“Who’s next?” Yae had no aptitude for magic, so she’d have a broad range of people to potentially synchronize with. Though that came with the disadvantage of it being harder to narrow in on specific individuals. You’d likely look at a different person’s future every time you used the orb.
Yae let her magic flow into the crystal ball. Even without any particular aptitude, she still had magic power within her. Enchanted items were originally created for people who couldn’t use magic, but they could still channel magic into them.
“Oh... I can see it, I can. Is this... The castle, is it?” There was a maid reflected in the ball. I didn’t recognize her face. She was probably someone we’d end up hiring within the next ten years. The young maid walked down the castle hall. She looked to be in her twenties.
“The castle doesn’t look much different...”
“Well, it hasn’t changed since we built it... So it makes sense it won’t change much even after ten years.” I grinned slightly at Elze’s mutterings, but in turning my head away, I missed what happened next in the vision.
“Hm?!”
“Who is that...?”
“Huh! Wh-What?!” Yae and Yumina stared in surprise. Lu, Linze, and Hilde were also staring down with wonder.
“What was it...? I missed it.”
“Ah... U-Uhm, there was a little child. The maid greeted a child and moved on.”
“A child?” I turned my head to Linze as she spoke. A child in the castle, huh... Wait... No way.
“H-H-Hey! Can’t you make the orb pick up on the kid!”
“I-I-It’s-a impossible! The target is the maid, I-I’m-a sorry!” Parshe trembled slightly as I grumbled. I was annoyed that I’d missed it.
There was a kid in the castle. It meant that it could’ve been my kid! Then again, it could’ve easily been the child of a foreign dignitary. “Was it a boy or a girl?!”
“Uhm... It was a girl... I think?”
“Hm... I believe it was a handsome young man, I do.”
“But that long hair... Surely it was a girl.”
“Yeah, she was wearing long culotte pants.”
“It seemed like she had black hair, too...”
“Th-Th-Then who’s the mother!” Everyone went quiet after Hilde’s question. Leen and Sue weren’t around, but it was possible that we had just seen the daughter (or son?) that they’d eventually bear. Still, knowing who the mother actually was didn’t seem like it was possible.
The situation quickly became hectic.
“Hey, Yae! Make the orb show the girl again!”
“I cannot do that, I cannot! I do not control what it shows me, I do not!”
“Aaagh! Y-Yae! Don’t let your hand slip! We’ll lose connection!”
“I wonder if that was my daughter...”
“Y-Yeah... It’s a little scary to think about...”
“I wonder if my child will use a sword like me...”
“Hey, quiet down! I can hear something!” I calmed everyone down and put my finger to my lips. The maid in the crystal ball was talking to a man. He seemed like a co-worker.
“...... --lready ran around over there.”
“Good grief. I told the little one not to pester His Majesty... Father or not, he’s a very busy man.” Everyone’s eyes narrowed on me. Welp. That just about confirmed it. I wondered what the future me was doing, though... Shouldn’t you be spending time with your family?! “Well, that’s it then. We couldn’t hear the name... But that child was definitely yours, Touya.” I was just upset that I hadn’t actually seen the kid with my own two eyes.
The maid bowed her head and left for the kitchen. There were several maids hard at work in the kitchen. The sight wasn’t too different to the current state of the place, actually. I was glad I had so many hard workers. ... Though this was a vision of the future, so it would be more apt to say I was glad I was going to have so many hard workers.
“Hey, it’s Crea!” Elze pointed to a person reflected in the ball. It was definitely Crea, our current head cook. She looked older, but didn’t seem a full ten years older.
“A-Am I not there...?” Lu pouted a little bit. She had a point. Lu spent a lot of time in the kitchen, after all. Sadly it didn’t seem like she was in there on this particular day.
Lu’s shoulders slumped a little.
“Don’t worry, Lu. Why did you want to see yourself so bad, anyway?”
“I wanted you to see the adult me of the future, Touya...”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll see her gradually, right by my side.”
