Perhaps because of that morning incident, I was tangled up with Koutora for almost the entire day.

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[TL note: changing Yasutora to Koutora, seems more appropriate.]

 

At the same time, it felt so uncomfortable that I decided to run home as soon as the after-school chime rang.

 

“Hey Kreis-kun, did something happen between you and Nanjo-san!?”

”… Nope, nothing of the sort.”

 

And as soon as I logged in, I was immediately approached and interrogated by Philia-san.
It seems that not only Koutora but also Hiyori was concerned about that matter.

 

“Well, that attitude of Nanjo-san was something unlike her, wasn’t it?”

 

“That’s true,… Umm, I can’t explain it very well, but Nanjo-san was a bit different from her usual self…”

 

“…, it must be just your imagination.”

 

“G~nu.”

 

I can’t help but feel a bit flabbergasted.
I was about to type again that “Really, I have nothing going on with Nanjo-san” but decided not to … The reason is because I thought that if I repeatedly deny it, it would only look suspicious.

 

Also, I wasn’t confident that I could explain it well.
I thought I should just let it slide and say that I was concerned about Hiyori.
She was a real pain in the a*s.
I felt like I am starting to have a grudge against Nanjo Rin.

 

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Certainly, there is some sort of secret between me and Nanjo Rin.

 

But it’s not a s**y story, and if you ask me, I’m sure you’d also think it’s rather silly.

Nanjo Rin’s cat-mask is such that she went to the trouble of asking me to keep it a secret. 

Hiyori probably doesn’t know anything about it though.
Perhaps there is no one else who knows about it apart from me.
My nature is not so twisted that I would go an extra mile to spread that secret, nor am I even the least bit interested in her.

 

But for some reason, I felt as though I was keeping something from her, and it made me guilty.

 

“I felt like even her makeup was different from usual…, really, I think something definitely happened to her,…”

 

“How did you even think that I would know?’”

 

However, Hiyori seemed unconvinced.

 

As expected of someone very fond of her.
She was even aware of the small changes that took place in her.
To think that she was able to manipulate Hiyori to that degree..
It really makes me jealous.

 

That’s why I was well aware that my answers were becoming blunter as we continued to talk about this matter.

 

“Hiyori, you really keep an eye on Nanjo Rin very closely, don’t you?”

 

“Well, yes, since she was the one who saved me from being isolated after all.”

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“――――.”

 

 

 

That was unexpected.
For a moment, my thoughts came to a halt as I felt my consciousness rapidly getting colder.
It was as if an ice-cube had been dropped at my back.

 

“Isolated?”

 

“When I was in middle school,… As you know, my personality in real life was something like this.
Also, I had to move away from my hometown due to my mother remarrying.”

 

“… I see.”

 

“So, I’m grateful to Nanjo-san.”

 

 

As Philia-san talked in a bright mood saying that it was not such a big deal, I realized that she had already buried it in the past.
But even so, my heart was making incredible sounds, beating fast like bells ringing.
My hands were wet with sweat and shaking, I couldn’t even remember how I used to type.
It was indeed a miracle how I was able to reply right away.

 

I started to look back at Hiyori’s recent behavior around me.
At first glance, she appeared serious and mature, yet there was something lacking that made me unable to take my eyes off her.
― and then I understood.
I’ve never seen a face that looked so lonely and aloof before.

 

What popped into my mind was the smile Hiyori gave me this morning.

I’m not sure why, but that image suddenly lost its color as it crumbled away. 

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“There were also other people who helped me too.”

“I see.”

“I’m grateful for them too, you know?”

“I see.”

 

My thoughts were a mess.
I couldn’t come up with anything other than a simple affirmative reply.
Even though Hiyori was trying to say something, I couldn’t comprehend a single word of it.
Just that feelings of guilt and regret were already rampaging in my chest to-n-fro.

 

That night, I had a hard time falling asleep.
I must have been exhausted from thinking too much, but sleep never came.

 

―Hiyori was isolated.

 

I didn’t even know anything about that.
I tossed and turned several times on bed and watched as morning came without having a good night’s sleep.

 

I felt terrible.

 

A heavy drowsiness and light-headedness assaulted me, but my thoughts were strangely clear.
I crawled out of bed, dragging my heavy body.
Somehow, it was difficult to face Hiyori.

 

“…!”

“Hiyori…!”

 

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But as I opened the door, I suddenly came face to face with her.
It seems that we both came out of the room at the same time.
When I tried to call out her name, my voice gradually became smaller by the end. 

 

Hiyori was already wearing her school uniform and holding a bag in her hand.
Was she about to leave the house already?

 

Seeing as she was her usual self, which had no shadow on her expressions, I breathed a small sigh of relief.

[TL: shadow means dark feelings perhaps]

 

“”…””

 

An indescribable silence followed.
Hiyori looked away, but I could see that she was still conscious of me.
However, for some reason, I couldn’t look directly at Hiyori.

 

“…Ah”

“―!”

 

It happened all of a sudden.
It was as if something was changing about her.
Hiyori was trying to word something from her mouth.
I have no idea what she was trying to say to me.
But– suddenly I started to feel scared.

 

As if trying to escape, I went back inside my room while trembling.
I slumped down to the floor with my back against the door as if I was being sucked in by it.
From my back, I could feel the warm presence of a flustered Hiyori coming from behind the door. 

That made me feel even more guilty as time passed. 

Really, what the heck am I doing …

 

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