Actually, I’m the one in the three sisters who sleeps the most.
But I don’t think of myself as ‘lazy.’ I typically wake up around eight without even setting my smartphone alarm, assuming the sun is shining outside. Of course, that could be a bit delayed in winter.
Anyway, it was surprising that I was the first to wake up among the three sisters.
Usually, Claire is the one who gets up first and shakes us awake. Then she drags us out, still half-asleep, insisting we make the most of our time until we head back home.
But right now, Claire was sleeping.
Though she’s usually full of energy, sometimes to the point of being too much, seeing her asleep made her look like an angel.
No, wait. Claire is always an angel. She thinks I saved her when she was young, but I believe Claire saved my life in Azernar.
If it weren’t for her, everything I did would have been incredibly difficult.
With her always positive attitude, helping me with a smile, and lighting up my path, Claire has already become a very important person to me.
Alice is the same.
She might grumble a bit and sometimes doubt me, but she believes in me just as much as I believe in myself. It was also because I didn’t want to hurt Alice and Claire that I managed not to go crazy and corrupt in Azernar.
“… Hmm.”
I pondered for a moment while looking at the two angels sleeping.
Should I wake them up?
But… I didn’t feel like it.
I took out my smartphone. Then I took pictures of their faces. It wasn’t to take weird photos, I just thought they looked pretty while sleeping.
Since they both seemed to be sleeping really deeply, they didn’t wake up from the click of the smartphone.
Could it have been because we talked for a long time last night?
I couldn’t even remember what time we went to bed.
Then I grabbed my outerwear and stepped outside.
“Ugh.”
After shivering from the cold dawn air, I put on my windbreaker and zipped it all the way up. With my hands shoved into my pockets, I felt a bit better.
Taking a deep breath, I filled my lungs with the cold yet refreshing air, which helped clear my head a little.
“…”
Then, without saying a word, I walked towards the Emperor’s tent.
Hmm.
It seemed like no one was inside. While I couldn’t see inside from outside, there’s usually some presence when a person is sleeping.
I circled around the tent, which had its zipper completely closed, and shrugged.
If he was sleeping, I didn’t want to wake him up. There was no point in waking him up for no reason.
However, if he was awake—
I took another deep breath, letting fresh air fill my lungs as I headed towards the beach.
Swish, swish, the sound of the waves was magnificent.
I once read a novel that started with a phrase about the sea being like crayons… what was it again? Maybe it was The Ocean Is a Crayon or something. The beginning of the story had left a strong impression on me, just like that. The waves looked like a blue dragon rolling over.
And there was someone unmistakably recognizable standing on that beach.
Though he looked like he could be transitioning from middle-aged to elderly in just a few years, he still stood tall with broad shoulders. Was that the physique of someone who had supported a nation?
But standing alone in front of the sea made him seem so small, even though he was someone who had aimed to put nature beneath his feet.
I strolled aimlessly.
The sand, which had dried out somewhat overnight, didn’t cling much to my feet.
But I definitely felt grains of sand getting stuck between my toes.
With that aimless wandering, I reached the Emperor.
“Awake?”
“If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have come here. Do I look like I have sleepwalking issues?”
“… You’re saying things you wouldn’t have before.”
“That’s because you were the Emperor, holding absolute power. I had to hide my strength.”
“If that’s the case, you weren’t very successful. I never let my guard down around you.”
“Yeah, well, the Goddess felt the same way.”
I sighed deeply.
I listened to the sound of the waves for a moment.
I know that the realm of human emotions doesn’t obey the laws of physics. If the sound of the waves could wash away one’s worries, then everyone in the world would have become a Buddha by now.
But even so, I could still catch that ‘feeling’ to a degree. Honestly, changing the scenery is the best way to refresh oneself.
“Have you felt anything while staying in this world?”
“I’m curious about what prompted you to ask that.”
“I just thought you seemed a bit changed.”
“Is that so?”
