This world might be more connected to other worlds than one would think.

A year ago, Mika had never even considered the existence of other worlds. But now, she held two magical keys and knew the locations of three Doors.

And on the other side, she had a home, a job, and—though only temporary—even children.

At first, she hadn’t mentioned it to her husband, thinking it was just related to her work at the supermarket. But now, keeping it all to herself felt too unsettling.

One night, after their children had fallen asleep, she made tea and mustered the courage to talk to him.

“Hey, will you listen? I… I have a child in another world.”

The next morning, rubbing her sleep-deprived eyes as she saw her family off, Mika headed to work at Himawari Mart.

Her shifts at Warehouse No. 4 were fixed for Tuesdays and Saturdays, with Sundays always off. The other days were scheduled with her colleagues—this week, she was working Wednesday and Friday.

Last night had been exhausting.

Her husband had spat out his tea, and it took two hours to explain everything. Even as the clock ticked past midnight, he was still muttering to himself.

At least the weird misunderstandings had been cleared up, but he was still worried. So much so that he decided to take Thursday off work to go with Mika to the other world.

Today’s shift at the store was a four-hour stretch without breaks—just the morning.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

After exchanging greetings and taking off her apron, she did her usual round of shopping in the store, a habit she’d picked up since working at Himawari Mart. Not having to make separate shopping trips was incredibly efficient.

She bought more groceries than usual to bring to Flower’s place.

Once home, she dropped off her bags and then headed to a store in the opposite direction to pick up some children’s clothes.

“If I’d had a girl, I would’ve dressed her in things like this…”

She prioritized practicality, so while the designs were a bit plain, the short skirts adorned with flower motifs were undeniably girly. She also bought a few hooded jackets—some with bunny ears, others with cat ears.

The thin pink pants with elastic around the ankles wouldn’t flare out, making them easier for the people on the other side, who weren’t used to wearing pants.

While shopping, she stopped by the neighboring general store to pick up souvenirs for Dada and the other two.

For Dada, a soft bead cushion.

For Zurah, some accessories.

For Gatt… She couldn’t think of anything great, so she settled on a snow globe music box.

Ideally, she’d take these to the other world right away, but she couldn’t just leave the kids unattended when they’d be home soon.

After returning from her enjoyable shopping trip, she prepared dinner as usual. Then, as she packed her things, she thought about tomorrow.

About how, for their first date in a long time, the destination was another world.