V3Ch5: Part 2

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Translator: Soafp

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[Ayana PoV]

“They’ve already left…”

“Aah, if that’s the case, you shouldn’t have let him go with Aisaka. Even if he was going to hang out, Ayana could have gone with them, right?”

Ugh… I must admit, what Setsuna said is true. Originally, I planned to spend today with Towa-kun again, but since Aisaka-kun invited Towa-kun, I prioritized that.

“I do have feelings of wanting to be prioritized by him all the time. But friendships are very important, so I want him to cherish this opportunity.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. It’s the same thing I feel towards Setsuna and everyone else.”

“…..Ayana. Don’t say things like that with such a charming expression, even to the same sex!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you trying to seduce even women?”

What’s that supposed to mean…?

Certainly, Setsuna is an attractive girl, but I can’t imagine having those kinds of feelings towards someone of the same sex, and I’m not interested in that at all… My love is only for Towa-kun, no matter what the circumstances.

…By the way, I’ll pretend I didn’t see the other friends nodding in agreement with Setsuna’s words!

“So, what about you, Ayana? You told Yukishiro that you were going straight home.”

“That’s my intention. I’ll go home as soon as I finish what I need to do.”

Even though it’s not a big deal.

After exchanging brief greetings with Setsuna and the others, I left the classroom—heading to the student council room where Honjo-senpai would likely be.

“…………”

My reason for coming here is this.

I wasn’t called by Honjo-senpai, nor do I have any specific business to attend to here… I’m just a little curious.

Maybe it’s because I heard about it during lunch break from Towa-kun.

“Is Honjo-senpai here?”

If Honjo-senpai isn’t here, then I’ll go home.

Thinking that, I knocked on the door, and I heard Honjo-senpai’s voice from inside.

“Come in.”

“…Excuse me.”

As I opened the door, the first thing I saw was a large pile of documents on the desk.

Honjo-senpai, who was processing what looked like an overwhelming amount of documents, looked surprised when she saw me.

“Otonashi-san? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry for coming without notice.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for. Did we have plans or something?”

It seems that Honjo-senpai, upon my sudden visit, started to doubt whether we had made plans. Um… I feel bad for suddenly coming without a reason, so I should explain first.

“We didn’t have any plans specifically, so if you’re busy, I’ll leave… Um, I just wanted to talk to Honjo-senpai for a bit.”

To be honest, Honjo-senpai’s eyes widened again at my honest admission… Is it really that unusual?

“Otonashi-san, this isn’t the first time you’ve come here, but usually it’s to help me with my work. So, when you say you just want to talk to me, it’s unusual, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“…Fufu, it’s rare, isn’t it? But it’s okay, please have a seat.”

Is it really okay? Is she really not too busy with all those documents?

Seeing me staring at the documents, Honjo-senpai noticed and reassured me that it wasn’t anything urgent, although I’m not sure if that’s really true. Nevertheless, I felt relieved.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“…………”

Across the table, Honjo-Senpai gazes at me intently. What do I want to talk about… What should I say?

“I’m sorry. I said I wanted to talk, but I’m just curious.”

“Curious?”

“Yes. I heard about it from Towa-kun during lunch break… and that’s why.”

“I see.”

Honjo-Senpai nods as if understanding.

“I see. Is it about that? Do you feel guilty for introducing him to me?”

“…Maybe.”

“I see.”

Guilt… maybe.

Originally, I only wanted revenge on those who hurt Towa-kun… but, to further torment Shu-kun, I used Honjo-Senpai and Mari-chan.

I… I was planning something terribly awful.

Now, I no longer have such thoughts, but back then, I was truly considering something outrageous… Yet, I can’t just pretend it never happened. As I moved forward, the relationships I prepared became increasingly distorted.

“….Fufu, I never thought you’d be thinking about that.”

“I… “

“Just so you know, I don’t regret meeting Shu-kun. I don’t want to erase the time I spent with him.”

Upon hearing her words, I gaze steadily at Honjo-Senpai.

