Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 150: Gratitude.

Gratitude.

The lights came on in the room, which still buzzed with unrest following the so-called “screening”—a public unveiling of damning evidence.

Nishikawa-san resumed speaking into the microphone.

“Did everyone enjoy the presentation? I’m sure a good number of you were involved yourselves. I don’t know how much you realized at the time, but this is, without a doubt, the facilitation of prostitution. And as you saw, high school students were involved. This is a serious matter.”

The murmurs in the room escalated.

Some denied their involvement, others began pointing fingers at those shown in the footage, a few tried to excuse themselves by claiming they were misled, and several attempted to sneak toward the exits—but of course, the doors wouldn’t open.

Disgusting. Every single one of them.

“Let me ask a question. You there.”

Nishikawa-san pointed to a man in the crowd.

A staff member approached him with a microphone.

The man in question, as it turned out, had ties to someone within Nishikawa’s company. After being told the company would collapse because of the incident, he had apparently been quick to accept a deal.

A plant.

“Did you participate?”

“Uh… well, I…”

He looked surprisingly ordinary.

Not like someone putting on an act—he’d do just fine.

“Let me rephrase. Were you forced to participate in or help arrange any of this?”

“…”

“If this goes public, what will happen to your companies… or to you? I’m not someone who keeps up with the news, but I’m sure you know the answer. That said, I’ve been told that most participants were, in fact, coerced—victims, in a sense. Isn’t that right? You were forced, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was! I was forced into it!!”

It was a transparent lifeline, and he clung to it like it was his only choice—exactly as planned.

And just like that, the herd mentality kicked in.

“I was forced too!”
“Me too! Same here!”
“They threatened me if I didn’t go along with it!”

Voices erupted from every direction.

Like fools stampeding toward the escape route Nishikawa had conveniently laid out for them.

Imagining the consequences their companies might face was easy. And with no loyalty to Yamazaki, self-preservation naturally came first.

Not that any of them will escape in the end.

Apparently, a list of attendees from the party had already been compiled.

Which means… they’ll find out. Eventually.

“Cut the crap!! I never forced anyone to do anything!! Don’t go blaming this all on me!! You people were more than happy to go along with it!!”

Yamazaki, his face twisted in desperation, shouted out.

Because if things kept going like this, the blame would land squarely on him.

But did he realize that by reacting this way, he had just confirmed the footage was genuine?

“All of you—”
“Let’s test that, shall we? Raise your hand if you were forced.”

Nishikawa cut him off without hesitation.

Every hand in the room shot up. A glorious sight.

Though Yamazaki likely saw it differently.

“Come on, Yamazaki. You gave the orders, didn’t you? Don’t try to weasel out of it now—these people have suffered enough.”

“Shut up, Takanashi!!”

Yamazaki, already at his limit, snapped easily at my provocation.

And then, to further inflame the crowd, another convenient exit was offered.

“I didn’t know there were high school girls there. Yamazaki-san was the one who forced us to take someone home. Isn’t that right, everyone? We didn’t know, right?”

The plant shouted right on cue, and of course, the others followed.

Each one affirming they’d been coerced or kept in the dark.

Because it made them feel better to believe that none of this was their fault.

“Don’t give me that crap—you’re lying!”

“So Yamazaki, how does it feel to be all alone?”

This outcome—Yamazaki being left to take the fall—was always part of the plan.

Which is why I had a line ready. One I had to say when the moment came.

But it wasn’t just Yamazaki who reacted.

Yuzuha, who had been staring blankly at the unfolding chaos, flinched at my words.

“How does it feel to be in my shoes? Remember what I went through? No one believed me. No one helped me. I was laughed at. Humiliated. Can you picture it now? Because that’s exactly where you are, ‘Mr. Big Shot.’ Isn’t it great?”

“Guh…”

Yamazaki clenched his fists, lips tightly shut.

He remembered—and that’s why he couldn’t refute a word of it.

Bang!!

