Chapter 65: A reason to fight.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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Kokomi Haruna’s POV

Born and raised as the only daughter of a prominent local family, I had lived a life free from want, though my upbringing was strict.

This was because it had been decided from the start that I would inherit the Haruna family's responsibilities. I knew how much my father had devoted himself and his wealth to the town. It was my duty to take over that role.

In a sense, I had been given a joyful life in advance, paid for by the constraints that were set for me. Because my future was already determined—to serve the town just as my father had—I was allowed to live in a way that prepared me for that resolve.

I had realized this without anyone having to tell me. I felt a deep sense of responsibility for this mission-bound life.

To those who can live their lives as they please, my life might seem terribly restrictive. But I never felt that way, not even a little.

Because I love this town.

For its sake, I had inherited education and connections. Having a stage to showcase my abilities, having something to strive for—I thought that made me happier than those who could simply choose their own path.

If you asked me who I was, I would say I was a guardian of the town. I truly believed that protecting the town I loved was my purpose in life.

…And yet.

“Kokomi. You don't have to live for the sake of the Haruna family. In this day and age, I wouldn't burden my daughter with such a responsibility. From now on, live as you please.”

At the time, as I was preparing for high school entrance exams, my father told me that I didn't have to bear the weight of the family's expectations. I had been spending my time studying, sacrificing moments with friends, aiming for the prestigious Shirayurigaoka Academy. Apparently, my father couldn't bear to watch me struggle.

I think, as a father, he wanted to set me free. Surely, I had been pushing myself too hard without realizing it, aiming for a school beyond my academic reach. That's why he released me from those binds.

Looking back, maybe it had always been that way. I had been trying to clear hurdles far beyond my level. And each time, my father must have been pained by the instability he saw in me.

He must have thought that way of living was pitiful. That's why he told me to choose freedom.

But when he said that, I felt as though everything before me had turned dark. Being told I could live freely now, walking a path with no direction…

…It scared me.

The truth was, I could only stand by convincing myself it was my father's kindness. He must have known that someone like me, who couldn't even get into Shirayurigaoka Academy, could never protect the town.

Because he had become kind. The father who had once been so strict in my upbringing had turned into the ideal father you'd see in a home drama. That change, I think, came from him giving up on me.

That gentleness hurts me. Trying to shield me from the fact that my path as a guardian was closed off—it's unbearably painful.

The fact that I, who was supposed to protect the town, who had enjoyed the privileges of being Haruna Kokomi, would now continue to benefit from the town's blessings without being able to give anything back—it's truly agonizing.

I know there are people who aren't as fortunate. I've always known there are those born with nothing, who grow up and fight with nothing.

And yet, among them, there might have been someone with great talent, someone who could have protected the town. Sacrificing that potential, standing on the shoulders of those less fortunate, and being told to enjoy a freedom beyond the ordinary…

“How can I bear that…?”

If only I could have accepted my origins as inevitable, embraced the blessings as something beyond my control, and found joy in living a life of privilege.

…But that's impossible, isn't it?

“The one who raised me to think this way was none other than you!!”

Even as I shouted, my father only smiled gently. The strictness he once showed must have been him as a guardian. The man before me now was simply my father.

And yet, that alone showed me how incapable I was of protecting anyone. I couldn't even cry out of frustration. I ran out of the house.

And then, I found myself at the highest point in town, gazing at the gray scenery. It was then.

“…What's wrong?”

He was sitting at the edge of a bench, looking deeply wounded. I spoke to him because his despairing figure reminded me so much of myself.

His young face was twisted in pain, holding back tears. No—perhaps he had already cried them all out, already given up. From his fragile soul, he squeezed out these words:

“There was nothing I could do.”

With just that whisper, he pointed to a corner of the bustling town. The dark, swirling area of the town's underbelly, where a castle-like building stood. Even someone as sheltered as me knew what that was.

“Did you… get your heart broken?”

Without a word, he stood up from the bench and turned his back to me. Where was he planning to go? Running away from a reality he couldn't change, running away from me too. With a heart so fragile, if he were to face something else, what would become of him?

…Then, someone had to protect him.

Even if I couldn't be the town's guardian, maybe I could protect just one boy. More than anything, in the town I loved so much, there shouldn't be someone with such a sad face.

“Wait.”

And so, I met Hareta Kou. I vowed to protect him, to fulfill the mission I had lost.

Some might laugh and say it didn't matter who I met, but this coincidence was fate. If I was told I could live freely, then pouring everything I had into protecting him felt like the greatest freedom I could embrace.

It felt as though a new path had been illuminated in my darkened life.

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