Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 264: A World That Belongs Only to the Two of Us, Anytime.

A World That Belongs Only to the Two of Us, Anytime.

Why does it always end up like this…?

I never wanted to cause Sara-san any trouble.

I had sworn to myself that I would absolutely never barge into her classroom.

Yet here we are, in what might genuinely be the worst possible situation.

“…H-Hey… is that…!?”

“…Speak of the devil, huh.”

“…Did he come here to finish off the guys who already died inside?”

“…What’s going on!? Somebody explain!”

I’m the one who wants an explanation!

This is, without question, the absolute catastrophe!!

But…

“Yuuri, I’m telling you, this is bad!!”

“Let go of his arm right now!!”

The other two senpai have been frantically trying to warn Yuuri-senpai for a while now.

But I’m in no state to care about that.

If this continues, Sara-san will be inconvenienced—that’s my biggest source of panic.

And yet… that isn’t all.

“I get to see Sara-san like this.”

No matter how many noble excuses I make, my true feelings refuse to stay hidden.

Yes.

Deep down, I just want to see her.

I kept telling myself I didn’t want to bother her, that a single glance would be enough, but the moment an unavoidable situation like this arose, some shameful part of me thought:

Maybe… maybe I’ll finally get to see her.

So… where is Sara-san?

“It’ll be fine. If anything, anything, she’ll be—”

Grab!

!?

A new hand suddenly clamped over the arm Yuuri-senpai had been holding.

With a twist, it forcibly lifted her wrist upward.

“OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!!!”

“Yuuri-san… before you start talking in your sleep, let go of that hand.”

““HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!””

A voice rang out from the side.

At the same moment, the two senpai who had been trying to stop her earlier let out screams that were practically shrieks of terror.

A voice as clear and dignified as crystal.

But it held none of the gentle warmth she always directs at me.

Instead, it was sharp, cold, laced with unmistakable irritation and anger.

There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize the owner of that voice.

“Ah… ahhh…”

Yuuri-senpai let out a sound that carried the weight of total despair.

Standing right beside us was Sara-san.

Her face was expressionless… no, not quite.

It was the calm, controlled fury of someone glaring with icy composure—an expression I couldn’t quite put into words.

All I knew for certain was the overwhelming, spine-chilling pressure radiating from her, and the unmistakably dangerous aura cloaking her entire being.

“…S-Scary…”

“…I’ve never seen Satsukawa-san like this…”

“…Whoa, she’s seriously pissed, isn’t she!?”

“Yuuri-san. This is your final warning. Release Kazunari-san’s arm. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

Vigorously—violently—she nodded, head bobbing up and down like a broken bobblehead, desperately signaling “I understand!” with every fiber of her being.

Finally, the arm wrapped around mine was freed.

Phew… I’d safely escaped the danger zone (from a male perspective).

“Hmm… still haven’t learned your lesson, have you, Yuu~rii♡”

Whoa—when did she—!?

I whipped around.

Natsumi-senpai had somehow circled behind us and was now reaching for Yuuri-senpai with terrifying speed.

Without slowing down, she seized both cheeks and began pinching with all her might.

“GYAAAAAAAAAA!! I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRYYYYY!!”

“See? Told you so…”

“This was inevitable…”

“Come here before Sara kills you!”

Still pinching, Natsumi-senpai dragged Yuuri-senpai away.

At the same moment, Sara-san released the twisted arm.

Yuuri-senpai… well, there’s really nothing left to say about her current state.

“Yuuri-san. I do not forgive anyone who inconvenience Kazunari-san… Prepare yourself later.”

“I-I-I-I’m sorryyyyyyyyyyyyy!!”

At Sara-san’s words—which now carried outright murderous intent—Yuuri-senpai trembled and apologized profusely.

Then, cheeks stretched to their limit, she was slowly marched off like a convicted criminal.

…I think I’m starting to understand the pecking order in this group.

“Takanashi-kun, didn’t you come here because you needed something? You don’t have much time left, so hurry. I’ll take care of this idiot.”

“Ah… r-right…”

She’s absolutely correct, but there’s no way I can say, “I just wanted to see your face” in this situation.

“Fufu… This is the first time Kazunari-san has come to my classroom. Did something happen?”

In an instant, Sara-san’s demeanor flipped.

The gentle, loving smile I knew so well returned as she welcomed me.

Relief flooded through me, but at the same time, guilt I’d momentarily forgotten surged back.

“No, I… I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize. I’m happy, you know?”

“…………”

“Kazunari-san?”

“Sara-san…”

It’s no use.

Just having her in front of me is enough to make everything I’d been holding back come pouring out.

The way she smiles at me, speaks to me, stays by my side.

My beloved Sara-san—the one I love with all my heart.

She isn’t a dream or an illusion.

She is my girlfriend, my fiancée, and in this real world—not some what-if—she is truly, undeniably here beside me.

Softly…

I couldn’t find any words, so I simply stared at her.

But Sara-san read my face instantly.

