Volume 5 - CH 8.2

“The future ……?”

“That’s right.”

As I ask, Grey continues.

“She gets these images in her head. A scene and a memory of a certain time, a certain place, a certain scene that she’s looking at. A building collapsed in the city during the day. Now that I think about it, she must have been watching that scene. I don’t know what it meant, but that’s why she went all the way to that place. And …… probably also the vision of me losing the day you came back.”

“…… that didn’t happen. You said you were going to stop all of a sudden. ……”

“I also said that the future could change. It’s not so surprising when you think about it.”

I think about it for a while and open my mouth.

“You said the family foretold the birth of the hero and the Demon King ……but is that the shrine maiden spoken of in that fairy tale?”

“Oh, it wasn’t a fairy tale.”

“That’s strange. The shrine maiden in the story should not have had the power to see into the future. She must have had the power only to guess the birth of the hero and the Demon King just before they were born.”

“I don’t know. The royal family is blessed with a talent for magic. Maybe it’s a combination of their blood that somehow made it happen.”

“Did you hear all this from the Princess herself?”

“Oh, yes.”

Grey says.

“No one knew that her mother was a descendant of the family of the Oracle. But at the very time she gave birth to her, she predicted …… the birth of a hero and a demon king.”

“……..”

“I don’t know if it was because of that, but her mother died soon after that. She heard it from her foster parents. That’s how she learned what her power was.”

Grey continues

“At first, the mother’s prophecy was thought to be a delusion after the agony of giving birth. But as a result of Imperial intelligence, it turned out to be true. The same kind of information was circulating on the demon tribe side. But for some reason, they don’t seem to know about the birth of the Demon King.”

“…….”

“That’s probably why she’s been under house arrest for a while. Because she’s the only oracle that the empire is aware of right now. The power of future vision was unexpected..”

“If that’s true, it’s too good to be true……. I don’t think it is a coincidence. The emperor could have known that Fiona’s mother was of the family of the Oracle. ……”

“I don’t know. It’s not possible under normal circumstances, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that emperor had it all in his sights.”

I think about it for a moment and ask.

“Do the empire and the Holy Princess know?　the Hero and …… Demon King who they are?”

“How the hell would I know?”

Grey spits 

“She was a baby when the Hero and the Demon King were born. So she may not have received the original oracle. But …… she would know. With the power of her future vision.”

“……”

“I thought it odd that she would want to see a mere student so badly, but after receiving her sword, I understood. I guess that woman, Amiyu, is the Hero…… What’s with the scary face? By the looks of it, you knew about it too?”

“…… for all kinds of reasons.”

Grey tells me as I keep my eyes down.

“Don’t get too involved, Seika. Don’t get involved in things like heroes and demon kings.”

“……It’s funny how Grey-niisan is worried about me.”

“No, it’s not.”

Grey glares at me and says.

“I mean don’t get in her way, she is looking towards the future of the empire.”

“… the future of the empire, right?”

So there are only politics?

I exhale and say.

“For someone who tells me to keep my nose out of things, you talk a lot. Did you really think it was okay to talk about all of that?”

“I don’t care. She’s going to spread this stuff to the people sooner or later. If you doubt it, just ask her. …… No, but don’t tell the maidservants, else I’ll be killed.”

“Grey-niisan, I’m surprised that you’re thinking about it so much. I didn’t expect that. I thought you were just happy to be in the service of a beautiful woman.”

“Huh, crap!”

Grey says evasively, swinging his sword.

“Women are shit!”

“Eeeh …..”

I’m puzzled.

I wonder what happened……this guy is extreme.

“Seika, you better watch out too. I see you’re on the verge of ruin. You’ve got so many women in your life…….”

“ I’ll keep it in mind……but then why did you accept the invitation to be a Holy Knight? As far as I’ve listened to the story, I feel that it was better to stay in the garrison as it is.”

“At first I thought it was a promotion. How could I have expected such a hassle?”

“I see … Then what will you do? Isn’t there still time to decline now?”

“There’s no way I’m going to make it in time, you idiot!　And I’m not going to …… turn it down.”

Grey turns his gaze away.

“I’m worried about the future she sees.”

******

“Seika-sama”

When I return to my room, Yuki, with her face out of my hair, speaks to me.

“I wonder if it’s true what he said. I thought he had a grudge against Seika-sama. ……”

“At least it didn’t look like he was lying.”

I can’t think of any reason to do that.

However…….

“Fiona’s powers are a little hard to believe.”

“The power to see the future?”

Yuki says mysteriously.

“Why ……?　Isn’t that something that Seika-sama can do with divination?”

“Fortune-telling and future vision are different things.”

I explain.

“Divination, fortune telling, you can only derive a specific result for a specific thing. For example, you can see the fate from the star of birth, judge the luck from the cracking of the turtle shell, etc. Fortune-telling from the structure of the house or city.”

“What’s the difference between that and seeing into the future?”

“You need information, tools, and knowledge in advance, and you’re limited in what you can know. Besides, the methodology is established, and anyone who learns it can use it and teach it to others. Futuristic vision is quite different from this.”

I continue.

“From a place of no information, no tools, no knowledge, you suddenly know what the future holds. There is no methodology, no way to teach it to anyone. It’s a supernatural power that is apart from the wisdom of magicians.”

“Oh, is that … like Kuda-gitsune’s precognition?”

“Strictly speaking, Kuda-gitsune’s prediction is also fortune-telling. The closest thing is … a prophet from the West, or a youkai.”

“Is this the case …”

A human-speaking youkai with a cow’s body on the head of a person.

They say that he was born to predict a significant event and die, and that it will always come true.

“I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen it.”

“Actually, I have one.”

“What?　How did you do that?　I thought that thing was supposed to die as soon as it made the prediction……”

“There was a man who foretold the birth of the subject, he said it was a village in Tango Province, so I stayed there for a while and stuck close by whenever a cow came into labor.”

“You worked so hard, didn’t you!?”

“So, it was really born, so I sealed it right before it said anything. I’m sorry, but I can’t show it. If I get it out of phase, it will predict and die.”

“No, that’s fine, but …”

Yuki says this dismissively, then raises her head in a composed manner.

“What do you think, anyway?　Could that Princess be a threat to Seika-sama?”

“No … it should be okay”

I say.

“Even though it’s a future vision, it doesn’t seem to be all-purpose. Neither the prophet nor the Princess can see the future at will. Unless I imitate it in the first place, such a future shouldn’t come. It’s awkward that she’s a politician, but well —- “

I chuckle.

“I just don’t have to get deeply involved.”