He didn’t know how long it had been.
When he realised it, ‘Ernesti Echevarria’ found himself floating in darkness.
The dark barren space seemed to be endless, his pale white skin and brilliant silvery purple hair was a strong contrast against the background.
He couldn’t feel the ground beneath his feet, only a sensation like floating in water.
It was strange, but, he wasn’t bothered by it, or interested in this situation. He simply stared into the other end of space with a blank expression.
Finally, something other than him appeared in this stagnant space.
It was a rectangular box printed with colours. On closer inspection, it had a picture of a ‘robot' in a cool pose on it, and the ‘logo’ displayed the name of the robot on the side. The box was labeled with a detailed ‘description’ on four of the sides— indicating that this was a box containing a ‘plastic model’.
And, there were more than one.
All sorts of boxes were chained together, encircling Eru. He was familiar with all the robots depicted on the boxes and would never forget them— He bought all of them right before the ‘traffic accident’.
“Aahhh… That’s right, these are the ‘yet to assemble’ ones. It’s a rare chance, I have to complete them.”
Ignoring why the things he had lost were here, he didn’t even care why ‘boxes of plastic models’ were before ‘Ernesti’. He smiled calmly and acted as he usually did.
Holding clippers in his hand, he placed a cutting mat, box cutter, tweezers, file, and glue tidily before him.
This was a habit he had in the ‘past’, placing his tools and model pieces tidily before assembling it in earnest. It was like a ritual and was a part of his routine.
Eru, who had finished the preparations, was in a great mood as he reached out for a box floating in the air.
Opening the box, taking out the model parts, and starting to read the instruction manual.
This was a time of happiness as he immersed himself in his hobby, but, for unknown reasons, the box moved unexpectedly and dodged his hand. He tried several times, but, couldn’t touch any of the boxes, and they seemed to be drifting further and further away, about to disappear into the darkness of the abyss.
“Hmmm? Please wait, I haven’t done anything yet. There are so many I have ‘yet to assemble’, I want to keep assembling!!”
He gave chase, but, whenever he was about to touch them, the boxes slipped away.
The frustrated Eru started getting serious. The clippers in his hand started to morph into the gunstaff, ‘Winchester’.
Mana and script flowed into his beloved staff, manifesting into physical phenomenon through the catalyst crystal. ‘Aero Thrust’— The air pressure created from the magical explosion propelled Eru’s body forward like a bullet, reaching speeds that surpassed that of any normal man. However, he still couldn’t reach the boxes. The boxes shook at a place just beyond his reach, mocking his efforts.
“Don’t even think of running… I won’t let you get away! My, my plastic models!”
Just a bit more and he could touch them. Eru pounced at the boxes.
He finally grabbed it into his arms, holding it tightly and refusing to let go.
‘The box of plastic models’ should be something made from thick cardboard.
But, the sensation in his arms felt so familiar, a tenderness that wasn’t too hard or too soft.
For the first time, his mind was filled with doubt and he lifted his head like a spring—
— And, he woke up from his dream.
His sleepiness was gone in an instant.
Eru blinked his eyes and sighed deeply. His mind was clear, but, his mood was terrible.
“... It was a ‘dream’. To stop at such a place… Even if it was a dream, at least let me do it until the very end.”
Light shone through the thin curtains and the room gradually grew brighter. It was morning, even though recalling the dream that was becoming vague made him upset; he still prepared to get up from bed out of habit.
At this moment, he realised that something was right before him, and he was being pressed down.
It was too close so he thought it was a blanket. But, looking at it closely, he realised it wasn’t ‘something’, but ‘someone’.
Eru slightly lifted his head and recognised who it was. The one hugging Eru in her sleep was the girl who grew up alongside him— ‘Adeltrud Olter’. He understood why the dream ended.
“... Ahh, right, we slept together last night.”
He was confused momentarily, but, remembered the reason in no time.
It happened last night.
He was pulled into a certain incident a few days ago, and Ady was unhappy at being left out.
And, so, she announced that she would punish Eru ‘like a pillow’. So she snuggled into his bed and executed the punishment.
Ady was sleeping soundly without a care in the world, wearing a satisfied expression. Her face looked so happy that Eru hesitated to wake her up.
If he hadn't been rendered immobile by her tight embrace, he might have let her continue sleeping.
“Ady, it’s morning, wake up.”
It couldn’t be helped since he couldn’t move, so Eru shook Ady’s shoulders to wake her up. A moment later, she opened her eyes in a daze— then smiled brilliantly and hugged Eru tighter.
“... Hmmm… It’s Eru… Fufu, so warm, so happy…”
Winter is the time when one longs for the warmth of the bed, and the young boy whose size was just right for hugging provided great warmth.
“Time to get up Ady; don’t keep sleeping just because it's cold.”
“... Just, three more hours…”
There seemed to be no end to this. She rubbed her cheek against Eru’s hair, smiling happily as she dozed off into dreamland once again.
Saying this verbally was useless, so, Eru gave up and adopted drastic measures. He moved his hand under her clothes and used gentle and cautious motions to tickle her flanks and back. Ady, slept for a while, but moved involuntarily in no time, waving her limbs about.
“......! ……!! Fu, hya!? Wait, stop, it tickles, Eru, stop!!”
After struggling for some time, Ady finally suppressed Eru’s hands, stopping further attacks. She maintained this position and lowered her gaze, meeting Eru’s, who was smiling gently in the eyes. She blushed and moaned in tears:
“Eru~! Boo, hoo, you are becoming mean recently…!”
“No such thing. Good morning, you are finally awake. Come, it is a beautiful morning, let’s get up from bed.”
He then pulled the reluctant Ady up.
She looked displeased with the cool breeze. In contrast, Eru was stretching his limbs and swinging his arms for some reason.
“Now is not the time to lose to the cold. Here, let’s begin the activities of the ‘Silver Phoenix Knights’. I couldn’t do it in my dream, but I won’t give up this time!”
“...? Aren’t you unusually excited after forming the Knights Order?”
Seeing Eru full of drive made Ady tilt her head, baffled, but, she still complied with his urgings and left the bed.
“That’s right, models are dreams… A dream that is beyond reach, so I have to make a ‘substitute’... I won’t give up so easily!”
It had been a long time since he dreamed about his previous life.
It gave Eru a weird goal— which was like putting the cart before the horse.
For the time being, it will be a while before his ideas that go beyond the boundaries of worlds take shape.
“Please wait for me, my robots!”
In conclusion, he was full of life today as well.