episode_0261

When I crossed the dimension that Mr. Shumain had opened, there was no dizziness that inevitably accompanies entering and exiting the warp.

Standing in a deserted alley, I closed my eyes as I felt the wind blowing around me.

The clean air unique to the upper zone created a refreshing feeling.

“This is the street that Rain often visits.”

I opened my eyes and looked across the alley.

The clean, well-maintained roads and colorful sidewalk blocks are a delight to the eyes.

The design of the surrounding buildings was also different from the usual ones, and there were a lot of cute things.

Cute dolls were on display behind the store’s transparent glass walls.

I was wondering where the things that Rain usually buys come from, and it turns out he got them here.

I reached out to Lane, who was hesitating behind me.

Now that I’m here, it’s already spilled milk.

Since it’s come to this, shouldn’t we enjoy the time?

At least I thought so.

“Let’s go, Rain. I don’t know the way around here very well. I wish Rain would show me the way.”

“Ugh, ugh. Huh, I don’t care if I get scolded…”

Rain, who had her eyes tightly shut as if she was afraid, nodded as if she had made up her mind about something and grabbed my hand.

Her little hands wiggle, shyly digging between my fingers.

It’s just a simple act of holding hands, so why do I feel so embarrassed?

I tilted my head at Rain’s incomprehensible attitude.

Rain, who was holding hands and slowly catching his breath, began to slowly walk forward.

I moved along with Rain’s pace.

As you emerge from the alley, your view expands.

No vehicles are passing by.

No matter where I look, I don’t see even a parked car.

What catches the eye is a cafe built like a fancy castle, and a bakery with an exterior wall made of pastries.

Rather than a typical street, it felt like I was visiting a special theme park.

Are you saying that Rain always goes to fun places like this alone?

“Where should I go first?”

“Umm… Should we go over there for now?”

Lane pointed to a pretty bakery in response to my question.

The candy-shaped bricks attached to the exterior walls of the building stimulate the appetite.

And what about the sweet scent that wafts faintly from inside the building?

Since I had just finished lunch, it was time for a snack.

I nodded, thinking it was a suitable suggestion.

Rain entered the bakery’s interior as if he was familiar with it.

The interior design also felt like a cute fairy tale.

The green stems decorating the ceiling, the wooden shelves, and the various animal-shaped breads and sweets placed on top of them caught my eye.

looks delicious.

The moment I first made eye contact with the rabbit bread, I could feel my mouth watering.

As we were licking our tongues and licking our lips, a woman who appeared to be a store clerk greeted us.

“Welcome~”

It was a soft voice.

The white chef’s uniform she was wearing gave off a neat impression, which made me like her even more.

“Hello!”

After greeting the unknown clerk, Lane walked briskly and chose a large tray and tongs.

I too picked up another pair of tongs, just like Rain had done.

“Rain. Did you buy the bread you sometimes buy here?”

“Yeah.”

Lane often bought bread, and it was so delicious that I remember it.

I couldn’t forget its cute appearance, but it was here.

If I hadn’t come out with Rain today, I would have probably lived my whole life without ever knowing about this place.

First, Lane picked out his favorite sausage pizza bread and put it on a tray.

I picked the rabbit-shaped bread next to it and placed it on the plate.

I wanted to quickly eat that cute tail attached to that chubby butt.

After that, Lane picked out some pretty star-shaped cookies and a bag of bread, then filled it with fresh milk.

I picked up a large baguette and placed it on Lane’s tray, then brought over some milk for me to drink.

After finishing the calculation and going outside, the bread in my arms gave off a sweet scent as if it was asking me to eat it quickly.

I couldn’t stand it any longer.

I immediately picked up the rabbit bread with my hand and opened the packaging.

The rabbit bread, whose packaging had been mercilessly torn off, trembled its cute body as if imagining the future that awaited it.

“Kuhehe.”

This guy, you’re tempting me. I’ll eat you from the tail up.

