I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 35

I woke up suddenly.

Half of my mind still drifted in the warm sludge of sleep, but the other half was fully awake.

I clenched and unclenched my hand, opening and closing my palm. With each motion, it felt like warmth was slowly draining away, like the drowsiness itself was peeling off my skin.

Dragging the rest of my awareness up from the mud, I pushed myself upright. Even after sleeping, I strangely felt completely worn out.

The telepathy hadn’t stopped. Stray thoughts, belonging to no one I could recognize, kept pouring into my head without pause.

That must have been the reason for my fatigue. Honestly, it was a miracle I’d even managed to sleep through it. It was like trying to rest with a blaring speaker pressed against my ears. Without exhaustion forcing me under, I doubted I could have slept at all.

The endless flood of voices had grown so loud it was nothing but static, driving away the last traces of drowsiness. At the same time, the dream I’d been clinging to slipped away completely. I remembered it being something absurd, but now it was gone, leaving nothing but a faint echo.

With my head clearer, I finally took stock of my surroundings.

Nothing should have changed, I’d been asleep the whole time after all.

But reality proved me wrong.

The room was… tidy.

The school uniform I’d tossed aside yesterday was now neatly hung on a hanger. My bag, which I’d left spilled open on the floor, was sitting innocently in the corner, as though nothing had ever happened. There was no way I could’ve done this myself. Not without realizing it.

And then there was the smell. I wasn’t hungry, but the scent was unmistakably mouthwatering. That’s when I noticed the desk beside my bed. On top of it, two bowls sat waiting.

I dragged my heavy body closer for a look. One was miso soup or something similar, and the other was porridge filled with vegetables and other ingredients.

At first, I thought maybe the landlady had been in here. But the moment I saw the food, I knew it couldn’t be her. Even her porridge turned into a disaster. Something this carefully made. Something with daikon and greens and real effort was beyond her ability.

So then who?

There was no one in my life who’d do this for me. Hardly anyone even knew where I lived, and fewer still were close enough to care. If I fell sick, there shouldn’t be anyone to look after me.

Staring at the steaming bowls and the unseen person who must have left them here, a prickling unease crept through me.

And then, right at that moment,

───Swish.

I heard something, like the sound of fabric brushing together.

At first, I couldn’t place it. But then I realized. It came from behind me.

Behind me was only the bed.

It didn’t sound like a pillow slipping or the blanket falling. No, it felt deliberate and intentional. The kind of sound a person makes.

Which meant someone was there.

I’d been lying in bed the whole time, but could someone else have slipped in without me noticing? My head had been so clouded, maybe I’d missed it entirely. Careless didn’t even begin to cover it.

My body tensed and braced itself against the unseen presence at my back. And then—

“…Itsumi-san.. you’re awake…?”

A voice, drowsy and melted with sleep, drifted from behind me.

I spun around in a rush, our eyes locking the instant I turned.

She looked startled at first, with eyes widening. Then her expression softened. It was relieved, worried, and shy somehow.

“Tatsuki, san?”

A thousand questions screamed inside me. Why was she here? How did she get in? Why was she in my bed and sleeping beside me?

But I couldn’t voice a single one. My mouth refused to form the words.

“…Um, I’m sorry… for intruding?”

She gave me a small, sheepish smile, as if she didn’t even know how to explain it.

—

A few minutes later, my desk was completely buried under two massive plastic bags.

Inside them were toilet paper, throat lozenges, cooling gel sheets, a hot water bottle, and a frying pan. A basically full starter pack for nursing the sick.

And every single item had been bought just now by Tatsuki.

“I’m really sorry about this…”

“No. Please, let me at least do this much.”

She spoke in an oddly energetic tone as she went about preparing things, wringing out a towel, setting up water for me, and getting everything ready with brisk efficiency.

I couldn’t help wondering. How many people would call this “this much”? And how many would accept it with a simple, “Oh, thank you”?

“We help each other when someone’s in trouble. That’s how it should be.”

She said this while pressing a cool gel sheet onto my forehead, her expression soft with a kind of gentle affection as she looked down at me.

To sum up how things had led here—

Since yesterday, she’d sensed something was off. And when she realized I hadn’t shown up at school today, she grew seriously worried.

Thinking of what she could do, she decided she’d come take care of me.

Using both the memory of the time she’d once stayed over and a map app on her phone, she managed to track down this shabby apartment of mine. Of course, the door was locked.

So she tried her luck with the landlady, explained who she was and what was going on, and somehow walked away with the spare key.

…Seriously? What the hell was that woman thinking?

If Tatsuki had turned out to be some shady character or even someone from that organization, what would she have done then? Well, knowing the landlady, she probably considered all of that before handing over the key. Or at least, I want to believe she did.

Anyway, Tatsuki let herself in with the key in hand, cleaned up the place, cooked, and took care of everything else.

Then, she felt tired as she lay down for just a moment next to me and ended up falling sound asleep.

Why exactly did she choose to crawl into my bed… that was something I still very much wanted to question.

By the time I woke up, Tatsuki had already gone out to the supermarket and came back with what she thought I might need. The sheer amount she bought was overwhelming. It was far too much, no matter how I looked at it.

“I’m really sorry…”

After everything she’d done for me, I didn’t dare complain. All I could manage was that same worn-out apology, repeated like a broken record.

“…You’ve been saying that this whole time.”

Her lips puckered slightly, a faint pout of exasperation.

“You’re sick. I told you, you don’t need to keep apologizing.”

She scolded me in that brisk, almost sulking way of hers, as she wrapped a damp towel around my neck. The chill of it seeped into my skin, spreading a cool sensation through my veins. But even so, the restless unease in my chest refused to fade.

“I’m so… no… You’re right. Thank you.”

When I corrected myself and said that instead, Tatsuki nodded with satisfaction. That small and earnest smile of hers stirred something in me. It was something dangerously close to affection.

And that was no good.

…Why was she going this far for me?

I didn’t need to ask. Her thoughts were always spilling into me. I already knew why she clung to me, why she came here, and why she’d even slipped into my bed.

And because I knew, because I understood what she felt.

I couldn’t answer those feelings. No… I wasn’t allowed to.

“…Tatsuki-san.”

I called her just as she was about to busy herself with something else. She turned back toward me, and I made myself really look at her.

Because the truth was simple.

I wasn’t going to be here much longer.

I was just a passing character in Tatsuki Rio’s story.

And now, I had to turn them away with our feelings brushing so close to each other.

I had to erase as much of myself and of Tatsuki Rio from her life as possible.

“There’s… something I need to tell you.”

Her expression shifted, from growing serious and worried. Seeing that almost brought tears to my eyes.

Forcing my heavy body upright, I sat facing her directly.