Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 275: Because I’m Your Big Sister.

Because I’m Your Big Sister.

On the way back to the classroom after lunch.

“Kazunari… are you sure you don’t have to tell her?”

I didn’t even need to ask what she meant. It was obviously about that peacock girl and her entourage.

I hadn’t decided how to handle the incident yet, and come to think of it, Hanako-san hadn’t brought it up either.

Probably because I’d brushed it aside, she’d matched my pace and let it drop.

“For now, it’s fine. They didn’t actually do anything that hurt me.”

“But they mocked you, Kazunari. I will never forgive them.”

Hanako-san’s eyes sharpened with clear anger toward people who weren’t even here.

From my perspective, though, the one who’d indirectly insulted Hanako-san herself was far less forgivable.

To Hanako-san, apparently, the lackeys were the bigger crime.

Still, knowing she was furious on my behalf made my chest warm.

“…Are you going to report it to your wife?”

“Absolutely not. Sara-san is off-limits.”

I hated keeping anything from her, but this was non-negotiable.

I was used to that level of jab and barely registered it anymore.

But Sara-san was different.

If she ever found out…

“…Yeah, if she heard that, it’d be apocalyptic. She’d storm their classroom right now and strangle every last one of them.”

That wasn’t even an exaggeration; it was a very real possibility, which made it worse.

That was exactly why Sara-san could never know.

I wasn’t about to let some random nobodies drag her into pointless trouble.

“It’ll be fine. We have zero overlap with them anyway, so we probably won’t run into them again. And besides…”

“Besides?”

“…Because my big sister got angry for me. They ran away scared. I doubt they’ll come near us again.”

“…”

It was a little embarrassing to say out loud, but Hanako-san had stood up for me. That made me genuinely happy, so this much was the least I could do.

“…One more time.”

“Hm?”

“One more time… call me that?”

Urgh… being stared at so earnestly only made the embarrassment worse.

But the expectation on her face was impossible to miss; joy and hope practically radiated from her expression.

And honestly, I wanted to thank her properly.

I pushed past the shyness and went for it.

“…Sorry it’s late, but… thank you for earlier. It really made me happy… big sister.”

Gaaah, saying it so formally was way more mortifying than I’d imagined!!

If I were alone at home right now, I’d be rolling on the floor in agony!

“…”

Hanako-san just stared blankly at my face, no reaction at all.

Anything, please, just react!

Silence in this situation is brutal!!

“…happy…”

…!?

Hanako-san?

“…so happy… happy, so happy. One more time? Please call me big sister again?”

A smile like blooming flowers, brimming with pure joy.

I hadn’t seen Hanako-san this happy in forever.

If memory served, the last time might have been the day I first accepted her as my big sister.

Of course it would be.

Even though I often thought of her as “big sister” in my head, I almost never said it out loud without some kind of cover or joke.

Yet she was always supporting me, protecting me, getting angry on my behalf, both as my best friend and as my big sister…

“Thank you, truly, for everything… big sister.”

This time the words came naturally, no embarrassment, no panic.

Seeing how happy it made her washed all the awkwardness away.

Of course I could never say this in front of anyone else, but just this once was fine.

tug tug…

Hanako-san gently pulled the sleeve of my uniform downward, the little signal she always used when she wanted to pat my head.

…Yeah. Right now, I didn’t mind.

No one else was around anyway.

I bent my knees a little and lowered my head to the perfect height.

“Kazunari… thank you.”

hold…

…!?

I’d expected the usual head pats, but instead she cupped my face with both hands and pulled me into a gentle, enveloping hug.

“H-Hanako-san!?”

“I’m so happy you called me big sister. That alone gives me strength. For my adorable little brother, your big sister can work a hundred times harder.”

stroke… stroke…

She held my head close and slowly ran her small hands through my hair.

The sensation was different from Sara-san’s, somehow ticklish in the sweetest way…

“When your wife isn’t around, I’ll protect you. That’s a big sister’s job. So leave it to me.”

