Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 44
Around evening the next day, Honami visited our room.
“Haruto-kun, I bought a cake!”
“O-oh.”
Is it okay for you to skip practice? Such was what I was thinking, but it seemed she was recovering her physical strength today… or at least that’s what her official excuse stated.
I was satisfied with the immediate change in her behavior. At the very least, the previous Honami couldn’t have done this kind of “slacking off.” She would have definitely spent her whole time working or practicing for the sports festival.
…It was okay to cut corners if it wasn’t that important. By thinking so, her mental burden would be reduced. I think it was a good change for her.
“…I am surprised.”
Arisu-chan put her hand over her mouth in surprise. But well, I was also surprised.
“Uwah, that’s amazing.”
Kikyou-chan was also in our room today, but she also had a similar reaction.
As for what we were surprised about…
“Fufuh, as you asked me to, I left to spend 500,000 points on myself. I ended up spending over that amount though… It sure feels good to shop without restraint. Is this okay, master?”
Don’t naturally refer to me as “master”.
The reason we were surprised was her outfit. It was clearly something high class.
In addition to the neat and clean coordination, there was a sparkling white pendant around her neck. None of them ruined her image, and she honestly looked pretty cute.
“That’s so beautiful.”
Kikyou-chan and I approached and observed the pendant. A key-shaped charm hung from a chain that appeared to be made of platinum. There were several small gems embedded there… Wow, were those diamonds?
It looked really good on her, but no matter how you looked at it, it was definitely not something a normal high school student would wear. If I had to make a comparison, it would be something like a noble lady.
“This one is also a branded item, eeh…”
I didn’t know much about fashion, so I had no idea what was amazing except for the pendant. Kikyou-chan seemed to have some knowledge of the topic and couldn’t hide her surprise over each item.
“Nya, it’s embarrassing if you stare like that!”
Honami’s face flushed red, but it was actually amazing, so it couldn’t be helped to have such an impression.
She was already pretty to begin with, so the things she wore made her beauty stand out even more. She was so beautiful that it made her seem to exude some sort of divinity. Did she truly become a real goddess?
If she walked outside like that, things would become really messy. It wouldn’t end with just people staring at them.
“By the way, you said you overspent.”
“In the end, I ended up spending around a million points… I was a little hesitant when I bought the first pair of clothes, but once I bought one, I couldn’t stop.”
That was way too over the designated amount. It was frigging a million. I thought she couldn’t even spend 500,000… but it seemed she was rather weak to her desires. I guess she was the type of person who couldn’t stop once her limiter was removed.
“…Okay. Then let’s hold back from spending more points for the time being. It’s not good to overspend, after all. I think it’s already relieved your stress, so if things get tough again, you can go ahead and spend it on a whim.”
“Thank you. It really made me feel refreshed.”
She gave me a nice smile. But when Arisu-chan saw that… she was trembling for some reason.
“U-um. Honami-san, to you, Haruto-kun is…”
“He is my master. Nothing more and nothing less. Arisu-chan should understand what I mean, right?”
Honami cut off Arisu-chan’s words with a tone that contained pressure.
I was too busy yesterday and couldn’t explain the circumstances. I guess I should do so before we sleep today.
“I see… was I mistaken?”
“I’ll be troubled if you ask me. But Arisu-chan is the only girlfriend for Haruto-kun, right? You are closer to him than I am, so I’d prefer you not to have that kind of expression.”
Honami became bold enough to say such words. The fact she could say things bluntly like this was a good thing.
“Is this your revenge for the day before yesterday?”
“No, I have no such intention. I know that Arisu-chan is much smarter and more amazing than I am. If Arisu-chan didn’t help me, by now I would be… losing all the time, and maybe I would have lost my status as the leader. Even if you helped me out of other intentions, the fact you helped me doesn’t change.”
She knew herself well. Although Arisu-chan definitely didn’t help her for Honami’s sake, it didn’t change the fact that Arisu-chan’s support until now benefited her greatly.
Depending on Arisu-chan’s actions, it was possible for Ryuuen and Katsuragi, who were suffering at the moment, to reverse the situation. Even if Arisu-chan didn’t help Honami out of goodwill, Honami still had to thank Arisu-chan for it. Arisu-chan had helped Honami that much to be the ruler of Class A after all.
“What do you want from me from now on?”
Arisu-chan asked with a feeble voice. She sounded like she lost her confidence, or rather, seemed to feel hurt mentally. I was thinking about talking over it slowly tonight when we were all alone.
“I want you to be my real friend.”
“…Is it really okay? That’s—”
“It’s okay. I know well that Arisu-chan made your move only for Haruto-kun’s sake after all.”
Honami was always in control of the conversation. Perhaps she already sorted out her mind yesterday, but she became so much stronger that she could be mistaken for someone else. As I thought, her biggest weakness was her mental fortitude. As long as that part was in good condition, Honami could even confront Arisu-chan like this.
And Honami wasn’t the one I should be worried about today.
Arisu-chan’s eyes moistened as she grabbed my sleeve. She held it with all her strength as if to show her resolve to not let it go.
“I understand. Not only will I be your friend, but I promise that I won’t do anything that will harm Honami-san from now on. So please, don’t take him away from me. If he’s not by my side, then I…”
“Arisu-chan, you are really… Ahaha, I guess I’m really no match for you. I won’t do something like that after all this time.”
