Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 149: Dancing Yamazaki.

Dancing Yamazaki.

“You actually noticed!?”

Despite Yuzuha standing right next to him, Yamazaki responded with unconcealed delight to Nishikawa’s performance, as if thrilled by a hopeful sign of mutual interest.

Yuzuha, on the other hand, looked blankly at the interaction.

“Well, I’ve never gotten this close to a man before, so I assumed… But you already have a girlfriend, don’t you?”

Yamazaki, still trying to maintain his composure, turned to Yuzuha after hearing that.

He looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.

“No, that’s a misunderstanding. She’s just a friend.”

“W-What!? A misunderstanding? Kazuma-kun, what are you saying!? We’re—!”

Yuzuha, who had been so carefree up until now, suddenly showed signs of shock and panic at being labeled “just a friend.”

“It seems there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. That woman appears to believe she’s your girlfriend, Yamazaki-san.”

Even Nishikawa used the word “misunderstanding,” and Yuzuha’s face turned red with anger.

“I said that’s wrong! I am Kazuma-kun’s legitimate girlfriend! Who even are you!?”

Her anger now directed toward Nishikawa.

Of course, this part of the situation was entirely as planned.

“Oh my, how rude of me. Pleased to meet you. I’m Nishikawa Eri, daughter of the chairman of the Nishikawa Group. I’m currently involved with Yamazaki-san.”

“N-Nishikawa Group? W-Why would someone like that…?”

There wasn’t a person present who didn’t know the Nishikawa Group.

And if she truly was the daughter of such a family, the difference between her and Yuzuha would be painfully obvious.

“Yuzuha, speaking as a friend, Eri-san is not someone you can speak to like that. Watch your tone.”

Yamazaki was now making it absolutely clear that he saw Yuzuha only as a friend.

At this point, there was no doubt—Yuzuha had been discarded.

“Why… Why would you say something like that? I really—”

“Oh? So you just misunderstood your relationship with him?”

Finally, Tachikawa, who had been silently observing until now, spoke up.

“Y-You’re… that girl…”

Yuzuha seemed to recognize her and glared with the eyes of someone looking at an enemy.

“Women who live in delusions are pathetic.”

“Agreed. Ah, Eri-san, sorry we’re late!”

Toudou arrived, supporting Hanako’s biting remark. That signaled their preparations were complete.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Seems like things got exciting.”

Hayato joined in with a sarcastic grin. It appeared the team was fully assembled.

“Hayato-kun!! What the hell is going on!? I don’t understand anything!!”

With Hayato—the one who had brought her here—now present, Yuzuha rushed toward him in desperation.

“Hm? I don’t know what you’re trying to ask, but if you want answers, I’m not the one you should be asking, am I?”

He brushed her off coldly, clearly disinterested. Yamazaki also seemed disturbed by the sudden gathering of unknown people.

“Eri-san, what is going on here…?”

“These are all my close friends. Is something the matter?”

“N-No… nothing at all.”

With Nishikawa saying that so calmly, Yamazaki had no grounds to protest.

The unexpected arrival of Yuzuha, the prior conversation with us, and now these strangers—he was clearly starting to panic.

“Yamazaki, this isn’t about us. You owe Eri-san an explanation.”

“Ugh… Takanashi…”

Watching Yamazaki flail for a way out, I deliberately pressed the issue.

He was visibly flustered.

“Yamazaki-san, who exactly is that woman? You weren’t attempting to approach me while having a girlfriend, were you?”

Nishikawa now asked the one question he most wanted to avoid—head-on.

There was no way out left for him.

“O-Of course not. Like I said earlier, she’s nothing more than a friend. She just misunderstood. She tends to jump to conclusions.”

“No! I’m not mistaken! I’m Kazuma-kun’s real—!”

“Come to think of it, back in middle school, I heard what Yamazaki thought of Yuzuha. He said it was just a fling. I ended up punching him for it.”

I brought up the story to confirm Yamazaki’s stance—that she was never anything more than a game.

“Wait a second, Kazunari, what are you—”

“Is that true, Kazunari-kun?”

