Demon Prince 17

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Chapter 18. Ai Darmdatt 2

"Is it really Ai?"

"Yes, it's me."

I was so shocked that I just let Ai hug me.

"Hah! A murderous intent!"

"W-woah!"

"Damn, you dodged!"

Suddenly, Gaul-sama swung his fist at my head.

I narrowly managed to dodge it.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?!"

"You, embracing my daughter in front of me. You’ve got some nerve, don’t you? Huh?"

Well... they both look like they’re under ten years old.

Is it really necessary to hit them just for hugging?

"Stop it, Papa!"

"Stop it, Gaul. What are you thinking, trying to hit my son in front of me, his father?"

"Exactly. It’s a bit excessive, isn’t it?"

"Excessive? Aslad, you’d do the same if your daughter suddenly hugged a boy in front of you!"

Father Aslad glanced at Yuu, considering.

For some reason, Yuu was glaring at Ai—no, Ai.

"...Yes, I suppose. But let’s overlook this for now."

Don’t give up, Father!

Your son is in danger! Be more persistent!

"That’s right. So just one hit..."

"Stop it, Papa."

"Calm down, Gaul."

With a thud, Gaul-sama was knocked out by Alize-neesan hitting him on the back of his head.

That looked really painful.

Alize-neesan looked at me and then asked Ai.

"Hmm. Ai, is it really Jun?"

"Yes, Mama. Jun is my destined one. The only one I love."

What are they talking about?

"Ai has always said that there’s someone destined for her in this world. She’ll meet them, and when she does, she’ll know they’re the one. And the other person will know too."

That’s quite romantic.

"About a month ago, she suddenly insisted on coming to this three-nation conference. She said she’d meet her destined one there. I was skeptical, but Jun also reacted as if he knew Ai. We had no choice but to believe."

"Did you really believe it halfway? Honestly, that seems like a baseless story."

"Ai has a special crest. The Crest of Foresight. Do you know it?"

The Crest of Foresight.

It allows the bearer to foresee dangerous futures and certain events. It grants prophetic abilities.

"I see, so that’s why."

"The Crest of Foresight is useful, but the future it shows isn’t guaranteed to happen. Especially if it’s far off. It seemed like a child's dream, so I only half-believed it. I’m sorry, Ai."

"It’s okay, Mama."

Well, actually, I knew about this world from the gods when I reincarnated.

The Crest of Foresight must have told her we’d meet at the three-nation conference.

Or maybe the gods told her too.

"So, Jun. Did you feel that Ai is your destined one? At least, you reacted as if you knew her."

"Uh, well... I’ve seen her in my dreams a few times..."

I can’t say we were lovers in a previous life.

That would be a poor excuse.

But...

"Oh. Meeting in dreams. That’s even more destined."

"How romantic."

"Such a wonderful story."

Mother Eliza, Alize-neesan, and even Shanze-sama nodded with slightly flushed cheeks.

The female servants who overheard also looked the same.

Only Yuu remained with a sour face.

"Let’s change locations for now. The welcome feast is ready."

"Yes, let’s go. Come on, Gaul, calm down. Let’s go."

"Ugh..."

"Come on, Gaul, let's go."

We finally began to move to the prepared banquet hall.

Ai, Yuu, and I quickly slipped out of the hall and talked in my room.

The servants waited outside.

"So, you know the situation from the gods?"

"Yes. I also know Yuu-chan reincarnated."

"Then why didn’t you come to meet me?"

"I knew where you were, but we still look like children. It wasn’t easy to meet you."

"Um..."

Yuu, who had been silent, spoke up.

They had met a few times in the previous life.

But Yuu didn’t know why Ai and I had broken up.

Should I explain...

"Did you also reincarnate to follow my brother, Ai?"

"You don’t need to call me formally. Just call me Ai. We seem to be the same age now. So you can speak casually. Yes, I reincarnated to follow Jun."

"Then do you still... love my brother?"

"Yes. I love him."

"Then why did you break up? If you still love him, why..."

"I didn’t want to break up, but Jun insisted. But we kept meeting occasionally. He loves me too but is just stubborn."

Please stop.

Being so blunt... It’s true I still had feelings.

That’s why we kept meeting...

"The reason... is the same as Yuu-chan’s."

"Hey!"

"Come on. Yuu-chan would want to know. Right, Yuu-chan?"

"Tell me. What do you mean by the same?"

"I was Jun’s half-sister. We found out when we went to talk to our parents about our engagement."

"What..."

I first met Ai when I was thirty, and she was twenty.

We met by chance. But from the start, she didn’t feel like a stranger.

Loving her was natural. It was inevitable.

When we went to meet her parents for the engagement, it turned out that her mother was once my mother.

"So, my parents were strongly against it, and Jun unilaterally broke up with me. But I didn’t agree. Did you know? Even siblings can marry if they are legally strangers."

"Really?"

Yes, that’s true.

But the idea of siblings marrying... common sense was in the way.

Ai—Aina Ai was actually quite famous.

She was a genius martial artist known as the Beautiful Girl Fighter or the Too Beautiful Fighter, winning many major tournaments. After starting to date me, she retired and became a normal university student, then a junior high PE teacher after graduating.

"So, I kept trying to convince him, but the world ended, and here we are."

"I see..."

Yuu looked dispirited.

"What’s wrong, Yuu?"

"Nothing..."

It didn’t seem like anything.

"You’re as oblivious as ever."

"To what?"

"Never mind. I asked to be reborn as Jun’s cousin, not his sister, to avoid the same issue. I thought it would be lonely if we were complete strangers."

"I see..."

"So, this time, let’s get married, Jun!"

"Uh, um..."

"Come on. There’s no problem now! In Elmbarn and Darmdatt, sibling marriages are recognized. There should be no issues!"

"Really?"

Indeed, there might be no problem.

But with the memories of the previous life, something still felt off.

Though it was joyous to reunite.

"Umm..."

"Well, for now, let’s be happy about our reunion. We’re still children. Let’s just celebrate for now, okay?"

"Ah, yes. I’m glad we met again, Ai."

"Yes. I’m glad to see you again too, Yuu-chan. Let’s get along."

"Y-yes. Let’s."

Yuu still looked troubled.

I don’t recall Ai and Yuu being particularly close.

Will Ai and Yuu get along now?