Chapter 73: The Power of Pride (Part 2)

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Translator: Soafp

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Yuzuki had been unable to eat and had shut herself up in her room ever since she watched the footage from the summer training camp.

(Do I really have to break up with Ren like this…?)

From their kindergarten days, they had laughed together, cried together, and sometimes even fought—memories of those days with him flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

She could no longer imagine a life without him.

And yet, to think that she would be the one to betray him.

To only realize how important Ren was in such a way.

It was only after being rejected that she truly understood the weight of it.

“Ren, Ren…”

She wanted to see him.

She wanted to feel his warmth directly.

She wanted to be wanted by him.

For his sake, she felt like she could truly do anything.

Yuzuki buried her face into the pillow and sobbed uncontrollably.

At that moment, the door to her room quietly opened.

“Yuzuki…?”

Hearing her crying, her mother Ayumi approached gently and placed a hand on her back.

“You still can't give up on Ren-kun, can you…”

“There's no way I can. I can't bear living a life without Ren from here on. I absolutely need him… and yet I'm the one who kept hurting him…!”

“Calm down. The one who betrayed Ren-kun isn't the you right now, is it?”

“But it's the future me…! That means I'm the kind of woman who would do something like that…!!”

For the first time in her life, Yuzuki was drowning in such deep self-loathing.

Maybe she had been mistaken all along.

Her boyfriend, her dreams, her friends. She had believed without doubt that she was someone who had it all.

Ayumi spoke in a deliberately stern tone.

“Get a hold of yourself, Yuzuki. Crying like this won't change anything.”

“I know that, but is there even anything I can do right now? There's nothing, is there?”

“Of course there is. Did Ren-kun die? Did he go off to some faraway country? No, right? He's still nearby, so you still have a chance. What matters is putting yourself in Ren-kun's position.”

“Ren's position…”

“That's right. Think carefully. During the first term, weren't you just throwing your own feelings at him? Did you ever properly try to think from his perspective?”

“Th-that's…”

Yuzuki was at a loss for words.

He had suddenly made an uncharacteristic demand, and then told her they were breaking up.

The shock was so overwhelming that all she could do was cling to him.

She hadn't even thought about what Ren truly wanted.

Ayumi grabbed Yuzuki's shoulders and gently made her sit up.

“Listen carefully. If you truly want to spend your life with Ren-kun, no matter what it takes, then what you should be thinking about right now isn't getting back together.”

“Th-then…?”

“Any excuse will do. First, you have to stay close to him no matter what. Adjust your schedule to match his. Keep showing him that you've changed. Even if it feels unfair, devote yourself to him. And of course, always prioritize Ren-kun's feelings when you do.”

“O-okay… But I don't even know how I can stay close to him…”

Ren had been avoiding her.

More than that, just seeing her made him visibly uncomfortable.

Before she could even show that she had changed, it already felt like she was starting from a negative point.

“Right now, there are two other girls around Ren-kun, aren't there?”

“Yeah… Nodoka and Sugawara-senpai…”

“Start by earning the recognition of those two.”

“Huh? B-but wouldn't I be a romantic rival to them? Would they even accept me?”

“Even if you are, those two are often together, right? Then if you handle it well, you should be able to join them. Of course, the important thing is not to get jealous.”

Yuzuki understood what Ayumi was saying, to some extent.

But she felt that actually acting that way would be far from easy.

“I'm not telling you to become friends with them.”

“Then…?”

“Just increase your chances to talk with them. Show them that you've changed. If you do that, it might reach Ren-kun's ears.”

Slow and steady wins the race.

Yuzuki finally understood what her mother meant.

“Okay, Mom. I'll try one more time. This time, I'll truly become a woman just for Ren.”

“That's right, Yuzuki. You've inherited my looks, so I'm sure things will work out with Ren-kun again.”

“Yeah! I'll definitely carry Ren's child!”

As a mother, Ayumi had mixed feelings about that declaration.

Even so, seeing her daughter regain her motivation, she simply smiled faintly.

---

Airi widened her eyes at Yuzuki's proposal.

“Kitayama-san, do you even understand what you're saying right now?”

“I do. I don't think someone as terrible as me deserves to be Ren's girlfriend.”

“Isn't that contradictory? You want to get back together, yet you're asking to be allowed into the harem?”

