A Promise for the Future
The city: Solbera.
“Come on, if you keep lying down like that your body’s gonna get all stiff, you know?”
After I confessed my feelings to her.
Diana started acting even more proactively than before.
Right now, for example, she was clutching my hand and begging me to go outside with her.
“You haven’t even had a proper chance to look around the area yet, right?”
“Hmm…”
She wasn’t wrong.
I’d finally made it all the way to the famous city of Solbera, yet the only places I’d seen were a tiny fraction of what the city had to offer.
“But didn’t you kidnap me and—”
“Ahem. That’s exactly why I’ll be your personal guide.”
Apparently even a regressor refuses to hear anything that puts her at a disadvantage.
“And this time I’ll make sure you get to try the shaved ice from Mount Celine.”
“…Then I guess I have no choice.”
If it was Mount Celine shaved ice, there really was no choice.
…This whole flow feels strangely familiar, though?
Something felt a little off, but turning down a date with the girl I liked—especially when it came with my absolute favorite dessert—was basically impossible.
And so we staggered out of the room and began touring Solbera, the holy city and city of education that lived up to its prestigious name.
But right in the middle of it—
“Oh my, are you feeling alright?”
—we ran into the Saintess.
Squeeze.
At the same time, Diana’s hand tightened around mine in a death grip.
It was a crystal-clear signal of displeasure.
What the…?
Even so, she didn’t actively interfere or try to drag me somewhere else.
I couldn’t figure out why, but it seemed the Saintess herself made her uncomfortable.
“Yes, I’m fine aside from being a little tired. A lot of people helped me out.”
“When you first arrived at the temple, both your arms were covered in burns and blisters. It still haunts me. While treating you we discovered that a large portion of your muscle fibers throughout your body had torn. That made things even more serious.”
As we chatted lightly, I was finally able to take a proper look at the Saintess—something I hadn’t managed last time because of how exhausted I was.
Her black hair was styled in twin tails with a handful of pink strands mixed in.
She had cute little fangs peeking out from the corners of her mouth, and her eyes curved into gentle smiling arcs.
I hadn’t noticed when she was wearing those solemn priest robes, but now that she was in the academy uniform…
Gyaru… no, more like jirai-kei?
She gave off the impression that she’d look perfect in gothic lolita.
“By the way, I didn’t realize it back then, but we’re the same age. When I heard we were academy classmates, I was so shocked.”
“Yeah, well… we’re in a situation where we can’t actually attend the academy because we’re participating in the pilgrimage.”
At my answer, she looked at me for a moment with eyes full of pity—or perhaps admiration for someone making a noble sacrifice—but that gaze quickly changed.
Anticipation. Or maybe longing.
The reason was easy to guess.
“You defeated the fragments of the Evil God without any sacrifices.”
“Yeah, it seems my constitution played a big part.”
The official report sent to both the temple and the imperial family had been written that way too.
Cause unknown. Only that my constitution seemed to have had a massive effect.
In truth I barely knew anything myself, and it wasn’t exactly a lie that my mana incapacity constitution was involved.
I never thought all those tests they ran on me before would actually help me here.
There had been a time when they invited a high priest to try and cure my mana incapacity.
But even he couldn’t figure anything out.
The only time I learned the cause was after I met Diana.
Since my constitution was so thoroughly unidentifiable, my report was accepted without question.
“Then this pilgrimage won’t have to end in a sacrifice after all.”
“I hope so.”
“In that case… would it be alright if we spoke more casually? Since we’re the same age and all.”
This girl closes distances ridiculously fast, doesn’t she?
I was taken aback, but it was a development I had more or less expected.
After all, as an affinity character she was famous for being super sociable.
Though ironically that same trait made her popularity drop a bit.
A lot of people said she was exhausting to be around, even if they didn’t dislike her.
“That’s fine. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Great! Then I’ll drop the honorifics. Is that okay with you too, Lady Diabeluna?”
“…Whatever you prefer.”
Diana answered in a tone that made it very clear she didn’t want to talk at all.
But despite her obvious bad mood, she simply kept holding my hand tightly and didn’t try to interfere any further. Considering the way she’d acted toward Anki, it was actually quite rare for her to stay this restrained.
“You’re different from what I heard.”
It seemed the Saintess found that surprising too, because she leaned in and whispered to me.
“Well, she is pretty free-spirited, but rumors tend to get exaggerated.”
“Is it because of those scary eyes?”
“Haha.”
Those eyes that resembled the Samsara Eyes really did give off an intensely insane impression, so I had nothing to say in my defense.
Even I got startled when I looked straight into them.
She definitely wasn’t like this when she was younger, though.
Anyway, she was hiding it well for now, but the crazy dog inside her was still the same.
Still, there was no need to tell anyone that.
Come to think of it, maybe that’s a regressor’s way of relieving stress.
After that, we kept talking.
About the academy—“It’s a nice place, but there are way too many terrorist attacks…”
About Silwin—“Isn’t she super cute? The way she thinks she hasn’t been caught is even cuter!”
And about the pilgrimage—“It’s basically a suicide mission… Yeah… I feel bad for you two, but I’m still glad that child is alive.”
It was a surprisingly enjoyable conversation, even aside from my original plan of building a connection with the Saintess as an affinity character.
And it seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“Time really flies when you’re having fun. It’s true what they say.”
“If the Saintess feels that way, then I’m happy too.”
“Aww, what’s with calling me Saintess between us? Just use my name.”
