Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139843121925685/episodes/822139843705825558
“…I wonder what’s going on.”
I sighed in the now-silent hospital room.
What came to mind was—what had just happened.
The three of them had suddenly started acting strange, their eyes losing their light, their expressions stained with despair.
What was especially odd was Karen’s statement.
“It was all our fault… that you were broken. You tried to save us, died, tried to save us again, died, died, died, died, died, died, died, died… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything. I’m sorry I could only watch you break down. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Please don’t break any more… Senpai…”
I didn’t understand what she meant.
Broken? Dead?
Me…?
‘Dead? Don’t break? …What does that even mean?’
I tried asking Karen—
‘………………No, it’s nothing.’
After an uncomfortably long silence, Karen dodged the question.
There’s no way it’s nothing.
But… since she wouldn’t answer if I asked, there was nothing I could do.
After that, the three of them fled the hospital room… and here we are now.
“Haa…”
I sighed again.
I risked my life to save the heroines from the gal game, and instead of being thanked, I got apologized to over and over, while she looked utterly miserable.
This wasn’t the ending I wanted.
I didn’t save the three of them to end up like this.
I just…
“If they’d just say ‘thank you’… that’d be enough. If the three of them could just live normally with smiles on their faces… that’d make me happy.”
But it seems the words I want are beyond my reach.
Then—
“—I’ve decided.”
I clenched my fist tightly.
I’ve worked this hard to get this far.
Then—I’ll see it through to the end.
What’s the big deal? Continuing to play the game until we get the ending we want—isn’t that our right as players?
I absolutely won’t give up.
“—Now that it’s decided, time to act.”
I had several methods in mind.
First… I thought of exploiting their desire to make amends to me.
I immediately sent Yukinai a message.
‘Can we meet tomorrow morning? There’s something I need you to do.’
—◇—◇—◇—
“—Oh! You came…!”
The next morning.
Yukina arrived around 10 AM.
“Yeah…”
Yukina looked away, seeming a little awkward.
She was probably still thinking about yesterday.
Yesterday, Yukina had just stood there, her hands trembling.
That’s why, among the three of us, she seemed the most likely to understand.
“Hey, Yu. So, what is it you want me to do…?”
“Ah, well, it’s kind of embarrassing to say…”
I told Yukina what I wanted her to do.
Then, she flushed a little.
“R-Really? Are you sure I’m okay for this?”
“Of course! Honestly, I’ve been holding it in… I want to ask Yukina to do it. I prefer having someone else do it rather than doing it myself.”
“…Alright. But please forgive me if I’m clumsy…?”
Yukina seemed to steel herself and moved closer to me.
Then, seeing her pick something up, I closed my eyes.
――Rustle, rustle
It entered my ear and gently stroked the inside.
“Um… Is this how you’re supposed to do ear cleaning?”
“Mmm… Yeah, yeah, you’re good at this…”
The cotton swab gently rubbed inside my ear.
But I had something I wanted to say.
“…But Yukina, you didn’t have to go as far as giving me a lap pillow, did you?”
I said this while feeling the soft sensation of her thigh against my head.
Hearing this, Yukina looked uneasy.
“…I heard from Tsukino-chan. You were getting lap pillows while having nightmares, right?”
“Ugh… Y-you knew…?”
“Yeah. …So I thought you might be happy if I did it too… Did you hate it?”
“No, no! Of course not!”
“Hehe, thank you.”
Yukina flushed slightly.
…Alright, that’s a good sign.
It seems… my prediction was right after all.
――The three of them want a chance to make it up to me.
I deduced that from their behavior.
That’s why I asked Yukina to clean my ears today.
Of course, I hate making them atone. But if giving them a chance to make amends brings the light back into their eyes… then I choose to give them that chance.
I’ll keep asking them for anything and everything until they’re utterly fed up, and I’ll make sure their desire to make amends disappears…!
――Rustle, rustle-rustle-rustle
The cotton swab gently rubs inside my ear.
I asked for an ear cleaning on a whim… but it’s better than I expected.
How should I put it… I can feel someone’s presence directly.
It makes me clearly aware someone is right beside me, and it’s incredibly reassuring.
“…Yuu? You look kind of sleepy, don’t you?”
“Is… that so?”
I did feel a bit sleepy, actually.
Then… Yukina reached her left hand out to my head.
And gently stroked my hair.
“Wh-what is it…? Yukina?”
Then, Yukina let out a small chuckle, “Fufu.”
“How should I put it… I only ever knew Yuu as this incredibly brave, hero-like figure. Seeing you like this, completely at ease, is so refreshing… and cute.”
“Cu…ute?”
“Yeah. Cute.”
Yukina continued stroking my head.
N-no… it tickles, and even if you say I’m cute, I’m not exactly thrilled…?
But with a cotton swab in my ear, I couldn’t resist.
“You’re amazing, Yu.”
Suddenly, while still stroking my head, Yukina said that.
“Huh…? Wh-what’s wrong, all of a sudden?”
“You know, seeing you like this, Yuu, it makes me realize you’re not some superhuman, you’re just a regular person. And then… even though you’re just a regular person, the fact that you risked yourself like that to save us… that’s amazing…”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah, yeah. I think you should be proud of saving us, Yuu?”
Yukina continued cleaning my ears with gentle movements.
Then, narrowing her eyes and wearing a faint smile, she spoke.
“――Thank you so much for saving us. Yu.”
“…”
Those were the words I wanted to hear most.
I didn’t need an apology.
What I wanted… was that.
“Ah…”
A cold trickle ran down my cheek from my eye and fell.
Several seconds passed before I finally realized.
What had fallen was a tear.
“Wh-what’s wrong? Yu, are you crying…?!?”
“N-no… it’s nothing. I just… got a little sentimental.”
“…I see.”
If I let her see my tears, Yuki, who had finally perked up, would just go back to being down again.
I tried to hold back the tears.
But—
“—It’s okay, Yu. Don’t hold back… Cry as much as you want…!”
Something warm and soft enveloped my body.
Yukina held me with the gentle touch of someone cradling a newborn baby.
A sweet scent filled my nostrils, and the feel of Yukina’s soft chest and slender arms pressed against me was distinct.
They melted the knots in my heart away… calming me to an overwhelming degree.
I had intended to resist at first, yet before I knew it, I had surrendered myself to Yukina.
“Yu… You don’t have to hold back anymore, you know?”
Within my consciousness, melting away sweetly, only Yukina’s voice echoed in my head.
“You don’t have to try so hard anymore. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of everything… everything, okay? Because you… you tried so hard already.”
Her voice was faint, filled with a tragic sense of loss.
It was the gentle voice of someone who truly cared for another.
It was both.
“So…”
As my consciousness sank into a drowsy haze.
“Please… don’t break anymore…”
In the end, that was all I thought I heard.
The overcast sky showed no sign of clearing.
‘――If… I were to die, would Yuu-san… feel even a little lighter in heart…?’
‘――This world… a gal game…? What do you mean?’
At that very moment, I still didn’t know that the other two were writhing in agony or had realized the truth.
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