Without averting her gaze, she returns my stare, emanating warmth and kindness from her eyes.

“As I told you, there are aspects of Shu-kun recently that I find concerning. What he went through was just a simple heartbreak… something everyone experiences in love. I understand his feelings, but his immature refusal to accept it was unbecoming.”

“…………”

“However… even so, the memories I shared with Shu-kun won’t disappear. At first, you helped connect us, and then Shu-kun started interacting with me as his true self. It’s simple, embarrassingly simple, but I enjoyed those times with him.”

“I see…”

“Yes. To say this may be unfair to Shu-kun, but I might be attracted to slightly unreliable boys.”

That’s embarrassing coming from me…Saying so, Honjo-senpai laughs.

Slightly unreliable boys… It might be more than just “slightly,” but indeed, Honjo-senpai always seemed to enjoy her time with Shu-kun.

I didn’t feel any particular emotion watching the two of them become closer… but thinking back, Honjo-senpai truly seemed to enjoy herself.

“So even if I feel pathetic about it, saying goodbye to everything that happened until now would be too lonely.”

“…I see.”

“Well, I thought distancing himself would give him time to heal. And I want him to think about it again—what will happen in the future if things don’t change. Fortunately, it seems your words have resonated quite strongly with Shu-kun.”

I don’t know exactly what Towa-kun said. But I’ve heard that after their argument, Shu-kun couldn’t say anything back when Towa-kun conveyed his thoughts about the future.

“To be able to speak so strongly… it seems that Yukishiro-kun truly loves you, Otonashi-san… I envy you as a woman.”

“…Is that so?”

“Ara, your face is turning red?”

“You’re annoying.”

Ah… I said “annoying”…

Seeing my reaction, Honjo-senpai chuckles and changes the subject—it seems she wants to talk about Towa-kun now.

“That guy… Yukishiro-kun is a very mysterious person. His words have a strong impact.”

“I understand that very well. I’ve been saved many times by Towa-kun’s words.”

Towa-kun’s words resonate deeply in my heart, as if they have some special power.

He saved me, changed me, and encouraged me to move forward—all thanks to Towa-kun’s words.

“What did you two talk about?”

“Just a little… but he said it was just small talk.”

“I see. Did he talk about university-related matters?”

“University?”

Did Towa-kun talk about university matters with Honjo-senpai?

Regardless of Honjo-senpai, it’s still a bit early for Towa-kun and me to discuss our future, but it’s still a little concerning…

At first, I thought it was just a casual conversation about which university and what studies he wanted to pursue, but what Honjo-senpai told me was unexpected.

“He also mentioned that there are suspicious circles in university, so he warned me to be careful.”

“Suspicious circles?”

“That… so-called ‘hook-up circles,’ perhaps?”

Hook-up circles… meaning clubs with that purpose in mind?

Shady individuals… of course, there might be women involved as well, but I have knowledge about such circles existing.

(…For a moment, it felt a bit unsettling that it aligned with my past thoughts.)

One of the schemes to ensnare Honjo-senpai when she went to university… perhaps I even considered that. Why did I think so?

“Anyway…?”

Let’s hear the rest for now.

“At first, I was shocked to hear something like that out of the blue. But after calmly thinking about it, there’s no way I would go near such a suspicious circle, and even if a close friend invited me, I wouldn’t join.”

“Right.”

“Right? So at that moment, I laughed… but… but you know? For some reason, I couldn’t just laugh off Yukishiro-kun’s words… his concern. I don’t know why… so I thought he’s a mysterious person.”

“…………….”

“In the end, I accepted his advice and thanked Yukishiro-kun for it—’Thank you, I’ll be careful.'”

Honjo-senpai must have been puzzled by Towa-kun’s sudden talk about it…… but she still accepted it and even thanked him because he trusts Towa-kun?

“So Towa-kun helped Honjo-senpai too?”

