Wanting to catch sight of the Ghetto, Mia and her crew followed Orania outside. Her retinue consisted of Abel, Anne, Orania, Ludwig, and Dion, while the others waited back at the inn. The children seemed quite exhausted by the journey, and Kiryl had already begun to doze off.
Mia wanted to do so herself, and she was desperate to crawl into bed for some good sleep. However, the king’s assassination was slated for tomorrow, which didn’t give her much time. I came at the last minute since I was afraid coming any earlier could change the future...
Perhaps it was thanks to this decision that Bel had confirmed that the date of the assassination remained unchanged, and instead had shifted from “assassination” to “attempted assassination.” That was all well and good, but...
As soon as I looked to see what happened next, it changed immediately. Mia had been hoping to get a sneak peek of the future and find the simplest route to a world without a golden lighthouse possible, and yet... This situation must be volatile. One small change or action could drastically change the future.
This differed wildly from the diary Mia had written. That was likely partly thanks to the fact that Ludwig was the author, and he was the type to prioritize accuracy. But even more importantly, the results of what would happen here in Ganudos must have been unsettled.
Or maybe...my actions have particular weight to them. Mia was starting to think that despite her innate faculties, she was a woman of great influence. She didn’t just influence the future, but even the past! She was a huge clump of influence (and just to be clear, that was metaphorically, and not physically).
What would happen should she learn of the future? Obviously, the future would change as soon as she did, as her influence was just too great.
Hmm... This is quite the predicament. Letting myself relax for one second could drastically change things. In that case, I really must leave it to Bel to inform me about the future, just as we originally planned. But she’s quite prone to playing hooky herself... No, maybe my understanding of things really needs to be that vague, muttered Mia.
She shook her head. “There’s no time for fun, no matter how much I want to live a life of lazing around in bed and eating sweets,” said Mia, uttering a dream that had practically already come to fruition.
That’s when the buildings gave way and a breeze carrying the scent of the salt water blew past them.
“It’s the sea!” whispered Mia, holding her hair down with one hand. The light reflected off the water caused her to squint. Abel was standing next to her, and she flashed him a smile. “Oho ho! This takes me back to that summer.”
“It does. That all feels so long ago, but it’s only been two years,” he said with a handsome grin.
Mia nodded. “That was such a valuable experience. I got to swim in the sea, whack the colossal man-eating fish, and even forage for edible plants in the woods. I could have never experienced any of that at the Whitemoon Palace.” Mia clasped her hands behind her back and brought the corners of her lips up flirtatiously. “And it’s also how I got to know you were so dependable.”
Mia gazed up into his eyes, fully set on teasing him. She had perfectly embodied the spirit of Mia Adult Luna Tearmoon! It was incredibly annoy—ahem, adorable, if you squinted.
Abel laughed. “I’ll do everything I can to keep those words on your lips and live up to those expectations.”
Abel fired back with an honest, straight shot. It left Mia so embarrassed she started choking on her own spit. She completely lacked any adult composure.
Yes, this was Mia Adult Luna Tearmoon!
Orania stood by, watching them flirt. “I see. So this is Master Mia’s strategy of love... She’s so flirtatious...!” she announced, happily writing another entry in her trusty book. Anyways... “Oh, Master Mia. Over there!”
Mia suddenly lifted her head. Orania’s finger was pointed at a single island sticking out on the other side of the sea. While it was a bit smaller than Saint-Noel Island, it was nevertheless quite big.
“Hmm... So that’s...” Mia tried to take a step forward, but she was interrupted.
“Oh? Has that island caught your fancy, young lady?” A single man stood on the other side of the road. He seemed to be in his twenties, and he wore a fashionable hat over his curly, white gold hair. He had a teasing smile, and it was clear in his eyes that he had taken interest in Mia and her band of friends. “Hmm... I take it you’re a young noble and her friends on an adventure?”
Abel casually and protectively stepped closer to Mia. This caused her to blush a bit, but she answered as calmly as she could.
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