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

Even after I got home, I was in a daze.

(…I got confessed to? A confession…? Really…?)

My mind felt like it wasn’t even here.

After that, I went back to class for the sixth period, but Momose-san seemed mostly normal.

Mostly because there were small differences, she avoided my gaze more than usual, and when our eyes did meet, her cheeks turned bright red. But nothing that anyone else would notice.

Even so, hours later, I was still floating in my own world.

…Maybe it was just a daydream?

But then I saw her message, so that wasn’t it.

“I’m sorry for being selfish! I want to settle this, so I’d be happy to get an answer face-to-face.”

And a cute cat sticker bowing its head.

She wanted me to give my answer in person.

That wasn’t a problem.

No matter what I decided, I wanted to show that I was taking it seriously.

But even so, I couldn’t just decide immediately.

(Why… Why me, Momose-san…!)

I stared down at my workbook and blank notebook in the living room while thinking endlessly.

Mio was giving me a sharp look as she was sitting on the sofa playing a game.

“Hey… Honami, you haven’t turned a single page yet?”

This was Mio’s living room.

I usually studied with her help when I had exams.

With Mio around, I could actually get things done. Even if she was kind of useless at everyday stuff, she was clearly a genius. She could give me the right advice the moment I got stuck.

But today, there was no way I could focus on studying.

“…Haah.”

“Why are you sighing while looking at me?”

“…I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, Mio.”

“Hmph.”

She murmured lightly, but her eyes were worried.

“Then, did something happen at school?”

“…Nothing happened.”

“Yeah, right. That’s 100% a lie. Lies don’t work with childhood friends; it even says so in the old records.”

“You’re the one lying.”

“So, what happened?”

Of course. That’s exactly how it went. Mio noticed immediately that I was acting strange. I could have studied at home alone, but I’d see Mio tomorrow anyway, so I’d have to tell her eventually.

So, I decided to say what was bothering me the most right now.

“I… got confessed to.”

“―Huh?”

The handheld game in Mio’s hands clattered to the floor.

“W-what did you say?”

“I… got confessed to.”

“Co… confessed?”

“Yeah.”

Why is she more flustered than I am?

“W-who by?”

“…A classmate.”

“Y-you mean… like, please go out with me?”

Go out.

Hearing it said out loud suddenly made it feel so embarrassing.

“…There’s no other way.”

“…!”

Suddenly, Mio grabbed my arm with all her strength.

Um, Mio-san. That hurts.

Seriously, where is she getting all that power from that tiny arm?

Still, she spoke in an unnaturally cheerful voice while holding me.

“Y-you… maybe you shouldn’t do it.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. Having a girlfriend is a lot of work. No free time. You have to think about her all the time. You can’t just do whatever you want. If you don’t get along, things get bad, and it’s the worst if you fight. There’s nothing good at all, right?”

“Well… That’s right.”

Having a girlfriend isn’t all fun. A quick look at SNS shows plenty of couples complaining and arguing.

Mio nodded seriously.

“Right? So maybe you shouldn’t get a girlfriend.”

“…But isn’t that what being a couple is all about?”

I’ve never had a girlfriend, but I know it’s not all good. Still, there are good things too, and the important part is finding those good things together, even if the bad parts exist.

“Eh, t-then, what about Honami?”

Mio’s face was tense, and her voice was almost pleading.

“―What are you going to do about it?”

(No… what do you mean by that?)

I haven’t decided anything yet. The only thing I know is that I need to give some kind of answer.

“I’ll answer, at least.”

“Huh―”

Mio’s face completely froze.

“Y-you’re going to answer?”

“I am.”

I couldn’t just ignore it.

It was sudden, but Momose-san was a close friend.

This wasn’t a confession from a stranger. She had worked up the courage, even if it was almost unavoidable, so I owed her some kind of response.

For some reason, Mio looked completely crushed.

“H-how long do you have?”

“…If possible, by tomorrow.”

“T-tomorrow!?”

Mio staggered to her feet and took a step back.

“Mio?”

“W-wait. No, no, no, no…”

“Are you okay, Mio?”

“I have to do something… something…”

She let out a shaky sound and climbed the stairs unsteadily.

(…Mio?)

Sometimes Mio gets like this, with strange moods.

But this time felt heavier. I’d never seen her like this before.

(Even if I wanted to talk, my voice wouldn’t reach her…)

She seemed to be thinking about something weird, but I couldn’t check by talking to her.

It was probably better to wait a little before going to see her. She might have calmed down by then.

And… I still had to think about my answer, too.

(…Suddenly, things are busy.)

I had to reply to Momose-san as well.

She was probably getting anxious. I needed to answer quickly, but I didn’t want to make a sloppy decision.

I was suddenly forced to make a big decision.

…It was unavoidable, but this was really bad timing, right before exams.

◇

That night.

Before going home, I went to check on Mio. Her room was closed, and she was doing something inside. I called out, but she didn’t respond. Sometimes she gets like this when she’s really focused.

When Mio is in this mode, there’s nothing I can do to get her attention. So I just checked that she was okay and went home.

Before going to bed, I thought about my answer to the confession.

I thought.

I thought endlessly.

More than any other time before, I kept thinking and worrying until almost morning.

Finally, I made up my mind.

(…Yeah. I’ll answer like this.)

Just as a yawn escaped me from the relief of deciding, a notification popped up on my phone.

It was a message from Mio, who had been worrying about me.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw that she had finally come out of her focused mode.

“I have an invention I want you to see. Can you come to my room?”

…An invention? What’s that about?