The Immutable Law
For seventeen years, up until seven years ago, there existed a being whom the people called the Blind Angel. She was a woman named Shirai, the Saintess of the current generation, said to be born only once every hundred years. According to history recorded by distant ancestors, a woman who becomes a Saintess must inevitably have something taken from her in exchange. The first Saintess lost her sense of smell, the Saintess of the previous generation lost both her thumbs, the one before that lost her sense of taste, and the one before her lost her left foot. Yet, despite the disadvantage of losing a part of one’s body or senses, most women prayed to be chosen as the Saintess. Regardless of their background or education, becoming a Saintess brought immense benefits and honor. Simply put, there was no greater opportunity for a dramatic reversal of fortune in this world. Thus, it was impossible for any woman—unless she was of high status, like a member of the imperial family or a duchess—not to desire it.
Many women also took the price paid by the Saintess lightly. The precedents set over the years served as the foundation for this belief. While countless Saintesses had lost body parts or organs, not once had it ever put their lives in danger. For instance, while they might lose an arm or a leg, they never lost things absolutely essential for human survival, such as their head, brain, lungs, heart, or vital blood vessels. Perhaps that is why. The Saintess of this generation is considered to have paid the most brutal price of all the Saintesses who have ever existed. At the same time, she became the first case to set the minds of those who took the Saintess lightly straight down to their very skulls.
Shirai, the Saintess once called the Blind Angel. When she was around ten years old, while farming in a rural village, the price she paid was the sight in both her eyes. Not just one eye, but both. Losing the sight in both eyes was the same as becoming blind. It was a price far too cruel for a young girl of only ten to bear. As soon as Shirai became a Saintess, she could no longer see the world.
"..."
A small but sturdy cabin located at the summit of a mountain valley. Beside a clear river overflowing with fish, there exists a facility with an atmosphere similar to a campsite. Neatly stacked firewood, a crackling bonfire, fireflies twinkling with light, and the self being swallowed by the dreamlike atmosphere of dawn. Being in a quiet place with no one else around, breathing in the clean air, and observing a beautiful night view. It was the life she had dreamed of for a long time. But unlike what she had imagined, she wasn't happy at all. Instead, she felt only stifled and empty.
The tiny room that proved she was living a modest life, the desk with only a thick Bible and a quill pen, and the candle hanging on the wall illuminating the bedroom. Having been able to see the world again thanks to the help of a man, she is sitting on a wooden chair today, taking in the night sky beyond the window. Her light pink hair flutters in the cold breeze, and a single tear flows from her beautiful, bright red eyes, like rubies. It was somewhat sudden, but Shirai felt she knew the reason why.
"..."
The full moon that filled Shirai's two eyes felt particularly beautiful tonight. For some reason, it seemed to shine even brighter, she wanted to engrave it in her eyes from closer up, and she even had the thought that she wanted to touch the texture of that round moon. It was as if she were comparing someone she missed to the full moon in the sky.
"Mate..."
The man who now bears the surname of the Duke and is called Mate Moondust. Shirai, who realized only after a few seconds that she had unconsciously uttered his name, was horrified by her impure behavior and quickly covered her mouth. Shirai is a married woman. She must never think that she misses another man. He is a man who has already married another woman, and one of her own colleagues at that. There is nothing to be gained by wallowing in old memories and desperately calling out his name.
"..."
But why is it? Even though she knows that better than anyone, Shirai's mind is filled only with memories of one man. It was when they visited an ice cream shop near the academy.
- Here, the strawberry flavor you like.
- ...It smells like vanilla?
- Right, you didn't have eyes, but you had a sense of smell.
Even thinking about it now, it was an incredibly trashy thing to say. Telling someone who can't see, "You didn't have eyes, but you had a sense of smell..."
"Pfft."
At the time, instead of getting angry and demanding an apology, Shirai had actually played along. That she didn't lack eyes, but sight. She remembered telling him strictly to say "lack of sight" instead of "no eyes" from then on. Of course, she had been hurt back then. Because it was the greatest pain being touched by someone she thought of as a friend. She just tried to brush it off with a response because she didn't want to have an unnecessary argument. In truth, she wanted to ask what kind of way of speaking that was and get an apology right then and there. However, he was understanding her heart more accurately than she had thought.
- You don't have to pretend to be okay.
The words that popped out of his mouth were a bit ridiculous.
- ...What did you say?
- No, pretending to be okay might be proof that you're struggling.
Even after that, he only muttered things she couldn't understand. Shirai stopped listening to his muttering at some point, but she could mimic that last sentence he uttered perfectly, from the intensity of his voice to the tone. It was that impressive of a statement, and above all... it was a scene of a memory she had ruminated on many times.
- Now I can finally feel the worth of the hard work.
Years later, now, she knows the meaning of his last words all too well. That is why one corner of her heart aches even more. Perhaps he had spent days and nights awake long before the day he uttered those words. Because the ingredients for the medicine that restored her sight were all top-tier. She hadn't known about his efforts at all until before he and she married their respective partners. She thought her current spouse, Yuren Stardust, had developed it. She had married Yuren because of that in the first place. But it wasn't. The one who fixed her eyes was not Yuren, but the man named Mate. But Mate and she... were already married and had their own partners.
"...Ah, ugh..."
Overwhelmed by the emotion of regret, tears dripped down, soaking Shirai's clothes. The thought that unconsciously surfaced in her mind was:
'Oh God, please...'
If there were an opportunity to start everything over.
'Please let me go back to the past...'
