第２１２掘：桜

第２１２掘：桜

**Dungeon 212: Cherry Blossoms**

**Side: Seraria**

"Auu... Ah."

A small life is breathing within me.

I lie on the bed, cradling that precious life in my arms.

Yes, this child is the daughter of my husband, Yuki, and me.

When she was born, the pain I had endured until now felt like a lie.

I was simply filled with joy at the first cry of the child born from me.

Surely, my mother must have felt this way, too.

Both of the mothers who took care of me even when they were unwell.

I, too, feel that I would not spare my own life if it were for this child.

"Thank you for being born."

"Ah, ah."

A newborn who hasn't even opened her eyes yet.

My husband was extremely worried about exposing her to the outside air, but in this world, we don't protect them as delicately as they do in Japan on Earth.

Well, she is a precious child, so I will protect her absolutely with recovery magic and the like.

I have also gained knowledge about bacteria and viruses, so I can treat illnesses related to those as well.

Or rather, if such a situation were to arise, my husband would surely use all his power to save this child's life.

"Faa, how cute."

"It’s Aslin-oneechan, you know~"

"She hasn't even opened her eyes yet, so she can't tell, you know."

Surrounding me are reliable companions celebrating the birth of a new life.

"Rurua’s child is also cute~"

"Hey, Riel, don't poke her."

"Fooo, she is so incredibly cute!!"

In the next bed, everyone is gathered around Rurua and her child, smiling in the same way.

As we all watch the newborn children, a breeze blows in through the open window.

"Ah."

Someone lets out that voice.

The others cannot even manage that much.

Because, right before our eyes, a blizzard of cherry blossoms is dancing.

The cherry blossoms that could be called the form of my husband, of Yuki, of Kazuya Torino—of Japan.

I finally understood what he meant when he said that even after coming to this far-off, different world, he still wanted to see this scenery.

Cherry blossoms that only bloom in spring and scatter in about a week.

I had never understood why he was so fixated on a plant that wasn't even suitable for viewing.

The sight spreading out before my eyes was the answer.

Even if it is only for a brief moment, they bloom proudly, enchant, scatter, and wait for the next bloom.

Is this not the way of a person?

Living with all one's might to bloom, scattering to entrust it to the next generation, and then that next generation blooming its own flowers.

Kazuya must have lived watching these cherry blossoms every year.

Blooming beautiful flowers in spring, scattering those petals like a blizzard, growing green leaves in summer, withering in autumn, and shedding all leaves in winter.

And then, blooming flowers once again in spring.

"Kya, kya!!"

"Oh my, what’s wrong?"

As I was lost in such thoughts, the child in my arms stretched both hands toward the air.

Even though she hasn't opened her eyes yet, I wondered what she was doing, and when I looked closely at her hands, I saw cherry blossom petals held within them.

And, a gentle magic power dwelling faintly within them.

"This is... a spirit?"

I look at the pale cherry-colored magic power residing in the child's hand.

It is clearly a magic power of a different quality.

"Yes, as Seraria says. But this is... a spirit I’ve never seen before. Oh, you all can't see it, can you? Excuse me for a moment."

Eris, who was by my side, is an Elf.

It is said that Elves, having lived in harmony with nature, can see spirits, which could be called the form of nature itself.

Although, the ability of spirits to interfere with this world is extremely low, amounting to little more than a slight increase in magic performance or a boost in magic capacity.

However, because Elves can communicate with these spirits, they receive higher benefits, and many have a high aptitude for magic.

Eris diffuses her own magic power, enveloping us in it.

Then, the faintly visible cherry-colored magic power begins to take the shape of a small person.

"Oh my. That gaze, can you see me?"

The small person, who had been flying as if to amuse my child, stops in mid-air upon noticing our gaze.

Her attire is, if I recall, a kimono—the clothing my husband said was worn in old Japan.

It is a masterpiece, adorned with magnificent craftsmanship and patterns.

"Y-yes. Are you the spirit of the cherry blossoms?"

"That I am. Though, the directionality is a bit different from the 'fantasy' spirits of this world. My, Kazuya Torino-han is going through a lot of trouble, isn't he? But, since he has been blessed with such a cute child, I suppose one cannot simply call it trouble."

Eh?

Just now, did she call my husband, Yuki, "Torino"?

