CHAPTER 25

I never used Timeline Prediction for a week.

I just focused on some minor spells I’ve been working on. That cursed Timeline Prediction spell is my main project as it is a candidate for being S-tier magic. But if I just wanted to raise my stars, I can just do two or three C-tier magic and be done with it.

“Why am I trying so hard to achieve an omniscient spell anyway?” I asked myself as I stared at the bright sun.

It’s Sunday, ten in the morning. I’m in front of the park of the Metropolis Mega Mall, wearing my favorite white and black checkered polo shirt, green-colored jeans, and semiformal brown leather shoes. I forgot to fix my hair and just made it stand up using the hair wax I bought in a nearby grocery earlier.

Here in the park of Metropolis Mega Mall, fake grass is the floor. There are also gigantic potted plants and five fountains scattered around. There are people all around the place which made me a little anxious. Dragon Sages like me are often holed up in the silent library, and I’m a former shut-in too. I’m not used to being around people I don’t know.

Sometimes, I feel like all these people are hostile to me.

Especially since I know that I have no future. At all.

I looked at my phone to check the time again, but I was interrupted.

“Uly!” Yehanna waved her hand from the distance. She ran cutely until she went closer.

I immediately realized the motif of her looks. She’s wearing a white fairy dress with blue flame designs. Also, she’s wearing dark stockings to cover most of her legs. There’s also this wing-like hair ornament attached to her long dark-blue hair.

“Why did you go first?” Yehanna held her hips and scolded. “We could have gone to this place together! We were living under the same roof, and yet you decided to go alone! This is our date, remember?”

“W-Well, I had some things to take care of first.” I nervously laughed as I scratched the back of my head. “And you seem to be stuck in your closet for one hour, picking your dress.”

“Well?” Yehanna smiled as she tiptoed her white high-heels and turned around gracefully. Her fairy dress with blue flame designs spread out like a flower. Then she grinned at me. “How’s my getup?”

“You look just like Deva.” I forced a smile. “Are you trying to get caught?”

“I just copied your fashion taste for women’s wear, since the appearance of Deva is your design after all. I modified it to look more decent and purer, unlike Deva’s outfit that is kind of revealing.”

“T-That’s right. There are similarities, but you are not Deva, not without a silver-blue hair and horns on your head.” I bowed. “I’m sorry again for giving you a weird provocative costume.”

“It’s okay. I never thought that this black, white, and blue motif would do great for me.” Yehanna pushed her face forward. “Hey, hey! You can become a great stylist, sister!”

“I’m not that kind of person!” I cried with my reddish face.

“Pfft! Ahahaha!” Yehanna started to laugh. “I’m just kidding!”

She just laughed and pinched my arm until sixty seconds has passed. She was already crying with joy when she stopped laughing.

“It’s kind of refreshing to see you embarrassed like that. For the past week, you’ve been so gloomy and serious, you know?” Yehanna said.

My PTSD about the Timeline Prediction kicked in. I want to change topics as soon as possible, so I looked at my phone’s time.

“Hanna, it’s already time! The movie will start at 10:30!”

“Oh, I forgot!” There was a slight hint of panic in Yehanna’s face. She really must have waited for that movie for a long time that she resorted to grabbing my wrist and dragging me inside the mall. “Let’s go!”

Before entering the cinema, we bought one popcorn bucket and two soda drinks. We were just in time when we settled on a comfortable place to sit in.

The moment the movie started; all my problems seemed to disappear. I forgot everything about my thesis and our assassination activities. I just embraced this relaxing day off with a date with a beautiful woman like Yehanna. Or maybe, my emotions are just being carried away by the romance movie we’ve been watching.

When the movie ended, it was already lunchtime, so we decided to eat in a fancy restaurant. We ordered fillet mignon, some vegetable salad side dish, and a nice glass of cold fruit juice. We even had fruity vanilla ice cream as a dessert. It was expensive but worth the money.

I just noticed that almost half of the cash that Yehanna gave me was used to pay for the movie tickets and that fancy restaurant food. I think she just bamboozled me to spend it together with her. I’m having a good time anyway, so I’ll just let it be.

We got our bellies full after lunch, so we decided to do some light walking in the underwater aquarium nearby. Aside from seeing colorful fishes, we saw magical beasts such as baby krakens, mermaids, and Cthulhu spawns.