She stepped forward and wrapped me in the gentlest embrace, enveloping not just my body but my heart, my everything, in her warm, healing kindness.

“““EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?”””

“It’s all right… It’s all right. I’m right here beside you. I’ll always hold you like this. So please… don’t be afraid…”

She slipped her arms around the back of my head and pressed my face firmly against her chest.

Warm.

Soft.

The place that belongs only to me.

“I’m sorry, Sara-san… I…”

“You don’t have to force yourself to speak. When you’ve calmed down, you can tell me then. For now… just stay like this and be my good boy, okay?”

Stroke… stroke…

Her endlessly tender embrace and the gentle caress of her hand on my hair melted every word from my tongue.

I felt like I could dissolve into pure bliss…

“…Uoooogh… dragging him in here was totally worth it…”

“…I-Incredible… seeing it up close is just too much…”

“…S-Satsukawa-san’s face is… s-sweet… so sw-sweet…”

“““KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”””

“…Whoa, the boys are gonna be beyond salvation after this.”

“…So Satsukawa-san really can make that expression…”

“…No, seriously, the way she treats other guys versus him is on a whole different planet…”

“Haa… Sara, I didn’t tell you to go that far, you know?”

“I simply judged that right now, Kazunari-san needed this more than words. Isn’t that right, Kazunari-san?”

“Y-Yes…”

It wasn’t just because Hanako-san said so, but somewhere deep inside, I had wanted reassurance.

And that desire had morphed into wanting to be spoiled by Sara-san—I couldn’t deny it.

She saw right through me, and that’s how we ended up here.

“…Unfortunately, we don’t have much time left.”

Right… I completely forgot about time.

I couldn’t see a clock, but the bell could ring any second now.

As much as I hated it, we had to wrap this up.

“Sara-san, thank you. I’m all right now.”

Even I knew those words carried zero conviction in my current state.

But I couldn’t keep clinging to her forever.

“Are you really, truly all right? If you lie… you’ll get punished, you know?”

“…Kaha!!”

“…Yuuriiiiiiiiiii!!”

“…She said it!? Satsukawa-san actually said ‘punished’!?”

“I’ve seen this scene somewhere before…”

“““KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”””

“Satsukawa-san is too cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

“Punished!? Punished!? Her character just shattered!!”

“““GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”””

“Yes, I’m really fine now. Because you held me like this, Sara-san… I’m okay.”

Honestly, I’m ridiculously simple.

But just this was enough to blow away every last shred of anxiety and fear I’d felt earlier.

All those meaningless “what-ifs” are nothing more than possibilities that never happened.

There is no reason to feel uneasy in this reality.

Because right now, the two of us are undeniably together.

“Fufu, I’m glad. Then… we’ll continue this after lunch, once we’ve finished lunch, all right?”

“…Please.”

It wasn’t a joke; the honest plea just slipped out.

Maybe I’m still being dragged around by my feelings in a different sense, but right now, I can’t hold back how much I want her.

“…………”

“Sara-san?”

What is it?

Her reaction feels…

Squeeze…

“S-Sara-san!?”

Suddenly, completely reversing the gentle atmosphere from moments ago, Sara-san crushed me against her with all her strength.

My face was buried completely between two soft, heavenly cushions, rendering me unable to move.

“…That’s unfair. When you show me such an adorable face… how am I supposed to let go…?”

This is bad…

My brain knows we have to separate, but my heart—and body—refuse to obey…

“““KAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”””

“““KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”””

!!!

Crap!

I forgot we’re inside Sara-san’s classroom!!!

“…Ah… ah… no way…”

“…This has to be a lie… there’s no way…”

“…I can’t… I can’t take this anymore…”

“Aaaand I’m out. Sara, we’re running out of time!”

I messed up again.

And this time inside Sara-san’s classroom… I definitely caused her trouble!

As much as I don’t want to, I really have to get back now!

“Sara-san, thank you so much. I’m heading back to my classroom.”

“Yes. I’ll hold you properly again later, okay?”

Reluctantly, slowly, Sara-san released me.

I forced myself to pull away as well, even though part of me still clung to her.

We stood there for a moment, just gazing at each other.

Yeah… I’m okay now.

Oh, right—I should say something to Natsumi-senpai too.

“Natsumi-senpai, sorry for the commotion.”

“Don’t worry about me—just hurry back to your classroom!”

“Whoa, Takanashi-kun, that was awe—higyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Shut up!!”

Natsumi-senpai delivered another merciless cheek-pinch assault.

It looked excruciating… though she definitely deserved it.

Still, thanks to her, I got to see Sara-san, so in my heart I quietly thanked Yuuri-senpai too.

“Sara-san, see you later.”

“Yes.”

Sara-san beamed a radiant, full-faced smile and waved me off.

I waved back, stepped out of the classroom, and gently closed the door behind me—

“““NO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!”””

“HOGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! IT HURTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!”

“Yuuri-san, you’re coming with me!!”

…Anyway, time to head back to my own classroom.