Minoru was the quintessential morning person—rising before the sun, squeezing in a quick workout, and effortlessly taking care of his share of household chores. Currently, he found himself blending a protein shake while catching up on the morning news.
[Today, we've received sudden news. Queen Eileen has announced that Luxemburg will be leaving its NATO seat. This move appears to have sparked a chain reaction, with France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, and Poland all following suit, agreeing to form a new organization—the West European Alliance—with Luxemburg.]
Minoru closed his eyes at this news.
That woman, Eileen, has made a more daring move by leaving NATO. This isn't a foolish move because she has the assets to do so. It's also due to his influence since Minoru has future knowledge from his past life, and the fact that the world's technological progress in this era is slower than his past makes things quite different.
Opening his eyes, he refocused on the news and observed Eileen, dressed in a black gown, addressing the situation from her office.
[This action is inevitable. The U.S. wants us to stop our nuclear program and share our technology for the sake of peace? This course leads us nowhere. As the ruler, I can't allow such compromises for the sake of our national security.]
Sipping his protein shake, Minoru couldn't be deceived by Eileen's seemingly soft smile.
[It's a shame, but we don't owe them anything. Why maintain this cooperation? We won't bow to arrogance, we're unafraid. However, let it be known, that we maintain world peace as we abstain from atrocities in the Middle East and avoid meaningless wars because of non-existent weapons.]
Eileen played her role impeccably—Minoru acknowledged her as the mask shielding him from the world. Behind the scenes, he manipulated events to his advantage. Despite rewriting history, Minoru found his current situation uncomfortable; trust was a rare commodity.
Minoru didn't trust Dimitry, suspecting that the mission he was currently working on was merely a decoy for him to plan something behind his back. He held a similar distrust for Eileen, recognizing her relentless ambition that seemed poised to engulf the entire Europe.
Minoru compared himself to a drug—once tasted, addictive; a temptation impossible to resist. Therefore, they can't betray him. He pondered, sipping his protein shake, 'My existence is inevitable...'
[Switching from international news, we turn to a hot discussion about the comet Tiamat, whose peak light can be seen next Saturday—]
Minoru looked at this news with a lot of interest because it might be a good opportunity to bring his family stargazing as the comet passes by the Earth.
"Good morning, Ai. You're waking up a bit late... you promised we'd do the house chores together," he said with a smile. However, upon looking at her, he noticed something strange.
Her usually cheerful demeanor seemed a bit off, and there was a distant look in her eyes. Concerned, he added, "Is everything okay? You seem a little preoccupied. Did something happen?"
"E-Ehh?" She looked at Minoru, bewildered, as if she were seeing a ghost. "W-Why am I here!? I-It must be a joke, right!?" She took a step back and then, "Kyaa!" She stumbled over her own foot and fell.
But Minoru was quick as he had predicted, he caught her and carried her in his arms. Looking at her, he asked, "Still sleepy? Why are you blushing so hard, as if it's your first time? Oh right..." Minoru smirked as he leaned his lips closer to hers.
"KYAAA!" She slapped him right on his cheek, and at that moment, Minoru let go of Ai from his arms. He looked at her, his smile twitching, annoyed. "What was that for?"
But Ai looked at him, shouting, "P-Perverted! Why are you doing that to me?" as she hugged her shoulders as if protecting herself from trash.
"I'm kissing my... wife. Is that wrong?"
"In your drea—What did you say?" She looked at him, her expression changing. "A-Ai B-Komachi is your wife… Sensei?"
"Ai is my wife—wait, why did you call me Sensei out of the blue?"
Minoru looked at her strangely, as she did seem serious, and somehow, this person felt like she's not the Ai he knew.
"It can't be… wait, it's not time for that. I don't know what happened, but I woke up this morning, and suddenly, I became Ai B-Komachi. W-Why did this strange thing even happen to me again?" She bit her nails, seeming freaked out.
Minoru looked at her, questioning if this was not a prank. He knew that Ai often messed with him, but there was no way Ai's acting could be this good for him not to recognize her.
"You just called me Sensei… what does that mean?"
She looked at him again, then inhaled for a moment. "I'm a Shuchi'in High student and your student homeroom, Yanagi-sensei. My name is Sakurajima Mai," she said firmly.
"Sakurajima Mai?"
Minoru's face seemed to say what kind of BS is this? But he also noticed something wrong about Sakurajima Mai lately, like how people seemed confused about her existence or how they couldn't read her name as if it were blurred.
But now, she claimed she woke up in Ai's body?
"Yes, that's my name. But I'm surprised… Sensei noticed me?" She looked at him as if she had just gotten in touch with people.
"I am—wait…" As he was about to say something, the security system beeped several times, and Minoru quickly checked it. "No way…" He looked at the CCTV with his mouth agape and then looked at her again.
Mai was taken aback by his stare. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Just come here," Minoru said as his gaze didn't escape from the screen, and Mai obediently followed, curious.
They both watched as someone waved at the camera.
[Minoru-kun! This is me, Ai! I don't know what happened, but I became this person! I-I'm scared! Anyway, just let me in! LET ME INNNNN!]
"T-Th-That's me..." Mai covered her mouth, looking at this.
"What a crazy morning…" Minoru said as he let, apparently, his wife into the elevator as she now moved from the basement.
After some time, the three of them sat at the dining table, and Minoru started the conversation, "So… you both switched bodies?"
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A/N:
Sorry for the short chapter! Hope you enjoy it.