In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 55

Chapter 55: White Day Love Sonata Part 3

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“A kabedon?”

Kabedon… Oh, that thing. The one where you pressed your hand against the wall and cornered the girl as you moved closer to her. Takahashi-san’s request was an extremely romantic one: “I want to be confessed to while in a kabedon position.” 

Do people actually do that? I’ve always thought it was just a fantasy limited to shoujo manga and romance dramas.

“Is it  a ‘no’? Yeah. Of course. It’s a ‘no,’ right? It’s okay, Takeda-kun. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Seeing Takahashi-san on the verge of tears, I decided that if I didn’t at least grant her this request, I wouldn’t be much of a man.

“Alright, I’ll do a kabedon. I’ve never done it before, so I’m not sure if I’ll do it well, though.”

“Takeda-kun, are you really okay with it?”

“Yeah. Then, let’s find a good ‘wall’ for it.”

After all, we were inside a greenhouse. Plants were growing thick all around us. A good wall…

《Protagonist Perk “kabedon!” has been installed. You may execute it at any time.》

…That came out of nowhere. I wasn’t sure what exactly had been installed, but I figured it meant that even if I went for it on impulse, I wouldn’t mess up. The greenhouse wasn’t that big, so unfortunately, there weren’t any solid walls. In the end, we compromised with the reinforced glass panels supported by white-painted pillars.

“Will this work?”

“Yeah.”

Takahashi-san answered in a voice so small I could barely hear her.

“Alright, could you stand here? Lean your back against the glass.”

The length of my arm was about this much… That meant the right positioning should be… Around here?

“Okay, I’m going for it.”

Facing Takahashi-san, I placed one hand on the glass just above her head.

Whoa,this is really close!

With our height difference, I ended up leaning over her, looking down. She was so delicate. She fit perfectly within my arms.

“Takahashi-san, thank you for confessing to me. I was really happy. Will you go out with me?”

“…Call me Shizu.”

“Shizu.”

“Are you really okay with me?”

“Yeah.”

Her upturned eyes were already brimming with tears.

“Can I… Can I have those words… The words ‘I love you’…?”

There was no way I could refuse a trembling girl who was asking me that sincerely.

“Shizu… I love you.”

“Ah… Thank you…”

Whoa. She started crying. What should I do?

Takahashi-san was sobbing uncontrollably. After waiting for her to calm down a little, I put the star-shaped pendant with a blue stone around her neck, and then…S he started crying all over again.

“I-I really… I really can have this?”

“Of course. Look at the back, it has our initials. The ‘Y’ for Yuusei and the ‘S’ for Shizu.”

“…It does. Our initials… I’m so happy.”

I told her that crying this much would make her eyes swell up, and she hid her face, saying, “Don’t look! I’m sure I look awful!”

Dating, huh? If just the confession was this intense, I was definitely going to have to study up before we actually started going on dates.

《Protagonist Handbook “Guide to Love” can now be added to your diary. Would you like to add it now?》

…Hey. You’ve been popping up without any hesitation lately. Not that I mind. You’re actually really helpful. Yeah, go ahead and add that.

《Understood.》

◇◇◇

Before I knew it, the closing ceremony had arrived.

“Finally, spring break is here.”

“I’m looking forward to skiing.”

For the ski trip Houjou was organizing, Yuuki and I were going and all three guys from Class C had decided to join too. Yeah. Only Yuuki and I were going from Class A.

“It’s going to be a big group, so the trip should be pretty lively and fun.”

“The women this time are all older, right?”

Even if it was free, that part was a little concerning.

“Yeah. The only one our age is Tachibana-san.”

“So… Is this like a matchmaking event?”

“No, nothing that serious. It’s more like a group outing. Most of the women are working professionals, so they shouldn’t be too pushy. Probably.”

“I’m just going to hang out with the guys.”

At that, Yuuki interjected as if to make sure everyone understood.

“Yeah, that’s fine, Yuuki. The ladies already know about your situation.”

Situation?

“Yuuki, is something up?”

“Uh…”

Houjou hesitated, which was rare for him. Did I just step into something I shouldn’t have?

“It’s not really a secret, so I’ll just say it. To be honest, I’ve got a marriage proposal.”

“A marriage proposal? Like, an arranged marriage kind of thing?”

“Yeah, that. And they want me to marry into their family.”

Marrying in… So, something like what happened with Imagawa-kun?

“I have zero intention of accepting, but the other party is a prestigious shrine family from western Japan, so I can’t just refuse them outright. For now, I’m in ‘observation mode.’”

“Observation mode?”

“Basically, making it clear I’m not interested. But I can’t go so far as to date someone else or get engaged just to prove a point. That would look bad socially on me.”

“Wait, is that why you rejected everyone on White Day?”

“Yeah. The proposal came right after Valentine’s Day. Talk about bad timing.”

The girls Yuuki turned down on White Day had all been devastated. That explained a lot.

“So, if they’re insisting on a son-in-law, maybe they originally had someone in mind, but that fell through. Then, in a panic, they rushed to set something up before White Day?”

“Sounds plausible.”

“Anyway, that’s my situation. I can’t date or get married for the time being, so Takeda, I’m counting on you.”

…Me? Count on me for what?

“If you keep talking like that, Takeda’s girlfriends are going to curse you.”

“No,no. Given Takeda’s specs, he can still handle more.”

No way. There are already plenty. This is all new to me. I don’t have the bandwidth for anything more.

And so, with everyone carrying their own circumstances, our second year of high school came to an end. …It had been a busy year, but a fun one.

After all, I ended up with three adorable girlfriends.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー