A Promise

"how irritating"

said Naru while crossing her arms in anger

"I told you already but it's not my fault, this is the first time something like this happen, I didn't even know teleportation could be blocked"

I think it's the Watanabe's doing, they blocked the teleportation to the city to avoid any surprises, it's kinda frustrating but if it's the actual reason then I'm fine with it

"what should we do now?"

"we have to spend the night here"

she was about to start complaining but she suddenly stopped

"there's no other choice? you can run fast right?"

"your body won't withstand the speed if I go full power, and we'll attract too much attention if I suddenly showed superhuman speed"

I considered flying back too but it's just not worth the danger, spending a night here isn't even that bad of an idea

"don't worry I'll pay for the room"

I said with complete confidence in myself, it's about time my work as a bodyguard (I didn't do anything though) showed it's benefits!

"you mean rooms right?"

"pay it yourself then"

there's no way I'm paying for separate rooms, we have to share

"I hate you, you know?"

"what a coincidence it's mutual, by the way is it the first time your feelings are mutual?"

"you talk big when you got rejected yourself"

"huh? who told you?"

there shouldn't be anyone...oh I see

just by looking at her smile right now I understood that I made a blunder

"I didn't know~ just guessed and it seems that I hit the bullseye"

I really made a huge mistake, now she's not going to leave me alone

"hey hey, how does it feel to be rejected?"

"you're the expert here so you should know it better Naru-senpai"

"hey! we're equal though!"

"yeah yeah keep lying to yourself"

after fighting like this for about twenty minutes we arrived at an inn that seemed to be good enough...no, it's surprisingly good. too good for such a rural place

"I funded this place" a man behind us suddenly talked

Naru screamed from the surprise but I felt his presence a long time ago, with a smug on his face Peter-sensei waved to us

"I didn't expect to meet you two this fast, are you spending the night here?"

Naru instinctively hid behind my back, she's still cautious about this man

"yeah we were thinking about it but we'll go search for another place"

it may seem like I'm saying this because I don't want to stay in the same place with this man, it's half true but there's another reason

"I'll give you a discount"

Naru smiled at his words

"do you think you could just buy us?"

"yes"

he said without a second of hesitation, Naru was shocked for a moment but quickly regained her composure

"let's go Aru, we don't have time to waste"

holding a key with the number "103" on it I smiled

"money can buy anything huh?"

"you're just cheap!"

the prices are insane, of course I will take any chance I can to pay less, she won't understand since I'm the one paying

"I'm glad it worked fine, I made sure to prepare the best room for you"

it's hard to believe him but since I already payed we don't have many choices

"he completely tricked us, as expected from the number one author he's smart"

"No! you're just stupid! Ugh....."

all she do is complain *sigh* this girl is too much

"why are you sighing? I'll kill you!"

ignoring the angry gorilla behind me I walked around searching for my room

"don't leave me you...!"

When I opened the door to the room my eyes widened, the room wasn't that big but the surprising thing is that they have a outdoor hot spring, that's actually insane and it's not even a small one it's enough for four people to enter

"I told you that I prepared the best room didn't I?"

"why are you still following us?!"

Peter-sensei leaned on the wall while crossing his arms

"don't worry I will give you privacy later, the walls aren't that thick so please keep it in moderation" he said with a smug on his face

"that means no one will hear you scream if I decided to kill you?"

Naru didn't exactly like the joke, she's glaring at him as if she'll actually kill him, I won't be surprised if she's serious

Peter-sensei understood that this isn't the time to joke around so he entered the main topic

"do you mind telling me about yourself? since we got the chance I will be thankful if I can get some material from you"

well he gave us a discount so maybe I should tell him, but even then...

"I lost most of my memories from before and after I got my powers, so all I can talk about is from this year"

"I'm fine with anything don't leave any details, just talk and I will he the one to decide if it's interesting or not"

"wait, isn't it weird that I don't know about you too? even though I know about your power you never told me anything!"

oh right I didn't tell Naru about anything, it's not that I was keeping it a secret but...

"yeah I'll tell both of you, it won't take long anyway"

"I'll treat you to dinner so let's talk while we eat okay?"

oh right dinner, I completely forgot about that Naru should be starving, but it's still feels weird when he's being this nice, does he have anything to gain from this? something that I can't see?

as I was thinking an old woman with a warm smile on her face, she was holding a tray with three plates on it

"it seems that dinner is already here, thank you mom"

"your mother?"

Naru was confused to what to do now but the old woman started first, she bowed and said with a smile

"my son is a little different than others so please don't hold anything against him"

Naru who was tense just a moment ago started to warm up quickly and she bowed too

"yes, thank you for the food"

with her warm smile still on her face the woman left the room quietly

"she's such a wonderful lady, it's a shame her son didn't inherit anything from her"

"what happened to not holding anything against me?"

