Chapter 69 – Episode 69. The Second Scenario (4)

Some time had passed since I met Haru under the bridge, just like in the game.

“No way. So, she…”
“Pfft. Really?”

Amazingly, I had succeeded in becoming friends with Haru.

If you were to ask how it was possible to become friends with someone you just met so quickly, the answer was simple.

What she needed right now wasn’t comfort, but rest. So, I acted accordingly.

How did I know that, you ask?

Well, there were a few similar scenes in the game, and in those scenes, the script explained it like this:

[What Haru needed that day wasn’t comfort or advice, but rather a pleasant, everyday conversation.]

[If I had spent time with Hiro then, just like when we were kids, sharing fun stories and jokes, would my fate have changed?]

That’s why I didn’t bother with useless advice and just told her pleasant, everyday stories.

Of course, at first, Haru reacted indifferently to my words, but as time passed, she became more and more interested in my stories.

And half the reason for that was…

“In Korea, an older friend of mine…”

It was because of the stories about Korea.

I did tell her about Takuya, but honestly, it didn’t seem that interesting, so I disguised my previous life’s stories as stories about an older neighborhood friend, which were more intriguing.

I couldn’t help it.

Honestly, Takuya’s life wasn’t that interesting. He had few friends and a narrow social circle.

“…that’s what an older friend of mine told me.”
“That’s amazing. How can you have classes until 7 PM at school?”
“My friend said they even have something called ‘night study.’”
“Night study?”
“Yeah, they gather students at night to study.”
“How can people do such a terrible thing…”

For the record, Haru seemed to firmly believe that these stories were from an older neighborhood friend of mine.

That’s because most of the stories were about Korean things, and I didn’t have much experience with those Korean things.

What kind of nonsense is that, you ask?

The stories I was telling were actually stories that older friends (I met in the military) had told me.

Thanks to that, I could talk as if I were telling someone else’s stories.

Anyway, we were in the middle of a conversation when…

“Haha! Haha. Hahaha…”

Haru, who had been laughing at my stories, sighed deeply and made a face as if she had seen the end of the world.

Looking at her, I thought it was an opportunity and said,

“What’s wrong? Do you have a problem?”

Haru looked at me for a moment, sighed again, and then said,

“Well, it’s a story about my friend…”

Usually, a “friend’s story” in this kind of situation was 100% about themselves.

Actually, even if it wasn’t this kind of situation, looking at Haru’s expression, it was obvious that it wasn’t someone else’s story.

Anyway, after listening to Haru’s story, I thought,

‘What a moron.’

Hiro was a moron. What else could you call someone who gets angry at a girl just because she gets angry at him while he’s trying to comfort her? No. Actually, if it was just any girl, I would have understood.

If a stranger suddenly starts acting up, it’s better to just let it go.

But doing that to a girl you like? That’s not just moronic, that’s super moronic.

Hmm? Aren’t I bad at comforting people too, you ask?

I’m good at it with my dick.

Anyway, after listening to Haru’s story, I cursed Hiro.

“He’s a moron. That guy.”
“A mo-ron?”
“Ah. An older friend of mine said that it means ‘stupid’ in Japanese.”

Hearing my words, Haru chuckled and said,

“It’s nice of you to comfort me, but please don’t curse him too much. He tried his best for him. And honestly, I wasn’t completely in the right either.”

At that, I nodded in agreement.

Well, she told me not to curse him, and she admitted that she was wrong too. There was no reason to say anything more.

I was about to agree and say something else, but…

“Oh, it’s getting brighter now.”
“Yeah, it is.”

The weather cleared up, so I canceled that plan.

I could have continued the conversation, but that would have made it seem like I had an ulterior motive.

That’s why I decided to retreat now.

But if I just said, “See you later, sis~” and left, wouldn’t that be a bit lame?

I pondered for a moment and then got up from my seat.

“Are you leaving now?”
“My purpose was to avoid the rain.”

At my words, she nodded, looking slightly disappointed, and said,

“…Okay. Take care.”

Before leaving, I said one more thing to her.

“Before I go, I’ll say one last thing. Sis, it’s good for your mental health not to try to endure everything.”

At my words, she asked, puzzled,

“Huh? What do you mean…”
“I mean, you should tell someone about your struggles and hardships.”
“Wouldn’t they dislike me if I did that…”

She asked worriedly, and I said,

“If someone dislikes you for not comforting you, then they’re not someone who’s helpful in your life anyway. Don’t worry about them. And…”

I gently approached her, grabbed her cheek, and slightly lifted the corners of her mouth, then said,

“You look prettier when you smile like this. Always try to smile.”
“Hwet?”

After saying that, I immediately took my hand off her flushed cheek and quickly ran out from under the bridge, saying,

“See you next time! Sorry for touching your cheek!!”
“Eh.”

With those words, I quickly left the place, leaving behind only a girl with a red face, watching the back of the boy who had already left.

It was a summer where the summer rain felt particularly short.

***

While Haru was spacing out,

Takuya, who had quickly left the place, drank some water from his bag, wiped his mouth, and muttered,

“Phew! Playing the light novel protagonist is quite tiring.”

Everything I had just done was to make my meeting and farewell with Haru dramatic.

Otherwise, why would I be crazy enough to grab a girl’s face and lift the corners of her mouth like that?

It was all to leave a dramatic memory, so I took a slightly more provocative approach.

Of course, even while doing it, I felt so cringey that I wanted to die.

‘I want to die. Seriously.’

Of course, for a 16-year-old girl in despair, it would be the most dramatic scene.

If she doesn’t remember it after all that, I’d really want to kill myself.

Well, whatever.

“Now, where should I go…”

I had achieved my goal, but looking at my already damp clothes and bag, I couldn’t help but worry.

Because if I went home like this, Yuka and Ayaka would definitely nag me.

I had already been exposed to Yuka, so I didn’t have the courage to ask her to wash my clothes with a straight face.

And going to Souta’s house was out of the question since I had already told him I had other things to do… It was awkward.

As I was wondering where to go, I thought of a good place.

“That’s right! There was that place!”

As soon as I thought of the place, I changed direction and started walking towards my destination.

And a little while later, I arrived at Haruka’s house.

Since Haruka and I had a deep sexual relationship, she would probably let me take a bath.

That’s what I thought as I came to Haruka’s house, but…

“Oh my? Takuya-san? Haruka isn’t here right now…”
“Eh.”

Haruka wasn’t home.

It wasn’t like I had come to the house of an employee who had gone to work. As far as I remembered, Haruka wasn’t supposed to work today.

So, why wasn’t Haruka home? The answer was simple.

“She said she was going to check things out because of the rain, just in case.”
“Ah.”

She said that since there was a lot of rain this time, she went to work to check if there were any variables or problems.

In other words, she went to work for the company.

‘Sob, Haruka.’

You might say, how could she be so dedicated to her work that she would go back to work on her day off, but I thought that Haruka had too much pride in her computer skills to go back to work just for something like this.

So, the reason was probably one thing.

‘She went to work on her day off for me.’

It was for me.

You might say it’s just a simple misunderstanding, but Haruka, who likes me enough to give me a handjob with milk, was definitely capable of doing that.

Even if it wasn’t, it was admirable that she went back to work.

Of course, because of that, my plan was ruined, so I was just going to let my clothes dry in the wind and the sun that was starting to come out again.

“Would you like to take a bath before you go, if you don’t mind?”

That was until Miharu-san suggested that I take a bath.

Of course, I didn’t refuse. Honestly, I felt a bit sticky.

“Then, I’ll be in your care.”

With those words, I went into the house with familiar steps and was able to enter the bathroom.

The water was nice and warm.