It would be fine even if her eyes couldn't see like before. She had already seen the night sky countless times. It's sad that she wouldn't be able to see his face... but it doesn't matter. If only she could go back to the past, back to when they didn't have partners, and make him not the spouse of Judith Moondust...
"...Such a miracle... wouldn't happen, would it...?"
It was when Shirai, who had muttered in a sad tone, wiped away her tears and looked up at the night sky.
"......Huh?"
The night sky shattered like a broken windowpane. The countless stars and the full moon floating in the sky began to fall to the ground like hail. Something of a natural disaster was turning this world upside down.
*
"Kyaaa! Huh? It doesn't hurt at all?"
"What about Mate!? Are you sure you're safe?"
"He's over there on the terrace... with a young girl!"
It's absolute chaos. An urgent situation where the sky is shattering and stars are falling to the ground. Fortunately, the falling stars didn't cause any harm to the people. That was the reason why Sia Stella and I could stand firmly on our two feet on the terrace.
"Did you tell Shirai?"
"I couldn't. It's obvious she'd be hurt."
A slightly cozy silence flows again. A completely different atmosphere from when I was alone with Judith yesterday. Because I'm aware that time will soon be reversed, I don't know what to say to Sia, who has high intimacy, even as a conversational partner.
"If it were me, I would have torn the Regression Book in front of Judith."
"Why look for someone who's going to be with Yuren? And I don't want to see her face ever again."
That's the reason I tore the Regression Book without hesitation. Being ignored by my father-in-law and Judith constantly looking for only the protagonist, I could endure all of that. But this is not it. I had only regretted receiving the Regression Book as a special perk, but for the first time, I thought I had made a good choice. The Regression Book is already torn in two, rolling on the floor of the terrace. The light that had circled the torn book several times gradually grew in size, creating a pillar of light that reached up to the shattered night sky.
"Since when did you know?"
The question was, of course, about Judith and Yuren.
"Today."
I see.
"You know that Muse called us today, right?"
"Yeah, I heard it from Judith."
"But why didn't you come? Muse was very disappointed."
...?
For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard. Because it was a story completely opposite to what I had heard from Judith.
"Anyway... I was helping move things around and doing this and that, and I was so tired that I fell asleep in the warehouse."
"..."
"And while I was going home today, I ended up dying once."
It's a flow of events that someone who doesn't know Sia's ability wouldn't fully understand. But I am the one who has watched Sia Stella closer than anyone else. Sia Stella revives in the place where she last slept. That is why the nickname "Immortal Sia" was created.
"So I revived in the warehouse of the merchant guild like that..."
I wrapped my right hand around Sia's shoulder and covered her mouth at the same time. There is no husband in this world who wants to hear the process of his wife getting cozy with another man. I am the same, and since Sia Stella's testimony is trustworthy, I judged that there was no need to hear more.
Whoosh-
A cold wind blows. Perhaps because we were close together while I was covering her mouth, Sia's fluttering silver hair brushes against my shoulder.
Hugging.
With a speed like an arrow that no ordinary person could react to. Sia Stella, who had been labeled a cold-blooded person for showing only indifference to others and always being blunt, had hugged me first of her own volition. I was so surprised that my whole body stiffened like a statue, and it seemed Sia was no different. Sia kept me in her arms, maintaining silence and rigidity for quite a long time.
"Anyway, neither of us will remember this moment."
"..."
"So I'm going to be a little honest."
The sharp breath she exhales. It's too hot to be winter breath.
"It's warm."
"......You."
"Why? Can't I do this?"
The force with which Sia pulls me into her arms gets stronger and stronger. At the same time, as Sia lifts her head, we make eye contact for a moment.
"This body, like a child's... it's fine even if we're this close, right?"
Apart from choosing to do and say only embarrassing things, Sia's face is no different from usual. Her face hasn't turned reddish, and there's no minor change in expression either. Her appearance hasn't changed at all, to the point where I doubt if all of this is acting. However, she, who always shows only a blunt side, was also an ordinary person.
"Hic!"
I didn't know that cold-blooded Sia could make a sound like this. She seems surprised herself, as she opens her eyes wide and immediately closes her mouth. Anyone who saw it would think I had assaulted her. I had only covered her ears, which were already red, with my hands. Even while she is tensed up and shrinking her body, the hand holding me doesn't seem to have any intention of letting go, and the force pulling my body in is only getting stronger.
"I guess it really is cold."
"..."
"Your ears are very red right now."
"...Yeah."
Only after all the countless stars had fallen did the shattered sky begin to cover the ground. Reality collapsing faster than ever before. Perhaps space-time had already begun to twist, as the sound was completely cut off from the outside of the terrace.
"Won't you regret it?"
"Reversing time?"
I closed my eyes and nodded as I spoke.
"From now on, I'm going to try not to get involved with you guys as much as possible."
"......Huh?"
"I realized that no matter what I do, the heroine belongs to the protagonist."
The strength of the arms holding me is gradually loosening. It wasn't that Sia had let go, but a signal that time would soon be reversed.
"Don't worry. I won't forget your traumas and I'll solve them for you."
"Wait!!"
The moment Sia reached out her arms to me, the flow of space-time began to slow down like slow motion. It's as if the video is playing slowly at 1-frame intervals. And just when I thought that phenomenon had stopped completely.
Boom-!!!
A loud noise like a thunderclap rang out, and the pillar of light from the torn Regression Book gradually grew, beginning to swallow the stopped world. The world is being turned upside down.