I Reincarnated as the Villain of an NTR Game, But I Don't Want to Make the Main Heroine Unhappy so I'll Live Earnestly - Chapter 147-148

Chapter 147: On Hold for Now

So, I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to Yukimura. But as soon as she heard my words, she froze.

For now, I decided to wait patiently until Yukimura came back to her senses.

“Huh… wait, what!? W-What!?”

“Oh, welcome back.”

“Wait!? Ah, um, yeah, I’m back… but that’s not the point! Are you… are you serious?”

Yukimura, who had finally returned to her senses, asked me that with a surprised expression.

“Did I not seem serious?”

“What!? N-No, that’s not it… I mean, it’s not that you didn’t seem serious… but I just wanted to confirm…”

When I asked her with a serious expression, Yukimura blushed and started fidgeting.

“Um, well… It’s kind of strange to ask you this, but… what do you even like about me?”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“No, it’s just… well, I’m not exactly the most easygoing person. I’m stubborn, I get angry easily… And my figure isn’t anything special… So I don’t really think there’s anything about me that guys would like…”

Blushing, Yukimura said something so pessimistic.

(Oh, right… Now that I think about it, Yukimura has always had low self-esteem…)

I knew for a long time that Yukimura lacked confidence. And no matter how much I tried to tell her otherwise, she wouldn’t easily accept it.

So, understanding that, I decided to clearly express why I liked her.

“The reason I like you, Yukimura? Hmm, there are lots of reasons… But the biggest one is that being with you is just really fun.”

“…Huh? It’s fun being with me?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Whether it’s studying together, having dinner, playing with Yuuna, or going on dates like today, I’ve always had a great time with you. And how about you? Have you enjoyed spending time with me? Or did you hate it?”

“Huh? No… I mean, I did have fun, but…”

“Good, then. That’s the main reason I like you, Yukimura. I’ve really enjoyed every day I’ve spent with you, and I sincerely want to keep spending time with you. So… will you go out with me?”

“…”

When I said that with a serious expression, Yukimura’s face turned as red as a tomato. She stayed silent, blushing intensely.

After a long silence, Yukimura finally spoke quietly.

“Um… Could I… put this on hold for now?”

Blushing deeply, Yukimura mustered all her strength to tell me she wanted to put it on hold for the time being.

“Sure, that’s perfectly fine. But was there something wrong with my confession?”

“What? No! It’s not that… It’s just… Being with you makes me happy, and I’m really glad you said you want to keep spending time with me… But… I feel like this isn’t something I should answer lightly based on the mood of the moment. I want to think it over carefully, so… I need a little time to consider it…”

Though her voice trembled with embarrassment, Yukimura clearly expressed why she wanted to think it over and what she was feeling at the moment.

(Haha, that’s so like Yukimura.)

Rather than make a quick decision based on the mood, she wanted to think it through carefully. That response was just like her.

I also realized again how sincere she always is with me.

“Alright, that’s fine. You can give me your answer whenever you’re ready. I’ll wait for you until you make up your mind, so take your time and think it through.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry. I know I should answer right away, but… this is my first time being confessed to, so I want to think it over… And if you end up liking another girl… I won’t hold it against you, so feel free to date someone else if that happens…”

“Hm? Oh, don’t worry. I’m only interested in you, Yukimura. You don’t have to worry about me liking someone else.”

“Huh? W-What!?”

“I’ll wait for your answer, no matter how long it takes. So, please think about my confession as much as you need.”

When I said that, Yukimura blushed even more and looked embarrassed.

“S-Stop saying embarrassing things like that…”

Blushing and with a somewhat annoyed expression, Yukimura glared at me. But seeing her usual self like this made me smile.

“Haha, I’m just being honest. Alright then, how about we spend the rest of today having fun as usual, as good friends? Oh, by the way, if you’re up for it, would you like to grab a bite to eat before heading home? Since we’re here, let’s talk about the movie we just saw over some food.”

“Huh? Ah, yeah… I’d really like that.”

When I made that suggestion, Yukimura, still blushing, replied in her usual tone.

Well, no matter how embarrassing or frustrating things get between us, we always manage to go back to the way we were. That’s one of the great things about our relationship.

“Alright, I think there’s a family restaurant near the station. Let’s head there.”

“Yeah, sounds good. Let’s go.”

With that, we headed towards the family restaurant near the station.

Afterwards, we had a fun conversation about the movie over dinner, and then we parted ways for the day. Yeah, today was a really enjoyable day.

