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Tl: Sam

…

Grandpa Rutger was an oracle. I’ve known that for as long as I can remember.
But I hardly ever thought about what it meant.
I just accepted the name.

But Grandpa himself already knew then that Nemil was his heir.
He didn’t show it in his attitude, though it was a natural fact.

I don’t know now how he felt watching her grow up.

Still, he must have been thinking about what would happen after his death.
The things he told her father were part of that. Well, to be honest,
I would like to complain to him that he should have cleaned up his house a little more if that was the case.

But I am surprised that we found this letter.
If he had anticipated my presence here, it would have been a foreknowledge.
I guess you could say he knew exactly what I was thinking.

He really is an incredible old man.

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We stopped working for the time being and sat down on the nearest chair we could find.
Nemil gave me the letter in question. It was not as heavy as I had expected.

“…well, let’s open it.”
“Yes. At once!”

She was rushed. It seemed that Nemil was also very anxious to see what was inside.
I was determined, so I carefully opened the seal with a pair of scissors and took out the contents.
What was inside were two letters and…

A ring.

Saying that, I picked up the ring that had rolled out.
It was a simple design without any decoration.
The orange stone is the only feature of the ring. But no matter how I look at it, it didn’t fit my finger.
I knew it’s too small without even trying.

“Let me see.”
“Ah.”

I handed the ring to Nemil and opened the letter.
I wanted to ask him to write in larger letters. Grandpa..!

Well, there’s no point in complaining. All I can do now is read it.

Let’s see…

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『Tran-kun.』

As soon as we began to read, Nemil straightened her back.

『I’m sure by the time you read this letter, I’ll be gone』

“……”

Nemil looked down. Oh, it might be a little hard for her to read through…

『I know, right? Am I right? I’m dead, right? How’s that for a hit?

If I got it right, you should be impressed. You’re a man of great foresight.』

“…………”

Something is going wrong.
What is this groove? It’s too bright for a damp story…or is it?
Anyway, let’s read it. My eyes hurt.

『I’m sure Nemir is standing right next to you right now.
If she is, applaud me for my discernment.』

“Hey, is it going to be like that all the time?”
“It’s written that way, so I can’t help it!”

I was starting to feel a different kind of pain.
Anyway, I skipped over the “gag” part and looked for the part that seemed to be the main topic.

『…Now, to the point, the enclosed ring was not intended as a gift for you.』

I knew it. In that case…

『As you may have guessed, it was made by me for Nemil. The oracle’s successor.
I spent many years making it for that day.』

It was just as I thought.
This was a memento of Nemil that Grandpa had entrusted to me.

I see.

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A ring to succeed the oracle huh? That’s an item that tickles my fancy.
He’s such a handy old man. I think he should be able to make something like that.
Well, then, what kind of item is it?

『Well, don’t put it on your finger.』

“Eh?”

『Once you put it on, it will never come off, and the magic stone has a huge amount of magic power.

It will suck the life force out of your finger and eventually lead to death.』

“What should I do, what should I do, I’m stuck… ！！！”

WHAT!?

“Ow!”

I was suddenly hit in the back. When I turned my eyes in a panic, I saw Nemil, who had apparently put the ring on.
Nemil had completely panicked and was waving her hand around.

“I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die!”
“Calm down!”

What a legacy that old man left behind!
Anyway, we have to think ahead and figure out how to deal with this situation!
Let’s see…!

『I lied when I said…』

What?

Nemil’s screaming stopped.

“Heh?”

『Did you believe it or did you get scared? I’m kidding, I’m kidding hahahahahahaha… ouch!』　

She pinched my back with all his might.
Nemil, with tears in her eyes, was staring at me with the ring she had taken off in her palm.

“What are you doing?”
“No, I’m just reading! Don’t stare at me like that, you’re scaring me!”

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………………

The silence was extraordinarily long.
But it was also the limit of the expressions we could form on each other’s faces.

“I mean…”

I looked down at the letter and muttered to myself.

“Are we being teased by the letter somehow?”(Tl: Grandpa is a god level troll)
“Yes.”

The next moment.
We both blew up at about the same time. We could do nothing but laugh.
I really can’t beat that old man. What the hell was that?
It blew away my gloomy mood.

It was a bad prank. But I could feel the feelings behind it.
Read it without any tension. That’s what Grandpa probably wanted to say.
I was pushed around, but I certainly received his clumsy thoughtfulness.

So let’s see.

Perhaps this is where I should start.
Let me tell you exactly what this ring is.

……

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