Chapter 29: Mitsuri Kanroji |
In a remote, secluded village.
In the courtyard of a modest home.
A young girl with pink hair that transitioned into a soft light green was hard at work. She drew water from a weathered well, steadily filling a massive tub standing nearby.
The tub was enormous, reaching nearly to her chest and measuring at least three or four feet across.
After filling the giant vessel to the brim, the girl squatted down and gripped it with both hands. With a casual ease that defied logic, she hoisted it high above her head.
"I’ve got the water! I’m coming!" the girl chirped, trotting out of the courtyard and toward a nearby garden patch where a middle-aged woman and several children were already busy.
These were her mother, brothers, and sisters.
Any ordinary person would have been stunned to see a girl skipping along with such a massive weight in her arms, but her family had long since grown accustomed to the sight.
They knew all too well that this seemingly fragile, adorable girl could put any sumo wrestler to shame when it came to raw power.
Mitsuri Kanroji—that was her name.
"Big sis is here!" one of the boys shouted happily.
"Careful now! Don't you go dropping that!" her mother chided, looking up from her work with a stern but tired expression.
Mitsuri immediately checked her pace and gently lowered the heavy tub to the ground. Her siblings swarmed it at once, dipping various pots and battered old buckets into the cool water.
Mitsuri let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead, watching as her large family worked in the garden.
It wasn't that she was happy; in fact, she had been quite miserable over the past few days.
The reason was simple: her recent blind date had been an utter disaster. Not only had she been rejected, but she’d also had to endure a string of insults. The man had told her that with her freakish strength and monstrous appetite, the only husband she could hope for was a wild bear from the mountains.
She had been moping in a state of emotional distress ever since. Her distraction had even led to several clumsy accidents around the house; unfortunately, her father was still bedridden with a swollen leg because of one of them.
Shaking off her negative thoughts, Mitsuri finally composed herself and went to help her family in the garden.
They finished their work as the sun approached its zenith.
The whole family returned home together in high spirits.
"Good work out there. I've just finished getting lunch ready," her father greeted them, hobbling toward them with a wooden cane. "Oh, and Mitsuri... dear, could you run to the apothecary? We’re all out of ointment for my leg."
The errand naturally fell to Mitsuri. It was only fair, as the others were bone-tired from a full morning of hard labor.
"Sure thing! I’ll be right back!" she chirped. Grabbing the coins from her father, she dashed out the door and into the courtyard.
"Wait, one more thing..." her father called out, reaching a hand after her. He let it drop helplessly a moment later; the energetic Mitsuri was already long gone.
"What’s wrong?" her mother inquired.
"Well, while you were all out back, another matchmaker stopped by," her father sighed, shaking his head. "He wanted to arrange another meeting for Mitsuri."
"Oh, dear..." her mother replied, waving a hand in a dismissive, weary gesture.
Her parents truly wanted her to be happy, but even they were occasionally intimidated by their daughter’s bottomless stomach and freakish strength.
If even her own parents felt that way, what hope was there for a suitor?
Most young men turned tail and ran the moment they caught wind of the potential bride’s superhuman power and massive meals.
It was a constant source of worry for them. What would they do if they could never find a man willing to take her hand in marriage?
"Fine. I’ll have another talk with her when she returns," her mother sighed heavily, stepping back into the house. "I have to tell her not to scare this one off like she always does."
...
Meanwhile, Mitsuri was trotting along the village road.
She made a conscious effort to slow her pace as she approached town. If she didn't hold back, she’d be tearing down the road faster than a galloping horse, leaving nothing but a massive cloud of dust in her wake. That definitely wouldn't help her reputation.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the neighboring town, she shifted into a brisk walk, doing her best to appear graceful, feminine, and utterly charming.
A young man dressed in white, appearing to be around her age, passed her on the street.
'Wow, he’s so handsome...' Mitsuri thought, her eyelashes fluttering. Her heart skipped a beat as she stole a glance at him.
She was so preoccupied with staring at him that she kept her head turned far too long. Distracted and blushing, she slammed right into another passerby.
Oof!
The person went sprawling onto the ground.
'It’s over! Everything is ruined! I'm going to get yelled at again!'
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—!" Mitsuri began to stammer. She rushed forward, reaching out to help the fallen man up.
She stopped mid-sentence, freezing in place as her eyes landed on the person she had just bowled over.
His hair was slightly disheveled and his clothes were plain, but his face... It was the most beautiful face she had ever seen in her entire life. Her mind went completely blank, overwhelmed by his sheer handsomeness.
"You really should watch where you're going..." the young man grumbled. He paused, his expression shifting to surprise as he looked up at the girl who had flattened him.
On the surface, the man was merely a local doctor who had recently inherited a small clinic from his father.
In reality, this was one of Yeruashi's lives.
After setting his initial conditions, he had committed to living this life as a completely ordinary human to achieve total immersion. It was essentially a game to him, but he believed that the more realistic the simulation, the more meaningful the experience would be.
Because he had restricted himself to the perspective of a simple doctor, he hadn't peered into the future. Thus, his collision with Mitsuri was a genuine accident.
It was actually quite difficult to play the part of a normal human. After all, the energy roiling within his body was greater than that of a hundred suns.
Needless to say, he had to put in quite an effort. So his meeting with Mitsuri was completely coincidental.
But Yeruashi quickly hid his surprise.
By now, he had cycled through over a hundred thousand lives within this single era. He had met countless people, including the likes of Makomo and Shinobu. In those past iterations, he hadn't just seen them from afar; he had known them intimately.
To them, these were just mundane encounters with a normal man—like a simple town doctor who could be accidentally bowled over on a busy street.
"Are you planning to just stand there like a statue after knocking me flat in the middle of the road?" Yeruashi asked the dazed girl. He curled his finger and delivered a sharp flick to her forehead.
Snap!
And only then did the girl finally come to her senses.
"Kyaa! I’m so sorry! I really am... Please, forgive me! I—I—!" She turned a violent shade of crimson. Fidgeting with frantic energy, she looked as though she wanted nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow her whole.
"I forgive you, I forgive you. Just try to keep your eyes on the road next time," Yeruashi said, standing up and dusting off his simple robes. Without another word, he turned and began to stroll away.
Mitsuri was left standing there, once again lost in a daze.
'He’s just as handsome from the side!'
'Even his back is perfect...'
'Kyaaa! How can someone that handsome even exist? Is that even legal? I didn't even get his name... I was so clumsy and rude to him, and now he’s leaving! What do I do? I didn't even apologize properly! I just want to protect him... Kyaaa!'