I ignored Iris, who was laughing loudly in my ear, and kept reading, only to discover that the same thing was happening in the message.
{Hahaha! Sorry about that—I wanted to join in too now that I have the chance, haha! Ahem… Anyway, I'm not joking.
I recommend that, regardless of the situation, you don't stop being active. Even if you don't have a mission threatening your life or Iris's, it's essential to go along with the system's implicit intentions.
Yeah, I know it sucks, and it's really something you want to resist doing as much as possible.
I know because I felt the same way, but that's what you have to do to keep everything running smoothly.
Don't even think about falling back into old habits or going into power-saving mode.
Do everything as if your life and Iris's were always under threat. If you don't, things can pile up under the table, and before you know it, everything can blow up in your face—and I assure you, that's a nightmare you don't want to experience.
Stay active the whole time, right up until the end… Eventually, things will start to make sense on their own, and you'll find that opportunity you've been waiting for.
Oh! Right! Before I forget, a quick warning: don't let Iris use the doppelganger with the Morphogenesis skill without supervision, and if she does… don't fall asleep or turn your back on her easily… or you might lose more than you can imagine /_ \.}
"눈_눈"
"What's going on, Honey?"
"Starting today, you're forbidden from using the doppelganger."
"Huh! Why, Honey? You said yourself that we shouldn't take what the letter said seriously."
"...It has nothing to do with the letter (¬_¬)."
"You're lying, Honey..."
"Not entirely—it's something I've been thinking about, but I just made up my mind right now... Anyway, it's forbidden if the doppelganger is near me, and you'll only use it if we're using synchronization or fusion."
I'd already considered how much to let her use the doppelganger, but reading this helped me make up my mind.
Knowing Iris, the possibility that she'd do something with Morphogenesis had already crossed my mind.
Indeed, the writer knows too much to be ignored.
{Oh, and here's a personal—and 'completely unbiased'—recommendation: even though it's a pain in the ass at first, try to win over Jinlian's daughter. I assure you it's worth it—it's a good investment for the future.
Hehe, well, now then, back to what's important.
In fact, you've probably already noticed, but when it comes to future events, I'm being a bit vague—I can't give you detailed information.
It's already a miracle that I'm able to send this. Pushing my luck and karma too far would make it impossible for this letter to reach you… Wait, what if it didn't reach you?… Ugh, this is like Schrödinger's cat, but I have no way of verifying it.
Ugh, I guess this is what's known as epistemic uncertainty…
Ah, whatever… I'll try not to say too much so it reaches you.
So please understand if I can't tell you much directly or specify anything. Talking directly about future events is too risky, but I know you'll figure something solid out anyway.
I can also give you some advice that will be very helpful and might help you map out and find what Iris used to call a "happy ending cliché."
I've always thought that things went to hell mainly because of a lack of information, so even though I don't know how it'll end for you, I know what I'm capable of when I have what I need.
Now the most important thing for you is to make sure the second point of divergence or inflection happens as soon as possible and in the desired direction.
So follow what I've already told you and take into account what I'm about to say… Oh! Right, I forgot to mention it earlier, but this letter has a time limit, so I'd recommend reading it quickly before it self-destructs.}
"Shit, start there, you bastard!"
If I'd known, I wouldn't have wasted any time, actually. I need to read this quickly. Luckily, I'm confident in my reading speed and comprehension.
..
.
{- That's why death is the only solution I could think of, but your circumstances are different now, so you're the one who'll decide what to do... And that's all I can say. Hmm, though there's still a little space left to fill on the page… and I feel like I'm forgetting something… well, if I'm forgetting it, it must not be important. Family rule… anyway, may luck be on your side… this letter will be destroyed in 3… 2… 1… 0}
Boom!
"Haaah~… It really did self-destruct."
Luckily, I was able to read the whole thing… and when I finished reading the 0, it made a little popping sound and turned to ashes.
Rather than the letter having a time limit, it seemed like it was programmed to self-destruct the moment I finished reading it.
Either that, or that supposed 'future me' accurately predicted everything I would do after receiving the letter and timed it exactly... but I really don't think I'm capable of doing something like that.
So I'll just assume there was some magic involved that I don't yet understand. For starters, just a letter from the future is already something beyond my current knowledge and reasoning, so it's not worth analyzing any further.
