A Pinky Promise
A quiet slurp hung in the air. She and I sat a good distance apart, sipping our drinks in silence. She fanned her face with one hand, trying to cool herself down, and I stole a glance at her.
"Feeling better now?"
"....Y-yes..."
I stirred my coffee. She must have been seriously worked up. But six kids, though.... That faint muscle ache creeping back was probably just my imagination, right?
A strange silence settled between us for a moment before she spoke.
".....Have you, by any chance, run into that person again since that day?"
That person? Ah — she meant the one who'd suddenly latched onto me that time.
"No, thankfully I haven't."
"That's thanks to you."
She started fanning herself all over again.
"Ah, n-no..... anyone would have done the same...?"
I just laughed it off.
"Come to think of it, is there a reason you train this hard? It seems a little intense for just staying healthy or watching your weight."
It wasn't only the intensity. Her running form, her speed — none of it looked like an ordinary person's.
"I-is that so....."
She gave a strangely bitter smile. It was the first complicated emotion I'd ever seen on her face. Until now it had only ever been happiness, mortification, or a complete system crash.
"Well... I'm not sure I should say this."
She looked reluctant to even get the words out. A reaction I'd genuinely never seen from her before.
"It's fine — I'd actually like to hear it!"
She twisted a lock of hair, hesitating once more.
"Um..... my dream is actually to become a bodyguard."
A bodyguard? What? That wasn't something she needed to hide at all.
"What? That's just cool, though?"
"Eh—eh? Ah, uwaaah....."
She covered her face with both hands. Had she been hiding it because compliments embarrassed her?
She stopped her little laugh and went on with a calmer expression.
"Um..... the truth is, I've spectacularly failed the bodyguard exam three years in a row."
Ah.
I shut my mouth right there.
"I work really hard, but... I always fail the written portion."
"I keep trying. I just keep falling short by one or two questions, you know?"
She took a sip of her drink as if that might salvage the mood, realized it wasn't working, and pressed on.
"I've already cleared the passing line on the physical tests and everything. It's just that one part that keeps tripping me up..."
"Ahaha.... why does a bodyguard exam even need a written test? I wonder about that sometimes."
She fidgeted with her fingers. Was she watching for my reaction?
"What made you want to become a bodyguard?"
She smiled with a peculiar look on her face.
"When I was little, watching people protect others always made my heart race. I'd think, could I ever look that cool too?"
"Well, I was just a kid.... but that's when I happened to learn that bodyguards existed."
"And just like that, my dream was set."
She swept her hair back and glanced around, as if she were trying to look anywhere but at me.
"........I've regretted it a lot, too."
"There were times I wanted to give up."
"But you know what? I still love the idea of being a bodyguard so much."
"It's just so cool...! And spending all day running and training, building up my stamina — that part actually suits me."
"But no matter how hard I try, they just won't let me be one."
She turned her head slightly away. I couldn't see her face.
"I know I could do it well. If they'd just give me the chance, I'm confident I could do it better than anyone."
"........"
"Aah..... I probably ruined it, huh? Having this kind of mindset..."
She looked like she regretted saying all of that — and yet, at the same time, like a weight had been lifted off her chest.
".....You'll be okay."
".....I hope so."
That strange silence settled between us once more. She lowered her face toward the ground, as if trying to sort through the turmoil in her chest. I looked her over slowly, then leaned back against the bench.
".....Honestly, it was amazing."
She flinched, but didn't answer.
"When you saved me. I was genuinely in awe, you know?"
It was the truth. It really had been amazing. It really had left me in awe.
"So.... after hearing what you just told me, I thought about it."
"If you became a bodyguard, I think I'd trust you more than anyone."
I started speaking without a single ounce of embellishment. The woman I'd seen was even more than what I was putting into words. She was unmistakably that kind of person.
"Picture this. Say I was some idol getting death threats."
"If I could only take one person with me when I went outside, who do you think I'd pick?"
Only then did she lift her head and look at me.
"No matter who I had to choose from, I think I'd pick you."
"It's cool, you know? Being able to charge in without a second thought just to save someone."
It sounded like a story about someone impossibly far away.
"It's admirable, you know? Working every single day to get better, just so you can protect someone."
And yet, when I thought about it, that story belonged to someone sitting right next to me. I gave my coffee cup a pointless little swirl and smiled.
"This is probably how you felt the first time you saw a bodyguard, right?"
