PrologueThat renowned master and artist the Demiurgus hides it away, causes it to vanish behind life’s make-believe. We, to the contrary, love its abrasiveness, its unruliness, its rag doll ungainliness. Behind each gesture, each movement, we like to see its exertion, its torpor, its sweet ursinality.
Bruno Schulz [A treatise on mannequin or The Next Book of Genesis], Station Yukio Kudou, Heibon Company Library, [all Schultz’s novels] 2005
Relative translation to [マネキン人形論あるいは創世記第二の書]: Mannequin’s theory or The Second book of Genesis
In the middle of the rain.
Young Kasugai Yuu walks alongside grown up Kasugai Yuu while squeezing his hand.
What wonders him wasn’t the fact that there were two of him, but his awareness of the texture of his own hand. He never experience what was it like to have his own hand pulled by himself before, he should never have.
Think, think, think.
Then her memory, the hand that his young-self knew was his mother’s.
Remembering his mother’s hand, he begins to reimagine what he holds with his hand, and created new sensation.
By the time he did, his young-self transformed. This time it’s a hand that he once held before.
Kodzuchi Fuyufu
With a younger body just like when she was in elementary school, she was wearing black colour children’s clothes like the colour of the dark rain.
During the early years of elementary school, her body was weak and Yuu was asked by her mother to accompany her to and from school. To prevent her from falling, they walked together while holding hands.
As time pa.s.sed, their position got swapped and Fuyufu, who had become healthy, was the one who pulled Yuu’s hand.
It might also still be the case.
Fuyufu’s hand that Yuu held was only that of her younger self.
Because, Yuu doesn’t know the sensation of grown-up Fuyufu’s hand—
──This dream will most likely appear under the back of his eyelids. By the time he opens his eyes, the figure of young Fuyufu disappeared, and the gentle sunlight and familiar ceiling greets his eyes.
It’s good that he woke up, but the aftermath of the dream weighted down his head. His young self, young Fuyufu, Fuyufu’s hand, Fuyufu’s fingers……
He can feel his cheek burning up thanks to the unusually vivid dream he had.
(….Could this mean that I wanted to touch Fuyufu?)
It’s hard to think that it’s a physiological issue or anything; it might just simply be a result of frustration.
Having bad thoughts right away in the morning he directs his eyes to the side── It felt like his heart was about to stop.
In front of his eyes was a girl’s sleeping face.
She wasn’t his childhood friend whom he just saw in his dream. Fuyufu was indeed a short-haired girl like a Zashikiwarashi[1] but the girl in front of his eyes has long hair, in contrast to Fuyufu’s small and slim body, that girl has average height and considerably well-rounded and rich body.
Their faces were only dozen centimeters away from each other, and he can see her lips trembles with a small sigh.
An early summer morning
A quiet morning.
Between two bodies in the same bed, a languid heat was in the air. Excessive sweat flowing out. His throat went dry. He experienced a small fever.
Kugimiya Miharu
She was the girl he began to live together with for the past week. Actually last week was the first time he met her, and from that moment they immediately lived together.
However, they had spent over two months together in another world…..
Regardless, they weren’t in a relationship that forces them to live together. The reason why they ended up sleeping together like was thanks to a certain person with complicated circ.u.mstances.
As if trying to prevent each other from rolling off the bed, Miharu’s finger was resting on Yuu’s hand. As soon as he recognizes the warmth he quickly pulled his hand in a hurry.
(Why is this other person’s body so hot……?)
While holding down his shock ── also the fact that the one in front of him wasn’t Fuyufu makes his sides hurt ── Yuu tried to raise his upper body without waking up Miharu. It will be problematic if she wakes up now. Furthermore, the “circ.u.mstances” that forces them into this situation somehow wasn’t in the room.
Miharu has a tendency to distrust the opposite s.e.x which also directed towards Yuu. In this situation where that girl isn’t here, for them to be together alone in the same bed was nothing but a problem.
Fortunately Miharu slept deeply; even if he tries to talk to her she will just reply with gentle breathing.
Miharu was the one who chose that brand new pajama so it should match her own size, but it appears that she feels cramped as she heavily breathes up and down── and by the time he was consulting his brain while averting his eyes from her...
“Daaaaaaddy~~!!!!!”
The main culprit of why Yuu and Miharu have to sleep together came in while shouting in a cute energetic voice.
In front of the left-open door. A child imposed a stance, raising a shout of victory.
“Haruha was able to go to the toilet alone!”
“Nnn…. U…..”
The moan responding to the clearly loud voice was from none other than the awakened Miharu.
Several seconds later, Miharu screamed after becoming aware of the solidified Yuu who was in a position of peeping at her face. Haruha lively blinked her eyes and stared blankly, still holding her pose.
