I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me - Chapter 75: Aira and Ikki's discussion

“Ryoma-senpai really is popular, huh…”

Aira had stopped eating. She wasn’t in the mood for it anymore.

With a gloomy expression, she looked at Ikki, who was sitting in Ryoma’s seat.

“So that’s Ryoma-senpai’s ex… And she’s also your sister…”

“They used to get along well, but things got complicated. And then today, by chance… Ryoma-san was here, and this happened.”

“Your sister is seriously cute… Just thinking that I was competing in that kind of league makes me lose confidence…”

The overly cheerful Aira from school was nowhere to be seen.

For the first time, in front of someone other than Ryoma, she showed Ikki a faint, melancholic smile.

Not knowing the reason behind their breakup only made things worse. To Aira, Ryoma’s ex was nothing short of a threat.
From her perspective, the scene she had just witnessed looked like a girl who still had lingering feelings for him.
And because Ryoma was excessively kind, she knew he couldn’t just ignore someone in trouble, no matter the reason.
That made it even harder for her. What are they doing right now? She had promised to stay with him, yet he had left.

“…Ikki, I’ve got some free time now.”

“…Will you stay with me?”

“Yeah. I don’t think Ryoma-senpai is coming back… Sorry for being such a convenient girl.”

“…No, that’s not true.”

Everything had gone according to plan. By making his sister Kanon meet Ryoma, Ikki had created time for just the two of them.
But he didn’t feel happy about it. If anything, he was starting to regret it. The girl he liked—showing such a sad expression for the first time.

Seeing how much she cared for Ryoma.

Knowing that he was the reason for her sadness.

Yet Aira was desperately trying to act like nothing was wrong.

It was something he should have realized from the start.

Now, finally, he understood the most fundamental truth.

“Ikki, before we go check out the stalls together, can you help me eat all this? There’s still two packs of yakisoba and three sausages left. We should finish them before they get cold.”

“Wh-why did you buy so much…?”

“Because Ryoma-senpai was teasing me, so I got back at him.”

“Aira, you don’t even eat this much… Ryoma-san really got you, huh…”

“Yeah…”

“…”

It should have been a fun conversation, but Ikki didn’t feel that way at all.

And of course, he had no idea that Aira could actually eat a lot.

For Aira, this whole exchange was painful.

It felt like Ryoma was truly slipping away from her.

“Hey, Ikki… Can I have that half-eaten sausage?”

“This one? Uh, sure.”

“Thanks.”

The sausage he handed her still had about a third left—it was Ryoma’s leftovers.

“I don’t know… I just can’t shake this feeling. I keep acting weird, and I’m making you worry about me.”

As she spoke, Aira took a bite of Ryoma’s leftover sausage without hesitation.
As if to say it was punishment for him breaking their promise to be together.
As if she was trying to cleanse the turmoil in her heart, even just a little.

“…It’s good.”

“Aira…”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want to say this, but… You really like Ryoma-san, don’t you?”

Ikki was staring at something.

A photo taken in front of the yakisoba stall—a two-shot of Aira and Ryoma.
The radiant expression she had back then was completely gone now.
And it was all because of his selfish desires…

“I know it’s weird to say this to you, but… yeah. I think I really like him. I’m super obvious about it, huh? Ryoma-senpai is dense, though, so he doesn’t notice.”

There was no embarrassment in Aira’s confession.
She spoke as if recalling an old memory—something already in the past.

“Ryoma-san… is he really that kind?”

“Since your sister was his ex, you must’ve heard a lot about him, right?”

“Yeah… She used to say he was ‘so kind it’s almost creepy’ while blushing. She always called him her ‘proud boyfriend’…”

“Ugh, yeah, I totally get that. He’s an idiot, greedy, and a total cheapskate, but… he’s really kind. He always puts me first. He’s so ridiculously caring it’s annoying.”

Aira suddenly spoke without any warning.

“But… you know, I think I’ll keep a little distance from Ryoma-senpai.”

“Eh…?”

— Aira made such a statement.

“I like Ryoma-senpai, so I can’t burden him with stuff like that… I can tell just by looking at his ex-girlfriend. I don’t know the reasons behind their breakup, but I can tell he still has feelings for her. Ryoma-senpai probably acted the way he did because he had unresolved feelings. I think, before anything else, I need to resolve this on my own so Ryoma-senpai won’t be overwhelmed, right? He’s probably already under a lot of mental strain, and now he’s had my feelings pushed on him.”

Aira and Ryoma’s relationship was special. They entered into a contract with money involved. If they kept going like this, it would only cause more trouble. Given her family situation, Aira has always tried to handle things on her own.
The contract was about to end soon. She chose to step back because the timing was right, and she didn’t want to burden Ryoma with anything else until he resolved his own issues.

“I’m not the one who should be involved in this… I’ve said it many times before, but pushing your feelings onto someone really burdens them. I don’t want to burden the person I like with things like that.”

“…Aira.”

It was clear that Aira and Ikki’s mental maturity were on different levels.

“Come on, let’s eat! Let’s forget about this conversation!”

“…”

Aira was strong. Despite how hard it was for her to distance herself from Ryoma, she gave Ikki a bright smile, showing her fang-like teeth.

She had endured the indirect kiss from the leftover frankfurter Ryoma had eaten.

“No, no… I didn’t want you to do that…”

“Eh?”

Seeing Aira with that smile, Ikki felt like a hammer hit his heart… He realized that his actions were what had hurt Aira the most.

It was something that became clear with experience, but the truth was something one only realized upon facing reality—youth made it harder to see sometimes.

“Aira, I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”

“Huh? What for? I don’t get it.”

