Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 318

"Now, don't be sulking forever. I'll bring tea, so sit down."

We were talking while standing, so Ms. Delris urged us. We nodded and each took our seat. After waiting a moment. Ms. Delris put mugs on the table. Their contents was green.
I wonder if it's the same green tea as before.
While thinking that it had been delicious, I picked up the mug. When I glanced next to me, Cain seemed to have similar thoughts and picked up the mug with utmost vigilance.

"Thank you… Ah!?"

It's been a long time since I felt such an impact.
The vivid green that I was convinced was green tea pierced my tongue. A dreadful taste, like how concentrated aojiru would perhaps be like, spread in my mouth, and I reflexively choked.

"Nnnnnh!!"

I desperately endured throwing up. Just because I relaxed, the shock might have been one of the biggest so far. Through the sheer force of will I somehow managed to swallow.

"Cough… cough…"

While I was having a coughing fit, a glass of water was presented to me. I gratefully took it and gulped it down.

"… I'm alive again."

The inside of my mouth was still in a terrible state, but it was better than before.
While feeling relieved, I looked next to me. I was wondering how Cain was doing, but perhaps it was so bad that he was twitching, flopped on the table.

"Caaain!!"
"Oh my, how weak."
"… Dis-fucking-gusting."

From his mumbling I guessed Cain was safe.
But he was definitely suffering a lot. When Cain was handed water, he raised his collapsed body and drank it in one go despite trembling.

"… I thought I'd die."
"…"

I wouldn't go that far, but since I drank it thinking it was green tea, it was terrible. The damage was completely different than when I'm prepared for something bad.
When I showed a stiff smile, unable to either affirm or deny, Ms. Delris said.

"You're exaggerating. It's an extremely valuable medicinal herbs tea. It's made from special medicinal herbs growing in a monster nest. It's remarkably nourishing. Cain, you obtained those medicinal herbs. As a reward for you hard work, I thought of having you drink it."
"D-Don't need it…"
"Lidi, I shared it with you."
"T-Thank you…"

I understand Ms. Delris did it out of kindness, but I wish she hadn't shared it with me. The first intensive tea in a long time made me tear up.
Still feeling the shocking taste in my mouth, I inadvertently pressed down on my throat.
Cain said seriously.

"… So those medicinal herbs were so disgusting…? I risked my life to get something so bad? I give up."
"Those who know their value all desperately want those medicinal herbs though…"
"Taste is everything for tea. Aaah… Ugh… Crap…"

Despite complaining, Cain picked up the unfinished medicinal herb tea and drank it. Then both of us said together.

"Thank you for the tea."

The taste was certainly awful, but we can trust in effectiveness of Ms. Delris's teas, and thinking that she made tea from precious medicinal herbs for us, we couldn't leave any behind.
It's basic courtesy to accept it with gratitude.
However, let me say it clearly, what's bad is bad.
And, for the current me, even aojiru could seriously be called 'delicious'.

"It… It was terrible."

Cain received water again, but he dry-heaved with his tongue stuck out. Despite my full sympathy, I said.

"It's our fault for misunderstanding that it's green tea."
"Of course I understand that. But after drinking delicious tea once, I naturally ended up expecting it. Is it different for you, Princess?"
"As a result of my strong expectations, I choked."
"Makes sense."

When I answered with a serious face, Cain too agreed with a serious face.
Watching us, Ms. Delris let out a stifled laughter. It was the usual gentle and fun time.
A voice I'd heard somewhere interrupted it.

"Ara, ara. You drank Delris's tea to the bottom. I saw it, but I still can't believe it."
"Eh?"

In a hurry I turned back to the clear and lovely voice. A beautiful woman stood there.
Her thin clothes with long hem resembled what dancers wear. The clothes seductively wrapped around her feet. On top of them, she was wearing a black robe.
Her deep red lipstick and beautiful golden eyes attracted attention.
Perhaps because she was wearing heels, she was very tall. Even as a woman, I became unconsciously captivated by her intense beauty.
The mysterious woman suddenly appeared in a place where there was no one but us.
While I was surprised, Ms. Delris said irritatedly.

"Don't appear so suddenly. If you're coming, at least let me know through telepathic communication."
"Ara? Delris, you noticed it was about time I'd come, right? Besides, have we even once contacted each other via telepathic communication, I wonder?"
"We haven't."
"Right?"
"Err, Ms. Delris. She is…?"

Somehow I had a hunch, but I tried asking. Despite making a rejected face, Ms. Delris introduced the woman of intense beauty.

