「…You’ve got to be kidding me…」
(God-sama… what the hell did you give me…?)
I held my head in my hands as the window hovered in front of me.
The ability 【Brave’s Tale】 was fine—in fact, it was more than welcome.
The problem was the other one—【Brave Prefer Romance】.
「…A harem? Seriously? I’ve never even had a girlfriend before…」
And if we’re talking about girls I’m close to in my personal life, there’s only Hikari.
My classmates sometimes ask me for favors, but that’s only now and then. Besides, I can’t even imagine being in that kind of relationship with any of them.
「But even if that’s the case, what am I supposed to do by telling Hikari about it? Besides… how do I really feel about her?」
She’s my childhood friend—we’ve been together since we were kids.
She’s as beautiful as Aerith or Yuffie, and when she called it a “date” the other day, my heart definitely skipped a beat.
We’re always together, and when people joke about us being a married couple, it doesn’t feel bad.
It’d be a lie to say I don’t have feelings for her—in fact, being around her feels natural, and I can’t even imagine being apart from her.
But… it’s not the same feeling as falling in love, like I did with Aerith in the other world…
「I mean… if I’d known how to deal with women back then, Aerith and Yuffie wouldn’t have ended up with someone else…」
I writhed on my bed, clutching my head.
「No, no… I was going to return to this world eventually. Hooking up with someone there would’ve been messed up…」
I’m not the kind of scumbag who’d sleep around knowing I was leaving.
「What the hell am I supposed to do…」
At some point, I’d gotten lost in my thoughts, but then my mom walked in and said, 「You’re about to be late, you know?」
That sent me into a panic, and I rushed to get ready.
Because I was in such a hurry, I skipped breakfast and ran out the door.
My body felt lighter than usual—probably thanks to the new 【Job】.
「It’s this late already… Hikari’s probably already left.」
I checked my phone when I woke up, but there weren’t any messages from her.
It’s this late, so she probably left already.
I sped through the streets, which were unusually packed with black luxury cars, and sprinted toward school at double my usual pace.
When I finally burst into the classroom—
Hikari wasn’t there.
「…Crap… I screwed up…」
To make things worse, I’d forgotten my phone at home, so I couldn’t even contact her.
I started to head back, thinking maybe something happened to her on the way to school—
But just my luck, I ran into the homeroom teacher.
「Alright, everyone’s here～」
「Sensei, Mizushiro-san isn’t here.」
「Ah, Mizushiro’s out for a few days due to family matters. Kaminagi, you’ve got some handouts for Mizushiro, right? Make sure you bring them to her.」
「…Yes…」
(I’m relieved… but also kind of disappointed…)
Between what happened this morning and the lingering unease from Hikari’s absence, I couldn’t focus on class at all that day.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
◇Mizushiro Hikari’s POV◇
Yesterday was… such a whirlwind of a day.
Goblins and other monsters—like the one Yuuki and I ran into on our way home—had started appearing all over the world, completely changing the rules of society.
The government established a new system of explorers to deal with the dungeons, and I… somehow became the world’s first official Mage.
On top of that, I reunited with Tsugumi, an old friend—though after that, she wouldn’t stop prying about me and Yuuki…
「Still… Yuuki was really cool yesterday…」
For the past few days, Yuuki had seemed… different.
He used to give off this unreliable vibe, but suddenly it was like he’d grown up overnight.
In gym class, where he usually blended into the background, he’d suddenly started outplaying even the soccer club members and scoring these amazing goals.
And yesterday, when we went out, he showered me with compliments—though his phrasing was… well, that was a work in progress.
But Yuuki’s always noticed when I change my hairstyle or try a new lip color, and he always tells me if it looks good.
That’s one of the things I really like about him…
As I was thinking about that, Tsugumi’s words from yesterday came back to me:
『Wow, you’re still head over heels for Yuuki, huh?』
「Well… yeah, obviously…」
A memory from the past floated to the surface of my mind—
—Beep, beep, beep! —Beep, beep, beep!
「Ah! I need to get up and get ready!」
My backup alarm was going off. If I didn’t hurry, I wouldn’t have time to make lunch.
I rushed through my morning routine, quickly preparing both breakfast and a bento for lunch. By the time I finished eating breakfast, it was almost time to leave for school.
I went to my room and peeked out the window toward Yuuki’s house.
His curtains were still closed—which usually meant he’d overslept.
「Alright… time to wake up sleepyhead.」
We’ve been walking to school together almost every day since kindergarten.
Yuuki tends to sleep in about once or twice a month. On those days, I usually wait at his house.
But when he’s running really late, I’ll sometimes head to school without him.
「Hopefully today is not one of those days…」
Murmuring to myself, I opened the front door—
And standing at the gate was a woman in a maid outfit.
「Good morning, Mizushiro-sama.」
She gave a graceful bow at the perfect angle.
「…Good morning. Ehto, who might you be?」
The woman lifted her head and answered smoothly, without a hint of hesitation.
「I am Mera, secretary and maid in service to Ootori Rina-sama.」
「Ootori… Rina? You mean the one that’s been in the news lately?」
「Yes, I believe you are thinking of the correct person.」
「So then… why are you here, Mera-san?」
「For that, the answer awaits over there.」
I followed the direction of her hand and saw a sleek black luxury car parked outside.
A limousine… right? But wait—how did that even get down this narrow street in front of my house?
After Mera-san said 「Please come with me」, I hesitantly followed a few steps behind her.
Then, as the limousine’s door opened, the person who stepped out was none other than Ootori Rina—the very same woman I’d seen on TV yesterday.
「Good morning, Mizushiro-san. I’m Ootori Rina.」
She gave a flawless bow with an elegance that seemed almost rehearsed.
「G-Good morning! I-I’m Mizushiro Hikari!」
(Ahh, I panicked and messed up my introduction… How embarrassing…)
When I raised my head, Ootori-san’s expression was slightly tense.
But when our eyes met, she gave me a composed, graceful smile—
She’s… really beautiful.
「I apologize for the suddenness, but we’re short on time. Would you mind stepping inside?」
She gestured toward the open door of the limousine.
I hesitated, unsure whether to trust her.
「I assure you, I have no intention of harming you. I simply wish to speak with you about your future. Would you mind joining me?」
Still cautious, I stepped into the car.
Ootori-san followed, and the limousine slid into motion, moving as smoothly as if it were gliding on air.
「Ootori-sama, Mizushiro-sama, would you care for a drink?」
Mera-san’s tone was composed as she began preparing glasses with practiced ease.
「I’ll have orange juice. Mizushiro-san, what about you?」
「I-I’ll… have the same…」
Mera-san accepted our orders with a polite nod.
The way she poured the juice was so graceful, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized.
Even though the road was fairly bumpy, not a single drop spilled from the glass.
「Here you go.」
Ootori-san took a sip and said, 「Mmm, this is delicious.」
Feeling slightly more at ease, I cautiously took a sip as well.
It was light and refreshing, yet rich and flavorful at the same time.
「It really is good…」
Once Ootori-san had wet her lips, she turned toward me and began to speak.
「Mizushiro-san, I’m sorry to spring this on you so suddenly—but would it be alright if you skipped school today?」
Her expression was a mix of uncertainty and quiet concern.
「Ah～yeah, that’s fine—wait, what!?」
The delicious juice must have lowered my guard because I blurted out my surprise without thinking.
「Ehto… may I ask why?」
「Yes. I intend to visit your parents to formally introduce myself.」
「Huh? Ehhhhhhhhh!?」
My voice came out louder than it had all year.
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