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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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It was a miracle that he was still alive. Not only were his bones and muscles broken, but his internal organs were also damaged. He had a cerebral hemorrhage, and it was a miracle that his aorta hadn’t ruptured. The medical staff performed surgery, and…
“Would it be alright if I wrote a paper about this and submitted it?”
“Huh?”
…He was completely healed? The doctors said that it was like time had reversed. There were no aftereffects. He asked them not to write a paper, and they asked if he could afford the hospital bills.
“….Could you tell me how much it is?”
They showed him the bill.
“…………..”
How many zeros were there? He felt like he should volunteer to be a lab rat at this point. The amount was so high that he would have to empty his bank account to pay it off. He had truly gone through a near-death experience, and now he was facing another one. ‘This is why they say not to commit suicide in the US’. If you were going to die, die in one shot. If you were going to survive, then you’d have to pay for your hospital bills.
‘It is a world where you are penalized for not dying’.
He sighed, and as he was about to sign the paper, the girl stopped him.
“This person, lying.”
“What?”
The girl continued,
“Hospital bill paid when ‘oppa’ sleeping. Lying.”
“……………”
He looked at the doctor.
“…I’ll do it! I’ll pay you extra!”
“No! Don’t! Please!”
He wasn’t a lab rat.
“If you change your mind, please contact me.”
No. I don’t want you to contact me.
He took the business card and threw it in the trash the moment the doctor turned his back.
“Good choice. Stay away from liars.”
“…How did you get there without me noticing?”
“Trait: Virtuous Wife. It is a wife’s duty to always be there, unseen.”
“What a convenient trait.”
He was amazed. He sat back down.
“Anyway, so…”
What should he do now? He was free from the casts, but he didn’t know what to do next. ‘I can’t return to the academy…’ The doctor told him to stay for a few days in case of any complications. But he had a feeling that they wanted to keep him for more testing.
“Oh, by the way, how did you know?”
“? Question. What do you mean?”
“How did you know about my hospital bills?”
“? Question. Why do you not know?”
“Well…”
It was while he was unconscious, that’s why he didn’t know.
“‘Oppa’ has ‘eyes.’ He can ‘see.'”
“Eyes? What—ah…”
Eyes.
Chronos’s Eyes. He could see the past, present, and future. ‘I forgot all about that’. Or rather, he had used it, but only for his convenience. To look at people’s emotions, or to see the truth. He hadn’t used it to see the past or future. It wasn’t very effective. ‘But wait a minute’.
“I can see the past and future, but for ten minutes? What could I possibly see?”
“……………”
“…What?”
Why was she looking at him like that? She sipped her juice and looked at him. When she was done, she said,
“Time is both relative and absolute. The past is something you observe, not change. How do you read a history book, ‘oppa’?”
“I just open it and read—ah.”
Book.
Time.
A difference of perspective. Something clicked in his mind. He opened his [Past Vision] and adjusted the time.
“Three days ago, from 3 PM to 3:10 PM.”
His vision began to distort. It overlapped with his current view.
“Ugh…!”
Beds stacked on beds. TVs upon TVs. He was getting dizzy.
“‘Oppa’, I ask you to close your eyes.”
“Ugh…”
He closed his eyes, and the vision became clear. No. That wasn’t how it should be described. His eyes were closed, but he could still see clearly.
‘This is weird.’
He looked around and saw himself lying on the bed. He looked dead, his arms and legs covered with casts. Mars was next to him, praying.
[If you wake up now, I’ll get on all fours for you. I’ll wear a collar, I’ll cosplay, whatever you want! Just wake up, you bastard!]
‘….She’s praying, right?’
He decided to ask Mars about it later. Would she really get on all fours and cosplay for him? She’d probably deny it but he’d be able to tell if she was lying.
“Still, this is…”
The view was getting darker, The [Past Vision] was closing. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the girl before him.
“The past is already determined. So you can only see parts you want to see.”
But not the future. The future was not yet set in stone.
“If you try to see a distant future, your brain will fry itself. My advice is to look at something short or something very far away.”
“…Why is a distant future okay?”
“The distant future is ‘destiny’. One of the fixed ‘endings’.”
