I became the boyfriend of the school's madonna, who had turned down numerous confessions, but somehow, without realizing it, I wasn't just playing a role anymore

Episode 51: I’m Going to Cry…!

“Raito’s room…”

Upon entering my room, Misaki looked around with a deep sense of emotion.

“You’ve been here many times before, haven’t you…”

She’s visited more than once or twice. Since my bed is where Kokoa sleeps, she’s been in this room many times, spending time together.

“Well, yes, but it’s different this time…”

“Hmm…?”

“It’s just the two of us, and I came here after realizing my feelings…”

Misaki muttered while intertwining her index fingers. I couldn’t make out what she was saying at all.

“Anyway, why don’t you sit down?”

Since standing all the time wasn’t practical, I gestured to where she usually sits.

“……”

However, it seemed like she didn’t like something, as she pouted and shot me a sulky look.

She stared at me silently.

“What’s wrong?”

“As usual, you don’t seem to care about me…”

Again, she muttered to herself.

If she has something to say, she should just say it directly.

“What’s bothering you?”

“It’s okay~. I’ve already figured out that Raito-kun is like that…”

Hmm, that doesn’t sound okay at all. And she’s using polite language.

I don’t think anything in our exchange should have upset her…?

As usual, she’s sometimes hard to understand.

“……”

Misaki kept staring at me and didn’t seem intent on sitting down.

Since there was no other option, I sat down in my usual spot first.

And then…

“Let’s see…”

For some reason, Misaki sat next to me, her shoulder brushing against mine.

“Hey…?”

“Is something wrong?”

Why is she sitting next to me—my gaze carried that meaning, and she tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

It was clear she was playing dumb.

“Why don’t you sit where you usually sit, in front of me?”

“I think it’s easier for both of us to do homework like this.”

While it might be more convenient to sit next to each other because of the long desk…

“Why don’t we just do it separately?”

Even if we’re doing it together, we’re just doing our homework, not solving problems together.

I don’t think we need to sit side by side like this…

“It’s also my role to teach Raito-kun.”

However, Misaki seemed adamant.

Since she’s been teaching me what I don’t understand, she brought that up.

“It’s okay if you teach me when I don’t understand.”
Compared to Misaki, who competes for the top spot in our grade, I’m quite behind. But since school homework isn’t like a test, you can look things up with textbooks.

There aren’t many problems I can’t figure out without asking Misaki…

At least not to the extent that it happens every few minutes.

“Ugh…”

Seemingly dissatisfied with my response, Misaki puffed her cheeks and expressed her discontent.

I wonder if there’s a good reason for sitting next to each other.

As I watched her…

“Ah…!”

As if she had thought of a good idea, Misaki’s face lit up.

Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“By sitting like this, your mother won’t suspect we’re dating…?”

Does she mean that she’s afraid my mother might suddenly enter the room?

Actually, I think she would knock, so there wouldn’t be any suspicious situations…

Or…

“If it clears up any misunderstandings, I’d like to clear them up.”

It’s troublesome to be misunderstood by my mother and have her bring it up or ask me to bring her over.

If we can avoid that, it would be better…

“Enough, I’m going to cry…!”

For some reason, tears were beginning to well up in Misaki’s eyes.

“―!? N-No, it’s not that I dislike Misaki or anything like that, it’s just that it’s troublesome to be misunderstood by my mother…! She was trying to pry into things earlier, right!?”

Misaki’s reaction was unexpected, so I hurriedly tried to explain.

“It’s not that I dislike being with Misaki or anything like that, so please don’t worry…!”
After hastily explaining, Misaki looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

As I continued to speak rapidly, Misaki looked up at me with a sidelong glance.

“Really…?”

“Yeah, of course. If I didn’t like it, I’d tell you, Misaki.”

“Mm…”

Seeming to understand, Misaki nodded slightly.

Since I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, I felt relieved.

Misaki silently rested her head on my shoulder.

We were supposed to be doing homework, but perhaps she just wanted to be comforted.

This has happened occasionally since she started coming over to play, so I wasn’t surprised.

“I’m sorry for saying things that might cause misunderstandings…”

I apologized while gently patting her head.

Her mood improved after that…