The doors burst open with a loud slam. Someone rushed inside and headed straight for Yamazaki, whispering frantically into his ear.

Taking this as the signal, Nishikawa gave a nod to the staff.

They began distributing DVDs to the participants.

The packaging was startling—names, addresses, phone numbers, photographs, even family information printed on the covers.

“Thank you for your time today. The DVDs contain the footage you just saw. A full list of participants has already been prepared… so we wish you the best of luck.”

A clear warning that no one would be getting away.

As people scanned their DVDs in shock, verifying their personal details, they began shouting. But the staff ushered them out swiftly, one after another.

Yamazaki remained behind, still processing what he’d heard, his face frozen in disbelief.

“…Huh? No way… You’re kidding, right?”

“We received confirmation… It’s real…”

He stared blankly at a single spot, unable to accept the reality.

Looks like even the higher-ups had reached the end of the line.

And then, after what felt like an eternity…

Yamazaki began trembling and finally glared at Nishikawa.

“…So this was all planned?”

“Did you enjoy the little show?”

Only now did Yamazaki realize the conclusion had been predetermined—he was merely being toyed with.

“Hah… so that’s it, huh!? In the end, the company goes down because of me!! I was just doing what my old man taught me! Why the hell am I the only one getting blamed!?”

He raged, as if insisting he wasn’t the only one responsible. But what about his classmates? Would he excuse that, too?

“Yamazaki—you dragged your own classmates into this, didn’t you? Took them to that party? You still want to claim it wasn’t your fault?”

“…What?”

He must’ve assumed the part of the footage mentioning his classmates had been edited out and kept secret.

Caught off guard, he stared at me in shock.

Then Yuzuha, who had been watching like her soul had left her body, widened her eyes in horror.

“We know everything. You brought one of Sasagawa Yuzuha’s friends to that prostitution party, didn’t you?”

“…”

Yamazaki stayed silent. Whether he was trying to come up with an excuse or simply couldn’t answer—unclear.

“What a pathetic excuse for a man. Even now, with all the evidence laid out before you, you still don’t get it, do you?”

“Guh…”

“K-Kazuma… what is she talking about? You said it was just a mixer—just helping make up the numbers…”

Yuzuha’s face had gone pale. Something clicked for her. She looked to Yamazaki for an answer.

“Oh dear. So that’s what he told you? Your friends were used—targeted as prey for the men at that party.”

Sara-san didn’t sugarcoat a thing. She delivered the truth, raw and brutal.

Yuzuha staggered toward Yamazaki, clutching his arm.

“Kazuma! Tell me that’s not true!! Tell me you didn’t do something that horrible!! They’re my friends!!”

“…”

“No response? Well, I suppose silence is all you have left now, since you can’t lie and we already have the proof.”

Sara-san delivered the final blow.

…In truth, I had planned to say it myself, even knowing how much it would break Yuzuha.

But maybe Sara-san stepped in because she understood that too.

“Why… Why would you do something so awful…? What am I supposed to tell everyone…?”

Yuzuha began to cry, tears falling freely, as she realized silence was an answer.

But even that sight only seemed to irritate Yamazaki.

He violently shook her hand off his arm.

“…You’re so annoying.”

He muttered under his breath, then began ranting—like a man who’d finally snapped.

“I only put up with you because you had so many people around you I thought I could use. Who the hell would actually want to be with an idiot like you?”

“!?”

It seemed he had completely lost control, and now, without restraint, he began spewing all his true feelings.

Listening in silence, Yuzuha had nothing left to say. Her eyes welled with tears as she stared at Yamazaki.

“You really were amusingly useful. Even back in middle school—because you took the lead in driving Takashi into a corner—I was able to move freely behind the scenes. Poor Takashi. He cared about you so much, got angry on your behalf, and even punched me… only to be mocked by you and branded a criminal. What a joke.”

After venting his contempt at Yuzuha, Yamazaki slowly turned to face me.

It looked like I was next in line.