Now Sara joined the conversation.

She had been holding back this entire time. She probably wanted nothing more than to lash out at both Yamazaki and Yuzuha.

“Yeah. Though later, the story got twisted into me being jealous or something.”

I responded, silently apologizing to Sara with my eyes.

“What are you talking about!? I never—”
“Such a noisy woman. Be quiet and listen!”

Sara snapped at Yuzuha.

Feeling the weight of her authority, Yuzuha immediately fell silent.

Wanting to end it quickly for Sara’s sake, I pressed on.

“Yamazaki definitely said she was just a fling. That’s why I hit him.”

“What is that even supposed to mean!? I never—”

Yuzuha began to shout in disbelief, but Nishikawa cut her off.

“I see. Still, affairs like this aren’t uncommon in our world, are they, Yamazaki-san?”

Picking up on my words, Nishikawa subtly emphasized the word “fling,” as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

“Y-Yes. That’s right. It was just a casual relationship.”

Predictably, Yamazaki jumped at the opportunity to spin the story, visibly relieved.

“…No… That’s not true, right? Please tell me it’s not… Kazuma-kun, say you’re joking… This is cruel…”

Finally, having been called a mere fling, Yuzuha could no longer bear it and broke down in tears.

The painful truth was beginning to sink in.

“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: this is all in your head. Have I ever once told you I loved you?”

“……What?”

“I’ve never said I loved you. I never even confessed anything to you.”

Yamazaki spoke plainly, almost casually, which made it all the more cruel—and real.

Even I was taken aback. If he’d planned this far ahead for a clean break, he was genuinely despicable.

Everyone else seemed equally stunned.

Except Sara, whose gaze grew sharper, and Tachikawa, who looked deep in thought.

“No… No, that’s a lie… because…”

“You may have said you liked me, but I thought you meant it as a friend. It was all a misunderstanding on your part.”

It was such a predictable response, it almost felt laughable.

“No… No!! sob… I really… hic…”

With no more arguments to make, Yuzuha finally broke down in tears.

I couldn’t help but pity her—but this was something she brought on herself.

“It seems we’ve reached a conclusion. Since there was no confession, it was clearly a misunderstanding on her part, correct?”

“Yes. So that means I’m currently single. Which is why I—”

Yamazaki was a complete fool.

Did he really think things would go smoothly from here? How naïve.

“How disgusting… What do you take women for?”

Nishikawa’s demeanor shifted dramatically.

This was it.

Yuzuha had been forced to confront Yamazaki’s truth.

Now it was Yamazaki’s turn to face his.

“W-What? But… things like this do happen—”

“You’re mistaken, just like that woman. Just because such things happen doesn’t mean I accept them. As a woman, I find that behavior unforgivable.”

Realizing Nishikawa’s change in tone had turned the tables completely, Yamazaki panicked.

“W-Wait, please! This is a… this is all just a misunderstanding! I meant we hung out as friends! That’s all I meant by ‘fling’!”

“Pfft… hahahaha!”

“What’s so funny, Takanashi!?”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Yamazaki’s ridiculous excuse.

I hadn’t planned to jump in just yet—but oh well, might as well.

“Sorry, sorry. I just didn’t expect to hear an elementary-school-level excuse here of all places. Don’t you realize your argument has become completely incoherent?”

“Takanashi-kun, don’t laugh. He was being serious. He was seriously trying his best… like a grade-schooler… pfft, kuhuhu…“

Seeing me join in, Hanako-san chimed in too, clearly looking to pile on the mockery.

“Tch… You guys…”

“So, Yamazaki-san. When you said I was just someone you were ‘hanging out with,’ you meant it purely in a friendly sense, correct? Now that I think about it, I don’t recall you ever saying you liked me.”

Tachikawa-san seized the moment and stepped in.

Apparently, she’s just like Yuzuha.

Which means this was all quite intentional on her part.

“You really are something. To prepare an escape route for situations like this—how clever. And yet your behavior is childish, and your judgment, nonexistent. If you still think you can talk your way out of this, then even your awareness is immature. You’ve built up this flawless exterior, but it’s all just a brilliantly crafted facade, isn’t it?”

