Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 261: Romance and Fandom.

Romance and Fandom.

~ A short while earlier, that same morning ~

Until a few minutes ago I hadn’t given it a second thought, but the closer I got to the classroom, the more vividly Saturday’s memories resurfaced.

I’d known, of course, that once my relationship with Sara came to light it would cause an uproar. I’d even pictured it to some extent.

But now that the uproar had actually happened, the scale of it far surpassed anything I’d imagined.

That day had been parent observation day, so my head had been full of other worries. I hadn’t had the mental space to calmly process the situation.

That’s probably why only now, on the way to school, was the sheer magnitude of the chaos finally sinking in.

…Or rather, after a commotion that big, it wouldn’t be strange at all if rumors had already spread like wildfire.

In any case, at the very least, everyone in class now understands the truth about Sara and me.

If this means even one fewer guy will entertain pointless fantasies about her, then I don’t care if the rest of the class hates me or isolates me. I’m fine with it.

As long as there’s even the slightest chance I’ve crushed the possibility of Sara ever feeling uncomfortable again, that alone makes everything worth it.

Besides, I’m not the person I used to be.

Now I have Sara. I have Hanako-san. I have everyone.

So—

Tug, tug…

My sleeve was gently pulled, dragging my drifting thoughts back to reality.

I turned in surprise and found Hanako-san, walking beside me, holding the fabric between her small fingers.

“…”

“Hanako-san?”

She said nothing, only gazed straight into my eyes.

Sara does this too, but whenever they look at me with that meaningful, piercing stare, nine times out of ten they’ve already read my mind.

For the record, what I’d just been thinking was… that Sara would be fine. I was only trying to look a little cool, that’s all.

And then… right, something cringe-worthy like “I have everyone with me now.” Ugh, just remembering it makes me want to die.

“…”

While I was busy panicking internally, Hanako-san never broke eye contact. Feeling as though even the parts I wanted to hide were being seen through, I tried to look away in a hurry, only for her to tug my sleeve again, refusing to let me escape. In the end we ended up staring at each other.

…Please, have mercy already.

“It’s all right, Kazunari…”

“Eh?”

“You have your wife. You have everyone. And you have me. In the classroom, Onee-chan will always be right beside you.”

She smiled gently, warmly, as if to say, So don’t worry.

“Y-yeah, I know. I have Sara, and everyone… and Onee-chan too.”

I was fully aware I’d just said something embarrassing, so I tried to cover it with a gruff tone that came out rougher than intended.

Yet even that seemed to be seen through. Having absolutely everything exposed like this was making me feel painfully awkward.

“Fufu…”

Whether she knew how I felt or not—no, this is Hanako-san we’re talking about; of course she knew.

Still wearing that tender smile, she slipped her small, adorable hand into mine and squeezed gently.

“Your wife says you’re cute, but I think so too.”

“No, but I’m a guy…”

“You don’t have to be shy. To your big sister, her little brother is always cute.”

I wasn’t actually shy (or so I told myself), but it seemed I wasn’t going to be allowed to deny it anyway.

Now Sara, Mayumi-san, and Hanako-san had all called me cute. I’m not sure whether that’s something to be happy about, but as a man I can’t exactly take it as a compliment. Honestly, I can’t bring myself to nod along.

Still, I know none of them mean any harm, so there’s no need to get worked up and argue.

“A-anyway, I’m fine. I’m not chickening out or anything. If anything, the real thing starts now.”

If I think of the Miss Contest as the main event, Saturday was merely the prelude.

The gap between imagination and reality had startled me a bit, but my resolve hadn’t wavered in the slightest.

As long as I achieve the outcome I want, everything else can be dealt with. No—I will deal with it.

I’m not who I used to be anymore…

…

……

………

Rattle-rattle-rattle.

“Morning!”

I was nervous remembering Saturday’s carnage, but I forced myself to stride into the classroom like always.

A quick glance around revealed… nothing obviously unusual, at least at first glance.

A little anticlimactic, maybe, but that I can’t exactly go out of my way to point out.

“Morning, Takanashi!”

“Yo!”

As always, Yamakawa and the usual morning crew greeted me energetically.

I’d been slightly worried after everything we talked about on Sunday, but they seemed completely normal—no gloom, no depression. Seeing the whole class acting so ordinary made me wonder if I was the one overthinking things…

Thud… thud… thud…

…Or maybe not.

The instant I sat down, the boys gathered around me as if on cue.

There was no anger or envy in their expressions, but they clearly had business with me.

“Something you need from Kazunari?”

Before I could open my mouth, Hanako-san stepped forward, voice sharp with open wariness, standing protectively close as she swept her gaze across the group.

“Hanako-san, I’ll handle this.”

I’m not about to let a girl shield me like some pathetic coward. This whole mess started because of me, so it’s my responsibility to deal with it.

“…If any of you do anything unnecessary to Kazunari, I absolutely will not forgive you.”

She seemed to accept my feelings, but not without leaving a chilling warning behind as she took one reluctant step back. Even then she stayed glued diagonally behind me, refusing to put real distance between us.

Is this because she doesn’t trust me, or is it just overprotective big-sister mode…?

For the record, I wasn’t nearly as on guard as she was.

Just looking at these guys, I could tell they hadn’t come with ill intent.

Hanako-san probably understood that too and was only giving the warning for my sake.

The boys around us nodded with slightly flustered, complicated expressions.

