Himegi-san a Bride from the Future Begs Me to Confess My Love to Her Again - Volume 1 Chapter 2.3

Date 3

“Let’s get back to the topic. Regarding the impossibility of time travel that I mentioned earlier, as long as these numbers are engraved, I can’t return to my original timeline or jump to a different timeline.”

“Meaning, once you use it, you can’t use it again until the number becomes ‘0’?”

“That’s how it works.”

“It’s not as versatile as I thought, this pocket watch.”

Nevertheless, it’s still an incredibly overpowered item.

In my personal opinion, I think it holds more value than all the inventions in this world combined.

After all, if you wanted, you could go back in time to alter history or make a fortune in lotteries or FX trading.

Hence, depending on the user, it can become a very dangerous item.

“I understand that the decreasing number on your chest means returning to your original timeline. So, what’s the rule for the countdown? Can the number increase?”

“According to my grandmother’s explanation, the countdown always decreases by ‘1’ each day. The number should never increase.”

“In other words, you can only stay in this timeline for a maximum of sixty days…Huh? Then why is the current number ’55’? Isn’t that strange?”

If the number decreases by only ‘1’ each day, the current number should be ’59’ for the calculation to make sense.

“It’s a penalty.”

“A penalty?”

“Yes. To prevent abuse, various regulations are magically set in place.”

“Meaning, you originally should’ve only lost ‘1’ count, but because you violated the rules, the number suddenly decreased by ‘5’?”

“Exactly.”

“What did you do?”

“It’s probably a spoiler.”

“A spoiler?”

“Yes. Last time, I talked to the Ouji family about various things from the future. Most likely, that’s what caused the number to decrease.”

“I see. So it all fits together.”

They’ve implemented measures to prevent misuse, it seems.

“I never thought that revealing just a bit of information would lead to such a decrease in the number.”

With a sulky expression, Himegi leaned on her hand and voiced her discontent.

Though it might have been just a casual revelation for you, for me, it was shocking enough to make my heart leap out…

“With this, I can’t casually talk about things from the future anymore.”

“Then, the discussion about the sandwich earlier and… well, the matter about your chest size too…they are both off-limits too, right?”

“Yes. That’s why I conducted an experiment to determine what’s safe and what’s not, as I’m not sure where the line between them lies. I need to first discern the boundary that won’t incur a penalty.”

“Weren’t you given detailed explanations about these things by your grandmother?”

“Not at all. She said, ‘I don’t have to tell you that much.’ Probably, given her demeanor, she might not even fully understand everything herself. After all, this pocket watch seems to be just one of many magic items.”

“One of many of these overpowered items… It’s quite a scary thought.”

“Either way, I have to be cautious.”

Saying so, Himegi had a serious expression.

Her face exuded an extraordinary determination.

“For now, could you please put your clothes back on? I’ve already understood enough about the matter with the number on your chest.”

“Oh, are you done staring? Have you burned it into your memory?”

“Yes, I’ve seen enough, so please put your clothes on quickly.”

Himegi-san says, ‘I know you really want to see more,’ as she puts on her red hoodie again.

“There are many things I want to ask, but I think I can’t ask careless questions since I don’t know where the penalties might come in.”

“Well then, you can ask just one more question. Of course, within the limits of what I can answer.”

“Then, just one more question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did Himegi come to this timeline?”

Personally, I was more curious about this than the method of time travel.

If you intentionally chose this timeline rather than by chance, could it be because you had a purpose?

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly as it sounds. From listening to your story, it seems like you had a purpose and traveled to this timeline. Is that not the case?”

“…That’s correct. There’s something I really want to do in this timeline. That’s why I traveled through time.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t say that yet. I have a purpose for coming to this timeline, but I can’t explain it right now.”

Himegi bows her head to me and says, ‘I’m sorry.’

There must be circumstances that she can’t explain even if she wants to.

To be honest, I’m curious. I’m really curious.

However, I don’t think I should press on about the purpose she came to this timeline if it’s going to trouble her.

So, I decided to patiently wait for Himegi to tell me if and when she was ready.

“Alright. I will not pursue any further. But if there’s anything that even someone like me can do to help, feel free to ask.”

“…Thank you.”

She smiles gracefully and looks at me with a gentle smile.

I felt my heart skip a beat at her gesture.

“By the way, I’ve been wondering about something for a while.”

Himegi’s expression suddenly turns serious, contrasting with her smile from before.

What’s wrong? Did I do something to upset her?

“Um, could you stop calling me ‘Himegi-san’?”

“Huh?”

“Have we become distant enough to address each other so formally?”

“…Distant…? For me, I’ve always called you Himegi-san…”

“From now on, call me ‘My Beloved Touka.'”

“I’d rather not….”

I hate it to the point of death. It’s like calling someone ‘My beloved Takakyun~’, just like a certain silly childhood friend.

I would never want to call her that.

“How about we compromise with ‘Touka-san’ then?”

Though it sounds like she’s conceding, I’m sure she intended to be called ‘Touka-san’ from the start.

Well, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll yield this point to her negotiation skills.

“…Okay. I’ll compromise with that.”

Well, it’s definitely better than calling her ‘My Beloved Touka.’