Chapter 365: Perhaps It Was Meant to Be (Extra) |
Tokyo Exorcism Diary ranks among the top in the Cola Novel readers' poll for best urban novel!
"Mother, may I ask a question?"
"Of course, my dear Mia. In this Royal Palace, no one is freer than you. You can do whatever you want to your heart's content, and naturally, you can ask whatever you wish to know."
"...Mother, I am curious. Is our world truly the only one? Are the futures you observe through your Authority deduced based on the existing world, or are they things that have genuinely occurred in worlds beyond ours?"
"I cannot give you a precise answer to that question, because I myself do not know. Perhaps what I see are merely myriad possibilities deduced through infinite calculation. Or perhaps, we truly live on a branch of a magnificent World Tree, and the Stuart family's Authority grants us the ability to glimpse into other parallel worlds."
"The Parallel Universe Theory is not a novel concept, but no one can prove its existence, just as no one can deny its possibility."
"However, you will understand certain things when this Authority descends upon you. The Arc of Fate does exist. It is so sensitive and fragile that even something as nearly weightless as a 'gaze' touching its fibers will cause it to tremble gently, as if plucked."
"Whether the thread we 'touch' with our gaze belongs to the future, or to a parallel world whose existence remains unknown, there is one undeniable truth: it exists in a very real way."
...
Kojima Raiko had always been grateful to her parents for the name they gave her. Her life truly reflected its meaning, as good fortune, whether great or small, always seemed to find her.
And perhaps the greatest fortune among them was when she was a freshman at Princeton. At a certain evening party, finding a compatriot in a foreign land and drawn by the intellectual and elegant temperament of a doctoral student surnamed Hoshino, she shyly but bravely asked for a photo together. Thus, she solidly secured a reliable Alumni Status.
Then, that very status fortunately helped her land her current Secretarial Work.
Silky long hair shimmered with an obsidian-like luster, and her cool, fair skin was as flawless as a natural work of art. The slender fingers she extended to take the document were so crystalline they almost seemed translucent.
Any words used to describe her beauty would appear far too pale and monotonous. But without a doubt, Kojima Raiko would stake her character on the fact that the person before her was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. Even the lady of the Hoshino Residence could only be considered a tie!
Looking at her calm and indifferent expression, and observing her slender figure that even a long black coat could not conceal, Kojima Raiko found it truly difficult to believe that such an aloof iceberg beauty, radiating endless charm, had already borne a child for a man.
Although every time she saw her Boss together with that person, even she had to admit they were simply too perfect of a match...
The woman briefly flipped through the document handed over by the Secretary. Since it was from her Husband's Maternal Family's Company, there was naturally no need to be overly cautious. Moreover, this document had already gone through layers of review long before it was presented to her.
She casually picked up her Fountain Pen. The black ink was ready to seep into the paper, but before she could trace the first stroke, the pale hand holding the pen paused slightly.
Although several years had passed, perhaps because she mostly used a personal seal, she was still a bit unaccustomed to it... Quietly changing the direction the nib was about to take, she adjusted the signature she instinctively almost wrote as "Sasaki Ayane" into "Hoshino Ayane." The woman let out a silent, helpless chuckle.
She then capped and set down the Fountain Pen.
And that fleeting, faint smile was enough to leave Kojima Raiko uncontrollably dazed.
The Creator could truly be unfair sometimes. Why did such a woman exist in this world? She possessed unparalleled beauty, and a casual smile from her could make the entire world more vibrant and vivid.
She possessed inexhaustible wealth, and her Family's influence was massive enough to accommodate all her whims and actions.
Her innate talents were far beyond reach, and the empire-like enterprise born from the merger of the two families could achieve even more vigorous growth in her hands.
Her marriage made countless people green with envy—a grand and romantic Wedding of the Century, a handsome, outstanding, and practically omnipotent husband, and a cute, clever daughter that anyone would gladly trade everything to have...
She had almost everything, yet it felt so entirely justified. Sasaki Ayane—no, Hoshino Ayane—was a person with exactly that kind of charm. Her very existence made people feel that she was meant to have it all!
The ringing and vibration of a Mobile Phone interrupted Kojima Raiko's wandering thoughts. She watched her Boss pick up the Telephone, the aloofness on her face melting into gentleness. She didn't even need to guess who the caller was.
"Mommy!"
Sure enough, after the Video call connected, a voice much louder than a regular call rang out. The voice was soft and sweet, involuntarily making one's imagination wander to just how adorable its owner must be. But Kojima Raiko had no need for fantasy, because from her angle, she could see the little girl displayed on the phone screen, and she had also been fortunate enough to meet her in person at the company.
A quarter British Bloodline gifted her with a left eye as azure as her father's, and the extraordinary, almost limit-pushing genes of both her parents bestowed upon her a flawless appearance—yet another display of the Creator's unfairness.
The girl in the video called out to the woman outside the screen in a milky, childish voice, "Mommy, when are you coming home?"
Hoshino Ayane looked tenderly at the girl—the most precious treasure of her life—but instead of answering the question, she asked in return, "Did something happen?"
When asked this, the girl's cute, chubby face immediately scrunched up in distress. "Mommy, come back quickly! Daddy says he's going to cook Dinner himself today! If you don't come back soon, I'm going to drop dead!"
"..." Hoshino Ayane blinked lightly, and then, even she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "Daddy is just joking with you. He couldn't bear to make you eat that kind of thing. Or perhaps, he's just trying to scare you?"
Hoshino Ayane lowered her eyes slightly. Her smile remained gentle, yet it carried a trace of subtle strictness. "Did you do something wrong again?"
"Uh...?!" The little girl in the video blinked her beautiful Heterochromatic Eyes, obvious surprise flashing across her small face. Then, she immediately tried to change the subject. "Ah—Shiro is bullying Erbai again! I have to go save it! Mommy, come home early, mua~"