Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 220: The Words “I Love You”.

The Words “I Love You”.

……

I wonder what time it is right now…?

The alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but judging by how I feel, it must be morning soon. Even so, I just can’t bring myself to move.

Yesterday was mentally exhausting, so as soon as I got under the covers, Sara-san carried out her promised “hug time,” and I fell asleep almost instantly. (Not that I lost all rationality—just my consciousness.)

…It feels like such a waste. Then again, this will be happening every night from now on… Will I be okay…?

At this point, my mind was already fairly awake. The exquisite softness and warmth pressing against my face, paired with the familiar gentle stroking of my head from behind, made it so tempting to drift back into sleep…

Beep beep beep… beep beep beep…

That mercilessly cold, mechanical alarm tone sounded faintly, and the hand stroking my head withdrew. Soon, the alarm stopped, and I could feel Sara-san beginning to shift as she prepared to get up.

Just five more minutes…

I didn’t say it out loud, but to convey my plea, I burrowed into the softness in front of me. The hand returned, gently stroking my head once again.

…Ahh… pure bliss…

“Hehe… Kazunari-san, you’re always such a spoiled boy when you wake up… We still have some time, so please rest a little longer, okay…?”

She whispered softly, sweetly, right by my ear, and combined with the comfort, my consciousness once again began to drift away.

“…If you want me to hold you at school too, just say so, alright?”

It made me happy, but… if that ever happened, I’d probably become a completely useless human being. I know I’ve already relied on her way too much, but I shouldn’t let myself get used to it… Yeah…

***

Kiss…

When I opened my eyes, I was startled to find Sara-san’s face so close to mine.

I immediately realized she’d kissed my cheek, but seeing her gently brush back her beautiful hair with her hand sent my heart racing.

“Good morning… my love.”

“My love.”

Hearing her call me that filled me with a deep, overwhelming realization that everything that happened yesterday wasn’t just a dream.

Even if it’s only temporary, we’re engaged now…

“Is something the matter?” she asked, tilting her head in curiosity as I sat there dazed.

“No, it’s just… yesterday really wasn’t a dream, was it…?”

“…No, it wasn’t. You asked me to be in a relationship with you, with marriage as the premise. And I… I promised that someday, I would become your wife. My parents have also given their blessing.”

Sara-san smiled radiantly, like a flower in full bloom, and it drove home the reality of everything that had happened.

Engaged… marriage… wife…

I still don’t fully understand what all of that truly means, but what matters now is that this happy life with Sara-san will continue. That’s all I need to think about.

“As long as I can be with you forever, Sara-san, I’ll be happy no matter what form it takes.”

“Yes… I feel the same way. But still… I… I want to become your wife… officially…”

As she said that, her cheeks turned crimson, and she lowered her gaze. Her final words were so quiet I almost didn’t catch them, but I understood what she meant.

And when I imagined it…

We both turned bright red. Honestly… what are we doing, getting this flustered first thing in the morning…

***

“Good mooooorning!!!”

Natsumi-senpai, whom we met at the convenience store, was more energetic than I had ever seen her. Even Sara-san looked slightly taken aback by her high spirits.

“G-Good morning, Natsumi. You seem to be in a really good mood today.”

“Good morning, Natsumi-senpai.”

We returned her greeting, but she just stood there grinning broadly at us, her gaze flicking back and forth between me and Sara-san.

“You two look so happy together~! Fufufu, to think you’re engaged already. High schoolers getting engaged—what kind of romcom manga is this? You guys are moving way too fast!”

“Um… well…”

Sara-san, unaccustomed to such teasing, looked a bit flustered and didn’t know how to respond.

“I really want to hear all the details, but it wouldn’t be fair if I were the only one, so I’ll wait until everyone’s together.”

Surprisingly, she backed down easily, but that only meant she’d grill us later at the group meeting. What on earth would I even say…?

“But just one thing… Sara, I’m happy for you. Are you happy?”

“…Yes. I’m truly happy. Thank you, Natsumi.”

“Good. That’s all that matters. Now, let’s get to school.”

It was Natsumi-senpai and Nishikawa-san who helped Sara-san regain her confidence. Thanks to them, everything went smoothly yesterday. I should properly thank Natsumi-senpai again sometime.