I met her eyes. The rims of them were already red.
"The fact that you never gave up on your dream and made it this far — that alone is worth recognizing."
".........."
"Am I really okay, though? I'm so different from all the people I've looked up to."
"Being weak, wanting to give up, finding things hard — that's not a problem. That's just being human."
"Those people aren't admired because they're somehow above being human. They're admired because they're amazing even though they are."
"And from where I'm sitting, you're more than amazing enough."
She lowered her head again. And then, slowly, she burst into tears.
"Hic... hhngh......"
I sat quietly beside her. She cried for quite a while — until the ice in my coffee had half-melted and the drink was just about to go watery and bland.
"The exam.... what if I fail again..?"
She said it as if she'd finally calmed down a little.
"If that exam fails you again, then the exam isn't doing its job!"
"In that case, I'll hire you myself! Be my personal bodyguard."
"......Pfft, ahahaha!"
She stared at me blankly, then burst out laughing.
"Huh? You think I'm joking, but I'm serious."
I held out my pinky.
"Promise!"
Seeing me hold out my pinky, she burst out laughing all over again. And when the laughter finally died down, she wiped her tears and said,
"What if I said I'd be your personal bodyguard for life?"
"I'd follow you everywhere, and you'd have to pay me for the rest of your life, you know?"
"Can you take responsibility for me for the rest of your life?"
She said it as if she were turning me down in a roundabout way.
"It's fine. You're going to pass anyway, right? And if you don't, I really will do it!"
"I'm the only one who can see the diamond in the rough the world is overlooking. You think I wouldn't invest that much?"
".......Haha. I can't win against you."
She hooked her pinky around mine.
"It's a promise. You're hiring me as your personal bodyguard for life."
"Of course."
Then she hesitated, as if she had something more to say. And she didn't let go of my pinky, as if she weren't quite ready to.
".....And, if I pass... could you grant me one wish...?"
Her face flushed red.
"Ah, n-no, it's not like I'm asking for anything huge. Just... something like a catalyst to help me steel my resolve a bit more......"
"Sure."
"Eeh....?"
Well, I could grant her one wish.
"As long as it's not something too difficult, anything's fine."
"This is a promise too."
I hooked my pinky a little tighter.
".....Thank you. It was such an excessive request...."
She looked at me with an expression that seemed ready to cry all over again.
"Are all men this kind.....?"
"Beats me. I haven't met any other guys since I came here."
"Came here? Did you move recently?"
Ah, right. I'd slipped up for a second there.
"Yeah, I came from pretty far away."
"Ah....."
She nodded.
".....Pfft.... pffth......"
And then she burst out laughing.
"Huh? Was there something funny just now?"
"Ah, ah, well........the truth is, I was originally going to ask you this."
"When I first saw you, and again just now when you bought me a drink, I wanted to ask."
"'I've never seen you around here before — did you move here recently?' That's what I wanted to say."
"But I was so nervous my mouth wouldn't work, so I let it slide over and over...."
She said it in a small, slightly shy voice.
"It already feels like we've gotten a lot closer...."
"Huh?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I'd heard her perfectly well, but I decided to pretend I hadn't, for her sake. I definitely felt like I'd gotten a lot closer to her, too. Before, we'd just been acquaintances who'd crossed paths in a rough world. Now it felt like we'd confirmed each other's true feelings.
This was the first time I'd gotten this close to someone since falling into this world. It was a strange feeling. I supposed the number of people I was close to would gradually grow from here on out.
After that, she and I talked about all sorts of things. Just everyday stuff, TMI about her bodyguard exam — we chatted lightly, and before we knew it, time had slipped away. The ice in our cups had completely melted, and the day was slowly fading.
"Ah.... I think it's about time I headed home."
"Yeah..... Take care. I had so much fun today!"
She and I stood up from the bench.
"Planning to train some more?"
"Yes, just a little more, then I'll go home and study."
"Then give it your all!"
I waved at her. She looked like she was getting ready to start running again.
"Ah, right."
"Yes?"
I called her back.
"About that wish."
".....Yes?"
"Six kids is a no-go~"
I left those words hanging and immediately ran for it.
"Th-that's.... I told you that's not it!"
She chased after me for a moment, then turned back toward the field once I'd gotten far enough away.
And this is something I heard from her myself, much later. Apparently, she muttered something quietly to herself back then.
"If six isn't okay, then five......."