A Beautiful Girl Confessed Her Love to Me as a Punishment Game, but After We Started Dating, She Started Getting More and More Obsessive

Chapter 19

For a socially awkward introvert, weekdays and weekends aren’t all that different.

Studying simply shifts from being in class to tackling the extra homework given for the weekend. Reading light novels during school breaks turns into reading manga in one’s room.

For a homebody, the only advantage of weekends is the extra two hours of sleep in the morning. And yet, Mondays always feel dreadful.

If this dread comes from the loss of those two hours of sleep, then I’d argue that school should start two hours later—at least on Mondays.

If this dread were alleviated, perhaps the teachers’ constant complaints about “students’ lack of motivation during Monday’s first period” or “the rising number of absentees” would improve slightly. Everyone wins.

Of course, such a brilliant idea, born from my groggy, sleep-deprived mind, would undoubtedly be dismissed with a traditional “toughen up” mindset typical of the countryside.

“Karasu. Get up. Breakfast is getting cold. Breakfast.”

“Mm…”

The persistent knocking on my door from my mom made it clear that any further sleep was out of the question, so I reluctantly got up. Just as I suspected, my entire body ached. Muscle soreness.

On an already dreary Monday, I now had to deal with this added fatigue.

With a sigh, I glanced at my phone. There was one new notification, but it was just something from the prefecture. The chat with Kiryu-san remained the same—just that bunny sticker from before.

Well, I didn’t expect anything anyway. It’s only natural there’d be no new messages.

Still, it made my chest feel tight and deflated.

I didn’t want to go to school.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Kiryu-san. We studied together in the morning, worked out at the hotel owned by her uncle, and then had lunch together.

Just the morning alone felt overwhelmingly fulfilling—an extraordinary weekend.

Learning about a glimpse of the relentless effort that shapes someone as extraordinary as Kiryu Kirino was fascinating. It was inspiring and made me respect and admire her even more.

But I couldn’t help wondering, how did Kiryu-san perceive me?

I feel like I didn’t talk much. I might not have come across as fun or lively as I wanted to. She probably thought I was just a dull guy, even though we spent the weekend together.

How was my table manners? Eating before her because I was too hungry probably wasn’t the best move.

I also vaguely recall saying something weird.

Did she think I was strange? Or even worse, did she despise me?

I felt uneasy and scared to face Kiryu-san. I dreaded going to school.

Suddenly, my head and stomach started to ache.

“You’ll be late.”

The door to my room opened without permission.

“I think I might have a slight cold. I’ll stay home today.”

“You don’t have a fever. …Did something go wrong during your date? You were so excited yesterday, saying you exchanged contact info.”

“Well, yeah, but… I don’t know, I just feel awkward about it now.”

“What are you even saying? …You’re just overthinking and stressing yourself out, aren’t you? If you don’t go today, the other person might feel worried too.”

“…I don’t think Kiryu-san is the kind to care about that.”

I doubt she thinks anything of me. Whether I’m there or not, it probably doesn’t matter to her.

If that’s the case, she probably doesn’t care about any mistakes I might have made either.

Even if I came off as unrefined or said something odd, she wouldn’t expect anything from me in the first place, so she wouldn’t feel disappointed.

As long as I don’t misunderstand and develop feelings for her, nothing else is expected of me.

Thinking that made me feel a little better.

My body still ached, but I felt like I could manage going to school.

I don’t want to risk losing credits due to absences, especially since I tend to get sick easily. I definitely don’t want to repeat a year. Besides, classes are sometimes interesting when they reference stuff from my favorite light novels.

Dragging my aching body, I shuffled to the bathroom.

After breakfast, I changed into my uniform and headed to school.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, uh, good morning.”

“…Numata, so this is your station too.”

When I arrived at the station at my usual time, Minami-san, sitting on a bench at the platform, greeted me.

I already knew she took the same train at the same time from this station.

But this was the first time we’d ended up together like this.

“How was yesterday?”

“We went to the hotel owned by Kiryu-san’s uncle. Had lunch there and worked out.”

“Wait, what? Worked out?”

“Oh, uh, I mean, not in a weird way. Just muscle training. There’s a gym there.”

Whatever Minami-san imagined, she reacted with exaggerated surprise.

Panicked, I quickly blurted out a somewhat awkward explanation.

“Ah, I see. …Don’t say it so misleadingly.”

She nodded and gave my shin a light kick. …Isn’t that a bit of a self-inflicted complaint?

“So, did it go well?”

“I don’t know. I learned how incredibly disciplined Kiryu-san is. Also, we exchanged contact info. She said it might be useful for something someday.”

“Wait, seriously? That’s rare.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. Kirino always says she doesn’t want to bring outside relationships into her personal life. She tells people her parents are strict and that she doesn’t carry her phone at school.”

“Really?”

Now that she mentioned it, I don’t recall seeing Kiryu-san use her phone at school.

“Yeah. That’s why Fujisaki and Yasumura don’t have her contact info either. I know it, and she’s exchanged info with a few other girls, but I think you’re the only guy who has it.”

“Really…?”

That made me a little happy.

I’m sure she gave it to me purely for convenience, as she said, but it still felt special to be the only guy she shared it with.

I felt like I might start getting carried away.

“Numata, maybe you actually have a chance?”

“No way. Kiryu-san specifically said she doesn’t want to be misunderstood that way, which is why she chose me.”

Even entertaining the thought of having a chance would be enough to make her disappointed in me.

I didn’t want to disappoint Kiryu-san.

“Minami-san, were you testing me just now?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Did I upset you?”

“Not really. I get why you’d be cautious since you’re her friend.”

“I see. …You know, Numata, I think that’s one of your good points.”