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 57

Chapter 57

“Takamiya? A-Are you okay?”

When I went to the side room next to the gymnasium where Takamiya had been taken, she was sitting there, trying to catch her breath while a female teacher gently rubbed her back.

“…Suzukaze-kun, I’m sorry. I…I… sniff…”

“It’s okay. Come on, let’s go home.”

“…Yeah.”

After bowing to the teacher, Takamiya stood up. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the confidence she had before her speech was completely gone.

When we stepped outside, most of the students had already left the gym.

Right, the voting process was simple—students marked the candidate they wanted to vote for on their ballots, dropped them into the ballot box at the exit, and then dispersed.

I also had a ballot, of course.

“…”

Without a word, I watched Takamiya quietly following behind me as I slipped my ballot into the box.

To be honest, I didn’t think we had a chance of winning.

Takamiya had broken down in tears at the end, to the point where no one could even understand what she was saying.

Most of the students probably lost interest.

I had been so focused on Takamiya that I hadn’t paid attention to the others, but Jinguji’s smug expression said it all.

And not just me—Takamiya herself knew it best.

“…I’m sorry. What am I even doing…?”

After we left the school and walked for a while, Takamiya finally spoke.

“It’s over now. More importantly, good job today.”

“…Good job. Suzukaze-kun, you did great.”

“You too. You cried at the end, but everything you said was really good.”

I understood.

I understood Takamiya’s feelings.

There was nothing more to say.

“Wanna have dinner at my place tonight?”

“No, I’m good.”

“I-I see. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“It’s the opposite. If I go to your place feeling like this, it’ll feel like it’s all over. And I hate that. I want to win and celebrate properly tomorrow…”

Once again, Takamiya looked like she was about to cry.

But I didn’t know what to say to her, so all I could do was walk beside her at her pace.

After that, we reached her house in silence, and we parted ways.

♡

“…Hello? Mika? It’s rare for you to call me.”

While I was curled up alone in my room, Mika called, as if she had sensed what I was feeling.

“Really? I always call you when you’re feeling down.”

“…Sorry, Mika. I couldn’t even speak properly.”

Even though she had listened to everything I had to say…

In the end, I still messed up.

Even though I apologized, Mika just laughed.

“Ahaha, save the apologies for when you actually lose.”

“B-But there’s no way I can win after that…”

“Why? Who decided that? I thought it was the best speech ever.”

“…You’re just saying that because you’re on my side.”

“Yep. That’s exactly it.”

“W-What do you mean?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and Mika, as if she could see me, joked, “I’m not saying anything complicated.”

“Come on, just tell me straight.”

“I’m not hiding anything. I’m just saying that to the people who support you, it was the best speech. May happiness be with you two. That’s all.”

“See ya,” she said before hanging up.

I had no idea what she meant.

Just as I was about to call her back, she messaged me first.

“The results will be posted tomorrow morning. Go check them out together.”

I replied, “Can I call you back?”

She instantly responded, “Nope. See you tomorrow.”

After reading her message, I tossed my phone aside and buried my face in my bed.

♤

“…Sigh.”

I kept trying to send Takamiya a message, but I had no idea what to write.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

Ever since I got home, I hadn’t felt like doing anything.

It was like I had returned to the way I was before I met Takamiya—completely unmotivated.

I had been forced to realize just how different ideals and reality were.

It wasn’t Takamiya’s fault.

If anything, I started doubting whether my speech was even the right one.

If I hadn’t spoken the way I did…

Would Takamiya have been able to speak normally?

I had sworn not to regret anything.

But here I was, stuck in my own thoughts, feeling pathetic.

“What’s going to happen to me after tomorrow…?”

Our aquarium date.

The feelings I wanted to tell her.

Would Jinguji ruin everything?

There was nothing left for me to do.

All I could do was pray for a miracle.

“…I should just sleep.”

It was a little early, but I turned off the lights in my room.

I lay in the darkness, staring into space, unable to fall asleep.

Then, I suddenly remembered—

God Michael.

“…Is it really that interesting?”

I wasn’t expecting much.

But out of sheer habit, I searched for the channel.

A cute anime-style girl icon appeared on the screen.

The channel had over 100,000 subscribers.

It was definitely popular.

