Their identities

Hearing Edinia say this, the children finally noticed that there was a person in a tattered black robe beside them.

After seeing Key’s appearance, the children subconsciously shouted:

“Firefly-sis?”

“No, no! Firefly-sis’s eyes aren’t like that!”

“But how come she looks so much like Firefly-sis?”

“Could she be Firefly-sis’s older or younger sister?”

“But isn’t Firefly-sis an orphan?”

The children began to chatter among themselves, and seeing this, Edinia’s face curved into a smile as if she had thought of some prank, and she said to everyone:

“Alright, alright ♪ you’re all wrong. Actually, this sister named Key is your Brother Su Mo and Sister Firefly’s child～”

“Huh?”

“What? The boss really scored?”

“I knew it! There’s no way Brother Su Mo didn’t like Sister Firefly! He must’ve been too shy to tell us the truth!”

Seeing the surprised looks on the children’s faces because of what she said, Edinia couldn’t help but laugh.

She was just about to explain the misunderstanding when Key, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up.

“The Su Mo you’re talking about—I don’t know who that is. But from a certain point of view, I am indeed the daughter of the Firefly-sis you speak of.”

“Huh?”

This time, not only the children but even Edinia—who had originally wanted to explain—showed a shocked expression.

“What did you say? You’re little Firefly’s daughter?!”

The news was so shocking that even Edinia’s long-lost “Su Mo” personality almost resurfaced.

Edinia asked in astonishment, feeling as if the color above her head was changing.

‘Little Firefly actually had a child with someone? No way! That kind of thing mustn’t happen!’

Edinia felt like she had burned out entirely, turning into pure white ash.

But the next second, she seemed to remember something and quickly refuted:

“No, no! Little Firefly doesn’t even look that old! How could she have a daughter like you who even looks older than her?!”

In an instant, Edinia seemed to have grabbed onto hope. She pointed at Key and asked seriously.

Key fell into silence. Seeing this, Edinia let out a sigh of relief and said with some comfort:

“Right? A daughter or something is simply impossible…”

“I’m not from this planet.”

“Huh?”

Edinia, who had just calmed down, widened her eyes again after hearing Key say something even more shocking.

“You give me a very good feeling, very gentle. For some reason, there’s something humans often call a mother’s warmth.

So according to my own analysis, I can trust you and tell you everything.”

Key staggered to stand up, and seeing this, Edinia instinctively stepped forward to support her.

She quickly recovered from her surprise.

After all, if she thought about it, she herself wasn’t from this planet either, so having another alien besides her should be considered normal, right?

‘But why does it always feel like the whole story has collapsed?

What on earth is going on?’

After losing her memories, Edinia had basically forgotten all the content about this possibly being a game world.

But her instincts still told her that the current plot seemed a bit off.

“Alright, alright. Standing up is already this hard, so don’t force yourself to keep talking.

Good grief, such a cute girl not knowing how to take care of herself! Even I’m going to start feeling sad at this rate!”

Edinia reached out and tapped Key’s forehead, pouting slightly with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Sorry…”

Not knowing how to respond, Key could only lower her head and apologize softly.

Finally, surrounded by the group of children, the two entered the orphanage.

Along the way, they also met the director. Edinia greeted her kindly, and the director arranged a place for the two to rest.

“It’s still the same place as before. I’ve been keeping it clean, hehe.”

“Oh my ♪ thank you so much, Granny Director～”

After chatting a little more, the other children were sent to bed by the director, and Edinia and Key arrived at the room prepared for them.

“This is the room Granny Director prepared for me when I stayed here before～ Since it was always just me, I’ve kind of made it my own and decorated it a bit.

How is it? Do you like it, little Key ♪”

Key glanced at the room’s décor. She didn’t really understand it, but to avoid making Edinia angry she still nodded cooperatively and said:

“It looks nice.”

“Such a perfunctory answer～ But thank you for the compliment anyway ♪

Come on～ Little Key must be tired, right? Then sit on the bed and rest for a while.”

She reached out to pull Key to the bed and ‘forced’ her to sit down, then sat next to her herself.

“Since I’ve always lived alone, this room only has one bed.

But we’re both girls, so that’s no problem, right～”

Blinking her pretty big eyes, Edinia tilted her head slightly and asked cheerfully:

“So, can you tell me about you and little Firefly? Just now you said Firefly is your mom—what exactly is going on with that?”

Edinia had been holding Key’s hand this whole time, never letting go. Key’s attention had been fixed on their joined hands.

Some unknown feeling appeared in her body for some reason. Because it felt pleasant, she ruled out the possibility of it being a virus.

Before she could finish analyzing her body’s condition, Edinia’s question brought her back.

Key looked into Edinia’s eyes and spoke calmly:

“Everything about me comes from Firefly, because my very existence is the key to unlocking the ultimate weapon.”

“A key? But little Key doesn’t look anything like a key?”

Edinia asked in confusion.

Hearing this, Key’s grip tightened.

Feeling the increase of strength in their clasped hands, Edinia gently placed her other hand on top of Key’s and spoke softly:

“Don’t be nervous ♪ I’m here, nothing bad will happen.

Little Key can try to trust Edinia, okay? I won’t let you down～”

Key’s tense body relaxed at Edinia’s words. She looked at Edinia gratefully, then continued:

“Firefly is her name now. Before this, everyone called her ‘Princess.’”

“Wow ♪ Little Firefly was actually a queen?” Edinia said excitedly.

Key nodded and went on:

“An entity invaded our planet… no, not invaded—‘wanted to eat it’ would be more accurate.”