I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 29

“─So, right? The scene where Rouge shows her tsundere side. That part, her pure-heartedness, or maybe her clumsiness… it was perfectly captured, wasn’t it?”

“…Yeah, her expression fit the scene perfectly.”

“Right? You could really feel that the actor studied it carefully… in every little detail.”

As we took our drinks and sat down, Tatsuki immediately started talking passionately about the play. She was calmer than before, but her excitement still slipped through every word.

Maybe it was because she was smart, quick-thinking, or just had that unique insight of someone who’s read the original work. She analyzed the nuances and the emphasis in the performance with incredible precision. Listening to her, someone like me who had only started reading the original a few days ago couldn’t really keep up.

…So, I decided to cheat a little.

“─────”

“Um… speaking of that, I thought the part where the protagonist and Rouge clash once really showed how they felt about each other.”

“I-I thought so too! The way his cleverness and her innocence came through, and the sadness in their clash… even her trembling voice made it feel real!”

She nodded happily at my comment, just as I expected.

Humans have this funny way of feeling connected when their opinions match. It’s called bonding or clicking with someone.

So I used telepathy to anticipate what Tatsuki would say next, and pretended we had the same thoughts. She felt satisfied. I didn’t have to worry about her reaction, and it was a win-win.

This was my survival tactic, honed over more than ten years… but this time, I felt a little guilt.

She had chosen me as someone to genuinely share thoughts with. To trick her like this, I couldn’t help feeling sorry.

…Until now, I’d never felt this way. I had just thought it was lucky that I could easily make people like me.

…But Tatsuki, she messes with me in ways I don’t understand.

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I talked too much.”

I nodded along to her words for a while, then she suddenly shrugged awkwardly, as if she’d realized she’d been too excited.

“…Um, no? I-it’s fine.”

I hurriedly reassured her.

She lifted the corners of her mouth slightly, keeping her eyebrows lowered.

I must have looked ridiculous, flustered like that. I wasn’t sure what made her smile, but my anxious face probably looked like a clown.

Tatsuki seemed to regain her composure and took a sip of her drink. I followed her as I  drank the thick creamy mix.

It tasted like strawberries with a sweet-and-sour tang, chocolate bitterness, and cream. But at that moment, it just seemed strangely sour, strangely bitter, and oddly sweet.

I stirred it, thinking maybe it had settled. I didn’t know yet that emotions could affect how I taste something.

“This, this is fun… Sharing what I like with someone really makes me happy. I’m glad Itsumi-san is here.”

She said it while smiling. It was the softest, most genuine smile I had ever seen from her.

“…”

I stopped stirring, staring at the swirls in my whipped cream.

All I could do in response was stay silent. My heart felt like it was shaking, and a cold guilt washed over me as if a block of ice had struck my chest.

I’m a manipulative weirdo… sitting right in front of her. Someone, please tell her.

—

At the right moment, we both stood up from our seats and left the café. By then, the sun had started to set, painting the sky a deep red. The city streets were busy with people heading home.

We were naturally part of that flow, making our way back as well.

The train was crowded at first, but after transferring, we ended up in a mostly empty car. We could finally sit down and relax while waiting for our stop.

“Thank you for today.”

She relaxed against the seat back with a gentle smile.

There weren’t many people in this car, just us and a few others in the distance. So Tatsuki didn’t really hold back her voice. Yet it was soft and fleeting like the chirping of birds.

“No, thank you. Invite me again if there’s another chance.”

Half of it was just polite, but the other half was genuine.

“Of course.”

Tatsuki nodded slightly. The evening sun’s red glow lit her face, making her look even more beautiful. I couldn’t tell if it was just my feelings making her seem so radiant or if she really looked that way.

“…Theater really is wonderful, isn’t it?”

After a short pause, she said it quietly, with a hint of nostalgia.

“…Really?”

“Yes. I think I mentioned it before. I said I used to go watch plays a lot as a child, right?”

My brain hadn’t forgotten what happened this morning.

“My parents got busier with work, so I stopped going almost entirely around elementary school… but I think I really loved theater back then.”

Her gaze drifted toward the window across from us. I realized she wasn’t looking at the scenery. She was remembering the past.

“And after today… I realized something.”

She turned slightly as her eyes met mine.

“If… I said I wanted to do theater, would you laugh?”

For a moment, I didn’t quite catch the meaning of her question, but I quickly understood.

Her eyes were completely honest and unwavering. She wasn’t joking or asking me to play along.

I know that when a person looks at me like that, they’ve made some kind of big or small decision.

“…Tatsuki-san can do it.”

I knew how to respond to someone like her. But this wasn’t just some survival tactic.

She always seemed so cold, so unreadable. Protected, a bit idealistic in her own world, smart, talented, beautiful, and maybe not like most people.

Still, I thought,

“Today, the way you were… You were more full of emotion than anyone else.”

Even without telepathy, I could feel it. She was overflowing with feelings. There aren’t many people who can express themselves so freely about what they love.

“…, I thought you’d say that.”

She smiled. The smile I had seen so many times before.

She could no longer be called the “emotionless princess.”

“…Itsumi-san.”

“…Yeah?”

“Could you… call me Rio?”

After a pause, she asked. The sudden request made me blink in surprise.

“Today, I feel really happy. And…”

She continued, her voice soft.

“I feel like if we call each other by our first names… we’d be closer.”

She looked away while blushing slightly.

I understood that when she said that, it wasn’t just a casual word. But I couldn’t instantly decide how to respond to its true meaning.

Still, right now… I wanted that too.

“…Then, you can call me whatever you like, Rio-san.”

“! …Yes!”

She smiled like a flower in full bloom.

A while ago, I might have thought this was a mistake… but now, I decided I could close my eyes to reality for just a little while.