“Ah!” Hilde’s sudden exclamation had Lu and I glance towards the crystal ball. Don’t tell me... Not again...
“J-Just now a little girl left the kitchen with a lunchbox...”
“A-Ah... Sh-She had long, silvery hair...”
“Whaaat?!” Lu let out a shriek. As far as fiancees go, only three had hair you could describe as silvery. Lu, Linze, and Elze. Leen’s was more white than anything else.
“Wh-Wh-Where did she go?”
“Ah, she is gone now, she is. She just left the kitchen.”
“Go after her!”
“I-I cannot do such a thing...” Lu desperately gazed from the crystal ball to Yae, and then back again. I understood how she felt. I’d missed something again, after all.
“Calm down a little bit... Whose child do you think it was?”
“I-It could have been mine! I-I always thought I’d teach my son or daughter to cook! Th-That’s why I’m always working so hard in the kitchen!” It seemed like Lu had been considering more in the long-term than I had been. Still, she had a point. I couldn’t imagine Linze or Elze having a kid who spent a lot of time making stuff in the kitchen... I didn’t want to imagine what kind of super-spicy horrors Elze would teach her kids to whip up. That being said, they could’ve been tutored by anyone, so it was hard to say for sure whose child it was.
“We didn’t actually see them do any cooking, you know... They might’ve just been delivering lunch to someone else, or picking up their own.”
“Guh... I-I am Lucia Leah Regulus! By my heart, I am sure that my child will be an incredible cook!” Lu spoke firmly, but it came out as more of a mutter. It was ultimately hard to say whether or not Lu’s kid would actually be any good in the kitchen. The possibility of Lu teaching Linze’s child to cook was always on the table, too.
Still, if she had cooked the lunch she’d left the kitchen with... Who was she delivering it to?
I hoped it was the future me. A handmade lunch from my own daughter. I’d season it with tears of joy as I chowed down.
Or maybe the lunch was for her mother. Lu or otherwise. A gentle, kind child who made lunch for her mom... That’s the kind of thing that inspires tears as well.
Or... Maybe she was making lunch for a boy she liked... If she was making lunch for a guy, that’d incite tears in me as well. For another reason entirely.
I had to snap out of that line of thinking. That couldn’t be it! Yeah. I wouldn’t be letting no stinkin’ boys get close to my girls! Hahaha...
As I mused silly things in my head, the maid in the vision spoke with Crea a little and left the kitchen once more.
Suddenly, there was a noise. Huh? I looked over to find Yae’s head swaying from side to side. Her hand was slipping from the crystal ball. Crap! Did you run out of magic that fast?! I caught Yae before she collapsed, but the Foresight Jewel fell from its pedestal and rolled along the floor. Then Parshe fell over. Then Parshe knocked a teapot over.
“Oh, whoa! Excuse-a me!” Parshe reached down to pick up the teapot. It was hot. She dropped it. It fell on the Foresight Jewel. Smash. Crash. Bash. The Pot, along with the Crystal... Crumbled into various pieces.
“AUUUUUUGH?!” Everyone screamed at the same time. It was completely broke. The real tragedy, of course... Was that falling from the pedestal hadn’t broken it. It was that damned gynoid!
Everyone gathered around, looking at Parshe in pure disbelief.
> So this is the power of a clumsy shrine maiden, huh...
“I-I-I-I’m-a sorry!” Parshe immediately brought herself down into a pleading bow. She seemed awfully familiar with that motion. I had a feeling this wasn’t the first time she’d ruined absolutely everything.
Still, no use crying over spilled milk. What’s done was done. Even though it was broken now, we’d only managed to use the Foresight Jewel thanks to Parshe to begin with.
“Don’t worry about it. This was just a peeping Tom’s peeking device, anyway.”
“B-But...”
“I said it’s fine. I don’t need to see the future, anyway. The future has infinite possibilities, so it’s hard to say if the future we see is the one that’ll come to pass anyway.” Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. our future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one. A white-haired scientist from a movie about a time-traveling car said that once.
