Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 148: It's time.

It’s time.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yamazaki-san.”

When I arrived at the meeting place, Yamazaki was already standing exactly where he had been told to wait.

As I stepped out of the car and called out to him, he turned with a picture-perfect fake smile plastered on his face.
I had always found him unpleasant, but knowing his true nature now only made him seem even more repulsive…

“Not at all, I just arrived myself,”
he replied with the typical scripted line.

I had to scold myself for nearly rolling my eyes. Stay composed. Just act normal—for now.

“Shall we get going, then?”

Just sitting in a car alone with Yamazaki felt filthy. I had to work hard to keep my disgust from showing on my face.
I’ll need to disinfect every surface he touches later.

“It’s such an honor to be invited by you, Eri-san.”

Eri-san…
I don’t recall ever giving him permission to call me by my first name, but at some point, he started doing so casually.
No point in arguing. This will be the last time anyway.

I forced my way through the small talk I despised, and eventually, we arrived at the venue.

About twenty of Yamazaki’s subordinates were loitering in the lobby. Today’s event was a modest party, along with an internal announcement, so I’d instructed him to only invite people close to his company. Of course, I deliberately informed him at the last possible moment—to keep him from getting any ideas.

“Yamazaki-san, thank you for inviting us today.”

“Of course. You’ve all supported me, after all. You’re the chosen few.”

The way he phrased it—so condescending, as if bestowing a favor. Perhaps this group was important to Yamazaki in some way. That actually worked out perfectly. I wonder how they’ll react once they see him abandoned in front of them…

Though the venue hadn’t officially opened, Yamazaki and I entered ahead of the others.
It wasn’t a large place, which suited our purposes just fine.

“I’m looking forward to the announcement. Could it be something about us, perhaps?”

With a smirk, Yamazaki hinted at a topic he clearly found amusing.
“About us”…? Don’t tell me this idiot actually thinks the announcement is about our future together?
Disgusting. That’s all I can say.

Let’s just get this over with.

“Yamazaki-san, I’ll need to excuse myself for a moment. Please wait here.”

“Of course. Take your time.”

Leaving him alone as planned, I exited through a separate door.

Waiting there were Takanashi-san, Hanako-san, and Tachikawa-san.

We exchanged nods, and the three of them entered the venue in my place.

Time to begin preparations…

“I’m so happy you invited me, Hayato.”

When I asked Sasagawa to help even out the numbers for a group date at RAIN, she immediately and creepily jumped at the offer.
We met up, and now we were in a taxi headed to the venue.

“I can’t wait to see what kind of people will be there~”

What kind of people… She said it like she was there to judge them. It made me instinctively uncomfortable.

“…Hey, about that story from Kazunari’s middle school days…”

“Oh? Do you know something about it?”

Fake. She’s the one who brought it up.

…This wasn’t part of the plan, but maybe I’ll poke a little.

“Is it true?”

“Yeah, it is. Kazunari was awful, wasn’t he?”

“Some parts don’t add up though. If he was a stalker since way back, that would’ve made him a kindergartener or a grade schooler. That just doesn’t seem realistic to me.”

“Wha—…”

Sasagawa looked visibly caught off guard, like no one had ever questioned her on it before.

“If Kazunari hit someone, I could understand it if it was for someone else’s sake. But who did you hear all this from, Ms. Sasagawa?”

“Um… from my boyfriend.”

She answered nervously, clearly flustered.
It seemed no one had ever pressed her like this.
Someone should’ve figured this out by now… There’s no doubt Yamazaki was pulling strings behind the scenes.

Just then, the taxi arrived at our destination.

“Alright, we’re here. Let’s head inside.”

I pulled myself together and addressed her. She smiled in relief and stepped out of the car.

“Hey Yamazaki, long time no see.”

I called out to Yamazaki, who had his back to us.
He turned around, visibly surprised, and the moment he saw my face, his expression twisted with confusion and contempt.

“…Why the hell are you here?”

“Why? I was invited by Nishikawa-san.”

“What? Why would someone like you be invited?”

He responded with the same sneering tone I remembered all too well.
Still as aggravating as ever.

“You haven’t changed. You’re standing here, so obviously you know I was invited. And yet you ask ‘Why?’ Like a child throwing a tantrum.”

“Sometimes it’s kinder not to burst someone’s bubble when they don’t realize the truth.”

Hanako and Tachikawa took this opportunity to mock him openly.
Only now did Yamazaki notice the others around me.

“Who are these people? I don’t care how you know them—watch your mouths, all of you.”

“Ah, Yamazaki. I almost forgot—I should thank you.”

I cut him off before he could start yelling. I had no interest in hearing his shrill voice.

“Thank me? What the hell are you talking about?”

He was clearly irritated but also intrigued by the unexpected remark.

“Back in school, you went out of your way to mess with me, didn’t you? Funny how that led me to something… very interesting.”

