"Reporting! The request for assistance has been received. It's expected to arrive this afternoon." On a large sailing ship, a soldier reported to his superior.
"Very well. We will all retreat first and join the relief force."
"Understood."
The five large ships sailing near the mysterious gate slowly retreated back towards the dock.
...
After some contentious exchanges, Evan explained his purpose for coming to this orphanage.
"My purpose here is actually to give you this." Evan picked up the suitcase he was carrying.
When he opened it, Gio and Charlotte's eyes widened. A wad of cash filled the suitcase.
"This..." Just as Gio was about to ask, Evan explained first.
"This is a small donation from me. I hope this money will help with the living expenses of the children here." Evan said with a smile.
He handed the bag containing the money to Gio. Gio handed it to Charlotte, who was sitting next to him.
"This, it can't be called a small amount," Charlotte said.
Gio nodded in agreement.
It was estimated that the amount was around billions. Maybe around ten billion. Gio, staring at the stack of money, spoke a little nervously,
"That... Oh yes, I have to get the documents as a receipt." As Gio was about to rush to his feet, Evan stopped him.
"No, you don't need to do that."
"No, sir, with this much money, there must be a handover of proof of receipt to avoid any doubts later."
"Yes. What if we are accused of embezzlement?"
Gio and Charlotte said almost simultaneously.
Hearing this, Rian was a little surprised by how wary they both were.
Evan, not wanting to complicate things, immediately spoke,
"Don't worry about it. I'll tell Zain about this." Evan said.
Rian, hearing this, was a little confused.
"Why, Mr. Zain?" But he could only say it in his head.
Gio and Charlotte, who heard this, looked at each other for a moment.
"Is that so? Then..."
"Okay. We'll accept it."
Rian was even more confused.
"Huh? Won't they bother Mr. Zain? Mr. Zain might say, 'Why tell me?' Should I tell they now?"
As Rian mutters to himself, he looks at Evan, Gio, and Charlotte, who appear relaxed and sipping their tea.
"Maybe not necessary?" Rian can only tilt his head.
...
After leaving Louis's room, Luke walks in with a slightly gloomy expression. He looks down at his palms and bites his lip. His blue eyes tremble slightly.
His phone rings. After a moment, he picks it up.
"Yes. I'll be right there." Luke sighs and begins to walk away.
...
In a doctor's office at Lumiville City Hospital, a nurse knocks on the door and excuses herself. Since no one is inside, she places some documents on the doctor's desk.
The stack of books and documents causes the nurse to accidentally knock over one.
"Ah." Slightly surprised, the nurse quickly sorts through the scattered books.
As she's busy organizing them, she accidentally spots a book that catches her eye. She reads the title.
"Glass Moon?"
A book with a cover depicting a man in a long-robed adventurer's outfit, carrying a large sword across his back, and a starry night sky with a shining moon.
"No author?" She flipped through the cover and couldn't find the author's name.
The back cover depicted a hand holding a shard of glass reflecting moonlight. The nurse was quite captivated by the cover.
"This book has a beautiful cover. Is it made-self, since it doesn't have an author's name?" The nurse murmured softly.
"The story might be interesting."
"Yes. It's a very good story, I think."
"Huh!" As the nurse was about to turn the page, she was startled by a man's voice behind her. She nearly jumped.
"Excuse me, did I startle you?"
"Ah, no, sir. I apologize for looking at your book without permission." The nurse quickly handed her the book she had been holding.
She looked nervous.
Before her stood a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. He had a friendly face, a warm smile, and dark gray eyes that added to his handsomeness.
"It's okay. I don't mind." The man accepted the book.
"Thank you for bringing me the documents I needed." The man smiled kindly.
"Yes." The nurse smiled back.
"Excuse me, sir, but may I ask what book it is? The cover is quite interesting, and I'm a little curious." The nurse asked politely, occasionally glancing at the book.
"Ah, this? It's a storybook."
"A story? About what?"
"A hero."
Hearing that, the nurse became curious.
"But there's no author's name on it... Did the doctor write it himself?"
The male doctor chuckled.
"No, I just rewrote a story I heard. As for this cover, I asked my friend to make it. It looks really nice, doesn't it?" He showed the cover again.
"Yes. The story must have been so interesting that you rewrote it."
"Yes. I didn't want to forget the story, so I decided to write it."
"It's a shame because it won't be sold anywhere... May I borrow it?"
"Sorry, but I can't lend it."
"Eh, why?"
The male doctor smiled.
"Because it means a lot to me."
Seeing the male doctor's smile, the female nurse was a little surprised and blushed.
The doctor chuckled.
"You seem to have an interest in fictional stories like this."
"Yes. I really like them."
"Then may I tell you something?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Do you know why such fictional stories exist even though neither we nor people from the past, nor even history itself, have ever encountered the things written about them?"
Hearing this, the nurse was confused.
"That... isn't it the result of someone's imagination? Specifically, the author's?"
"How can the author have such an imagination when they've never seen the things they write about in real life?"
"Hmm... that... isn't it because they seek inspiration from reading a lot of books and other things?" The nurse was at a loss for an answer.
"If they read books related to those fantasy subjects, then where did the authors they read get their inspiration from?"
"T-that..."
The nurse couldn't answer the young doctor's confusing question any longer, and she scratched the back of her head.
"Sorry, I don't know."
The male doctor chuckled.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you like this. You probably don't understand what I'm saying, right?"
The nurse smiled awkwardly.
"So, what I'm trying to say is, that imagination might be a fragment of memory."
"A fragment of memory?"
"Yes. What if I told you that there isn't actually just one world in this world."
"??!"
"The world we live in might be the past or the future of another world, or maybe even overlapping with another world."
"Yes?" The nurse was a little surprised, her mouth gaping open. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Because of that overlapping world, when the past becomes the present, memories from the past seep into the world and begin to spread like dust particles in the air. And they settle in the memories of some people."
"And that's probably what causes something called imagination."
After the doctor finished explaining, he looked at the nurse. Her mouth gaped even wider than before. The doctor almost burst out laughing, but he managed to hold it in.
Clearing his throat, he reminded the nurse to close her mouth. The nurse suddenly came to her senses and quickly covered her wide-open mouth.
After a moment of silence, she spoke,
"Excuse me, sir, but how could you have such a theory?"
"It wasn't me. Someone told me."
"Yes? May I ask who?"
"Someone told me this story I'm rewriting."