Kays Translations

Chapter 89: When I woke up, 80 years had passed

“Even if I defy the Sun and the Moon, Stig… Your Yudi… I could never defy the love of Yahweh, Talstig.”

I woke up groggily, and for a moment I felt like I could still hear that chant lingering in the air.

The dizziness that came with blinking only lasted a second — the warmth of healing magic wrapped around my whole body and snapped me fully awake.

“Iruma… no, Hiyori… huh? What’s going on?”

“Da-ri!”

My head was clear, but too much had happened all at once, and I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. As I stood there lost, Hiyori suddenly hugged me tight.

Her tears poured out in huge droplets, falling one after another.

She was crying harder than I’d ever seen, yet her smile was the happiest I’d ever seen too. It was textbook — the perfect laugh-cry combo.

As she buried her face into me, soaking my chest with her tears, I gently patted her back, trying to piece together what had just happened.

Let’s see…

I remembered hearing, through Hiyori’s eyeball-shaped familiar, that there was a zombie panic breaking out downtown in the middle of the night.

I rushed to pull out my zombie manga and did a quick review on zombies — but, well, I was sleepy, so I ended up just going to bed.

And when I woke up, there was something in front of me…

…!?

…

…I see.

No wonder they say Iruma is the worst, most trashy, yet strongest wizard around.

I remembered everything.

Every single thing that happened while I was under his control.

I even remembered how he’d planted false feelings in me, making me believe — without any suspicion at all — that Iruma was my best friend.

I remembered how he destroyed my house, calling it part of some “cover-up operation.” And how he bullied the fire lizards, too.

A shiver ran all through me.

Ughhhhh gross, gross, gross! I had goosebumps all over.

That bastard was beyond creepy! His patchwork face was disgusting, and that soft, innocent-sounding voice of his — like some annoyingly sweet young boy — was just physically unbearable.

I can’t believe I ever trusted that trash! Disgusting! I hate him! I hate him so much!

“D-Dairi…? You don’t want me to touch you…?”

“Oh — no, sorry, I just remembered Iruma and it gave me the creeps.”

Hiyori, still crying, asked me in a trembling voice, and I shook my head hard in a panic.

No, no, you’re fine, Hiyori — you’re warm. The only thing that’s freezing cold is Iruma.

I’d been through a ton of awful stuff — forced to say gross things, too — but at least Iruma had died for good, frozen solid by that glacial magic. That did make me feel a bit better.

Serves you right, you bastard! Don’t you dare show your face in front of me ever again!

But… even after recalling all that, something still wasn’t adding up.

I was supposed to have died, caught in the blast of Hiyori’s killer spell.

And honestly, I wouldn’t blame her. If our roles had been reversed… yeah, I’m not sure, but in that situation, I think I’d feel a strange sort of peace if it was Hiyori who ended my life. Like, “Goodbye, Hiyori! Be happy, okay?”

But — the curtain didn’t fall, did it?

I was so sure I’d died. But the curtain’s still up.

Once I calmed down enough to actually look around, I noticed more and more things felt off.

Hiyori looked normal enough, but on closer inspection her robe was worn out. Well, yeah, after that fight with Iruma, of course her robe would be in bad shape, but it felt less like battle damage and more like… the wear and tear of time. Like the fabric had aged. Hey, robe, did you fade in the wash?

And the riverbank looked weird too. The giant willow tree that used to grow across the river was gone. The undergrowth and trees had all changed shape.

The biggest rock in the river — the one Tsubaki used to nap on all the time — was missing. Actually, the whole shape of the river looked a little different. Wasn’t this bank a bit wider before?

No waterwheel. The bridge was gone too. The general store that should’ve been visible from here? Vanished. The houses? All gone. The landscape had turned into a forest.

An awful feeling crept up on me, and as Hiyori held me tighter, I asked her:

“Hey, Hiyori.”

“Yeah?”

“What year is it now?”

I never thought I’d actually say something so… time-traveler-y. Life sure is full of surprises.

“It’s April 8th, 2111.”

“Oh, that’s not so—wait. Wait, hold up. The century’s changed! It’s the 22nd century! 80 years!? Has it really been 80 years!? HUH!?”

For a second I was relieved, and then reality smacked me in the face.

80 years. That’s insane.

“Oh crap! I haven’t fed the fire lizards in 80 years! I left Fuyou’s education hanging for 80 years! My pickled rice bran bed must be ruined! The rice fields are probably wiped out! Oh god, the magic staff I was supposed to deliver to the university — I’m 80 years late! This is bad! The university! The professor! Wait — 80 years! They’ve gotta be dead by now!”

“Kei-chan’s aging slowed down thanks to becoming a half-beast. She’s still alive. Don’t worry. Or… well, you’ve got a lot of questions, don’t you? Why don’t we sit down and talk?”

“What about the Spider Witch? Is the spider still alive?”

“Still alive. Both of them. Now come on, sit. You just came back to life, don’t push yourself.”

“BACK TO LIFE!?”

Hiyori pulled a gold ingot from her robe pocket and tossed it. Instantly, it transformed into a soft, comfortable-looking bench.

Hey! Don’t add to the list of things I want to ask! I’ve never seen magic like that before!

Still confused and overwhelmed, I sat down beside her. She snuggled close, holding my hand, and quietly explained what had happened.

After she killed both me and Iruma with her glacial magic, she apparently set out on a journey to search for resurrection magic.

According to magic linguistics, resurrection spells were theorized to exist, but no one had ever found one. Hiyori had spent all those years — all 80 of them — searching for one, just for me.

