“…….”
“…….”
If there’s someone you’d rather not talk to, it’s better to create a situation where you don’t have to.
However, even if you don’t talk to them, it should be an awkward situation to leave. That way, they can accept the fact that they are near each other.
After learning that I could go back and forth to Earth, a lot of things happened.
My friends have all visited at least once. Everyone loved desserts, some were horrified by certain fusion dishes, and they were shocked that I diluted coffee with water.
Well, satisfaction was generally high. In this world, there was a specific market that could only be created through mass production and overwhelming financial power, and because of that market, there were countless cultural contents.
Just relaxing for a few days and experiencing those things brightened their faces immensely.
It was incredibly gratifying.
Even if Claire agreed, it didn’t cost extra. Of course, Claire would make various conditions, prompting me to visit her house with Alice, drink tea together, or go camping in this world.
But, since I wanted to do those things anyway, I had no complaints. What a splendid deal! It was a textbook win-win strategy.
Anyway, of course, I put effort into calling my friends each time.
I cleaned the house in advance, stocked up food in the fridge, did a bit of broadcasting, and planned where to go for fun.
But usually, everyone came intending to have fun, so as long as I paid attention to a few polarizing foods, there were no major issues.
The ones I was picky about were the Emperor and those kids.
They were set up as being older than me, putting them in the position of older siblings, and most of them had rather… um, unique personalities.
Moreover, they shared a common hatred for the Emperor.
I once thought they would risk their lives to follow him, but it was strange they didn’t resent him, given that he twisted their fates.
And for some reason, I wanted to keep the Emperor and those kids together.
I truly don’t know why. Even knowing that there are kids who find it impossible to fully forgive the Emperor, I just wanted that.
Maybe I hope the Emperor will at least apologize, like he did to me?
Well, anyway.
It took a whopping two years to show all the kids this world, persuade them, have their feelings toward the Emperor calm down a bit, and wait for the curse to break. And even after the curse was broken, it would still take a long time for them to properly resolve that guilt.
If I had to put it, you could say the curse’s location shifted from outside to inside the Imperial Palace.
I’m still a minor. Alice and Claire are also in the same boat. We were just about to graduate from the academy.
So, I had a little time. I thought that once I became an adult, it wouldn’t be easy to relax like this, so I suggested to Claire and Alice:
Let’s all go on a trip!
The place I picked was a fishing spot.
The Emperor, me, Alice, Claire, Lucas, Jayden, Bella, and Damien.
Eight people were sitting side by side, blankly staring at the water.
Since it was fishing, of course, they weren’t squished together; everyone kept a decent distance. Claire, Alice, and I were practically seated together, though.
Still… um, is it a relief that we created a peaceful atmosphere?
“Eek!?”
Suddenly, Jayden shouted.
He reflexively grabbed the fishing rod upon seeing the bobber bobbing, but wore a face that said he had no idea how to catch a fish.
Watching Jayden pulling a flopping fish to the shore but not knowing what to do, Lucas clicked his tongue, got up from his seat, and brought a net near Jayden.
Somehow, the two managed to successfully land the fish.
Jayden beamed at me, raising the fish high.
Um… honestly, this was my first real fishing experience too, so I didn’t know what it was either.
Bella looked at Jayden in disbelief, while Damien silently stared at his own bobber.
The Emperor watched his children, but his expression was blank.
…Right.
Should I call this peaceful, or merely an extended thorny cushion?
Well, I guess we should be thankful it didn’t turn into a bloody killing ground.
*
“It’s entirely thanks to you that we aren’t killing each other.”
That was Bella’s comment.
“Everyone… thinks they owe it to you.”
Is that so?
After all, Lucas had trouble meeting my eyes for quite a while.
When he was enraged at me for using the ability to turn back time, I think he once believed he was stuck in an endless loop of being cut up by me, so it wasn’t surprising he was in shock when those memories returned.
Since Lucas had thought I was somewhat cute in our younger days, it must have been a significant psychological blow. So in that sense, rather than ‘debts’ as in owing my life, it’s better to think of it as a total amount of pain he had dumped on me.