***

Slide…

“Morning!”

“Good morning, Takanashi-kun!”

“Yo, Takanashi.”

“Mornin’.”

I’d gotten used to this daily routine. Now, entering the classroom and greeting everyone loudly didn’t faze me at all. Plus, it felt nice to have both the boys and girls respond warmly.

As I walked to my seat, I noticed a small crowd gathered. Most likely, Hanako-san was surrounded again.

“Ah, good morning, Takanashi-kun!”

“Hanasaki-san, Takanashi-kun’s here~”

“Hope we’re not interrupting anything…”

“Morning…”

“Morning, Hanako-san. Thanks for everything yesterday.”

Her greeting was curt as always, with a tone that might seem unfriendly to strangers. As I sat down, I added my thanks to my greeting, and surprisingly, she gave me a small smile.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“No, it really was. You helped me a lot.”

“…I see. That’s good. You did well.”

!?

Hanako-san smiled… again.

She had smiled like this the other day too, and each time, I thought how truly beautiful her smile was. She hardly ever showed it before, not even to us, but lately… I think she’s starting to change, in a really good way.

Everyone around us was captivated by her adorable smile. Some blushed and fell silent, while even the boys who usually glared at me looked dazed, completely entranced.

Meanwhile, Hanako-san, unaware of their reactions, stood up from her seat, approached me, and…

Pat pat…

She gently patted my head. Sara-san often did the same, but… am I really that childish? Still… it made me happy.

“…Hanasaki-san, your smile is too cute…”

“…Any guy would be done for if she smiled at him like that.”

“…She’s so different from her usual self… it’s adorable.”

“…Those two are definitely dating…”

“Hanako-san…?”

Pat pat…

“I’m looking forward to your report later.”

She smiled as she said that, looking so much like a caring older sister.

Ding-dong-ding-dong…

The bell rang, signaling the end of fourth period and the start of lunch break. Today, since Hayato and Toudou-san hadn’t come to visit during the earlier breaks, the usual chaos didn’t occur. However, Hanako-san still had a constant crowd around her between classes.

Slide…

““Excuse us~!””

Speak of the devil—just as I thought of them, they appeared.

“Takanashi-kun, Hanako-san, it’s lunch time!”

“We came to get you both.”

Toudou-san was always cheerful, but today she seemed even more radiant. She must be in an exceptionally good mood.

Seeing her give Hanako-san a light greeting hug showed just how close they had become. Although, Toudou-san was like an angel—she could probably get along with anyone.

“…Whoa, it’s the angel and little angel combo again.”

“…My friend told me Toudou-san’s secretly the most popular girl in her class.”

“…Makes sense. She really is an angel.”

“…Uhmh, I’m so curious about her relationship with Yokokawa!”

…So Toudou-san was popular too. Hayato really couldn’t let his guard down.

“Alright, shall we go?”

“Yeah. Hanako-san, Toudou-san, let’s go?”

“Mm.”

“Okay.”

To everyone else, we probably seemed like an unusual group of four. As always, curious gazes followed us wherever we went.

***

When we arrived at the flower bed, it seemed preparations were already complete. Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai were seated on a bench, waiting for us.

Natsumi: “Good work, everyone~”

Toudou: “Sorry to keep you waiting~”

Hayato: “Thank you for your hard work.”

Hanako: “Hello.”

As everyone greeted each other, Sara-san quietly stood up and walked toward me with a warm smile.

Sara: “Thank you for your hard work, Kazunari-san.”

Me: “I’m sorry for being late.”

Sara: “It’s alright. Now, shall we have lunch?”

She gently took my hand and led me over to the picnic sheet. The spot where I always sit was already lined with lunch boxes, perfectly prepared.

Natsumi: “Honestly, Sara was so eager today she even fussed over the angle at which to place the lunch boxes, you know?”

Sara: “N-Natsumi, please don’t say things like that…”

Flustered, Sara-san tried to stop Natsumi-senpai, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

Toudou: “Come on, come on, let’s eat lunch!! I can’t wait to hear all about you two!!”

Apparently, that was the reason behind Toudou-san’s unusually cheerful mood. Smiling wryly at her excitement, everyone opened their lunch boxes and lunch time began.

