I Joined the Sentai Heroes Who Were Beautiful Girls Other Than Me but the Heroines Were All Yanderangers

18. Premonition 2

“…”

The footage ended, and the projector displayed the standby screen that said Playback Finished.

However, I was unable to speak right away. It was all so specific, and yet so shockingly possible. The distorted image of our marriage was terrifying.

“Are you okay? You look pale, Sora-kun.”

Seeing that I was speechless and in a daze, the doctor, who was worried about me, spoke up and turned on the coffee maker. I wanted to answer him and assistant him, but my mind still couldn’t catch up with the situation. I tried to say I was okay, but my mouth just opened and closed like a goldfish, unable to convey anything.

“You don’t have to force yourself to talk. That was quite a stimulating development.”

He said that with a smile as he folded the cone-shaped paper filter carelessly and poured in the coffee powder haphazardly. The powder was cheap stuff that was often on sale at the supermarket, and it seemed that Dr. Gentian didn’t care much about coffee.

By focusing on such trivial things, my mind and brain were able to regain some normalcy.

“Honestly, I was scared.”

I have no intention of sugarcoating it. I’ll be honest with you.

“I figured as much. I had a hunch, but it was still painful to see it for real.”

“To see myself like that…”

Most people never get the chance to see themselves pushed to the brink like that. Experiencing it firsthand left a bitter taste in my mouth. Nightingale was clearly mentally ill, and I couldn’t bear to love her like that. The stress became unbearable. That video was just a glimpse into a possible future for Nightingale and me, but I can’t help but imagine how much I must have struggled and suffered before our relationship fell apart.

“But now you see how unstable Nightingale is, right? The future predictions are just calculations made by AI technology, but they’re generally accurate in terms of the overall outcome.”

“I’m not doubting your invention anymore, Doctor. Although, I can’t help but hope it’s all fake.”

Up until now, I thought Nightingale was a normal woman. It’s terrifying to think that if I had never found out about this and had fallen in love with Nightingale and married her, that future might have been waiting for me.

“Tokiwa Nightingale suffers from severe paranoia and uses self-harm to get attention. She would never physically harm anyone, but the mental burden on you, the person she’s fixed on, must have been immeasurable.”

The coffee maker emitted a low, rumbling sound as it brewed a fresh pot of coffee. The doctor continued his calm analysis, watching with mild amusement as the coffee filled the carafe.

“She loves you so much that she sees self-harm as the best way to keep you from leaving her. Sora-kun, you’re a kind person, so it probably worked. But a relationship held together by such tactics can’t last forever. When she was rejected by you, her only source of emotional support, she must have completely lost touch with reality.”

The phrase “self-harm as the best way” sent a shiver down my spine.

Just a few minutes ago, Nightingale was trembling in my arms, constantly drawing attention to her wounds and pain. Thinking back on it now, it’s eerily similar to what the future-predicting Nightingale was doing. In fact, I couldn’t bring myself to leave Nightingale alone when she was hurt. Her strategy was effective.

The more I think about it, the more I sympathize with the man in the video and the man I am now. I may have acted heartless and cruel without realizing it, but it was a perfectly logical future.

“She doesn’t want to lose you, so she spreads malicious rumors about you to make you think the only person you can trust is her, and she tries to bind you to her. Sadly, Sora-kun was too smart for that. You were able to maintain enough objectivity to see through Nightingale’s words, but you were torn between your own happiness and Nightingale’s self-harm. Sora-kun’s words in the future may have been harsh, but I don’t think he was being cruel, Nightingale’s unusual persistence. I’m sure that Sora-kun endured it for as long as he could before he realized it was impossible.”

I could tell he was trying to comfort me with his lengthy analysis of Nightingale.

“Here, this is for you.”

He poured the finished coffee into two mugs and handed one to me.

“Thank you.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any sugar or milk. This is my personal space, after all.”

The doctor took a sip of his black coffee and added that he would be happy to provide them next time if I wanted.

“No, I’ll drink it black.”

I prefer tea to coffee, and matcha to both.

“Oh? We have something in common.”

The doctor chuckled merry as usual. He looked rather adorable, so I decided to humor him.

“Anyway, that was just one of countless possibilities. Strictly speaking, it’s a future that can be avoided if you don’t marry Nightingale. So try not to dwell on it too much. Just think of it like watching an accident video in driver’s ed.”

He repeated himself several times, clearly concerned about me.

“Yes, thank you. I’m fine now. Let’s move on… I want to see the future predictions for the other heroes.”

The doctor looked worried.

“Are you sure? I have to say, I feel terrible for showing you such a distressing video. I don’t think the rest of the future predictions will be very pleasant either. You don’t have to watch them if you don’ t want to.”

“…No, please show me the others.”

It’s scary, but thanks to this device, I was able to avoid an unhappy future. I’m going to try to stay positive about it. Besides, if I have the potential to ruin them, I want to know as much as I can about them.

“Alright, then let’s move on to Himawari.”

“Yes.”

The projector flickered back to life.