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 24

Chapter 24

The sixth period ended, and after-school time arrived.

I glanced at Kiryu-san and Minami-san, hoping they might invite me to walk home together, but they didn’t look my way.

I longed for the youthful event of walking home together, but part of me felt relieved to go home alone.

I always envied the popular kids surrounded by friends and disliked my solitary self.

However, I might not actually enjoy being around people.

I admired it and found it fun, but it felt more tiring than anything.

I glanced at Fujisaki-kun and his group.

Fujisaki-kun and Yasumura-kun talked with a girl who wasn’t Dachi-san. They seemed to chat casually.

I felt a bit uneasy, but it wasn’t my place to say anything.

I pretended not to see and left the classroom alone.

When I felt down, I went to see the river.

The sound of flowing water and the open scenery without obstructions soothed me. On clear days, I saw Sakurajima, and if the water was clear, I saw fish.

I usually walked straight to the station to go home, but today I took a detour along the river.

I walked across a bridge I didn’t need to cross.

The strong wind on the bridge came from the lack of obstructions or perhaps the push of the river’s flow.

I loved the strong wind unique to this bridge.

The wind felt like it could blow away my gloomy mood with a whoosh.

I came to the river just for this wind, and that wasn’t an exaggeration.

However, I wasn’t the only one who liked this wind.

Someone already stood on the bridge, leaning on the railing, looking in the opposite direction of Sakurajima. Quite a connoisseur.

The person wore our school uniform.

After-school had just started, and I left the classroom immediately to come here. Someone arriving before me meant something specific.

The brown hair swaying in the wind, the short height, and the situation told me who it was.

I decided to catch the wind at the next bridge.

“Numata…” Dachi-san called.

As I turned to leave, she stopped me.

Since I heard her, I couldn’t ignore her, so I stopped and turned back. It was indeed Dachi-san.

“School’s already over?” Dachi-san asked.

“Yeah. The sun’s setting, right?” I replied.

“You’re right. I’ve been lost in thought for a while,” Dachi-san murmured.

Her eyes looked red and slightly swollen. She might have been crying.

“Well, you’ll do. You’re not entirely unrelated. Come with me for a bit,” Dachi-san demanded.

“Huh? W-where?” I stammered.

“Just come,” Dachi-san insisted.

She grabbed my collar and pulled me along.

Her grip wrinkled my uniform, and I followed her in an awkward, hunched posture.

“What? Huh?” I mumbled.

I felt like a dog dragged by its collar.

Strangely, I didn’t mind it.

I was socially awkward, bad at interacting, and despite wanting connections, I always found them more troublesome than desirable.

Being dragged along forcefully like this felt easier for me in a way.

With that thought, she led me to a café across the bridge.

“What do you want to eat? My treat,” Dachi-san offered.

“Just coffee,” I replied.

“Okay. I’ll get the Napolitan set with a cream melon soda and the katsu sandwich set with coffee. Hot or iced…?” Dachi-san asked.

“Hot,” I answered.

“Alright, that’s it. And for sides, fries and fried chicken,” Dachi-san ordered.

“Uh, I said just coffee,” I reminded.

“Yeah, the rest is for me,” Dachi-san clarified.

Wasn’t that too much food?

Could her small body handle it? Her waist was so slim.

After ordering, Dachi-san led me to an empty seat. No other customers were in the café.

Dachi-san sat across from me, looking grumpy and silent.

It felt awkward…

“So, why were you at the bridge?” I asked.

“That’s my line,” Dachi-san retorted.

Did she mean why I was at the bridge?

“I wanted to feel the wind on the bridge,” I explained.

“Same here,” Dachi-san admitted.

“Oh, really?” I responded.

Was the conversation over?

Silence fell again.

Dachi-san seemed like she wanted to talk, but getting her to open up was tough for a socially awkward guy like me.

While I struggled, the drinks, Napolitan, and katsu sandwich arrived.

It was a huge amount. This wasn’t a chain café but a local one, yet the portions rivaled a famous Nagoya chain known for big servings.

Could Dachi-san really eat all this?

I sipped my coffee, watching Dachi-san slurp the Napolitan like ramen and devour the katsu sandwich.

The food disappeared impressively.

Her small body somehow handled it all.

She noisily gulped down the melon soda, scooped the cream with a spoon, licked it, and spun the empty glass with just ice.

“Phew,” Dachi-san sighed.

She let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“You saw, didn’t you?” Dachi-san replied.

She narrowed her eyes. Yeah, I saw the whole lunch break drama, so asking if something was wrong lacked tact.

“Sorry. I’m really bad at this, and I don’t know what to say in these situations,” I apologized.

I showed my regret and clasped my hands, and Dachi-san blinked in surprise.

She looked thoughtful, then sighed again.

“I liked Toru. No, I still like him,” Dachi-san confessed.

After a pause, her confession surprised me.