73. Have a Safe Trip~♥
73. Have a Safe Trip~♥
Marilyn Sutherland.
My first meeting with her was exceptionally memorable, so having to forget her honestly stung.
We might never see each other again, but according to the letter she left me, I had to live as if I'd forgotten her until the day we met again.
"Well then, I'll stop by my residence for a bit."
"Yes, see you in a little while~"
But here I was, meeting her again, and I couldn't just send her away.
So I promised we'd at least share a meal and catch up. For now, I decided to head home to disarm and catch my breath.
Following the path that stretched from the Guild, I passed through the square, crossed the city, and arrived at a modest house nestled in a corner of a residential area.
Compared to my recent earnings, it was a humble home, but far better than the slums the poor frequented or the inns catering to adventurers.
For starters, it had a yard. There was an attic too—smaller than the second floor, but spacious enough for storage or as a guest room in an emergency.
"To think I'd manage to own a home in this world when I couldn't even do that back in my old life."
Anyway, for an adventurer barely out of their first year, this was a pretty impressive outcome.
But what made me even happier was that when I came home, someone was waiting for me.
Airi Haven.
She was my mentor, someone who'd helped me in countless ways. Through that connection, we ended up proposing to live together and wound up sharing a life. I'd never said it outright, but to me she'd become essentially a partner—an irreplaceable part of my everyday life.
"I'm back, Airi...."
I started to call out her name the moment I stepped inside, but my mouth snapped shut the second I saw the front hall.
Usually she'd come out from the kitchen right on time to welcome me, but today she was standing in the entryway, arms crossed, much earlier than usual.
And without even a greeting, she just stood there, silently staring daggers at me.
"......."
"...Um."
Yeah, she was just glaring at me without a single word.
This was nothing like her usual gentle, bashful demeanor—she clearly had something to say.
"Hey, Airi......."
"Come in."
I tried to ask what was wrong, but she just turned and walked ahead of me into the kitchen.
What the hell? Usually, she'd at least say hello. Had I done something wrong?
"Drink up."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Resigning myself to the situation, I followed her inside, and Airi immediately slid a cup of freshly steeped tea across the table to me.
Then she sat across from me, staring with eyes sharper than a freshly whetted blade.
"So, dinner......."
"Do you need it?"
"Ah, no. Actually, I have something to tell you about that, Airi."
"Yes, I know. You're planning to eat out today, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's the thing. Actually......."
"You were about to say, 'I'm going to have dinner with an acquaintance I haven't seen in a while, so I'm sorry, but please eat alone today,' weren't you?"
Ah, yes. Right.
Miss Airi is a prophet, so of course she knows everything I'm going to say.
Still, until now, she'd rarely cut me off like this. She always listened to everything I had to say while we ate together amicably.
"...Hoo."
I let out a sigh, flustered by this inexplicable change in atmosphere.
I couldn't even bring myself to touch the tea she'd given me. Anxious, I forced myself to ask her.
"U-Um, Airi......."
"U-hyo-seong."
She didn't even give me a chance to speak.
Airi took a few deep breaths, then spoke in a cold, measured voice.
I gripped the teacup tightly, hoping to offset the chill in her gaze. Then she went on.
"Originally, after I entered the Empire, I intended to owe no one any favors and keep wandering the streets. Yes, that meant dodging the guards' notice, but that sort of trouble is nothing for someone who can foresee the future."
"Ah, yes. That's right. You're a prophet, Miss Airi."
"But to others, I looked suspicious. That's why I'm grateful to you, U-hyo-seong, for believing my prophecies without question. When I accepted your offer to live together—when I'd originally planned to keep drifting—it was a combination of that gratitude and trust."
"Yes. I-I'm the one who should be thanking you for everything...."
"As my words suggest, you were able to grow faster and more steadily than planned thanks to my prophecies. The fact that we've ended up building a home together could be seen as our fates being rewritten by those prophecies. It wasn't my original intention, but after several revisions to the future, we've ultimately moved in a positive direction for each other, so to speak."
