LIGHTNOVELWORLD chapter 69
69. A Happy Future with Tokiwa Uguisu
“What do you mean? The future changed, didn’t it…?”
“Oh, it did.”
As I asked with a dumbfounded expression, the doctor answered while opening his laptop.
“Probably for the worse. The reason I’m being vague is because I can’t imagine how it will turn out from here. It might go in a good direction, but… Either way, it’s definitely going to be a bigger , more drastic change than any previous future.”
The doctor’s solemn expression told me that this was no laughing matter.
“But don’t get me wrong, Kuku’s actions were not wrong. If you hadn’t been able to save Uguisu, we would have gotten an error message forever when trying to see Kuku and Uguisu’s future.”
The future of two people who have no chance of being together cannot be seen. If one of them is destined to die, future predictions cannot be made.
“However, your ability was too strong this time. You seem to have caused Uguisu’s talent to blossom too much. I told you, it’s dangerous for someone to be attached to a single person.”
Choosing one person while being loved by both of them can lead to a hero going berserk. The doctor had told me this before. Not only would they lose their abilities as a hero due to lovelorn, but the unstable power balance, which is already precarious , would collapse even further, and it would be impossible to predict what would happen.
“Fortunately, there is no sign of a decrease in either Momo’s or Himawari’s abilities at the moment. Rather, Himawari’s energy seems to be increasing day by day for some reason… I guess you’ll understand the reason when you meet her. Anyway, it’s unlikely that there will be any immediate impact on hero activities. However, even the people involved don’t know how many months or weeks this peace will last. Right now, we’re in the same situation as having a bunch of bombs with invisible fuses, and they’re the biggest kind.”
“That’s… What should I do? Should I tell Uguisu-san that my proposal was a lie? And in case Uguisu-san goes berserk, should I ask Momo and the others to help me?”
A pleasant clicking sound signaled the projection of the desktop screen onto the wall.
“Well, everything is ready. First, watch this… Then I want to hear your opinion.”
The desktop screen, as dull as the room, was projected onto the wall. I had an idea of what I was about to be shown, so I sat up straight on the sofa and turned my attention to the projector. Then, the doctor muttered something too quietly for me to hear, and the video began to play.
—
“Sora-san, I’m home.”
A living room I had seen somewhere before. No, on closer inspection, it was a different room. It was very similar to the room where Uguisu-san and I lived as a married couple in the future I had seen. But the layout seemed slightly different.
The living room, decorated in dark green and light blue, was stylish and feminine. The apron hanging on the wall with mimosa flower embroidery was a design I recognized. This room must have been decorated according to Uguisu-san’s taste.
“Phew. I’m so tired today.”
Wearing what could be called office casual, a neat and formal private outfit, Uguisu-san seemed a little more mature than before. Her hair was down to her shoulders and gave her more of an “older sister” vibe.
Despite Uguisu-san’s return, I didn’t show up in the living room. However, Uguisu-san didn’t seem to mind and went into the back room.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
The video followed Uguisu-san and showed the bedroom.
The spacious and well-lit bedroom had a double bed in the center, and lily-shaped indirect lighting illuminated the bedside in a somewhat charming manner. Sitting up in the middle of the double bed was me with a slightly older face.
I was surprised that my complexion was good. The last time I saw the future, my face was always pale or sullen, and I only saw future versions of myself that were hard to look at. But in this video, I looked unusually healthy, except for the fact that I was welcoming my wife home in bed.
“Welcome home! I had a feeling Uguisu-san would be coming home soon, so I got up.”
That was my voice. It was still strange to hear my own voice from the outside, but this was especially embarrassing.
The tone of my voice coming from the PC was very cheerful, and even in such a short sentence, I could tell that I was as excited as a child. I couldn’t hide my joy at talking to the person in front of me. I was so happy that it was painful to watch, and I felt terribly humiliated. This was the first time I had seen myself like this.
Unfortunately, I have no experience with such giddy romance, so I just found the cheerful me on the screen creepy.
“Fufu, you can tell?”
“Of course, it’s my beloved Uguisu-san.”
“Oh, you’re such a flirt.”
Wh-what is this? I was lying in bed with my lower body buried and smiling. Please stop.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You know what the reason is.”
What the hell has gotten into me? I feel all itchy and a little sick.
“…I know that Nightingale likes me. But sometimes I get worried. I wonder why a perfect woman like Nightingale would care so much about someone like me.”
The word “lecher” suits me well. What evil did I do in my past life to have to watch myself being obsessed and romantic from a detached perspective? This is unbearable for reasons other than it being grotesque.
Rather, I feel like I’m the more troublesome man. Did I get infected?
“I can’t fulfill the ordinary expectations of a romantic relationship or married life. I can’t make Nightingale happy with my abilities, so why does she love me so much? But no matter how much I think about it, I can’ t find the answer. That’s why I just have to do what I can.”
But even though he says he loves Nightingale this much, the video of me still doesn’t get out of bed. It wouldn’t be strange if he jumped up and hugged his beloved wife who just came home from outside.
“I can’t walk on my own, I can’t eat. All I can do is convey my love to Nightingale with all my heart.”
When the feeling of dissonance and my words matched, my gaze moved to a place other than the two of their faces.
The arm that’s hanging like a toy from my shoulder that’s laughing widely can be seen. And on the other side of the bed that I was seeing through until just now, there was a wheelchair.
Seeing that, I had an unpleasant realization. Cold sweat suddenly started pouring from my fingertips and toes in the real world.
“Thank you for never abandoning me, even though I’ve become unable to do anything. Even though I’ve lost all the arms to hug you and the legs to go out with you, thank you for continuing to love me unconditionally, even though I’ve lost everything. …Nightingale, you’re all I have. I can’t do anything, but I’ll love only you for the rest of my life. My heart belongs entirely to Nightingale.”
The me on the screen was leaning lazily against the pillow, laughing from the bottom of his heart and whispering his love. A genuine love, unlike the proposal from that time.