45. Ayano no Koufuku Riron I

Ayano no Koufuku Riron I (アヤノの幸福理論Ｉ Ayano no Kōfuku Riron I) is the forty-fifth chapter of the Kagerou Daze manga.

Summary
After having been brought to the Tateyama family house by Seto, Marry, while seated next to Seto, shyly introduces herself to Ayaka and Ayano. She tells them how her father and mother passed away when she was younger, and how she has been living in the forest on her own ever since. Ayaka asks how she had kept herself fed during this time, and Marry, with a look of astonishment, says that she hasn’t eaten in years.

Ayano asks her mother whether not eating for so long is something that’s usual, to which Ayaka replies that it’s normally not. Ayaka then observes the color of Marry’s eyes, which while paler than the red eyes of her foster children, are still an unusual shade of red. As she wonders to herself whether Marry is using an eye ability, Marry interrupts her, apologetically saying she’s not sure what Ayaka means by ‘normal’. Ayaka pats her head and apologizes for making her anxious, and reassures her that there isn’t really such a thing as ‘normal’ in this world, and the differences between people is what makes them interesting.

Ayaka then goes on to teasingly admonish Seto for running away from home, only to bring a girl back with him and asking that she lives with them. Flustered, Seto defends himself, and Ayano excitedly asks whether Marry will be staying with them. While Ayaka thinks aloud, remarking that Marry does possess the ‘eyes’ she had been researching, Ayano asks Marry what she would like to do. Marry answers that she would like to live here. With a smile, Ayaka happily approves, to which Seto tearfully thanks her.

While Ayaka says she’ll have to check whether Marry has any relatives looking for her, Ayano excitedly asks Marry how old she is, saying she’ll have to call her ‘big sister’ if she’s younger than her. Marry remarks she counted a hundred summers passing in the forest, but lost count after that, which stuns Ayano and Ayaka. Seto calms the two of them down, and Marry shyly asks if she can still call Ayano her ‘big sister’, which Ayano happily allows. Led by Ayano, Seto and Marry then leave the room with her, the three children heading off to introduce Marry to the others.

Now left alone, Ayaka slumps onto the table, and wonders to herself how much of what Marry said is true. She doesn’t want to doubt her, but finds it difficult to believe that Marry could be over a hundred years old. She takes a look at the rucksack that Marry brought with her, which is old with age and is carrying a rather large book. Checking that the children are preoccupied with one another, she takes out the book and gives it a read. Flipping through the pages, the contents of it surprises her.

Later at night, after all the kids have fallen asleep, Ayano wakes up and heads downstairs to use the toilet. There, she overhears Ayaka and Kenjirou having a discussion, and stops by the doorway to listen. Ayaka tells Kenjirou that from reading Marry’s diary, she suspects that Marry may not be a human and may instead be a descendant of a medusa, the one who their other childrens’ eye abilities are related to. As Ayaka says this, Marry appears from the darkness and stands behind Ayano at the doorway.