As the girl looked at her parents, they suddenly vanished, and she dropped the ball from her hands. Meanwhile, Jinta and Miura arrived at Miura’s home, where Miura invited him inside. They were greeted by Miura’s mother, who asked who Jinta was. Jinta stepped forward politely, introduced himself, and apologized for arriving unannounced. Miura’s mother welcomed him and asked her son to explain more. Jinta mentioned he came from Kaduno, and she recognized it as the village known for blacksmiths. Miura confirmed and added that Jinta was a samurai who shared his interest in katanas. He invited Jinta to stay the night.
Grateful, Miura’s mother thanked Jinta. When he asked why, she explained that Jinta had brought joy back into Miura’s life. After entering the room, Jinta complimented her, but Miura said she was more embarrassing than kind. Then Miura showed Jinta the flower he had found. Jinta identified it as a daffodil, though smaller than expected, and asked if Miura was sure he had seen them in spring. Miura confirmed.
Jinta then told him something unsettling—that the girl Miura’s brother had gone to meet might have been a demon, and that his brother could have been taken to another world. The daffodils were evidence of that. Miura asked if the flowers came from the demon’s world, and Jinta asked to see his brother’s room. Miura agreed and told Jinta to follow, but Jinta paused, asking him to go ahead. When Miura insisted he wouldn’t know the way alone, Jinta assured him it would be fine. Once Miura left, Jinta trailed him silently, thinking that his open presence might interfere with something.
As Miura entered his brother’s room, he caught a strange perfume in the air that made him dizzy—then, everything changed. He found himself in another world, witnessing a young girl trying to save her parents from a fire. She failed, and everything was reduced to ashes. When she got up, people were terrified of her. She tried to reach out, but they ran from her. Looking into the water, she saw her red eyes—a sign she had become a demon. She mourned the loss of her parents, her home, and even her fragmented memories. Feeling like she had lost herself, she fled, knowing she could never return to the garden of her past.
Time passed. She grew up in the city and eventually came upon Sedanna (Miura’s brother) at Arai’s house, practicing as his family watched. The sight made her cry—she wanted to go back. Imagining her parents again, she began to play with the ball.
Then Miura woke up—in that same strange world—and wondered what was happening. Jinta appeared behind him, startling him. He explained that it seemed they had crossed into the place tied to Sedanna’s room. When Miura asked where they were, Jinta pointed out the fire, the demon girl, and the ruined house, noting none of it should still exist. He asked if Miura had seen it too. Miura nodded.
They then saw the girl playing ball in front of Sedanna. Miura rushed forward to his brother but was suddenly struck by pain in his head. He asked Sedanna what he wanted him to cook, saying he had improved. But the girl interrupted, telling Sedanna to stop—urging him to give up and leave. Sedanna, however, said it was time to make his special soba. The girl pleaded with him, explaining that she had a family and a home she wanted to return to. She begged him not to let sympathy bind him there. “This is the garden of happiness,” she said, “where I can see my parents. But you must leave.”
Sedanna gently told the girl she misunderstood. He explained that it’s not a home that creates people, but people who create homes. Happiness, he said, can be found anywhere—and any place that doesn’t bring joy can’t truly be called home. The girl questioned how he could know that. He replied that she had spent a century here alone and must have felt it deep inside.
He then offered to leave this place—but only if she came with him. She said that was impossible; this garden belonged to her. Sedanna then asked, “What if we lived together?” suggesting he could quit being a samurai and they could live quietly somewhere else. He even asked if she wanted to be his daughter. But the girl refused, saying she couldn’t leave and couldn’t see him as a father.
Sedanna smiled and said, “Alright, that’s awkward… but I’ll wait until you change your mind.” He told her he meant it—and that the day she saw him as a father, they’d leave together. The girl, though, doubted that day would ever come. “What a shame,” Sedanna sighed. “Looks like I’m stuck here forever.”
Then he vanished.
Aramorei, shocked, asked the girl where his brother had gone. She said softly, “No one’s here anymore. It’s all gone.” Desperate, Aramorei begged her to bring him back. Genta stepped in, telling him the truth: Sedanna wasn’t coming back. Aramorei, confused and emotional, said he had just seen him. Genta explained that while Sedanna had been there, it wasn’t what it seemed.
Genta then used the daffodils to explain. He said daffodils bloom in winter, but Sedanna disappeared in spring, and now it was autumn—yet these flowers were blooming again. That meant this place wasn’t bound by their world’s time. He once thought the daffodils always bloomed in the demon’s world, but now he realized that time here moved much faster.
The girl confirmed this. She revealed she had the power of a dreamer—able to create a memory world, a dream garden of past happiness. But she couldn’t trap anyone here. Her power was only a beautiful longing.
Aramorei asked about his brother again—was he dead? The girl answered that no one remained here anymore. Then, with sadness and gratitude, she admitted that she had stolen his brother from him—but also thanked him, saying Hyoma (Sedanna) had given her salvation. She said they’d return to their world upon waking.
