Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 143: Karaoke.

Karaoke.

“Hey, Sara. I hate to ruin the mood, but… what are you doing sneaking in a kiss like it’s no big deal?”

“Y-Yes! How can you act so naturally about it!? Aren’t you embarrassed to do that in public!?”

Natsumi-senpai and Nishikawa both raised their voices.

It had felt so natural to me that I could only feel happy, but… now that they mention it, everyone was watching…

Hanako and Tachikawa were whispering something to Toudou-san, and Hayato, as usual, was smiling wryly.

“Hm? If it brings Kazunari joy, then I have no reason to feel embarrassed.”

She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sara-san’s expression told the whole story, leaving the two who had shouted at her speechless instead.

“I see now… Sara’s no longer the girl I once knew… You’ve gone so far ahead of me. Why… why doesn’t anyone ever…”

Nishikawa’s voice, even though coming through the speakerphone, echoed strangely loud.

Well… considering that the guy hitting on her now is Yamazaki, I guess it’s no wonder she’s feeling emotional.

“Alright! Now that we’ve said everything we needed to, there’s only one thing left to do!”

With a burst of energy, Natsumi-senpai pulled out a device.

It looked like she was getting ready to start karaoke.

True, it would be odd to come to a karaoke place and not sing at all…

But honestly, I felt it would be better to have a proper conversation with Hanako and Tachikawa first.

Especially with Hanako—there was still so much I didn’t understand about her.

“Hanako, Tachikawa, would you mind talking with me for a bit? It’s about… well, some memories we’d all rather forget.”

At my invitation, the two of them exchanged glances and then nodded silently.

“Sure. I’d heard rumors about you, Takanashi-kun, but you’re completely different from what I expected.”

“I’ve got some things I want to ask too. This works out.”

“Oh, then let me join in too!”

And so, the four of us decided to have a talk.

When I told the others we’d be stepping out for a bit, Sara-san immediately tried to come along, but Natsumi-senpai quickly grabbed her by the arm, capturing her.

“You stay here. You’re always glued to Takanashi-kun — once in a while, you should hang out with us too.”

Sara-san looked genuinely troubled.

But honestly, I wanted her to take a little break for herself.

Maybe this was a good opportunity.

“Sara-san, it’s just a quick chat. Please, keep Natsumi-senpai company for a while. She must be feeling lonely.”

“Ehhh! Get going already!”

I teased her, and Natsumi-senpai practically kicked me out.

“Hayato, sorry, but could you keep an eye on Natsumi-senpai? Make sure she doesn’t go overboard with Sara-san.”

“Got it. And if anything happens, I’ll report back. Also… about the person Natsumi-senpai called earlier—could you fill me in on that too?”

Ah right, Hayato doesn’t know about Yuuji yet.

It was rare to hear Hayato speak so seriously.

Was he worried?

“Understood. I’ll explain later.”

Anyway, if Hayato was with her, things should be fine.

We moved to a free space, and our conversation turned into a bit of a misery-sharing session.

Tachikawa’s story was almost exactly what I had heard from Toudou: she had been present when Yamazaki coldly broke things off, and she still couldn’t forget the smug look on Yuzuha’s face at that moment.

I could imagine it pretty clearly.

As for Hanako…

Yeah, it was different from what I expected.

Apparently, she had first spoken to Yamazaki after seeing him buying one of her favorite novels.

She thought she had found a kindred spirit and got carried away talking to him.
But one day, out of the blue, he snapped at her, saying, “Don’t get the wrong idea—you were just a passing amusement.”

He even mocked her hobbies.

Some classmates witnessed the whole scene, and after that, she became the butt of jokes at school.

She eventually stopped coming to school altogether.

Maybe Yamazaki misunderstood her intentions…
It could have been around the same time Yuzuha and Tachikawa rallied the class against him.

If that’s true, his sudden outburst makes a little more sense.