“…Huh? W-What are you saying?”

Perhaps because I had joined in, making it seem safe, even Sara-san decided to enter the conversation.

Since we’ve already dealt with the Yuzuha situation, it should be fine.

Yamazaki looked completely thrown off, unable to respond properly to the sudden barrage of insults from the women around him.

Meanwhile, Yuzuha was being hounded further by Tachikawa-san:
“You were just like me, weren’t you? So, how does it feel to be called ‘just a fling’ in front of everyone?”

…Now’s the time for you to reflect on what you’ve done, Yuzuha.

“Oh my, so even to you, he seemed polished on the outside?”

Nishikawa-san asked Sara-san, clearly entertained. It seemed like a question asked purely out of curiosity after hearing her comment.

“Please, don’t make me laugh. From where I stand, there’s no difference between him and a Hyottoko mask. No—actually, I must apologize to the long-standing tradition of the Hyottoko mask for comparing it to such a cheap knockoff.”

“What did you just say, you—”
“What exactly were you about to say to my best friend?”

“Guh…”

Just as Yamazaki finally seemed to grasp that he was being insulted repeatedly, and tried to shout at Sara-san, Nishikawa-san stepped in and silenced him with a glare.

… I unclenched the fist I had been holding.
If he had moved toward Sara-san, I was ready to knock him flat…

There were bodyguards (apparently privately hired) posing as guests scattered around the venue. But that was a separate matter.

“Now then, since everyone else has waited long enough, shall we move on to today’s main event? Yamazaki-san, I’ve prepared something quite entertaining for you. Begin!”

At Nishikawa-san’s loud command, the doors opened, and people started filing into the room—these were the people Yamazaki had gathered in the lobby while waiting for the event to start.

A projector was wheeled to the center, and a large screen was set up on stage.

“W-What are you planning to do!?”

Yamazaki, who had been staring blankly, suddenly seemed alarmed and turned to question Nishikawa-san.

She ignored him, turned on the microphone handed to her by the staff, and began her speech.

“Welcome, everyone. I’ll save the formal greetings for later. For now, please enjoy this little presentation we’ve prepared as entertainment.”

With that, the lights dimmed.

I turned to Yuzuha, who was still sitting on the floor.

“Yuzuha… Watch closely.”

“…Kazunari?”

She clearly hadn’t expected me to speak to her, and looked confused as she said my name.

“See for yourself what kind of man Yamazaki really is.”

“No… No! I don’t want to… hic…”

As Yuzuha began crying again, I was about to forcibly turn her toward the screen when Sara-san stepped in, pulling her up and standing her on her feet.

“Now you can see properly, right? Even someone as simple-minded as you should be able to understand this. So watch it to the end.”

“Hii…”

Overwhelmed by Sara-san’s presence, Yuzuha fell silent, trembling.

“I’m not sticking around for this farce. I’m leaving—”

Yamazaki must have realized the danger looming over him and decided escaping was more urgent than dealing with Nishikawa-san.

Of course, we weren’t going to let him go.

I grabbed his right arm, and Hayato quickly seized his left.

“Come on, we’ll stay and watch with you.”

“Don’t hold back—enjoy the show.”

As Hayato added his taunt, Yamazaki predictably started to struggle.

“Let go of me! I’ll call the police—”

At that moment, I decided to play my trump card to shut him up.

“Hey, you know that hookup party you organized? That actually qualifies as prostitution mediation. And now we’re going to show footage of that. Still want to call the cops and watch it together?”

“!!!???”

That hit home.

Yamazaki froze in place, staring at me in stunned disbelief.

The video had already started playing on the screen, showing the raucous antics from the party.

The crowd in the room stirred, murmuring in shock and confusion.

Yamazaki must have begun to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Just shut up and watch. I’m sure you’re curious what exactly we have on you.”

Whether he gave up or was frantically trying to think of a way out…

Yamazaki didn’t say a single word until the footage finished playing.