He Appeared Like A God
It was indeed as if the man she was waiting for had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Or perhaps
he had gone back to his home country.
On her fourth day at the temple, Ichika carried two big wooden buckets and headed off to the river to
fetch water. Snow had fallen earlier, and the land outside the temple was a vast expanse of white.
Having been pampered since little, this was no easy feat for her. With arduous effort, she had finally
managed to lift the buckets of water off the ground when she suddenly lost her footing.
Thunk!
The girl tumbled to the ground, and the buckets immediately slipped off her fingers, which were by then
red and numb from the cold.
At that, she finally burst into tears and wailed uncontrollably, especially at the sight of her hands that
were bleeding from being cut by the sharp ice on the ground.
She was, after all, just a twenty-year-old young woman.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps crunching on snow and ice sounded, and a moment later, a pair of
black handmade men’s leather boots appeared in front of her.
“Huh?” Teary-eyed, she blinked and then lifted her head.
“So, are you enjoying your new life of silence at solitude at the temple?”
The man who had just appeared before her glimmered under the dazzling sunlight like a god that had
just descended from heaven. The sight was so surreal Ichika thought she must have been dreaming.
“H-Hubby?”
“Who’s your hubby? You’re a nun now. Where would you get a husband?”
Gazing down at her loftily, the man wore a cool expression on his handsome face. Even his eyes were
chilly as he gazed at her unwaveringly.
Ichika fell silent.
Her face paled a little as she averted her gaze and struggled to get off the ground.
He’s right. I don’t have a husband anymore. I guess I am really dreaming.
Once she got back on her feet, she picked up the two cracked buckets and began staggering in the
direction of the temple.
“Think carefully before you take another step, Ichika. If you choose to go back to that place now, I am
going to leave and never come back again. I’m not as selfless as you imagine. I’m only an ordinary
man, vulnerable to hate and resentment like everyone else. I only came here today to give myself a
chance, as should you!” Solomon’s voice rang out from behind her.
He did not attempt to coax her.
From his bloodshot eyes, it was evident that he had endured the past few days in a torturous state.
Thus, the words he just uttered were not altogether pleasant to the ears either. Instead, they went
straight to the point and conveyed his attitude plainly.
Besides, he had just recovered from his illness. The fact that he had even managed to do this was
already beyond himself.
If it were the past, he would have returned to his home country by now, and Ichika would indeed have
become a stranger to him.
Ichika jerked to a halt and froze as if she had just turned into a statue.
Then, as though an invisible hammer was pounding in her chest, all the hurt, pain, and hopes that she
had held inside instantly broke free and rose to the surface of her heart.
Tears sprang into her eyes once again.
“Y-You don’t blame me anymore?” She turned toward him, tears streaming down her face.
Gazing at her, Solomon did not answer but asked instead, “Well, did you do those things on purpose
back then?”
“Of course not!” Ichika shook her head, unable to stop weeping. “I didn’t mean any of it…”
“All right, then. That’s all that matters. I no longer want to think about the past anymore. You saw how I
came out of that dark abyss with your own eyes, too. Let’s give ourselves one more chance, Ichika.”
His gaze and tone softened, and he was beginning to sound like the kind man she used to know.
Hearing that, Ichika felt a burst of ecstasy spread through her heart.
Dropping the two buckets in her hands, she launched herself into his arms.
“Hubby!” she called out to him with the familiar nickname.
Diving into his embrace, she wrapped her arms around him tightly like a lost child who had finally found
a home and bawled her eyes out.
It was as if he was her salvation.
Previously, she had been his, but now their roles had switched.
Aoi, who had been watching the entire scene from afar, shed tears of joy in the car.
“Mrs. Minamoto…”
“Let’s go home. Mr. Minamoto will be glad to hear about such good news,” said Aoi, wiping her tears.
With that, they left the temple and headed home.
Two hours later, in a first-class shopping mall in Terrandya, Ichika had resumed her usual lively
character, eyes shining brightly.
“Does this look good on me, Hubby?” she asked, indicating the new wig and clothes she was clad in.
“Mm-hmm,” came Solomon’s reply.
He watched her silently.
By now, he had mostly understood what his heart really wanted.
For the past few days, shut in his villa, he had had the impulse of immediately leaving the city and
returning to his homeland countless times, but throughout none of those times had that decision made
him feel half as good as he did right now.
Perhaps a hint of bitterness still lingered in his heart, but he was certain, at that moment, that he could
not possibly feel more contented.
They went back once they were done shopping. Seeing as Christmas was merely four days away,
Solomon began preparing to return to his home country with Ichika in tow.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda