After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered - Chapter 24: I've Had Enough of Handcuffs

Chapter 24: I’ve Had Enough of Handcuffs

We went back and forth on the bed for a while about whether to put on the handcuffs or not…

Finally, we got down to the main topic.

“So, about that talk…”

When I started, Satori leaned forward with evident interest.

“Something so important that you want to talk about it alone?”

“Yeah. This concerns our future.”

“!”

Satori’s eyes widened for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, her face turned bright red, and she raised her voice in a fluster.

“D-Do you mean we’re really getting mar–”

“–It’s about the three great families.”

I cut in immediately, and Satori’s expression twisted obviously.

She glared at me with murderous, sullen eyes, oozing dissatisfaction as if to say I’d betrayed her expectations.

“…Akira, you idiot.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet!”

Satori turned away sulkily and asked in a listless tone.

“So, what?”

“It’s about the three great families…”

I steeled myself and opened my mouth.

“Satori, I was wondering if you have any intention of becoming the head of one of the three great families.”

“The head of one of the three great families?”

“You know, you used to want to leave the island back then, right? I was wondering what you plan to do now…”

“…………………………..”

The more I spoke, the harsher Satori’s gaze became.

I’d been the one to stop her from leaving the island, and yet I was the one scheming to escape it now, so it was no wonder she blamed me.

“No, you see, right? I’m just curious about what you intend to do now. If you’re staying on the island, that means becoming the head of one of the three great families, right? I’d want to support you with everything I’ve got.”

“…Even though you tried to leave the island?”

“No, that was really just for a moment. I intended to come right back.”

“…………………………..”

“Just the tip. I only meant to leave the island for the tip.”

“…………………………………………………………………………..”

“I’m really sorry! So stop reaching for those handcuffs!”

The moment Satori reached for the handcuffs, I hurriedly wedged myself between her and them, blocking her with all my might.

Then the second wave came, so I intercepted it with my body.

“…I don’t really care either way.”

After a while, as if giving up on the handcuffs, Satori lowered her arm and murmured softly.

“The three great families or whatever don’t matter to me. As long as I can live on this island with Akira, I’m satisfied.”

“On this island?”

“Yeah. On this island.”

“…I see.”

“On this island!”

Satori emphasized the words “this island.”

It was good that she had such strong love for her hometown, but there was also the proverb that said you should let even a cute child travel.

Couldn’t she be a bit more aggressive?

“For now, I get that you have no intention of leaving the island.”

“You too, Akira.”

“…Let’s set that aside for now. You really have no interest in becoming the head of one of the three great families?”

“…Yeah.”

Satori answered immediately, then added as if an afterthought.

“But having power isn’t a bad thing. It would make it easier to stop the ferry from running.”

“…Easier to stop?”

It was a pretty unfamiliar phrase. Something ordinary people would never encounter in a lifetime.

“So if Akira tells me to become the head, I’d do it right now. If there’s someone to support me by my side, I can work hard at it.”

“…I see.”

“If there’s someone to support me by my side.”

I see. I pretty much understood what she was thinking.

If I begged Satori here to “become the head,” it would probably lead to a flow similar to the Satori route.

She’d seize the position from Uncle and try to bring change to the island. That was a kind of correct answer, perhaps one form of happiness.

But if Satori herself lacked the motivation for it, I had no intention of forcing the suggestion on her.

Having power meant bearing the responsibilities that came with it, and it was far too heavy a burden to impose on her out of my own selfishness.

So I intended to respect Satori’s choice.

Even if fate meant she would become the head someday.

“Hey, Akira.”

As I spent a while turning my thoughts in circles…

Satori, who had been watching me quietly, opened her mouth.

“–If I became the head, would you support me by my side forever?”

That question felt like a test of my resolve.

For her to become the head meant shouldering the future of this island.

And shouldering the island’s future meant my dream of going to Tokyo to make games would come to an end.

“………………”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Because I could tell Satori was seriously waiting for my answer.

She was surely planning to decide her own future based on how I responded.

–Words that greatly influence a person’s life.

They could be words of proposal, words of farewell, or words that nurture friendship.

And the words I was about to say now were the same. They would greatly change Satori’s life, our future.

That one phrase might alter her fate.

“I–”

I suppressed the lump in my throat and slowly opened my mouth.

“I care about you more than you think, Satori. So don’t look at me with such anxious eyes. Even without you saying it, I intend to support you by your side.”

Satori’s eyes wavered for just a moment. Various emotions intertwined, all jumbled together in a mess.

“……………………”

Just as her face gradually flushed red, mine was probably bright red too.

Feeling my body heat up from embarrassment, I pressed on with momentum alone.

“I want to achieve my own dream. But I care about you just as much–no, even more.”

“……………………………………..”

“Then I’m going.”

I stood up from the bed and headed for the exit as if fleeing.

If I stayed face-to-face any longer, the embarrassment might overwhelm me.

And the moment I reached for the shack’s door,

“…!”

Satori looked up with a start.

“Wait!”

Satori lunged out suddenly and grabbed my arm, so I turned back.

She lowered her eyes for a moment, steadied her breathing as if taking a deep breath. Then she slowly raised her face, blushing shyly but looking straight at me.

A strong light dwelled in her eyes.

“I–”

“”

“I think you’re more special than you realize, Akira.”

Those words resonated in my heart more smoothly than I could have imagined.

Satori’s eyes were softer than usual, gentler, and yet they held a strong will.

I was drawn in in an instant. Not just my gaze.

It felt like my heart was being pulled in too, and there was no way I could look away.

“…That’s all.”

As she murmured that, she wore a shy yet somehow relieved smile.

“”

“I’ve decided.”

“”

“–I’ll become the head.”