“The Savior and Artemis have started seeing each other. But I’ve come to the Storm Island to find a way to escape the fate of the future that I foresaw. Isn’t that right?”
Clotho’s statement sent a chill down my spine and made my hairs stand on end.
It seemed that even though she had harbored ill feelings towards Artemis, this was why she had immediately shown hostility upon meeting.
“Yes.”
Denying it here would be pointless.
Since there was no intention to hide it anyway, I confirmed it right away.
Rather, if I were to clumsily try to hide it, it would only increase the caution towards me.
“Savior, you are indeed a forthright person.”
“What’s the point of hiding something you already know everything about? Rather than that, how about we introduce ourselves properly? It’s the first time we’ve met, after all.”
“That’s true. As you already know, I am Clotho, the eldest of the Three Sisters of Fate.”
“My name is Ark. I am Artemis’s priest, and supposedly the Savior, though I’m not entirely sure about that last part.”
“You are indeed the Savior. So, feel free to speak casually with me.”
“Excuse me? Even if that were true, addressing a goddess so informally the first time we meet—”
“I take it back. You must address me casually.”
“Yes… A, no, uh-huh.”
Throughout, Clotho, who had been speaking softly, now firmly insisted on being spoken to casually while humbling herself, despite the topic.
Caught off guard by her imposing presence, I ended up nodding and accepting it.
Attempting to change the mood by introducing ourselves only resulted in handing over the conversation’s control.
I knew I sounded foolish, yet facing Clotho’s momentum, I sensed I would still agree even if similar situations arose in the future.
“Heheheh. Did I come across as too domineering, Savior?”
“Ah, no. No, …no.”
“How adorable. In that case, you may take this gift back.”
Clotho, who had been quietly chuckling, pushed the gifts that were in front of her back towards me.
Blocking the bundle of gifts being pushed with both hands, I protested that it was just for a moment, refusing her rejection.
“Why are you doing this? Such a cute Savior.”
“Though it’s true as you said, I came here to find a way to eliminate future variables.”
“Yes?”
“But that’s just fifty percent of it.”
“Half the reason… so what’s the other fifty percent?”
“Didn’t we promise in the dream world? I said I’d come to meet you and that I wanted to treat your eyes.”
“…”
I thought perhaps the Clotho I promised to wait for was a figure from a hundred years ago, but seeing her stunned face, having seemingly received a punch despite her usually fluent conversation, I discarded that thought.
“So? Am I keeping my promises well?”
“Heheheh. Yes.”
“But why such an expression?”
I pointed out that she seemed to be contemplating whether to say something that came to her mind, as she covered her lower lip with her upper one.
Realizing her mistake, Clotho hastily covered her mouth with her hand, but after a pause, she seemed to decide to go ahead and removed her hand from her mouth.
“Normally, when a person faces a greater purpose, they tend to forget the smaller ones that accompany it. So I was somewhat surprised that you remembered even the small things, O Savior.”
“My larger purpose is to find a way to return to the original Earth, and meeting you is the smaller one?”
“Heheheh. Yes… Indeed. Even so, if you had forgotten, I wouldn’t have blamed you. Since your confession was reciprocated, your mind must have been entirely on Artemis.”
“I couldn’t deny that, either.”
“Exactly.”
I finally began to understand what Clotho wanted to say.
Seeing through my heart’s desire to protect Artemis, who has since become my lover, Clotho might have thought the promise in the dream world was merely an afterthought to me.
It may well be that my past self made that promise with a heart full of regret at not being able to do anything to help Clotho.
But as far as I’m concerned, there must be no moment where I forget that promise.
Because…
“Clotho, even if you hadn’t known a way to return to Earth, I would have come to Storm Island like this.”
“Why?”
“Our promise. To me, it might have been just a moment in a dream, but… you’ve waited for a hundred years, haven’t you?”
“!!!!”
Impressed by my words, Clotho opened her lips slightly and let out a soft exclamation.
At the same time, a tear slipped out from the gap in her blindfold and rolled down her cheek,
until it fell…
“Savior… sir.”
“Uh?”
“I’m one of the causes that brought you here. If you bear any grudge, I should gladly accept it.”
An aspect I hadn’t thought about until now.
But Clotho’s words were not incorrect.
The Three Sisters of Fate originally intended to nurture the birth of a great hero in this world by nurturing the thread of fate.
But due to Apollo and Artemis invading the Storm Island to protect their deity status during the solar eclipse, I was accidentally pulled here from Earth due to a series of coincidences.
“That’s true. I did suffer a lot when I first came here.”
“Then, Savior, you should indeed resent me.”
Clotho, who had modestly folded her hands in front of her, closed her mouth.
As if prepared to hear any kind of reproach or insult with resolve and inclusiveness.
Looking at her like that, I chuckled quietly.
“…Savior?”
“I won’t hold any grudges. If anything, I cannot thank you enough.”
“Me?”
“Thanks to you, I met Artemis. And I got to know you, too. So… thank you, Clotho.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be resentful of me? I waited like this to receive your anger and resentment.”