I can't believe the third wheel title was activated, they're not even close to having a relationship so why am I disappearing?

"what about we start eating?"

I suggested trying my best to not be one with the background

"oh right, we should do that"

now that I got their attention again I started explaining everything that happened in the past year, I even told them about some memories that I still remember from the other world

"I see, that was interesting it's worth the discount"

"are you sure...?"

I still can't understand this man, the dinner and the discount, he could have gotten this story with something cheaper so why..

"this place barely make any profit, everyone was telling me to stop wasting money here, but profit isn't my goal"

"what do you want then?"

"it's my mom's dream, she always wanted to have an inn where she can meet all types of people, I'm glad I was able to grant her wish"

there's a look of sorrow on his face, he's someone who can see people's lifespan, how hard is it living with people when you know that they don't have much more to live? even if you try to change it it's already decided, what can a single human do facing death itself?

"well it's already this late, I'll have to go now so please enjoy your stay"

he said with a sincere look on his face, I started to respect this man all of a sudden

"oh right, is it okay if I ask you one last question?"

he stopped right before closing the door, I nodded to him and so he asked

"what do you think about this world?"

I couldn't help but to smile

"I love it, it's a beautiful world"

he smiled again and closed the door behind him,after a few seconds I wasn't able to sense his presence anymore

silence covered the room but it wasn't awkward at all, it's a mutual agreement that we just need to rest for the day, a lot happened after all

"you can sleep on the couch"

I said it as I casually lied on the futon, there's only one so it's obvious I'll be the one taking it

"no wait, are you really going to let a cute girl sleep on a couch while you enjoy the futon?"

Naru asked me with a frown, I guess she's correct about it but there's a mistake in her sentence just now

"where's the "cute girl"?"

"I see, so that's how are we going to do it huh?"

she jumped into the futon without permission, if I was the one doing it she would have called the police, but since I'm a good guy I'll let her share it with me today

"try anything funny and I'll kill you"

"I'm not interested in you at all so sleep well"

"why's it so frustrating when you say it like this?"

it's a lose-lose situation if I do anything she'll be angry and if I don't she'll feel that I'm insulting her somehow and get angry, it's better to actually just sleep

I closed my eyes tightly as I tried to sleep, but even if I tried my best to hide it, I feel a little bit excited, just a little bit okay? just a liiiiittle bit

***

before I noticed it was already morning, maybe? the sun isn't out yet so it's hard to say for sure but I'm sure it's not night, I looked around me and didn't find Naru, I wonder where is she, not that I care as much really

"should I try the outdoor bath...?"

oh I see, that's how it's gonna be, I'll open the door and find Naru taking a bath and get my ass beaten and my reputation would be ruined, and after sometime I will be executed by the number one enemy of both men an women

I can't really sense her presence though...I walked quietly and knocked the door, there's no response

"maybe I'm overdoing it?"

I opened the door and the bath was definitely empty, it's really embarrassing that I thought about everything like that

I took my clothes off and jumped in the bath to wash off the embarrassment

"wait that's good, super good"

enjoying hot water while enjoying the view, the sun isn't out yet but I can see the dark sky of night turning into the bright sky of day, maybe I should do this more often

I was so captivated by the scenery that I didn't sense anyone coming, the door opened suddenly and a girl covering herself with only a towel appeared

"no matter how you look it, it's not my fault right?"

I'm kinda nervous, if Naru started shouting now the person who's in the room next to us might hear us

"oh so you were here? I should've thought about it"

she calmly put her foot in the water to feel its temperature

"?"

"excuse me"

she entered the bath as if there's no one inside, this girl finally lost her mind

"what about the execution...?"

if the roles were reversed... or maybe it's just me?

"we even slept together,don't make a fuss about it now"

are you insane? like, really insane? I kept my thoughts to myself and tried my best to enjoy the scenery again

...

"can you stop looking at it please?"

"I'm just surprised there's no reaction at all, you really don't see me as a girl"

I think it's because I'm kinda nervous but of course I won't tell her that

after a few seconds of silence Naru held my hand underwater

"you really lost it right? isn't that cheating? Makoto won't be happy if he see us like this

"why does it matter? both of us are not in a relationship"

suddenly all the nervousness dissappeared, maybe because the water feels so good but... I'm starting to relax even in such a weird situation

"yeah as I thought, I like you"

"you want to be rejected so badly?"

"shut up it's not like that"

I listened to her calmly

"when I hold your hand I feel safe, even now when both of us are naked I still feel comfortable"

"I'm the only one naked though? what about you let me bring a towel"

"No, stop ruining the mood it was going to be a very emotional-"

"yeah yeah, continue"

"I take back my words, I hate you"

she turned her face away with a "Humph", it took only two seconds for both of us to start laughing

"if I was with Makoto I would've been too nervous to act like this, it's because I like him"

so she's the saying the type of love she has for me is different from that she holds for Makoto?

