"Huh?"
I was flustered by a question I had never thought about.
I mean, you need the right circumstances to even imagine such things, right? I'm in a body that can't even bring up the letter 'M' in marriage in this world.
So I just rambled whatever came to mind.
"Well. Maybe around 180cm tall, reliable and wealthy?"
"Tall and... wealthy?"
"Yeah. Oh, and he needs to have power too. No matter how much money you earn, if you don't have the strength to protect it, you never know when or where it might be taken away."
"Power..."
Chait, who had been pondering with his knuckles against his chin, suddenly asked.
"What about his face?"
"Huh?"
"Honored sister, don't you care about looks?"
Of course it would be nice if he's handsome, but men in this world are generally decent-looking anyway, so I don't think I need to set specific standards.
"Unless his face can feed me, why would it matter?"
"..."
Ah, he's sighing. Why is he like that?
I was clueless when I suddenly snapped to attention. This seems like an opportunity to persuade him if I handle it well.
"See, as you can tell, my standards are too high so marriage seems far off for me, right? So how about you go first?"
"Those are certainly difficult conditions to meet."
The kid who always ignored me whenever marriage came up actually gave a proper answer for once.
Then he stood up abruptly.
"Finding a marriage partner who meets your standards would be really difficult, honored sister."
And then he went off for a walk in the forest.
Really, why is he like that? Did he hit puberty at twenty?
Chait was quiet for a while, then one day suddenly dropped a bombshell.
It was the moment I habitually told him "either move out or get married."
"You're right."
"What?"
Good heavens, did I mishear?
I cleaned my ears and asked again.
"You're moving out?"
"Yes."
"..."
As I blinked in bewilderment for a moment, Chait pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.
"You told me to move out."
"Of course I did."
Right. Of course I constantly sang the song of 'move out, become independent, or at least take a trip south.'
Though this is the first time you've agreed to it.
"Chait!"
"Yes."
"Pack your bags right now!"
This isn't the time to sit around pinching my cheeks in a daze. Strike while the iron is hot—I need to send him out quickly before he changes his mind.
Fortunately, Chait didn't retract his earlier words with nonsense until he finished packing and bought train tickets.
I saw Chait off at the southbound train, wiping tears with a handkerchief.
"sob Chait..."
I really cried a lot. Because I felt like my efforts were finally bearing fruit.
I grabbed Chait's hands and said:
"If you find a good woman, make sure to go all the way with her. No, even if she's not particularly good, it's fine. Even if something happens in a one-night stand and the woman runs away after about 2 years, I'll take care of raising the child. Don't worry about anything."
"Miss Rea, please stop. You sound like a pervert."
Roche, whom I brought as a porter, interrupted. I lightly ignored Roche and looked up at Chait.
His still handsome appearance and deeper red eyes welcomed me.
When did this guy grow up so much?
Sending away a child I'd lived through thick and thin with for 5 years to another region was both deeply moving and made my heart ache.
"Please don't worry about me either, honored sister. I'll definitely become a wonderful man and return."
You don't have to return. Even if you meet your destined woman there, hastily marry her, and send a letter like "I'm sorry but I must bury my bones here. Please stay well. Farewell," I can understand everything.
"Please stay healthy, Chait!"
I waved my handkerchief and saw him off to the end. It would be a lie to say the return journey wasn't lonely at all. But I felt relieved inside.
At least I didn't become a troublesome extra who ruined the most important story of the original work. This world would flow toward a happy ending without perishing.
So it was okay. My loneliness alone couldn't compare to world peace.
But then...
"Honored sister."
The guy came back.
"Have you been well all this time?"
Right in the year when Corellia should be born!
Not only that?
"I'm going to live with you forever without getting married like this, honored sister."
My dear younger brother and future father of the heroine, Chait Pollin.
He declared bachelorhood.
I suddenly had this question.
If he didn't meet women, didn't date, and didn't get married for 3 years.
'Then what the hell was this kid doing and where?'
Three years wasn't a short time.
Especially for Chait.
Not only had his height and frame grown significantly, but even his jawline felt more sturdy rather than slender like before.
The feeling of a young master who knew nothing of the world growing into an experienced man after going through all sorts of hardships.
Though Chait didn't seem to have spent his childhood in a way that would earn him the title of young master, at least his appearance was exactly like a noble family's heir.
The current Chait was, how should I put it.
