Chapter 59: An Unexpected Encounter

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Translator: Soafp

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“My eyes met his—!! I don't want this—!!”

Nodoka's scream kept getting louder and louder.

I knew she was scared of Nagasawa-senpai because she believed what I told her, but I didn't expect her to panic this badly.

At this rate, someone might actually call the authorities.

Acting on instinct, I covered her mouth with my hand.

“It's okay, it's okay. I'm here, aren't I? You don't have to be scared.”

I gently stroked her head as I tried to calm her down.

Her eyes were glistening with tears.

Nagasawa-senpai scratched his head awkwardly.

“Good grief, that's some outrageous slander.”

I frowned without thinking.

But arguing with him here would accomplish nothing.

What mattered right now wasn't my feelings.

I needed to get Nodoka out of here and calm her down as quickly as possible.

“I'm sorry for the trouble. We'll be going now.”

I gave a quick bow, wrapped an arm around Nodoka's waist as she clung to me, and started walking away quickly.

But then—

“W-wait!”

Yuzuki called out to me.

I considered ignoring her, but that wouldn't be normal behavior for a classmate.

I turned back and spoke in a low voice.

“…What is it? Nodoka's scared, so if you have something to say, keep it brief.”

“T-this isn't what it looks like! It's not like I ignored what you said, or anything!!”

“Well, whatever you do is up to you, Kitayama. Why would you have to listen to me?”

“I-it's just… um…”

Yuzuki glanced uneasily toward the other club members.

“I'll explain everything properly! Please, just give me a chance to explain!”

She didn't really need to explain anything to me…

Honestly, I'd rather not get involved anymore.

Right now, I should be facing Airi and Nodoka's feelings properly.

But then, Yuzuki's mother's words suddenly crossed my mind.

—It's shameless of me to ask, but please… just give Yuzuki one chance.

Ayumi-san had even bowed her head to ask me.

And she had always treated me like her own son.

Since I had made that promise to her, the least I could do was hear Yuzuki out.

“…Alright. Can I choose the place? I'll cover the taxi fare.”

“O-okay! Thank you!”

“Then we'll be going. At this rate, Nodoka might actually collapse.”

“O-okay…”

At last, we were able to head back to the inn.

From behind us, I heard Yuzuki mutter softly.

“…So Nodoka comes first now.”

---

When we returned to the inn, Airi immediately noticed something was off with Nodoka.

I told her about what happened with the photography club.

“I see. Running into that creepy-looking guy, no wonder she reacted like that.”

“Hm? You know Nagasawa-senpai too, Airi?”

“I didn't at first. But I wanted to know why you broke up with Kitayama, so I met him once.”

“I-I see…”

It was hard to imagine from how she acted now, but Airi was originally quite cautious.

She probably wanted to see for herself what kind of person I was.

And as a result, she realized the problem wasn't me—it was Nagasawa-senpai.

Suddenly, Airi hugged me tightly.

“It's okay. I won't get stolen away by a guy like that.”

“…I'm not worried.”

“That's a lie. It's written all over your face.”

Just how much could she see through me?

“Of course, words alone aren't enough to believe it. So I thought of something—do you know what a body camera is?”

“You mean the kind police wear on their bodies?”

“Yes. I'll wear one too and record 24 hours a day. That way, it proves I'm not cheating.”

“…”

Logically, that might make sense, but there were way too many issues with it.

What about privacy in places like bathrooms or changing rooms?

And checking your partner's recordings 24/7—no matter how you look at it, that's not a normal relationship.

“And on top of that, I think you should train me directly, Ren-kun.”

“Train…?”

“Kitayama was taken by that guy in that kind of way, right? So if you train me first, I won't be taken.”

Did that logic really hold up?

But I couldn't firmly deny it either.

After all, during my last date with Yuzuki, even if I had half-lost my reason, I had almost gone that far myself.

“And if we build a harem, it'll be perfect.”

“A harem…?”

Putting aside how casually she brought that up, I couldn't understand how that would prevent being cheated on at all.

“Think about it, Ren-kun. Imagine multiple girls surrounding you, all in love with you.”

“That kind of situation wouldn't happen—”

“Including Kitayama, there are at least three right now, you know?”