“I agree! The future we saw seemed lovely, but let’s try and make our own wonderful future together as well.”
“I-I agree, I do.” Yae, who was still a little woozy despite my use of [Transfer] to restore her magic, nodded towards Yumina.
Still, unstable future or not, I was sad I couldn’t see my daughter. I wonder if she’s cute and sweet... Yeah, she’s definitely cute. Yep. I’ve decided that just now. She’s adorable.
As I resolutely confirmed the cuteness of my own daughter in my mind, there was a knock at the door. Lapis appeared.
“Sir... The new maids I mentioned the other day are here. I’ve brought them to greet you. Would you mind meeting them now?”
“Ah, sure thing. I don’t mind, bring them in.” Living in the castle meant we needed to bring in more staff now and then. Fortunately Lapis had good ties with the maid’s guild, and she got us the best staff possible.
At my command, ten new maids filed into the room. But one of the maids in particular stood out. Everyone had the same reaction.
“Aaaaaagh?!”
“Wha-... Eh? Ah...? I-Is there s-something on my face?!” Everyone in the room was pointing and staring at the poor girl.
Her face was decidedly younger, but she was the very image of the maid we’d seen in the crystal ball.
“Amazing...”
“Well... That’s a surprise.” After everyone settled down and I reassured them, the maids left the room with Lapis.
We were all pretty shocked to see her, despite knowing she was part of an inevitable future that would come.
“Then I wonder if the future we saw is set in stone after all, I do...”
“Hm... Well, it isn’t like it was bad or anything.” Yae muttered, and Elze returned her own.
It wasn’t a bad future at all. It was a future where my children were happy. In fact, I’d call it a very good one indeed.
“Let’s do our best, then. To meet our kids in the future.” Suddenly, the implications of what I’d said sank in. Oh crap. “A-Ah, well... N-Not until we’re married... It’s a little soon...”
“Y-Yeah, the kids were cute but... I’m not sure if I’m ready for that...”
“E-Even if you want us to do our best, l-let me prepare my heart first...!”
“Wh-Huh?! D-Do our b-best... I-I... I’m not ready for it!” No, you’re getting the wrong idea! I want us to do our best and build a country together! I don’t mean we need to start making babies already! I tried to explain myself, but everyone was far too flustered to listen. I’d sealed my own doom with my flippant comment...
Either way, my future children... It seemed there’d be a long time before I’d get to meet you.
By the way...
I later realized that I could use my Null spell [Recall] to find out what my kids looked like. All I needed to do was view the memories of my fiancees.
It was just as I’d thought.
My daughter... Was incredibly cute.
Interlude I: The Trial of the Fairies
The decision to marry Leen brought a whole lot of trouble with it.
I had to go to Mismede and explain the situation first. I had to promise to take care of appointing a new ambassador for Mismede after informing them that Leen would be stepping out.
Fortunately, or should I say unsurprisingly, His Majesty the Beastking just broke out with his usual hearty laugh and gave me his blessing.
Originally Mismede was a country founded by the seven major demi-human tribes.
In their country, the leader reigns more or less as king, but there’s lots of cases in which the patriarchs of each respective tribes stand on equal grounds with him.
It seems opposing Leen’s decision as matriarch of the fairy tribe would have been inconceivable for the other tribes.
Just like Leen told me, the other tribes gave their blessings partly due to the fact she wasn’t deeply involved in the secrets of the kingdom.
There’s many long lived races among them, so most of them have known Leen for a long time.
The chancellor of the kingdom, Glatz, seemed really pleased with the news.
But there was a single exception among all the creatures giving their blessings.
“I’m strongly against this!”
“Eris... I’d have guessed as much.” A single girl stood up voicing her obvious displeasure and shock to Leen’s decision.
It was Eris of the fairy tribe, court magician of the Kingdom of Mismede.
She looked about 20 years old, pretty different from Leen’s petite figure. But being a fairy, she was probably older than she seemed. Her hair was closer to white than platinum blonde, tied up into a ponytail that falls down the height of her shoulders.