Kasugai Haruha
She wasn’t born in this world. She is one of artificial intelligence, Hadzar, born in the world of the endless reality role playing game『Cradle to the Glaive── otherwise known as『CtG』.
Shortly after her birth, Haruha was soon entrusted to Clamp, Yuu’s avatar, and Mifa, Miharu’s avatar.
The two were the pair who triggered the《Marriage》event in the game, an event that can only be triggered by the pair who are determined to be the most ideal by the computer operating『CtG』. All was to determine which couple was most suitable to be Haruha’s parents.
And Haruha who rapidly grew under Clamp and Mifa’s parenting received an artificial body as an experiment held by the “Human Equilibrium Inst.i.tute” inst.i.tution and appeared in Yuu’s house in the real world.
In order to watch over Haruha who is both physically and mentally unstable, Yuu and Miharu end up living together with Haruha in Yuu’s house. The three of them sleeping together was also part of Haruha’s mental care.
A week had pa.s.sed since the beginning of their new awkward life.
For the past week, Yuu attended to school like always, Miharu was left to clean up Kasugai household storeroom and prepare her own room, and Haruha would play with Miharu with some toys or inside 『CtG』──
“….Ho-how is it?”
A familiar uniform along with Miharu who he was also familiar with. But it’s the first time he has ever seen the two together as one.
“Aa…..”
Yuu, who had been preparing a simple breakfast in the living room, was having trouble giving comment on Miharu who had just dressed and was coming down from her room on the second floor.
Miharu was dressed in the uniform of the school she will go to starting today. She had an anxious face, but it’s hard to guess what worried her.
“Mm….. That’s…. a proper uniform huh”
“……You’re so random…..”
Miharu’s anxiety quickly changed into dissatisfaction. But lisping is like the trend for high school boys; it’s unreasonable to blame him for that.
Nevertheless, it only been a week since they first met face-to-face. To him she is “his daughter’s mother”, something that he can’t fully comprehended. As a result, he couldn’t figure out the right distance to take.
Who saved hesitant Yuu from Miharu’s stare was Haruha who had been waiting for the breakfast, sitting on a cat paws’ patterned cushion.
“So cute! Mommy is great!”
She ran with unstoppable vigour to hug Miharu. Miharu bent down and caught her with her breast, and Haruha buried her face into it like a mole.
Miharu blushed, narrowing her eyes, while stroking Haruha’s head who hugged her tightly.
“Thank you, Haruha.
Today, I’ll also go to school, so be sure to watch over the house with Hajime-san, okay”
Hajime Hidari, one of the Inst.i.tute’s staff in charge of managing Haruha, would come to the Kasugai household during the day and take care of Haruha. She should come today as well.
Haruha stayed silent, and rested her head in Miharu’s care.
Yuu became a little uneasy. Haruha was extremely terrified of being separated from Yuu and Haruha. Just sleeping alone made her anxious, enough to make her want the three of them to sleep together.
“Haruha, are you okay?”
When Yuu called out, Haruha replied cheerfully with her usual carefree playful face.
“I’m okay! After Haruha saying “See you”, Haruha will hear “I’m back” later. Haruha remembered the drill!”
“….. Is that so? So watching over the house is an easy task, right?”
“Haruha had mastered it all”
Yuu felt slightly hot as he looked at the figure of Haruha who was tapping her breast through her pajama with an all knowing-look.
A daughter, who was born just two months ago and should only exist inside a game.
This feeling was probably different than those normal parents had. This child grew up this much in merely two months, and she grew even more after the incident where she put her life at stake for their sake.
Compared to that, I’m── thought Kasugai Yuu.
I’m still unable to get over my mother’s death for the past six months, and just this morning I also see a dream of my younger self, just what person am I?
I’m a child, a parent, a man, and a high school student.
But I’m not an adult.
He sighed all by himself, and apologized to Miharu, who was pouring milk for Haruha, inside his heart.
You look great── while getting sick of himself for being a coward who can’t even say a single honest impression.
Obtained life in the virtual world, the seed of the new world, the Hadzar girl who obtained an artificial human body, Kasugai Haruha.
The only son of one of 『CtG』 developers, the boy who became Haruha’s father, Kasugai Yuu.
Triggered 《Marriage》 event inside 『CtG』 along with Yuu’s avatar, the girl who became Haruha’s mother, Kugimiya Miharu.
Their daily life adventure will continue today as well. Continue like the definition of life itself.
Then.
Yuu and Miharu went off to school, and Haruha was left all alone, bored, watching over the house.
The curtain for the second chapter of the seed of the new world shall rise.