I Ended Up Pretending to Be the Boyfriend of a Beautiful but Tough Classmate for Just a Month, but It Seems That She Has Awakened Her Yandere Tendencies Because of That. - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

♡

“Hey, Mika, just how skilled are you? Suzukaze-kun looked like a completely different person.”

Night.

I said that to Mika over the phone, meaning to complain.

After something like that, I couldn’t even look him in the face properly.

Of course, he looked so cool…

“Oh? So, your crush became too handsome for you to even look him in the eyes? Guess my skills aren’t so bad after all.”

“Wait… what? Have you mastered mind-reading now?”

“Hmm, let’s just call it telepathy.”

Huh, what?

Mika always throws around these complicated words just to mess with me.

“…Anyway, thanks to you, tomorrow’s meeting is the least of my worries now.”

“Oh? You two got so lost in flirting that you forgot about everything else? That’s a good thing.”

“Ugh, stop teasing me! If we lose tomorrow, we won’t have time for that anymore.”

“So, you’re not denying the flirting part? Hmm.”

“N-no, that’s not it! Nothing happened, seriously!”

I was so close to hearing his true feelings.

But he said I’d know by tomorrow.

So I—

I want to focus everything on tomorrow.

“Well, just go for it. If your pure feelings reach everyone, you might just pull it off.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You could at least tell me today!”

“Hmm, if you only do it because I tell you to, that’s not right. But fine, I’ll give you a hint—everyone wants Romeo and Juliet to have a happy ending.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Anyway, I gotta go make dinner for my dad.”

“Ask Suzukaze-kun about the rest.”

With that, Mika hung up.

“…Ugh, so annoying. Seriously, who even is Mika?”

Even after all this time, I still don’t really understand her.

I think she purposely hides it, but no matter how much we talk every day, I don’t know everything about her.

I don’t even really know why she does so much for me.

In the end, if you don’t say things clearly, nothing gets through.

My gratitude toward Mika.

My determination not to lose to Maria.

And my feelings for Suzukaze-kun.

Even the things I want to say to the entire student body.

That’s why, tomorrow—

I’ll put everything into words.

And if I do that, then surely…

♤

“Morning.”

Morning.

As usual, Takamiya came over to my house.

“Good morning. You seem fine.”

“Thanks to you. Hey, have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then I’ll cook for you for the first time in a while. Today’s a big day—I need to get fired up!”

Saying “Excuse me for intruding,” he took off his shoes and headed straight to the kitchen. There, he met up with my mom, and the two of them started chattering away like always.

Seriously, they’re so carefree.

“…I’m so tired.”

I yawned as I returned to my room.

Ever since I got home last night, my mind had been completely occupied with today.

Of course, there’s the election, but that’s not all.

How should I tell Takamiya about my feelings?

Logically, I should wait until after I defeat Jinguji to think about that, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.

My feelings are already decided.

I like Takamiya. I want him to keep coming over like this, even after today. I want to be with him.

But there’s one thing that bothers me—the word “promise.”

To Takamiya, a promise is absolute.

Because she’s been betrayed by others and her own family, she never wants to be someone who breaks a promise.

I’ve seen firsthand how deeply she holds onto that belief.

That’s why I don’t want to force her into anything.

That hesitation has been stuck in the back of my mind, weighing me down.

“…Man, I was overthinking it.”

At last, sometime around dawn, I had a vague idea of how I should tell her.

And, of course, it was thanks to Mika.

I think I finally understand what she was trying to say.

Now, all that’s left is whether it reaches Takamiya or not.

Ugh, my heart’s been pounding all morning.

“Breakfast is ready!”

Hearing Takamiya’s voice from the kitchen, I let out a deep breath to calm myself before stepping out of my room.

Everything comes after the election.

I repeated that to myself as I headed to the kitchen.

◇

“Hey, isn’t today the student council election?”

“Yeah, it was suddenly announced. I heard it’s a one-on-one between Takamiya-san and Jinguji.”

“Whoa, so who’s everyone supporting?”

After breakfast, Takamiya and I left the house together and headed to school.

When we arrived in the classroom, everyone was buzzing about the student council election.

Just yesterday, nobody seemed interested at all, but now… what changed?

“Oh, good morning, Suzukaze-kun. Let’s do our best today.”

Seeing Jinguji greet me so cheerfully, I immediately figured it out.

“Been buttering people up since morning, huh? You really work hard.”

“Oh my, you’ve changed quite a bit. Is that your girlfriend’s influence? You two are just adorable.”

Glancing towards Takamiya, who was already at her seat, Jinguji smirked and spoke loudly on purpose.

Some of the guys who had been chatting suddenly flinched at her words.

Seriously, she’s too good at this.

“Thanks for your concern. Was that all you had to say?”

“Once the results are in, we start work right after school today. Just wanted to let you know, Mr. Vice President.”

Speaking as if she had already won, Jinguji turned on her heel and walked back to her own classroom, completely ignoring me.

“…What a pain.”

Just as I sighed, I noticed people gathering around Takamiya.

“Takamiya-san, good luck today!”

“Riara, don’t lose to Maria!”

Looks like she does have some supporters.

I can only hope their influence spreads.

At least try to play nice today.

“Takamiya-san, don’t let Jinguji win!”

“I know. I’ll definitely win.”

“Good luck! Maria’s been getting cocky lately, so put her in her place!”

“Put her in her place… Yeah, I’ll break her nose. And her neck.”

“U-uh, yeah. That kind of determination is important.”

“Determination? No, I’m serious. She dared to talk to him like that. I’ll kill her.”

“Uh… okay…”

As Takamiya gripped her mechanical pencil so hard it looked like it would snap, the people around her took a step back.

Then, through the gap in the crowd, she shot a sharp glare at me.

I get it—I’m the one she’s really mad at.

No one’s going to vote for someone this aggressive.

I need to do something… huh?

“A message?”

At a time like this?

I peeked at my phone and saw it was from Takamiya.

“What now… ‘I’m mad at you, okay?'”

Yeah, I can tell.

But if she went out of her way to send a message, does that mean she wants me to make up for it?

Hmm, we’ve acted like a couple in public before, but if I do it now, will it just make things worse?

“Hey, Takamiya.”

I called out to her casually from behind the group of girls.

They all turned to look at me at once.

“Huh? Who’s that?”

“Is that Takamiya-san’s boyfriend?”

“I thought he was supposed to be gloomier? But… he’s kinda hot?”

Even my classmates seemed confused by my transformation.

But for some reason, Takamiya kept staring down at her phone.

Another message popped up.

“‘We’ve been dating for a month, so stop calling me by my last name. It makes us seem distant.'”

…So she wants me to call her by her first name?

I’ve never done that before.

“…Hey, Riara.”

As I said it, my chest tightened.

She suddenly bolted from the classroom.

“Hey—wait!”

I chased after her, but she just kept running.

All I could hear behind me was a chorus of, “Takamiya-san is so cute!”