After Capturing and Confining a Beautiful Yandere Stalker Girl, I Somehow Started a Sweet Life With Her - 40

Chapter 40: Because I Had Been Saved

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“I… I like you, A-kun.”

She didn’t say it loudly. In fact, her voice was so soft and quiet. There were slot machines and crane games behind us. Those game machines produced a constant stream of sounds and from further away, I could hear the voices of the staff at the reception desk interacting with the customers. The place we were in wasn’t a quiet place, but Neiko-san’s soft confession definitely reached my ears. 

I stared at her intently. As I did so, Neiko-san let out a soft, wry smile before continuing her speech. 

“…I know that I’ve always been telling A-kun how I feel… I tell you I like you and that I want to be with you forever almost everyday…”

“That’s…”

“And I regret that a lot.”

“Huh…?”

My heart skipped a beat at that. I couldn’t help but think that perhaps those confessions of love had become something invalid. Maybe Neiko-san had regretted those confessions because she didn’t feel that way about me anymore. 

However, I was wrong. It wasn’t like that. 

Neiko-san continued. 

“At that time, I just wanted to tell you what I truly felt from the bottom of my heart. However, the words I had said ended up causing A-kun pain. That realization came to me and… That’s why I’m regretting that now.”

“Neiko-san…”

“A-kun… You said you’re going to tell me something at the end of today’s date…”

“…”

Neiko-san’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears. I found myself trapped within her gaze. 

“Right now… I want to tell you my true feelings… Right now. Right at this moment.”

And the unshed tears from her eyes slowly traced down her cheeks. 

“I love you, A-kun… I love you… I really love you a lot.”

An irreplaceable emotion. A one of a kind feeling. 

“….Huh? Wh-What…?”

“Hm…? A-kun…?”

I was bewildered. I had received Neiko-san’s heartfelt words that she uttered with tears running down her cheeks. I had received them crystal clear, but for some reason… I ended up tearing as well. No. It wasn’t just for some reason. I knew exactly the reason why I cried. Her earnest feelings had struck me deeply, deeper than ever before. 

But….

“…Please don’t look down on me too much.”

“Huh…?”

I said so to the confused Neiko-san while wiping away the overflowing tears with the sleeve of my hoodie. My voice was really hoarse, but I continued on. 

“…For me, every word you said… All the words that you thought were something to be treated lightly… Everything is dearly precious to me.”

“…Huh?”

“Of course, words like ‘I love you’ or ‘I want to be with you forever,’ of course they’re really precious to me but mundane words like ‘good morning,’ ‘good night,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘I’m sorry.’ All of them… All of them are so precious to me! Every word from you is my treasure!”

Neiko-san, who had been frozen from surprise, stared at me with trembling eyes. Her eyes narrowed slightly and gradually, her lips began to tremble. 

“It was the same when we first met. You thought I was cheering you up when you were feeling homesick, but in reality… I was the one who had been saved by you, Neiko-san.”

“Me…?”

Confused, Neiko-san asked me that. Her voice was thick with tears and I nodded firmly in response.

“I’m the same as you, Neiko-san… I’ve always been alone too. When I came here and started living on my own, I pretended everything was fine, but in reality… I was lonely.”

“…”

“But then, I happened to talk with you at the coin laundry place. I learned that there was someone else in the same situation as me. I realized I wasn’t alone and that realization brought me happiness. I was really happy to know someone was facing the same challenge as me.”

“A-kun…”

“That’s why… At the end of our conversation, I told you to come to the humanities building. At that time, I was too embarrassed to ask for your name, but I actually wanted to meet you again and I hoped we could become friends…!”

The emotions from that time rushed back to me, vivid and crystal clear. I left my parents’ home and started living on my own in the big city. I was filled with the determination to become independent. I convinced myself that I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. Feeling lonely was not something I could afford. I had to get used to living alone as soon as possible. Precisely because of that mindset, I had unknowingly closed off my true feelings. I had even forgotten the words I said to Neiko-san in return. 

But now… Everything had changed. Thanks to her speaking from the bottom of my heart, I was finally able to accept my own weaknesses. I didn’t have to pretend to be strong on my own. Growing together with Neiko-san was something I was allowed to do. Moving forward, hand in hand with someone important to me… It was fine to do something like that. 

“…Neiko-san, I….”

Just as I was about to speak, she gently grasped my hand. Her cheeks were littered with tear marks and her eyes, which had been wavering, still held a color that looked a bit dangerous, but even so… I still liked her just as she was. 

“…I…”

I looked straight into her eyes. 

“I love you… I love you from the bottom of my heart. I love you just as much as you love me.”

I put my feelings into words.

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