Bianca's Side
"Hi! I'm Kiana!"
"...Hello."
The first time I met that boy, he was just the neighbor next door. Unlike me, he had dark, obsidian hair that stood in stark contrast to my own.
Perhaps because our parents both had children around the same age, our households became close almost instantly.
Our parents shared parenting tips, swapped stories about what they'd learned, and we even went on family trips together.
And maybe it was because he was the only child my age nearby?
"Let's go play!"
Back when I still lived as 'Kiana,' I loved dragging that boy from next door all over the place.
"...What a pain."
He would let out a long sigh at my antics, but despite being a boy who preferred books over playing outside—quite unusual for his age—he would quietly close his volume and follow me anyway.
To be honest, back then, he wasn't exactly what you'd call 'fun.'
He'd join in when the other kids were running around, but otherwise, he preferred a quiet life: leisurely reading or building things with his hands.
I'll admit, it was fascinating to watch him work—it felt like anything he touched would transform into something new in an instant—so I'd hang around him. But eventually, I'd either break whatever he was making by mistake or simply get bored, dragging him back outside into the sunlight.
I did this every single day, without fail.
Thinking back on it now, I must have been a massive nuisance. It wouldn't have been strange at all if he'd snapped and told me, 'I'm not playing with you anymore!'
And yet, despite his blunt attitude and constant grumbling, he never actually turned me away. If I asked, he was always there, trailing a step behind me.
I believe people call that sort of behavior 'Tsundere' nowadays?
Because I knew that was just how he was, I could always approach him with a bright smile. That memory is still so vivid.
When my mother passed away and my father became a shell of his former self, a total wreck... if it hadn't been for that boy and his family, we might never have recovered.
"It's okay."
"Sniffle...! How is it okay? I miss my Mom!"
"That's why I'm saying it's okay. Look, look at the sky."
"...Huh?"
Following his gaze, I looked up. Between the cracks of the dark night sky, brilliant stars were shining, asserting their presence with a radiant glow.
"What do you see?"
"I see lots of stars."
"Right. Did you know that your Mom's star is actually among them?"
"...Really?"
"Yeah. They say when people die, they become stars. So you're going to be okay."
—Because your Mom is watching over you from the sky, always.
"Are you really going to show your Mom nothing but a sad face?"
"...No!"
If not for his comfort, I would have been swallowed by that depression for much longer. But thanks to his words—that Mom was always watching—I found the strength to show her a bright smile instead of tears.
And because I knew Mom wouldn't want to see Dad so sad either, I repeated his words to my father, helping him find the strength to stand again.
Thanks to that, our family was able to overcome the pain and move forward.
Strangely enough, even after I lost my memory and became 'Bianca' under Overseer Otto's care, those words remained. They stayed etched in my heart like brilliant starlight that would never fade.
I didn't know who said them. No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn't see even a fragment of his face—.
But whenever I was in pain, whenever I felt like giving up, that memory would surface. The warmth in that voice and the sense of security—the feeling that someone was always standing right behind me—was what allowed me to eventually earn the title of 'Durandal.'
But life is funny. During the 'Lonely Panthalassa' mission, where Overseer Otto sent me to a different dimension called the Sea of Quanta to retrieve an 'Ether Anchor,' I finally met him again. Yet, neither of us recognized each other.
Well, it makes sense. He hadn't seen me for years due to the accident I'd been in, and I didn't look anything like the 'Kiana' of his childhood.
"...Are you Kiana?"
"Huh? Who are you mistaking me for?"
"...Never mind. But with that strangely annoying face and personality, you're exactly like Kiana."
"I am Bianca! Bianca Ataegina!"
"...I suppose. That girl had white hair, unlike you."
...Looking back, it didn't take him long at all to see the truth. But since I had no memories at the time, I just snapped at him, wondering what kind of nonsense he was talking about.
It's embarrassing to admit, but my personality back then wasn't exactly 'pleasant.'
Perhaps as a lingering effect of the bullying at the orphanage, I had a cynical view of the world. I was constantly prickly, snapping at people and interrupting them mid-sentence.
Because of that, I frequently clashed with the people around me during our exploration.
It was bad enough that I even said to myself, 'At this rate, am I just going to become a depressed wreck in five or ten years?'
And yet, whenever I felt that gloom closing in, he always seemed to sense my state. He'd simply come and stay by my side.
"Don't worry."
"About what?"
"Your strong sense of responsibility is just clashing with your personality in the worst way right now."
"I know that's a bad thing, that's why I'm like this."
"That's why I'm telling you not to worry."
—Because you're the type of person who can't be satisfied unless you give your absolute best to every problem you face.
I didn't understand what he meant at all. Seeing the literal question mark floating over my head—or perhaps remembering something from our past—he gently reached out and stroked my hair.
"The fact that you're self-aware enough to recognize these flaws is what's important."
—Because that means you can find a way to fix them, and you can keep evolving as a person.
The moment I saw the warm smile on his face as he said those words, my heart gave a violent thud.
"H-Hmph! I know that already!"
I felt a strange illusion that his face was glowing, and my cheeks began to burn. I quickly looked away and snapped at him, trying to hide my embarrassment.
Paradoxically, I didn't even think about moving his hand away from my head.
I think it started then. That was when I began to see him not just as a comrade, but as a man.
My heart would race just looking at him, and whenever our eyes met, I felt like my face would overheat.
For some reason, even when he was just standing still, he seemed to radiate light. My gaze would drift toward him without me even realizing it.
I started acting out just to get his attention, and whenever I saw him chatting happily with other women, an inexplicable irritation would bubble up, and I'd end up pestering him.
But because my actions reminded him of the old 'Kiana,' he just treated me like a little sister he had to look after. It made me so angry that we'd often bicker like children.
Rita was the first one to notice the change in my condition, followed by the rest of our comrades.
"...What? Is there something on my face?"
I wondered if I was really that easy to read, but this blockhead didn't notice a thing. Well, to be fair, I hadn't fully realized my own feelings back then either.
I didn't know what love was, and at the time, I was so focused on racing toward my goals that my emotional development was incredibly slow.
I only realized the truth during the very final moments of our exploration.
"That is what we call love, Lord Durandal."
If Rita hadn't whispered that to me after I'd failed to control my emotions—with his face constantly floating in my mind and my heart pounding—I probably would never have realized it on my own.
And so, after finally accepting those feelings, right before we returned to reality—
—Mwah♡
"...Uh?"
"...What, is this your first kiss?"
"Of course it is..."
I'd grabbed him by the collar and kissed him out of nowhere. Watching his reaction—the way he looked like he couldn't process what had just happened—I felt a bit disappointed that I was the only one with a racing heart. I started snapping at him again, but then he said something that made my mood soar.
"Well, that's a relief!"
"What is?!"
"Because it was my first kiss, too!"
Seeing the grin on my face as I said that, he let out a dry, disbelieving laugh and started walking. I followed him, with the other 'Bianca' trailing behind us, and just like that, our exploration came to an end.
However... when we finally reunited later, it wasn't exactly a happy meeting.
Because the man I met again—
"Who are you...?"
—didn't remember me at all.