Chapter 82: Kneeling Together ①

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Translator: Soafp

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Inside one of the rooms in Ren's house—mainly the room Airi used—Nodoka and Yuzuki sat facing each other.

In Nodoka's eyes, the Yuzuki sitting across from her overlapped with the girl from the first semester, the one in gym clothes who had shouted at her in anger.

—How is making lunch for someone else's boyfriend supposed to help me!?

—Girls like you are called homewreckers!!

—After doing something like that to me, how can you still call yourself my friend!?

—At the very least, I don't consider someone like you my friend anymore!!

Nodoka had always thought Yuzuki was an energetic and kind girl, so the fierce anger directed at her that day had been so sudden that all she could do was stand there confused.

But looking back now, she could understand why Yuzuki had exploded like that.

Back then, when everything was still new to her, Nodoka couldn't even imagine how badly her actions might be misunderstood.

(No… maybe it wasn't just a misunderstanding.)

Nodoka had never had friends or a boyfriend before.

She hadn't even understood where friendship ended and romantic feelings began.

If she had only seen Ren as a male friend, she never would have thought about making him homemade lunches.

Only afterward did she realize she had already started falling for him back then.

The first one to speak was Nodoka.

“Yuzuki. Let me apologize first. I'm sorry.”

Nodoka lowered her head deeply toward Yuzuki.

“For irresponsibly boasting that I'd help you get back together with him… and then falling in love with Ren myself. And for ending up pushing you and Ren even farther apart because of it… all of it.”

She didn't know whether Yuzuki would accept the apology.

No—Nodoka herself understood this apology was ultimately for her own self-satisfaction.

After all, no matter how Yuzuki reacted, Nodoka had absolutely no intention of giving up on Ren.

“…There's one thing I want to ask. Since when did you start liking Ren?”

“I only became aware of it after the training camp ended. But I probably fell for him before that. The decisive moment was definitely when Ren saved me.”

Nodoka answered honestly without hiding anything.

Yuzuki swallowed nervously and continued in a trembling voice.

“How much do you love Ren?”

“Enough to even accept a harem.”

“…You really do love him a lot.”

To begin with, Nodoka hadn't even fully understood what a “harem” was.

If not for Airi's suggestion, the thought never would've crossed her mind.

And the reason she was able to realize her feelings for Ren—and become this close to him now—was largely thanks to Airi.

That was why, at this point, she felt it would be wrong to suddenly exclude Airi now.

“I think Sugawara-senpai probably already told you… but I want to join Ren's harem too. Nodoka… um… what do you think about that?”

“To be honest, I'm not against it. Or rather… I don't think I have the right to oppose it.”

The first friend Nodoka had ever made just happened to be Yuzuki.

And because Ren was Yuzuki's boyfriend, Nodoka gradually became attracted to him too.

In other words, if Yuzuki hadn't existed, Nodoka's feelings never would have been born.

That was the crucial difference between Yuzuki and Airi.

“But in the end, Ren's the one who decides.”

She wasn't opposing it.

But that didn't mean she was actively encouraging it either.

Still, it wasn't because she was wary of another girl getting close to Ren.

Back when she had directly warned Yuzuki about Nagasawa, Yuzuki had strongly denied everything and completely ignored her concerns.

That memory still remained deep inside her.

“…I know. But even so, thank you.”

“Hey, Yuzuki. Honestly, doesn't it hurt? Ren keeps rejecting you over and over. If it were me, I think I would've given up already.”

“Then let me ask the opposite. How were you able to accept a harem and become this close to Ren?”

“Huh? Well… because he's kind, fun to be around, so caring he'll help others without hesitation, he's my type physically, he has lots of money… honestly, the list never ends.”

Nodoka hadn't interacted with many boys before.

But there was one thing she knew for certain.

“There'll never be another boy like Ren in my life.”

If Ren were a lottery ticket, he'd unquestionably be the jackpot.

Yuzuki gave a small smile.

“I feel the same way.”

“…!”

Maybe it had been a stupid question to begin with.

Nodoka felt like Yuzuki's atmosphere had changed somehow.

At the very least, the sharp hostility she'd carried right after the breakup had faded considerably.

“To be honest, I really resented you. But in the first place, you didn't actually do anything wrong. You only got close to Ren and fell for him after he'd already broken up with me.”

Yuzuki lowered her head, and her shoulders began trembling slightly.