So it really isn’t that serious after all.

“Takanashi… what you and Satsukawa-senpai have… it’s not a lie, right?”

One of them finally worked up the nerve to speak. Well, obviously that’s the only thing they’d want to ask.

“You think what you saw on Saturday could possibly be fake?”

“…………”

“Exactly like I said that day. Sara and I are dating. We’re engaged. Every word of it is true.”

I stated it calmly, as if explaining simple reality.

They’d seen the same scene I had on Saturday, so I doubt any of them actually disbelieve it.

This felt less like doubt and more like simple confirmation.

Because if anyone still refused to accept the truth after witnessing that, I’d seriously question their grip on reality.

“…Yeah, figures.”

“…Honestly, part of me still doesn’t want to believe it, but…”

“…I’ve never seen Satsukawa-senpai like that before…”

Saturday’s shock must have been enormous; even knowing it was real, they still couldn’t fully accept it.

But seeing Sara act so completely different from her usual self left them no room for denial.

“Whoa, whoa, you guys aren’t seriously planning to say you still won’t acknowledge Takanashi after seeing that, are you~?”

Just as the mood was turning heavy, Yamakawa burst in with almost comical cheer, slicing through the tension.

Or rather, he burst in and saved us.

Thanks to his carefree energy, the oppressive atmosphere lightened considerably. I was honestly grateful.

“Takanashi and Satsukawa-senpai are already practically married.”

“If you saw them now, you’d probably drop dead on the spot~”

Kawamura and Tanaka piled on right after him.

Thanks to the three of them, faint smiles even appeared among the gathered boys. They could no longer maintain that grim mood.

“Drop dead…? Then what the heck did you see?”

“Nah, nah, you really don’t wanna know.”

“What is that supposed to mean…”

“Yesterday I ran into the Takanashi couple, and Satsukawa-senpai was already completely acting like Takanashi’s wife…”

“Uwaaaaaaaaah! I’m seriously shocked!”

“Khhhhh, lucky bastard… a super gorgeous girl like Satsukawa-senpai!!!”

“If only I’d confessed first…”

“You never even had the guts to confess, dude.”

“You neither!”

…What exactly is happening here?

They’re definitely shocked, no question, but this sudden shift feels less like tragedy and more like I’ve been left hanging.

Considering Saturday’s chaos, I’d fully expected to be interrogated with grave seriousness. Yet watching them now, though they’re frustrated, they seem to have accepted our relationship surprisingly easily.

I feel weird saying this myself, but after all that uproar, they’re getting over it this quickly?

“Takanashi, what’s wrong?”

Noticing me staring blankly, Kawamura tilted his head and walked over.

I hesitated whether to voice my thoughts, but Kawamura always seems to understand these things, so I decided to just ask.

“No, it’s just… these guys accepted it way too smoothly.”

“Of course they did. Anyone who saw Satsukawa-senpai like that and still refused to accept it would have to be insane.”

“I thought the same thing, but after all that commotion on Saturday…”

“Ah, you mean that. Yeah… this is just my theory, but I think Satsukawa-senpai was basically their idol. Sure, they had crushes, but the admiration was the bigger part. That’s why they made such a huge fuss, nothing deeper than that.”

Sara was… an idol?

So these guys were basically a fan club?

…Now that he mentions it, that actually makes sense.

They did have “romantic” feelings in the sense that they were smitten with her looks, but if it had been genuine love, they wouldn’t have clustered together like that. Yet they all fawned over her in perfect unison.

It really was nothing more than an idol fan-club mentality.

“In the end it was just ‘if I ever got the chance’ level feelings. After seeing you two, none of them have the backbone to keep clinging. So the romantic part was accepted quickly. But the idol-worship part doesn’t vanish that easily. That’s why they’re making this huge fuss about losing their idol, jealous and frustrated.”

Kawamura’s explanation carried weight because he understands our classmates better than I do.

So to sum up:

The combination of shallow romantic feelings plus fan-like idolization created a synergistic frenzy, hence Saturday’s meltdown.

But when viewed purely as romance, it was only strong enough for them to band together, and shallow enough to be rooted purely in appearance. Seeing Sara and me together let them give up that part almost immediately.

All that remains is pure idol adoration.

That would explain their current half-hearted state… maybe.

“Just my personal analysis, though. Of course it’s still within the realm of love-at-first-sight, so in that sense it’s the same…”

Kawamura trailed off and glanced at Yamakawa.

True, even if it’s love-at-first-sight, Yamakawa’s feelings are on an entirely different level of seriousness.

“…Chasing an idol like it’s a game. Nothing but a gathering of idiots.”

Hanako-san, who had been silently listening the whole time, muttered in open disgust. She swept an icy glare across the boys, then turned her entire body toward me as if they no longer existed.

“Hanako-san?”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with trash like them, Kazunari. Falling for someone based only on appearance is so shallow it isn’t even worth acknowledging.”

Her reaction was, in a way, completely natural.

Everything that had been said was utterly contemptible from Hanako-san’s (and obviously Sara’s) point of view. To her, this whole scene probably looked like a farce. On top of that, the incident seemed to have deepened her disdain even further.

That’s why Kawamura’s face twisted bitterly, and of course I understood why.

Today was the day Yamakawa had declared he would confess to Hanako-san.

And at the absolute worst possible timing…

“Hanasaki-san… got a minute?”

…Yamakawa, looking visibly nervous, called out to her.