A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - Chapter 35.2: Shika's Hidden Side

Chapter 35.2: Shika’s Hidden Side

I kept questioning Shika, who now looked dazed as if frightened by something.

Because that reasoning had a solid basis.

Before, when she came to my room, she had said something like “I sneaked in.”

Honestly… I had thought it was just her kind of humor, but the phrasing wasn’t normal.

If taken literally, she must have seen it as a “game of reaching a boy’s room.”

This incident felt the same.

Once Shika learned about Sasa’s movements, she probably set out on a game to rescue her.

By then, to Shika, Sasa had already become a game companion.

“…You really do understand.”

“I like to think I’m pretty good at reading people.”

“Do you… think I’m weird too?”

Hearing her answer made me certain. I hadn’t wanted to believe she was the self-aware type.

It seemed she had thought I would accept this game of hers.

That’s why she looked scared now.

She probably felt rejected.

“No… You’re not weird. But——”

But that wasn’t what I wanted to say.

I didn’t want to deny Shika’s way of thinking… her identity.

“If that’s the case, then this game was dangerous… Riko knew that your true nature is timid.”

“B-But! I… This is the only way I can live. And to not abandon Sasa-chan, that was the only way… wasn’t it?”

If I only listened to the part about trying to help Sasa… it sounded like simple kindness.

But if the premise was that it was all just a game to her, then it sounded like hypocrisy.

What her true feelings were, I didn’t know.

I was just… worried that her own safety wasn’t included anywhere in that game mindset.

“Besides, if I hadn’t seen you entering the school building, I probably would have played my trump card right away.”

“Trump card? Don’t tell me——”

“Hanasaon’s whereabouts.”

I see… That really could be a trump card.

For Shika, it wasn’t a truth she wanted to hide even at the risk of her own safety, and it would easily stop Riko.

“Of course, I know it’s a one-time revival item. But isn’t it just that?”

“Just that? Isn’t that reason enough to stop the game?”

“No. It isn’t a reason. Because——”

Because… what?

Hadn’t the topic of Mishina Hanasaon been something Shika needed to avoid too?

…No. I had misunderstood something.

Because Shika’s face looked flushed and entranced… as if she were feeling some kind of pleasure.

“That makes it………… ahn, so much more stimulating, doesn’t it? I can’t stop.”

“…!!!”

A chill ran through me.

Seeing a face like someone addicted, my whole body began to tremble.

Even though I had no intention of rejecting her, my instincts rang alarm bells at how different she was.

“Hehe… Don’t worry. I understand… because it’s about me.”

As if nothing had happened, she returned to normal and faced me.

That didn’t feel like the timid Shika at all, and the sight seemed abnormal.

“That’s why… I never made friends. Because I can only connect with people through this game mindset. Isn’t that wrong…? Are you going to scold me?”

Right now, Shika could probably choose any option as easily as touching a game screen.

So the only thing I could say here was words to accept her.

“…No, Shika isn’t wrong. In fact, I’m grateful. Because thanks to your game, we were able to save Sasa——happy ending.”

“Then——”

“——That’s why!”

I raised my voice.

To get through to Shika… I had no choice but to give her the ultimate stimulation.

“If there’s anything I should scold you for, it’s that you forced it while being fully aware of how dangerous it was. Do you think an ending you got that way… is a true ending? It’s not, right?”

At my words, Shika showed a look of pure surprise.

“…………Even seeing someone like me… you still treat me normally.”

It seemed to get through that I wasn’t denying her way of thinking.

Sorry, but my previous life hadn’t been soft enough for me to be shaken by something like this.

If she was aware that her sense was off, then it could be corrected.

But more importantly, there was something I needed to tell her first.

“——Because we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“…!?”

“That’s why I worry. I want you to rely on me more. Come on, even games have helpers, right? I’ll make it fun for you.”

——Use me if you need to. There’s no need for Shika to get her own hands dirty.

“Hehe… As expected of you——you gave me new stimulation.”

Maybe she found it funny that I used game terms.

Shika seemed to regain her composure and gave a little impish smile.

“If you’re going to make it fun for me… then I won’t hold back, okay?”

She was good at acting.

I couldn’t tell whether that was her real face or just a mask.

But this was the starting point.

With Shika… I wanted to start as friends. Because that was the same way we began in my previous life.

There was no rush. Slowly… I thought I would come to understand her.

Besides… I still didn’t know why Shika never appeared on the main stage in my previous life.

If something happened to her from now on, I would definitely protect her.

Yes, that’s right.

This time… I wanted a true ending.

That was exactly why I had come back to this era.