“It must’ve been rough, huh, Takashi? You’ve been alone ever since. You still think about it, don’t you? Those days? Come on… I know you do.”

He spoke with a twisted grin, clearly trying to provoke me.

Sure, when I recall those days, I do remember how painful they were…

But thanks to Sara-san, I’ve come to think differently now.

All of that was simply the path I had to take to meet her. That’s how I see it.

In other words… those days? They don’t mean anything anymore.

I didn’t respond to the provocation. My expression unchanged, I looked at Sara-san instead.

She seemed to understand what I was thinking, and despite the heavy atmosphere, she gave me a gentle, warm smile.

Then she turned to Yamazaki, still holding my hand.

“Oh, that’s right. There’s one thing I forgot to thank you both for.”

Her sharp tone from earlier had vanished. In its place, Sara-san’s voice rang out with composure and elegance.

She slipped her arm through mine and turned to the two in front of us with a bright smile.

“Thanks to your astonishingly foolish actions, I had the pleasure of meeting Kazunari-san—my soulmate. I truly appreciate it. Yamazaki-san, watching you flail around like that was like watching a comedy sketch. Was it perhaps a congratulatory performance in honor of our relationship? If so, I think we’re quite done here… socially, that is.”

Though her words were accompanied by a smile, her voice was cold and unwavering. Her line wasn’t planned at all—so much so that even I was caught off guard.

“Kazunari-san, wouldn’t now be the perfect time for you to say your thanks as well?”

Turning toward me, Sara-san prompted me as if mocking them both.

She’s right. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to say a word of thanks.

“I agree. Yamazaki, Yuzuha… I owe you two my thanks. If it weren’t for everything you did, I might never have met Sara-san. It was your childish pranks that led me to change schools—and that led me to her. And now we’re together. Honestly, sometimes I still can’t believe it myself.”

As I spoke with a smile, both Yamazaki and Yuzuha stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.

“She’s cute, kind, an amazing cook, good at both academics and sports, and she makes me delicious meals every day. I tend to rely on her a little too much, but she just holds me close and accepts me…”

Once I started praising her, I couldn’t stop.

Looking into Sara-san’s face as I spoke, I could see her cheeks gradually turning red.

So adorable…

“P-Please, Kazunari-san, that’s enough… you’re embarrassing me. And if we’re going there, then let me say this too: you’re the same. You can’t ignore someone in need, you’re gentle with children, and most importantly—you always treat me with such care. Even the way you handled the matter with Sasagawa Yuzuha… how could I not fall in love with you all over again after seeing that kindness?”

She was probably talking about the meeting when I spoke up for Yuzuha.

Back then, I expected to be scolded for being too soft.

But instead, Sara-san accepted my words as a reflection of my kindness. That’s why everyone else did too, I think.

“When I said all that, and Sara-san accepted it, embraced me even… that meant the world to me. I truly thought I’d get scolded by everyone. But your kindness, Sara-san… it really made me happy.”

When I expressed my honest feelings, Sara-san reached out and gently placed her hand on my head.

Then she softly pulled me into her chest, as if to wrap me in her embrace. I let myself be held.

“Kazunari-san, what matters most to me is respecting your will—and standing by it. Of course, if you ever stray from the right path, it’s my responsibility to stop you. But otherwise, your will is my will. So please, in any situation, no matter the time… I will always be here to support you.”

Sara-san has always accepted me, affirmed my thoughts, and stood by my side.

She’s prioritized me, supported me—both through the past and in this moment.

To meet someone like her… the odds must’ve been nearly zero.

And yet—we found each other.

“Sara-san… I’m so grateful I met you. Even if it cost me a lifetime’s worth of luck, I think it was still more than worth it.”

“…I believe it was fate. Even if we had gone to different schools, or if your circumstances were entirely different, I still believe we would have met—and become one.”

Sara-san held me just a bit tighter, and something rested atop my head.

It was probably her face. She was cradling me with her whole body—tenderly, lovingly…

“…Y-YOU TWO HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!”

!?

W-What just happened?