Airi continued without a single waver, her words crisp and clear.
It felt so businesslike, almost mechanical, like she was reading from a script.
It was as if she'd anticipated everything I might say and had prepared her responses in advance.
"Though it's different from the original plan, I don't dislike living with you. No, in fact, I'm extremely satisfied with our life right now."
But even as she tried to keep her composure, her hands on the table kept fidgeting nervously, as if something was weighing on her.
"Now that I have my own home, I no longer have to make prophecy after prophecy while feeling threatened. My weary heart from carrying out my mission can be soothed simply by having someone trustworthy at my side. And most importantly—when we both had time—you held me so tenderly......."
The moment her persistent stiffness finally cracked, even for a second.
After that, she ducked her head, her face flushed, and glanced at me sideways as she asked cautiously.
"...It wasn't just me who enjoyed it, was it?"
-Gulp.
Saliva slid down my dry throat before I could stop it.
Even that wasn't enough to quench my thirst, so I lifted my teacup and answered quietly.
"Ah, no. I, I liked it too. Yes......."
Wouldn't it be weird if I hated it?
It's still too early to be sure, but when I think about the future, I do want her to be my partner.
"...Good. Then what I'm about to ask is based on the premise that neither of us considers the other trivial, and that we both understand that."
That these feelings were mutual.
Indicating that she too was open to taking our relationship further if the chance came, she then turned to me as I drank my tea and voiced the anxiety she'd been stewing over.
"U-hyo-seong. At this point in time, you were supposed to tell me you were going to have a meal to celebrate reuniting with a 'female' acquaintance you parted ways with regrettably in the past."
-Gulp.
"You, U-hyo-seong, were about to say that to someone you hold in your heart—someone you've expressed your feelings toward, no, someone you're so close with that you even proposed living together. That you were going to skip our usual mealtime to spend special time having a meal with 'another woman'."
-Gulp, gulp!
Scalding hot water seared down my esophagus.
Even so, I couldn't complain about the heat.
Because right now, even the boiling water burning my stomach couldn't neutralize the cold aura she was radiating.
"Seeing you thoughtlessly bring up meeting another woman, what do you think the future me's reaction was?"
Only then did I realize how dangerous it had been to casually mention I was having a meal with Marilyn.
No, I hadn't meant it lightly in the first place.
Though it wasn't on the same level as my feelings for Airi now, I couldn't deny that I had once had 'those feelings' for Marilyn too.
"That......."
"I know. I also know that you met her through my prophecy."
"Yes, you know......."
"I know everything. The name Marilyn Sutherland, and I even have a vague idea about her past that appeared when I divined you."
Yes, you know everything. It's fortunate that we can skip all the explaining, but....
Still, I'm having trouble keeping up because I don't know what happened in the future—so could you slow down a little?
"However, the most important thing is that I, who waited only for you to return from meeting that person, ended up with the result that you 'did not return even after the night had passed'."
But the prophecy that followed was more than enough to crush my bewilderment.
"Wha, what?"
"I don't know the reason either. When you're not here, what I can foresee is my own future, not your future, U-hyo-seong."
Ah, right.
No matter how much of a prophet she is, she can only see things within the scope of her own power.
Naturally, she could confirm her own future where she's with me, but she couldn't see why the future me never came back.
"But if I were to speculate... yes, it's probably because something went wrong while you were with that acquaintance."
"Something went wrong?"
Don't tell me I get attacked or get into an accident?
"For instance, having a few drinks with her, getting drunk, and then heading to an inn."
"...Excuse me?"
"No, maybe there was no need for alcohol. Maybe you just did it because you felt like it. Even though I'm right here...... even though I'm waiting for you to come home."
"A-Ah, no, look. Miss Airi. Something like that......."
"That's why, U-hyo-seong, I think this is necessary."
Sliding across the table, Airi grabbed my hands.
