Am I dreaming right now?
"Oh my, oh my. It seems that Lusika truly loves Jin after all."
"It’s embarrassing to admit it openly, but there’s no falseness in my feelings. Today, I used magic because I was eager to greet your parents as soon as possible."
"Is that so? Well, Jin, you sure are a lucky guy, catching such a beautiful woman!"
Meanwhile, my friends and parents were getting excited, leaving the two of us behind. And on top of that, there was talk of a marriage that I had no recollection of.
"Lu-Lusika!"
"What’s wrong? I wanted to talk to you about our future together."
"No, that’s the problem. There are too many things to point out, but first of all, it’s that!"
"Is that all? In that case, I can explain it easily."
Lusika shrugged and shook her head with a sigh.
"Is it alright if I tell you? Please don’t be surprised when you hear it."
"Alright."
"I like you, Jin."
"Wait, wait, wait! No way, I can't not be surprised!"
I waved my hands frantically to stop the conversation.
However, she grabbed my hand and held it tight, then immediately continued.
"Jin. When I asked you before, 'If I couldn’t really get married, would you marry me?', you said, 'With pleasure!'"
"……"
I did say that…!
I clearly remembered exchanging those words with her. But, wait a second.
I never thought she would really push me on it like this.
Besides, she still has things she needs to do.
"What about the Demon Lord? Without the Sage, Lusika, even those two..."
"In that case, you can rest easy. Once I spend the night with you, I’ll head straight to the location."
"One night!? Th-that's how far it goes!?"
"I-I’m serious! I really love you, Jin, and I believe you’re the only one for me!"
What a passionate confession.
It’s true that I like older women, and someone with the nurturing presence of Lusika is wonderful.
But even so, to suddenly be told we’re getting married... married...?
—Could it be…?
"...Lusika."
I squeezed her hand tightly in return.
Then, the fierce energy she had earlier seemed to deflate, and Lusika began to fluster in a way that was almost too obvious.
Think about it, Jin.
The chances of meeting another woman who would want to marry me are probably close to zero.
Her slender, beautiful body from chest to foot, her good looks, and her calm demeanor—all of it is wonderful.
But most importantly, she likes me, and I respect her as a person.
The chance of marrying a woman who meets all these conditions is almost nonexistent.
"……Oh dear~? Are you two lost in your own world~?"
"Don’t want to disturb you,."
"“…!!”"
Right. I completely forgot that my parents were here...!
It would be too embarrassing to whisper sweet things in front of them, so I kept holding Lusika’s hand and led her outside.
From behind, I heard a cheer of "Good luck~," so I quickly closed the door, shutting them out.
"J-Jin?"
"Sorry. I wanted to talk to you properly, just the two of us..."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart and breathing.
...Alright, I'm fine. I can do this...!
"Lusika, you really mean it, don’t you?"
"A-Ah, of course!"
"I understand..."
With that final confirmation, I was ready.
Now, there’s only one thing left for me to do.
To face her properly, I have to express my feelings honestly, without hiding anything.
To walk together into the future, forever.
"Lusika... I can’t say for sure that I like you yet."
"Ah, I knew that."
"But from now on, I’ll be seeing you as someone of the opposite sex... Is someone like me good enough for you?"
"What are you saying? ...I want you, Jin."
She closed her eyes. The small part of her lips that slightly protruded seemed to be trying to respond clumsily, which made me feel a wave of affection.
I grabbed her arms. She flinched slightly, but that quickly settled down.
Looking at her properly from the front, she really had a beautiful face.
While I was thinking about that, I slowly brought my face closer to hers...
"Not gonna let you do that...!"
"Jin-chan!!"
"Blurltarl!?"
──Rika and Yūri collided into my side, and I was sent flying.
"Ugh... cough..."
I rolled and crashed into a tree before finally stopping.
The impact was so intense, I thought I might’ve broken a bone.
The pain spread gradually throughout my body, and my lungs were screaming for air.
That was no joke of a collision. And if I wasn’t mistaken... it was Rika and Yūri who caused it.
"Jin!?"
Lusika rushed over, worried, and immediately knelt beside me, using [Healing Magic] on me.
Ah... the pain in the injured area was easing.
"Jin, are you okay!?"
"Jin... don’t die..."
Wait a second, you’re the ones who put me in this state, though...
Both of them were holding my hand, looking extremely worried.
"Hey, both of you! Get out of the way, you're in the way!"
"Healing is more my forte, so please stop, Lusika. If you use the same type of magic from such a close distance, the effects will cancel each other out."
"What's the real reason?"