“I’m not sure when exactly we became ‘us,’ but sure.”
“Starting right now, obviously! We had a fun conversation, so we’re friends.”
“Then I’ll do as you wish.”
I paused for a beat, then spoke her name.
“Ciela.”
Ciela Cieries.
The name of a girl who would have to live her entire life as the Saintess.
“Yep! See you next time, Helio!”
Perhaps because hearing her own name made her happy, Ciela left with a bright smile on her face.
“Are you done now?”
In her place stood Diana, wearing an incredibly sulky expression.
“Yeah. Sorry it took so long. You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay? It’s such a rare opportunity to build a connection with the Saintess. How precious.”
“…You sure about that right now?”
“Hmph.”
She was radiating I’m in a bad mood with her entire body.
It was cute, but also pretty unexpected.
“You’re not close with the Saintess? You looked uncomfortable from the moment we met her.”
I asked because I wondered if, unlike in the game, she might actually be the hidden mastermind or something.
Diana hesitated for a moment, then spat out her answer.
“You are my destined person. But to you, I am not.”
“???”
What the hell kind of nonsense is that?
I answered in a daze, feeling like I’d been slapped in the back of the head.
“Uh… I fell for you at first sight, though?”
It was embarrassing to say, but it was still better than letting her think she wasn’t my destined person!
Because of that love at first sight, I’d put up with her crazy dog behavior, the kidnapping, the forced training—everything. If she reacted like this, wouldn’t that be heartbreaking?
But even after my answer, she just looked at me suspiciously.
“In almost every case where I didn’t end up with you, you ended up with the Saintess.”
“…How did that happen?”
“…It was a round where I had so many things to do early on that I skipped my entire childhood. By the time I met you again at the academy, you were already in a relationship with the Saintess.”
“Ah…”
It was a blind spot I hadn’t considered.
Falling in love at first sight also meant not falling in love if you never saw each other.
It felt a little unfair, and I couldn’t help thinking it was partly Diana’s fault, but—
Thump.
“……”
When I saw how sulky she looked, I lost the courage to say it out loud.
So this is what it looks like when a regressor fails at love.
But if you excluded the regression part, it was actually a very common real-world romance failure story.
There were countless cases of people getting so absorbed in their own work that they neglected their family and lover until the relationship fell apart.
“When I asked why you started dating her, you answered that she was a gyaru who was nice to otakus.”
Yeah, I can see that.
I was glad I still had enough sanity not to say that out loud.
But when I thought about it carefully, Ciela really did give off that vibe.
And I had to admit that if Diana hadn’t been around, it was a combination that would have pulled me in hard.
Since Oh Ji-o doesn’t have a particular favorite, maybe there’s some correction that makes him fall easily for affinity characters he meets early.
And the Saintess was the next person he would meet after Diana.
“So you’re jealous?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m jealous.”
Possessiveness was the easiest way to make someone feel loved.
That must be why, even though I was being envied over something that had nothing to do with the current me, I felt nothing but delight.
It was clear proof that I wasn’t the only one suffering from love and burning with passion.
“Then let’s attend the academy without the Saintess.”
“Huh?”
“After the pilgrimage ends, we’ll have to go back to the academy anyway. But if the Evil God resurrects and the Great War breaks out, it’ll be hard to attend for a while.”
“That’s true. They actually closed the school in the game.”
“Well, by the time the Great War ends and the situation stabilizes enough for the academy to reopen, all the kids our age will have already graduated or won’t need to attend anymore, right? So after everything’s over, the two of us can go to an academy where there’s not a single person who could trigger your jealousy, and we can experience school life together.”
I’d learned about a game literally called Academy Great War, yet I would only participate in the war and never get to enjoy the academy life. It felt like a shame.
So this was my suggestion to enjoy it together, even if it was late.
“…This is the first time I’ve heard anything like that.”
Diana’s eyes widened as she spoke.
Her words sounded so genuinely delighted that I smiled softly and said,
“Really? To think I managed to surprise a regressor—that itself is pretty surprising.”
I held out my pinky finger.
“Here. Promise.”
“…Yes. Promise.”
“After everything is over, we’ll return to the academy together.”
“And whoever breaks it has to jump off the Silver Dragon Wall.”
It was a childish, cliché promise phrase.
It was nothing special, but to her it seemed to mean the world. She smiled so brightly as she made the vow.
This was our first promise—and it would become the pillar that supported us until the very end.
“So today’s finally the day.”
After resting properly all this time, my body that had been worked to the bone was completely recovered.
“Yes. We’ve finished all the preparations for departure.”
“All that’s left is Cheonwon.”
Once I received Cheonwon, it would be time to leave Solbera.
When Diana and I arrived at the forge, Meister and Orta were already waiting for us.
“Thank you for your help, Meister.”
“Haha, it was nothing. On the contrary, it was quite enjoyable to work on a weapon like this. And this guy may be terrible with a hammer, but his unique ability is decent, so he made for a pretty useful assistant!”
“…………”
Orta looked like he had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t utter a single word to Meister.
After all, anyone would look like a fledgling in front of someone who held the title of Meister, the greatest blacksmith.
“The young lady here drew up the blueprints for this thing, right? It was a bold concept, but there were a few parts that left something to be desired, so I made some adjustments. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. If Meister himself took the time to improve it, I can only be grateful.”
“Then follow me. It’s probably too heavy for me to just hand over, don’t you think!”
At Meister’s half-joking remark, we followed him deeper into the forge.