"Beautiful!" 

I stared at Melle as she took in the outside world. She was one to talk. She was so bright. I wished I could be half as dazzling as her. Her mouth remained open. Her smile was almost too bright. I did lie to her, though. The sun bothered me a little— a lot—but it wasn't as bad as Earth. Here, the mana in the environment blocked out some of the sun's harmful effects. Still, it did drain some of my energy reserves, but when I looked at her, I felt like I could take on anything. 

I had barely been awake on Earth for a year at most. During that year, I learned many things. I was so surprised by the inventions. I never knew humans could build such tall structures. The last time I was awake, they were burning people in witch trials. That was why I went back to sleep in the first place. It was all too much to deal with. When I finally woke up, I was the last one here.

There were no other "fantasy" races or creatures left besides me. I enjoyed the year I spent learning about all humanity had accomplished, but eventually, I would have to return. I was already beginning to overstay my welcome. The sun was starting to hate me more, as the mana on Earth had all but vanished.

That's why I was already planning to leave that night. "Even still, something feels missing."

"Someone is noisy. Only an insane person would come up here on a night like this. Should I mess with her?"

It was my very last day there, so I decided to prank her. I knew all about how humans portrayed us here. So many things were wrong, but they got a few things right. It was true that a vampire could turn another race into one, but that was only through a marriage ritual. "There is no harm if I scare her a bit, right?"

My lips turned upwards as I snapped my finger. All the fires in the castle lit up. "It is time to put on a show. How do vampires in those stories act?" 

I tried many smiles in the hand mirror, but none were sadistic enough. By the time the woman reached the stairs, I started panicking. "I know!"

I smacked my fist against my palm. "All I have to do is turn out the lights…ha…ha... Hahaha."

I laughed, not at myself. I was laughing at how clumsy this girl was. Hearing her talk to herself as she fumbled down the steps was charming.

By the time she reached the door, I had already planned to scare her. She looked around when she opened the door, but I was stunned. She was so pretty.

She was only a few inches taller than me. Most people were. I was only 5ft. Her eyes were a muddy brown, but they were great. I loved the way they looked around at everything curiously. Her small, pointed nose was so cute. Especially since the tip was red from the cold, her black hair wasn't quite the same length as mine, but I loved it. It reminded me of my own. I could only say I didn't like that fur coat, but she looked cold. 

I almost forgot to turn off the lights the second I looked at her. I quickly fixed my mistake with another snap of my finger, pulling the door shut with a magic thread.

The moment she started to panic, I felt terrible, but I continued. I hoped I wouldn't traumatize her. 

It all started as just a prank, but the more time I spent watching her, the more my heart ached for her. I wanted her to be mine more than anything I had ever wanted. It was my selfish wish. I wanted to take her with me and help her fulfill her dream. 

Would she even want to come? I shook my head. It didn't matter. I only had one chance to ask her. What was the worst she could do? Say no? I worked up my courage as my heart beat vigorously. I continued to mess with her until I had the strength. Then I took the shot in the dark just as I lit up the whole castle. "Will you become mine?"

After I worked up the courage to ask her, this clumsy woman didn't even hear me! 

I wanted to take it back, but even this dork could understand what I wanted when I laid it out.

"Hey, Earth to Enora." Her face was close. She stared into my eyes. Her hair was still a mess, but she looked adorable. "Honestly… you did something so cool just now, and now you are spacing out on me. Maybe you are the dork?" 

"You are right. Come on, let's go see all of this world together!" 

"That's the spirit!" We both smiled at each other as we left for new beginnings. I couldn't know what the future would hold, but I would love her and protect her smile.

Enora and I exited the cave hand in hand. When we came out, there was a forest in front of us. Nature had built the hole we left into the side of a hill taller than the surrounding trees. The view was gorgeous, and I could already hear the pleasant sounds of the forest. I saw birds flapping between the trees and listened to their chirps, but they didn’t sound like any birds I was used to. I heard a loud ripple in the sky a distance away. When I turned my head, I couldn't believe it. "It's a… dragon!"

A black dragon flapped its wings, creating large gusts of wind that rocked the trees below it. It didn't turn to look at us, simply flying towards a distant mountain range on the right. They were so far away I could barely see their tops, but what I could see was primarily white snow. Before long, the dragon became a speck on the horizon. 

I focused my attention back on the forest. Towards the front, beyond the forest, I could see flatlands and… "is that a city?"

"Yes, that is a city." Enora didn't seem as lively as she had earlier. She smiled at me but looked exhausted. 

"Is something the matter? It really is the sun, isn't it?"

"I already told you the sun doesn't bother me— much." Her eyes flicked, and I could tell she was lying to me.

I grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You really shouldn't lie to your girlfriend, you know. I can understand withholding information about your past or even some personal stuff, but I think this would affect us both. If the sun is bothering you, let's wait until…"

"No, I understand your concern, but I'm fine. Look." A puff of black mist surrounded her. When she came out, my mouth went agape. Her outfit had changed. 

