“…”
In the chaotic world, a faint light seemed to come from afar.
“Wow! It really is a ‘Descending Star’! Didn’t they say only one Descending Star exists in an era? I remember Lulu is only 17 years old this year, right?”
“Hmm… strictly speaking, I’m already quite old.”
“No, no, Lulu is only 17. Let me pinch your cheeks!”
“That tickles… pfft, hahaha, stop it…”
“Damn it, I actually got out of it. Watch me activate the Knight Order engine boost!”
“…”
Whose… voice?
In a daze, having regained a little consciousness, I seemed to be curled up inside some comfortable container, and from time to time a faint, uncertain sound reached my ears.
So sleepy…
“…”
“It really is the second ‘Descending Star.’ I have seen descriptions of Descending Stars in the ‘Great Library’ of White Snow City, and they are exactly the same as the patterns on this one.”
“But I remember that on Starfall Day five years ago, a Descending Star fell. That child’s name was…”
“Lyriel Gloriosa, that should be the name.”
“Then this Descending Star, just what…”
“Perhaps we need to go to the Great Library again?”
“…”
I seemed to be inside a somewhat spacious house, and the voices of the people talking around me were all very cute and gentle, just like the voices of girls from the “anime” or “2D” worlds I had once been obsessed with.
Moreover, the most important thing was that they were using a language I had no memory of, yet I could understand it directly.
This language required very few syllables to pronounce, and when spoken, it gave off an elegant, noble feeling.
Elvish.
The closest language system I could think of was Elvish, which existed only in legends.
Since my profession was that of a novelist, I could only think along those lines.
The first impression given by elves and Elvish was elegance and nobility, and the language those girls used gave me a similar feeling.
Then what am I now… transmigrated? Or dead?
Have I come to the world after death? Are all the girls talking around me elves?
I couldn’t figure it out.
I only remembered that at the time, I had received an invitation from a middle school classmate and gone to a morning tea shop near the city center.
After that, I couldn’t remember clearly.
So sleepy…
In a daze, I fell asleep again.
“…”
“Hello, ‘star’ from the ‘otherworld.’ I am Lyriel, Lyriel Gloriosa. You may call me Lulu.”
I did not know how much time had passed, but a gentle voice reached my ears.
I seemed to have heard this voice many times in my dreams. Now it was as if it were right by my ear, faint and hazy like a kind mother’s bedtime story from memory–
“I once made a wish to the stars on Starfall Day, hoping to meet ‘him’ in this world. Then the starry sky sent down this star and brought you to this world.”
“In Lumina, only one ‘Descending Star’ appears in an era. Hmm, to put it in the plain language of my era… only one person will cross over to Lumina in an era, but in the era I live in, two ‘Descending Stars’ have appeared, and one of them is me.”
Then the girl who seemed to be right by my ear softly said my name.
“…”
“Teresia, may you find your own long-cherished wish.”
After that, she seemed to stand up from a chair and walk away.
Wait!
I wanted to call out to the girl, but my soft, plush body had no strength at all.
I did not even know how to make the motion of “opening my mouth.”
“…”
It was her.
In that moment, countless memories that I had originally sealed away surfaced in my mind–
Memories of running with her along a country path.
Memories of exchanging notebooks and writing diaries with her in the classroom after school.
The memory of holding hands for the first time.
The memory of hugging for the first time.
The memory of confessing for the first time.
The memory of sitting on the Ferris wheel at an amusement park as lovers, leaning on each other’s shoulders and falling asleep…
“…”
So… it was you.
I found you… Xinxin.
Amid these beautiful memories, I fell into a deep sleep again.
“…”
“How much longer until she comes out of the ‘eggshell’? I can’t wait…”
“It’s usually about a month, right? How long did Lulu sleep before?”
“Hmm, Sister Freya said 28 days?”
“Hey, hey, children born from a ‘Descending Star’ are all 12 years old, right? Then she’s my little sister, right? Right?”
“That is how it is, but…”
“…”
After that, I remained in a half-asleep, half-awake state for a while, and from time to time the voices of girls talking came from around me.
As the number of times I woke increased, I gradually became able to feel the existence of my own body.
I began to be able to turn my head slightly, open my eyes a little, or move my hands and feet.
In this state, I was lying curled up like a baby inside an oval container.
Judging from the conversation of the girls outside, I now seemed to be an “egg.”
“Hatching should be complete in about three more days, right?”
“I can’t wait. I wonder what the new friend will be like…”
“Will she be similar to Lulu? After all, she also came from that ‘otherworld.'”
“Should we prepare a suitable outfit for her in advance? A sailor uniform? Or Lolita?”
“…”
However, just when I thought my body would gradually recover its strength with time and that once I had enough energy, I would break open the round “eggshell” around me and get out, something unexpected happened.
That day, along with an eerie “buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz,” something strange seemed to come near me.
“Hiss…“
“Wooo–“
The thing that came closer repeated an eerie cry that made me instinctively afraid.
It was a little like the sound of something being torn apart, and also like the weeping of some beast.
“Wooo…”
Right after that, amid a feeling of weightlessness, I seemed to leave the ground together with the eggshell wrapped around me.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz–“
“Oh no! Monsters!”
“Why would monsters appear in the main city?”
“It’s a Shadowfiend! It’s carrying the ‘Descending Star’ in its arms! Stop it!”
Right after that, as if a TV had suddenly switched channels, the originally gentle indoor light outside the eggshell was replaced by dazzling golden sunlight.
It stung so much that even with my eyes closed, I felt a little uncomfortable.
“…”
The warmth that belonged only to the sun came rushing in through the thin eggshell all at once.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz–“
“No good, this Shadowfiend is too fast!”
“Careful, it’s about to teleport…”
“What do we do? The Shadowfiend’s teleport targets follow no pattern, and it’s still carrying…”
“…”
After that, the sunlight outside the eggshell seemed to soften a little.
The voices of the girls who had been talking before disappeared.
I could faintly hear the sound of a small stream flowing continuously not far away.
“Waaaaaah!“
The strange thing holding me let out a scream, as if it had been hit by some powerful attack, and it seemed to be in great pain.
“Sssss–“
Another sound like bubbles being torn apart came.
I was still wondering what on earth was happening outside when the whole world suddenly felt weightless.
The eggshell and I fell heavily downward–
“Crack!“
The next second, as I suddenly fell from the sky, I felt as if I had hit something hard, and the eggshell around me shuddered violently.
“Crack, crack, crack, crack…”
Amid the many cracks spreading before my eyes, the eggshell… shattered.
“…”
…
[Erinie Isha’s Notes]—
Teresia is a word used for blessings in Lumina.
When confessing to a girl you like, saying goodbye to a good friend, expressing thanks for a manor owner’s hospitality, or when elders encourage their children, people use the word “Teresia.”
It is somewhat similar to the Earth phrase “I wish you all the best,” but the feeling expressed by “Teresia” is stronger.
If I had to put it another way, it roughly means “Please be happy, be joyful every day, and take care of yourself!” Something like that.
The feeling of “Parateresia,” however, is much gentler.
It is generally used only when close good friends part, though it seems every girl in Lumina will put someone into the category of “good friend” even if they have only met once.
It carries the sense of “I wish you happiness and a safe journey.”
Among these, the most commonly used blessing is–
Parateresia, may you find your own long-cherished wish.