“…That's…”

“Anyway, in a situation like that, do you think the girls would go and cheat with another guy? That would be suicidal, wouldn't it?”

In other words, if you create a competitive situation where no one can monopolize you, the risk of being stolen away disappears—at least, that's what Airi was trying to say.

…Though maintaining a harmonious harem itself didn't seem realistic at all.

“Don't you think so too, Nodoka?”

Airi suddenly turned to Nodoka.

Caught off guard, Nodoka blinked in confusion.

“Well… maybe you have a point. But what do you mean by ‘training'? Isn't that something you do with animals?”

“It's the same idea, just applied to people. It means Ren-kun trains your body to suit his preferences. In a sexual sense.”

“W-what!? R-Ren, you're into that!?”

“I never said that…”

Blushing bright red, Nodoka turned her face away.

“I-if you really want to, I don't mind… D-don't get the wrong idea! I'm only allowing it for you! Besides, I don't like other guys anyway…”

“Fufu, now that you've officially gained the right to train both of us, I'm counting on you, Ren-kun?”

“…”

I was a bit exasperated by Airi's words.

But at the same time, something in my chest felt lighter.

For some reason, I felt like with these two, I wouldn't be betrayed.

Thinking about it, both of them even said they'd accept a two-timing relationship.

And they had both seen, directly or indirectly, what happened with Yuzuki.

(With these two… maybe I can trust them.)

A smile naturally formed on my face.

Honestly, both of them were too good for me.

But thinking “there are plenty of better guys than me” would just be dismissing their feelings.

I gently patted both of their heads and said:

“Thank you… both of you.”

Maybe this is what it feels like to be saved.

At that moment, the two of them truly seemed adorable to me.

Still being patted, Airi smiled and said:

“Nodoka, the fact that his hand feels nice already means you're somewhat trained.”

“W-what!? Already!? R-Really, Ren, you're such a sadist! B-but… I kind of like that side of you too…”

“…”

Give me back my emotional moment.

---

The next day.

The three of us headed to the beach to watch a surprise live performance by Jirai-chan Syndrome.

Right next to the beach house, a brand-new temporary stage had been set up.

In front of it was already a massive crowd.

“Wow…” Nodoka looked around in amazement.

“There are a lot of guys who look like they'd be at an anime shop!”

“Stop, Nodoka. That kind of phrasing provokes both sides.”

From what I could see, most of them were already fans of Jirai-chan Syndrome who came after seeing the announcement.

Of course, there were also plenty of people like us who just stopped by while visiting the beach.

“Ren-kun, Nodoka, here.”

““Hm?””

Airi handed something to both Nodoka and me.

When I looked at what I'd received, it was a penlight and a fan.

…Not just any merch, but specifically from Jirai-chan Syndrome—more precisely, Kokoa's.

“I figured since the sponsor came to watch, we should at least do this much.”

“Is that really what sponsors do…?”

“I don't know either. But it's better than nothing, right?”

“I guess…?”

Tilting my head, I accepted them for now.

When did she even prepare something like this?

I couldn't help but wonder.

Then a question suddenly came to mind.

“Why was I alone here in the dream, I wonder?”

Of course, in that “nightmare,” I hadn't been holding a penlight or a fan either.

“Well, you know how we split the day yesterday—morning and afternoon—for our dates? That was actually supposed to be split across the second and third day, one each.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah. I think maybe Nodoka failed her confession and things got awkward. So you ended up staying here alone, just absentmindedly watching the live show.”

Yeah… that definitely sounded plausible.

Things had gotten a bit heated in the open-air bath, and we were close to suddenly closing the distance between us.

…In the end, though, my answer was still on hold.

“So by me becoming the sponsor of this live, things changed?”

“Most likely. In the end, it's like Jirai-chan Syndrome ended up giving Nodoka a helping hand too.”

“Ugh… That kind of makes me feel conflicted…”

Before long, the spotlight lit up the stage, and music began to play.

Just like in my dream, girls wearing uniquely designed swimsuits appeared on stage one after another.

“Thank you all for coming! The Landmine girls have arrived!!”

And there she was—

The red-haired idol who, in the original timeline, was supposed to be caught in a lightning accident—Kokoa herself.