I tried to confess my feelings to the girl I like, but I got too excited and ended up proposing. Was her response OK?! ~ - Chapter 42

Episode 42

After leaving the hospital and arriving home, I took a bath and ate dinner.

Before I knew it, the time had already passed 10pm.

“Oh, right. I need to report to Ryota and the others.”

I immediately contacted my parents and Eriko-san, but I hadn’t said anything to Ryota and Shimura-san yet.

Conversation with Ryota.

Sora: “Sorry for calling so late. I’m reporting because Mana woke up.”

“She also said thank you for coming to visit.”

“I think I should tell Mr. Niimura too, but considering the time, I’ll leave it to you, Ryota.”

Within a minute of making the call, Ryota called back.

“Hello.”

“I’m glad!!! She finally woke up!!!”

His voice was so loud it made me want to pull away from the speaker.

“Hey, you’re too loud.”

“Oh, sorry, I got carried away. I was just so happy I’m gonna see Sora’s face.”

“Well, uh, thanks for worrying.”

“Huh? That’s obvious. We’re best friends.”

Oh man, I really do have great friends. But I’ll never tell him that directly.

“Are you coming tomorrow?”

“Well, about that, Mana wants to come tomorrow too, so I said we’d go together. Even though we’ve been off for a week and haven’t prepared much, is it okay to participate?”

“There’s nothing wrong with participating. If anyone complains about it, I’ll punch them. So don’t worry. I’m more concerned about her having the stamina after recovering from being sick.”

“I’ll tell the teacher and leave early if necessary. The teacher knows the situation and should allow it.”

“Alright then. You should be fine. Tomorrow is the second day, so it’s not stage presentations but more like going around the classrooms. You can leave anytime.”

“Speaking of which, did anyone in the classroom say anything about us?”

“Hmm, not much. Mostly just worrying about you guys. You’ve been working hard together during the preparation period. But some guys, probably jealous, were talking behind your back, like saying you were fooling around all night. They shut up around the third day though.”

“I see. I feel sorry for everyone.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Neither you nor Mana. You both had valid reasons to be absent from school, so it’s understandable.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow then. Oh, why don’t we do some final preparations together? More hands are better.”

“Sure, I’ll let Mana know. See you.”

“Yep.”

After hanging up with Ryota, I went out to the balcony to feel the night breeze.

This past week felt incredibly long, almost eternal.

I reaffirmed how important Mana was to me and regretted not stopping when my parents brought her up. But in hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t.

I feel like even if I had stopped, we would have ended up here eventually. Mana woke up today, found a new goal, and regained her energy.

So I think it’s all for the best.

No, let’s stop thinking about this.

Mana woke up, and that’s enough for now. Besides, if I keep thinking about it, I won’t stop.

I’ll just go to bed now.

I turned off the lights and slipped into bed.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

First, I’ll apologize to everyone as soon as I get to school. Then, I’ll work as much as I can and enjoy the school festival with Mana.

That’s why I’m going to bed now.

Mana, thank you for waking up. Good night.