Ceres Fauna's Everyday, Just a Little Bit Strange Days
In a secret place where gods and incredible beings from various worlds have gathered to live a relaxed life together, Ceres Fauna, the organizer of the 'Council,' is as busy as ever looking after everyone.
One day, the mischievous Watson Amelia is excited, saying, 'I'll use my time machine to grab a snack from tomorrow!' The god of time, Kronii, hears this and panics, shouting, 'You'll break the world's rules!' Fauna tries to stop it with the power of nature, but Amelia has already pressed the
Ceres Fauna's Everyday, Just a Little Bit Strange Days - Future Sweets and the Angry Clock Tower
The air in the potager rippled, swelling outward.
In the next instant, a cascade of colorful packages spilled across the great table like an avalanche.
Glittering silver paper, plastic in shapes she'd never seen, a grape-colored tin.
"I'm back! Scored a haul of future sweets!"
Her hip-length blonde hair swaying, Amelia stood triumphantly atop the table.
Her large blue eyes sparkled. Beneath her straight-cut bangs, her face looked like curiosity itself had detonated.
The beads threaded through her side braids clicked together.
She pushed her goggles up onto her forehead and proudly tapped the time machine on her left wrist.
"The time tunnel stretched a bit wider than I planned! But hey, even the failures turn into success stories!"
Amelia hopped down from the table and upended the bag.
Colorful lumps tumbled out, rolling everywhere.
"Check this out! Chocolate from 2157! And this one's a grape-flavored fizzy candy! And this one over here is—"
"Amelia!"
Fauna stood at the entrance to the potager.
Her yellowish-green blonde hair shimmered, translucent in the morning light. Today was a gardening day, so she'd tied the sides into small braids. But those eyes, the color of fresh leaves, were now opened wide.
"You used the time machine again… And what is with this number of packages?"
Fauna approached the table with quick steps.
The hem of her linen blouse swayed softly.
"Eheh, I might've gotten a little carried away!"
Amelia flashed an embarrassed grin. The small smudge of oil on her right cheek shifted just a little with each smile.
"But Fauna! You absolutely have to try this!"
She thrust a small box wrapped in silver paper toward Fauna.
"The very first one I found! Future chocolate! I saved it just for you!"
"Huh? F-For me?"
Fauna faltered for a moment.
As a Keeper of Nature, she was supposed to scold her properly here. Temporal alteration was forbidden under Article 3 of the Commons Seventeen Precepts. How many times had Amelia broken this rule now?
But.
The moment she opened the wrapper, a sweet fragrance wafted up, soft and full.
(...What is this?)
Fauna's nose twitched.
A deep, warm scent she had never smelled before. It was the aroma of cacao, yet somehow mixed with a floral sweetness.
"See? Smells amazing, right!"
Amelia's voice sounded very far away.
Fauna's fingers moved on their own, picking up the chocolate.
(Just a little… just a little bit…)
The moment it entered her mouth.
It melted.
The sweetness spread softly across her tongue, and then a gentle bitterness chased after it. Smoother and softer than any sweet she had ever eaten.
"...Delicious."
Fauna had closed her eyes without realizing it.
Her cheeks relaxed. The corners of her mouth naturally softened into a smile.
(This is… the taste of the future?)
The small sprout ornament above her left ear glowed a faint gold. A habit of hers—it always lit up when her emotions ran high.
"Yes! Fauna's happy!"
Amelia jumped into the air.
The hem of her coat swayed like a tail.
"Next up, space snacks! I'm talking zero-gravity sweets—"
She pulled a notebook from her pocket and began scribbling something with tremendous speed.
The sound of a pencil racing. An occasional, cheerful hum mixed in.
"Wait, Amelia. We're not done talking—"
That was when it happened.
BANG!!
The door of the potager burst open.
"Watson Ameliaaaaaa!!"
A young man with long silver hair tied back stormed in, his face pale with fury. His golden eyes trembled minutely, like the hand of a stopwatch. The deep furrow between his brows grew even deeper.
In his right hand, he gripped an hourglass-shaped staff. The sand flowing inside still held a faint reddish tinge.
"You used the time machine again, didn't you! The sand in the Orrery Spire is bright red! The temporal fissures are—"
"Oh, Chronii! Perfect timing, listen to this—I just thought of my next invention!"
Completely ignoring Chronii's roar of anger, Amelia thrust her notebook in front of his face.
