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“…Sakura, huh?”

The words, spoken almost without thinking, were carried away by the wind mingled with petals.
Riding on Behaki’s back, I gazed at the magnificent row of sakura trees.
At the entrance to the town, sakura trees were planted to line the road stretching out from there. The main street was overflowing with the color of sakura, a sight that captivated my eyes.
Straight ahead down the main street, a large mountain came into view. Though there were no sakura there, the greenery was deep, and as a landscape, the mountain appeared to be framed by the sakura—a beautiful sight.

“They’re not quite in full bloom yet, but they’re as beautiful as ever, aren’t they?”

Kuzuha-chan, who had dismounted from Behaki and returned to her human form, murmured this.
The backdrop of the town with sakura petals falling all around suits her perfectly in her kimono. Perhaps finding the petals piling up on her tail bothersome, she periodically swishes her tail to shake them off—a truly adorable sight.
She twitches her brown ears and turns back toward me with a smile.

“What do you think, Arje-san! This is Sakurazaka, one of the many tourist spots in the Yotsuba Republic! It’s famous for its sakura-lined avenue—they even brought the trees all the way from the capital, Sakuranomiya!”
“Ah, I see. It really is impressive.”

I forgot all about teasing her about its name and simply took her words at face value. That’s how captivated I was by the scene before me.
How should I put it? It’s a scene that feels incredibly familiar.
Not only are sakura fluttering along the avenue, but many of the people walking by are wearing kimonos, and the buildings are all single-story wooden structures with tiled roofs.
It gives me the illusion that I’ve arrived in an ancient Japanese capital. For just a moment, I almost forget that this is another world.
It felt like I’d stepped onto the set of a historical drama. I even felt an urge to walk with a slight shuffle, for no particular reason.

Shuffling aside, I wondered if it would be dangerous to ride a horse into town. With that in mind, I dismounted from Behaki.
Once I was standing on the ground, the scent of sakura seemed to grow even more intense. I almost got lost in that nostalgic feeling.

……After all, it’s been years since I’ve seen sakura.

For quite some time, I hadn’t been able to go outside at all. Because of that, I’d lost almost every opportunity to see real flowers.
There used to be someone who would show me flowers, but she never brought sakura into that room.
Sakura are delicate. If you break a branch, they can wither away instantly. I suppose she was being considerate about that. She was such a kind person. I hope she’s doing well in that world.
It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen real sakura—let alone felt their petals brush against my cheeks and hair. Salted sakura are delicious, aren’t they?

“Arje-san? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing at all. Kuzuha-chan, what brings you to this town?”
“Hehehe, you’ll find out once we get there. Come on, let’s go. Please hold my hand so we don’t get separated.”

Kuzuha-chan takes my hand, looking in high spirits. Since my right hand is holding Behaki’s reins, she takes my left hand.
If I don’t resist her pulling, my feet move almost naturally, and I follow Kuzuha-chan. Behaki also obediently follows along as his reins are pulled.

As if following her cheerful, bobbing wolf cut and animal ears, I stepped forward with Behaki by my side.
Sakura and the townscape appear here and there in my field of vision, and at the edge, my own silver hair peeks out.
Now that I’m actually walking, the sense of nostalgia I felt at the entrance grows even stronger.

Both the scenery passing by and the scenery coming toward us exuded a sense of “Japanese tradition,” and my overall impression was, as expected, “nostalgic.” I wonder if I might even be catching the scent of soy sauce or miso without realizing it.

……If only humans were walking here, it would really feel like I’d slipped back in time.

Most of the people we passed were human, but there were many who weren’t.
People with animal ears, like Kuzuha-chan.
Brown-skinned people whose bodies are covered in scales here and there, looking like a cross between a human and a reptile.
People whose arms from the elbows down are bird wings and whose legs from the knees down are bird feet.
Clearly, there’s a much greater variety of “races”—or rather, even non-human beings—wandering around here than in my world.
Compared to the Kingdom, the proportion of non-human beings is—how should I put it?—quite high. Since I couldn’t play around with the town’s name earlier, I’m starting to feel like giving everyone funny nicknames one after another.
Suppressing my rising urge to play pranks, I spoke to Kuzuha-chan.

“There sure are a lot of non-human races here, aren’t there?”
“This is a tourist spot, you know. People gather here from all over.”
“It seems like most people are wearing… kimonos.”
“They do offer kimono rentals, after all.”
“It feels even more like a movie village…”
“Mohfii?”
“Oh, no. I was talking to myself.”

I know there’s no way Kuzuha-chan would know that word, but even if I explained it, it would just be a foreign concept to her. I respond to her puzzled look with a vague answer.
Kuzuha-chan tilted her head at my words, but immediately turned her back to me again.
Without veering off onto side streets, the two of us and the dog walked along the main avenue lined with sakura trees. After a while, the end of the avenue came into view. And at the end of the road stood a single building.
A Japanese-style building, towering with the mountain at its back. It wasn’t a single-story structure—it had two stories.
There was a large entrance—big enough to tell at a glance that it was a shop, not a house—and a wooden sign above it. The characters on the sign weren’t in a language I recognized, but deciphering their meaning was easy. After all, I possess that skill.
Almost the moment I understood what the characters on the sign said, Kuzuha-chan spoke those words.

“Sakura Bath Garden. It’s the hot spring inn that Sakurazaka is so proud of!”
“Soccer Bar Gottem?”
“It’s Sakura Bath Garden!”

Feeling satisfied that I’d managed to do what I couldn’t do earlier, I pondered why Kuzuha-chan had come here.

……She just wanted to dip into hot water, didn’t she?

Even though I can clean her up with my healing magic, taking a bath is pleasant in its own right.
Personally, I prefer naps to baths, so I don’t see any problem with just quickly washing away the dirt with healing magic and skipping the bath altogether.
But I do understand that that might feel a bit dull. Especially since Kuzuha-chan has been forced into hard labor for so long.
She surely still carries the pain of losing her mother. Even if it doesn’t fully resolve those feelings, I can fully understand why she’d want to soak slowly in warm water to find some peace.

“Is there somewhere I can tie up Behaki?”
“Yes, of course! This way, please!”
“Thank you. Behaki, could you come over here?”
“Ah, got it.”

It’s clear from Kuzuha-chan’s guidance that she knows this area well.
She’s probably been here many times before. It must have been because of those opportunities with her family—who are no longer with her—that she came here.
Something other than fatigue or heartache. I could sense an atmosphere of nostalgia emanating from her.
So, rather than prying into it, I simply followed her lead and pulled Behaki’s reins.