Turns out the glacial spell had preserved me in perfect condition, like cryosleep. So I’d been lying there, fresh as the day I died, for 80 years.

Eventually, Hiyori discovered the resurrection spell, negotiated the payment with the witch who knew it, learned the magic herself, returned to Okutama, defrosted me, and brought me back to life.

Dragon abductions, frozen princesses…

Wait, was I the princess in this story?

“Well, I get the gist of it. Thanks for the resurrection. Really, thanks.”

“That’s… kind of a light way to put it.”

“I really do mean it though. If there’s anything you want, just name it. I’ll do anything as thanks.”

When I said that from the bottom of my heart, Hiyori leaned her head on my shoulder, closed her eyes, and softly replied.

“I spent 80 years apart from you, Dairi. So for the next 80 years — stay with me.”

“Oh… huh? O-oh… yeah. Huh.”

Minus 80, plus 80 — that’d bring it back to zero. Simple, clean arithmetic.

Still… something about it felt strange.

As I gently squeezed Hiyori’s soft, warm hand, I rested my other hand on my chin and let myself sink deep into thought.

80 years later, I’ll be a frail old man. Actually, I’ll probably be dead from old age by then.

In other words, “Stay with me for the next 80 years” = “Stay with me until I die,” which creates this equation.

Applying the theory I learned from Professor Emeritus of Romance Studies, Dainihon Hoshizaki, to this equation, we can conclude that “Stay with me until I die” = a proposal.

Therefore, through this syllogism, the conclusion can be drawn: “Hiyori proposed to me.” Q.E.D. Proof complete.

…Wait, does that mean I was just proposed to?

Is that even possible?

Isn’t that kind of strange?

No, actually, it’s not strange, right?

Hiyori probably already liked me 80 years ago, right? Maybe.

I’m starting to get nervous.

From Hiyori, who has her head resting on my shoulder with a peaceful, trusting expression, I feel a warm weight, like she’s entrusting everything to me.

Isn’t that heavy?

Hiyori is light, but her feelings are heavy.

When I think about it calmly, it’s really amazing that she’s been searching for resurrection magic for 80 years just for me. Thanks to Hiyori, she can still live, but for an ordinary person, this would mean they spent their entire life from birth to death searching for it.

Normally, one might think, “I’m tired, I’m done! I’ve started forgetting 大利’s face, and I’ve got other things I want to do!”

Yet, Hiyori has continued to search for resurrection magic for a full 80 years.

Um.

Sorry, but I don’t think I have feelings to return after those 80 years…

People’s hearts can change.

Hiyori went on a journey for 80 years just for me, and she proved that her heart never changed.

But I honestly don’t have confidence in myself.

Right now, I truly believe in Hiyori more than anything. I think she’s the most beautiful girl in the world, and I think she’s the most important person to me.

But what about 80 years from now?

When I’m an old, withered man, will I still say the same thing?

Will I get jealous of Hiyori, who will still look young forever?

Could someone else, even more trustworthy, come along, and Hiyori would become second to them?

What if a woman even more beautiful than Hiyori comes into my life, and I end up thinking of her as the most beautiful woman in the world, relegating Hiyori to second place?

I know well how poor my social skills are.

Just as I trust my own cleverness, I don’t trust parts of myself like this.

I don’t have something solid to return Hiyori’s 80 years of feelings.

Mmm… This is tough.

But, I like Hiyori…

Professor Ohinata also said to return your feelings properly.

I thought for a while, then came to a conclusion.

I’ll tell Hiyori the answer I came up with, using all my level 1 romance skills.

“80 years together is not something I can guarantee. But for now, can we agree to stay together as long as we want to be?”

“That…! Dairi, did you understand what I meant?”

“Probably.”

When I nodded, Hiyori pulled slightly away and looked straight into my face, then smiled brightly.

“Let’s do that. I’m sure that walking together at that pace is the best for us. As long as you want to be with me, I won’t leave your side.”

So that’s how it went.

Hiyori didn’t say it, and I was too embarrassed to ask, but maybe, just maybe, this could be the urban legend concept of “dating.”

I heard Professor Ohinata is still alive, so next time I’ll go ask her to explain, “What’s a lover?”

Hiyori, who began to fidget with excitement, told me that while she was on her journey, Fuyou and the fire lizards protected Okutama.

Apparently, after the attack on Iruma, strong monsters  started appearing in Okutama, like in other regions, and the Spider Witch hamded over the management of her area and came to assist with Okutama’s defense.

It’s a relief. If strong monsters had shattered or melted the ice mountain, I might have died (?).

“So, what was everyone like while I was dead?”

“Ah, well, I just got back from my journey, so I don’t really know what happened while I was gone. But, Spider Witch said something like ‘I have no face to show to Dairi’ and disappeared somewhere. Fuyou is on the back mountain. She’s grown a lot, but her personality hasn’t changed.”

“……?”

I understood Fuyou, but Spider Witch is a mystery.

Maybe after 80 years, her face carved as a fake lure has become ugly and deformed. I’ll have to fix it later. I promised to make that fake lure into a beautiful girl.

“And, though I didn’t see it myself, Fuyou said that Tsubaki and Sekitan molted last month and the month before and went off to find their own territories. It’s probably disappointing for you, but they’ve become humanoid. Mokutan will probably molt soon too.”

“!!!”

I paled, probably for a completely different reason than Hiyori.

Oh no!

The fire lizards, after all, turn humanoid as they grow up!

They definitely take after their mom! No matter which mom they resemble, Hiyori will instantly figure out who Mokutan’s real mom is!

Uwaaaaah!

I just came back to life!

Now, the most intense drama is about to begin!

This is your fault, Flame Witch!

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