Her slender figure was clad in a pretty white blouse adorned with a jeweled ribbon around the chest area. Black stockings and pumps extended from the tight skirt she wore. She was also wearing a set of one bracelet and anklet on her right wrist and ankle respectively.
On top of that she wore an open green robe, and she wielded a staff with some kind of white mark on it that exuded the vibe of intellectualism. There was nothing further from the truth, unfortunately. It was the total opposite of the girl throwing a tantrum in front of everyone right now.
“Why must Miss Leen marry the man from Brunhild?! What of her duties as clan matriarch?!”
“But I haven’t done anything here in about 100 years. It won’t make much of a difference whether I’m here or not, right? Ah, since we’re at it, I’m leaving the position of matriarch to you. Best of luck.”
“Are you even listening to me?!” She looked more upset about it all by the second.
I was concerned about dumping so much responsibility on her, but still...
“Besides, why would you ever marry this child?! He won’t even last a century! I’m certain he must be wetting his bed every night!”
“That’s just nonsense now.” I guess I can’t do anything about being like a baby when compared to centenary fairies, but calling me a child is kinda... I’m kind of the Grand Duke of a Duchy, come on.
“But age is just a number. That doesn’t have to do anything with love, does it now? That’s why your partner is...”
“N-N-N-Never mind that! Anyhow, I won’t accept this! I’m not about to hand Miss Leen over to some stranger!”
“He’s not a stranger. I’ve told you a thousand times already. He’s the Grand Duke of Brunhild.”
“Why you little...!” She was a real handful. I managed to see Paula by Leen’s feet shrugging in resignation. It was a real fuss.
“You might have merits enough to take Miss Leen’s hand in marriage, but I won’t accept it until you prove yourself.”
“How can I do that?”
“A trial! If you can overcome the trial of the fairies I’ll allow you to take Miss Leen’s hand in marriage! But if you fail, the engagement will have to be called off!” Things went south pretty quick... But it wasn’t like I could run away. I didn’t know what she wanted me to do, but I resolved to try.
◇ ◇ ◇
I took a look at the stands and found there were actually people watching us. Maybe they caught wind of our match and came out of curiosity. Naturally, the king was on a special seat with an entertained look on his face. Have you considered doing your job, dear king?
“What am I supposed to control?”
“I shall strike you with magic! You’ll have to cancel it out! The attribute of the magic doesn’t matter! But it can’t be either too weak or too strong! If my magic touches you you’ll lose! Ah, barrier spells are prohibited, just so you know!” Isn’t the whole “I can choose any amount of power and attribute” part kind of unfair? Well whatever. I can negate attacks pretty easily.
Well, it was true you wouldn’t be able to cancel your enemy’s magic unless you can match their strength, but there were other ways to negate damage.
“So, in short, it’ll be okay as long as I negate your magic before it gets to me, right?”
“Hmph! Enjoy the time you have to bluff while you can! Let’s start! Come forth, Fire! Crimson Javelin of Flames: [Fire Spear]!” A flame spear came out of the staff she was wielding.
Oooh... I’d heard fairies weren’t very good at using fire magic, so I didn’t think fairies besides Leen could use it.
But I guess this wasn’t the moment to be amazed. I conjured up my own magic to negate hers.
“[Absorb]!” The fire spear dissipates and disappeared before it could hit me.
“Huh?! What’s that?!”
“It’s one of my null spells. It’s magic that allows me to transform your magic into magical power, is there a problem?”
“Didn’t I say I wanted to see your control!? Sucking it up is foul play!”
“Uh... But you said the attribute didn’t matter.”
“No null magic!” Tsk. You do need control to manage using null magic like I can, you know? “So you have the gall to try and make a fool out of me... I’ll show you! Thunder, Heed my Call: [Thunder Spear]!” “Alright, geez! [Thunder Spear]!” The clash of the two spears echoed across the arena like a thunderclap, creating a sphere of energy right in the center of it. They canceled each other out and vanished.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 8 Page 15