Genta asked her what she would do next. She said she would continue to gaze at all she had lost. And that the man—Sedanna—had spent his life trying to give her a home. Genta assured her that she would one day fulfill her promise to Sedanna.
When they returned to their world, Aramorei reflected on what had happened and finally understood why his brother had chosen to stay. Later, at Ofuu’s father’s restaurant, Aramorei shared what he’d discovered in historical records: a great fire two hundred years ago that likely took the girl’s home. He suspected the land where Mera’s castle now stands was once her family’s land. He asked Genta if he believed it too. Genta nodded—it would explain the strange bond between their world and hers.
Genta apologized for not being more help, but Aramorei assured him he had done more than enough. He praised Sedanna as a man who followed his heart, even if they never fully understood his choices. As Aramorei left to resume his duties, Ofuu stopped him and said his brother was amazing. Even if no one remembered him, Sedanna had given everything to help someone. The words moved Aramorei to tears. He said he was proud of his brother.
Afterward, both Ofuu and her father thanked Genta for helping Aramorei. Ofuu’s father asked why Genta looked so somber. Genta admitted he was still troubled. He explained that while they knew the demon as “Sedanna,” her real name for him was Hyoma. Ofuu’s father confirmed that the name Hyoma was real—but only close family or a lord would know it.
Laughing softly, Ofuu’s father pointed out that if the girl called him Hyoma, then she must have been seen as family by Sedanna. Genta then recalled something: Miura’s mother used to call her son by a different name—Natsu. That name, too, was something only family or a lord would know. Genta noted that demons don’t lie, but they sometimes hide the full truth.
He suggested that Sedanna hadn’t died, but had lived over 20 years in the dream world—while only a month passed in reality. By the time he returned, he was an old man who couldn’t go back to his old life. So, he moved to the city, bought an old house, and opened a soba shop in Edeto.
Genta added that if he was wrong, he welcomed correction.
Ofuu’s father mused that if time moved faster there, maybe Sedanna had died of old age. But Genta disagreed. He believed Sedanna was still alive—because the girl smiled. And that smile meant she had found a new father. “Right, Sedanna?” he whispered.
Ofuu’s father teased, “That’s not fair. When did you figure it out?”
Genta smiled. “At the moment everything ended. There were hints all along—not just names, but things like the samurai tools in that soba shop. Tools only a samurai like Sedanna would own.”
Ofuu’s father confirmed the truth and mentioned that Miura was often bothered by his appearance whenever they met in public, which is why he gave him the small hair care stick. Jinta asked Ofuu’s father if he had told Miura that he was his brother, believing Miura would be glad to know his brother was alive. Ofuu’s father, Sedan, explained that he chose to stay with the one who needed protection the most. Since then, he had lost his identity as a member of the Mea family and no longer considered himself Miura’s brother. He had grown up and was confident he’d be fine without him. He asked Jinta to keep the stick as a gift since he no longer needed it. Jinta called him stubborn. Sedan apologized and said, “It seems no one understood my reasoning, right?” He then asked Jinta if he understood why he chose to become a father to the girl. Jinta replied that there was no real reason, was there? Sedan smiled, saying it was clear. He couldn’t stand seeing the girl suffer alone, so he decided to stay with her. Once someone commits to a path in life, they stick with it, regardless of whether others understand it or not. Everyone has their own way of thinking, and there’s no need to explain it to others. Jinta agreed, saying that our personal reasons are meant for us alone, not for others to comprehend. Sedan remarked that he knew Jinta would understand, complimenting him on his wisdom and calling him a devil, which surprised Jinta. Sedan then said he had lived over 20 years with a devil, hadn’t he? He had come to understand the impact they have on those around them. Jinta asked about the girl’s condition, and Sedan said she was there with them, looking at Ofuu. Jinta noted that this explained why they wouldn’t have trouble entering her world. Ofuu then interjected, saying, “Don’t you remember what I told you? You’re still just a kid.” Jinta responded, “I guess I still am a kid to you since you’ve lived more than 200 years.” Ofuu asked, “What now? You told us your job was to eliminate demons.” Jinta replied that he wanted some cocky soba. Ofuu asked her father to bring a plate of cocky soba, and Sedan agreed, saying, “Right away.” He prepared the dish and poured tea for Jinta, smiling. Jinta then asked Ofuu what was so funny, and Alfie explained that she was simply happy. “Can’t you see?” she said, adding that she had always known that his life had a deeper meaning beyond just his mission and brought him the cocky soba. As Jinta reflected on the past, he said that time moves relentlessly forward, and even the things closest to our hearts slip through our fingers. Everything we lose is lost forever, with no way to get it back. Returning to the present, he told Sedan, “I made you a wonderful plate of kaki soba.”
Leave a Reply