—I fell asleep?

Once he could open his eyes, Urie's sight welcomed an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. Beside his bed, the window curtains parted just enough to let in a ray of luminescent vermillion from the darkness outside.

—What's going on? Where am I?

Urie tried to recall what had occurred prior to his blackout. He remembered that while drifting in and out of consciousness—he had seen a woman who looked exactly like Celeste. Although, the thought of that little girl cradling him in her arms roused a chuckle that broke the silence of the room.

“Celeste... Elicia?” His mind thoroughly awoke and worry about the safety of his companions began to set in. “We went inside Erden's Tower; the headmaster suddenly disappeared; we met a shadow wolf, then a rock drake, and then...”

“Who?” Urie noticed a clean change of bandages on his arm, prompting him to get up weakly from the bed and leave the room. Outside the door, the sweet aroma of fresh-baked bread entered his nose and evoked a rumble from his stomach. Unconsciously, he followed the trail of the smell downstairs, through a small hallway, and into a kitchen—his every step creaking from the wooden floorboards.

In front of the bright orange hue of a brick oven, Urie saw a woman taking out a mouthwatering batch of golden bread rolls.

“Hmm?” As the woman noticed his presence at the door, she spoke with a familiar voice, ”I knew it was about time that you'd wake up so I made you something to eat.”

Turning to face him, Urie got a good look at the woman's appearance. Emerald green eyes on a beautiful petite face; tied up, light brown hair, and lengthy pointed ears—flushed at the tips—

“Ah,” Urie unwittingly muttered, as ideas instantly clicked inside his head.

—I thought so... I'm no longer in the Daerin I'm familiar with, am I?

He had an inkling once he had seen the large orb of vermillion hanging up in the sky, and his suspicions only grew while taking a look around the room he had woken up in. There were a few fine strands of red hair scattered on the sheets of the bed, and the room was filled with nothing but the belongings of a little girl.

The ornate blue cardigan he had seen Celeste wear on the day of the Harvest Festival was in plain view even—hanging inside an open closet.

“Good evening Mrs. Varethe.” Urie saw no reason to be impolite and bowed as he addressed the woman by Celeste's last name.

“Call me Stella, boy.” Stella furrowed her brows at his demeanor, “And it's morning actually. If this is how you people normally act on the other side, then my daughter must be sitting on pins and needles each time you talk to her.”

“The way we act?” Urie tilted his head, not quite understanding what Stella meant. Suddenly, a memory of how Celeste wasn't aware of what a handshake was came to mind. He immediately assumed that what Stella said had to do with how Celeste was unfamiliar with common etiquette.

He explained, “Ah, there was some confusion at first. In the end, Celeste instead became accustomed to holding hands.”

—With me, Elicia, mother, Patty... almost everyone she likes, I think?

“Hmm?” Hearing only his spoken reply, Stella quietly placed her tray of bread rolls on the counter and crossed her arms. While flashing Urie a mysterious smile, she asked, ”So, little man... Who exactly are you to my daughter?”

Urie missed the slight change in her tone as he thought of how to phrase an answer. In an innocent manner, he said, “We're living together ma'am.”

—With me, mother, Patty, and Ersha.

“Is... Is that so?”

At the thought of her daughter living with an unfamiliar man, Stella held back from flying into a rage. She quickly reminded herself that she was talking to an eleven-year-old boy, picked up the tray of bread rolls, and urged Urie to the dining table across the room.

While pouring him a glass of milk, Stella asked with a sigh, “How is my daughter—how is Celeste doing? What has she been up to this past year?”

“Well, since she arrived...” Stella listened closely as Urie began his story.

“...Celeste usually doesn't speak much so I had to make an effort to read her expressions. Though by now, I can somewhat tell what she likes and what she dislikes...” Urie said while pulling his eyes into a squint.

Stella chuckled at his impressions but also felt saddened as her daughter didn't seem to speak as much as she would here at home.

“...One day,” Urie picked up a piece of bread and waved it playfully, “I saw Celeste sneak out some bread rolls from the kitchen to eat out in the garden. I figured she'd also want some milk or tea so I followed her.”

Urie paused and brought quickly brought the piece of bread to his back, “—but when Celeste saw me approaching, she started hiding the bread rolls!”

A few crumbs fell down his hands as he chuckled, “Maybe she thought that I would take them from her! After that, I asked Patty to always leave a basket of bread on the kitchen counter.”

Stella laughed along with the boy and felt reassured at how he paid close attention to Celeste. In his own way, he did his best to ease her loneliness. Listening to Urie speak so fondly with a warm smile, Stella was thankful that Celeste had met this kind boy and his family after being separated from her own.