1. This is "Thirteen Month"

　Yes. My name is Hana.

　Nice to meet you.

　Age?　I'm sorry, that's a question I don't understand.

　Right. the "Thirteen Month" does not have a calendar. Therefore, time does not pass. There is only one month called the "Thirteen Month", and that is it.

　In the outside world, there used to be a period from January to December, and it worked to return to normal like a circle. It's strange. yes, it feels very strange.

　Eh, is it a family name?　Alas, there is no such thing either. In the "Thirteen Month", the individual is just an individual. We don't create a relationship called a family, which is a group of something special. If I had to say it, it would be that everyone who lived in the "Thirteen Month" belonged to the "Thirteen Month" and was a family itself.

　Let's see. We are not in the habit of consuming food. Instead, like flowers and trees, they were kept alive by the grace of Jupiter.

　Um, you know what?　I also only know from knowledge, but it is said that the great energy of lightning burns the air in the atmosphere and produces nutrients for plants to grow. We, too, were supported by that great power.

　――I'm in trouble when you say that. It's hard to believe that people in the past lived by planting fields and growing vegetables, raising cows, pigs, sheep, etc., and taking these lives away. To us, it sounds like a fairy tale from a long time ago. If anything, it seems barbaric. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. Ah, is that right? That would have been nice.

　Yes. I don't eat.

　At the same time, the body does not get dirty, so of course there are no facilities such as bathrooms and toilets in the "Thirteen Month". We don't have to wash our bodies with water or soap or defecate.

　According to Hubert, he felt that we "children" were very close to the existence of "Tennin" in Buddhism. I'm not sure. When they explained what it was, I couldn't understand why he felt connected to us.

　If I had a high level of intellect like Kenny, it might have been a different story. If so, I might have understood what it meant a little. But in the end, I didn't have the spark of intellect, so I didn't have the chance to show off that great wisdom.

　But Hubert complimented me. He told me that such careful ingenuity and work, such as skillfully growing flowers to decorate the cathedral and cutting off the stems again in the water so that they would last as long as possible after being cut, was something that could not be expected of Kenny. That is the beauty of me.

　It's nice to receive compliments, isn't it?

　Yes, Kenny and I were partners. I'm sure it's the same as the relationship you mentioned. No, I don't know what it's like in your world. Therefore, I cannot judge whether our relationship can be applied to what you mean by a spouse.

Excuse me.

　I was born for the "Thirteen Month". Ever since then, I have grown up in the "Thirteen Month" and lived only in the "Thirteen Month". Besides me, there are Kenny, Nina, and Marie.

　Yes. We were the "children" of the "Thirteen Month".

　Hubert was the one who came to the "Thirteen Month" from the outside. He is like a teacher to us. He was a man who really had a lot of knowledge and, miraculously, could not forget his motives: to unravel the secrets of the "Thirteen Month". I'm sure he was the only one who could remember. All the other people who came to the "Thirteen Month" from the outside had forgotten the reason and motive for why they had come to the "Thirteen Month".

　Well, instead Hubert had forgotten something else. Yes, for him, unraveling the secret of the "Thirteen Month" was not the most important thing.

　In the outside world, he was Schwartz's assistant.

　Schwartz was one of those who came to the "Thirteen Month" from outside. In the outside world, Schwarz was a professor of renowned knowledge at a very respectable university, and I was told by Hubert that at that time he had devoted his life to the study of the "Thirteen Month" When he told this story, Hubert looked a little lonely, empty, and yet somehow radiant. Maybe it was a refreshing expression.

　Their relationship was complicated. At least, that's how it seemed to me. Kenny said, "I don't care," and flipped through the "Scriptures" as if he really didn't care. To Kenny, neither Hubert's disappointment nor Schwartz's consolation mattered. That's the kind of guy Kenny was.

　Yes, I'm sure Hubert was discouraged. It was so easy for Schwartz to forget about the "Thirteen Month," which he must have devoted his life to studying. The truth is, it must not have been easy at all, but Hubert must have felt that way.

　This is only a guess, but I think Hubert did not want to think that Schwartz had forgotten about the "Thirteen Month" and that he had inadvertently become the one with the deepest insight into the "Thirteen Month".

　Surpassing the master must have existed as a goal in Hubert's mind, but it should not have been brought about by a kind of destiny that was peculiar to the "Thirteen Month", which was to forget the most important things. As a result, albeit accidentally, he became the one most familiar with the "Thirteen Month" by pushing Schwartz aside, and that fact may have smoldered in him with a complicated discouragement.

　What?　What was the most important thing to him that Hubert had forgotten?

　Yes. I heard that it was a romantic feeling for Schwartz. That's what Schwartz told me.

　Hubert himself had no feelings for Schwarz, nor any memories of his private life with him. So, no matter how hard Schwartz tried to explain their relationship, it didn't seem to make any sense.

　I gently stroked Schwartz's back, who was alone and dejected. "Thank you," "It hurts," "I was unfaithful," and "It's terrible that the most beloved proof is a loss." That's what he said.

　Contrary to the fact that Hubert forgot his romantic feelings for Schwartz and the memory of the "Thirteen Month" was left in his brain, Schwarz forgot about the "Thirteen Month" and his romantic feelings for Hubert were left in his heart.

　So much so that Hubert loved Schwartz.

　That's why he came to the "Thirteen Month" with Schwartz, and as a result, he lost his most cherished memory.

　Maybe he really didn't care about being the person who knew the most about the "Thirteen Month".

　And the reason why I decided that Kenny and I were spouses was because I remembered our relationship and thought that it would be a good model.