"I kinda understand it, it's weird that I'm able to relax here even though my little guy is being watched by a weirdo"

"I see, "little" is very nice description isn't it?"

"if you think it's small, then it's just that you failed to extract it's full power"

"you prepared that line right? you're self-conscious about it huh"

I have the right to stay silent and I'm going to use it.

Naru giggled, we were still holding hands even in this moment but now she used a little more force in her grip

"hey Aru..."

"if you're gonna confess be prepared for the worst rejection you'll ever face, for refrence you'll face thousands in the future"

"Fuck you"

she punched my shoulder with all her force but it only caused her pain, I might or might not have used reinforcement magic

after crying in pain Naru recovered her composure and started going back to the topic

"say, if after ten years I'm still unable to find a partner, why don't we both get together?"

"what if I had a girlfriend though"

"Pffft"

she start laughing from the bottom of her heart, it feels a little bit disrespectful honestly

"fine fine, if you somehow managed to brainwash a girl into being your girlfriend by then, the deal is off"

I think I have a good chance though, it's only that Makoto takes any girl around him, if he's not around I'm sure I'll be popular

"fine then, if I somehow ended up being alone by then I'll unfortunately have to go out with you"

"Oi, don't treat like some kind of punishment game!"

"I'm not ~ I can already imagine how happy we could be"

even though I said it sarcastically, I can really imagine being happy with Naru, well it doesn't matter since I'm not considering spending the next ten years alone

"let's go back, I'm starting to feel dizzy"

Naru stood up slowly, she stood in front of the door for a moment before looking at me

"I'll change my clothes so don't you dare-"

"yeah yeah I don't care about your body"

she frowned and closed the door loudly, what? was I supposed to peek at her? or maybe I could've phrased it better? anyway

"the show is over you should probably stop eavesdropping"

when I said it I heard a loud voice from the room next to us, it seems like someone has fallen, and based on the noise they probably hit their head, I wish they're okay

***

after we finished eating our breakfast I headed to the garden outside, an old woman was sitting there looking at the flowers

"spring is coming soon right?"I said while I got closer to her

"did you finish already? I will g-"

she was about to stand up but I put my hands on her shoulder stopping her

"don't overdo it please"

"Oh my, thank you for your concern but I am doing this because I enjoy it"

just by touching her shoulders I can feel it, a simple injury will force her into a wheelchair for the rest of her life, her body is about to collapse at any second now

"please allow me to give you a small gift then"

when I finished my sentence a golden light covered her body slowly restoring it, I used every single drop of my mana to make sure she won't face any trouble from now on

"this feeling..."

she started crying all of a sudden, but her smile didn't change..I think she also knew her body was at it's limit

"I feel like a young woman once again, thank you very much"

I don't know if that was enough to push death away from her but at least, she can spend the rest of her life enjoying what she really wants to do

the woman bowed and then started walking faster than she usually does, she's enjoying it huh?

took a seat in front of the garden to see the flowers, every step is very painful so I'll just rest here I guess

"You're a nice person after all"

suddenly someone sat next to me, her blue eyes looked at me with admiration

"Rei-senpai? why are you here?"

my heart isn't ready for this, is it even a coincidence? when was the last time I got this lucky?

"Oh senpai what happened to your head?"

there's a bandage on the right of her front so I moved my hand to heal it

"Ah, I used all of my mana already.."

"d-don't worry about it, i-it's n-not important"

why is she so flustered? I thought she would be more relaxed since it's been a while but my confession is still on her mind huh?

I'm not that fucking stupid am I? I hate it but it's obvious..

"how much did you hear?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I heard a familiar voice and I just..."

"how much did you hear?"

I repeat my question while covering my mouth with my hand, I can feel sweat covering my face, and the temperature seems to be risingas well, if I'm lucky I should be able to save this

"I heard something about sleeping together and-"

"I swear it's not like that! it's obviously a misunderstanding!"

"Ah don't worry you don't need to explain anything"

I let a sigh of relief, I really thought I lost already but I'm glad senpai is understanding

"I told you that I'm fine if you found someone else, I think you're going a little fast but it's not my business so..."

she's not understanding at all!

"ah my friends are waiting for me, bye"

"no wait!"

I tried to get up but the sudden pain stopped me, damn it...

suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder

"my condolences"

Naru is pitying me now great! that's everything I needed, wait

"it's your fucking fault though?"

she responded to me with a smile, she's not even trying to defend herself

"let's look at the future! you can't just keep looking at the past"

"yeah you're right, I'm tired so let's go home"

maybe this world isn't that great after all