Chapter 2061: Eternal Youth’s Goodbye
Chapter 2061: Eternal Youth’s Goodbye
The price that Princess Mizuki paid when she made that wish was to never mature and be stuck at the mental age when she did the wish. One would think that this would have prompted the Dragon Turtle King to emerge from the hidden realm and search for Urashima Taro, but he did not. He does not know the dangers above as he would have left his realm unprotected. He is also like the Four Cardinal Divine Beasts as they cannot leave their own places.
The Dragon Turtle King tried sending some guards to fetch Urashima Taro, but the princess also wished for the safety of the boy. Every being that intends to take Urashima Taro or kill him will always fail. The Cintamani basically influenced probability to the point that anyone that harms Urashima Taro would be unlucky. This also had consequences to the princess as she felt her luck decrease.
The Dragon Turtle King could not stop the unlucky streak of his daughter and could only shield her from it. Fortunately, the people that wanted to harm Urashima Taro decreased over the years which is why the princess never became unlucky again. Still, the Dragon Turtle King can no longer attempt to drag Urashima Taro to the hidden realm and just waited for the latter to enter. What he did not know is that Urashima Taro was unable to enter the hidden realm because the key that he possessed has become attached to the boy's soul.
"Princess Mizuki, why don't we play one last time?" Urashima Taro stated as he suddenly smiled towards the princess like that of a young child.
"What do you!" King Kame Yashashi stated but Adrian stopped him from intervening.
"Really! Let us go!" Princess Mizuki stated as she grabbed Urashima Taro's hand, and they wandered around the hidden realm once again.
"Kanlaon, make sure to follow them around." Adrian commanded as Kanlaon turned smaller and followed behind the two.
"What is the meaning of this?! I thought you wanted to have the Cintamani extracted from him." King Kame Yashashi stated as he thought that Adrian suddenly stopped caring about what would happen to Urashima Taro.
"You said that the princess is stuck with the mental age of a child, right? Urashima Taro, on the other hand, is an old man stuck in the body of a child. He just needed to respond to the princess like a child would. Do not worry and let us observe them for now." Adrian stated as he saw the look of determination from Urashima Taro.
Urashima Taro and Princess Mizuki wandered around the hidden realm like children. They had guards following them, but they did not pay them any attention. The two of them looked like children trying to have fun despite being heavily monitored. Urashima Taro did not look like he was acting but actually enjoyed the time he is spending as if he is suddenly reliving his younger years.
They stopped by a talking turle's stall that sells candy coated barnacle shaped things. They immediately picked one each and enjoyed it to their heart's content. Of course, the ones that paid were none other than the attendants that were following closely behind them. The two just sat in an empty chair and happily finished their sweet like it was the most delicious thing in the world.
After they had their snack, they went to the nearest seahorse rancher and picked gigantic seahorses to ride on. There was even a simple racetrack where both of them played for at most an hour until they were somewhat tired. They enjoyed riding the seahorses and laughed like children that has no care about the world. The smile plastered on the faces of both of them could be seen as it was innocent.
"They are just playing." King Kame Yashashi stated as he is suddenly dumbfounded.
"You can say that this will be their last playtime. The princess wanted one thing from Urashima Taro and that is to spend time with him. What if the drawback of the wish was not the princess' mind being that of a child? What if it is actually the urge to fulfill your own wish that you were not able to do when you were once young?
If that were the case, then the princess not maturing is due to the unfulfilled wish. Remember that you told me that the Cintamani is a wish fulfilling stone. What if it grants both wishes of the wielder and wish receiver?" Adrian stated as this is what Urashima Taro might have realized seeing the attitude of the princess when they met.
"How certain are you about this?" King Kame Yashashi asked.
"Not really. Call it my own wish. Still, a happy child is much easier to console than a sad one. She might even listen to Urashima Taro's request once she is fulfilled." Adrian stated as even he knows that this might not be entirely true, and they were just wasting time.
Adrian thought that it might be a waste of time for him, but this might be the only chance that Urashima Taro has. The mortal's souls are really on the verge of breaking due to the intense backlash it receives whenever he gets restored to normal. Urashima Taro might have thought that his time is already numbered then why not enjoy what little he has left.
The two of them played to their hearts content until they arrived at the palace garden. Both of them were now having a tea party in the garden at the request of the dragon turtle princess. They were happily chatting amongst themselves while Adrian and King Kame Yashashi were nearby eavesdropping on their conversation. King Kame Yashashi actually wanted to pounce and tear apart Urashima Taro from his daughter, but he could not move because Adrian was looking at him.
"I really had fun!" Princess Mizuki stated with a bright smile.
"I had fun as well and I am also sorry for saying mean things to you. I was more frustrated at myself than at you." Urashima Taro stated as he did blame the princess, but he actually blamed himself the most.
"I understand. I was also very selfish by wishing to stay that way forever even if you did not want to." Princess Mizuki stated.
"I guess we did all the things we were unable to do when I came here first. We even added some more things in the bucket list. I guess you could say that I no longer have any regrets with my life." Urashima Taro stated.
"Do you really not want to stay with me?" Princess Mizuki asked.
"I would want to if only I could. We are both different but that also what makes us good friends. As a good friend, I wish for you to let me go so that I can have my peace." Urashima Taro stated as the princess suddenly started to get teary eyes.
"I still want to try new things and even go around the outside world with you. I guess I am really too selfish that I am clinging to that kind of hope." Princess Mizuki stated as her tears started to run down on her face.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I think you also know that I cannot do so. You have your Cintamani in my body which means you know well enough that I will never last that long to do all the things that you want to do together." Urashima Taro stated.
"I know which is why it is hurting me every time that I am being selfish." Princess Mizuki stated.
"I actually wanted to return here because I wanted to say goodbye one last time. I wanted to return back here after returning to my mother, but time flowed differently here. A hundred years flew by in the outside world which changed a lot. I guess I also tried to change with the time as well which made me forget my time here as my happiness suddenly became regret." Urashima Taro stated.
"I guess this is goodbye. At least, you kept your promise and returned as that is what I really wished for." Princess Mizuki stated as her tears ran down her face while she called upon her Cintamani since the wish has been fulfilled.
"Yes. I also actually wished to keep my promise back then. I guess that is also why your Cintamani reacted strongly and kept me alive because I have yet to fulfill my promise." Urashima Taro stated as his body started to turn into particles of light.
"I hope that we meet again even if your appearance changes. I will never forget the color of your soul. You will always be my friend that protected me from harm." Princess Mizuki stated.
"I hope we meet again as well. Remember that you were also the friend that helped me when I smiled even when I despaired. You were the one that truly reignited the hope that I have forgotten. Thank you and goodbye." Urashima Taro stated as he finally vanished in beautiful
sparks of light.