Now I knew why I had felt her outfit was so off earlier. "You needed frills!"

I was already grabbing around at the frilly Gothic dress. Enora even had a cute black bow. The texture made me think it was some kind of divine thread. I didn't know if there was something like that, but if there was, this was it. She also pulled out a black parasol. When she fanned it out, I could see the red underneath. She lifted it above her head as she puffed out her chest. 

"I am fine, see!?"

I didn't know the deal with the outfit or parasol, but she already looked better. "Would you mind if we shared an umbrella?" I asked. 

"Dork!" She said, pulling me in close. 

"But, I am your dork." 

"How long are you love birds going to stand there? Bacaw!" I jumped as someone interrupted us as our lips were about to meet. "Will you move? You are grossing me out! Bacaw!"

"Bacaw?" I looked towards the sound of the voice but didn't see anyone. The only thing there was a parrot. A green and yellow bird was standing on a branch, but it was massive. It was about as tall as a German Shepard; however, it was fat. I had never seen such a puffy bird. 

"Pfft. Ha…" 

My girlfriend quickly put a hand on my mouth. "We don't mean you any trouble, sir. We were just about to leave." I looked where her eyes were staring. What? Was she talking to that bird? 

"Bacaw! As long as you understand. You are lucky it isn't the snow season. Bacaw!"

I was in disbelief. It was that dastardly bird talking to us the whole time.

"Hey!" my girlfriend pulled me down an incline. "But I wasn't done looking at the…"

"It's a Bacaw." 

That answered everything. Not! "What's a Bacaw?" 

She answered me when we were down the hill and on the forest floor, which had new sights I had never seen before. There were colorful plants all around. I had never been to an actual forest, so I couldn’t tell how different this one was. But I was sure I had never seen these plants. 

"A Bacaw is an intelligent, divine beast. It is a monster bird. Usually, people leave them alone when they see them."

Wait, could it really be? "Are they powerful?"

"Hmm? Not really. Actually, they are decent with Earth magic. They use their body weight as a dive bomb thing. They surround their body with a shell of Earth and use it to take out large predators on the ground. They are usually rare."

"Whoa! Sounds awesome!" I am sure my eyes were sparkling. Everything looked so unique to me. "Oh! What's that!?"

"The mushroom-looking thing or the monkey?" 

There were tall purple mushrooms as tall as a giant rose bush, but they were skinny. What looked like a few monkeys were climbing around on them, but even they were strange. They had a purple stripe on their backs. "Both!"

"Those are called bushrooms, and the monkeys are mushmonkeys." 

The names sounded so funny. I thought Enora was playing a prank on me, but I couldn't glimpse any foolery on her face. "Oh! What's that!?"

"Oh? That is a giant treepillar." 

The name was fitting. It was a giant purple-looking caterpillar buried in a giant purple tree. "What is it called when it turns into a butterfly?" The thought of that thing turning into a butterfly was crazy. It was already the size of a Toyota Corolla. 

"Hmmm…" She took a second to think as we continued walking before she clapped her fist against her palm. The gesture looked weird since she had a parasol, but I was reminded of how cute she was. She was so clumsy. "I remember! It doesn't."

"Doesn't what?" 

"It doesn't become a butterfly. The treepillers burrow in those violet trees their whole lives."

"Wha? How do they eat?" 

She simply shrugged. "I have no idea. We could probably ask someone when we get to the city."

"Oh, right, where are we, by the way?"

 She stopped, and I almost fell over, but I kept a grasp on her hand. "I have no idea."

Enora was clumsy. She transported us here without knowing where we were. "That's okay! Isn't it better this way?” I asked. 

"Hmm? What do you mean?" 

I smiled at her. "Tsk… tsk…tsk… you mean you don't know?" 

Her face became red as she pouted. "Hey! Just tell me already, dork!"

"In every isekai, it is always like this. You get sent to another world by a cute girl." Her face became even more red somehow as I continued. "You have no idea what will happen or where you are. Yet somehow, you have a cheat ability! Then you save a village from goblins! And you continue to rescue more villages while hiding that you are the protagonist! Until eventually, you wake the sleeping giant! Along the way, you meet companions, and you beat the giant with the power of friendship and your holy sword! Oh, but wait! That was supposed to be how I got the heroine. But the heroine is right in front of me! And she is already mine! How could this be Doctor Watson?"

"Well, sir Holmes, I think our protagonist is a bit of a clumsy dork so she might have messed up the order of operations," she said. 

We both stopped as we reached the edge of the forest. 

"I love you!" 

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. There was no stupid Bacaw to stop us this time. Her face was almost as crimson as her two perfect jewels. I locked my other hand around hers.  This time, nothing stopped me from stealing her lips. We kissed right at the edge of the forest. I didn't separate from her even as I heard a carriage rolling past. 

"I love you too, my dork,” she said when the kiss ended.