There were already dozens of uploaded videos.

And even today…

I casually opened the latest video.

“Hey there, it’s God Mikael! Everyone, are you feeling all warm and fuzzy today? Ahaha, if you haven’t seen yesterday’s stream, make sure to watch it first!”

A cute avatar with light blue hair spoke cheerfully while winking.

She kept talking by herself, occasionally mixing in jokes.

Takamiya had said that the recommended movies and personal stories shared in these videos felt relatable, and I could understand why.

Being able to make so many people empathize like this was really impressive.

Honestly, the person behind this must be incredibly smart.

If only I could speak as smoothly as this person…

Maybe I could have passed the baton to Takamiya in a better way.

Then, maybe I wouldn’t be feeling this miserable right now.

Instead of distracting me, it only made me feel even worse.

But no matter how late I stay up, tomorrow will still come.

Harsh reality awaits.

I should just sleep.

Just as I was about to stop the video—

“Oh yeah, if anyone clicked on this video because they had a bad day, here’s some advice. Was it really that bad? Make sure to see it through to the end with your own eyes. If you do, you might just find the light ahead. A step forward leads to light! Just a little pep talk from a high-and-mighty god! Mikael’s encouragement—Mikael-ment! Get it?”

With that, God Mikael waved.

And the video ended.

See it through to the end, huh?

Wow, that was actually good advice.

Yeah… tomorrow, I need to properly see the results with my own eyes and accept them.

Even if I lose, I can think about the next move then.

Maybe that will lead to some light ahead.

Dwelling on it won’t change anything.

Tomorrow, like always.

And right now, just as usual.

“Good night, Takamiya.”

After sending the message,

I gently closed my eyes.

◇

“Good morning.”

Early morning.

Takamiya came to my house.

“G-Good morning. You’re up early. What’s up?”

“What do you mean? The results are being posted early this morning, right? Let’s go check them out!”

“R-Right. I’ll get ready real quick.”

I hurried back to my room, changed into my uniform, and stepped outside.

“Geez, what were you doing, taking it slow at a time like this?”

“I mean, how was I supposed to know they post the results this early?”

“Well, Mika told me. But either way, it’s better to find out sooner, right? That way, we can, you know, think about our next steps.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Did you watch yesterday’s stream?”

“Huh, so you watched it too? See? Isn’t it interesting? Listening to that person talk is really calming.”

“Then you’re feeling better now, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Thanks.”

The usual route to school.

Walking with Takamiya, chatting about random things like always.

Jinguji was nowhere to be seen today, probably because she was confident in her victory.

She was most likely already plotting how to control my schedule from now on.

Well, that was expected.

But we would accept the results and move forward.

Yeah, we’ll keep moving forward.

“Ah, isn’t that the spot? There’s a crowd over there.”

Passing through the front gate, we saw a group of students gathered at the bottom of the school building.

Most of them were athletes from the morning practice.

Takamiya and I hurried toward the crowd.

“There are too many people, I can’t see.”

“Hmm… Oh, look! That flower—isn’t that the winner’s mark?”

Where Takamiya was pointing, I could see a red ribbon flower.

And below it, a name was written—wait, huh?

“Hey.”

“W-What? I’m already prepared for—”

“No, you won.”

“Huh? This isn’t the time for dumb jokes.”

“No, Takamiya, you actually won.”

“…What?”

As the crowd slowly dispersed, we moved closer to the bulletin board.

Takamiya Riara – Elected

Seeing those words and the red flower above them, we widened our eyes.

“Wait, no way.”

“This isn’t a mistake, right?”

“That… That shouldn’t be possible. But… wait, really? I-I did it!”

Takamiya suddenly hugged me and shouted.

“H-Hey, we’re at school!”

“I’m so happy! I don’t even know how, but we won! Thank you, Suzukaze-kun!”

She clung to me tightly, refusing to let go.

I desperately tried to shake her off, but she wouldn’t budge.

Meanwhile, people started gathering again.

Watching us, they all smiled warmly and said in unison:

“Yeah, this is precious.”

I felt like I had heard that phrase somewhere before, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.

Surrounded by our classmates,

With Takamiya still clinging to me,

We celebrated our victory—

Until she suddenly snapped back to reality and ran off in embarrassment.