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 - Chapter 7

Episode 7: Apologies and Thanks

“――I messed uppppp.”

During the next break, Misaki took me to the rooftop and began lamenting while holding her head.

Having regained her composure over time, she seemed to be reflecting on her actions.

“You can shout so loudly.”

“Don’t be calm about it…!”

“No… in this situation, being calm is the only option, right?”

Normally, Misaki is elegant and refined, but now she’s in disarray, like a different person. Since I don’t know what she might do, I need to observe her actions calmly.

“What do you regret?”

For now, as we seemed to be communicating, I asked her what I was curious about. Surely, she doesn’t regret everything she did. There were various issues, but most of them happened not today but on the day of the festival.

“Not being calm and standing out in a bad way…”

“You were already standing out, weren’t you the center of attention from the beginning?”

After all, there were so many people gathered in the corridor.

“Yeah, but… My last remarks, they were kind of provoking everyone, could have become a cause of conflict…”

Well, depending on the perspective, her behavior could be seen as provoking a fight. Since she was overwhelmingly in a superior position, no one could oppose her, but if they were on an equal footing, it might have escalated into an argument.

Of course, this is just a hypothesis without considering Misaki’s personality, so in reality, it’s likely different…but it could have been a spark for conflict.

“For Misaki, who values getting along with everyone, it’s not unreasonable for you to feel regret.”

“No, it’s not that…”

For some reason, Misaki looks at my face apologetically. It seems like something else is bothering her.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… because of me, I made Raito-kun’s situation worse… deepened the rift with everyone…”

I see, that’s what it is. In other words, because Misaki defended me, everyone’s hostility towards me increased. Certainly, from the perspective of students who had clashed with Misaki, having her as the only one defending me would be uninteresting.

“As always, you’re too kind…”

The words slipped out of my mouth half unconsciously. Misaki widened her eyes upon hearing them.

“Eh…?”

“No, it’s just…”

It wasn’t a statement that came out with clear intent, so my words stumbled a bit. While it’s true that I thought she was too kind, I hadn’t planned on telling her that explicitly.

However, now that I’ve voiced it, I need to take responsibility for it.

“You’re overthinking it.”

“It’s not overthinking… By doing something like that, the rift naturally deepens…”

Misaki quickly counters my words. It seems my response was too brief.

“That’s not it. It’s a fact that the rift between me and those guys deepened because of what you did.”

“That’s right… I’m sorry…”

Misaki only seems to have heard the latter part and lowers her head, looking dejected.

That’s not what I meant…

“What I meant by ‘overthinking’ is that it’s strange for you to blame yourself.”

“Eh…?”

“You said that because of what you did, the rift between me and those guys deepened, right? Why did you say you created a rift?”

“That’s…”

In response to my question, Misaki averts her gaze with an awkward expression. Probably, she said it without much awareness. But that expression reveals what’s in Misaki’s heart.

“You understand, right? That there was already a rift between me and those guys from the beginning. If not, you wouldn’t use the term ‘deepened’.”

“N-No it’s different… Because rumors started spreading that I’m dating you, the rift between Raito-kun and everyone deepened, so that’s why—”

“You don’t need to lie. The truth is, I wasn’t getting along well with those guys, and there was already a rift between us.”

“Raito-kun…”

Misaki looks at my face with a sad expression. Perhaps she thinks she hurt me with her careless words.

“Don’t make that face. I really don’t mind.”

“But, because of me…”

“No, it’s not. I was the one who caused the issue in the first place. So, going back to what we were talking about…the rift might have deepened because of Misaki’s actions, but I was already at fault for creating the rift. If there was no rift in the first place, it wouldn’t have deepened.”

For example, let’s assume I was a guy who was adored by everyone like Misaki. Some students might be envious, but most would probably celebrate us as a fitting couple. The more close relationships, the better.

However, especially among the girls, there was opposition to me due to my personality, considering me unfit for Misaki. If I were a person admired by everyone, it wouldn’t have turned into such a commotion.

No, even if I weren’t admired, as long as I wasn’t disliked, the girls would have accepted because of Misaki’s personality. In other words, if I became disliked by all the students because of this incident, it’s solely due to my personality.

Misaki worrying about it is strange.

“So, Misaki doesn’t need to worry about it.”

“Why are you…?”

“Hm?”

I thought I was giving her some reassurance, but Misaki’s expression became even more pained. She looks like she might even cry.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Because you’re too kind… By doing that, blaming yourself… and protecting me…”

I wonder what she’s going to say…

“Totally different. Misaki, even though you have no reason to blame yourself, why are you blaming yourself? I think it’s weird. In cases like baseless envy or things getting out of hand because others went crazy, I don’t blame myself.”

Even in this commotion, I don’t think I did anything wrong. Of course, it’s not her fault either. If there’s any blame, it’s on those who caused the uproar. I can make that judgment properly. But Misaki blames herself for it. We’re doing completely different things.

“But…!”

“And one more thing—”

Misaki seems like she wants to say something, but I intentionally cut her off.

“Misaki, you said those things to defend me, right? Do you think I’m a shitty person who doesn’t appreciate it and gets mad at you just because I didn’t get along with the people around you?”

Because Misaki was dragging it out, I put on an intentionally angry attitude. By doing that, Misaki becomes even more disturbed.

“Ah, no, that’s not it… I’m just concerned about deepening the gap…”

“What Misaki is saying is exactly that. So, don’t worry about it anymore. Because I’m grateful for what you did, and I’m happy about it.”

This time, I consciously smiled at her like I was directing it at her.

“Huh?”

She seemed to have gasped for some reason, but she probably understood what I wanted to say. I don’t want her to regret what she did to help me. Instead, I want her to be proud of it.

“Got it…”

“Is it okay to end the conversation? Class is about to start soon.”

“Ah… um…”

I confirmed that Misaki nodded, then turned around. I need to hurry; the chime might ring soon.

But…

“Wait…”

My sleeve was pulled from behind. When I turned around, Misaki was holding onto my clothes with her fingers.

“No, we don’t have much time…”

“Well, during lunch, you always buy bread, right…? I made lunch for you too… Let’s eat together. I want to talk more about it…”

It seems she didn’t want to talk now but wanted to make a lunchtime promise. Well, since we’ve declared our relationship openly, it’s probably better to eat together—

“Isn’t this preparation too good…?”

“Apologies and thanks, that’s why…”

It seems I’ll be able to eat the homemade cooking of the school’s Madonna that all the guys wish for.

—Yeah, I’d likely be even more resented if everyone found out.