Then, with a face that looked on the verge of tears, she tightened her grip.
"...I don't care what your past was like. What matters is that the first person you formed a connection with was me. And the one by your side right now is me. And if the future doesn't change, we will continue to be together from now on. You know what that means, right?"
"Yes, yes. I absolutely know."
"Still, my prophecies aren't always perfect, so I'll read your future from this moment on and confirm what will happen to you after this conversation concludes. You'll allow it, right?"
Airi's hands trembled violently in mine.
I could feel just how much anxiety she'd been carrying, foreseeing a future where I didn't come home.
She was worried, on the slightest chance, that I might have betrayed her. Or that, if not that, I might have gotten caught up in some unfortunate accident.
"...Yes. If you can trust me through that, Miss Airi, then gladly."
How could I possibly take offense at a request for trust from someone who's given me her heart like this?
If anything, if my feelings for her were true, I had no reason to feel ashamed about revealing my future.
"If so, good."
Having received my permission, she gathered her power while still holding my hands.
Bzzz. Along with a vibrating hum, a faint light gently seeped from her body.
The sight of the light, clear and bright as a star cluster, filling the room was something I'd often seen during her prophecies.
"...Hoho."
And once it was over, a faint smile touched her lips.
With that, her tension gradually eased. As her expression brightened, she released my hands.
"Yes~ That's right~ There's no way you would do that, U-hyo-seong~ Obviously. After a conversation like this, you must have become mindful enough, U-hyo-seong~"
"Uh....... So, the future me returned home safely?"
"Yes~ With this, it seems I don't really need to offer any advice~"
...Just what does the future me go through with Marilyn to make her emotions flip-flop like that?
If she's not blaming me, does that mean Marilyn causes the problem? Or is it a third party?
Did her mood lighten because the present me, having heard all this, became cautious and nipped the anxiety-inducing future in the bud?
"Ah, right. If we dawdle like this, you'll be late for your appointment."
But without her telling me directly, I had no way of knowing what happened.
As I sat there dazed, she pushed herself up from her seat and started heading for the living room, as if to prepare something.
"So we'll let you eat out today, then... Ah, I'll get your outdoor clothes ready. The ones we went to buy together the other day will be fine, right?"
"Huh? No, you don't need to prepare my clothes......."
"It's fine~ I already set out the clothes you were going to wear, anyway."
Right, you're a prophet, so you could have set out my clothes in advance.
But Miss Airi, weren't you just incredibly anxious a moment ago about what I might do?
You were about to directly warn me—it didn't seem like you were planning to just let me go, depending on the future. So why did you set out my clothes separately?
"Oh, by the way. Could you buy a bottle of wine on your way home?"
"...Wine?"
"Hoho, since we both don't have anything pressing tomorrow, I think it'll be fine to stay up late together~"
Ah, yes. So we'll be drinking and having a lovely time late into the night.
But Miss Airi, weren't you a pretty lightweight?
The second time we got intimate was during a little celebration the first time I invited you to this house. You knew you got drunk and jumped me then, and yet you're telling me to buy alcohol on purpose?
Doesn't this basically mean you intend to recreate that wild festival from that night?
"Hoho, you can look forward to tonight."
While I stood there stammering over those thoughts, Airi had already finished helping me change and was now facing me at the door.
Then she stepped back and spoke.
Showing me a radiant smile unlike anything I'd ever seen.
"Have a good day, U-hyo-seong~♥"
"Ah, yes. I'll be off."
I exchanged greetings in a daze, stepped outside, and closed the door behind me in a daze.
Once I was out on the street, I looked back at the house I'd just escaped and took a moment to reflect on what had happened with Airi.
Miss Airi, who was utterly pissed the moment I got home.
And Miss Airi, who had completely gotten over it by the time I was heading out.
"...What the hell?"
A problem surfaced without me doing anything, and then the problem got resolved.
Just what kind of thing was the future me going around causing?