Dong dong dong...!

Who could be knocking on the door so late?!

I instinctively became alert and the silver armor on my right hand partially materialized. In this newly formed soil, many strange creatures were nurtured. It's undeniable that there might also be some fierce and violent life forms dwelling here.

Outside the door, a violent storm was raging, accompanied by thunder and lightning. In the flashes of light, a shadow larger than us was illuminated in the house.

"Uh...is it a monster?"

I finished preparing and activated my elemental power, gathering it into a void sword that can cut through space. If I'm not mistaken, this is the power I learned in another world!

"Hehe, I've come to bring you some roasted fish made by Mama Bear. Let you also taste Mama Bear's cooking skills."

A large brown bear entered our field of vision, with three roasted fish hanging from its claws.

"Eh?!" (What's going on?)

"Mmm, this is the male body left behind by Odin. It looks so delicious!"

In the gleaming darkness of the screen, a woman covered in shadows licked her lips with a tongue filled with desire. She wore silver armor and had long white hair like Juxi. She was an unknown woman with an inexplicable allure.

"Ah, how amazing this looks...it's making me unable to wait anymore!"

This woman shamelessly used her wet and tender tongue to kiss the screen, emitting moans of desire. Her target was me, but I was still unaware...unaware of the impending crisis.

"Mmmhmm, be careful, I love you, big sister."

The night and starlight accompanied a towering castle in the depths of this lush and mysterious forest. Here, the sky...has no day!

This is the dark legend from a long time ago on the Saint Ronica continent. In the Forest of Eternal Night, where only darkness exists, there lived a queen of the night. It is said that she is the only surviving goddess among the four gods, but she disappeared from the continent after the great war of the gods and hid in the foggy forest, causing it to lose its daylight and be called the Forest of Eternal Night!

The goddess queen, who made all the gods tremble in fear, once had powers comparable to Odin's. But now...

So it's Uncle Bear, and Yu Xiang approached him and welcomed him into the living room. At first, there was nothing too surprising, but when he saw me in a white robe, his eyes seemed to widen even more. Did I have something special that surprised him?

With a thud, Uncle Bear, with widened eyes, knelt down in front of me, and now it was my turn to be surprised.

"You...what's this?"

"My benefactor, don't you remember me? You saved the big and little brown bears. We now have this wisdom all thanks to you!"

Before I could say anything, Uncle Bear ran out, and soon gathered all the bears in the village. They seemed to treat me as if I were a god. It's as if I was already a god! But without merit, there can be no reward. The person who saved them was not me, or rather, not the current me.

But looking at Uncle Bear's face, which was overflowing with excitement, I couldn't bear to tell him the truth. So I came to Uncle Bear and patted his shoulder, advising him.

"Uncle Bear, it's late. Let everyone go back home. We don't need any welcoming ceremony."

"No, without you, we couldn't truly become residents of this Eternal Forest. I couldn't learn to build houses or communicate in language either!"

After Uncle Bear finished his excited speech, the rest of the group immediately gathered around, encircling me.

"Oh, great god, please bless us with good weather, longevity, and good health!"

My goodness, what kind of talk is this? I'm not dead yet!

"Everyone, please go back. We need some rest. I'm sure you're all tired after a whole day. Let's stop here with thanks and farewell!"

I couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time. It was all because of this Uncle Bear. We couldn't escape for more than half an hour, and it was only when I gave the order that they reluctantly returned to their own homes, one by one.

"Cough, did it become night without us realizing? The dusk here is really long, but actually very short, right?"

"......Oh!"

"Don't you think in our world, we can't see this kind of..."

"Oh!"

On the attic, Yuanhui and I lay on the roof, gazing at the pouring rain with a sense of sorrow. But every time I expressed my feelings, he just responded with an "Oh", sometimes not even answering what I asked.

"Are you really getting upset just because I made you sleep in the kitchen for one night?"

"Oh..."

"Um, did you not hear what I just said?"

"No, I wasn't paying attention."

He was very unsatisfied with the outcome of today. He had traveled a long way to the border to find me, but I was adored by the locals while he was nearly turned away.

