I’ve kept you waiting a long time. This time, it’s the story of the other girl.
I received a review from “Ojō”! I’m thrilled to hear it’s been a source of comfort. Thank you!
At that moment, Aira Misono was a sixteen-year-old high school student.
She lived with her father and mother, just her parents, as an only child. Both parents worked, so Aira was often alone at home when they were out.
That day, her parents were in the middle of a busy period at work. Despite it being late at night, Aira was the only one home. She was reading a magazine in her room when her throat felt dry, and she craved something sweet. Deciding to head to the convenience store on the first floor of their apartment building, she slipped on her shoes at the entrance and reached for the door. Just then, a white light spilled out from beneath her feet, so bright she had to close her eyes. When the light she could still feel through her eyelids subsided, she cautiously opened them to find herself in an unfamiliar room.
(What’s this?)
She’d been in her home just a moment ago, but now an unknown scene stretched before her. The floor and walls were made of stone, and around her, people in strange outfits were cheering with joy. Aira gazed at it all vaguely, feeling like she was watching a movie.
There was another person summoned alongside her, but Aira didn’t notice her. That other woman was sitting crumpled to Aira’s right and slightly behind her. Aira’s mind, overwhelmed by the situation, had given up processing anything, so her awareness didn’t extend that far back. Her not noticing the other woman at this moment was the first point of divergence.
After a while, the sound of a door opening caught her attention, and she reflexively looked toward it. Three young men entered the room. Their attire was unfamiliar too, and their handsome faces struck her as actor-like, reinforcing the movie-like sensation. As they approached her, one of them, a red-haired youth who seemed the most noble, knelt before her. With a smile, he said:
“Are you the Saint?”
The words of Kyle Slantania, the First Prince of the Slantania Kingdom, reached Aira’s ears clearly. She registered the sound, but the meaning didn’t sink in. While she stared blankly up at Kyle’s face, he kept talking, but his words flowed through her mind from right to left without her grasping them. Noticing something off about her, a dark-blue-haired youth Damian Goltz, Kyle’s childhood friend and the current chancellor’s son—whispered something to Kyle. Kyle then said, “Let’s move for now,” took Aira’s hand, and helped her stand.
Led by Kyle and the others, she walked down a long palace corridor and entered a sunlit room. During the walk, Aira calmed down somewhat and started taking in her surroundings. Sitting on a sofa in the room, she finally had the composure to talk with Kyle and his group.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Kyle Slantania, First Prince of the Slantania Kingdom. May I have your name?”
“I’m Misono Aira.”
She answered as asked but realized afterward she might’ve given her family name first, unlike the local custom.
“Oh, Aira’s my given name.”
“I see. In your country, Aira, the order of names must differ from ours.”
Her faint voice drew deeper smiles from Kyle and the others. They’d introduced themselves back in the summoning chamber, but Aira had been too dazed to respond, making them worry that the summoning had gone wrong and affected her health.
“Um, why am I here?”
That was the first question that popped into her head. She’d been about to go to the convenience store and opened the door—only to end up in Europe. She hadn’t actually opened the door, but that’s how it felt to her. Even she thought what she was saying sounded absurd.
“We summoned you with the [Saint Summoning Ritual].”
“Saint?”
Tilting her head, Aira prompted Damian, standing beside Kyle, to explain the [Saint] and the [Saint Summoning Ritual]. Through his explanation, she learned she’d been summoned to another world to defeat monsters. An otherworldly summons. Something she’d only read about in manga or novels was happening to her right now. It didn’t feel real, but as she processed that much, a new question struck her: Could she return to Japan? In stories, fulfilling a purpose sometimes let you go back.
“Uh… if I defeat the monsters, can I return to my original world?”
“No, I’ve never heard of a summoned Saint returning to their world.”
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Aira voiced her thought as it came, and Damian supplemented his earlier explanation. Apparently, the last ritual was ages ago, and there’s no record of that [Saint] returning to their world.
“I can’t… go back?”
Her stunned murmur, spoken as if it slipped out, shifted Kyle’s joyful expression into one of confusion. To Kyle and his group, summoning Aira was a triumph, but it didn’t necessarily mean the same for her. He only realized that when a single tear fell from her eye.
Some time had passed since the [Saint Summoning Ritual], and by the time Aira had grown accustomed to the Slantania Kingdom, Kyle suggested she attend the Royal Academy. It was a school for the kingdom’s noble children, where she could learn basic academics and magic, most of what a [Saint] needed to know according to him. Aira nodded without hesitation. By then, she’d grown dependent on Kyle.
After she’d shed that tear, Kyle had taken extra care of her. Feeling guilty for separating her from her family and friends through the summons, he acted to atone for it. That incident made Aira someone he had to protect. To ease her heart even a little, he did whatever came to mind. Despite his own duties, attending the academy and handling some public affairs compared to the king he made time to stay by her side as much as possible. For Aira, who’d arrived with nothing, he gifted trendy dresses, accessories, daily necessities, and cute-looking sweets. His aides did the same when he wasn’t around, taking turns staying with her, chatting about this kingdom or her old world over shared snacks. Treated so gently, like being wrapped in cotton, Aira who had no one else to rely on, gradually grew dependent on them.
As an only daughter, her parents had cherished her deeply. Her family was well-off, and from a young age, they’d showered her with toys, clothes, and more, whether she wanted them or not. Her mother, especially, loved dressing her in cute outfits. On her mother’s days off, Aira was always put in outing clothes and taken various places. To her mother, she was a precious doll, and since it had always been that way, Aira never questioned it. Following her mother’s directions never caused any trouble.
Summoned to another world and torn from her family, Kyle and his group’s actions mirrored her old life. As she adjusted, she accepted what Kyle gave her without suspicion and followed his instructions. To her, it was simply natural.