Jayden seemed to give me credit for not killing him. Plus, I gathered he was really impressed I improved my study time and practice time without even looking at the answers, despite having the time-turning ability.
Damien… well, we weren’t really close, but did he think of me as a sort of stick to lean on?
“I even went so far as to plead for you not to kill the Emperor.”
That was true.
I recalled that memory and let out a long sigh.
The Emperor was grilling fish a bit further away. Was he practicing? He was actually doing really well now. Not that I’d expect anything less from him; such a talented person certainly had skills to learn even in this area.
“…….”
We were mostly quiet unless the kids spoke to me.
However, wasn’t it a breath of fresh air without that deadly aura? Well, I almost had no ability to sense such an aura anyway.
The Emperor’s expression was… initially rather rigid.
But as time passed, he began to relax slowly. At least for now, it didn’t seem like he was intentionally maintaining a blank expression. He was adjusting in his own way, but just that much.
I thought that was a positive sign.
It meant the Emperor didn’t view his children solely as tools.
“……So.”
The first to speak during the meal was, inevitably, Lucas.
Perhaps because he had the most karma accumulated with me, he seemed to be trying to match my mood.
“That… you said broadcast? Is that what Sylvia is doing?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Is it like a movie?”
Jayden asked.
“No, it’s a bit different. It’s much more static. In movies, they can’t just shoot whatever they want.”
Bella chimed in.
“Huh? Can’t you just film it appropriately and paste it together?”
“What do you think movies are?”
Seeing Bella frown while saying that, I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit inside.
Bella… well, she didn’t dream of being an actress or anything. She probably thought that was ‘unrealistic.’
Instead, she had taken up a hobby for watching movies.
When I came to this world, I was hoping to bring movies on a tablet.
And I decided to just bring generators into this world and generate electricity with gasoline. After all, can’t I just bring it when I go back? Developing steam turbines properly will take quite a long time now since we’ve just started.
So, there’s a big TV, air conditioning, a fridge in the palace… anyway, that’s how it is.
I stacked up Blu-ray discs there and let Bella borrow them, and she ended up watching all the movies in no time.
So, Jayden probably didn’t like what Bella said at all.
“……Is that so? Hmm.”
Jayden quieted down at Bella’s enthusiasm.
“Yeah. Here, look.”
Bella showed me the edited version of my broadcast video on her smartphone.
What appeared in it was—
“…….”
Me, pathetically crying after a crushing defeat with the Emperor.
Jayden’s face turned blank.
“Puhaha.”
Lucas burst out laughing and then quickly composed himself upon seeing my expression.
Damien was quietly watching the screen with an expression of disbelief.
I glared at Bella, but she simply shrugged her shoulders.
…Did she pick that video intentionally?
No, it was definitely on purpose.
I glanced at the Emperor.
He was looking at me with a slight smile.
Really, it felt like a different person now.
*
“Were you satisfied today?”
While I was briefly outside the nearby pension looking at the stars at night, the Emperor had approached me without my notice.
“……If you ask whether I was satisfied or not, then yes, I was.”
“Is that so.”
“Perhaps, there seemed to be a possibility that we could get along.”
“…….”
The Emperor also stared blankly at the sky along with me.
“Don’t you think it’s gone too far?”
“Since we’ve come this far, we should take a moment to pause so the others can catch up.”
Even though we still had a long way to go, those kids’ pasts would never be compensated, and we couldn’t completely erase that resentment.
But still.
Still, it felt like today, there might be a glimmer of hope.
“Calling you ‘Father’ is the very last step for me.”
“…….”
“If you have that intention, try persuading the others. It’s in your hands.”
“……Is that so.”
The Emperor looked up at the sky for a moment, then turned to look at me.
“……Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Although it seems harder than conquering the world.”
“Still, the odds should be a bit easier, right? I won’t be the one writing this time.”
At my words, the Emperor let out a short laugh.
Then, we both looked up at the sky for a long while.
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