Chapter 91: His True Nature

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

“F-First time…”

Nodoka swallowed nervously.

The conditions were finally all in place.

At this point, there was no way Ren would hesitate anymore.

“Just asking, but are you hoping your first time will be with only Ren-kun?”

“To be honest, I can’t say I don’t feel that way… But I actually think it’d be better if Senpai was there too.”

“Why?”

“…So I won’t run away again like I did at the inn.”

Nodoka wanted to go all the way with Ren.

In fact, if Ren were the one, she felt she wouldn’t even mind getting pregnant.

But the fear that came with it being her first time still lingered.

The memory of that night—when she ran away despite finally having the chance she’d wanted so badly—was still vivid in her mind.

“Then don’t worry. I have a good idea.”

“Y-You do…?”

“Want to hear it?”

When Nodoka nodded, Airi leaned over and whispered into her ear.

The instant she heard it, Nodoka’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears.

“Y-You want our first time to be like that…?!”

“But that way you won’t be able to run away, right?”

“T-That’s true. But would Ren even like something like that…?”

“He’d probably complain and make sarcastic comments, but his body would react honestly.”

“…That’s true. For all his complaints, Ren does have a pretty strong sadistic streak.”

Nodoka doubted she would ever forget the first day they went to a love hotel together.

Ren had put a cat collar around her neck.

On top of that, he had refused to let go of the leash the entire time.

He had even deliberately made her do embarrassing things despite everything being her first experience, patiently instructing her one step at a time as if he were training a pet.

“And that makes us the hopelessly masochistic perverts who happily accept that side of Ren-kun.”

“M-Maybe you are, Senpai, but not me!”

“Oh really? Then despite not being a masochistic pervert, you volunteered to become Ren-kun’s pet?”

“Ugh…”

But neither Nodoka nor Airi actually disliked that side of Ren.

No—in fact, it was what they wanted.

Because it made them feel like they had truly become Ren’s women, not just in name.

“But have you ever thought about why Ren-kun is so sadistic, Nodoka-san?”

“N-No? I mean… maybe it’s just natural talent, personality, hobbies… something like that?”

“Maybe. But I think the answer lies in how he grew up.”

“How he grew up?”

“More specifically, his trauma.”

Nodoka tilted her head.

When she thought of Ren’s trauma, the only thing that came to mind was the incident involving Nagasawa that led to his breakup with Yuzuki.

It didn’t seem connected to his upbringing at all.

“I look at Ren-kun’s trauma from a broader perspective.”

“A broader perspective? You mean… it isn’t just about Yui?”

“The direct trigger was definitely what happened to Yui. But my intuition tells me that wasn’t the whole story.”

“…!”

Airi’s words reminded Nodoka of something Ren had told her before.

It was when he had been desperately trying to solve Airi’s situation.

“Come to think of it, Ren mentioned something. When he was a child, he saw a stray cat get run over by a truck. After that, he couldn’t sleep. He said the scene kept replaying in his head over and over…”

“That’s trauma too. When he says things like, ‘I don’t want to feel guilty later,’ or ‘I’m not trying to play hero,’ those words come from unconsciously trying to avoid that pain.”

A god had given Ren the power to see the future.

But while he had been given the ability to know about bad futures, he hadn’t been given the power to prevent all of them.

That’s why he threw himself into changing the future, even if it was only within the limits of what he could reach.

“Nodoka-san, imagine being Ren-kun. Suppose you learned your family was going to die. Nobody believes you. People think you’re crazy. Even so, you struggle desperately to save them—and in the end, they die anyway. How would you feel?”

“…Honestly, knowing beforehand might make it even more painful.”

“Exactly. Do you think that only happened once or twice after Ren-kun awakened his ability? There’s no way. He’s experienced far more than that. What he calls ‘being objective about himself’ is really the result of all of that.”

Ren had been forced to endure overwhelming helplessness and unfairness completely alone.

As Nodoka imagined what that must have felt like, she realized how lonely his life had been.

A silent battle with himself that nobody else could see.

One he had fought for years.

“From Ren’s perspective, the failures stick with him far more than the successes. That’s why he’ll never be able to think highly of himself.”

“Right. Especially if those failures carried that much weight.”

He didn’t want to fail anymore.

At the very least, he wanted to protect the people within his reach.

Nodoka understood that this was the answer Ren had arrived at after countless failures.

“By the way, Senpai, what does that have to do with Ren’s sadistic side? Honestly, it sounds completely unrelated.”

