Chapter 13: Bracelet (1/2)

Lute, age 8.

“Snow…… Please make Snow into Lute-kun’s “sex slave”!”

Idiot Snow made a most unexpected remark, I was dumbfounded.

Holding back a painful expression, I pressed her for an answer.

“S, Snow, do you understand what “sex slave” means? Actually, where did you even learn that word?”

“Of course I understand. Some of the merchants that I work making magic stones for also handle slaves, I heard that from them. “Sex slaves” will absolutely stay by their masters’ side. Because I want to always be by Lute-kun’s side, I want to be a “sex slave”!”

Oi, merchant. What the hell are you teaching an 8 year old kid…….. Does this world have no concept of decency or sexual harassment?

As I cursed the merchant for teaching Snow strange things, I asked her.

“I’m happy about Snow’s feelings, but we’re still 8 years old, special relationships like “sex slaves” are a bit……. Aren’t there more ordinary choices, like lovers or married couples?”

“Lovers… married couples…”

Snow frowned and hung her head, but immediately raised it back up and made a firm smile.

“…… It’s fine, I already understood. I’m not a suitable person for Lute-kun. But I’ll be happy just staying by Lute-kun’s side. So, so, don’t worry about me!”

“Sorry, I don’t get what you mean. Why is Snow not a suitable person for me?”

“Well, Lute-kun is a genius who can make a magic device more amazing than magic at 7 years old, right? From the beginning, I never thought of becoming lovers or couples with someone amazing like that….”

I can finally get a glimpse of Snow’s thoughts.

Somehow the me in her mind is an unimaginably amazing person.

There’s no way that kind of person will love her.

But conflictingly, she wanted to stay by his side.

Therefore she came to the conclusion to be a “sex slave” instead of lovers or spouses.

Well, I was spoiled by Snow’s courtesy, since I didn’t properly tell her my feelings.

I ran away from telling her my feelings using excuses like, “because she’s an 8 year old kid” or “because she has choices”.

It’s my own misunderstanding, but I was afraid of being dumped.

Because of that, I even waited until she confesses to me.

If it’s like that ―― then I won’t get hurt.

I understand well the reason why the amount of years I spent without a girlfriend equals my age in my previous life.

Even though I should have sworn to not run away from hardship ever again, but once I noticed, I had run from what was in front of me and took the easy path.

In order to wipe away Snow’s uneasiness, I decided to summon courage from within.

I put the small cask on the ground and opened the lid.

I put my hands in the remaining magic liquid metal and raised the image.

A pair of bracelets were made in my hands.

The bracelets were merely black loops, without any decorations.

Because I didn’t have time, this was the limit of what I can do.

I held the bracelets in hand, and once again faced Snow.

“Snow.”

“Y, yes!”

Her eyes were rooted on the bracelets in my hand.

There were legends about the 5 great heroes that saved this world.

One of them is: the night before facing the demon king of the Fairy Human Continent together, the Human Hero gifted a bracelet to the Fairy Hero as his lover.

The hero proposed to marry her once they defeated the demon king and returned.

From then on, this world developed a custom of gifting the partner with a bracelet when marrying. Then, the act of wearing a bracelet had come to mean that one had a marriage partner or someone they plan to marry.

Speaking in terms of my previous world, it’s a wedding ring.

With the bracelets in hand, I proposed to Snow for marriage.

“We’re still 8 years old, but, I like Snow, I love Snow. I don’t want to give Snow to anyone. So…… will you marry me?”

“Y……yes. Me too…… I love Lute-kun very much. I love you.”

She made a smile, and from her large eyes, pearly drops of tears came falling down.

I took Snow’s slender left arm and put the bracelet on.

Snow, too, took my arm and put the bracelet on.

Then with the setting sun as our witness, Snow and I exchanged our first kisses.

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“Snow-chan and Lute-kun are getting married!?”

After dinner that night, we asked Elle-sensei for some time and reported our engagement.

The two of us sat beside each other in the orphanage reception office, in front of Sensei.

Snow was clinging on to my arm the whole time we were in the room. Her tail was wagging so much, I was worried that it might get torn off.

“Looking at the two of you, I felt that it would happen “someday”, but marrying at 8 years old…….”

Elle-sensei was confused, she couldn’t believe what had happened.

There are no age limits on marriage in this world.

But even so, getting married at 8 years old is very early.

“Of course, since we’re only 8 year old kids, this is not meant to be an official marriage. We still have no way of living together, too. So after all, these bracelets are just for our engagement. I intend to formally buy Snow a proper bracelet once she graduates magic school. At that time, we will be around 15, which is just about the right age.”

It’s usual for nobles of this world to engage in political marriages.

For that reason their children would wear simple bracelets on their left arms as proof of the engagement.