After Saving a Beautiful Girl Who Is the Target of a Handsome Guy With a Dangerous Secret Face, I Found Myself Destroying His Entire Harem and Playing with All of the Beautiful Girls
“Tell me everything. All of it, to me.”
Ichinose’s face is right there.
Ichinose’s eyes are on me.
“What do you mean, Tell me everything?”
“Don’t play dumb. Look me in the eye.”
“Ummm….”
“I know about Ryosuke. We haven’t been together for a long time, and we only started talking since April of this year…But I’ve been thinking about Ryosuke. That’s why I understand. Ryosuke. How much is he carrying, Alone.”
“……, you’re worried about me, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m worried about you. Yes, I’m very, very worried about you.”
I’m honestly glad that you are worried about me like this.
…. but
“Thank you. But I’m fine. That’s why ……”
“You’re not fine!”
Ichinose raises her voice.
“Maybe I don’t know it, but Ryosuke has been acting strange lately. Sometimes he’s silent, like he’s deep in thought, but he’s still unnaturally normal. You’re forcing yourself, aren’t you?”
“I’m not forcing myself. It’s okay. I just don’t want Ichinose and the others to worry about me…”
“That’s a lie. Normally, Ryosuke could have avoided a surprise attack like this. But why was he dragged into an empty classroom like this? No one knew who it was until I spoke up, right?”
“!”
I was certainly too focused on thinking.
If I had been the usual me, I would not have been taken on top of like this.
“It’s Ryosuke’s thing, he’s trying to take it all on his shoulders and solve it all by himself, isn’t he? That’s certainly the right answer.
Because Ryosuke is strong and he would rather not be slowed down by someone else. I agree with that idea. But you know, Ryosuke is in danger now. He is controlled by anger. There is no way he can fight in such a state. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
There were no words to reply.
Ichinose sees through everything.
She is aware of it.
My calm self gradually revealed itself.
“Ryosuke. I also like Ryosuke who is a little stubborn like that., …… but that’s why I’m worried about you.
I don’t want you to hold on to it. I don’t want you to have a hard time. I want to help you just like Ryosuke did for me.”
The curtains swayed and light leaked through the cracks.
The glimpse of Ichinose’s face is gentle and warm.
I can’t take my eyes off her.
“You haven’t grieved yet, have you? You’ve been holding onto your painful feelings for a long time. That way, you won’t find a correct answer. So–let it all out. To me, everything.”
“!!!”
What is this feeling?
Something inside of me that’s been holding me back is about to overflow.
I can’t do it. Because I still have to do what I have to do …….
“Ryosuke”
Ichinose touches my cheek.
— At that moment
The curtains open.
A warm light shines into the dark room.
Ichinose’s palm was warm as she touched my cheek.
It was full of tenderness for others.
Emotions welled up from within.
“I, I, I ……”
“Do you know? it is okay for you to feel sad or regret. Even if it looks bad from someone else’s perspective and is embarrassing for you, it’s necessary. In order to look forward and move forward in the right way. it has to be done.”
Ichinose wraps her hands around my head and presses them against her chest.
“It’s okay to cry. No matter how strong you are, no matter if you are a boy. It’s okay for adults to cry too.”
She patted my back slowly, in a steady rhythm.
“Then you will feel a little better. So now…okay?”
“……!!!”
No, I can’t believe I’m …… crying.
But my “willpower” is loosened by Ichinose’s temperature.
“You can cry in my chest –You are special.”
The moment I received those words, everything that had been holding me back overflowed at once.
I cried like a child.
My tears stained Ichinose’s uniform.
Tears flowed from my eyes without regard to that.
“Really, Ryosuke,”
Ichinose smiled gently.
Ichinose rubbed my back for a long time after that.
My tears didn’t stop.
They just wouldn’t stop.
♦ ♦ ♦
※Hananoi Ayaka’s point of view
I stood in front of the door.
I hear the voice of the person I love crying from inside.
I put my hand on the door and pull it back.
Yayoi and Miyako standing next to me realized something as well.
They looked at each other and nodded.
“Shall we leave them alone for now?”
“…… I guess so.”
“That’s what’s best for Kujo-kun.”
I slowly walk away from the empty classroom.
…… I see.
But because we want the person we love to be happy.
Because we want him to get well soon.
There is little we can do, but we want to return the favor to Ryosuke-kun.
So we quietly leave the place.
Because we know that this is “happiness” for all of us.