As for why she uses an alias now—something about sealing off her old self, and being freed once she exacts her revenge on Yamazaki?

I’m not sure if I fully understood her reasoning.

Finally, it was my turn.

I tried to summarize since my story was long… but Hanako kept asking, “And then what happened?”
Before I knew it, I was recounting everything up to the day I left home after graduating.

The mood turned heavy… Toudou-san even looked like she was about to cry.

And then there was Hanako, quietly patting me on the head for some reason.

“There, there. You did well, Takanashi-kun. You went through so much worse than I did, and you never gave up. You should be proud.”

Being patted on the head by someone who looked like a middle schooler was… frankly, not a great look.

“At first, I thought you were just a dependent little boy clinging to others. But now I see that you have the strength to endure and lead others. I like that about you.”

Apparently, Hanako had taken a liking to me.

Though her expression and tone were as flat as ever, so it was hard to tell.

“I’ll fully cooperate with you. Defeat Yamazaki, and I’ll give you a reward.”

Hearing “reward” from Hanako was strangely heartwarming.

Still, I already have someone precious—Sara-san—so I don’t need any other prizes.

“U-Um, Hanako-san… you should probably keep your distance from Takanashi-kun. For your own safety…”

Toudou-san warned her timidly, her voice trembling.

“Hm? You mean, because I’m too charming and Takanashi-kun might turn into a wolf?”

“N-No, it’s more like… if you get caught…”

Toudou kept glancing fearfully toward the hallway.

No, seriously, I’m not going to attack her or anything.

She probably meant Sara-san.

Yeah… if Sara-san saw this, it wouldn’t end well.

“Kazunari-san…”

When we returned to the room, Sara-san rushed over and hugged me tightly, almost as if she had been waiting for me.

Her voice had a slightly needy, unfamiliar tone to it.

Was something wrong?

“Natsumi was awful. I’ve never sung karaoke before, and I hardly know any songs… but she kept forcing the microphone on me and picking songs I didn’t know…”

It seemed that because I had asked her to keep Natsumi-senpai company, serious-minded Sara-san had stayed with her rather than walking away.

And Natsumi-senpai had taken full advantage.

“Natsumi-senpai?”

“Uwaa…”

When I glared at her, Natsumi-senpai flinched and backed away.

Come to think of it, I had assigned Hayato to watch her for this very reason…

“Hayato.”

“Sorry, Kazunari. Natsumi-senpai… sort of pleaded with me… and…”

I wasn’t sure what had happened exactly, but it seemed Hayato had been neutralized somehow.

Well, I understand not being able to stand firm against someone you like…

What to do…

Actually, maybe this was a good chance to sing with Sara-san.

Even if I didn’t know much about modern songs, maybe we could find something…

“By the way, what songs can you sing, Sara-san?”

It made sense to check first.

Sara-san looked a bit embarrassed.

“Um… you won’t laugh at me, will you?”

Nervously, she told me the name of the song—it was an anime song, but from a series beloved by all ages, and the song itself was a classic.

In a way, it was the perfect, adorable choice for Sara-san.

“You’re smiling… you’re mean, Kazunari-kun.”

It seemed like Sara-san had slipped out of her usual “big sister” mode.

This side of her was adorable too.

“Sara-san, I’m terrible at karaoke too, but I know that song. So… would you like to sing it together?”

When I asked, she nodded enthusiastically, a big smile lighting up her face.

“Yes! If it’s with you, Kazunari-kun, I’ll do my best!”

And so, before we knew it, everyone was singing together.

I glanced to my side and saw Sara-san clutching the microphone, looking so full of joy it was almost contagious.

Sara-san’s singing wasn’t technically skilled, but it was incredibly sweet.

It matched the song perfectly, and honestly, I wanted to hear more.

Yep, everyone really does know that classic song.

Sara-san seemed to have a wonderful time too, and we all ended up singing right until the free time ended.