The Day After I Told My Shut-In Genius Childhood Friend, Who’s Highly Dependent on Me, “I Got Confessed To,” She Showed Me a Hypnosis App - Chapter 27

◆ “Momose Nanaka”

Today was really fun.

I’m sure Honamin enjoyed it too.

It could have ended happily there, but today had one important goal left.

The answer to my confession.

“―Thank you. Then… I want to hear your response.”

I said that and waited for Honamin’s words.

My heart was pounding as the answer was about to come.

But just as Honamin looked away for a moment, an unexpected intruder appeared.

“…Mio?”

I turned to follow his gaze, and there she was.

An angel.

“Eh?”

She was a girl so beautiful it almost didn’t feel real.

Long silver hair reaching her waist. A slender body glowing under the streetlight. A sad and gentle expression. Everything about her felt doll-like and unreal. The only familiar thing was the uniform she wore; it was the only thing that made her feel real.

A familiar uniform?

“Momose-san, I’m sorry… ―Mio!”

Like she was pushed away by some force, he let go of my hand and ran toward her.

I heard him say Mio.

Then she must be the “Shinonome Mio” who had stopped going to school, right?

“Why are you here…!? You’re not supposed to go outside!?”

Over there, he was talking to her.

I couldn’t hear the details, but her voice was calm and relaxed, very different from Honamin’s tense tone.

Her eyes found me.

“I’m sorry about the other day.”

“Eh.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, and a confused sound slipped out of me.

She looked at me and murmured, “Oh, right.”

“I deleted the date plan you had with Honami… I did it.”

“—What?”

Inside my head, everything started to connect.

Lately, Honamin has been strange. Everything felt off, but the biggest odd thing was the date. So it was her.

If that was true, I could even guess the feelings hidden behind it.

You wouldn’t erase someone’s date plans unless you were strongly attached.

(Was she trying to break us apart?)

But as I doubted her, she bowed her head in front of me.

“…I’m really sorry.”

“…”

“I was upset back then… I acted without thinking. I won’t do anything like that again.”

She kept her head down and spoke little by little.

To my surprise, she really seemed to regret it.

…I wasn’t set on never forgiving her, and I didn’t honestly care that much anymore.

“I’ve decided to go to school too.”

“Huh?”

—That line was enough to leave me speechless.

“If I’m with Honami, we’ll probably be in the same class… It might be a little awkward, but please let me stay by your side.”

She gave a delicate smile.

But that smile somehow felt like it was telling me to stay away.

◆

—But that’s how it went.

I didn’t even notice how many minutes had passed.

I just sat on the bench while staring blankly.

(That’s not fair.)

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

There’s a girl who is cute next to him.

And she’s his childhood friend.

There’s no way I, just some random classmate who happened to be in the same high school, could compete.

(If only he’d told me from the start…)

If he had… then what? Would I have stopped liking Honamin?

No way. That’s just me trying to shift the blame. My feelings had already taken root in my heart, and they weren’t going anywhere.

(…How am I supposed to face him tomorrow?)

“—Momose-san?”

I was lost in my thoughts when I suddenly heard a familiar voice and froze.

“…Honamin?”

Why is he here?

Before I could react, he knelt in front of the bench. He looked like a knight.

“Momose-san, I’m really sorry about today… I just wanted to say that.”

“…Huh?”

“Everything I did without realizing it, and now with Mio… she’s my childhood friend, but she showed up all of a sudden, and I got flustered.”

He looked up at me with an apologetic gaze.

“…It’s probably not a good time to give my response.”

I blinked and nodded.

Right. I was just about to answer him earlier, but now wasn’t the moment.

“So… let’s pick another time. We can go out or do it somewhere else.”

I widened my eyes.

Really?

He’s saying that even with a girl that cute right in front of him?

“…Are you sure?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry. If you were disappointed, it’d be totally okay to refuse…”

“N-no! That’s not true!”

Disappointed? That’s impossible.

Honamin smiled softly.

“I’m glad. Let’s make a proper plan next time… Do you want to pinky swear?”

“Eh… then… yeah.”

He shyly held out his pinky, and I linked mine with his.

This time, it wasn’t me forcing it. It was a real promise.

Maybe out of guilt, the despair I felt before slowly faded.

“See you at school then… I’m really sorry about today, but I had fun.”

Honamin waved and walked away.

I absentmindedly watched him leave, my fingers still brushing the one we’d linked.