In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Surrounded by a Clingy Older Woman, a Walking Red Flag, and an Exhausted Office Lady - 12

Chapter 12: The Boy Who Accepts My “Cuteness”

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I thought that the reason walking the road to school felt this enjoyable was probably because of Aoi. Back in high school and middle school, I hadn’t wanted to go to school at all, and I hadn’t even wanted to go outside much. And yet now, here I was, walking outside while putting my own version of “cute” fully on display.

It was fun, and more than anything, it made me happy that Aoi would look at me like this and call me cute. There were no lectures this afternoon, and I knew Aoi didn’t have his part-time job either.

If I invite him to the cat café I’ve wanted to go to for a while, will he come?

It made my heart pound a little, but if it was Aoi, he would definitely come. Thinking that, I was walking when I noticed a man and a woman walking side by side in front of me.

“Hey, Emiko. I’m kinda tight on money this month, so can you lend me a little? I’ll hold your hand, and I’ll pay you back later.”

“O-Okay. If you’ll hold my hand, that’s fine.”

………What a pitiful, miserable woman. Before I met Aoi, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. I probably would’ve thought that was normal, and even that she was one of the more fortunate women.

But now I knew. That man was nothing but irredeemable trash. I couldn’t even think of him as the same species of man as Aoi. I happened to make eye contact with the woman whose hand he was holding. She had a look of superiority in her eyes, but I snorted at her.

Seriously, what a miserable woman. You don’t know, do you? A boy who can mess you up so completely that you’d be willing to throw everything away and let yourself be broken. Really… How pitiful.

I cast her a look of pity, quickened my pace, and headed to the university to see Aoi. When I entered the lecture hall and looked for Aoi, he was leaning on his elbow with a difficult expression on his face.

I thought about just calling out to him normally, but maybe because I’d overheard that couple earlier (and because I wanted him to pay attention to me) I walked up behind him and covered his eyes with my hands.

“Guess who?”

“It’s Renka, right? At this university, you’re the only friend I’ve got.”

I thought he might scold me a little, but he didn’t. Instead, with an exasperated look, he casually said something that made me happy first thing in the morning.

“E-ehhehe. I-is that so? I guess you’re right. I’m pretty much your only friend, Aoi.”

I was the only friend Aoi had. The happiness of knowing that only I understood how great Aoi was, that I had him all to myself, made my face break into a grin without me realizing it. Seeing that, Aoi seemed slightly annoyed and said:

“I-I could totally make as many friends as I want if I tried. I could make, like, fifty by the end of today.”

I understood in my head that he was probably joking. But my mouth moved before that thought could catch up.

“Yeah, you’re right. You’re really kind and cool and precious, Aoi, so you could make as many friends as you want besides me. It’s not like it had to be me anyway. It was just a coincidence that I was nearby, right? It didn’t have to be me.”

I didn’t even want to say something like that, and if Aoi ever told me it didn’t have to be me, I was confident I’d be bedridden for three days and nights.

“R-Renka, I was joking. I don’t have the social skills to make that many friends.”

“…That’s not true. If you were serious, you wouldn’t stop at fifty. You could have a hundred girls following you.”

I didn’t like thinking that, but I truly believed it. I knew Aoi could make any girl fall for him and have her hanging on him. He’d probably say there was no way he could do that, but I thought it was just because he lacked confidence, not because he wasn’t capable.

“Renka.”

“W-What?”

“I became your friend because you’re you, Renka. Don’t say it could’ve been anyone. I thought you were cute. I thought you were kind. I like how you get carried away sometimes, and how you’re funny. I’m really glad we’re friends.”

Aoi’s serious eyes. My heart started pounding harder and harder.

Don’t you think it can’t be helped that I’d see that other woman as pitiful and miserable? Because…

『 became your friend because you’re you, Renka.』

Because there was a boy who looked straight at me and said something like that.

“I-I see. Because it was me. You became friends with me because it was me.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Ehehehehe. Nhehehe. Gehehe.”

Aoi always said exactly what I wanted him to say, and did exactly what I wanted him to do.

Once you’ve known a boy like that, it’s only natural that other men look like trash, right?

“By the way, I don’t have any friends besides you, Renka. But do you have other friends?”

I was swooning over Aoi in front of me when he suddenly asked that.

Friends?

“There’s no way I do. What are you even saying? You’re the only friend I have, Aoi.”

