Chapter 38 – Not Just Pride—A Man's Honor

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Damn it.

I only meant to call Naegi over, so I had no idea why Mahiro was leading a parade of three girls into my room. To make it worse, bringing up the rear was Temari, fixing me with her signature dead-eyed glare.

Did they seriously think I was trying some pervy stunt by inviting Naegi here alone? One look at the first-aid kit in my hand should have been enough to clear that up. There's no rubber gear in a first-aid kit. Condoms were definitely not included. No protection, no erection. Case closed.

“…Lemme borrow that.”

Before I could even voice a defense against their sleazy suspicions, Mahiro strode in, snatched the kit from my hands, and went straight to Naegi. Without a word, she pulled out cotton and a bottle of Mashiron—that thick, milky-white antiseptic gel that clings to wounds for a long-lasting effect. It was top-tier stuff, even with bitter additives to keep idiots from drinking it.

Still… why was Mahiro the one playing nurse? They had just met.

The thought flickered through my mind for a second, but Mahiro's hands moved with the quick, practiced precision of a school nurse. She looked weirdly good doing it, like the “Witch of Housework” had just leveled up to “Angel of Aid.”

“Ow…”

“Oh, sorry. Does it sting?”

“N-no… Thank you…”

As I stood there, stunned and robbed of my first-aid duties, I felt a small tug on my shirt. Temari. That was the universal sign for “we need to talk behind the school building.” Too bad our house didn't come with a backyard for secret turf talks, so the hallway would have to do.

“So explain this to me: if Naegi's your girlfriend, why the hell is she getting beat up by another dude?”

“Gah!!”

The verbal smackdown landed right there in the hallway.

I had completely forgotten I told Temari that Naegi was the “girlfriend I met at university.” Of course she'd put the pieces together the moment she saw them. There was no way I could just say, “Oh yeah, I thought we were dating, but I got dumped the very next day.” But with Temari staring me down all serious-like, there was no point in pretending anymore.

“…Right. So, I bragged to you right after she said yes. But then, right after that, another guy confessed to her, too. She couldn't decide between us. Eventually, she dumped me. That's it.”

“…Huh?”

“Yeah, I know. I didn't know how to bring it up. My pride couldn't take it.”

“…Ah. Well, if you’re not lying, you don't really owe me an apology or anything… But damn, that girl's kinda awful.”

“Eh, I don't blame her. It would’ve hurt more if she stayed with me out of pity, knowing I wasn’t her first pick. That's just a fast track to a break-up—or worse.”

“Yeah, I guess. Unless you're into that.”

She didn't need to know my hidden stash of netorare doujins confirmed that theory.

“But still. That's gotta hurt more than getting rejected from the start, right?”

“…Yeah, no kidding.”

She nailed it. That was the first time in ages I cried myself to sleep. Meanwhile, those two were probably soaking their crotches instead of their pillows. Just remembering it stirred up that twisted cocktail of anger and grief again.

“…Now I'm starting to think I should've chewed her out a lot more.”

“Huh? What was that?”

“Nothing. I just stopped feeling bad for Naegi. But you, Yuuya—you still saved her, even after getting dumped like a chump?”

“Yeah…”

That was that, and this was this. A whole separate mess. Love makes you a fool. That's the real world. Honestly, the post-breakup heartbreak didn't even hit as hard as the old trauma from high school, back when even my childhood friend thought I was some weakling. But I knew better than to bring that up now. Temari had apologized back then, from the heart, and I had forgiven her. Bringing it up would just be cruel. I could at least act like a grown-up. Plus, I got something in return: Temari calling me senpai. Fair trade.

Still, this sinking feeling, this inferiority complex, just wouldn't go away. I hated it.

“…Yuuya?”

“It's nothing. Just trying to figure out what to do next. That b*****d Nishida… there's no saving him.”

“…Nishida?”

“Yeah. That's Naegi's new guy. ja Total pachinko addict.”

“…Nishida Kaito… That name sounds kinda familiar…”

“You know him or something?”

“No, not really. I'm just bad with names. I only remember people I've actually gotten close with.”

It made sense. If I hadn't been childhood friends with Mahiro, Temari probably wouldn't have remembered my name at all in high school.

――――――

“Hey… Are you really sure you don't want to go to the police?”

“Yeah… I don't think he's a bad person. I just… want to face him again. Talk things through.”

“I see… But if you feel unsafe, just run. Don't think—just run.”

“Th-thank you… Yoshikawa-san.”

When I got back to the room, the two of them were getting along like old pals. Mahiro must have unlocked some hidden synergy with her nursing act. Even a minor sympathy boost like that went a long way.

Still, I couldn't help thinking that in another world—where Naegi and I had actually stayed together—she probably wouldn't have gone this far for me, not after seeing me crash and burn. Yeah. I think I was finally over her.

Naegi left not long after. But just as she reached the front door, she stopped, turned, and looked right at me.

“Nakanishi-kun…”

“Hmm?”

“…I'm sorry.”

“….”

That was all she said. Then she bowed, polite and clean, like she was closing a chapter. And yet it left me with nothing but static.

I didn't need an apology.

What I wanted… was a thank you.

Guess that's the sad truth about guys like me.

Ahh… the pathetic heart of a discarded man