“…”

I knew she’d always done exactly that.

When Sara-san was with us she held back, but earlier, and all the other times, Hanako-san shielded me, stood up for me, got angry in my place.

Honestly, I didn’t want her pushing herself too hard or doing anything reckless.

But if that was what she wanted, telling her not to would just be selfish…

stroke… stroke…

“Good boy, good boy… You don’t have to worry about that. This is what I want. Just accepting it makes me happy.”

…Even like this, she saw right through me.

When she said it in that joyful voice, all I could do was accept it gracefully.

“…Got it. But please don’t overdo it or do anything reckless, okay?”

“Roger that. I won’t overdo it. Reckless, though… maybe a little.”

“Wait—”

“That part’s non-negotiable. But don’t worry, I’ll never make you anxious. Because I’m your big sister.”

Classic Hanako-san line, both understandable and not.

But either way, arguing was pointless.

stroke… stroke…

“Good boy… good boy…”

In the end, faced with how utterly happy she looked, I couldn’t say another word.

If that was the case, then the least I could do was make sure she never had to be reckless.

That was one of my jobs, after all.

After school – Student Council room.

Sara-san was currently writing today’s patrol schedule on the whiteboard.

Checking for problems, making sure no unauthorized activities were happening, confirming everything matched the applications, those were the main duties of the student council.

We usually patrolled in pairs, but unfortunately Sara-san and I were never assigned together.

Apparently it was “inefficient” for the president and vice president to patrol as a pair.

But… was it really that inefficient?

“These are today’s assignments.”

Neat, beautiful handwriting listed everyone’s names and partners.

…Yeah, I know. I get it. You don’t all have to stare at me like that.

“…Why are the wife and Kazunari paired together?”

Hanako-san’s flat remark earned nods from literally everyone except me and Sara-san.

Well… yeah, fair.

“Satsukawa-san, the president is supposed to stay in the student council room in case something comes up…”

“I cannot accept that. If anything, I believe the president should make at least one round to every area.”

“Uh…”

Even I thought Sara-san’s argument was perfectly reasonable. Denying it would be hard.

Predictably, Uesaka-senpai faltered.

“…Isn’t this getting close to the limit?”

“…If we let those two patrol alone, even I can’t predict the chaos…”

“…Pretty much guaranteed tragedy wherever they go.”

The girls huddled together, whispering while glancing at me.

This was about Sara-san, so why were they looking at me while discussing it?

“Therefore, I have concluded that as president, I should join the patrols. Naturally, that means the president’s aide, Kazunari-san, should accompany me. In fact, that is the only logical pairing.”

“If it’s just patrolling, you don’t need an aide. Besides, the vice president has her own responsibilities; pairing her with the president is inefficient.”

…She had a point.

If that was the definition of inefficiency, then Hanako-san was right.

I’d assumed they were just forcing some excuse to keep Sara-san in the room, but… maybe I should reflect a little.

Still, honestly? I was disappointed.

I’d really wanted to patrol with Sara-san at least once.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got Kazunari covered. So President, please focus on your standby duties with peace of mind.”

“That very standby duty is the problem. Last year the president didn’t stay in the room the whole time, correct?”

“““Guh…”””

Really?

That was news to me. I’d never questioned it before, but if that was true, then Sara-san had every right to be upset.

Wait… was the reason they were treating only Sara-san this way because the boys would go nuts if she patrolled?

“Anyway, the wife and Kazunari alone together is a bad idea.”

“Hanazaki-san, you’re often paired with Kazunari-san, aren’t you?”

Why did a simple discussion about patrol partners suddenly feel so ominous?

“…Oho, bride vs sister-in-law showdown.”

“…Might be insensitive, but this could be entertaining.”

“…Whenever Takanashi-kun’s involved, Satsukawa-san breaks so easily.”

“…I’m so jealous I’ve gone numb.”

“…What even is ‘bride and sister-in-law’?”

