Hortus Arcanus planēta

ACT 2

negotiation

“El, um… about you and Refah—the one you met. Refa came all the way into this fourth version of the story, right? So why did he stop appearing at midnight? It’s been about a month since I arrived, but he hasn’t shown up even once. Before I came… you used to see him every night at midnight, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. Before you came, Lumia, I met Refah every night in this fourth story. As for why he stopped appearing… I don’t know either. When he disappeared, you appeared instead, Lumia. But… there is one thing I remember. The last time I saw him, he muttered something quietly. He said, ‘So, you came too.’ He said something else after that, but his voice was too faint for me to catch it. I don’t really understand what he meant.”

“So when he said ‘you came too,’ that means he knew I had come into this world, right?”

“Well… yes, that would be the case. But the truth of it—we won’t know unless we meet him again.”

At that moment, an idea struck me.

“I’ve got it. El.”

“What is it, Lumia?”

“What if we try to find Refah? If we meet him, we might understand this world… and maybe even this button too.”

Was I afraid to confirm whether he was truly the same boy I knew…? My voice trailed off, growing quieter toward the end.

“That sounds fine in theory. But how exactly do you plan to meet him? He probably won’t return here anymore.”

“I’ll go after him. I’ll find him. If he’s not in this story… then I’ll search for another one. What do you think? Not a bad idea, right, El?”

“…Perhaps. But is there even a way to travel to another story just to meet him?”

“Well… that is…”

“So there isn’t, then. I see. In that case, let’s do this: from the moment the midnight bell rings, I’ll help you for one hour. That means I’ll give you half the time I can exist as myself. But in return, you’ll tell me what you did with Ella each day… and how she’s been.”

“Are you sure that’s okay, El?”

“Yes. I don’t mind.”

“El… thank you.”

“Then we have a deal.”

And just like that, my negotiation with El was settled.