Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054922823111/episodes/1177354054934591087
Sakurae is snuggled up to me, her head on my shoulder.
She occasionally squeezes my left hand, and when I turn my head toward her, she looks up at me and smiles happily.
After I calmed down a bit, I told her about what happened next.
“….I didn’t go to junior high school once after that.”
“What? Is that …… attendance or something?”
I answer Sakurae’s question with a wry smile.
“It’s compulsory education up to junior high school, isn’t it? ….They are not that strictly regulated, if you have the permission of the principal or something. 3rd grade was a few days of classes, and I had been diligent up to that point, so it didn’t seem to be a problem.”
“…… Oh, I see.”
Sakurae moves her head on my shoulder and wipes her cheeks sweetly around my arm.
I thought the gesture was cute and pure.
“I blocked all the contacts of anyone I knew, including Tomoki. I was afraid that even if I wasn’t there,……, they would say something about me. I changed my entrance exams to my current high school, which is one school above me, and told the school that I was concentrating on studying for the exams.”
“…..”
Sakurae silently puts pressure on the hand that is connected to mine.
Instead of the sweet feeling from before, it felt like she really cared about me, and I was happy about that.
“……….After the exam was over, I calmed down a lot. I went to a different high school than those guys, so even though there were people I knew, I thought I should just leave them alone.”
It’s a little complicated to think that it was thanks to that that I was able to meet Sakurae.
“I’m not going to be fooled anymore, that’s how deeply I ……”
“…… Shota-kun.”
Sakurae slowly buries her face in my chest and puts her hands behind her back.
I didn’t reject it and just let it happen.
“…… So you haven’t seen any of those people since then?”
Sakurae asked me with her face buried in my chest, and I answered her.
“No,……, I met them by chance when I went to buy books after the summer vacation. Tomoki and Tachibana.”
“…. together?”
The arm that Sakurae put around me, she put a lot of strength into it.
“They weren’t together, but..they’re similar. While Tomoki and I were talking, Tachibana, who was meeting him, came after us.”
“She didn’t say anything?”
Sakurae pulls her face away a little and looks up at me with concern.
I smiled and said, as if to let her know that there was no need to worry.
“I’m fine. I’m still stuck in my mind about what I just told you, but I honestly don’t care about Tachibana herself anymore.”
“…… I see.”
Sakurae smiles at me as if relieved and buries her face again.
.”…..I guess that’s the end of my story.”
“Yeah, thanks. I’m so happy that …… Shota-kun talked to me.”
I felt tickled as Sakurae moved around clinging to me, but I couldn’t pull away now.
I refilled the drink and served the tea and sweets I had prepared for when Sakurae arrived on time.
I had to go back to the room and sit next to Sakurae again, but she brushed me off and sat down across from me this time.
Sakurae sat down on the floor as if she had no choice but to do so, so I handed her one of the cushions.
“I guess the …… deal is off the table, huh?”
There was only a little over a week left of summer vacation.
Sakurae started talking about the future.
“…If you want to call it a deal, I guess it’s fine without it. If that’s a wish from me, I have it.”
“What’s Shota-kun’s request?”
She said it cutely and Sakurae looked at me with interest.
“……, please stay as you have been as long as you can.”
“As usual……?”
Sakurae tilted her head.
“Yeah. Sakurae’s spending time with her friends as usual, and I’m just a member of the library committee with her. ……”
“That’s a little sad, isn’t it?”
Sakurae conveys her feelings of ‘I’m not satisfied’ in a very obvious way.
……Well, this is a bit much for a girl who even confessed her feelings to me.
“……I get it. Then it’s like a continuation of the deal, but I’ll still spend lunchtime with Sakurae once a week outside of the library committee. I’ll return your messages as I have been doing lately. And I wouldn’t go so far as to say don’t get involved in the classroom or in public places.”
“Really?!”
The proposal that will allow her to spend much more time with me made her eyes light up.
I said, “But!”, firml
“If there were no restrictions, Sakurae would try to stay with me all the time, wouldn’t she?”
“That’s …… true.”
It was easy to imagine Sakurae nodding obediently.
““So, basically, when it comes to appointments with friends and me, please prioritize whichever comes first.… Also, when it comes to weekly appointments, if you have another appointment, give priority to that one.”
“Eeh! …… So you’re saying there are weeks when I can’t see you outside of the book club?”
I nod to that and answer.
“Yeah. The bottom line is that you need to keep me and your other friends on the same priority list as much as possible. When you are in the …… classroom, you should also avoid coming over to me that much. I’ll leave that up to your discretion.”
“Hmmm,…….”
Sakurae seems hesitant about my proposal.
Finally, I decided to give it one more push.
“If there’s a good time to talk, I’ll come to you too. ……”
“Okay! I won’t bother you, Shota-kun, don’t worry?”
Are you that happy to have me talk to you ……?
I was a little worried about whether Sakurae would ever leave me alone in the classroom.
We talked about the remaining summer vacation.
I had to restrain Sakurae from wanting to come over every day, so I asked her to cook for me for a few more weekdays when my parents were not around.
I met Sakurae several times during the summer vacation as promised, but her feelings are still too extreme and I am not sure if the feelings I have for her are romantic or not.
However, there was no doubt that I was enjoying the time I spent with Sakurae.
So the long summer vacation is over and a new semester begins.
(TL/N : Just accept her already man…)
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