I laughed like an evil demon king and bit the rabbit bun’s butt hard.

The moment the softly torn bread touches your tongue, the rich aroma of butter spreads throughout your mouth.

The cute tail that enters the mouth emits a sweet cherry scent, mixing with the scent of butter.

The strongly stimulated salivary glands exploded.

“Jeff really enjoys eating bread.”

Rain muttered, blankly watching me eat my bread.

I ate all the rabbit bread that came into my mouth without even responding to her.

happiness.

If this feeling isn’t happiness, then what else can you call it?

I rubbed my stomach, imagining the rabbit bread that went into my stomach and made me happy.

A great sense of satisfaction arises.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

I still had cookies and fresh milk left.

I left the cookies for later enjoyment and this time I picked up some milk.

The feel of the cooled milk reminded me of the delightful taste that was to come.

Walking down a fairytale-like street with a friend while eating delicious snacks gave me a joy I will never forget.

It was fun just walking while holding hands.

I didn’t feel any pressure because I just came out to have fun and not on a mission.

Even Rain, who had been anxious, seemed to have adapted to my mood and soon began to smile happily.

“This time it’s here!”

Rain grabbed my hand and pulled me in, as if he absolutely had to come in here.

The place Rain pointed to was a bookstore.

The roof, shaped like a large, overturned book, made the bookstore look even more attractive.

As I passed through the transparent automatic door and entered, the interior of the building was revealed to be more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

There’s that distinctive smell of a new book in the air.

I sniffed and followed behind Lane, who was walking ahead.

Rain seemed to have decided on a destination and walked towards it without hesitation.

Lane climbed the stairs and reached the second floor.

After making sure I was following along well from behind, she went deeper.

As we went deeper, the people we had seen before began to disappear one by one.

Reaching the small door at the very end of the second floor, Lane placed his hand on the doorknob and spoke.

“This is where I want to show you.”

The door opens with her words.

Before the door opened, I checked the sign at the very top.

There is only a picture of a small flower without any text.

I knew the name of that flower.

lily.

And so the Lily Gate opened.

Inside the wide open door, bright lights and a soft scent of lavender wafted in.

“Here…”

I opened my eyes wide and looked around inside.

The interior of the bookstore was not much different from before, but the types of books had changed.

Rain led me further inside, hesitating.

At this time, it seemed like there were no other guests here besides me and Rain, and there was no sign of life inside.

“Excuse me. Rain, are all the books you bought…”

“That’s right! I bought it here!”

Rain answers my question forcefully.

She held my hand tightly and rushed toward the display case in the middle.

With the happy smile on her face, I couldn’t stop her movements.

Rain’s hands moved without hesitation and began to look through the books on display.

The sight of checking the cover and the author looks so familiar.

Thanks to Rain and Shine, the contents of the book that I am now familiar with come to mind.

While Rain was busy choosing books, I picked up a black-covered book from the corner of the shelf.

The title was [Dyeed Black]. The band around the book contained a rough outline of the book’s contents, and that part was unusual.

My last story, as if I was stuck in a swamp from which I could never escape, turning black.

Is this book part of a series?

The moment I was about to check the author of the book, Lane said.

“Huh? You want to buy that? The content must be pretty hard.”

I tilted my head at Rain’s words.

Most of the books Rain brought were lighthearted and heart-tugging, so I didn’t understand what she meant by hardness.

“And Jeff can’t see this.”

Rain snatched the book from my hands and placed it back on the shelf.

Then he points to a part of the book.

No one under 19 years of age allowed to view this film.

It was a book that was commonly labeled as 19+.

Are there any dirty scenes?

Suddenly I start to get interested.

As I twitched my fingers as if I was foolishly thinking about something, Rain held out another book in front of me.

“Other than that. How about this?”

The refreshing atmosphere of the painting caught my attention.

The warm and cozy cover served as a foundation for imagining the contents of the book.

I took the book she handed me and looked through its contents.

