Chapter 4 Part 2 – My wife’s favorite person

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

What happened in the middle of the night last night, was it a dream or reality?

When I asked, Riko looked at me for a moment, her eyes flickering, and then returned the question in a strained voice.

“What, why…?”

“What?”

I was frightened because I didn’t expect her to say “why” in return.

I mean, that was a yes or no question just now, wasn’t it …?

What should I do in this situation?

I had a dream that Riko was clinging to me, but I can’t say if it was real or not.

… If I tell her about my dream, it’s obvious to her that I have feelings for Riko.

Riko would probably think then, “Don’t make me do anything weird in your dreams!”

I’m such an idiot.

This was not a question that I should have asked lightly…

It was too brazen of me to expect Riko to feel special for me and to try to confirm it, even though I wasn’t prepared in the slightest to confide in her the feelings I had for her.

Do I even like Riko in the first place?

I don’t even know if Sawa’s feelings for Riko and my feelings for her are two different things right now.

No matter how I think about it, I should be dealing with my own emotions first instead of exploring Riko’s feelings…

I sigh at how much of an amateur I am in love.

“… It’s nothing, after all. Forget it.”

“Should I really just forget about it…?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry for saying such a strange thing.”

When I apologized for my misery, Riko looked at me as if to say something, then muttered, “…I see”, and turned away.

– After a few days of this, I was shaken by my emotions and became aware of my feelings.

◇◇◇

The reason for this was a single note. I was sitting in my seat, looking at a movie magazine as usual, when my classmate, Hirose Mitsuki, came over to talk to me.

“Shinyama, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I looked up at him in surprise.

He was a fresh and handsome member of the light music club, and the type of student who would be at the top of the school hierarchy. I’ve never spoken to him personally before.

What on earth does Hirose want from me?

“Can you give this to Hanae-san for me?”

I looked down at the paper offered to me and tilted my head.

“… Why me?”

“Because you and Hanae-san are childhood friends, right?”

That’s right.

That’s how we set it up.

But even if that’s the case…

“But wouldn’t it be better to ask Asakura-san?”

“No, that’s why Asakura refused to talk to me. She said, ‘At least confess to her directly.'”

I nodded, thinking that this was a very typical response from Asakura.

– So, is that what’s written on this paper?

If so, I don’t want to receive it…

“Why don’t you just give it directly to Hanae-san, like Asakura said?”

“Hanae-san is famous for being extremely cautious when boys talk to her, and refusing to talk to them if they want to talk alone.”

“Ah…”

It’s not surprising that Riko, who had been called out and confessed to countless times since entering school, had developed this attitude.

“Anyway, here, thanks!”

“W-w-wait…”

It was forced on me…

Huh…

Now that I’ve received it, I have no choice but to give it to Riko, but it’s depressing.

… Up until now, Riko has always rejected every single confession, no matter how good-looking the person.

That said, there is no guarantee that this will be the case this time, either.

◇◇◇

– Normally, after finishing my part-time job, I would head to the house where Riko was waiting for me, but today I felt so sluggish that I thought my legs might have turned into lead, all due to the note I received.

I must have looked like I was dying because the first thing Riko asked me when she greeted me was if I was okay.

“What’s going on…? Is there something wrong …?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Procrastination would only increase the time I spent fighting the pain in my chest. I took a deep breath and pulled out the note that I kept in the breast pocket of my uniform.

“Riko, here.”

“……?”

Riko took the note curiously and opened it on the spot. Immediately after, her face turned bright red and she looked up at me with tears of joy in her eyes.

What is this reaction?

No way… Riko, were you in love with Hirose…?

“This is… Minato-kun… really…?”

“… Oh, yes. I got it from him at recess.”

“… … … … … What? Who is this… person?”

“Huh? It’s Hirose….”

Don’t tell me that guy didn’t write his name in the note…?

When I told her once again what had happened during the break, Riko let out an unvoiced scream and slumped down on the spot.

“Riko, what’s wrong with…?”

“… Ugh, it’s awful… I’ve gone from heaven to hell in a flash…”

“……? What do you mean?”

“… Oh, nothing …! … Minato-kun, I can’t accept this, please give it back to him.”

Hirose was rejected. It was unseemly, but I felt so guiltily happy that I almost wanted to jump out in joy.

“Okay. I’ll return it tomorrow. – But why do you keep rejecting everyone’s confessions?”

It was a simple question. At the time, she hadn’t imagined that the question she had asked without thinking would come back to choke her in an unexpected way.

I’m not sure why Riko looked a little grumpy and muffled, then glanced up at me and said.

For some reason, Riko looked a little unhappy and pouted, then glanced up at me and said.

“… I… already have someone I love…”