Silky silver hair.
　Flaming crimson eyes.
　A black dress with lots of frills.

　It's the Celestial Girl, Iris.

　Could she be alive?
　What a thought, but I didn't know he was really alive...

...Huh?

　Why was I thinking that Iris was dead?
　It couldn't be that way.
　In fact, Iris is right in front of me.
　She doesn't seem to be injured at all, and she's looking good.

It's been a while?　I guess that's okay. You look good, Iris.
Huh.

　After staring at us for a few moments, for some reason, Iris let out a sigh.
　She looks somewhat dumbfounded.

　However, he switches his expression as if it can't be helped.
　The usual smile disappears and she asks with a serious face.

''Rain-sama, do you believe that the current reality is the correct reality?''
'What?　What does that mean...?
The scene in front of me now. The people lined up in front of you now. Is it there?　Are you sure about that?
It's a...

　Iris' words shook me hard.
　A sense of discomfort I've been feeling since the morning.
　It grows louder and louder and becomes something I can't ignore.

　Am I........forgetting something?
　No, it's not.
　It's not that we're forgetting, it's that we're losing sight of it.
　What we used to take for granted is being painted over into something else.
　Memories are being ... rewritten.

　What are those memories?
　What was lost?
　The answer is.....

Gu..........?

　I get a severe headache and fall to my knees in place.

　I don't want to remember.
　I need to remember.

　Two conflicting emotions are raging in my head.
　They become pain, and they make my mind wander.

'Ah ... geez ... this, this memory ...'

　About my mom and dad.
　Kanade and Tania, everyone.
　About Iris.
　A lot of memories run through my head.

　My instincts warn me that I shouldn't move on.
　But it's...no...no.
　If I do something that makes me stop here, it would be betraying me.
　I would be betraying myself.

　And that's why I'm going to...
　Whatever happens, whatever lies ahead!

Oh...

　The sound of breaking glass echoed in my head.
　Like a lie, the headache disappeared.
　At the same time, the right memories began to flood in all at once.

d*mn.........what am I.......?

　The headache is gone, but I'm confused by the sudden surge of information that's flooding me.
　As I unconsciously hold my head down, Iris calls out to me with a worried look.

''Rain-sama, are you alright...?　You're confused, aren't you?　I know, because I was one myself.
Iris what is it?
Yes, I do.
You're alive...
'Hmm. From the looks of it, it looks like you've regained your memory. That's good. If Rain-sama is also taken in, I don't know what I'll do.............
Iris!

　I let the emotions that were bubbling up in my head take over and I hugged Iris.
　I'm not going to be able to let go of my hand, even though her lovely, uncharacteristic voice spilled out.

''Thank God........I'm really alive, thank God.......''
Oh, uh, Miss Lane?　Well, um........holding a damsel in a sudden embrace is not the right kind of thing for a righteous lord to do, is it?
I'm sorry but we're just a little bit closer now.
''Oh dear, the inevitable. It's only for a little while, okay?
Oh ... a little bit.

　Iris smiled softly and held me in her arms as she was being held.



----------



I'm sorry. I'm fine now.

　After five minutes or so, I regained my composure and let go of Iris.
　Then she gives me a grin.

'Oh my, are we done?　I would have liked to have enjoyed a few more passionate hugs.
"...don't tell me. I'm just really glad that Iris is alive, so I'm just going to.
Thank you. It's simply wonderful to hear that you're so happy about something as simple as me.

　Iris gives a small smile.
　That smile isn't the fake one I saw earlier.
　It's the real Iris' smile.

"I've got a lot of questions to ask you, but...

　How could he have been saved in that situation?
　What did you do after that?
　Why are we in Kagne?

　There are plenty of things I want to hear.
　However, there are things that must take precedence over that.

First of all, let's talk about this situation........
'Yes, I do. You may have a lot of questions, but please be patient for now. If you don't get over this situation, there's no point in talking about it.

　Let's settle down and talk, Iris invites me to a bench in the town square.
　I sit down next to her and open my mouth, carefully searching for the words.

'Is the scene in front of me right now ... a fake?　Phantoms and dreams... something like that?
The answer is yes and no.
What do you mean?
What kind of impossible situation did you experience, Master Lane?
Well there's a lot of things, but I guess the biggest thing is that my mom and dad are alive and somehow they run the inn here.
I see...
'By the way, by the way, from the way you talk, Iris is having an impossible experience too, isn't she?
I feel the same way about you, Miss Lane. I am reunited with my departed family and friends.
I'm sorry, I've heard some strange things.
'Please don't apologize. If you say so, I've heard the same thing about you.

　Iris smiled at him, as if it was no problem.

　Seeing that smile, I suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.
　I don't think this Iris is fake or anything now....
　But the smile on his mouth seems to be different than before.
　It seems to have become softer or gentler........
　It's like a spine is being removed, isn't it?

'Can I help you?'

　I was staring at Iris' face and she looked at me in wonder.

'Oh, no. It's nothing. Well ... so you're sure that both me and Iris are having an impossible experience, right?
Yes. A reunion with someone who is supposed to be dead that would be impossible.
'Normally, that's the kind of nonsense you'd expect from a fake or an illusion. But...

　It's so realistic...
　I couldn't believe that my dad and mom were not very good, but they didn't seem to be fake or illusory.
　They were really there, they were really alive.

Your parents are real. They're not fake or anything like that, but they're definitely the parents who were in Ms. Lane's memory.
I knew it...
'It's just an illusion. It's there and yet it doesn't exist. It shouldn't have really been there.

'Yes, that's true. However, even though it is an illusion, you can touch it and actually talk to it. It's more like a living phantom.
"The illusion of life...

　It raises a lot of questions, but...
　The fundamental mystery is.

　Why does such a thing exist?

　That's what it boils down to.

Does Iris understand what's going on now?
'Yeah, yeah. I understand. This was the work of a single person. His name is Alpha. He's a demon.