed as I pondered how to explain everything. It wasn’t like I was trying to hide my feelings for Shuu, but what should I do?
While I was lost in thought, the class continued. A quick glance revealed that Shuu and I made eye contact. I suppressed my racing heart and smiled at him, receiving a wry smile in return.
During lunch, Shuu usually went somewhere else. I had heard he liked to eat alone on the rooftop. I wanted to join him, but Chino had other plans.
“Alright, spill the beans!”
Chino approached me with a determined look, but I already had my answer ready.
“Um, well… it’s love at first sight.”
“What?!”
In this world, where I had never interacted with Shuu before, that was the only reason I could think of for falling for him.
“After all that teasing during break, that’s all you’ve got?”
But I had been with Shuu since we entered the Forest of Enchantment. I knew him well enough to understand his character. Even without direct conversation, I could speak about the things I liked about him based on surface-level interactions.
Before I knew it, the fifth period had begun. Even though I had the chance to see Shuu at school, we hadn’t had a proper conversation. I felt I needed to change that, so during the break between the fifth and sixth periods, I decided to approach him.
“Um… can I talk to you for a second?”
As the bell rang, signaling the break, I called out to Shuu before he could slump back down onto his desk.
“Yuzuki…? Do you need something?”
Shuu’s face turned slightly red, and he seemed a bit fidgety. Ah, so he really didn’t know me. But I had expected that.
“I want to talk about something. Can we walk home together after school?”
“Uh…?”
“See you later!”
I didn’t want to have a conversation with Shuu in front of our classmates, so I planned to talk to him on the way home.
“Oh, so you’re making your move already!”
When I returned to my seat, Chino was practically buzzing with excitement. I sighed; I wasn’t naturally an assertive person, so I could understand why she was surprised. Even if this was a dream, I felt I needed to take action if I wanted to be with Shuu in Japan.
No way was I going to let anyone else have him.
“Women need courage.”
“Ahaha, what’s that supposed to mean?”
After the sixth period ended, it was finally after school. Shuu usually waited until the classroom had cleared out a bit before getting ready to leave.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”
“Ah, okay.”
I called out to Shuu, and Chino and I began packing our things to leave the classroom.
“Hehehe, make sure to tell me everything later. Good luck!”
With a grin, Chino patted my shoulder and left ahead of me. As if I needed luck; Shuu was already my husband. Even if he didn’t know me, I was confident I could make it work.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
After a while, Shuu arrived, looking a bit nervous.
“No, it’s fine.”
I took his hand to ease his tension, but he flinched in surprise. His face turned red—was Shuu always this cute?
As I smiled at him, my vision began to fade to white, and just like that, my consciousness slipped away.