"(╯°□°）╯ Oy! Why did it explode? I was still reading! Oh, right, it said earlier that it was going to explode… wait, how did it explode!?"
It seems Iris hadn't finished reading. I guess when I'm not interrupted, I read faster than she does.
She seemed initially dissatisfied because her reading was interrupted, but her attention quickly shifted to how the card had exploded.
"…Probably magic or some kind of skill."
"Oh! That makes sense, so Honey will be able to do things like that in the future... That's awesome!"
"By the way, how far did you get?"
"I was on the part about the sovereigns."
I don't know how much that future version of me had planned it, but it meant that Iris only went a little past the halfway point of the letter.
Coincidence or not, that was timely, since there were some things further on that she'd be better off not reading.
Well, I have a lot to process, and although I had my doubts at first, now I honestly think it would be for the best if what that letter says is true.
It would really be a big help for the future.
Luckily, it's something I can verify little by little over time—in fact, I can test it right now.
"System, you're there, right?"
[Affirmative]
"What have we been doing all this time?"
[The users have been staring at a blank piece of paper for over 10 minutes]
"I see… tell me something—the 'Message Card,' what can it do?"
[The Message Card allows the user to send a message regardless of the distance to the intended recipient]
"Okay, the name is pretty intuitive. Now tell me—you said there are no limits on distance, but what about time? Is it possible to send it to the past or the future?"
[Incorrect: The Message Card doesn't have that functionality; you can only send a message in the present]
"Any exceptions or possibilities?"
[I cannot answer those questions.]
"There you go… well, now I have more confirmation."
And that's what I wanted to know… no matter what the situation, I definitely need to keep a Message Card on hand until it's needed.
"Oh, Honey! Look at the reward for this chain mission—we can go outside temporarily."
While I was questioning the system, Iris seemed to be looking at the chain missions and other things…
A lot happened in a short period of time, and I still have a lot to think about and process.
But that's exactly why it's better to get everything in order so I can do everything correctly—so first things first.
"Iris."
"Call me, love"
"No. 눈_눈, remember that I still have a lecture to give you."
"Ugh! H-Honey, is that really necessary? It wasn't anything important."
"I see that limiting myself to just one hour isn't a good idea after all; I don't think you'll be able to understand it in such a short time."
"No way! Honey, you promised—just one hour..."
"Fine, but pay attention."
"Yes, Ah!... If they're selling these, Honey, can I spend five Myrr?"
"Huh? Where'd that come from all of a sudden?... Fine, whatever—it's only five Myrr."
"Yeah! I'm going to buy this!... Here, Honey, this is one of your favorite passion fruit-flavored candies; they're five per Myrr—I bought 25."
"눈_눈, don't think you're going to bribe me with this."
I was already wondering why she wanted five Myrr. The store sells everything we know and could buy in our previous life, including these candies, which are actually my favorites and I used to eat all the time.
It's pretty obvious what she's trying to accomplish by giving them to me right now… but I'll take them anyway.
I actually like the taste; just eating them also makes my mind feel clearer.
So I took one and popped it into my mouth. The sweet, familiar flavor, for some reason, brought me a sense of calm and stability.
I feel like this is proof that despite all the absurd things that kept happening, I'm actually in a very real situation.
"(￣ 3￣), it's not a bribe—I just happened to remember them. It's weird that you didn't buy any; you always used to have a drawer full of these. And heh~, they're my favorites too, since they make your kisses sweeter. Heh~, I'll savor you later."
"Ahem! Let's put that aside. Okay, listen, what I wanted you to understand is that your current strength isn't the same as it was in our—"
I started explaining to Iris what the problem was. I couldn't let things slide, no matter how eye-catching the rest might be.
That can still wait until later; after all, it's not urgent, unlike the possibility of Iris trying to pull off a 'Fatality' move.
..
.
Huh? What happened there?
As I was explaining to Iris, I sensed something strange about the doppelganger. He was supposed to have spent most of the day exploring his surroundings and getting used to his new environment.
He hadn't paid any attention to what was happening on this side, and neither had I paid any attention to his side after Rose arrived.
Now that I think about it from his perspective, I realize that he was standing in front of a fox girl with strange blue hair, and his situation was…
*****