“It’s not like I was in any danger? But it was good to be strongly reminded to be careful. I believe in myself… but since I believe in myself so strongly, it’s possible for someone to trip me up.”

“Indeed, Honjo-senpai seems reliable, but also a bit clumsy.”

“Can’t you be more straightforward, Otonashi-san?”

“Ah…”

I said it…

Seeing me cover my mouth in surprise, Honjo-senpai puffs up her cheeks, but she doesn’t seem too bothered, which is a relief.

Honjo-senpai continues speaking while looking out the window with her arms crossed.

“Yukishiro-kun’s idea was outlandish… but at the same time, there was a strange feeling that it might not be. Hey, Otonashi-san.”

“Yes?”

“Yukishiro-kun isn’t secretly a time traveler, right?”

“What are you saying?”

“Fufu, of course not, that’s absurd.”

If Towa-kun were a time traveler… ~hmm, given that he saved everything about me as if he could see through me, it might be amusing to consider that.

“Even if… well, even if Towa-kun were a time traveler or had something different from us, I wouldn’t mind. I love everything about Towa-kun… I accept everything about him, and I want to be with him.”

“Ara, that’s quite a sudden display of affection.”

“I do indulge sometimes. After all, I have such a wonderful boyfriend by my side.”

Honjo-senpai shows interest by leaning forward.

But… lately, I’ve been liking Towa-kun so much that when this feeling of affection starts to run wild, I can’t seem to stop talking.

Haa… I really need to fix this.

“Your love is quite heavy, Otonashi-san. Won’t Yukishiro-kun be crushed by it someday?”

“I don’t think so. Towa-kun accepts everything about me.”

“Quite a lot of trust, isn’t it?”

“Because that’s who we are.”

I understand that my love is heavy… and Towa-kun also understands that he accepts me like this. That’s why I can say this.

Honjo-senpai just laughs at me lavishing affection… in the meantime, I continue speaking.

“Just as you thought, Honjo-senpai, I believe there’s something special about Towa-kun.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I can’t say I’m not curious about what it is, but regarding that, I’ll just wait for Towa-kun to tell me.”

“…That’s lovely.”

“Yes, Towa-kun is very lovely… but.”

“?”

“No matter what the truth is, when I find out, I think my love will surely evolve beyond what it is now♪”

“That’s something I’d like to see.……”

I’m constantly saying ‘I love Towa-kun’ all the time, aren’t I? … Well, saying that would make me feel too silly to bear… I can’t deny it completely, but I’ll be careful!

“Talking with you, Otonashi-san, is always enjoyable. Seeing you, who is straightforward about your feelings for the person you love, warms my heart.”

“Even though I was the one doing all the talking…”

“That’s what makes it enjoyable. Well then, I should get back to work soon.”

“Ah, I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

“It’s fine. Please come again sometime, okay? If you ever feel lonely and want to talk to me, feel free to come by anytime?”

She said with a grin, and I denied that I came because I was lonely.

But even for me, the time spent talking with Honjo-senpai was so enjoyable that I sincerely hoped for another opportunity like this.

“Oh, right!”

“What is it?”

Honjo-senpai clapped her hands suddenly.

“We’ve known each other for quite some time now, right? So how about we start using a more friendly way to address each other?”

“By using our first names? Iori-senpai?”

If that’s what she meant, I’ll take the initiative.

Honjo… Iori-senpai widened her eyes, but then nodded happily.

“Yes! Ayana-san!”

And thus, we started calling each other by our first names.

After such an exchange, I left the student council room and headed home—walking home without Towa-kun beside me felt quite refreshing, but still lonely.

“Towa-kun is a mysterious person… right?”

Reflecting on my conversation with Iori-senpai, I muttered such thoughts.

Towa-kun is truly a mysterious person… why is he able to save so many people in different ways?

“…Haa, I’m hopeless.”

Thinking about Towa-kun like this inevitably makes me miss him.

After checking the time on my smartphone screen, I walked towards Towa-kun’s house instead of my own…Yare yare, I’m really a troubled woman.