…

Toudou: “So… um, you two are engaged now, right!?”

Once everyone had settled into their meals, Toudou-san, unable to contain herself any longer, jumped straight to the topic, her excitement clear on her face.

Sara: “…Yes. Although we haven’t yet received official permission from Kazunari-san’s parents…”

Me: “Ah, but from what I’ve talked about with them, it seems like it’ll be fine.”

Mom already seemed on board, and from my conversation with Dad, he was practically ready to say yes. So I was pretty confident there wouldn’t be any problems.

Sara: “Fufu… I look forward to meeting Father and Mother soon. Especially Father—I’ve never had a chance to speak with him before…”

Me: “Dad’s looking forward to meeting you too. Honestly, I’ve been holding back on telling him anything detailed, so I’m kinda excited to see him completely floored by how beautiful you are when he finally meets you.”

Sara: “I appreciate the compliment, but teasing your father like that is… no good, okay?”

Though she scolded me with words, she lightly poked my forehead with her finger while smiling. Even when she’s scolding me, Sara-san is just too cute…

Hanako: “…That was an awfully cute scolding.”
Hayato: “…No, that’s basically just flirting at this point…”

Toudou: “Father, Mother… wow, Sara-senpai, you’re really going to marry Takanashi-kun, huh? It’s just amazing… I can’t believe people I know are already talking about marriage.”

Sara: “Indeed… sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming myself.”

Natsumi: “Honestly, I still can’t believe it either, seeing as I knew how you used to be…”

That makes sense for Natsumi-senpai and Nishikawa-san.
Sara-san had always been kind to me, but she was quite harsh toward others. For those who saw that side of her, this must be even more surprising.

Natsumi: “You used to say things like ‘You’re an eyesore,’ or ‘Go back to elementary school,’ and here you are, the first to get a boyfriend and already engaged… it’s unreal.”

Sara: “Natsumi, could you please stop lumping Kazunari-san in with everyone else?”

Sara-san didn’t even try to hide her displeasure as she reproached Natsumi-senpai. It might be inappropriate, but seeing her genuinely upset on my behalf… made me happy.

Natsumi: “Sorry, sorry. I’m just that shocked. I mean, thinking about how you used to be, don’t you find it strange, Sara?”

Sara: “…That’s true. Thinking back to how I was before meeting Kazunari-san, I never would have imagined that a day would come when I’d be thinking about marriage like this.”

Hanako: “I kind of get how you feel. That’s why it’s nice that you met Takanashi-kun.”

Perhaps it’s because Hanako-san shares some similarities with Sara-san that she can relate so well. Come to think of it, those two have become much closer lately.

Toudou: “I don’t really know how Sara-senpai used to be, but basically, it means you really, really love Takanashi-kun, right!?”

Sara: “Fufu… yes. Who I used to be doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters now is that I love Kazunari-san with all my heart.”

As expected, Toudou-san, known for her pure and straightforward nature, cut straight through the heavy atmosphere with her innocent words. Sara-san, too, seemed to relax, returning to her usual gentle tone.

Hayato: “…She just said ‘I love you’ so naturally…”
Natsumi: “…Yeah. To Sara, he’s already beyond just a boyfriend…”

Toudou: “Saying ‘I love you’ is amazing. I get what ‘like’ means, but ‘love’ feels so special.”

Sara: “It’s difficult to put into words, but… what I feel for Kazunari-san can’t be expressed by simply saying ‘I like him.’ That’s why… this feels more true.”

I think I understand what she means. “Like” doesn’t quite capture the depth of these feelings. It’s not a light word, but it isn’t enough to express something deeper… it’s an expression that goes beyond.

Toudou: “Saying ‘I love you’ is something married couples say, isn’t it?”

Sara: “Yes… and I’ve promised to become Kazunari-san’s wife someday, so…”

Toudou: “Kyaaaaaaa!!”

Toudou-san let out the loudest squeal of the day. Thank goodness we’re in a secluded spot…

Natsumi: “…W-wife… I never thought I’d hear Sara say that…”
Hanako: “…Yeah, at our age, it’s not exactly normal…”
Hayato: “…True…”

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, I couldn’t even join in their conversation anymore…