Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 239: Special.

Special.

Monday Morning

We left the house a little earlier than usual and headed toward the same old convenience store. There was a different kind of rendezvous today—one that wasn’t part of our regular routine.

Last night, Hanako had contacted us, saying she wanted to join us from today onward. I figured she might already be there if she arrived early. With that in mind, we walked along, and soon, two familiar figures came into view in front of the store.

One, of course, was Natsumi-senpai.

And standing beside her—ears gently swaying, clearly the kind of character who would be popular among a certain crowd—was “Onee-chan.”

Yes, it was Hanako.

Noticing our arrival, she waved and began walking toward us at a calm, unhurried pace.

“Good morning.”

“Morning, you two!”

Natsumi-senpai seemed to be in an especially good mood—more cheerful than usual. It was probably because she had just started dating Yuuji. Maybe it was finally starting to feel real for her.

“Good morning~”

“Good morning. Natsumi, you seem to be in quite the good mood this morning.”

“I-I don’t think so… I’m just the same as always.”

Prompted by Sara-san’s observation, Natsumi-senpai hastily replied. But there was no mistaking it—her energy wasn’t her usual. Was she really unaware of how obvious she was being?

“I don’t know what you’re trying to hide… but you’re clearly not trying very hard.”

Hanako, who had no idea about the situation, seemed to share my thoughts. She gave Natsumi-senpai a slightly dry look.

“Ahaha… Well, yeah, a little. I was going to tell everyone anyway. I’ll explain during lunch.”

Judging by her current demeanor, even if she tried to keep it quiet, people would start asking questions soon enough. Natsumi-senpai wasn’t good at handling teasing, so whether she reported it early or later probably didn’t make much difference. Besides, even if she spoke privately at lunch, word would spread to the whole RAIN group eventually.

“…I see. I think I can guess what happened. Did Tachibana-kun confess to you?”

“Wha—!?”

Hanako’s intuition was sharp, as always. Then again, with Natsumi acting so differently and talking about needing to “report” something, it wasn’t hard to guess. Sara and I had just done our own “announcement” recently, so perhaps she made the connection.

“I see. I expected it to take a bit longer, so I’m a little surprised. Still, congratulations.”

“Ahaha… Thanks. So you figured it out, huh?”

“Of course I did. Well, I’ll wait until lunch to hear the full story.”

Seeing Hanako smile so naturally, Natsumi-senpai suddenly seemed curious. She kept observing Hanako for a moment, then let out a knowing grin.

“Hmm… Something happened with you too, didn’t it?”

Hanako had always been reserved and brusque—smiling in casual conversation was rare for her. Anyone who knew her even a little would easily notice the change.

“There’s nothing I’m trying to hide. I’m just happy that Kazunari became my little brother.”

Glancing briefly in my direction, Hanako smiled with genuine warmth. As her friend, I was honestly happy to see her open up like this. Still, her habit of speaking in half-thoughts hadn’t changed, and it left plenty of room for misunderstanding—like now.

“Huh? Wh-What do you mean… little brother?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I’ll talk about it during lunch, too. I became Kazunari’s older sister, and I don’t want anyone misunderstanding and causing trouble for his wife.”

I was thankful Hanako was willing to explain things herself. If she was going to act as an older sister going forward, she needed to be clear about it—otherwise, it might lead to unnecessary confusion and end up troubling Sara. It seemed she’d thought that far ahead.

“I see. It sounds complicated, so I’ll wait for your explanation. But, you know, if you start calling Takanashi-kun by name without honorifics, won’t Sara get upset? Right, Sara?”

“…Yes. I won’t say I have no thoughts on the matter. But I’ve already been granted a special way of referring to him.”

She was talking, of course, about calling me my dear. If it made Sara happy, I had no complaints. Even though I hadn’t gotten used to being called that in public—it was honestly pretty embarrassing. And if I gave the wrong response, there was always a “punishment” waiting. Though really, it felt more like a reward…

“Heh… So that’s what yesterday was about.”

Natsumi-senpai seemed to recall what happened at the café the day before. With Sara calling me my dear in front of the others, it made sense she’d catch on. At the time, she didn’t press further, probably because she had her own situation going on.

“Fufu…”

“Tch… That confidence is irritating.”

Sara was clearly basking in the moment, and Hanako seemed to be bothered by it. It almost felt like a rivalry was brewing between them.

“Well… Takanashi-kun, you’re a lucky guy, huh?”

“Y-Yeah…”

And then I found myself the target of Natsumi-senpai’s narrow-eyed stare. I deflected with a forced smile, hoping Hanako’s lunch explanation would settle things. If her words proved confusing, I’d step in and help.

“Morning.”

“Good morning, Takanashi-kun.”

“Yo.”

We exchanged our usual greetings as we entered the classroom and headed to our seats—only this time, I noticed my classmates’ gazes slowly shifting behind me.

Standing there, of course, was Hanako.

Come to think of it, she had always arrived before me, on her own. So seeing us walk in together must have raised some questions—and curiosity.

No sooner had we sat down than the usual group of girls gathered around us.

“Hanazaki-san, you came with Takanashi-kun today!”

“Ufufu, you two are as close as ever.”

“Too close, even—there’s no room for anyone else to wedge in.”

Not that I would deny being close to her, but the way they said it made it sound unnecessarily suggestive…

I thought Yamakawa and the others had already cleared up any misunderstandings, but I guess not.

