15. Precious Time is Forever

“Luca, Lucia! Souvenirs have arrived from Mother and Father.”

“Really? I wonder where they went this time.”

This was the Royal Castle of Marineforest. LuciaRose stopped her paperwork, her face instantly lighting up. Luca let out a chuckle, saying, “They certainly are diligent.”

It had already been a year since TiaraRose and Aquasteed set off on their journey. Souvenirs from various regions arrived like this every so often. LuciaRose looked forward to them immensely, always restlessly excited, wondering if the next batch was almost here.

“Mother mostly sends sweets, but Father sends a lot of magic tools. I actually look forward to those quite a bit,” Stillca said as he began to rummage through the wooden crate. “Oh, what’s this?”

He picked up a magic tool shaped like an oval stone.

“What is that?”

Stillio peered in curiously, and Stillca read the instruction manual placed right beside it.

“It seems to be a water filtration device. Apparently, this one stone can purify an entire wooden tub’s worth of water.”

“Hmm…”

Stillio could tell it was a decent item, but with a limit like “one tub’s worth,” he wasn’t sure if it was practical or not. These sorts of “hard to describe” magic tools were often sent back.

However, Stillca would likely spend his nights working to improve it, given his love for inventing. Stillio couldn’t help but feel that Aquasteed chose these souvenirs specifically with that in mind.

“Still, I wonder when they’ll be coming home? Maybe I should write a letter to Mother and the others.”

Having not seen them for a year, LuciaRose felt a bit lonely; she puffed out her cheeks as she reached for some stationery. However, because she never knew exactly where they were at any given time, it was difficult to actually send anything.

“Why don’t you ask Elliot to send it via magic?”

LuciaRose pondered Stillio’s suggestion.

“Since I’m doing it, I want to use my own magic to send it. I’m practicing with Grimo right now. Haruka’s mother is good at that magic, right? So I’ve been asking Haruka for tips.”

It seemed she wanted to send the letter with her own hands once she mastered the spell. In that case, Stillio saw no reason to intervene. He would simply cheer her on until she could use the magic.

Beside them, Stillca was busy sorting out and hoarding the souvenirs he wanted for himself.

“Hey, Luca. Don’t just pick whatever you want. I haven’t even looked yet.”

“What’s the harm? I’m the only one with any use for magic tools anyway. Or do you want this water-purifying tool?”

“No, I don’t want that, but…”

Everything Stillca chose were magic tools. LuciaRose took the remaining sweets, like cookies and small trinkets. What was left for Stillio were things like a one-shouldered cloak, wood carvings, and fountain pens.

Since TiaraRose had chosen them specifically with the three of them in mind, they were stylish and of high quality.

“Well then, I guess I’ll wear this cloak.”

“That’s a good idea. It suits you very well.”

As Stillio draped the cloak over his shoulder, LuciaRose applauded and praised him.

“Rio looks so good in a cloak. Wearing it on one shoulder is so cool. Maybe Elene will fall for you all over again.”

“Luca!!”

Thanks to the souvenirs periodically sent by TiaraRose and Aquasteed, laughter never ceased in the Royal Castle of Marineforest.

The sound of waves and an endless sky.

TiaraRose and Aquasteed had come to a vast ocean. A little over a year had passed since they left Marineforest. They were continuing their travels and were currently on a ship heading for a remote island in the west.

“The wind feels wonderful, Aqua.”

“It does. Tiara, are you alright? You’re not seasick?”

“I’m fine.”

In addition to TiaraRose and her husband, many other passengers were on the large ship. Their destination was a famous sightseeing spot said to house historical ruins from ancient times. Rumor had it that it was a “power spot” with strong magical energy, which is why so many people visited.

When they arrived at the island, the islanders—all speaking with a distinctive dialect—came out in full force to greet them with cries of “Welcome!” Even though it was a remote island, the fact that the ruins were a tourist attraction meant there were plenty of inns and shops for travelers. It was more developed than they had imagined.

As they stepped off the ship, a large flower was tucked into TiaraRose’s hair as a sign of welcome. A lei of flowers was placed around Aquasteed’s neck.

“Thank you very much.”

“Thank you.”

“Please, enjoy the island to your heart’s content!”

The islanders winked at them, mentioning that there was plenty of delicious food. They seemed like a cheerful people; it felt like they would have a lovely time on this island as well.

Aquasteed scanned the island and called out to TiaraRose, “Let’s go to that shop.”

“Which one?”

It was rare for Aquasteed to be so proactive, so TiaraRose was surprised but nodded happily. Following his gaze, she saw a shop dealing in traditional ethnic clothing.

—Wow, what a cute-looking shop!

The ethnic clothing of this island consisted of fabric dyed with plants and embroidered with flowers. They used shells gathered from the sea as ornaments, linking several small ones together so they made a “shala-shala” clinking sound. The large, thin cloth wrapped around the waist was just long enough to cover the knees. With sandals on their feet, the amount of exposed skin was quite high compared to what noblewomen in Marineforest usually wore.

—I didn’t see clothes of that length very often in this world.

Since such things were common in Japan, TiaraRose didn’t mind much. There were men’s ethnic outfits in the same design with half-pants, so TiaraRose took Aquasteed’s hand and invited him to try them on together.

“I did want to see you wearing it, but are you sure?”

“Of course. Since we’re here, why don’t we wear them?”

When TiaraRose said that, Aquasteed blinked in surprise.

“I was planning to have you wear it once we were alone at the inn.”

“Eh? Ah…”

It seemed he hadn’t intended to force her to wear something with so much exposure compared to Marineforest dresses. More accurately, Aquasteed probably didn’t want the other tourists or islanders to see TiaraRose like that.