A light-hearted school story.

I remember that he was a popular artist because his drawings were good.

I remembered it because I had read the book Rain brought me a few times.

“Yeah. That’s okay.”

Rain smiled happily at my words and hugged the book to his arms.

It seemed like she had decided which book she was going to buy.

I also looked around to see if there was anything worth buying, but there wasn’t anything that really caught my interest.

So I left the lily room and went down to the first floor to check out the books.

As I was absentmindedly looking around, a display case filled with best-sellers of all time came into view.

I just happened to see it, but looking at the display case, I was able to recall the title of one book.

[For the sick]

A book written by Prince’s father.

Are they selling that book here too?

I was curious about the contents of the book, so I walked slowly toward the display case.

When I arrived at the display case, I was able to find the book I was looking for right in front of me.

The number of books placed in the area with the sparkling effect did not decrease at all, unlike the other books.

I can really feel the unpopularity.

I reached out and picked up the book.

“Jeff, will you buy the book too?”

“Huh? Oh. I’m curious about the content. This is a book written by Prin’s father.”

I nodded to Rain’s words as he approached me after finishing his calculations.

Of course, I did the math for the book.

I was able to use the card my grandfather had given me as I pleased, as Amy hadn’t found out about it yet.

I packed the books I bought into my dinosaur bag and left the bookstore with Rain.

They say books are food for the mind.

I felt really full, filling my stomach with delicious bread and my mind with a new book.

“Now, where do you plan on leading me?”

“Um… Do you want to go to a doll workshop?”

“Doll workshop?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded to Rain’s words.

When you say doll workshop, do you mean a place that specializes in making and selling dolls?

Rain took my hand in response and started walking forward.

The place we arrived at after walking with Rain was in front of a small building.

There were decorative items like scissors, needles, and thread hanging around the building, which at first glance made you think it was a clothing store.

But the large teddy bears decorating the table in front of the store diluted that thought.

Lane approached the entrance of the building and rang the small bell above the door.

Ring-ring-ring- I pressed the bell, and a ringing sound could be heard from beyond the door.

As I was waiting for the door to open, the closed door swung open and a girl of similar height to Rain walked out.

Sparkling black eyes and a lifeless face.

The bloodless, pure white skin told her that the girl standing there was not human.

A girl wearing a flowing frill spotted Rain and greeted him with an elegant gesture.

As I was gaping blankly at the etiquette that seemed to be reserved for medieval nobles, Rain greeted me warmly.

“Hello! I came to see the dolls!”

At Rain’s greeting, the girl straightened up her deceived body and gestured for him to come inside.

The sight of the doll moving so naturally gives off a strange creepy feeling.

As I hesitated and refused to go in, Rain grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

The interior of the store had a warm atmosphere, different from the atmosphere the girl had.

A bonfire rising from the wall, and cute stuffed animals lining the shelves.

“Hey. Rain. What’s that doll?”

“That guy’s called Finn.”

“Pin? That’s the doll’s name?”

“Yeah. This is a doll made by the owner.”

The pin that guided us inside the store lightly kicked the floor and rose into the air.

The moment I saw its appearance, I could tell that the doll did not move of its own will.

Telekinesis, that ability was what was moving that doll.

“Long time no see. Rain.”

As a strange voice is heard from inside the store, a girl doll named Finn flies away.

My gaze naturally followed the doll.

The doll, which had been flying through the air, ended up in the arms of a woman, and fortunately, she looked like a human.

She was of moderate height, neither tall nor short, had long purple hair, and had a tired face.

The work clothes she was wearing were covered in what looked like sawdust, indicating that she had been working just a moment ago.

“Shizu. Long time no see!”

“What’s going on? Is there a younger sibling next to you?”

The gaze of the woman called Shizu turns from Rain to me.

Her purple eyes, the same color as her hair, sparkle strangely.

Those shining eyes, as if inspired by something, scanned my entire body.