Chapter 163: Hes the one I love so much! |
With a resounding thud that reverberated through the cafeteria, the bustling noise instantly fell silent. Everyone present turned their attention to the girl named Shijouin Haruka, who had just struck the table with both hands.
“Could you please stop with your disrespectful remarks if you can’t just listen quietly…!?” Despite the multitude of shocked stares, Haruka boldly raised her voice.
“Shinichirou-kun isn’t just unremarkable, he’s incredibly cool! He perseveres through anything, achieves incredible things, and never gives up even in the face of obstacles! Yet, he’s incredibly kind. He’s helped me countless times, more times than I can count!”
The five boys, frozen in astonishment, faced the unexpected surge of anger from the girl they thought of as a gentle, airheaded beauty.
“I can list Shinichiro-kun’s wonderful qualities endlessly! He’s incredibly intelligent, an excellent teacher in studies, excels at part-time work beyond his years, and his shy and smiling face is so endearing. His dependability when he helps me out when I’m in trouble just fills me with warmth!”
Praised from every angle, I felt my face burning with embarrassment, yet Haruka’s words were an unexpected joy for me.
“He’s far more wonderful than any of you… He’s the one I love so much!”
Placing her hand over her heart, Haruka proclaimed without a trace of hesitation—her intensity causing every single person in the cafeteria to widen their eyes.
(…Haruka…)
“Alright, that’s enough, all of you.”
Facing the group of five who were frozen by Haruka’s outburst, I spoke slowly.
“I understand that you might not be convinced, but I’m genuinely dating Haruka. If you still have complaints, speak up.”
The five seemed to realize their disadvantage and hurriedly retreated.
Finally, the time of contention was over, but…
“Oh…!?”
The next thing that happened was a tremendous applause from the students in the cafeteria.
“You did it, Shijouin-san!” “That was so satisfying!” “Ugh… Is he really that into her!?” “Geez, this is so embarrassing…” “Damn, I’m so envious…! That geeky guy!” “Ugh, I want a boyfriend who can say that too!”
As if enjoying such entertainment, many of the girls clapped and cheered with excitement, and quite a few boys joined in too.
…While there were many resentful voices from the boys, that was to be expected.
“Uh… I mean… I just shouted something in the heat of the moment…”
In the midst of the thunderous applause, Haruka seemed to have cooled down and now looked at her actions with a calmer head.
“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t just let it slip, I completely revealed it, didn’t I…”
“No, no, it was already quite obvious, and it’s completely fine,” I said, patting Haruka’s apologetic head, savoring the sensation of her silky hair.
Then, moving a step closer to her so that no one else could hear, I spoke in a soft, whispering voice.
“More importantly… I was so happy.”
“Eh?”
“I was so happy that you got so angry, and you affirmed me so strongly… It made my head tingle with happiness.”
“N-No, it’s just… I only said what I was thinking…”
Because it was what you were thinking, that’s why it made me so happy, I murmured in my heart, continuing to stroke her head with love.
“Knowing that you genuinely feel that way, that’s why I was so happy. So… thank you.”
“Shinichirou-kun…”
“It seems I’ve become quite the celebrity,” I said, and Haruka flashed a bright smile as if a flower had bloomed.
Confirming our mutual feelings was a very pleasant experience. Haruka and I gazed at each other absentmindedly.
“Both of you… shouldn’t you take a look around soon?” Fudehashi teased, and I snapped back to reality. The applause had somehow stopped, replaced by curious gazes directed at us.
Looking closer, our three classmates were also watching us with grinning faces. Finally, we realized that we were layering embarrassment on top of embarrassment.
“Well… because we get carried away with each other, we should be a bit more careful…” “Y-Yes…”
I couldn’t even count how many times my face had turned red since earlier. Haruka and I sat down to escape the attention, enduring the unending grinning looks.
Thanks to this event, our relationship quickly became known throughout the school… for a while, both Haruka and I found ourselves constantly in the spotlight just by walking down the hall.
“It feels like we’ve become celebrities,” I remarked.
“Yes, it’s quite ticklish… It still seems to be the talk of the entire school,” Haruka responded.
After school, in the library, where we were both alone together for the first time in a while, taking turns as library committee members. In the quiet room, we reminisced about the events of the past few days.
After that cafeteria incident, it seemed that the information had spread quickly. When we returned to the classroom, we were surrounded by our classmates.
“I knew it! I thought it was a done deal from the morning!”
“Congratulations, Niihama-kun! Your persistent style has paid off!”
“I’ve been worried for so long, so this is a bit refreshing.”
While I was grateful for their congratulations, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort. The way everyone was talking made it sound like it had been obvious for a long time that I liked Haruka.
When I voiced this question…
“Hahaha! What, were you trying to hide it with that!?” Red-faced, Akozaki, the idiot who had caused trouble during the cultural festival, burst into laughter. (TLN: Don’t remember his name and don’t want to check)
“Huh, no… Everyone was just considerate and kept quiet. To be honest, it would have been more strange if you weren’t dating with that level of intimacy…”
I was a bit taken aback by the exasperated expression on the handsome baseball team member, Tsukamoto. Other classmates nodded in agreement.
“Well, it’s a relief it was accepted more peacefully than I thought. Honestly, I was expecting a lot more of those five guys to show up, and that idiot Okatani might come back and start something again.”
“Yeah, that impolite and tactless guy… Don’t worry, if that happens, I’ll definitely drive him away. Honestly, I don’t want to see him again.”
“I- I see…”
As soon as that name was mentioned, Haruka’s face transformed into that of a fallen heroine with extinguished highlights. Her voice was colder than the glaciers of the Arctic.
S- Scary… She really does hate him…
“Oh, by the way, Haruka… How’s your body feeling?”
“Yes, for the first few days, I wasn’t quite back to normal… But now, I’m completely fine! Catching up with the late studying is tough, but I’m full of energy!”
Haruka responded with a smile brimming with vitality, and I felt relieved. After all, the connection of future memories was an unknown phenomenon for humanity. I had secretly worried if there might be any lingering effects.
“R-Right. Well, I have a suggestion…”
“Yes! I’ll accept any suggestion from you, Shinichirou-kun, so please feel free to say anything!”
The innocent girl once again said something so defenseless, causing my heart to waver. She was so adorable that I almost lost myself in it, but… I gathered my resolve and spoke.
“How about going out together this Saturday?”
(TLN) Ok! It’s done! I have translated every last chapter up until the end! They are readable RIGHT NOW on Ko-fi! Or, someone can donate to push them out all at once. Or, if you’re patient, you can wait for the chapters to be released daily. Whatever you choose, thank you for sticking with me!