It seemed Honami sensed something as she saw Arisu-chan bowing her head and begging. Honami then gave a gentle smile and patted Arisu-chan’s head. Arisu-chan also accepted it without resisting and shed a single tear.
The two, who had been so incompatible, might finally become friends this time.1
After things calmed down, we began to eat the cake that Honami bought.
It seemed this cake was pretty expensive and it was actually very tasty.
“This cake is really delicious.”
Kikyou muttered that while drinking coffee. She remained quiet until now, perhaps out of consideration of the two. Even though there must have been things she wanted to do today… and I loved this part of her.
However, I didn’t want her to put on a façade while she was with us. This was something I wouldn’t give up on regardless of who came to our group.
“Kikyou-chan, you don’t have to wear your façade.”
“…Is it okay?”
“Honami should be okay. If by any chance she did something that will inconvenience Kikyou-chan… I will cut my ties with her.”
Since it was a relationship I made myself, I would take responsibility if problems happened. I had that much resolve.
Honami’s body trembled at my words. I felt bad for saying it like a threat, but this was important to me. I also knew well that Kikyou-chan didn’t have a good opinion of Honami.
She wouldn’t trust me if I didn’t say that much, and I needed to draw the line properly.
“N-no. I definitely will not do such a thing, so please don’t abandon me.”
Honami clung to me while shaking her head left and right.
It seemed Kikyou-chan understood that and she shrugged her shoulders.
“Ah~ okay. So Honami-chan actually is this kind of person. Somehow, it feels a little disappointing.”
“…I fell in love with him, so it can’t be helped.”
“I thought you were a perfectly good person, but you seem to be more pathetic than I thought.”
“T-that’s terrible…”
Kikyou-chan immediately used her poisonous tongue, which shocked Honami. I could even hear the sound of her heart getting pierced.
When interacting with the original Kikyou-chan, she would naturally make this kind of remark.
…I did think Kikyou-chan was more attractive without her façade, and once you got used to it, it even felt cute. It might take some time, but I had no worries in that regard. Even if our relationships change, it wouldn’t change the fact that Honami was a good person at her core.
“What would the other students think if they learned that Honami-chan is actually this pathetic?”
“Don’t say that…”
“Ahahah, no way. I hate you very much after all.”
Kikyou-chan just said whatever she liked. She laughed in joy as she saw Honami depressed.
It seemed Kikyou-chan had some stress piled up as well. I guess it was better for her to vent it at this opportunity.
“I’m sorry. Did I do something bad?”
“I hate that part of you, but I don’t think you will understand even if I told you.”
“No way…”
Perhaps her mood was slightly better as her words sounded milder.
As Honami snuggled against me while looking like she was about to cry, Kikyou-chan continued.
“You lived like a good person and were flattered by everyone, but in reality, you are so weak that you will break if you don’t cling to someone. Isn’t that just idiotic? However, because you are such a person, I think I can get along with you.”
“Eh?”
After Kikyou-chan continued to belittle Honami, she suddenly said kind words. This was the reason why I thought it would be alright.
Despite her behavior, Kikyou-chan was a very kind girl. However, the only people who could feel that were only those who could endure her “true nature.” For example, someone like Horikita would definitely be unable to. Considering Horikita’s personality, she would vehemently refute the words Kikyou-chan said to her earlier. As a result, it ended up as a quarrel and the relationship deteriorated to the point of no return. In addition, exactly because Kikyou-chan understood that she chose to wear her “mask.”
That was what made Honami different from Horikita. Even if she took mental damage from what Kikyou-chan said, Honami would still listen obediently and accept it. As long as she could do this, Kikyou-chan would also understand that Honami was someone she could reveal her true nature to without hesitation.
“I’m saying that I don’t hate the current Honami-chan. I honestly am impressed you don’t show any ill will even after I said this much to you. Well, as long as you don’t take Haruto-kun and Arisu-chan away from me… I don’t mind hanging out with you sometimes. Not you as the god, but you as a normal person.”
“Ki-Kikyou-chan! Thank you!”
Honami’s expression brightened and she embraced Kikyou-chan. The fact that Kikyou-chan accepted it despite looking annoyed by it showed how gentle she was.
Although they seemed to be incompatible, these two surprisingly got along well.
After that, the chat became lively and the four of us were able to spend our time together.
However, they didn’t stay over and returned to their own rooms. They seemed to notice our circumstances and chose to leave obediently.
While doing the evening routine, I told Arisu-chan what happened after we parted the day before yesterday.
The explanation began before we bathed, and it ended when bedtime arrived.
While nodding deeply to each episode, Arisu-chan began to understand.
“I will always love you no matter what happens, Arisu-chan, so you don’t have to worry.”
Looking at her reaction when she talked to Honami, I thought Arisu-chan seemed to misunderstand something. In order to solve that, there was a need to match accounts.
“I’m sorry. Even though I understand that in my mind… I am always scared at the thought you might abandon me. I always think you might feel upset about something I have done.”
As I feared, she actually thought like that. She feared I might switch my lover to Honami and disappear from her side. Arisu-chan was such a worrywart.
“That will never happen. I will never leave you until the moment of death.”
“Aah, thank you very much. Please stay with me forever.”
Arisu-chan smiled as she traced my cheeks. Perhaps she felt a little better?
This relationship wouldn’t change. No matter what happened or who came into our lives.
Our world wouldn’t exist if one of us was missing.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
