Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139843121925685/episodes/822139843947013781
“Senpai!”
On the way back from Tsukino’s house.
Karen suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
“Ka, Karen…! Why are you here…?”
“Ahaha, what are you talking about… I was the one who told Senpai Tsukino-chan was planning to go overseas, right? After that, it was easy to predict Senpai would go to Tsukino-chan’s house!”
“True… I see…”
Right.
After Yukina cleaned my ears and I woke up… I had one message from Karen.
‘Senpai! It seems Tsukino-chan is planning to move overseas tomorrow night…! Do you know why?’
—That’s what it said.
So, I borrowed Yuki’s phone while she was still in the hospital room, called Tsukino… and ended up sneaking out of the hospital room to come to Tsukino’s house.
But I had questions for Karen too.
—Why is she contacting me at this exact moment?
Then, Karen closed the distance between us with a big smile—
“Come on, you must be tired. I’ll push your wheelchair.”
She said that.
“Is that okay? Karen. This really helps…!”
“Not at all! I’m the one who should be thanking you! Because—you helped Tsukino-chan just as I planned…!”
“…Just as you planned?”
Karen’s words caught in her throat for a moment.
“Yes, exactly as I planned… I’m a sneaky person, you see. I realized even I couldn’t do anything about Tsukino-chan anymore… so I guided you into stopping her.”
“Th-then… that email…”
“Yes. I knew the whole reason Tsukino-chan was planning to move. That was—bait to lure you to her house.”
Before she knew it, the brightness from earlier had vanished from Karen’s voice.
It was somehow cold, inorganic, and carried a sense of deep darkness at its core… that kind of tone.
“Huh… I see. But you could have just asked me normally, you know? I thought we were at least friends…?”
“…Friends…? Was there a world line where we could have been friends?”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Senpai. After doing something so terrible, I’m not thick-skinned enough to say ‘we’re friends’… If only we’d met differently… it might have been better.”
“Karen…”
Her voice sounded lonely.
[When Yu-san was desperately struggling to save us, I couldn’t do anything to help. If I’d tried harder, I could have done something.]
I remembered Tsukino’s words.
Could it be… both Karen and Yukina had the same experience, feeling the same pain…?
“…From the look on your face, I gather Tsukino-chan told you the gist of it.”
“… You noticed.”
“Hehe, your expressions give you away, Senpai. …Well, that’s part of your charm though…!”
Karen smiled briefly before immediately reverting to her cold expression.
“Both Yukina-chan and I, just like Tsukino-chan, carry a sin we can never fully atone for in this lifetime…”
“…I told Tsukino this too, but do you absolutely have to atone for it? I don’t really care either way…”
“――It’s impossible. I made you suffer terribly, I broke you… I can’t forgive myself.”
Karen clenched her fists tightly.
But… as if remembering something, Karen’s expression snapped to attention, and she flashed a cheerful smile—
“Ah! I got sidetracked. Originally—I came here to talk about something else entirely!”
“Something else?”
“Yes! I came to thank you, Senpai, for stopping Tsukino-chan!”
She said this in an excited tone, then suddenly leaned close to my ear.
Sweet breath tickled my ear—
“…Is there… anything you want as a reward? Senpai?”
Her sweet whisper melted my rationality.
She is bewitching, seductive temptation froze my thoughts for an instant.
“Huh? Senpai? Are you frozen stiff from your heart pounding too hard? You look like a machine spitting out an error.”
“…Ah, ah! Sorry!”
“Hehe, Senpai, you’re surprisingly cute, aren’t you?”
“Karen? Were you teasing me?”
“Of course not! Because I—”
Karen said cheerfully—then suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck from behind.
And then—
“For Senpai, I’m willing to give you any reward… you know?”
Once again, she whispered it right into my ear.
I couldn’t see her face, but I was sure she was wearing a mischievous grin.
“Haaah! …S-Stop whispering, it’s bad for my heart…”
“Oh? Did you get embarrassed, Senpai? You really are cute.”
“Cute again…”
“Hehe, Senpai is cute, you know? …Cute enough that I’d want to lock you away in a safe place and protect you forever… right?”
Suddenly, Karen’s voice dropped, and the brightness from before vanished.
“…”
“Ah, of course, I’m joking! You don’t need to be so wary~!”
“Y-Yeah, right! That’s a relief.”
“Yes! Even if I thought it, I wouldn’t actually do it!”
“Wait, you were thinking it…?”
If only it had all been a joke… how much better that would have been.
After Tsukino, the next one I need to deal with is Karen.
Karen is basically acting cheerful now… but she hides a deep darkness inside, occasionally letting it show.
In terms of the depth of that darkness… isn’t she the worst of the three…?
“So, Senpai, what would you like as a reward?”
“Hmm… a reward, huh?”
It’s not like I really want anything specific or need anything done for me.
Honestly, I only helped Tsukino because I wanted to help her…
…But based on past experience, I felt like I should probably take this reward.
“I know! Karen, then—”
I told Karen what I wanted her to do.
“…Hehe, Senpai, you say some pretty interesting things…! That’s totally fine with me!”
“Really? I thought I was asking for something pretty unreasonable…”
“Leave it to me! I’ll absolutely make your wish come true, Senpai!”
Karen replied with remarkable enthusiasm.
“Haha, thanks.”
“So, is there anything else you want me to do? I’ll really do anything, you know?”
Karen emphasized ‘anything’ with unusual intensity.
That’s exactly why I found myself thinking about it…
“…I guess not.”
“Huh? Senpai, what’s with the silence? Did you imagine something… naughty when I said anything goes?”
“N-no, no way?!”
“Oh, I see. So you were, weren’t you? Having dirty thoughts!”
“I wasn’t! I wasn’t?!”
“I… I’ll do something naughty for you, so you don’t have to be shy about asking, okay?”
“No, I told you I wasn’t fantasizing! Did you mute just my voice?!”
“Mouu! Senpai, you’re so cold! I’m actually more…”
Karen wrapped her arms around my neck again.
But this time, she pressed herself against me unusually close—I felt a soft, fluffy sensation at the back of my head.
And then, right by my ear—
“I… I want to do naughty things with you, Senpai?”
—she whispered in a voice so sweet it felt like it would melt my eardrums.
…Why?
Wasn’t Karen doing all this for me out of gratitude for being saved and guilt?
That’s what I thought.
“Hey, Senpai, I… I about you—”
Karen seemed a little calmer now, confessing her hidden feelings—
“…I’ve fallen for you.”
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