"This! A device that converts the flow of time into a sweet scent! Attach this, and you can pinpoint the location of future snacks in one shot!"
"Convert it into a scent!? What do you think that will do to the timeline—"
"So then, you attach a compact olfactory sensor here—"
"Listen to me!!"
"And if you make this gear here just a bit bigger—"
"Article 3 of the Commons Seventeen Precepts! The prohibition of temporal alteration! Unauthorized travel to the past or future is forbidden! Do you have any idea how critical a rule that is—"
"—the power output should triple too!"
Their voices echoed through the potager.
But they weren't connecting at all.
Amelia kept sketching diagrams in her notebook, and Chronii kept reciting the Seventeen Precepts.
It was like listening to two different radios at the same time.
"Pfft…"
Fauna couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
No, she shouldn't laugh. This was a serious matter.
But.
(Really, these two are always like this.)
"Chronii, calm down a little."
Fauna spoke gently.
In that instant.
Chronii's movements stopped dead.
"...Fauna."
He let out a deep sigh. The tension drained from his shoulders.
"I know. I can never win against you."
Chronii set the hourglass staff down on the floor with a soft thud.
For some reason, Fauna was the one person he could never defy. It had been that way ever since he first arrived at the Commons. She was gentle, yet possessed a strength that brooked no argument.
"But this time, it's truly bad. The color of the hourglass still hasn't fully returned. A temporal rift remains somewhere."
"...What?"
Fauna's expression turned serious in an instant.
She picked up a wrapper from the table.
A date printed on the silver paper.
『2157.03.14』
(2157… over 130 years in the future.)
"Amelia, that tunnel—did you close it properly?"
"Huh? The tunnel? Ah, I think it closed on its own partway through! I was so focused on the snacks, I don't really remember!"
Amelia answered without looking up from her notebook.
"On its own…?"
A chill tightened deep in Fauna's chest.
(If the time tunnel didn't close properly—)
She turned her face toward Chronii.
He seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
His golden eyes were trembling even more minutely.
"Fauna, we need to investigate the base of Elda Magna. If a temporal distortion remains, that's where it will be."
"Yes, understood. I'll try to sense it with my nature powers."
Fauna gave a small nod.
The two of them tried to slip out of the potager quietly.
At that moment.
"Oh, what's this?"
Amelia picked up a small piece of metal that had fallen on the floor.
A silvery, unfamiliar-shaped component.
It resembled a gear, but wasn't one. A very small hole was open in its center.
"I might be able to use this for my next invention! Lucky!"
She laughed innocently and slipped it into her pocket.
(What… is that?)
Fauna stared at the metal fragment for a moment.
(Did it fall from the future…?)
But seeing the happy look on Amelia's face, she somehow couldn't bring herself to ask further.
"...Amelia. The next time you use the time machine, you must tell me beforehand. Promise me."
"Eheh, got it! Next time I'm aiming for space snacks, so you should come with me, Fauna!"
"She isn't listening at all…"
Chronii's shoulders slumped dejectedly.
But the corners of his mouth relaxed, just a little, just the slightest bit.
(So I'm the one fixing the temporal rifts again this time, huh.)
Even as he thought that.
(Well, it's the usual thing.)
Chronii gently shook the hourglass.
The soft, trickling sound of sand falling.
The sand, still faintly red, was beginning—little by little, little by little—to return to gold.
Fauna looked out the window.
The base of Elda Magna.
The place where the time tunnel had been.
There, a small golden light flickered brightly.
(As I thought, something still remains.)
She gently placed a hand on her chest.
(But for now, let's just keep laughing together.)
Inside the potager, Amelia was happily continuing her explanation of the next invention.
Chronii occasionally let out a yell.
The usual morning scene.
But a single wrapper from the future sweets on the table was caught by the breeze and fell to the floor.
The date written there.
2157.
Fauna picked it up and quietly tucked it into her pocket.
(The temporal distortion isn't over yet.)
A small anxiety.
But she lifted her face and put on a smile.
"Alright, Amelia. Let's share these sweets with everyone. Chronii, how about one for you?"
"I'll pass! More importantly, the repair of the temporal rift—"
"You gotta eat too, Chronii! It's good!"
"I am telling you to listen to me!!"
Laughter echoed through the potager.
But inside Fauna's pocket, the future wrapper rustled softly.
The golden light at the base of Elda Magna had not yet vanished.
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