"You've heard of her, right? She's the Connecting Witch, Meissa. She has a workshop on the summit of a high mountain. She's famous for her eccentricity."
"Eccentricity, you say? I don't want to hear it from you, Delris!"

The beauty called Meissa angrily complained to Ms. Delris. After all her voice was familiar. I frowned and tried my hardest to recall it.

"… Err… Ah! The fortune-teller I met in town!"

When I noticed she was the fortune-teller who had stopped me and Freed during out date to give us a compatibility horoscope, I unconsciously raised my voice.
That's right. There's no mistaking it.
She said my marriage with Freed was set in stone, but there were many paths to get there, then she disappeared like the wind.
If I remember correctly, Freed said she was a real witch.
The Connecting Witch, Meissa.
I never would have expected that fortuneteller to really be a witch like Ms. Delris.
While I was astonished, Ms. Meissa turned a smile that would captivate everyone to me.

"Correct. Sorry for disturbing your date back then."
"What, Princess, is she your acquaintance?"

Cain asked without hiding the surprise on his face. I wryly smiled and nodded.

"I don't know if I can call her my acquaintance… When I was on a date to town with Freed, I received a fortune-telling. Um… It was a compatibility horoscope."
"Compatibility horoscope? For Princess and the Crown Prince? What meaning was there in the fortune-telling when your marriage was decided?"
"T-There was no meaning, but such things are simply fun!"

I got a little embarrassed and tried to gloss over it, but I was interrupted from another direction.

"It's a fun for lovers. Jeez, it was really awful, they were flirting without concerning themselves with me… I was troubled about where to look, or rather… I ended up staring."
"Then you weren't troubled at all."

Cain gave an obvious retort.
I… What should I say?
When I met Ms. Meissa, I still didn't recognize that I love Freed. It feels quite complicated to hear we were flirting despite that.
Now? I don't think anything of it now. After all, we're newlyweds.
Isn't it fine to flirt with my beloved husband a little?
While I was thinking such things, Ms. Meissa said.

"Fufu, I am glad. In the end, you were able to choose the best path. There was a route where the man here would die, you know? And then a route where Wilhelm would get engulfed in war. But you avoided all of those and chose the route where nobody died. It wasn't an easy thing."
"Eh!? Cain would?"

While saying the man, Ms. Meissa pointed at Cain. The person concerned, Cain, opened his eyes wide in surprise as well.

"Yeah, but you didn't choose that route, so there's no problem, right? … Ooh, so you are that Shinigami. Nice to meet you. I'm Meissa."
"… Me dying… After all, it's about that choice…?"
"Choice?"
"… It's nothing."

I got curious, but Cain didn't answer. In a light tone, Ms. Meissa said.

"Unfortunately, I can't see that much with a simple fortune-telling. I saw many paths. Among them, there was an image of you lying in a pool of blood. That was all."
"Pool of blood…"
"But, there was quite a high possibility of that. That's why, I'm happy that I can meet you alive."

Fufufu, laughed Ms. Meissa, but it was intolerable for us who heard it.

―― Cain might have died.

My body shivered.
I couldn't laugh it off as a bad joke. Because, Ms. Meissa is a witch.
I know what amazing existences witches are through Ms. Delris. What she said wasn't a joke. I'm sure it was true, and Cain without doubt seized the narrow path of survival.

"I'm glad…"

Cain is safe, so I really am.
When I thought so from the bottom of my heart, Ms. Meissa said with a wink.

"Well, I wasn't worried. You have Delris. She wouldn't let that happen without doing anything. In fact, I'm right, am I not?"
"I didn't do anything. These children brought about this result by themselves."

With a hmph Ms. Delris faced away, but Ms. Meissa didn't drop the subject.

"Really? We're talking about you. Didn't you give some hint, unable to just watch?"
"Hint… Ah."

Cain's face looked like he suddenly understood. I thought about asking about it, but Ms. Delris flatly interrupted.

"Aah, jeez, shut up! It's done, so it's not worth worrying about. Meissa, if you have some business here, sit down. This is my house. I'm troubled that you do as you please."
"I wonder if I hit the mark. Oooh? You're a surprisingly gentle person. I wonder what other witches would say if they heard."
"I told you to hurry up and sit down!"
"No, scary."

Under Ms. Delris's harsh gaze, Ms. Meissa sat down on a chair while laughing.
Maybe because they're fellow witches, they are close. It was fresh and fun to listen to their unreserved conversation.

Author's note

Thank you very much.
The details about the talk with Meissa are included in the sixth volume of the light novel.

Chapter end