'Somehow feels a little dangerous...'
"Honored sister, you have a wound on your fingertip."
I barely came to my senses at Chait's voice, having been momentarily dizzy from the unexpected reality.
"Huh? What?"
"Here, your second finger."
Chait suddenly lifted my right hand.
"I remember there being no such thing until I left."
Saying this, he kissed the wounded back of my hand. The series of movements was as natural as flowing water.
"Mm, I probably got burned while roasting chicken."
Was it a year ago, or two years ago? With no Chait, no customers, and the year-end approaching. The trouble started when Roche and I thought we were bored so why don't we cook, and opened the oven.
"It stands out because your skin is so white."
Chait muttered without removing his lips from the back of my hand. I couldn't help but shrink from the ticklish sensation. The guy firmly gripped my hand as I tried to pull it away.
"This is nothing much."
"It's not nothing."
He firmly denied it and recited some incomprehensible incantation. The spot his lips touched glowed brightly, then the scar disappeared without a trace.
"How did you do this?"
When I stared with wide eyes, Chait made a deflating sound. Whoever's younger brother he is, his relaxed face is really handsome too.
"Divine power."
"Divine power?"
Come to think of it, Chait was a character with holy power. I had forgotten because he'd been so useless until now.
"So this is divine healing. Amazing..."
"I learned it outside."
'Learned it outside.' Did he hole up in some temple in a nice mountainous area with good water?
'I told you to go south and either date or get married. You did neither and just lazily played around.'
I should have realized when all the letters he sent were postmarked from southern resort addresses.
Back then I just confirmed that Chait was in the south and was relieved that he seemed to be living well.
'Looking at his clean appearance, it seems he ate well, so that's fortunate at least.'
"Anyway."
I said while subtly pulling out the hand he was holding.
"Welcome back. And let's pretend I didn't hear what you said earlier."
I quickly turned around, denying the unbelievable reality.
'Even if I, no, everyone in the world becomes a bachelor, you can't do that.'
The protagonist's father having no interest in women.
That was as troublesome as me meeting a man I'd want to risk my life to conceive a second generation with.
The younger brother who returned after 3 years became a pest.
The guy clung to me persistently enough to make me think he'd endured well for 3 years. Whether I was eating, working at the cafe, or cleaning.
Even...
"Meow."
"Stop pretending to be a cat and get out of my bed."
"Meooow?"
Looking at the black cat's face tilted 45 degrees, I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even laugh.
"Chait Pinbolt. Go back to your room right now."
At those words, Chait returned to human form with a poof.
"We used to sleep together before."
"Isn't your memory distorted somewhere? Just once on the first day, and that was only when I thought you were a cat. You're using that like this?"
"...Hmm."
Don't pout with such a seriously handsome face. Regardless of cuteness, it pisses me off because it seems like a waste of that face.
As if he knew my feelings, Chait quickly composed his expression and made a princely smile that perfectly suited his face.
"Honored sister, isn't it raining outside right now?"
"So?"
"I actually developed trauma from the sound of rain over the past 3 years. So I absolutely cannot fall asleep alone at night, a sad circumstance..."
What a show.
If you're going to use such things, use them early. What is this when you're almost an adult?
I didn't ask any more questions and kicked Chait out. After pushing his broad back and slamming the door shut, extreme fatigue washed over me.
'What do I do now?'
Whether it's my influence from having nothing to do with men, Chait seems to have zero interest in women. Is he planning to live and die as my pest?
I turned my gaze to look at the calendar hanging on the wall.
It was the end of February.
Time was running short.
'The deed needs to happen within at least a month.'
At this rate, he won't even make eye contact with a woman, let alone have a night together.
Even when I subtly bring up dating or marriage, only the "How can I when you haven't married, honored sister" repertoire comes back.
In the end, unless I get married, I have no ammunition to counter Chait's excuses.
But how is marriage feasible in my position? I had all the worst conditions for marriage in this class-based romance fantasy society.
I don't even know if anyone's looking for me anymore, but I'm still technically a fugitive, can't have a second generation, and my identity is unclear.
Who besides a hopeless fool like Rupert Delin would want to take someone like me?
'If I had known this would happen, I should have accepted Rupert Delin's foolish advances and divorced him later.'
The 〈Heroine Birth Project〉 was on the verge of failure. That also meant the beginning of the 〈World End Project〉.
'I can't do this alone. I need other people's help.'