Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139843121925685/episodes/822139844297469376
“Of course. I… I like you, Yu.”
Tsukino said it… as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I see…”
It seemed I had… managed to win over every heroine in this gal game.
…How did this happen?
“From the looks of it… I guess I was the last one to confess?”
“W-well… yeah. …But I never imagined all three of you were in love with me.”
“Is that so? To us, Yuu-san is the hero who saved us from what felt like an endless hell. It was… almost inevitable that we would fall for you.”
“Is… that so?”
“Yes. No matter how many times we were run over by cars and died… in that hell that felt endless, where time kept rewinding us back to be killed again, you were our only hope.”
Tsukino wrapped both her hands around my right hand—and smiled gently.
“So… the reason I fell for you is simply… because you saved me.”
“… but…”
No.
I… didn’t save the three of them just out of some heroic goodwill.
“…Tsukino. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Karen knew from the notebook… but Tsukino still didn’t know.
My true intentions when I saved them.
“—I didn’t save the three of you… purely out of kindness.”
“…Huh?”
“True, it started as pure kindness. I saved them because I hated the idea of anyone dying… but there was another reason I kept looping back through death to save them.
I realized it by chance during the loop… but even if I didn’t die, the loop would still reset to the past. Even if I didn’t die… if the three of them died…”
“?!”
“So… from a certain point on… I was acting to stop the loop. I… wasn’t some doormat willing to throw away my life over ten thousand times for someone else…”
Somehow, halfway through, I became afraid to look at Tsukino’s face and kept my head down.
But… I could easily imagine what kind of face Tsukino was making.
She must be disappointed.
Thinking, “This isn’t what I expected.”
“…So what?”
“Yeah, I guess. Sorry, Tsukino—Huh?”
The apology I’d prepared flew out the window.
When I looked up without thinking… Tsukino was tilting her head in puzzlement.
“I understand that much, of course. Realistically speaking, there’s no way someone would die ten thousand times for a stranger they barely know and have hardly spoken to…!”
“Y-yeah, but…”
“Actually, most people couldn’t even risk their lives for someone else out of pure goodwill once, could they? Yet you did it without batting an eye. You should be proud of that.”
Tsukino said this, smiling softly.
…Huh?
I was absolutely certain… she’d be disappointed…
I was so taken aback I just stared blankly, eyes wide.
Seeing me like that, Tsukino chuckled softly.
“Didn’t I tell you? I fell for you because you saved me from hell… The motive doesn’t matter. Even if it was ulterior motives, even if it was calculated… I like you, Yu-san.”
“Is… that so? Is that how it works?”
“Yes… though being saved isn’t the only reason, you know. I… I was also drawn to your spirit. The way you’d never give up, even if you died dozens, hundreds of times… even if you broke down mentally.
So… I’m not that easy to fall for anyone who saves me, okay? It’s only you…!”
Saying that, Tsukino wrapped both her hands around mine.
“…!”
Caught off guard by her direct confession, I instinctively shifted… but Tsukino pulled my hand slightly, drawing me closer instead.
She looked straight into my eyes—
“Yu-san… what do you think of me?”
She asked, looking uncertain.
“…Well… I think Tsukino is… incredibly serious and dependable. But romantically… I’ve never thought about it.”
For the sake of the other two, I didn’t lie and spoke my true feelings.
“…Is that so!”
Tsukino seemed brighter than I’d expected.
“You’re… not upset?”
“Well, I pretty much knew already since you weren’t dating the other two. Probably… we just haven’t spent enough time together for you to decide, right?”
“… That’s exactly right.”
“Hehe, then that means I still have a chance…! It’s too early to be depressed…!”
Tsukino spoke brightly, looking almost unrecognizable from the person who’d been so miserable just moments ago.
“You’re positive, aren’t you…”
“Yes. …I sealed away my gloomy face, just like I promised Yuu-san back then.”
“…”
“Well? See? I keep my promises perfectly, don’t I? No cheating or wandering heart, absolutely none! How about we start dating right now?”
“Hehe that’s true. That is appealing… But I need one more push.”
“Muu… In that case, I’ll throw in enough wealth and power to support Yuu-san for life. How about that?”
“No good. What I truly want isn’t money or power—”
More than that… there’s something else a lover needs.
I don’t think I fall for someone because of what they possess.
To like someone… there’s no reason.
Because—what’s needed to like someone—
“Is the one-of-a-kind experience that makes you think, ‘I like Tsukino.’”
Why can’t I say why I fell for someone?
It’s because—every single moment spent with that person is the reason, so I can’t pinpoint it.
“…Hehe, that’s so like you, Yu-san.”
Tsukino covered her mouth and laughed.
“Ahaha… Even I think I’m a troublesome person.”
“Well, that’s part of your charm, Yu-san. …But if that’s your reason—”
Tsukino suddenly grew serious—
“—From now on, I’m going to make you fall for me for real.”
—She grabbed my hand, pulling me close… and stared intently at me from a distance of just a fist’s length.
Her expression radiated an unwavering determination.
“You know… Tsukino, you really are a sincere, good person.”
“Huh…? Wh-why is that?”
“Well… until now, the only girls I’ve dealt with were the ones who threw themselves at me or tried to pin me down…”
“Muu… I’m confessing to you, and you’re talking about other girls?”
Tsukino clearly frowned, looking displeased.
“Ah… s-sorry!”
“Hmm… It seems such a bad boy like Yu-san needs punishment.”
Saying that, Tsukino shifted her gaze to her own soft, ample bosom.
“Eh…? N-no, wait, hold on a sec—ngh?!”
“――No way! I got a little annoyed, so it’s punishment time…♡!”
In the end, I was pressed against that voluptuous thing and nearly suffocated.
And so… the ‘Bride Competition’ revolving around me, led by three slightly twisted galge heroines, began.
…Wait, hold on?
My goal was to relieve the three of them of their guilt so they wouldn’t become mentally unstable…
But if I reject their confessions, won’t they become unstable…?
I’d better not think about that…
—At the same time.
In a dark room, unseen by anyone, a girl was being crushed by guilt.
“…Everything… All three heroines meeting their deaths… Yu-san dying countless times… Everything, everything, everything, everything… It’s all my fault… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The girl with scorching red hair—Nagisa—repeated her apologies with vacant eyes.
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