“Really? Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I’ve never lied to you, Aoi.”

My only friend was Aoi, and I was his only friend. There was no need for anyone else here. The old me used to want friends, but now, as long as I had Aoi, that was enough. So I didn’t feel any need to force myself to make friends.

“Thanks, Renka.”

“W-What’s with that all of a sudden, Aoi?”

“I was just thinking I’m really glad you’re my friend.”

For some reason, Aoi suddenly said something that grabbed my heart in a tight fist. He did that sometimes—said things that made my heart squeeze without warning. It wasn’t good for my heart.

But don’t stop. I want you to do it more.

“I-I see. I’m glad I’m your friend too, Aoi. It’s the happiest thing in my life.”

I replied as desperately as I could, wanting him to think I was as cute as possible, and he blushed and looked away. Even a single gesture from him looked like a picture and made my heart skip. I wanted to keep watching him, but an oblivious professor walked in, and class began.

While listening to the lecture, I secretly glanced at Aoi’s face as he listened beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Ah, that’s right. I haven’t asked him if we can go to the cat café.

Thinking that, I wrote it in the corner of my notebook and showed it to him. He noticed and wrote in the corner of his notebook:

『Sure, let’s go.』

I never would’ve imagined that someone like me—who was hardly popular at all in middle school and high school, and was even called creepy in high school because it was obvious who I was aiming for—would get to experience something like a scene out of a romance manga.

Could it be… that I might become Aoi’s girlfriend?

“By the way, Renka, you don’t have a boyfriend or anything, right?”

When we arrived at the cat café and were doting on the cats together, he suddenly asked me that. I had a bad feeling about this.

“A-A boyfriend? I don’t have one. Why are you asking that?”

“You’re cute, Renka, so I figured you might have at least a boyfriend. If you did, it’d be bad for him if we hung out too much.”

The moment he said that, I cupped his cheeks with both hands so he couldn’t escape.

“There’s no way. I don’t have one. That’s stupid. I don’t need someone like that. So it’s fine for us to hang out. Why would you say that? Do you not want to be with me? Hey, answer me.”

Me? Having a boyfriend? There was no way. Even if some guy confessed to me, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to reject him. And since I wouldn’t want Aoi to misunderstand, I’d thoroughly bully that guy.

I only needed Aoi. It wasn’t allowed for Aoi to leave me. It wasn’t allowed for him to disappear from in front of me. I couldn’t even imagine losing this happy time today.

Hey… Do you hate it? Do you actually hate me and are trying to push me away by saying that? Which is it? Answer me.

I looked at Aoi as if praying. I was panicking. I was afraid he might disappear even though he was right in front of me. But if I thought about it, I should’ve known. It was always like this.

Aoi…

“Sorry, Renka. It’s not that I don’t like being with you. Like I said, you’re cute, so I just thought someone as cute as you probably had a boyfriend. That’s why I asked. I’m not lying.”

He always gave me the words I wanted, and he always called me cute. A boy who said that with such straightforward eyes… Whose only friend was me.

“Geez, you idiot, Aoi. I don’t have a boyfriend, and you’re basically the only one who’s ever called me cute.”

That’s right. It’s only you. The only one who acknowledges my “cute,” who accepts my “cute,” who praises it.

“Sorry.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll forgive you.”

I forgive you.

No matter what Aoi does, I’ll forgive him. And if there’s something he wants to do, I’ll be the first to help. If he says he wants money, I’ll earn a lot and devote it all to him. If he says he wants to hurt my body, he can train me thoroughly.

With all of those emotions in my eyes, I looked at Aoi, but he seemed to have a slightly apologetic expression.

“…I feel like you’re misunderstanding something pretty badly again.”

“Huh?”

“Well, whatever. More importantly, promise me something.”

“A promise?”

This was something I needed him to keep.

“Don’t ask me if I have a boyfriend again, okay? And don’t say stuff like you should hang out with me less.”

I didn’t even want Aoi to imagine that I might be dating some other guy. And he wasn’t allowed to hold back from hanging out with me out of consideration for me. My circumstances didn’t matter. Invite me whenever you want.

If it’s Aoi—the one who acknowledges my “cuteness,” who calls me cute—I don’t even mind even if I’m broken.

“Alright, that’s enough about that. Let’s play with the cats.”

“Yeah.”

You can do anything you want to me, just let me stay by your side.

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