7. Time To Part [Edited]

When people are in love, everything seems beautiful. Just like the theory of relativity, time is relative. They thought it was frozen, but the time just went too fast for them to notice. And before they knew it, the waiter came in, reminding him to pay for the meal.

"Ah! Sorry. It's just that time went too fast."

"Is that so? I know."

There was no way the waiter didn't know why these two had come here. He just looked at the girl, finding her beautiful, and then smirked at Kotaro, even patting him on the back, congratulating him for finding such a good girl.

"Good luck."

"T-Thanks."

What else could he say? He couldn't say that he was about to reject her in this atmosphere, right? It was just like a love zone a moment ago.

Mitsuri, who heard him, also blushed, but that was just for a moment. Because it made her realize that the date was about to end, and her happy time was now over.

"Mitsuri, let's go."

"Y-Yes."

Seeing her bubbly nature diminish so much, Kotaro asked if there was something wrong with her.

"Are you alright? Was the food bad?"

"N-No. It's nothing!"

Then she just smiled at him, but it didn't contain the same feeling as the one that radiated during the time she ate. It was more of a forced one, an attempt to look fine in Kotaro's eyes.

She might be able to fake it with anyone else, but Kotaro, who spent all this time with her, witnessing her different reactions, was able to catch it with his naked eyes.

'This smile isn't like before. Rather than happy, it feels more sad…'

And that was when Kotaro understood that his time for this date was over. Once again, he would reject the girl for various reasons and go back to his life as a teacher.

But still, instead of sadness, he carried a smile on his face. Not because he didn't feel sad about the sudden end, but because of the new memories he made on this date.

Even when he is old and reaching the time of death in his second life, he would never forget that the first love in his life was a girl named Mitsuri Kanroji. She smiled quite beautifully, infected those around her with happiness, and also ate enough to make him broke.

'Love, is it?'

In just seconds, when it came time for parting, Kotaro grasped that he probably didn't just like this girl, but loved her. A man inexperienced in love doesn't understand the feeling the first time.

But the sense of crisis, the time when his brain comprehended that he was about to lose her company, made him understand that his emotions towards her were out of love.

But if he fell in love with her, the more reason he should reject her. This date didn't happen to create a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship; it was for marriage. And marriage means creating a family.

The root of this problem is the fact that, family represented not just the couple but the child as well.

Didn't Mitsuri come to this date with the hope of becoming a wife and a mother? But Kotaro wasn't ready for it. He was just seventeen—no, let's consider eighteen.

Even so, isn't it preposterous to become a father at this age? He has just crossed the threshold of becoming an adult of modern times! In a time of enjoying his youth, he can't spend it parenting his child.

No doubt, after his marriage, people would ask and force him to have a child as fast as possible. And this societal pressure was quite intense.

In modern times, it was already hard; so in ancient times, it was even harder. Unlike modern societies, which were free and unconstrained, ancient times were highly connected.

Where social interactions were a necessity for living, the social pressure came unexpectedly high. He might, with his modern mindset, endure it, but Mitsuri… He could already tell that she was under pressure to marry because others her age were married, but she was not.

So, Kotaro understood that he couldn't enter marriage in a half-assed state. Marriage was more than a normal relationship. Unlike just cuddling and kissing, it added multiple responsibilities for which he wasn't ready yet.

If he married with such a mindset, not only would he hurt himself, but he would also hurt Mitsuri. It was better to reject her now rather than do it half-heartedly.

But he didn't want this date to end on such an unhappy note. So, he moved his hand and patted Mitsuri's back, startling her.

"Y-Yes?"

"Mitsuri, don't think too much. Did you like the date?"

"Yes."

No hesitation was in her answer.

"Is that so? Then that's enough. If you liked it, then I am very happy."

Kotaro smiled, and it was Mitsuri's turn to be mesmerized by his smile. Kotaro might not be too handsome, but the aura that hovered around him because of his reincarnation sometimes made him look a bit otherworldly, as if he were an ethereal being. Accompanied with affection and kindness, it constantly played the strings in Mitsuri's heart.

She, too, realized that she would never forget this date, which came in the darkest moment of her life. A man radiant unlike others, who constantly teased her but treated her with affection and kindness she had never felt from anyone else.

"Yes, I too am very happy."

And then... it was the smile Kotaro wanted to see. Full of happiness, enough to infect others as well.

Maybe it could go well. Maybe it wouldn't hurt her too much.

Kotaro thought as he looked at her. The atmosphere returned to what it was at the start, and it made Kotaro a bit confident in rejecting her without hurting her.

But a great man said that - humans have limits. No plans go as planned…

"Huh? Isn't that Mitsuri-chan? Were you the one who ate those many dishes? Haha! You were always such a huge eater from childhood. But why are you dyeing your hair black?"

… And this too happened this time.