"I’ll heal him, and then later, I'll praise him until his brain melts."
"Move, you pink saint! I should do it!"
"Huh!? [Healing Magic] doesn’t require touching the injury, so why are you touching his side!? Your technique looks strange, too!"
"Both of you, get out of the way. Jin... I'll give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation..."
"<Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation> has nothing to do with this right now!!"
Um... all three of you...
I appreciate how worried they are for me. It's nice to know how much my friends care. I'm really lucky.
But... could you please not stop the treatment?
The pain hasn’t gone away...
There are still places hurting, not just my side... like my head... ah, no. I’m losing consciousness... already...
"If Lusika hadn’t tried to sneak in...Huh? Jin!?”
"Jin...! Jin...!"
"Wake up, Jin!? Don’t die!!"
The last thing I saw before my vision blurred was the three of them shaking my body, tears streaming down their faces, desperately trying to wake me up.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
"Yūri, how is he?"
"Is Jin okay?"
We were staring seriously at Jin, who had his eyes closed.
As a healer, it was my job to start the treatment, and I gently pressed my ear to his chest while holding his wrist.
I couldn’t let anything happen to him.
I double-checked to make sure Jin was okay, just to be sure.
"...Phew. It’s done."
Since Jin had lost consciousness, I temporarily stopped the argument and used the highest-tier Healing Magic, <Song of Healing>, to treat him.
Hearing my report, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness... Jin is safe."
"Tch... Everyone, could you please calm down a bit?"
"You're the last one who should be saying that, considering you’re the one who caused this situation..."
Lusika shrugged her shoulders in exasperation.
If you hadn’t tried to sneak ahead, this wouldn’t have happened, you know?
Is there any boomerang that returns as perfectly as this one?
Rika-chan closed the distance between them, as if questioning Lusika.
"Speaking of which, what were you trying to do by getting so close to Jin’s face?"
"Eh!? W-Well, that's because..."
"Isn’t it true that Lusika was the first one to make a move? You pushed the demon king slaying onto us..."
"W-Well, it couldn’t be helped! If I missed this chance, I don’t know when we’d be alone again..."
"You, a middle-aged elf who only knows about things through books, can’t do anything, so please just stay quiet."
"Huh? So, Yūri, do you have experience?"
"...? No, I don’t."
Lusika looked at her in utter disbelief, as if she were the biggest idiot in the world.
How cruel.
I’ve heard enough vivid stories from the believers to count, unlike Lusika, who just buries her nose in books.
"So, as punishment, Lusika, you’ll handle the demon king slaying report."
With that, Rika-chan picked up Jin in a princess carry.
"Wait, wait! It’s obvious they need the hero Rika there! You’re coming too!"
"No."
"Really, Lusika’s right. I’ll handle Jin’s care, so the two of you can head to the royal capital without any worries."
"...Perverted saint."
"…The woman who’s put all her nutrients into her chest."
"I can’t hear the nonsense of the muscle-headed hero and the flat-chested elf at all."
"Lusika, how about some exercise with Yūri first?"
"How coincidental. I was just thinking of trying out a new spell."
—She’s smiling, but isn’t what she’s saying a bit too ominous?
—Where did the bond we built over three years of traveling together go?
"Besides, Lusika, you can use teleportation magic, so it’ll only take an instant."
"It’s that very instant I’m worried about, that’s why I don’t want to."
"Are you mistaking me for a succubus or something?"
"Hm? Is there something wrong, 'sex goddess'?"
"...I thought I’d need to settle things with all of you at least once."
"Both of you, enough already."
Rika-chan’s angry eyes pierced through us.
Seeing her serious face made me realize something.
That’s right. We knocked Jin out, and now we’re arguing so disgracefully… What are we doing?
All we wanted was to laugh together with him. We just wanted to share those joyful times… but now...
At this rate, it’s no good. We need to seriously reflect and—
"If this goes on, I’ll have less time to spend the night with Jin."
"—Alright, alright! We’ll settle this with rock-paper-scissors! The winner stays! Sound good!?"
It seemed the two of them were also tired of the ongoing argument, and they nodded honestly.
When each of them raised their arms high, I began the game.
"Alright, here we go. Janken!"
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!!"
(T/N: Janken (じゃんけん) is the Japanese version of the classic game "Rock-Paper-Scissors." It's commonly played in Japan to make decisions, similar to flipping a coin in other cultures.)
Immediately afterward, a loud, joyful roar echoed through the village, and for a while, there were rumors that a monster had appeared.
I wonder who that could have been, hehe.
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