"E-excuse me. Why do you know Yuki’s real name?"

"Oh? That is simple. I, too, am a divine spirit who came from Japan. My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Konohanasakuyahime. Though, since this is a far-off different world, this is not my true body, but the weakest of my manifestations. But, I have digressed. Torino-han, or rather, all the children of Hinomoto are known to me. They are all my children."

Came from Japan?

"Luna-han is also quite a handful. It may have been unavoidable due to the circumstances, taking my children away to other places so easily, but taking Torino-han away was quite a gamble."

"Shut up."

Luna appeared out of nowhere, glaring at the cherry blossom spirit.

"Oh, scary, scary. Well, as you can see, I mean no harm. I just thought it was about time for my turn to appear."

"Your turn?"

"Yes. To name this child and that child over there..."

The cherry blossom spirit murmurs, looking at my child and Rurua’s child.

At that murmur, Rurua and I felt our mouths move reflexively.

"Sakura."

"Sumire."

Sakura—yes, since she was born on this day, I thought this name was fitting.

"Sakura and Sumire. To choose names that could be called the very form of Hinomoto—that is bold. Or perhaps, it is precisely because it is this different world?"

"Yes."

"I have certainly heard you. Sakura, the flower language is 'spiritual beauty' and 'excellent education.' Sumire—well, since Rurua-han has blue hair, it is the flower language of the blue violet. 'Caution' and 'affection.' ...Now, a small blessing for my new children of Hinomoto born in this far-off different world."

As the spirit says this, the wind carries cherry blossoms into the room through the window once again.

The children are waving their hands happily.

"Now, this is all I can do. The rest is up to the parents and those around you. Well, I intend to show my face from time to time, but even so, it will be another year."

The spirit’s figure begins to blur.

The magic power thins, and I can tell she will soon be gone.

"...Luna-han. I will overlook this time. Since Torino-han looks happy, I will keep quiet to those children."

"Don't you dare say it!! And by the way, your way of speaking is all mixed up and wrong, you know?"

"That is also Luna-han’s fault. The amount of information in the soul fragment that managed to reach this far was small, so things got mixed up. My, what a truly troublesome Luna-han."

"You're noisy!!"

When Luna shouts that, the thin magic power diffuses and disappears.

"Honestly. If I were to call that one, the aftermath for me would be catastrophic. Even Yuki knows that and ignores her for that very reason..."

What does she mean by "that one"?

Could it be a friend of my husband?

But what does she mean by "calling" her?

As I was thinking about such things, I heard the sound of someone running toward this room from the hallway, and the door opened.

"Seraria!! Rurua!! I’ve thought of various names for the children!! Let’s decide together!!"

My husband enters with a stack of papers.

" " "Ah." " "

The gazes of everyone except Rurua and me gather on us.

"Um..."

"That is... Husband-sama, I am terribly sorry, but..."

"Hm? Were you thinking about it over there, too? Let’s add those to the list..."

My husband immediately takes out a pen, ready to write them down.

I’m sorry.

Because...

" "We already named them." "

Rurua and I give a double "tehepero."

Yes, you’ll forgive us, won't you?

Then, the wind enters again with a blizzard of cherry blossoms, snatching the stack of papers from my husband’s hands.

*“As always, you have such a role to play. Well, it’s just like Torino-han. But, it would be a shame to interfere with the beautiful names that have already been decided, so I will be taking these.”*

From somewhere, that voice can be heard.

"Aaaahhh—!? My all-nighter’s crystallization—!!"

My husband stares at the papers drifting away from the window, and the cherry blossoms dancing in the air.

"Sakura, thank you for being born."

"Auu."

For the sake of this child’s future, I must work even harder.

***

Well, you probably guessed it, but the children’s names are Sakura for Seraria’s child and Sumire for Rurua’s child.

And regarding the enigmatic Konohanasakuyahime, Yuki met her when he was on Earth, of course.

Well, that is a different story—a story from back when Yuki, or rather Kazuya Torino, was still a side character.

I have actually gathered the concepts for that story as well, but if I were to post it now, it would likely end up half-baked like the ones for Tanaka and Taiki, so I will refrain.

The content would be quite unreasonable, making it clear why Kazuya Torino ended up the way he did in the "Winning Dungeon."