I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 5

Oh no.

My life so far has been anything but peaceful, to say the least, but even within that, something truly insane is happening, something that ranks at the very top.

Right now, I was walking side-by-side with Tatsuki Rio–or rather, she was a step behind, but we were walking together. Toward the same destination… My apartment.

I haven’t heard the full details, but it seems Tatsuki’s parents are away from home today for work. And after the molestation incident earlier, she’s feeling quite lonely… So far, so good, but why did she conclude she should come to my apartment?

Doesn’t she feel any sense of crisis? Doesn’t she think men are scary? Or maybe she doesn’t even recognize me as a man?

And on top of that, well… I just kind of went along with it, too, without even thinking.

If someone could hear my inner thoughts, it would be quite noisy, but of course, there’s no one like me, so there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just that my emotions were so turbulent, I almost wanted to say them out loud.

…No, Tatsuki might be in the same situation right now. Back then, her face and heart were crumpled with tears, making it impossible for her to think clearly. In fact, her inner voice was in a state of panic.

Now that things have calmed down somewhat, I might be regretting my earlier choice. If that’s the case, it would be better for me to bring it up rather than her, since she was the one who suggested it in the first place.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes.”

I suddenly stopped, and almost simultaneously, Tatsuki also stopped. Looking at her face as she turned around and gave a bewildered reply, her face and ears were still flushed, and her eyes were puffy. However, based on the feeling of her inner voice, she seemed a bit calmer. I was scared and had been ignoring her inner voice, but I could still recognize that level of feeling.

“Are you really coming to my place? You know, maybe that──”

I was about to say something, but then stopped.

“You’re Itsumi-kun, right? I’m so glad you’re a kind person… If you hadn’t helped me back then… I really don’t know what would have happened. I need to thank you, but I’m so nervous I can’t even talk to you…”

Her inner voice was extremely pure and innocent, unlike her usual demeanor. Despite her cool appearance, what I heard was like the heart of a tiny creature raised in a greenhouse. My impure thoughts instantly shriveled up and vanished.

Hearing a voice like that. Who could ever even think of harming her? No, not that I ever had any intention of doing that in the first place.

“I’m sorry, I guess I was being a nuisance after all…”

She lowers her eyes apologetically. Or perhaps she was looking down from the start. I feel like I haven’t made eye contact with her since earlier.

“N-no, it’s totally fine. I live alone… More importantly, is Tatsuki-san okay with all this?”

By all this, I really meant a lot of things. Including her mental health, her parents, and all sorts of other factors. No family would be so careless as to let their daughter stay overnight at some guy’s place, right?

No, there’s nothing for me to worry about. My situation used to be strict for various reasons, but… recently I’ve had a lot more freedom. My family might be concerned, but…

“I-I see.”

I didn’t try to pry into her thoughts. It’d be rude to dig into her heart just to figure out her circumstances. Besides, it’s normal for high schoolers to get more freedom as they grow up, and if she didn’t have at least some freedom, she wouldn’t be able to openly read an erotic novel in public.

“Um, is it alright if I call you Itsumi-san?”

“Eh, ah, you can call me whatever you like.”

“Then, Itsumi-san… do you live alone?”

“Yeah, that’s right. There’s a complicated situation. I’m renting and living in a run-down apartment managed by someone like a relative.”

Just like she was vague, I’ll also keep the details to myself. We’re not at the point where we share our private lives yet. Although it does feel strange to be sleeping and staying together at that level of relationship.

“…That sounds nice. I’m a little envious.”

“Oh, but it’s not that great. Sometimes the landlady helps me sometimes, but most of the time I’ve got to handle everything myself.”

“Even so…”

Tatsuki spoke almost as if she were sighing.

…Come to think of it, her expression seems to have softened quite a bit since earlier. She’s still expressionless, but I can tell she’s smiling, and it’s somewhat better.

It’s probably like the threads of tension and fear have finally snapped. But even so, she feels different than usual…

“Oh, here it is.”

Lost in such random thoughts, we had already arrived at our destination, my apartment.

It’s a really run-down apartment with hardly any tenants. Just me, an old woman whose age I don’t know, and someone who seems to be a freelancer I rarely see.

I live in the room next to the caretaker of such a place.

“…Well then, here we are.”

“Excuse me for intruding.”

Wow, it really is run-down… I heard a voice in my head, but since that’s pretty much what I expected people to say, I’m not bothered by it, nor do I need to be.

To appear completely unfazed, I let her pass. She herself didn’t change her expression at all.

Regardless, that was just her expression.

The runaway emotions I’ve been trying to ignore are now echoing in my head loud and clear.

“Th-this, this is a boy’s room…?! The smell, the atmosphere, it’s all so… amazing!! What should I do, what should I do, I’m staying here…?! Now that I think about it, this is a big deal!! Maybe, just maybe, something might happen…?!”

…I’ll correct myself right here and now. She is by no means a pure and innocent person. She’s a cool beautiful girl with a pink mind.