Himegi-san a Bride from the Future Begs Me to Confess My Love to Her Again - Volume 1 Chapter 4.5

Birthday Party 5

“It seems I need to take things a bit more seriously.”

Chris said with determination as he opened a new, unopened deck of cards.

Then, just like I did earlier, Chris began to shuffle the cards.

…As expected of a pro. The way he handled the cards was much smoother than mine.

I felt a little down seeing the difference between me and a professional, but on the other hand, I was touched that a great magician was giving his all against me. That fact alone made me feel proud.

What kind of magic trick would the professional magician use to amaze us?

“Now, miss, I want you to choose three cards from this deck.”

“Well, since today is Harune’s birthday, I’ll choose the 4, 2, and 3 of Hearts.” (TN: April 23rd)

“OK. Now, with this pen, please mark these three cards.”

Harune-chan marked the cards with a cute bird drawing using a pen.

“When you’re done, put those three cards into this brown envelope.”

Following Chris’s instructions, Harune-chan put the three cards into the brown envelope and handed it to Chris.

“Now, I’m going to completely seal this brown envelope——”

Chris tossed the brown envelope he was holding into the air.

Suddenly, the envelope caught fire, and it burned up in an instant.

Ashes fluttered down onto the table, and there were surprised voices from the audience.

“And now, I’ll put this ash into the birdcage.”

Chris placed the ashes from the envelope into a red birdcage and covered it with a large piece of cloth.

“Earlier, he showed the teleportation of cards, but I’ll show you something even more amazing——a card’s time travel. I’ll rewind time and miraculously restore the burned cards.”

Chris boasted confidently. It seemed like he was going to restore the three burned cards from inside the birdcage.

Chris then took out a pocket watch from his pocket.

“Ten seconds. The cards will return to their original state in ten seconds from now. Now, everyone, please count down with me.”

And the countdown began——

Ten seconds passed.

“Now, miss, can you uncover the cloth?”

Chris said this, handing Harune-chan the role of uncovering the cloth.

Then, from out of nowhere, a drumroll started playing, and spotlights were focused on Chris and Harune-chan.

…Hmm strange, when I performed, I didn’t have this kind of production.

I feel some kind of malicious intention. Is he being favored?

Despite my dissatisfaction and suspicion, I watched Chris’s every move closely.

Then, as the sound of the cymbal rang out——Harune-chan pulled the cloth taut.

Inside the birdcage, there was a single white dove.

With a triumphant look, Chris opens the cage door.

Then, the white dove flies out of the cage, soaring into the sky.

“Now, come back!”

The white dove obeyed Chris’s command and returned to the table.

“——Ahhh! The dove is holding three cards!”

Harune-chan reacted with great surprise.

As Harune-chan exclaimed, the dove was indeed holding playing cards.

These cards were undoubtedly the ones Harune-chan had marked with the pen.

Both his appearance and the performance of the magic were quite flashy.

Then, from the audience, there was an even louder round of applause and cheers than when I had performed.

It was frustrating, but the gap in card magic skills between Chris and me was evident.

He truly lived up to being Rosemary-sensei’s top disciple.

“Wahahaha! How’s that, kid? This is the skill of a professional! Don’t get too carried away just because you caught a little villain!”

” …… “

Certainly, the difference in skill between Chris and me was clear, but why was this old guy bragging so much?

I heard from Himegi-san’s mother earlier that he seems to harbor a strong rivalry towards me.

Apparently, he didn’t like that Himegi-san had spoken highly of me for protecting her from a flirtatious guy at the shopping mall.

Is he jealous or what?

He probably hired Chris to embarrass me.

It made me think… this is so childish.

The thought that such an immature person might become my future father-in-law saddens me.

“Mwahahaha! Now, admit your defeat!”

The old man said as he stepped onto the stage and lightly patted my cheek with a bundle of one million yen bills.

” …… “

Darn it!

I have to somehow get back at this guy. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t.

Right, let’s stick this Ouji sticker all over his favorite car.

Besides, I can’t just leave it at that.

Although the magic trick was successful, I couldn’t let Chris defeat me and pass the baton to Harune-chan.

“…One more time.”

“Huh?”

“I said, one more time! Just one more time, let me perform a magic trick.”

“No, no! That’s against the rules! This time’s magic…”

“…Harune gets to decide! It’s Harune’s birthday, so Harune decides! Dad, please be quiet!”

Himegi’s father looked dejected at his daughter’s angry words.

“Chris, do you mind?”

“Fine. Let’s have one more round.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, let’s draw the lottery again.”

What would be the theme of this magic trick?

“It says ‘Free’ this time. In other words, we’ll compete with the magic tricks we’re good at.”

“This time, I’ll go first.”

“Oh, that’s fine.”

I decided to wait backstage because I felt like I might get flustered if I saw the magic trick Chris was about to perform.

“Now, what should I do?”

This time, I only brought simple props that everyone could enjoy.

If I had known this would happen, I should have brought more flashy props.

“No use regretting it now…”

With the props I brought, there was no way I could defeat Chris.

While thinking about this, I examined the props backstage.

“What’s this? A coffin?”

In front of me were two coffins that a person could fit into.

They looked like Western-style coffins that might be used for Dracula or a cursed sleeping princess.

“Is this one of Chris’s props, or did Himegi-san and the others prepare it?”

For some reason, I became curious about the coffin and opened it to examine it.

“I see. It’s a device that releases smoke…”

It’s an interesting trick, but it’s not the tool I want.

I sit on top of the coffin and bury my head in my hands.

I’ve simulated various magic tricks in my head, but I can’t think of any that could beat the professional Chris.

If possible, I want to win and give Harune the courage to play the violin.

“I’ve run out of options…”

As I utter those discouraged words, I sense someone behind me.

When I turn around, there’s a person dressed in a white frog costume.

I believe his name was Hakugaeru-kun?

“W-what?”

Hakugaeru-kun hands me a note. I accept the note and read it.

“…Ah? What? Hakugaeru-kun! You…!”

Hakugaeru-kun presses his finger to my lips, silencing me.

Then, he releases my lips and gestures for me to take the opponent’s neck.

It seems that Hakugaeru-kun is quite angry about this situation as well.

Then, I hear loud cheers and applause.

It seems that Chris has finished his magic trick.

“Sigh… I understand. I’m not convinced, but I’ll go along with Hakugaeru-kun’s suggestion.”

And so, I decided to take the gamble of a lifetime.