“…What are you implying?”

There was a slight twitch in his reaction, but he quickly feigned ignorance.
Too bad looking away like that is basically a confession.

“No need to be modest. Thanks for the juicy story about that criminal, Sasagawa, and the poor victim you introduced to him.”

“What!?”

This time, his expression genuinely changed to shock.
It was the perfect example of someone being caught completely off guard.

Snap.

Hanako took a picture of his stunned face with her phone.
Yamazaki noticed and glared at her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“Your face was priceless. It screamed, ‘How do you know that?!’ So I thought I’d preserve the memory.”

“Show me that later, Hanako.”

Yamazaki was visibly fuming.
Not only were we provoking him, but we also kept overlapping our dialogue to stop him from speaking clearly.

“Tch, this is slander without evidence. I’ll sue you all. I’m not some nobody like you.”

“Then how do we even know about it?”

“If you think someone would come this far without anything solid, your brain’s as hollow as your expression.”

Finally, Hanako’s comment seemed to make something click in Yamazaki.
He visibly faltered.

“Fine… I admit I know about it. But all I did was introduce them. I didn’t foresee what would happen, and I wasn’t involved beyond that. That’s not my responsibility. Tough luck.”

He suddenly regained his composure, speaking confidently, almost smugly.
Technically, he wasn’t wrong. All he did was introduce them.

But for us, just the fact that he was involved was enough.

“You’re right. From what we’ve gathered, you were merely the link between them.”

As I admitted that, Yamazaki grinned and became even more talkative.

“Exactly. That’s the truth. I don’t know where you got your information, but you should stop with the baseless accusations. You may have been invited by Nishikawa-san, but I suggest you stay in your place.”

That arrogant tone… he hadn’t changed a bit since those days.

Wait—does that mean he hasn’t grown up at all?

“Well, well, seems like you’re having quite the lively conversation.”

“Nishikawa-san!”

Just then, Nishikawa Eri appeared at the perfect moment—on cue, as planned.
Standing beside her was Sara-san, now in an elegant party dress.

It was my first time seeing her like this… If not for the situation, I’d have loved to properly compliment her.

“Pardon me, but who is the lovely lady beside Nishikawa-san? May I ask for an introduction?”

“Oh my, Kazunari-kun… You’re staring so much, it’s a little embarrassing.”

Sara completely ignored Yamazaki and addressed me directly.
She must’ve noticed I’d been captivated—her bashful smile confirmed it.

Seeing Yamazaki force a strained smile, Nishikawa cleared her throat and regained composure, as if to formally proceed with the introductions.

“Let me introduce you. This is Satsukawa Sara-san, a dear friend of mine.”

“Satsukawa? As in… that Satsukawa?”

Huh?
Yamazaki reacted strangely.
He didn’t seem to know her directly, but something clearly crossed his mind.

“…Satsukawa Sara. Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Yamazaki Kazuma. Wow, to think I’d have the chance to get acquainted with such a beautiful woman. I hope we can—”

The expression on Sara’s face as Yamazaki spoke to her… it was unlike anything I’d ever seen from her before. It didn’t fit any of her usual expressions.

She looked at him as if he were garbage. As if she were staring at something filthy—openly, without even trying to hide her disgust.

Even Yamazaki seemed to catch on at last. He abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

“Um… did I say something…?”

“No. I’ve had many men approach me over the years, often reluctantly. But this is the first time I’ve ever felt this repulsed by a simple greeting. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this uncomfortable—honestly, I surprised even myself.”

Sara added a comment that wasn’t part of the original plan.

It’s still too early to sour the mood… but I guess she just couldn’t hold back.

“…Huh? What are you—?”

“Ohhh? What’s Kazuma doing here~?”

A carefree voice rang out—Yuzuha approached with her usual laid-back tone.

Nice timing, Hayato.

“!? What the hell are you doing here?!”

He was clearly shocked. Honestly, seeing that reaction was satisfying.

Hanako was grinning as she snapped pictures on her phone.
Tachikawa’s expression was tense.

And Sara… oh no. This isn’t good.

When Nishikawa met my eyes, she must have picked up on my concern. She gave me a small nod.

“Oh my, Yamazaki-san, are you acquainted with that young lady over there?”

“N-No, she’s just—”

“I’m Kazuma’s girlfriend~”

There it is—Yuzuha’s overly cheerful bombshell.

And that one line… neither of them could have predicted it would mark the beginning of Yamazaki’s downfall.

Nishikawa smiled, just for a moment.

“…Oh my. So you do have a girlfriend, Yamazaki-san? I see… My apologies, I was under the mistaken impression that you were trying to pursue me.”

Putting on an air of feigned sorrow, Nishikawa began spinning her carefully crafted tale.

Now then… let’s see how closely this plays out to what we predicted.