Bewitching Invitation [Part 2]
Lilja: Kamikakushi, Tokoyo...
Lilja: It sounds beautiful, but a bit scary...
Koyomi: You have good intuition. Tokoyo is the otherworldly realm.
Koyomi: The scene is sometimes described as follows. It is a beauty that cannot even be described in pictures.
Lilja: I'd like to see it...
Koyomi: I'm honored that you liked it. However, we cannot see Tokoyo.
Koyomi: Tokoyo is a place from which one cannot return once they've wandered into it. It's said that they become trapped in a beautiful otherworld and wander there for eternity.
Lilja: Gulp...
Koyomi: ...I was joking. It's nothing more than a legend.
Lilja: ...Koyomi, please tell me more about Tokoyo. I want to see the paradise of beauty. It must be wonderful.
Koyomi: Um... Did you not hear what I said earlier? I explained that it's just a baseless legend.
Lilja: There's no evidence that it doesn't exist. Where's the entrance? No hints?
Koyomi: Well, it's often depicted in fiction as a deserted square or something like that...
Lilja: Let's go.
Koyomi: Ah, wait a minute, Lilja-san!?
Lilja: There's no one here. All the conditions should be met...
Koyomi: That's why I said Tokoyo is just a fairy tale—
Koyomi: Ah, someone came. Please hide.
Boy: What's wrong? Why'd you call me out here?
Girl: ...There's something I really want to tell you.
Koyomi: Fufu, I sense a bittersweet atmosphere. Hehe, girls in love are lovely, aren’t they? Beautiful.
Lilja: So, is that girl a resident of Tokoyo? Then, as a greeting—
Koyomi: You mustn't interfere, you know!? This is a moment where one should read the atmosphere!
Lilja: ? But there's nothing written in the air.
Koyomi: Not like that! Anyways, please keep watching!
Girl: I... I like you...
Koyomi: Hehe, just as I thought. Young love is truly beautiful...
Lilja: I see. A summer festival confession, another aspect of Japan's beauty. Koyomi, I want you to confess to me for a moment.
Koyomi: Why!?
Lilja: About the beauty of this country. Koyomi said she would teach me. No?
Koyomi: Uuu, I suppose there's no helping it... To go back on what I've said once would not fit the name of Senju...
Koyomi: I-I'll only say it once, Lilja-san.
Koyomi: Lilja-san, I... I love you...
Koyomi: ...A-are you satisfied?
Lilja: ...
Koyomi: A…Are you listening to me, Lilja-san?
Boy: Th-thank you. Actually, I... I like you too.
Lilja: Oh, it seems they both feel the same way. Did you see it too, Koyomi? You were muttering something to yourself.
Koyomi: Th-this is embarrassiiiiing...
Lilja: But I understand now. This doesn't seem like Tokoyo. Do you have any other hints, Koyomi?
Koyomi: That’s why... from here on, it's all just like chasing foxes or being swallowed by a kaleidoscope.
Lilja: There's no fox here. But I did buy a kaleidoscope.
Lilja: When you look into it... it's beautiful. It feels like being swallowed...
Lilja: ...I should have been swallowed by now. Is this Tokoyo? Are you... Tokoyo's Koyomi?
Koyomi: I'm just Senju Koyomi...
Lilja: I see, Tokoyo is far away. It's frustrating not being able to see it when you want to.
Koyomi: Perhaps that's how it's meant to be. Invisible to the eye. That’s why it’s beautiful.
Lilja: No, I can't call something beautiful if I can't see it. I want to see it and touch it. Existence is everything.
Koyomi: But Lilja-san, you've also fantasized, haven't you? Imagined scenes that couldn't be put into pictures?
Lilja: That's true, but...
Koyomi: Tokoyo, which is far away, cannot be seen by anyone. Therefore, it becomes a beautiful scene that everyone imagines differently.
Koyomi: Perhaps the beauty of this country that captivated Lilja-san was what was in her heart.
Lilja: ...Something beautiful that's invisible. Is there such a thing in my heart too?
Koyomi: Yes, since you've noticed such subtle beauty. If it’s Lilja-san, you can learn it right away.
Koyomi: That concludes our fairy tale. All's well that ends well. Do you understand now? About the mystical beauty?
Lilja: ...If it's beautiful even when invisible, can we call even the wind that rustles the trees beautiful?
Koyomi: Yes, the wind moves the trees and the pinwheels. What did Lilja-san feel from the beauty of ordinary days?
Lilja: ...I felt like the wind was calling me. Maybe Tokoyo is over there.
Koyomi: It's very much like Lilja-san to be curious, but also troubling... Just don't go too far, or you might get lost, you know?
Lilja: It's okay. I'll be back by dinner.