Epic of Caterpillar

Frank glanced at Matsuo and smiled slightly, feeling finally relieved his friend was safe and sound, and only just sleeping.

Lady Miwa, Matsuo's mother, a beautiful woman with long brown hair and bright yellow eyes smiled back at Frank, thanking him.

"Thank you so much for helping my son, Frank, you've been a real help so far," she sighed in relief. "You're a true friend, and also a true member of this family as well..."

"Indeed," nodded a tall, burly man with black hair and emerald eyes, Kensetsu, Matsuo's father. "To think you ended fighting a Demon from all things, and one that was also an Incarnation of an Ancient Evil? Koga Saburo..."

Kensetsu was a strong magician that used the power of Paper Seals to fight; by imbuing magical seals into paper and creating powerful scrolls, he could create special Magical Formations, summon Familiars, create Barriers, or unleash devastating Magic Spells. However, his magic was also highly dependent in how much preparation time he could have, therefore, he wasn't good at adapting to battles as he could only fight with what he had already previously done.

"Not even I am sure I could have won, my Exorcizing Seals... I wonder if they would have even been enough to fight that monster," he said. "You and Harumi are incredibly strong, without you two, my son wouldn't had survived."

"No, please, it's the contrary," said Harumi. "Thanks to Matsuo... we managed to survive, he healed us all the time, and keep up with Koga on his own. He's incredible."

"Yeah..." Frank nodded. "I think he should take all the credit to be honest..."

"Hahaha! You two are too humble..." Matsuo's father laughed. "Alright, alright... While we wait for that sleepy son of mine to rest, shall we go have a meal then? You're invited! Right honey?"

"Nice! I'm going then!" nodded Erika, the third wheel that didn't even belong here.

"Who's this brat?" Kensetsu wondered.

"T-That's the werewolf girl, the daughter of Beowulf, Erika," said Miwa. "I didn't know she was allowed here; I suppose she's an ally as well?"

"I'm Harumi's friend," Erika winked at Matsuo's parents. "And I don't really like violence if I can help it either~!"

Harumi was cringing as she saw her friend acting all dumb in front of complete strangers to her, facepalming.

"I-I'm sorry for her behavior, she is like a dog you see," Harumi sighed. "And you know hwo dogs are, right?" she smiled a bit.

"Oh, hahahaha! I guess so!" laughed Kensetsu.

"D-Dear, I don't think you should have laughed at that joke...!" Miwa was a bit alarmed but couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Geez! Harumi! Calling me a dog again... You're quite the bully!" Erika laughed along.

"Hah..." Frank smiled slightly. "I-I guess I could afford a bit of time for dinner, but I would rather get back home before night."

"It's alright, we'll make something quick then," nodded Matsuo's father. "Come along son." The man patted Frank's shoulders.

Matsuo and his family were very welcoming people, inviting Frank to eat with them. He, Harumi, and Erika entered their house where they ended meeting with Frank's sisters. "Ah, it's Frank!" 𝖗ＡNỗＢËS

"Frank!"

"Where's Matsuo?"

"I guess they didn't know what happened?" wondered Frank.

As he was about to answer, their mother spoke first.

"Matsuo came back from a battle quite wounded, but he's healed now and resting in the infirmary," said their mother. "So don't bother your brother, alright?"

"Oh, okaaay!"

"Are we eating already? I'm hungry..."

"I want to eat mochi tonight!"

The girls were all cute and energetic, running around the city and leaving little time for Frank, Harumi, and Erika to talk with one another.

Eventually, once dinner was served, Matsuo came back, having recently woken up, he looked rather sleepy, but he seemed healthy.

"I'm home..." he muttered. "Ah, Frank... Harumi and... Huh? Why is the wolf here?"

"How rude of you Matsuo!" Erika said. "I came here to eat with your family, what else? And the grilled salted fish is really tasty!"

"Uh, okay," Matsuo didn't had the energy to care. "I'm starving..."

"You're back faster than I imagined, son," his father was surprised he was here already.

"I'll bring you something to eat right away!" meanwhile, his mother ran to the kitchen to bring Matsuo a huge bowl of white rice and three grilled fishes with lots of other side dishes and hot soup.

"Hmm, thank you mom," he smiled in relief, eating to his heart's content.

The rest of the evening was spent eating and talking, as Frank felt relieved everything ended

okay.

Yet, despite everything, he couldn't relax.

The fight against Koga Saburo had shaken him to the core, and it would take some time for

him to recover.

And above all, those memories he recalled, those weren't dreams.

Despite how welcoming and warmth everything was...

He couldn't help but question everything.

Was this all real?

Was he truly not in a dream, or something else?

What was exactly happening?

From a point of perspective, this felt like his average daily life.

But at the same time, there was a part of him, deep down, that was slowly feeling more and

more detached.

"This can't be really a dream though..."

He was sure this wasn't a dream, he was living a real world, even if it might not be truly

authentically real.

But what was real?

What was false?

If someone's perception of reality is the same thing until they die, even i someone else identifies it differently, then why does that matter?

The reality that person saw until they died was their reality anyways, and nobody else would

be able to stop them from believing so.

Truth.

Falsehood.

When these two elements melted together and merged into something else, which mixed

reality with imagination.

Dreams with the physical realm, illusions with the truth...

Could someone truly be able to identify everything was real or unreal?

"My dreams... they weren't prophetic," he thought, looking sorrowful. "They are just my

memories..."

Yet despite realizing these things, the world around didn't crumble.

Unlike when someone realized a dream was a dream and would wake up.

Frank didn't wake up.

He wasn't sleeping, he was wide awake.

"I need to find her..."

He looked at the sky.

"Kireina..."

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