“Calling me Savior? If I can’t even save the heart of someone like you who follows me, how can I be called a Savior?”
Clotho, burdened by her sense of guilt for a hundred years.
She wanted punishment from me.
Her semi-coercive attitude in asking me to speak casually was also a result of her guilt.
Perhaps even sending back Artemis’s medicinal herbs was the manifestation of that guilt.
Having dragged an innocent person into this, she had been living in hardship as a blind person until now.
“Ah! Savior…”
I carefully reached out and overlapped my hands over hers.
Her extremely cold hands, like an ice slab.
Her hands, cold like an icy glacier, gradually began to warm up from my body heat.
“Even Artemis… feels sorry towards you. But you know her personality.”
“Hehehe. Yes.”
“Just as I forgave you, can you forgive Artemis too?”
“Forgive… is that what you mean?”
“Yeah.”
Clotho alternated her gaze between the hands intertwined and my face.
Or rather, she was flustered by the warmth being transferred and fumbled her words, then carefully removed her hand from mine and glanced at the right window.
Curious as to what she was looking at, I also turned my neck to follow her gaze—and spotted Artemis’s furrowed brow sneaking a peek at us from below the window frame.
What’s with her?
Even if she’s not an ostrich… does she think being hidden from her sight means she is completely hidden?
“Heheheh. Savior?”
“A… yes?”
“Until today, I thought salvation meant protecting us from the forces of evil. But I was wrong, it seems.”
“Clotho… are you forgiving Artemis?”
“Yes. For making me realize that forgiveness is salvation.”
She carefully rose from her chair and approached me, bowing formally and respectfully.
I hurriedly arose and bowed to her.
Facing each other while bowing, we smiled faintly at each other.
That’s how we opened our hearts to each other like old acquaintances, despite being strangers who met for the first time that day.
“Okay, let’s stand up.”
I stood first and helped her up by gently supporting her arm.
Once she was seated carefully back on the chair, I quietly took out the herbal medicine from the gift bundle, and started grinding it in a bowl.
“Savior?”
Though Clotho called me at the sound of rustling, I lightly ignored her, continuing to grind the herbal medicine until its juice oozed out.
At the faint knocking sound, when Clotho started to tremble with anxiety,
I neatly placed the crushed herbal medicine on a sanitary bandage and approached her.
“Clotho, would you take off your blindfold?”
“Me…?”
“The herbs Artemis gathered need to be placed directly on the eyes. Several gods who lost their sight recovered their vision using this method.”
Quietly nodding her head at my words, she untied her blindfold.
Even if her eyes were deteriorated or scarred, she was determined not to show it,
but there appeared to be no visible problem with her eyes.
“Then let me wrap this sanitary bandage around. You can keep your eyes closed.”
“Is it really okay… for me… Savior… Ahhh!”
Thinking she was about to start uttering the same tedious complaints about bringing me to this other world,
I raised my fist and lightly tapped her head.
“Yeah, it’s okay. Stop letting guilt cloud your vision, Clotho. Now it’s time for you to look at the world with your own eyes.”
“Thank you, Savior.”
After wrapping her eyes with the sanitary bandage containing the herbal medicine, we spent some time chatting.
Artemis, who had been outside, came back into the house looking a little tired,
and although the awkwardness didn’t completely dissipate, both of them began to engage in conversation gradually.
“Hey, Ark. Two hours have passed. We can remove the bandage now.”
“Got it. Please let it be alright.”
As Artemis said, I slowly started to take off the sanitary bandage from Clotho’s eyes.
Clutching her eyebrows in tremors, Clotho carefully tried to open her eyes,
and through slits, she revealed pale pink irises matching her hair color, only to immediately close her eyes tightly again against the brightness of the sunlight.
I asked her again to try opening her eyes, but she vigorously shook her head, refusing.
“It’s good. Her eyes seem to have recovered.”
“Why?”
“Looking at sunlight after 100 years, it’s natural for her eyes to feel sore. She squinted because she could see the light, right?”
“Is this really true, Clotho?”
Encouraged by Artemis’s positive explanation, I quickly turned around and looked at Clotho.
Blushing in embarrassment, she hesitantly nodded her head, and I was happier than she was to see her eyes restored.
“Great! It really is wonderful!! Finding my way here risking my life has been worth it!”
After that, I started on the evening preparations for Clotho and Artemis, diligently preparing with the load of ingredients I had brought.
Just in time, as if lured by the smell of delicious food, the second and third sisters of the Moirai returned,
and the three sisters raised their wine glasses to celebrate the recovery of their first sister, Clotho.
As the night deepened and one by one they drifted off to sleep,
I, overtaken by drowsiness, was about to head to the remaining room,
when Clotho tapped my shoulder from behind and called me.
“Huh? Clotho? What is it?”
“You haven’t heard yet, Savior, since you said you would celebrate me.”
“Heard what?”
“Your destiny.”
“Ah!”
“Follow me. I’ll tell you.”
Swallowing the dry saliva in my throat, I stepped firmly in her shadow and followed her out.
