After Becoming a Counselor for Girls, I Ended Up Producing a Lot of Potential Girlfriends Who Became Mentally Ill - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Next Day

The next day, early in the morning.

When I woke up, regret ran through my mind.

Next to me, Shizuku was sleeping, breathing softly. She had snuggled up to me, and it took effort to pull away.

Why was Shizuku, who had insisted on not sleeping together, here?

The answer was simple.

She had sneaked back into my blanket and fallen asleep. I couldn’t move her, so I just left her there.

In the end, as a counselor, I had strayed from neutrality. It wasn’t a good sign.

“Ugh, good morning, Seii-kun.”

The expression on her face was one that should only be seen by family or someone special like a lover.

“Good morning.”

“I’m glad you were here next to me. Winter vacation, do this every day!”

“Today’s a special case. I had refused. This is your violation.”

“I’ll accept it…”

I gave Shizuku a pseudo-date and offered Shizuku the act of sleeping together. Both of them, in their own way, had become my responsibility.

I was teetering between being a counselor and something closer to being a boyfriend.

“Seii-kun, I’ll settle for imagining all the cuddling in my head for now.”

“Please don’t declare that in front of me.”

“My feelings won’t stop! No matter what anyone says!”

She clenched her fists and declared it.

I moved on to prepare breakfast. I had decided I would leave early today. If I stayed two days, Shizuku’s demands would keep increasing.

Shizuku reluctantly accepted. In exchange, she demanded that I feed her half of her meal by spoon-feeding her. She boldly made a counteroffer.

“I’m surprised you want me to feed you. Don’t you have any sense of shame?”

“Seii-kun, don’t you want to return to your childhood? Don’t you want to feel babied?”

“Not really. And don’t change the subject.”

“Because it’s inconvenient for you. Here, open wide.”

I couldn’t really empathize with her, but I fed her anyway. With Shizuku in front of me, it almost felt like I was feeding a pet.

With each bite, her reactions were big, and that, too, was cute.

“Ah, feeding like this really makes everything taste better. I’d love to try this at school, too!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“Then on the roof!”

“This isn’t an anime. It’s closed off. If something happens, we’ll compromise with a dusty landing on the upper floor.”

“Ugh, I might pass on the dust.”

Shizuku’s grand plan was quickly foiled. Too bad.

“Winter vacation for a while! I’d love to see old friends now and then.”

“Winter vacation isn’t free every day, though.”

“Of course not. I’ve got fan activities, hanging out with friends, and family gatherings. It’s packed.”

I also had consultations with other people, spaced out at intervals. I had a decent amount of plans.

In any case, around New Year’s Eve to the first few days of the year, I wouldn’t be able to do anything too extravagant.

Given the limited winter vacation, consultations came in bunches. There was plenty to think about, not just about Shizuku.

“I guess I’ll be busy too.”

“Hmm, I see you’re getting distracted by other girls.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

“Annoying, you playboy.”

“If I really were a playboy, I wouldn’t be spending all my time on consultations.”

“Is that so? Nogami Shizuku was now filled with doubts…”

“Monologue much?”

We joked around until breakfast was finished.

“Somehow, I feel like I ate a part of Seii-kun,” she said.

“Let’s not make it sound perverted.”

“Wha—!? I was raised on wholesome anime!”

“Yuria-sama was full of perversion and violence though.”

“…I admit, the abbreviation for ‘The Sorcerer of Legends’ isn’t the only thing that’s suggestive.”

Shizuku seriously talked about the embarrassing fanfiction of Yuria-sama. At this point, I could only laugh it off.

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll see you again, Seii-kun. Next time, I’ll defeat the class representative.”

“That’s a bit violent, I’ll just say that.”

“Aren’t you going to support me?”

“I can’t just take sides.”

“You try to be upright while being so sly, Seii-kun.”

She was right.

“If I keep this up, Shizuku will probably out-argue me, so I’ll take my leave.”

“You always run away when things get inconvenient.”

“I’m going to protect myself.”

I left her house before her parents woke up. It was better to avoid any questions today and deal with them later.

With a lighter heart, I headed home.

It wouldn’t take long to get home—maybe thirty minutes.

The route to my house was one I was used to. There was nothing irregular, and there was no reason to expect anything unusual.

Right before I reached home, though…

A chill ran down my spine. My sixth sense told me something was off.

Should I turn back? No, I had to go home, so it would be the same either way if I turned around.

I ignored the unease and kept going.

“Welcome home.”

I didn’t expect anyone to be here. I should have been the only one home.

But I heard a familiar voice.

“Coming home in the morning, huh? The class representative should be the one to keep you in check, right?”

“Kujo!?”

“Yeah, it’s Kujo Saya.”

“I can tell that. The real question is, why are you standing there?”

How did she know where I lived?

I never told Kujo my address. The class contact list had long since disappeared, so there was no way she could have found it easily.

What was going on?

“Do you know about the Six Degrees of Separation?”

“At least six people, and you can reach anyone.”

“In other words, it wasn’t that difficult for me to get to someone who knows Seiichiro’s address.”

Even if Kujo didn’t know where I lived, it was very possible that someone I knew did.

“Building trust every day gives you a huge advantage. If you come up with a believable lie, people will just spill everything.”

“I don’t want to make an enemy out of you, class representative.”

“That’s right, Seiichiro. Then, why are you coming home in the morning?”

Her eyes lost their sparkle.

“You can tell me, right?”

She closed the distance.

“I just went for a walk.”

“I can smell another girl on you.”

“Maybe it’s my sister’s scent.”

“You’re an only child, Seiichiro. Why are you lying? Why?”

Kujo ruthlessly dug into me. She had the ability to expose a lie with ease.

Cold sweat dripped down.

I was facing one of the biggest crises of my life.