If You Cheat, Just Don’t Tell Me - Chapter 2

“I, Freya Spirits, am your fiancée!”

Even though my life had changed, my parents never said a word to me. They had never been the type to fuss about family honor or anything like that, but I still expected them to say something, so I was a bit let down.

…No, maybe I had actually been hoping they would say something. I wasn’t exactly a child starved for parental affection, but I couldn’t deny that I felt something close to it.

Even though I had people who admired me and followed me around, I knew better than anyone that I was just the big fish in a small pond. There was no way I could keep living like this forever, and I had to think about what would happen after I left home.

I could probably make a living as an adventurer for a while. But I couldn’t be an adventurer my whole life. I was just an ordinary person with no special talent; if I kept at it for ten years, I’d eventually hit my limit. Maybe it was too early to start thinking about how I’d live after that.

But I had already reached an age where I understood enough about the world to feel like just drifting aimlessly through life was pointless. Somehow, that made me feel an indescribable sense of urgency.

I suppressed those feelings in my daily life, and despite the anxiety gnawing at me, I took no concrete action day after day.

The one who blew a hole in that stagnant life of mine was a girl named “Freya Spirits.”

She was the same age as me. Hair so red it seemed to absorb the sunlight, sinking into a deep crimson. Sharp, upturned red eyes that radiated strong will. A slender frame that looked a full size smaller than mine, yet always brimming with energy.

She was the polar opposite of me, who was just drifting through life without purpose. And she appeared right in front of me.

Suddenly. Without any warning. She barged into my world just like that.

“So, you’re Dicca? I imagined you’d have a tougher, meaner look, but you’re pretty ordinary.”

“……Who the hell are you?”

Freya plopped down into the seat in front of me. I’d been zoning out by the window in the corner of the classroom and as soon as she leaned in to look at my face, that’s what she said.

It wasn’t the kind of thing you’d expect someone to say upon first meeting, but I was used to hearing far worse and more vulgar remarks on a daily basis, so it didn’t really bother me. Being the untalented child of famous parents meant I never lacked for those kinds of comments.

…But unlike those other people, even though her words sounded sharp, there was no malice in Freya herself. Maybe that’s why it didn’t bother me much.

Well, that, and there was an even more shocking fact.

“I’m Freya Spirits. I transferred to this school this year. Due to circumstances.”

“……And? Why are you talking to me? We’ve got nothing to do with each other.”

“We’ve got plenty to do with each other! I mean, haven’t you heard anything?”

“Heard what from who? At the very least, no one’s told me anything about you.”

When I replied like that, Freya’s eyes widened in disbelief. From my perspective, it was Freya, who’d suddenly started talking to me like this, who was unbelievable.

—But that thought of mine was blown away by Freya’s next words, and my feelings aligned with hers in shock.

“Unbelievable! What’s going on with your family? Are you really from the house of the Sword Saint and the Sage?”

After muttering that much to herself, Freya pointed her right index finger at me and declared:

“I, Freya Spirits, am your fiancée!”

“Bwahahaha! So, what happened with that fiancée of yours?!”

“Shut up! I sent her home, obviously.”

That night. When I showed up at the usual evening gathering as always, Alta, who’d apparently heard about what happened during the day, greeted me with obvious delight.

In a small square on the edge of town, where the ground was a mix of mud and bricks. Our beloved bikes were parked haphazardly, alongside chairs and tents someone had brought on their own. Though it looked shabby, that space was arranged like a proper meeting spot.

“You, with a fiancée? I can’t help but laugh! Right, guys?!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Tell him, Alta!”

“There are guys crying ’cause the boss has a fiancée, you know!”

“Who’s that?!”

The other members gathered at the meeting spot responded to Alta’s teasing.

“Shut up, you guys! You wanna get knocked flying again?!”

“Ooh, scary! So, what are you actually gonna do about it?”

I shouted down the hecklers to shut them up.

…Even if you ask me what I’m gonna do, how should I know? If someone suddenly claims to be my fiancée, there’s no way I can just accept it.

“No one from my family has talked to me about it. So, I don’t know anything. Even if she says she’s my fiancée or whatever, there’s nothing I can do.”

“So, did you go ask your family about it today?”

“……No, I didn’t.”

When I answered, Alta covered his face with his hand and looked up at the sky. An exaggerated pose, but it was one Alta often struck when he was exasperated with someone.

“Gah! This is why you rich kids are the worst! You think they’ll just come to you if you wait! This is important, go ask them yourself! Even if you say you hate your family or whatever.”

“It’s not that I hate them.”

“Whatever, that doesn’t matter. I’m begging you, you’re our boss. Get it together.”

“It’s not like I chose to be this.”

“But you’re the one who didn’t refuse when we started gathering around you. From that moment on, you became our boss. So get it together, okay?”

I fell silent at Alta’s words.

He was right. I was the one who didn’t refuse when Alta and the others started gathering around me. If I had just said, “Don’t gather,” this square wouldn’t have become our meeting spot like it is now.

“……Alright. I’ll go ask them properly tomorrow. That good enough?”

“Yeah. And let us know how it goes.”

“Like hell I will!”

Laughter and the roar of engines echoed in the corner of the city, smelling of oil.

That was my place now.