So, he stood up and buried his head in his knees, sighing sadly.

"Yeah... You became a great hero, but what about me? I became an ignored and annoying big bear."

"There's nothing I can do about it. They insist on treating me as a deity, and there's nothing I can do about their intentions."

Yuanhui is that kind of person. He followed me in order to become a real man. Speaking of which, we have to go back to when we were about thirteen or fourteen years old. We used to play together like best friends.

"Do you remember? Back then, people at school used to mock me for being too feminine. But I was clearly a boy."

When I mentioned this, it meant that I had accepted my past. Even if it led to darkness and no longer harbored any hopes for the future, we still needed to face it bravely!

I remember our first encounter in school was extremely difficult. On that day, we were both cornered and bullied by four strong classmates near the school gate in an alley.

"Are you scared? If you're scared, go back to your mom's arms and breastfeed!"

I fiercely pounced on one of them and started fighting. He also mentioned that I completely woke him up that time. I don't know where he got the courage from, but he picked up a stick, held his breath, and hit the leader who was pressing down on me.

I was really shocked. I saw the fat guy collapse quietly, and the others, terrified after seeing their leader beaten, fled.

"You really fought hard back then. The other guy's mom even came looking for you."

The Eternal Forest was unusually quiet at night. The two of us felt like we had met before. It was only our first meeting, but it made us feel like we already knew everything about each other. After all, we were not only close friends but also comrades who fought side by side.

"I don't remember. By the way, how far have you and Yuka's president progressed?"

Rainwater slid down our feet along the eaves, and we huddled under the eaves, feeling like we were in a watery cave of illusions.

Before this, I may have thought it was a gift from nature, but now I realize it was all just divine mischief!

And my relationship with Yuka was as blurry as this watery cave. It wasn't just the unclear future, but how did I really feel about Yuka?

"I... I think she's a good sister with feminine charm?"

I couldn't answer. My own heart told me that I was just a slow-witted fool.

Yuanhui was even more confused by my evasive attitude, so he tried to talk to me indirectly.

"Although you call her 'sister,' do little brothers actually think their sisters have feminine charm?"

"..."

Just when I thought of a topic that might interest Yuanhui, he had already started to feel sleepy.

"Ah... well, at least there's a kitchen to sleep in. I can't stay up late!"

He left me alone under the attic eaves and went to sleep. Before leaving, he didn't forget to say goodnight.

"Goodnight, and remember to sleep early. You're so ungrateful even with a big bed and your sister accompanying you."

"I know!"

"Hmph, can't appreciate the good fortune..."

As Yuanhui went downstairs, he complained in his heart. In the blink of an eye, he was attracted by a purple-haired girl outside the window who was braving the heavy rain.

Completely captivated by the girl's pitiful and charming appearance, he couldn't help but follow her.

"Hey, isn't that Yuanhui?"

I thought Yuanhui had gone to sleep, but could it be that he went to secretly meet some girl? (That's impossible, right?!)

No, although she is far away, the appearance of that girl with the purple single ponytail always feels familiar... I'm sure I heard about her appearance from someone, but I wonder who it was from.

(In Yukari's room)

"Why hasn't he come yet... Xiaoxiao!"

Yukari stayed up all night waiting for me. She stared at me with wide eyes for over two hours, until it was close to 1am and the rain had turned into a downpour.

It's always the rainy season here, and the vegetation is always lush green, so there is no winter season, let alone autumn!

That's why rain became the only natural sight here. The Eternal Forest experiences a heavy rainfall once every week on average.

Buzz... What's that noise?!

The water curtain formed by the dense raindrops of the downpour triggered my memories involuntarily...

I once had a similar experience with a girl. I remember it was raining just as heavily that day. We had to take shelter under a bus stop pavilion, and it seemed like the rain ruined all the plans we had for that day.

"Sigh, if I could start all over again, I would..."

"I think you would become a dreamer and end up in a mental hospital."

As I muttered to myself, someone caught my words from behind and looked at me with a pair of sad or sympathetic eyes.

"Shinobu?"