“Not really. Think about it. If you knew a terrible future was coming, and there were no practical limitations whatsoever, what would be the fastest solution?”

“I don’t know…”

“Then let me ask you this. What’s the biggest practical limitation?”

“That’s easy. Most people won’t simply believe what Ren says—”

Nodoka stopped mid-sentence and widened her eyes.

“Exactly. The reason changing the future is so difficult is because almost nobody trusts Ren-kun enough to follow his instructions. Given that, don’t you think a certain desire would naturally develop inside him?”

“…The desire for people who would believe him and obey him unconditionally.”

“That’s right. He knows it’s impossible, so he suppresses it consciously. But deep down, he’s always wanted it.”

If everyone in the world obeyed Ren’s words, he could protect people from pandemics, earthquakes, and every disaster imaginable.

But that was nothing more than a fantasy.

“Now think about Yui’s situation from that perspective.”

“…The person who stayed closest to Ren and whom he trusted more than anyone else—Yui—didn’t listen to a single thing he said. Because of that, the worst future couldn’t be avoided. It was a future that could’ve been prevented if she’d only listened.”

“Exactly. At least subconsciously, Ren-kun is bound to feel that way. This is just my theory, but I think what happened with Yui even changed his tastes and desires.”

“You mean he started liking girls he could completely control and possess.”

Airi silently nodded.

For Nodoka, it was a completely new way of looking at things.

She could only stare in amazement.

Even the reason Ren had reacted so strongly when she said she didn’t mind being impregnated at the inn suddenly made sense.

It had been an expression of the desire for conquest buried deep inside him.

“…Then Ren really is a born hero, isn’t he?”

“I suppose so. If he could simply tell himself that a stray cat dying—or even a person dying—was none of his business, he wouldn’t suffer so much. You could say Ren-kun is a distorted hero.”

“A distorted hero…”

“Ren-kun isn’t a god. He’s a human being with desires. Distortion is inevitable.”

And both of them knew perfectly well that they had been saved by that distorted hero.

“Now I kind of want to see Ren and kiss him immediately.”

“Same here. Which is why tomorrow we’re going to wear yukata and thoroughly satisfy Ren-kun’s desire for conquest. And we’ll enjoy every bit of the pleasure of being controlled ourselves.”

“Isn’t this escalation way too sudden!?”

“I told you from the beginning. We were going to discuss what to do about our first time.”

“…”

Though exasperated, Nodoka was grateful to Airi.

If Airi hadn’t been there, she never would have understood that side of Ren.

Because of Airi’s calm analysis, Nodoka found herself thinking honestly:

She had fallen even more in love with Ren.

◇◇

The next day.

Nodoka arrived early as usual and settled herself on my lap.

She seemed even more affectionate than normal, rubbing herself against me from head to toe like a cat marking its territory.

As I stroked her head, I jokingly said,

“Cute Nodoka-chan, why don’t you say ‘meow’ for me?”

“M-Meow…”

“…You actually did it.”

“Y-You told me to!”

I had been expecting the usual retort, so her obedient response caught me off guard.

“Ren-kun.”

Airi opened the door while holding her smartphone and poked her head inside.

She appeared to be in the middle of a phone call.

“Miyoko-san says, ‘I want to talk directly with Ren-sama!’ What do you want to do? Give her your contact information? Refuse?”

“…That’s a pretty good impression.”

I thought about it for a moment.

Would it really be okay for a sponsor and an active idol to exchange contact information?

I couldn’t help worrying that it might turn into some kind of scandal later.

“Giving it directly feels a little risky. I’ll just talk to her now.”

“Got it. Here.”

Airi handed me her phone.

The moment I put it to my ear, Kokoa-san’s voice came through.

“Why won’t anyone give me Ren-sama’s contact information!? Everybody else seems to have it!”

“Well, you’re an idol, Kokoa-san.”

“What kind of reason is that!? That’s idol discrimination!!”

Bzzzt!

Kokoa-san even made a strange sulking noise.

Was this how idols pouted?

“So what did you call about?”

“First, I have good news! I asked my dad, and apparently there are vacant rooms in the apartment building! He said you could move in as early as next week!”

“Oh? Really?”

I had expected it to take at least a few more weeks.

Maybe Burn-san had been pulling some strings behind the scenes.

…Come to think of it, how exactly had Kokoa-san explained me to her father?

“Then please tell him I said thank you. And that I appreciate it very much.”

“Of course! In return, can I come along today too?”

“Huh? Come along where?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Kokoa-san giggled.

“The summer festival!”