Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 85
Author Note:
Quite some time since I returned, but now I finally get things back to track, I post this chapter.1
Dear readers, please take care of me from now on.
Then Horikita began her monologue.
While she ignored Kikyou-chan in a bad mood, Horikita told us… about how she had become isolated in class and what happened as a result. To be honest, I found it hard to follow what she was saying, as she was emotional and parts of it were incoherent.
“I understand the situation. It must have been difficult.”
After hearing the whole story, Arisu-chan said as if she sympathized with her.
I didn’t know what she was thinking deep down, but at least on the surface, she appeared to be sympathetic.
“In short, Nagumo asked for ‘that kind of relationship,’ right?”
“…Yes.”
Horikita agreed to my words with a gloomy look on her face.
Right now, Horikita had no way of paying the 20 million points that were imposed on her from that event. When she told this to Nagumo, the organizer, he demanded that she join as his “property” as a condition for paying off Horikita’s debt. For a girl with a high sense of pride, this was nothing short of humiliating, but she reluctantly agreed, as she wanted to avoid expulsion at all costs.
Well, I didn’t care about that. It was none of my business what happened to Horikita. The fact that Kikyou-chan, who was sitting next to me, was unstable was a bigger problem.
[“Are you okay?”]
[“Yeah, somehow… I wish she’d leave soon.”]
Kikyou-chan held my hand tightly. I also wanted Horikita to leave soon.
“After school, I was called to that guy’s room. Then he suddenly started to approach me…”
The reason Horikita came crying to Arisu-chan today was because Nagumo had asked Horikita for physical relationships. It was easy to imagine that would happen considering that man’s nature…… but I can’t really sympathize with her. Since most of the reasons she ended up in her current state were due to her own actions and attitude, I couldn’t help but think that she should do something about it herself.
“…I see. So what do you want from us?”
Perhaps because I wanted her to leave, my tone became stronger.
It wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just exactly the kind of thing that Nagumo would do, so it wasn’t something that was particularly surprising.
With a cold heart, I took a sip of the tea on the table.
“What, you ask… You’re cold.”
“That may be true, but I don’t want to hear you, of all people, say that. Rather, if you don’t like it, you can just refuse everything and drop out of your own volition. What’s the point of staying in school after all this time?”
Horikita fell silent.
…If I were in her position, I would have abandoned everything and dropped out a long time ago. Probably because I didn’t see anything in this school worth selling myself for.
Perhaps the fact her brother was the student council president and stayed for three years in this school became the chain that held her back. I didn’t particularly want to help her, but I do feel a little pity for her situation.
“Also Arisu-chan… Do you know what I’m thinking right now?”
Arisu-chan nodded. She had been observing Kikyou-chan’s behavior for a while now. It seemed she understood my intentions without me having to say anything. I think that was the kind of skill that came from a long-standing relationship.
“Suzune-san. I would like to help you as a friend. But it’s not realistic for us to come up with the 20 million points you requested.”
It was actually quite realistic. Not that I would do it.
“Yes, I know that. That would be too good to be true.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help. In return, I’ll tell student council president Nagumo to not treat you so badly. I hope that will improve things a little.”
“…Thank you, Arisu.”
Her expression brightened a little. It was hard to imagine that Arisu would go out of her way to ask Nagumo for a favor, but those words must have really touched Horikita, who was already mentally cornered. Ever since she enrolled in this school, she probably never had been treated kindly by anyone at all.
If Horikita were in a normal state, she would have felt suspicious, but if she had enough composure to think of Arisu-chan’s smooth talk as “lies,” she probably wouldn’t have come here to begin with.
Perhaps satisfied with the answer, Horikita took a breath, then stood up and turned her back to us.
Just before she left, Kikyou-chan spoke to her, facing her back.
“Hey, can I say something?”
“…What?”
Her gaze pierced through Horikita. What would the cornered girl think when she saw that?
“I don’t know how the other two feel, but I hate you. I don’t think that will change regardless of what happens from now on. I can’t even stand the sight of you in this room right now. I’m sure we are just hopelessly incompatible.”
“I see. That’s too bad.”
Although Horikita said she was disappointed, she didn’t look particularly disappointed. It seemed that Horikita had given up on getting Kikyou-chan on her side.
“…Me, whose everything is covered with lies, and foolishly honest Horikita-san. There might be a future where our positions are reversed.”
“That’s why, make sure to be grateful for the two of them,” continued Kikyou-chan.
For a moment, Horikita’s iron mask wavered as she gazed upon Kikyou-chan’s emotion-filled eyes.
“What are you trying to say?”
There was no reply from Kikyou-chan.
“I’m sorry.”
After Horikita left, Arisu-chan first bowed to us.
“No, it’s fine. As long as you understand Kikyou-chan’s feelings, I’m fine with it.”
“I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t considerate enough.”
Arisu was probably planning to take Horikita at this time. Now that her favorability had risen to a good degree, she planned to sweet-talk her into becoming an obedient pawn. At the very least, Arisu-chan’s initial plan shouldn’t be an appeasement that was neither good nor bad like “I can’t prepare 20 million and there’s nothing I can do about that, but I’ll do my best.” I think she must have been thinking to make Horikita crazier about her initially.
It wasn’t that she forgot about Kikyou-chan. The relationship between the three of us wasn’t that shallow. It was simply that Arisu-chan decided it was an acceptable risk and that it was balanced by the return of gaining Horikita as a pawn.