“Even though everything was my fault… all I did was take it out on you.”

What if Yuzuki had listened to Ren back then and skipped the photography club's summer camp?

Or quit the photography club entirely?

Or at least been more cautious about Nagasawa?

They were meaningless assumptions.

But regardless of whether Ren's precognition had been real or not, the moment she failed to seriously listen to his warnings, their relationship had already begun falling apart.

By the time she realized it, it was far too late.

“I'm sorry, Nodoka… You were trying to help me, but I just kept getting angry because things weren't going the way I wanted…”

Tears began falling onto Yuzuki's lap one after another.

Even Nodoka could tell those tears were genuine.

Deep regret seeped through them.

“I swear I'm going to change from now on… I won't stay this pathetic forever. I'll become a good woman worthy of Ren… someone like you, Nodoka…”

“It's not like I'm that amazing either…”

“No. At the very least, you're far better than me. Takagi-kun was right before. I can't make Ren happy.”

Nodoka almost said, “That's not true,” but stopped herself.

If she tried comforting her carelessly right now, it would probably sound like empty words.

So instead, Nodoka quietly moved closer and hugged Yuzuki without saying anything.

Yuzuki broke down sobbing in her arms.

“I know it's selfish of me… but can I still be your friend, Nodoka…?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Even after I said all those horrible things to you…”

“I was at fault too, so don't worry about it.”

Nodoka gently patted Yuzuki's back.

---

“Looks like things worked out nicely.”

Airi had her ear pressed tightly against the wall, eavesdropping on the conversation in the next room.

To be honest, I could faintly hear them from where I sat on the bed too, but I deliberately pretended not to notice.

As the person who'd caused the conflict between them in the first place, I had complicated feelings about all this.

“Maybe now Nodoka-san can finally let go of some of her guilt.”

Apparently Airi was more worried about Nodoka than Yuzuki.

Thinking about it, that made sense.

To Airi, Yuzuki was just my ex-girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Nodoka was someone who had stayed by Airi's side and helped her during difficult times.

“Well then, Ren-kun, should we do what we talked about earlier and have some fun?”

“No, no, that progression makes zero sense.”

“It feels perfectly natural to me.”

The moment Airi pulled her ear away from the wall, she pushed me down onto the bed.

Then she climbed on top of me, pressed her body against mine, and kissed me.

Our tongues intertwined almost immediately—

And then—

“Wait, you two really are doing naughty things!?”

Nodoka shouted with puffed cheeks after returning from the next room.

Beside her, Yuzuki stood frozen with wide eyes and a bright red face.

“If you're going to do it, let me join too!!”

To make matters worse, Nodoka jumped onto the bed too and stuck out her tongue playfully.

…Even with Yuzuki watching, were these two really completely unfazed?

Or maybe the fact that someone was watching made it even more exciting for them.

I gently placed my index finger on top of Nodoka's tongue.

Without hesitation, she kissed my fingertip softly before carefully licking along each joint with her tongue.

Once my finger was thoroughly wet with saliva, Nodoka slowly took it into her mouth.

“Ah…”

Yuzuki shrank in on herself and rubbed her thighs together.

Even so, she still couldn't pull her eyes away from us.

Normally, anyone would want to look away from seeing the person they loved doing something like this with someone else.

Maybe Yuzuki was also some kind of unbelievable pervert—just in a different direction.

“Pah…!”

Nodoka pulled my finger from her mouth and took a deep breath.

Next, Airi moved away from my lips and brought her face close to the finger Nodoka had just been sucking.

As though trading places, Nodoka softly kissed my lips instead.

“Fingers are nice, but if I'm going to serve you, I'd rather have Ren's Ren instead. Fingers don't produce anything to drink.”

“What am I, a vending machine?”

“A vending machine that gives protein drinks if you make it feel good? Ehehe…”

By this point, Nodoka naturally slipped her tongue into my mouth too.

Over the last few days, both girls had become dramatically better at kissing.

I was just thinking how experience really changed things—

When suddenly—

“Hey, Ren. Next time, why don't you properly talk with Yuzuki alone too?”

“Huh?”

I never would've expected a suggestion like that from Nodoka.

Apparently Yuzuki hadn't expected it either, because she let out a startled voice.

“N-Nodoka?”

“No matter what conclusion you reach, I don't want to keep watching the two people I care about drift past each other like this forever.”