Realizing his intent, TiaraRose’s face turned red.

—That’s true. It’s not a swimsuit, but for everyday wear…

“In that case, shall we wear them together at the inn?”

“Let’s do that.”

Nodding at TiaraRose’s words, Aquasteed ended up buying several sets of ethnic clothing, saying “This one is good, and that one too.” Of course, TiaraRose also selected several outfits for Aquasteed to wear.

After securing an inn, they dropped off their luggage and headed to the ruins, the highlight of their sightseeing.

The ruins were an old stone building. She couldn’t tell the internal structure, but it looked to be about three to five stories high. Inside, torches were lined up at regular intervals to provide light. The cool stone felt pleasant, and it seemed to serve as a resting spot for the islanders as well.

There were murals in the corridors, apparently depicting how people lived in ancient times.

“Looking at things like this is fun, too.”

“It’s quite interesting.”

As TiaraRose and her husband walked while looking at the murals, the nature of the paintings suddenly changed.

“……Hmm?”

Until then, the murals had shown female divers plunging into the sea to catch fish, men engaged in agriculture, carpenters, and hunters—but now there was a mural that looked, for all the world, like someone sitting on a sofa playing a game on a television. Seeing this, Aquasteed stopped and tilted his head. “I wonder what on earth this is supposed to represent?”

“Is it some kind of task unique to this island?”

“I wonder…”

—Could it be someone playing an otome game?

TiaraRose couldn’t help but think that. However, it was hard to say “This is an otome game!” in a ruin that seemed to have historical value. After all, it might just be TiaraRose’s misunderstanding.

“What a… mysterious mural.”

Her laugh was a bit forced, but it couldn’t be helped. Seeing her like that, Aquasteed whispered into her ear.

“Could it be… something related to your previous life, Tiara?”

“—!”

“That reaction tells me I hit the mark.”

Aquasteed seemed to have guessed from her response. He chuckled and asked, “What’s the situation in the painting?”

“Ah—that is—ummm…”

Should she say they were lounging around playing, or call it a serious ritual game? TiaraRose agonized over how to phrase it.

“That is… yes… they are recovering their heart’s energy!”

That’s probably not too far off… hopefully! TiaraRose said it with great confidence, but when Aquasteed replied with a straight face, “I see, that’s impressive,” she turned bright red with embarrassment.

After doing a full circuit and reaching the center of the ruins, they found a staircase leading up.

Upon climbing it, they emerged onto the roof. a tour guide on the roof explained that the moonlight hits this spot perfectly at night.

“It’s quite a mystical place.”

“Yes. It’s fun to see the historical buildings of other countries. We haven’t had many opportunities until now, but I hope we can see many more things from now on.”

“I agree.”

The next country they visited would surely have ruins of historical value as well. It was fun to choose a destination by looking for such things, and they might even find ruins that hadn’t been discovered yet. Thinking about it, this trip was filled with so much excitement.

They purchased “Moon Flowers,” said to bloom only on the roof of the ruins, as a souvenir and returned to the inn.

“As I thought, Tiara looks good in anything.”

“A-Aqua, it suits you very well too.”

Back at the inn, the two immediately tried on the ethnic clothing they had purchased. Whenever TiaraRose walked in the light, fluttering outfit, the shell ornaments clinked softly. The sound was refreshing, but at the same time, it reminded her just a little bit of the sea back in Marineforest.

Since she hadn’t been back for a year, she was naturally a bit homesick and worried about whether the children were doing well.

“What is this feeling…? It’s not quite homesickness, but I find myself wanting to see everyone again after so long.”

“I feel the same way. It’s been a year, and even if we start back for Marineforest now, it will take a few months to get there.”

“True, there is the return journey to consider.”

Travel in this world is basically by carriage. If they hurried, they could go by horseback, but that would be quite a task as they would have to change horses at every town.

—Airplanes and bullet trains really were amazing inventions.

“Ah, I know.”

“Aqua?”

Aquasteed looked at TiaraRose as if struck by an idea.

“Since we’re here, let’s take these ethnic clothes as souvenirs and head back once. Luca and Rio might have things they want to consult us about, after all.”

“We were quite Spartan, leaving them in charge immediately after their accession, weren’t we?”

It would be good to see with their own eyes how the children were doing. There was a chance they were harboring some worries.

“Let’s head back while buying plenty of souvenirs.”

“A single stagecoach might not be enough; we might have to buy several carriages,” Aquasteed laughed, imagining the amount of souvenirs TiaraRose would likely hoard.

“I wouldn’t say… it’s impossible that it would come to that.”

TiaraRose slumped her shoulders, unable to laugh it off. She wanted to buy plenty of souvenirs not just for the children, but for Philine, Elliot, Olivia, Levy, and the others as well.

“Once we’ve seen their faces and relaxed for a bit, let’s take a trip to the north next.”

“I look forward to that!”

Perhaps in other countries, they might find more of the “developer’s playfulness”—like that mural earlier.

—It might be fun to look for things like that.

They could stop by the Lapis Lazuli Kingdom as well and tell Akari about it.

“I’m looking forward to it, Aqua.”

“As am I.”

She couldn’t wait for the time she would spend with Aquasteed from here on out. TiaraRose took Aquasteed’s hand firmly and gave him a brilliant smile.

This concludes the story!

Thank you for staying with me until the end.

It was a joy to be able to write this serialization for so long.

The manga adaptation is still ongoing, and please also look forward to the light novel versions which include newly written content.

I would be happy if you enjoyed this even a little bit.

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