That was why I had to put a stop to it. There was nothing I wanted so badly if it would hurt Kikyou-chan in the process. For the sake of the future, I need to make it clear that this wasn’t the right way.
“I love both of you. You two are practically family to me. That’s why I don’t want anything to happen that would create a rift in our relationship.”
“…Yes.”
“I know very well that Arisu-chan is doing things for my sake. I’m in a position to enjoy it, and I actually feel grateful for it. However…”
I glanced at Kikyou-chan. She now wore a gentle smile, which was a stark contrast to her previous appearance.
I want her to always have that expression. More specifically, I want her to forget about her past. I want to create an environment where she doesn’t have to put on a facade.
“I see. There may have been a discrepancy in our understanding of what should be our top priority.”
If it was me in the past, I would have enjoyed the fact that Arisu-chan was using other people as stepping stones to play around without a second thought. But that wasn’t the case now. I had another priority.
Still, it was entirely my mistake for not clearly conveying those values.
“…No, it’s my fault. I should have checked at least once when we were moving in the direction of not expelling Horikita. I’m sorry for butting in so suddenly.”
“N-no. I’m the one at fault…”
Both of us ended up feeling we were the ones who were in the wrong. It made us feel a little awkward and at a loss for words.
Seeing us like that, Kikyou-chan laughed.
“Ahaha, you two, stop fighting over me. Geez…”
She looked so happy. Just seeing that warmed my heart.
…As I thought, I want to protect this space.
It was midnight.
I suddenly woke up and got up from the bed.
Then I noticed that Kikyou-chan, who was supposed to be asleep with us, was nowhere to be seen.
…Is something wrong?
It couldn’t have been the kind of time when she suddenly remembered she had to do something and returned to her own room.
After that, we had a lively conversation about many things, and it was past 1 AM when we went to bed.
I walked a little, shining the light on my smartphone at my feet.
I noticed that Kikyou-chan’s shoes were no longer in the entranceway. I suddenly felt anxious about that.
It would be terrible if something were to happen to a girl who went out alone this late.
I quickly put on my shoes, opened the door, and ran toward the elevator.
“Ah…”
A familiar voice reached my ear.
Standing close to the elevator, Kikyou-chan was looking up at the night sky.
“…I was worried. Why are you here?”
“Sorry. I just can’t sleep.”
I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and stood next to Kikyou-chan.
“Is it about Horikita after all?”
“Yes. She really is a stupid woman… she actually sells herself, even though her personality wouldn’t normally allow her to.”
The expression on her face wasn’t that of ridicule.
Was it sympathy or pity?
“Regarding that, I think a large part of it is just her reaping what she sowed.”
“Fufu, Haruto-kun is surprisingly harsh… I was wondering if I would be satisfied if she dropped out. Now I’m no longer sure if that is the right answer.”
It was safe to say that Horikita’s expulsion was becoming a reality. After hearing my thoughts, the possibility of Arisu-chan reaching out to Horikita was gone.
However, currying favor with Nagumo and surviving on his good side was something that Horikita wouldn’t be able to do. If she was the kind of person who could handle things like that, she wouldn’t have been disliked by those around her in the first place.
If nobody did anything about this, she would be expelled. This was inevitable.
“…In that case, should we leave it to Arisu-chan?”
“No way. I can’t stand the idea of someone like that coming into my precious place. That’s why I’m grateful to Haruto-kun for stopping Arisu-chan. Thank you.”
It was difficult. It seemed that Kikyou-chan herself hadn’t been able to sort out her feelings either.
With all the sleepiness gone from my head, I tried to think clearly.
…Raising 20 million points itself is easy. If I ask Honami, she will provide it right away.
So I came up with a third option.
“Let’s say I prepare 20 million points and give it to Kikyou-chan. How about you use it to help her out?”
“So on the surface, it will look like I saved Horikita?”
“Yes. To be honest, I think it would be fine for her to just drop out. But that’s only if Kikyou-chan also wants it. If Kikyou-chan sees some kind of value in Horikita Suzune as a person and thinks she is necessary, then the story is different. In that sense, you might not exactly save her just on the surface.”
I had no intention of making any move unless Kikyou-chan asked me to. This was an important point.
“So is it up to me if I want to save her?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, thank you. Let me think about it a little.”
Seeing Kikyou-chan’s actions, I immediately sent a message to Honami.
The content was, ‘Can you give me 20 million points?’
…Even though it is three in the morning, I received a reply right away.
It was a little creepy, but she said she’d get it ready quickly.
“For now, I got the okay on this side. I’ll send you the points soon, so please accept them.”
I think it would be better to “give” 20 million points rather than lend it.
There was no limit on how the money would be used. I wanted to leave it all to Kikyou-chan.
She would think carefully and decide whether she wanted to use the points for Horikita or herself. With those points, she could even transfer to a class of her choice after all.
“……I think Haruto-kun is the strongest in this school right now.”
“No no, that’s not the case.”
I would lose to the woman who would prepare 20 million points with just a single message.2
As we were talking, we started to feel sleepy, so Kikyou-chan and I returned to our room.
When I turned on the light, Arisu-chan was lying on the bed, having apparently woken up.
“Was what I did so terrible that I deserve to be left alone like this?”
“Sorry!”
I didn’t know if she was worried or lonely, but she was half crying.
Seeing that, both of us apologized profusely.
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