The small details may change, but the big picture was unlikely to change. The girl showed him the juice and asked,
“Can I have another one?”
“….Do what you want.”
“Okay!”
Her wings flapped as she walked to the refrigerator. She opened the door and peeked inside, her wings drooping. Did she drink them all?
“Sadness.”
“Should I buy you one? There’s a convenience store on the first floor.”
“…Really?”
“We saved on the hospital bills, so it’s fine.”
“I can even eat ‘oppa’s’ carrot right now if you want me to.”
“Your sense of humor is weird.”
Her word choices were not typical for a little girl. She talked like a baby, but she had the taste of an old man. He looked at her, and she asked,
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s weird.”
“Understood. Changing to [High School Girl Mode].”
“What?”
What mode? He was confused, and the girl’s eyes widened.
“Hawaawa! I really want some carrot juice!”
“…”
“Hey, handsome oppa! Can you buy me some carrot juice?”
“…Ugh.”
It was both similar and different at the same time. It felt weird.
“…Adjusting. Will get better over time.”
“Just use your previous way of talking.”
“? I can get better. I’ll try harder.”
“No.”
He liked her previous way of talking better. He meant it sincerely, and the girl stared at him.
“….Embarrassed. I know how ‘oppa’ has charmed other women now.”
“Why…?”
Why were they so obsessed with making him a playboy? He didn’t want to hear it anymore. He grabbed her wrist and went to the convenience store.
“I’ll take this.”
“…It’s huge…!”
A 1.25L bottle of carrot juice. He poked a hole in the cap with a knife and gave it to her. The girl flapped her wings in excitement.
“…My lord?”
“That’s a big compliment.”
It was around 2500 Won. That was cheap for a god. Cheap faith.
“…When are you going to tell me?”
*Sluuuuuurp!*
“Hmm?”
What?
“Your name.”
He couldn’t keep calling her “girl.” She wasn’t just an extra either.
‘Wait, what did I just say?’
“I…. don’t have a name.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I came to ‘oppa’ the moment I was born. Lord Chronos didn’t name me.”
“…Hmm.”
She was already trying to play that card. ‘Pegasus’ wasn’t bad but that was like calling someone “human.”
“So I’ll have to pick a name then.”
“A name…!”
The girl’s eyes sparkled. He wasn’t really sure.
‘….Carrot juice?’
“How about, Carrot?”
“Rejected. Am I a carrot?”
“…”
Usually, it worked in novels.
“Then… Alice?”
“There are three people named Alice in this hospital alone.”
“True.”
“Violet?”
“I have blonde hair.”
“Right…”
“Rachel?”
“…”
“So so?”
“Elizabeth?”
“England will sue you.”
She was already dead, it didn’t matter.
“Luna?”
“The moon goddess won’t allow that!”
“Gods, too?”
Artemis, seriously. He had tried several names, and nothing clicked.
“Haa… this is hard. What kind of name do you want?”
“Something cool and memorable. Not something generic.”
“…………”
He wanted to pick something generic.
“It’s my only name…”
“Ugh.”
Stop with the guilt trip. He sighed.
“I don’t know… huh?”
He saw a magazine near the lobby entrance. ‘Should I just pick something random?’ He took one.
“Heavenly Demon, still popular?”
It was an advertisement.
“Heavenly Demon? A horse that flies in the sky!”
“Hmm!”
The girl stood up.
“I want to be called Heavenly Demon!”
“…Sure.”
It was a cool name. He wasn’t sure which “Heavenly Demon” she was referring to.
“Name… decided!”
The girl, or rather, Heavenly Demon, was excited like a child. She declared her name.
“A horse that rules time!”
‘Shimai’!
“…Wow.”
時 (Shi – time), 馬 (Ma – horse), and 理 (I – rule). ‘Shimai’. ‘When you put it all together’ Heavenly Demon—Shimai. It sounded like a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
Meanwhile,
“Shiranui Mai?”
Who was that? He felt like he had heard of that name before. He unconsciously muttered that name.
“Nickname… Mai!”
“You like this kind of stuff, huh?”
“Call me Mai.”
“Okay.”
He hoped that she’d grow to have a nice bust like Shiranui Mai, though.
Mai from Street Fighter?