“Of course we’re close—we’re siblings.”

“““Huh??”””

It looked like Hanako was planning to act like a big sister even in the classroom.

I didn’t care how my classmates viewed me—Sara was all that mattered—but I really needed to ask Hanako to stop with the “onee-chan” thing in front of everyone.

“Wait… Onee-chan? What does that mean, exactly?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I’m his big sister.”

“Um…”

Once again, her explanation was lacking. I was about to step in to clarify, but one of the girls seemed to catch on and leaned in to whisper to the others.

“…Ah, I get it now. So it’s like, a role-play… and they’re all lovey-dovey…”

“Ahh!! That’s what it is!”

“Gotcha, gotcha. That’s the vibe, huh?”

It seemed they reached their own conclusion without my input. Girls really are quick to adapt to this kind of thing…

“So, Hanazaki-san is his big sister—like, in a role?”

“Hmm… Not a role. I am his big sister.”

Hanako frowned in clear disapproval of the phrasing. But still, they’d understood her explanation, even if they called it a “role.”

“Ahaha, sorry.”

“Yeah, I get it now.”

“Takanashi-kun’s lucky to have such a great big sister, huh?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah, I guess…”

Flustered by the sudden attention, I gave a vague response, but Hanako looked delighted. If she could keep showing that expression more often, maybe the day she truly moved on wouldn’t be too far off.

“…That appearance, and now she’s calling herself his big sister? This is too much.”

“…Tch. I swear I’m not into older-sister types…”

“…I kinda wanna cry in her lap.”

“Dude, how old are you!?”

And then there were those guys—staring at Hanako with a very different kind of intensity than usual…

Lunchtime

We chatted over lunch, and as expected, the topic shifted to Natsumi-senpai and Hanako.

Once it felt like the right time, Natsumi-senpai officially announced her relationship with Yuuji.

“Hehe, I’d been wondering about you two for a while now. I’m glad things worked out!”

“Th-Thanks… Was it really that obvious?”

It seemed Natsumi-senpai hadn’t realized how transparent she’d been.

Sara and I had noticed long ago, but even without that, her behavior had made things clear—especially her overly friendly attitude toward Yuuji.

“I mean, Tachibana-kun was subtle, but you? You were obvious, Senpai!”

“Ugh…”

“It was pretty easy to see you liked him.”

“Guh…”

“You were the only one who thought it wasn’t noticeable.”

“Gwah…”

“By the way, Kazunari and I figured it out long ago. I’m sure even Eri and Tachikawa picked up on it.”

“E-Everyone knew!? I-I’m so…”

Completely defeated by the onslaught of comments, Natsumi-senpai hung her head in shame.

“Well then, before we run out of time, I’d like to make my announcement.”

Hanako stepped up next, coolly brushing aside Natsumi’s crushed form. Since the class had already been briefed, it shouldn’t be a problem for the others.

“I became Kazunari’s big sister. The end.”

“Hey!!”

“Kidding.”

Was that a genuine joke, or just Hanako being Hanako? Either way, I couldn’t help but shout. Hanako giggled quietly, clearly amused.

Though the others seemed more curious about her than my reaction.

“Sorry. I’ll explain properly.”

Now composed, Hanako began her story. She explained everything that had happened on Saturday—about having a real younger brother, imagining the ideal one, seeing that image in me, and ultimately becoming my honorary big sister.

Hanako wasn’t the best at articulating her thoughts, but her effort was clear—and everyone listened in silence.

“I see… That makes sense now. Honestly, I thought Hanako-san had feelings for Kazunari but just didn’t realize it.”

“Same. I kind of assumed you liked him, too.”

I’d always thought Hanako treated me as a close friend. It seemed others viewed things differently…

“I’m his big sister. If you have love talk, take it to his wife.”

“I understand.”

“Yeah. It’s obvious Hanako-san is happy.”

“I get it. As long as they’re both on the same page, we’ve got no reason to object.”

It looked like everyone had accepted it.

Those who weren’t present would probably be fine with it, too—so long as the one rule of not troubling Sara was followed.

“I’ve had a proper talk with Kazunari, so I’m fine.”

“I also let her know there won’t be anything inappropriate.”

“I’m just happy to be acknowledged. Now if Kazunari would just call me Onee-chan, I’d be completely satisfied.”

It might sound simple—but that’s actually a tall order. Why? Because it’s unbelievably embarrassing.

Still, I did promise. So maybe… on her birthday or something.

“…But, is Satsukawa-senpai really okay with all this?”

To be honest, I had the same concern as Toudou. Sara said she was fine, but whether she was really okay deep down… I wasn’t sure. But if I could give her a greater sense of being “special,” I knew it would make her happy.

“S-Sara… If this ever bothers you, please tell me.”

“!?”

She clearly hadn’t expected me to say that. But then she smiled—so happily, so gently.

Just saying those few words had taken all the courage I could muster.

“Yes… Understood, my dear~”

“…What was that?”

“…They’re like a married couple…”

“That’s not fair… If that’s okay, then I want him to call me Onee-chan, too.”

“Fufu… I’m the special one, after all.”

It was worth it. I’d made Sara smile.

She was, and always would be, my one and only special person. And from now on, I’d make sure she felt it—not just in words, but in actions.