“A-alright! How about this: if Satsukawa-san really wants to patrol, I’ll cover standby in her place. In exchange, Hanazaki-san joins her as support!”

““…Huh?”””

Whoa, scary!

Sara-san and Hanako-san both fixed Uesaka-senpai with stares that were less “glaring” and more “sub-zero.”

“Eeeeek!?”

“That’s not allowed! Those are not goddess-and-angel eyes!!”

“I-I’m shaking just watching…”

“…For some reason those stares feel weirdly familiar…”

“Well… we’re used to it… ugh…”

“N-no, I mean… sometimes a change of pace, different pairings—”

Even the former student council president was powerless against simultaneous glares from Sara-san and Hanako-san.

This was the first time I’d ever seen Uesaka-senpai this flustered, terrified, really.

“‘Change of pace’ is an interesting choice of words. For me, being by Kazunari-san’s side is pure bliss and peace. Is there a problem with that?”

“It’s only natural for a big sister to support her little brother. There is no room for questioning the pairing. What exactly is wrong with it?”

Under the overwhelming pressure (?) from both of them, Uesaka-senpai’s face twitched as he slowly backed away, looking smaller by the second.

The gallant figure who once commanded the entire student assembly was nowhere to be seen…

“…Uesaka-kun really chose the wrong words.”

“…Jumping between those three? Talk about suicidal.”

“…Ex-president in deep trouble.”

“Um… do we really have to stick to pairs? We went as a group of four last time.”

The lifesaver came from Marina, who’d stayed quiet until now.

A perfectly reasonable, model answer that instantly drew everyone’s attention.

Her cheeks flushed with slight embarrassment, adorable as always.

She was right, of course.

But if I was being honest, I’d really wanted the “just the two of us” scenario.

Sara-san probably felt the same, which was why she’d been so fixated on the pair part.

“…Actually, yeah, no rule says it has to be exactly two. Ex-president, I’ll join too, so let the wife and Kazunari pair up?”

“W-well, if you’re coming too… Hanazaki-san, you’re amazing in so many ways…”

Thanks to Hanako-san stepping in to mediate, permission was granted.

But the fact that adding Hanako-san made it acceptable left a slightly bad taste in my mouth.

I’d thought the opposition was because Sara-san caused a commotion wherever she went, but this suggested a different reason entirely.

“…I always wonder what this student council would do without Hanazaki-san.”

“…We’d probably find Satsukawa-san giving Takanashi-kun a lap pillow on that sofa right now.”

“…That’s not even a joke.”

“““…”””

“Kazunari-san…”

Sara-san murmured my name, her voice tinged with longing.

My heart skipped a beat; I completely understood the feeling.

But we couldn’t disrupt student council duties just for our selfish wishes.

I was disappointed too, but I had to be the one to convince her.

“Just patrolling with you at all makes me happy, you know?”

It was a safe line, but it was the truth.

We couldn’t be alone, but still getting to patrol the school festival with Sara-san would be a precious memory.

“Fufu… you’re right. My apologies; I let my selfishness get the better of me…”

“No, I felt exactly the same way. So it wasn’t just you.”

Good, she was back to her usual calm self.

I really did understand how she felt.

“I’m happy… In that case, on the day of the festival, I absolutely want some time to patrol alone with you.”

“Of course. We’ll make free periods; it’ll work out.”

The festival day would be busy, student council duties, the beauty contest, meeting up with everyone, but we’d definitely have personal time.

We could be alone then.

“…I can already see the festival turning into a completely different kind of festival.”

“…It’s inevitable at this point.”

“…It’s only a matter of time anyway. Might as well go full chaos and get it over with.”

“A-anyway! We’ve reached a satisfactory conclusion, so let’s get to work, everyone!”

“Yes. Then, everyone, thank you in advance for today.”

“““Thank you!!”””

It wasn’t just the two of us, which was a shame, but I’d been looking forward to patrolling with Sara-san for ages.

Not “enjoy,” exactly; time to buckle down and do this properly.