The Emperor, with his hands in his pockets, looked rather like an international model in a sportswear advertisement while dressed similarly to me in his windbreaker.
And at the same time, he kind of resembled an old man. The latter is likely my personal impression because I might know this person that well.
“Just like you hid your strength in front of me, I also had things I needed to hide from you.”
“…”
I thought that was a fairly plausible excuse.
“Do you want to go back?”
“I’m thinking of going back.”
“Punishment will certainly be waiting for you when you return.”
“That’s my fault. It was my scheme, my plan. Then the conclusion is entirely mine.”
“That’s something a person who had been briefly sheltering in this world shouldn’t say.”
When I was the first to smile, the Emperor chuckled and said, “I was just thinking of buying some time.”
“Do you think it’s futile?”
“Do you believe there are futile things in this world?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then this can’t be wholly futile either. At the very least, I had time to organize my thoughts. In fact, maybe it was too much. That seemed to be a bit of a problem.”
“… Perhaps it was a problem that we three got to stay together.”
The Emperor… not the ‘Emperor,’ but the time when he was my Father.
Of course, maybe Alice was the only one who thought of him as a father in the truest sense. But… well, isn’t it common for daughters and fathers to not quite see eye to eye?
This case might be the same.
That awkwardness is a rather serious kind of awkwardness.
“Yeah, maybe.”
The Emperor muttered in response.
After a brief silence, the Emperor glanced at me and said, “Did you say you lived here originally?”
“… Yes, but.”
Strictly speaking, ‘here’ isn’t accurate, but the Emperor didn’t ask if I lived in ‘Gangwon-do.’ To put it correctly, he was asking if I lived on ‘Earth.’
“Then you must have had family.”
“Yes.”
“…”
The Emperor pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Before you go back, wouldn’t you want to meet them?”
“Just a brief meeting would be fine. My family may not fully accept me as I am.”
“I see.”
The Emperor paused for a moment before continuing.
“I could give some of the money I’ve collected to your family.”
“…”
I stared at the Emperor.
“Wouldn’t they be a family that lost a child?”
“Are you the kind of person who would worry about such things?”
“…”
At my remark, the Emperor fell momentarily silent.
“When a person falls into a world of which they know nothing, they inevitably come to rely on someone.”
“…”
Did that really happen?
It was hard to tell, as the Emperor didn’t show it much.
Well, at least he taught me how to read. He was also the one who introduced me to the rules of this world and things like stocks.
The Emperor was the one who learned about smartphones from me.
Wow, I was actually a lot more helpful than I thought.
“Let’s consider it a minimum compensation. For what I’ve done for you.”
“Is this because you’ve changed your mind about your thoughts while staying in this world?”
“It’s not just your help.”
The Emperor spoke slowly.
“Alice and Claire have also helped you quite a bit while you weren’t looking.”
“…”
Well, I had been aware of that. No matter how much the three of us might be together, we wouldn’t be attached 24/7.
Claire helped edit the Emperor’s broadcasts and put them on YouTube, while Alice helped manage that channel.
The two knew about the strained relationship I had with the Emperor, but they didn’t feel the need to mention it. I didn’t particularly object to it, either.
“But still, the only reason I could buy some time in this world was because of your existence. If it weren’t for you, there wouldn’t have been any connection to this world at all.”
“…”
I didn’t quite know how to respond to that.
“… Let’s think about how to proceed step by step.”
“… Understood.”
At his words, I simply nodded.
“Sis!”
A moment later, a voice called out to me from behind.
Turning around, I saw Claire waving her hand towards me. Alice stood nearby, still looking a bit dazed from sleeping with a blanket draped over her shoulders.
“Are you going to your sisters?”
“Yes. Will you stay here?”
“Experiencing the view of the sea without guards is quite nice, too.”
At the Emperor’s words, I shrugged.
Then, I turned towards my sisters to enjoy the remaining time with the two of them.
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