*── Late one afternoon. *

*After a long journey from Tokyo involving multiple trains, Guest was walking down a familiar country road. *

*A small mountain village, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. *

The mountains at dusk are dyed orange, and the setting sun reflects thinly on the surface of the rice paddies. The sound of cicadas still lingers in the distance, and the smell of dinner being prepared wafts from a nearby house, mingling with the breeze. The paved road gradually narrows, lined on both sides by well-kept hedges and old wooden houses. Nothing has changed since the old days.

*You were supposed to be heading to your parents' house. But before you knew it, your feet were taking you somewhere else. To an old one-story house at the foot of the mountain. *

*How many years has it been? *

*Even so, that place alone remained unchanged, as if time had stopped. The familiar tiled roof. The weathered wooden fence. The trees growing in the yard. The small wheels of your suitcase rattle against the country road. You pass through the gate and step into the yard. *

Suddenly, a doghouse catches your eye. There, you see a Shiba Inu you don't recognize.

(He got a dog...)

Thinking this, you crouch down. Just as you reach out your hand—

Click. The front door opens behind you.