"Aponia, why not take a look with your own eyes for once?" Shi Hen said softly as he sat before the two girls, one big and one small. He looked at Griseo. "Little painter, would you like to hear a story?"
"...Stay away from Griseo."
Before the girl could answer, Cosmo, who was leaning against a nearby pillar, spoke first. His tone was calm, as though he were merely stating a simple fact.
"Cosmo, please rest assured. He means no harm."
Aponia tried to persuade him.
"..."
Cosmo rubbed his head, and a trace of disgust flashed across his face.
He hated dealing with Aponia.
"Cosmo, I want to hear the story."
Griseo spoke up as well, her voice crisp and sweet, like the first song of an oriole, carrying the beauty and innocence of spring.
"Then I'll tell you a story about the stars and worlds." Shi Hen rubbed the girl's head and smiled. "A long time ago, there were many worlds among the stars, as numerous as the stars in the sky. Every star was as large as the world we lived in.
But the distance between every world was also very great. Just as we were separated from the stars, people from different worlds could not even exchange a single word.
One day, a god who liked making friends saw this and laid railways between the different stars. Then he invented a train that could travel upon them.
And so, different worlds became connected."
After finishing the little story, Shi Hen smoothed the hair by Griseo's ear and asked softly, "Well, did Little Griseo like that story?"
"I liked it."
The girl nodded, delight appearing on her face.
She liked listening to stories, especially stories about the stars.
"Then how about I take a train like that