—

Chapter 148: Talking to Myself After Returning Home (Saeki’s Perspective)

The night after I went to the movies with Kuzuhara-kun…

“Ugh…!!”

—Thud! Thud!—

I dived into my bed, burying my face in the pillow, and kicked my legs wildly.

I definitely didn’t want my parents or Hiro to see me acting like this. It was a pretty childish attitude, and I knew it.

(But… I can’t help it…!! Because… Because…!)

It was my first time ever getting a serious confession today…!! Well, I’ve been confessed to at school a few times before.

But I didn’t think any of those guys were serious about it. None of them were boys I was particularly close to, so I figured most of them were just going along with the mood.

“That’s why… I could always answer right away…”

Whenever I was confessed to, I would always turn them down on the spot.

Some might mock me for saying this, like, “You’ve read too many shoujo manga.” But… I couldn’t even think about dating someone unless I really knew them well.

If I was going to date someone, I wanted it to be with someone I was close to, someone I could talk to about anything, someone without any pretense… If they weren’t that kind of person, I just couldn’t see myself dating them.

A-And besides… there’s a chance that the person I date might be the one I marry in the future… S-So if I’m going to date someone, I need to be able to “trust” them that much, someone I could imagine spending my future with.

It had to be someone I trusted completely, someone I felt comfortable giving my all to… or I wouldn’t want to be with them.

That’s why I always thought Hiro would be the only person I could ever see myself dating. After all, Hiro was my childhood friend, and I knew everything about him. I “trusted” him. And, well… I always thought I liked Hiro…

So, whenever someone confessed to me, I always turned them down because I thought I liked Hiro. But…

“Ugh…”

But today, Kuzuhara-kun, who is a close friend, confessed to me. And unlike my usual self, I couldn’t give an answer right away…

To be honest, I didn’t even know that Kuzuhara-kun thought of me that way, so I was really surprised. Even now, after returning home, my face is still burning red.

But… being confessed to by Kuzuhara-kun… deep down, it made me happy. My heart is still pounding… But…

“What is this… this feeling that’s making my heart race…?”

I didn’t really understand what this feeling was.

After all, when I was a kid, I thought I liked Hiro. But I never felt this kind of heart-pounding excitement when I was with him.

“This is… the first time I’ve ever felt like this…”

And I had no idea what people generally called this heart-pounding feeling… It left me very confused.

Could it be… that this feeling I get when I think of Kuzuhara-kun is what people call “true love”? Or is it some other feeling entirely…?

Either way… I can’t figure out what this heart-pounding feeling is unless I take the time to think it through… I won’t be able to give Kuzuhara-kun an answer…

—I’ll wait as long as it takes…

“…No, I can’t make him wait that long…”

Kuzuhara-kun told me that today, but that doesn’t mean I can make him wait for too long. I mean… Kuzuhara-kun is a really cool guy…

So maybe, there might be another wonderful girl he could end up liking instead of me… Or maybe, a cute and charming girl might confess to him soon…

“Somehow… I really don’t like that idea… W-Wait, what…?”

—Prick…

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain deep in my chest.

And when I imagined Kuzuhara-kun getting close to another girl… I felt a terrible feeling building up inside me.

But I’ve never experienced such a strange surge of emotions like this before. Today, I really felt like something was different about me…

“Well… just like Kuzuhara-kun said… I have to think hard about this for now…”

In the end, I’m the only one who can sort through these feelings. So for now, I’ll just have to think as hard as I can…

—Ping♪

“…?”

At that moment, my phone made a sound. It looked like I’d gotten a message on LIME.

So, I stopped thinking for a moment and opened my phone. And…

‘Thanks for today. I had a great time. I’d love to watch another movie with you.’

It was a message from Kuzuhara-kun. He sent me a message to thank me for… our d-date today.

It was a very simple message, but I thought it was very typical of Kuzuhara-kun.

“…Hehe.”

As I looked at the message from him, all those unpleasant feelings I had earlier faded away, and I started to feel warm inside.

—Pat, pat…

I felt really happy, so I started kicking my legs again in excitement as I typed out a reply to Kuzuhara-kun.

‘Thank you too. I had a lot of fun. Let’s go again sometime.’

Ping

(A cat-bowing sticker)

“This should do… hehe.”

I made sure to send him a message back, letting him know that I had fun too. Yeah, today was a really, really fun day. So I’d love to… hang out with him again…