Chapter 29: The Terrifying Persistence of Women

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“Yuuta-sama, long time no see.”

The woman who stepped out of the car was Kurebayashi-san's mother. Although it hasn't really been that long since I last saw her, time seems to have a strange way of playing tricks on us.

Her attitude towards me was as stern as ever, but her expression was tense.

“Mom…”

“Mii, you were in danger. I'll take care of this industrial waste. Don't worry.”

Their conversation was rather unsettling for a mother-daughter exchange. Kurebayashi's mother grabbed Okutsu by the shoulders from behind as he knelt on the ground.

“If we're not careful, this filth might need more than just disinfection; perhaps castration?”

What's with this woman? She's dragging Okutsu away with incredible strength.

Still, her timing was too perfect. I had to ask.

“Um, Kurebayashi-san's mother, how did you know to come here?”

“I received a report that a troublesome insect was approaching Mii, so I came to exterminate it.”

“…Who reported it?”

“Oh, I forgot to explain to you, Yuuta-sama. In exchange for lifting the curse, we attached a GPS tracker to this individual.”

“That sounds like something out of a mecha anime. Is this even legal in Japan?”

“We did obtain his consent, although he probably didn't understand it was a tracking device. Predictably, he approached Mii again.”

Scary.

Kurebayashi's mother is terrifying. Is she some sort of secret agent? She reminds me of those overpowered moms in sci-fi stories. If that's the case, I bet her name is Misao. From now on, I'll secretly call her the Hell's Black Witch.

“Mii, you don't look well. You're still recovering, so let's get you home to rest.”

“Y-yeah…”

Now that she mentioned it, Kurebayashi-san did look worse than before. That explains her earlier erratic behavior. Her brain must have been fried, making her words incomprehensible.

So, if you think about one person constantly, does that mean it's love? For example, if I kept thinking about those NTR bastards, hating them so much that I wanted to kill them, would that hatred turn into love eventually?

…No way.

“Love turns into hate” might be true, but this is definitely irreversible. At best, it's like hating someone so much that you end up feeling an imaginary fondness.

While I was seriously pondering this, Kurebayashi-san, who had started walking with her mother, suddenly stumbled.

“Oh!”

“Whoa.”

I instinctively caught her as she was about to fall.

“S-sorry.”

“It's fine.”

“…”

“…”

We didn't have anything to say to each other. Kurebayashi-san remained leaning against me, not moving.

“Hey, Yuuta-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“I think… this is love.”

“What?”

Should I vehemently deny it or just say I don't understand? No, I actually don’t even understand what she is talking about.

Because of this trivial dilemma, I couldn't bring myself to shut her up.

“Because… being supported by you like this… makes me really, really happy.”

“…”

Is her brain still not working? Her thought process is beyond my understanding.

I can't deal with this.

I lightly pushed Kurebayashi-san back to a standing position and said firmly,

“I haven't forgiven you, Kurebayashi-san.”

So, don't cling to me with that misunderstanding.

I wanted to continue, but the fear of Kurebayashi's mother's unknown wrath stopped me.

“I know. I don't expect anything in return.”

“…”

“Thank you for saving me today, Yuuta-kun.”

Blushing, she said that and walked unsteadily towards the car where her mother was waiting.

There's no way I could curse at her in this situation.

I'm curious about what kind of punishment Okutsu will receive, but I've lost all motivation to attend today's lecture. Even though it's the first day.

Well, I suppose I can submit my enrollment form next week. I've drawn enough attention for today. Time to go home.

“Goodbye, Yuuta-sama.”

After that greeting, Kurebayashi's mother drove off with a screech. She's quite the aggressive driver.

“I should head home too.”

As I walked away from the main gate,

“Hey, you there, the guy who walking aimlessly.”

“Huh?”

A short-haired woman with sunglasses called out from another car window. Her tone was mocking.

Annoyed by her attitude, I instinctively glared at her.

“…What?”

Seeing who it was, I froze.

“No way, KYOKO?”

“Shh!”

It's the actual celebrity KYOKO, the one Kimura-san mentioned seeing at a filming location earlier. Why is she here?

“Don't make a scene. And… do you know Kurebayashi Mii?”

“…Huh?”

Why does KYOKO know about Kurebayashi-san?