Chapter 43

Although the atmosphere during the break had become somewhat tense, everything wrapped up smoothly afterward.

Even Ruri, who had seemed fully intent on pushing forward, went completely quiet—perhaps because Reika’s sudden involvement threw off her calculations entirely, or maybe she simply lost her momentum.

As a result, from Satoru’s point of view, it ended up looking like he had just been protected by Reika.

Being cared for and protected by his girlfriend—it was something to be happy about.

However, there was one thought that struck Satoru:

Normally, in situations like this, isn’t the guy supposed to be the one protecting the girl!?

It’s the classic scene you see in manga and dramas: “A girl is getting hit on and the guy jumps in to save her.”

It’s a strong opener for any story, and in reality, it would be a major trigger for deepening a romantic bond between the two.

And right now, something close to that classic scene had just happened.

Only this time, the roles were completely reversed.

For some reason, the guy—Satoru—was the one being persistently pursued by a girl, and his girlfriend, Reika, had swept in to save him.

It really makes me happy that she’s always watching over me and protecting me… But man, this is pathetic…

If his little sister ever found out about this, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how she’d react.

She might get excited over the manga-like situation while at the same time being completely exasperated with her useless older brother.

While he was lost in those swirling thoughts, class ended before he knew it and it was time for after school.

His classmates quickly headed off to their club activities as usual.

Satoru, on the other hand, had to stay behind as a class representative to work on preparations for the upcoming sports festival.

“Well, I’m heading to club. Sorry, but hang in there, yeah?”

“Sure. Take care.”

After seeing Seiya off—who looked slightly apologetic—Satoru waited a little while for the classroom to empty out.

Once the classroom was devoid of students, he called out to Reika, who had also stayed behind.

“Well then, let’s get today’s work over with quickly… or rather, before that, I’d like to move to another location. That okay?”

“Of course. I have no reason to say no.”

Satoru brought Reika to an unused classroom in a less-frequented wing of the school building.

It wasn’t the most commendable policy, but in this school, classrooms that weren’t used regularly were often left unlocked.

Thanks to that, anyone could use them whenever they felt like it.

Because of this, even though unused classrooms should naturally be dusty, they often weren’t.

This kind of casual use seemed to help keep the classrooms from becoming too neglected.

“To think you’d want to be alone with me in a place like this… are you finally planning something indecent?”

Though her words teased him, Reika’s gentle and warm smile said otherwise.

Satoru felt that her expression reflected an understanding of what was going through his mind.

“Well, first of all… Thanks for stepping in back there. That really helped.”

“Fufu. I don’t mind protecting the one I love, but don’t you think our roles were kind of reversed?”

It seemed Reika had been thinking the same thing Satoru had.

“Yeah, I figured you’d think that too. Sorry…”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Why…? Because I made you feel anxious, probably. I should’ve known this would happen, but I let things play out like that anyway.”

Even if it’s a standard manga situation, the scene where a cute girl is getting cornered by a sketchy guy can make anyone feel uneasy.

Even if the roles were reversed like this, that sense of unease wouldn’t change.

Satoru thought maybe that’s why Reika had jumped in so quickly to help him.

“Well, I won’t say I wasn’t worried at all. But I trust you completely. Even if you’re too kind to flatly turn someone down, I don’t believe you’d ever let things cross a line with the opposite sex.”

“Of course not. If someone got that forceful, I might actually snap.”

“So, I’m not worried about our relationship itself. That’s why I’d rather you not be so hard on yourself. You’ll just end up emotionally exhausted. That’s my real concern. And that’s also something that could happen if we force ourselves to go public with our relationship. So I don’t think this is all happening just because you want to keep things secret.”

After stating her unwavering trust, she smoothly offered words of reassurance.

Then she began pulling documents from her bag and laying them out on a desk so they could start working on today’s tasks.

“Reika, could you turn this way for a second?”

“What is it… mhh!?”

The moment she turned, he pulled her into a firm embrace and kissed her.

Even though they were in an unused wing of the building, someone could walk by and see them at any moment.

Despite that, they stayed like that—gently holding each other and sharing the kiss—for around ten seconds, soaking in the moment.

“…This is all I can do right now, to show you what you mean to me. Just a small way of saying thanks… for saving me today.”

As he said that, he couldn’t stop worrying if anyone had seen them.

Even if no one had, just the fact that they were doing something like this in such a place was so embarrassingly out of character that his face burned red-hot.

“…That made me really happy. It was shockingly bold, but seeing you blush afterward was the best part. That’s so like you. You always complain when I say unreasonable things, but it turns out you can do it if you try.”

“Seriously, how long were we kissing? Felt like five minutes or something.”

“It was only about ten seconds, though? If I had to complain, it would be that it was way too short.”

“You’re kidding…”

To Satoru, it had felt like several minutes had gone by.

“But being too bold might be a problem. I kind of want to do it again now, from my side this time.”

“If you could be satisfied by saying your beloved boyfriend made a move on you in a place like this, I’d really appreciate it…”

“Fufu, maybe I’ll leave it at that—for now.”

Despite everything she was saying, Reika was clearly in a very good mood.

Seeing that made Satoru feel like maybe it had been worth the effort to step out of his comfort zone.