I Want to Know Everything About Love - Chapter 8: A Boy and a Confession (4)

Soon, Ootsuki-kun returned.

The setting sun is beginning to set little by little, and it will be time to start going home in half an hour.

“Would you like some tea outdoors?”

“…I like it, I think.”

“W-well, that’s good.”

He blushed slightly, then quickly returned to his usual composed expression.

Come to think of it, Ootsuki-kun has always been attentive to me the entire time.

I haven’t prepared anything, but at least I wanted to show some consideration even if it was just with words.

“I should have brought cookies from home…”

“I should have written in advance that I would invite you to tea. I’m sorry I didn’t have enough words.”

As soon as I hear these words, Mika-chan turns on an angry switch.

“Not saying enough isn’t even the point! It’s horrible to write in a love letter that anyone is fine. I even threw it in the trash can that day. Though I did get 1,000 yen. But why was there a thousand yen in it in the first place!?”

When Mika-chan remembered something she had forgotten because of the atmosphere, she thought about her arrows one after another.

To silence her, Ootsuki-kun slowly took a sip of tea and placed his teacup down with a soft clink.

“I didn’t mean anyone. I actually sent it only to you two in the sense that anyone I sent a letter to would be fine. You’re free to think I’m the worst, but I don’t care how I’m seen. As long as there’s at least one person who understands me, that’s all I need. Right, Kihino-san?”

“??…Yes.”

“Yuki, don’t let yourself be fooled, okay? Are you sure this guy is really okay?”

Indeed, I did not hear that we had received a black letter from anyone other than us. If he distributed it to everyone, there’s no way it wouldn’t have come up in class conversation.

Mika-chan pointed at Ootsuki-kun and continued.

“It’s a serious crime to try and lead my Yuki astray. I’ve raised her in a protective shield all this time!”

I’m not Mika-chan’s daughter or pet. But still, I feel good knowing she cares about me.

For now, I’ll take her side.

“Is Ootsuki-kun trying to lead me astray?”

Mika-chan said that with the two of us against him and with full confidence.

“I spent 1,000 yen with Yuki at a family restaurant. I’m not paying it back.”

“That’s a good use. I thought you would be happy if I could put 1,000 yen. That’s why I put it in there.”

As soon as Ootsuki-kun said so, another voice rang directly into my mind.

“No, it’s a lie.”

──!?

I widened my eyes for a moment, surprised by the three-dimensional voice quality of the ASMR-like voice.

I can tell by intuition. This voice is the voice of Ootsuki-kun’s inner voice.

Perhaps this voice that resonated in my mind is the truth.

There have been many strange phenomena in the past in which I somehow understand what I was trying to know. Recently, it’s been things like why the school gate teacher got married and whether Ootsuki-kun really washed his hands.

Nevertheless, I had never heard a voice so clearly before.

I wonder if his inner voice spoke to me because I wanted to know his true intentions.

But why did he lie here?

Is there a reason for it?

Hmm… I don’t understand the intention of lying.

In any case.

My interest is entirely aimed at him. Never before have I cared more about others.

Why do I care about him?

I didn’t care about Kageyama-senpai at all, so it’s not because I got a love letter.

Is it just interest? Or maybe love? Because I think I’m going to have a boyfriend?

I have so little experience in life that I don’t know what this feeling I have for Ootsuki-kun is.

However, there are some things that I know partially.

I want to know what he really means.

I want to know the reasoning behind his actions.

Why did he prepare for such a situation?

Why are we drinking tea?

I want to elaborate on the differences between me and him.

I’d like to try to understand him more deeply.

――I want to look more into his mind.

In my mind, I ask, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Then again, his voice sounded as if it were directly echoing my mind.

“I wrote a love letter because I was told it would help me get a girlfriend. So I served tea because I was told it would help me get a girlfriend. I’m sure people think I’m completely a strange person.”

“What… is that…”

The voice that reverberates in my mind is different from a normal voice.

Even if I can’t hear the voice, it’s as if I’ve just heard it, and I can always remember the content clearly. I can replay it in my mind whenever I want.

The image stays in my head so strongly that I get a slight headache…

Ootsuki-kun, who had no intention of knowing such a thing, could hear his inner voice continuously.

“It’s true that I said ‘I want a girlfriend no matter who.’ But after going this far, it seems I’ve only ended up being seen as a strange person. That’s no good. Even ■■-san can make mistakes, too.”

Perhaps because of the headache, I feel like I have a nosebleed and my nose is itchy.

It seems that he believes that because he’s considered a “strange person,” it would be impossible for him to date anyone.

“What’s the matter, Yuki-chan?”

“Ootsuki-kun, I’m sorry if I’m wrong. But the love letter and the tea both seem a bit off. Did someone tell you to do this? Is it a lie that you want to go out with someone?”

When I looked straight into Ootsuki-kun’s eyes, we briefly made eye contact, but he quickly looked away.

The wind blew. I can only hear the rustling of leaves.

A few seconds passed in that silence.

“…Kihino-san, you’re amazing. That’s right. I’m just doing what I was told, but it’s true that I want to go out with someone. There’s a reason why I want either of you to be her.”

A voice echoing from him in my mind indicates that he is not lying.

“…I see.”

“You were right, after all. I probably already have a girlfriend, just like Kihino-san said.”

What on earth are you talking about?

Is it about this voice that rings in my mind?

There is no way Ootsuki-kun knows about this ability of mine.

“It’s totally unexpected that I have to say this after I’ve noticed…I’m sorry, Kihino-san. I’ve been doing a lot of weird things for a while, but I haven’t done it yet, things I need to do. I want you to go out with you a little longer.”

Ootsuki-kun stands up from his chair and approaches me right in front of me.

And he got down in front of me on one knee and looked up at me.

──??

I wonder what’s going to happen now.

I looked over at Mika-chan next to me, but she was just sitting quietly with a serious expression.

“Kihino-san. We don’t have a special relationship right now, and I don’t think we have that many special feelings. But I have a reason why I have to be with Kihino-san. I’d be happy if I could be that kind of person for you too──”

Is this. By any chance. The confession has started?

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◯ Author’s Comment

Ootsuki-kun is hiding something.

Nevertheless, he presses forward with the confession.

(It will be a little while before you’ll know why.)

It is written in the synopsis that she can read minds, and I’ve finally shown it properly…

The underground line was stretched just in case, but I think it’s a sudden development, so are you keeping up? If it is difficult to understand, I will rewrite it.

(The explanation of the worldview is boring, so I’m going to take out the settings around the supernatural powers later. I’m hardly describing them at this point.)

Anyway, it’ll come to a conclusion in the next chapter.