From Airi's perspective, Yuzuki's possessiveness still seemed strong.

Unlike Nodoka, she seemed like the type who couldn't suppress her anger the moment she saw her man with another woman.

“I just want to stay by his side. If it's a harem, wouldn't it be fine to add one more person?”

“Kitayama-san. Personally, I think a harem is about quality, not quantity.”

“Huh…?”

“I don't think Ren-kun would be happy just because there are more people. If anything, he'd probably dislike it.”

To begin with, Ren was someone who believed that a harem was impossible in reality.

That's exactly why he had already gone through considerable effort just to accept Airi and Nodoka.

And now, to accept Yuzuki as well?

Airi felt like everything would fall apart.

(I have to avoid things collapsing because of Kitayama-san.)

Yuzuki had already gotten into a huge fight with Nodoka over Ren before.

There was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again.

Airi suspected that Yuzuki might try to enter the harem only to monopolize Ren later.

“…I understand why you can't trust me, senpai. Especially since you saw me acting hysterical at Ren's house.”

“I do understand that you truly love Ren-kun. But honestly, I'm concerned about his precognition. Of course, you'll say you'd never do something like that, but still.”

From what Airi had seen, Ren's foresight was more powerful than expected.

So far, everything he had predicted had come true.

Even when avoided, it was more accurate to say that the impact of the event was merely minimized rather than prevented entirely.

“I'll definitely drive Nagasawa-senpai out of the school!”

“The problem isn't just that creepy guy. He's bad, sure, but the biggest issue is that you willingly cheated. You weren't forced or threatened, yet you still gave yourself to him, right?”

“Ugh…”

“Just the possibility that someone might secretly cheat is already stressful, isn't it? That's why trust is so important.”

Of course, Airi knew that Yuzuki hadn't actually cheated yet.

From Yuzuki's perspective, it was understandable that things might feel unfair.

But from Ren's perspective, he had been forced to watch visions of Yuzuki being taken by someone else for an entire month.

It had left a serious trauma.

It could even be said that he had developed a kind of allergic reaction toward her.

No matter how much you love a certain food, if you develop an allergy to it, you have no choice but to stop eating it.

“I-I don't expect Ren to treat me kindly like a girlfriend or anything. He can treat me roughly if he wants. I just want to stay by his side.”

“Hm… Even if you see me or Nodoka kissing him, or doing more, you'd be fine with that?”

“I-I'll even help. I'll take care of all the cleanup too. Please, just use me like a maid. So… please let me stay by his side.”

Yuzuki bowed her head deeply once more.

Airi said nothing and took a sip of her coffee.

“A maid, huh. I suppose having one maid for Ren-kun wouldn't be strange.”

“R-right? A maid absolutely obeys her master and mistress, so it should be reassuring, right?”

“Well, in novels, maids who betray their masters show up quite often too.”

“Ugh…”

“But for now, I'll at least talk to Ren-kun about it.”

Yuzuki's eyes widened.

“R-really!?”

“I'm just passing the message along. I won't try to persuade him.”

“Thank you, thank you so much…!”

As she set down her cup, Airi thought to herself.

Yuzuki would definitely try to reconnect with Ren somehow.

But each time, it would likely trigger Ren's trauma.

And the effects wouldn't just impact Yuzuki, but also herself and Nodoka.

(I need to control Kitayama-san carefully.)

In a way that benefits everyone.

---

As soon as we arrived at the love hotel, Nodoka visibly tensed up.

It was the exact same expression she had when she first came to my room.

“I-it's cleaner than I expected. At first glance, it looks like a normal hotel.”

“Well, love hotels vary a lot. But this is where you can see the difference.”

I reached toward the shelf by the headboard.

Among the phone charger, lighting controls, and phone, I picked up something unique to a love hotel.

A small, flat square wrapped in smooth plastic.

When I showed it to her, her face instantly turned bright red.

“N-normally, if you come to a place like this, you'd need that, right?”

“Well, yeah. Though some people come here for other reasons too.”

“Hmm… But we don't need that, right?”

“I guess?”

I had planned for it to be just deep kissing today.

But Nodoka gave an unexpected reply.

“D-don't get the wrong idea! I-I mean, if it's you… you don't need protection… I-it's fine if you… do it r@w and… finish inside…!”

Saying something like that in a love hotel felt completely unfair.