After that, we went to the arcade. We played some video games and pinball. But the highlight was the crane machine and the big fox plushie. She said she wanted me to get it for her. I know that there are tricks for these cash-stealing machines, so I used my overclocked brain to analyze them.

“No, you shouldn’t!” Yehanna scolded. “Do it with your power, no cheating! I will provide all the coins you need, so do your best efforts to get it!”

I complied. In the end, I won the fox plushie, but we spent three times what it’s worth.

“You got it!” Yehanna cried as she snuggled on the giant stuffed toy. Then she looked at me with a grin. “Hey, what do you want to name our first baby?”

“B-Baby!?” I took one step backward as I was flustered.

“Teehee~” Yehanna smirked. She knew how to tease me when my defenses are wide open. She presented the white cute fox plushie right in front of my nose. “What should we name our baby fox then?”

I made a deep sigh when she clarified her question. I scratched my head and thought hard. “What about Gaeun?”

“Gaeun it is then!” Yehanna celebrated. Then she snuggled the fox stuffed toy more. “Gaeun! Gaeun! You’re so cute!”

I smiled. I never would have thought that a cold-blooded killer can have a personality this cute.

If she wasn’t an assassin thirsting for revenge, and if I wasn’t a weak Dragon Sage with a near expiration date, I bet we could have a happily ever after together.

After playing a lot in the arcade, we went to the coast where the view of the sea is fantastic. We went to buy a strawberry milkshake and blueberry cheesecake and eat and drink on the table while looking at the sun that seemed to be swallowed by the horizon.

I’m in charge of carrying Gaeun when Yehanna tried her milkshake. I can’t help but notice her delicate white hands with perfectly oval unpainted fingernails. I had this weird urge to hold it as it looks so soft.

“E-Eh!?”

Before I knew it, I was holding her hand. Yehanna was blushing, and I blushed too when I realized it. I immediately let go of her hand.

“I-I’m sorry! Don’t accuse me of sexually harassing you or anything!” I cried.

“It’s okay,” Yehanna said as she offered her hand again. “Handholding is the least perverted action you have done to me. It’s our date after all, so I will permit it.”

When I touched her hand again, she interlocked fingers with me. There, I could see the full beauty of her hand’s shape and the softness of her palms.

“Don’t be deceived by my hand, Uly,” Yehanna said with a serious expression. “These hands have already been bloodied, and it will spill more blood in the future.”

“I know,” I spoke. “But I will still touch it and carry the dirtiness of those blood. We are accomplices after all.”

Yehanna smiled. “Maybe we can converse a little better if we walk while we talk."

We already finished our snacks, so we decided to walk around the coast to enjoy the sound of the waves and the sweetness of the ocean wind. We walked with our hands held tight together. It’s a while now since we held hands I think my palm is already sweating.

“Accomplices, huh?” Yehanna muttered.

She stopped walking, so I halted too. She glared at me with serious crimson eyes that looked through my soul.

“Tell me, Uly. What happened back in the library? Why did you pass out?” Her tone is full of compassion. “I know that the doctor said that it’s not a health issue. They said that it’s mostly mental, that your brain unleashed false signals to make you collapse. They said that you had a panic attack.”

I turned away, but Yehanna pulled my hand.

“Tell me, Uly! We’re accomplices! You said so yourself!” Yehanna cried. “Was it because of our agreement? Was it because of Deva?”

“No.” I shook my head and looked at her. “It has nothing to do with you. It’s all about me.”

“Tell me then!” Yehanna cried. Tears sprinkled when she shouted.

“I…” I paused for a couple of seconds. “I have no future. Ulysses Corasell has no future. In six months, I will be gone. My Timeline Prediction saw that. I have zero percent of survival.”

“I’ll make you survive!” Yehanna said as her grip on my hand became tighter. “I don’t care about your Timeline Prediction! I don’t care about the countless possibilities in the future! I will use my sword to cut the fate given to you!”

“Hanna, that’s-“

“It’s a promise! I will never let you die as long as I draw breath.” Yehanna said as she pushed her face closer to mine. “So please don’t lose hope!”

Yehanna’s ruby eyes twinkled as she gently touched the bottom of my chin. My eyes focused on her kissable pink lips. I felt the warm breathing coming from her nose. Centimeter by centimeter, our face grew closer.

I closed my eyes.

And then…