Chapter 61
“…So, this is the house Mea grew up in…”
“Yeah. Well, let’s go in.”
“Wai-”
“I’m home!”
Before I had a chance to prepare myself, Mea opened the front door. Then, with hurried footsteps, I thought I heard, two people in their thirties, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, appeared with tears in their eyes and immediately embraced Mea.
“Welcome back, Mea… You were gone for quite a while… We were worried… And of course, Yard too.”
“That’s… I mean, it’s fine already. I was worried too! Suddenly leaving home like that…”
“…I’m sorry, Mom, Dad.”
The two of them continued to embrace Mea, their tears flowing freely. Well, it seemed they hadn’t seen her in a hundred years, and it was quite sudden, so it couldn’t be helped. It was a relief to see that Mea was loved by her parents. However, in this situation, I couldn’t possibly intervene, so for the time being, I decided to blend into the background and make myself inconspicuous.
The three of them embraced for a few minutes, and they finally stopped crying after Mea wiped their tears with a gentle smile.
“Sorry… I cried a little too much,” Mea’s mother said, her eyes still moist.
“I haven’t cried this much in a long time… I’m sorry for making you wait,” Mea apologized.
“No, it’s perfectly fine. I can wait for years,” I replied.
“Hehe, humans aren’t meant to wait for years. By the way… Mea, who is he?” Mea’s mother asked, her eyes widening.
“Huh, he’s my husband-to-be. Jin has already proposed to me,” Mea replied.
“?!?” In that moment, their eyes met… or rather, Mea’s mother seemed to have already sensed it, while Mea’s father reacted as if he had just noticed my existence.
I decided to at least acknowledge him with a nod.
After looking at both me and Mea a few times, Mea’s father hesitantly pointed at me and asked Mea, trembling, “Who is he?”
“Is that human Mea’s lover?” Mea’s father asked.
“No, he’s not,” Mea replied.
“What… What do you mean?” Mea’s father stammered.
“He’s my fiance,” Mea declared.
“What?!? Haaaaaaa?!? The prodigy of the elven race, my precious daughter Mea is marrying this human!? Why him?!? Why him of all people?!? Sure, his face is somewhat decent for a human, but…”
“Looks don’t matter. He’s the only one for me,” Mea interrupted.
Mea didn’t back down from her father’s questioning. Instead, she confidently declared that there was no one else for her.
Influenced by Mea’s words, I gathered my courage and spoke up.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Jin Divinesword. I have come here to seek your permission to marry your daughter. Please, grant me the honor of having Mea as my wife!!”
I bowed deeply to both of them.
I must admit, I’m completely breaking character as Jin, but I guess there’s no helping it this time.
Imagine everyone’s reaction when a villainous novel goes to propose marriage. It would be quite the sight.
It had to be sloppy, for sure.
I’m already terrible at normal human conversation, and now I have to ask for their daughter’s hand in marriage?
But I know, I absolutely cannot chicken out at this moment. I understand that better than anyone else. I won’t waste the chance I’ve been given, a second lease on life after dying once.
“She was my first love… Mea was someone I should never have been able to be with.”
Of course.
Because I’m a three-dimensional human, and Mea is a two-dimensional elf, living in completely different worlds. So no matter how hard I tried or how much I thought about her, she would never have noticed me.
“Thanks to her… I was saved twice.”
The first time was when I died and was given a second chance at life. Mea’s love gave me the strength to keep going.
The second time was when I was drowning in darkness, lost and hopeless. Mea’s presence and love pulled me out of that abyss and gave me a reason to live.
So, despite the odds against us, I will fight for our love. Even if it seems futile, I will never give up.
“Because of her, I didn’t commit suicide, and I’m still alive in this world,” I confessed.
If Mea hadn’t been there, I would have desperately searched for a way to return to my original world. I might have even considered ending my own life.
“Mea’s presence is what keeps me going,” I continued.
Fighting was terrifying, and the pain of injuries was unimaginable compared to my past life.
There were moments when my heart felt shattered, on the verge of breaking completely.
But… being with her gave me the strength to persevere.
And besides…
“Even when I was descending into darkness, Mea never abandoned me. Everyone else in the world had forsaken me, but she remained by my side. She was the only ally I had in this world,” I declared.
No matter how much the world turned its back on me, Mea never did.
“So, Mea will always be mine. I won’t give her to anyone. Even if it means going against the world. This is my resolve.”
“Hahaha! Hahahaha! You’ve got some backbone, human!” Mea’s father exclaimed, laughing in a way that didn’t quite match his elven nature.
But after a moment, I noticed something strange. My speech had become less formal, and that realization made me slightly flustered. However, it didn’t seem to matter to Mea’s father, who continued to laugh heartily.
“Ha! It seems Mea has a good eye for people! You’ve certainly made an impression!” he declared.
“Of course,” Mea replied confidently.
“But it’s no good!” Mea’s father suddenly exclaimed, his laughter subsiding.
“Wait, what?” both Mea and I responded in confusion.
Both Mea and I were caught off guard, as we had never expected this..
I thought he gave his permission when he started laughing… but I couldn’t help but be confused… I mean, he just gave us his approval, didn’t he?
“you said your name is Jin Divinesword? If he’s from that divinesword family, then if he doesn’t possess as much power as that man, Mea can never marry him! I’ll have you fight all of the fighters in our Elf village!!”
…As expected, statements like “our family is normal” coming from the person in question couldn’t be trusted at all.
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