“It wasn’t by chance… I, I made it happen. I told my sister that Ryoma-san would be there. I told her to talk to him… I’m the worst…”

“What are you talking about? You’re not the worst. You did it for your sister, right? You’re kind, Ikki.”

His actions weren’t wrong. However, Ikki’s intentions had been different.

“…It’s not like that. I… said that to get in the way of you and Ryoma-san… I said it because I wanted to spend time with you… I prioritized my feelings…”

“Huh…? Wh-what… is that…”

Ikki’s true feelings, clouded by desire. At this point, there’s no kindness in his words.

Aira couldn’t find the words to say. A growing anger began to surface.

“So what? You tricked everyone, Ikki? You took away the time that I had with Ryoma-senpai for your own sake?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it…”

“How dare you—! …Ugh…!”

Despite Aira’s anger, she managed to suppress the urge to shout Don’t mess with me!”

Ryoma often said, “You’re not like a high schooler,” or “Are you really a high schooler?” implying that Aira seemed more mature than others her age.
That’s because Aira had the mindset of an adult. She could think like an adult.

Ikki didn’t have to say those things. If he had kept quiet, he could have benefited in many ways.

“…Why did you tell me this? If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t even know how to get angry.”

Aira quickly shifted her anger into understanding, realizing that she needed to let Ikki speak to understand his feelings. She controlled her expression and attitude to hide her true emotions. This was part of what made Aira remarkable.

“…I realized it was wrong. I didn’t think you’d look like that… I just wanted to spend a little more time with you.”

“Can’t you see? Ikki, you know I like Ryoma-senpai… If I couldn’t be with him and then his ex-girlfriend showed up, I’d be sad, too…”

“I’m sorry. I really am…”

“Ugh, forget it… Haa, well, I can’t say I don’t understand your feelings. If I imagine Ryoma-senpai being with his ex, I can’t deny that I’d feel the urge to interfere.”

Ikki still hadn’t fully expressed his feelings. Aira could sense that. She shifted her desire to blame into questioning him, trying to make sense of everything.

“…Hey, Ikki. Don’t you have any regrets? If you had stayed quiet earlier, comforted me, maybe I could have started liking you, right?”
“It’s because I like you… I didn’t want to see you looking so sad… I thought that if you could decide to move on from Ryoma-senpai on your own, then I’d confess. I thought I’d regret it more if I didn’t say it…”

“So, you were waiting for me to be crushed by Ryoma-senpai? That’s messed up. And I just decided to keep my distance, too.”

“I’m sorry… I know it was selfish, but doing something like this was meaningless… Using this kind of method to make Aira give up is wrong…”

Even as he turned his face down, Ikki didn’t run away from facing responsibility. He was prepared for Aira to hate him. After all, what he’d done was serious.

“So, are you going to support me, Ikki?”

“I might not deserve it anymore, but… half of me does… the other half is—”

He was supporting her because he loved her. He didn’t want her to be with someone else. It was a natural feeling.

“You don’t need to say it. I kind of understand already.”

Aira crossed her arms and lowered her head, as if contemplating something.

“What should I do… If Ikki is going to support me, then I have to try again… Otherwise, what you said earlier wouldn’t make any sense.”
“…Ryoma-san doesn’t think you’re a burden, Aira. He’s not the kind of guy who’d think that.”

“I kind of feel that way too. Well, it’s also wishful thinking on my part.”

After saying this, Aira pushed her chair back and stood up. She placed the empty sausage stick in a bag and broke it in half.
“I’m really sorry… Love is scary… It can change a person so easily…”

“Haha, you’ve become so wise. That’s not really your character, Ikki.”

“Don’t laugh… And get mad instead.”

“I know it wasn’t the best move, and it’s weird for me to say this, but it was an action born out of love, right? I’m in love too, and maybe that’s just how it is.”

She broke the stick. That seemed to trigger something, and Aira’s mood visibly improved. The sparkling aura returned to her.

“I feel bad for your sister, but I hope I can get to the point where I can ignore Ryoma-senpai’s ex-girlfriend and just focus on him.”

“My sister’s pretty tough, you know?”

“Hurdles are meant to be overcome. And support is there to help you jump over them.”

As she gathered up the trash, Aira spoke with her usual confidence. She was completely back to her normal self.

“Are you going?”

“Yeah, I’m going to get Ryoma-senpai back. And I’ll tell your sister that you’re supporting me, Ikki, right?”

“Wait, don’t do that! I have the worst position here.”

“Yeah, you’re in for a hard time. So I’m giving you everything on that table. Recharge with it.”

“Alright, I won’t hold back. I’ll eat with my sister, who’s going to lose Ryoma to you.”

“Leave it to me. Alright, I’m going now, Ikki. I don’t know where they are though.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Ikki gave a big nod and saw Aira off. She’d throw away the trash and then go to reclaim Ryoma, no doubt.

Even with her looks, she had perfect manners—it was impressive.

The moment Aira disappeared from his sight, Ikki lowered his gaze.

“Ryoma-san… I’ve done the same thing as my sister’s classmate…”
Ikki bit his lip, trying not to tear up. He knew what he’d done, and his nails dug into his palm as if to punish himself forblon

＊＊＊＊

“—Hah-choo!”

At the same time, a man sneezed. His flashy blond hair shook with the motion.

“Damn, it’s cold, and I used my junior’s connections, but I can’t catch anyone. What the hell is going on?”

He muttered to himself in a rough, delinquent tone, hands stuffed into the pockets of his white hoodie.

“Is there no girl to have fun with, a gal type or something, in this old school of mine?”

This man was searching. He was looking for a girl who would be convenient for him.