The Gal Game Heroines Who Were Supposed to Die Somehow Learned My Secret ～By the Way, Where Did My [Diary] Go?～ - Chapter 04: Satsuki Saionji

Chapter 04: Satsuki Saionji

“Here you go, Satoshi-kun. Say ahhh.”

Satsuki’s smile was as radiant as a blooming cherry blossom as she held out a piece of apple for me to eat. I couldn’t help but twitch slightly at the overly sweet gesture.

“Maybe you’re not in the mood for apples right now? Did I mess up? It’s okay—I brought lots of other things. Just tell me if there’s something you feel like eating, alright?”

One of Satsuki Saionji’s charms was her natural, straightforward enthusiasm. But when you’re on the receiving end of it, the embarrassment tends to outweigh the joy.

“I-I can eat on my own…”

“No way! You’re still recovering, Satoshi-kun. The doctor said you need to rest, remember?”

“Yeah, but that was when I first woke up. My body’s healing pretty well now, so I feel bad making you do so much…”

It was true that moving still hurt, but I could manage to get around a bit. I was starting to get tired of lying in bed all day.

Basically, what I was trying to say was—I could eat by myself just fine.

“So… you don’t need me anymore?”

“Wait, no, that’s not what I meant…”

“I see… I’m no longer needed.”

What I was trying to convey was that since my body was recovering and I could handle things on my own, there was no need for Satsuki to go out of her way anymore.

Clearly, my message hadn’t come across the way I intended.

“See? I can move my body just fine now, so you don’t have to━”

I tried to move to prove I was okay, but forcing myself caused a sharp pain.

“Look at that. You’re clearly not fine at all, and yet… you’re saying you don’t need me anymore. Heh, if even my savior doesn’t need me, then what’s the point of my existence…?”

Satsuki gripped her skirt tightly and hung her head.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Her voice became robotic, muttering apologies over and over like some lifeless machine.

This is way too heavy!

“Satsuki!”

“Oh, sorry. A gloomy and useless person like me is just ruining the mood, right? I’ll never come here again.”

This is not fine at all!

Satsuki, her eyes void of light, stood from her chair. I reached out with my left arm and grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at me with a slow, almost mechanical movement. If I said the wrong thing now, it’d be over.

“No, no, no! That’s not it! I’ve always been grateful to you, Satsuki.”

She flinched. Thank god—she’s still willing to listen.

“I just wanted to reassure my benefactor, even if it meant pretending to be stronger than I really am.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m a guy. I wanted to act cool in front of a cute girl. Guess I’m so beaten up I couldn’t even manage that…”

This was my honest feeling. Just a moment ago, I was so bored lying in bed that I wanted to move around, but now I’d realized it was still way too early for that.

“So, I guess I still need Satsuki’s help… Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m the one who misunderstood. Of course, you’d feel that way—you’re a guy, after all.”

Thank goodness. The light returned to Satsuki’s eyes, and I swear the room even felt a little brighter. She gently wrapped my left hand in both of hers.

“I’m happy you called me your benefactor, you know? But to me, Satoshi-kun, you’re my hero. Just helping out and taking care of you isn’t nearly enough to repay you. That’s why I’m going to spend my whole life paying you back, so please let me stay by your side until you don’t need me anymore… okay?”

“Ah, yeah. Sure. Thanks.”

“Yup! Hehe.”

Seriously, though—it’s too much! What does she mean by her whole life?!

Satsuki flashed me an innocent smile, but I felt a cold sweat run down my back. I absolutely could not let her realize how overwhelmed I was.

“Okay, then. I’ll feed you some apple now, alright? Say ahhh.”

She held out a piece of apple on a toothpick, aiming it toward me. Obviously, refusing wasn’t an option.

“A…ahhh.”

This is so embarrassing!

No matter how many times she did it, I just couldn’t get used to it.

“So, how is it? Is it good?”

Satsuki looked at me anxiously, her eyes tilted upward in that way that should honestly be illegal. It was the same look I’d seen countless times in the game, and my heart was completely captured.

“…Yeah, it’s good.”

“Yay! I’m so glad! Hehe.”

She was so cute that nothing else really mattered anymore. Besides, the apple tasted about a hundred times sweeter than usual.

From there, we started chatting. Well, it was mostly Satsuki talking while I nodded and listened. She happily told me about her part-time job, how excited she was for university, and other bits of her daily life.

This. This was what I loved.

The way Satsuki could light up while talking about the small, everyday changes in her life was why I played Love or Dead in the first place. Not because I wanted to see her fall into darkness.

“Man, the protagonist had it so easy…”

“…”

I found myself envying Yuto Sano, the protagonist of LoD. Having someone as adorable as Satsuki care so deeply about you—he didn’t know how good he had it.

“Hey…”

“Hm? Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

If she’d been saying something, I felt bad for missing it. I apologized honestly since I hadn’t been paying attention.

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. So, Satoshi-kun… what do you think about Yuto Sano?”

“Yuto?”

I couldn’t quite figure out the purpose of her question.

In the story, there wasn’t much of a connection between me and Yuto. It wouldn’t make sense for me to know much about him. So, I decided to keep my answer as vague as possible.

“I haven’t had much direct interaction with him, so I don’t really know. But he was pretty famous at school. Rumor has it he managed to win over all of the Four Beauties.”

“…”

The Four Beauties is what people called the heroines of Love or Dead. Each of their names included one of the cardinal directions—like Satsuki Saionji with “west”—so they earned that nickname.

Still, why did she suddenly bring up Yuto? Oh… I see now.

It clicked pretty quickly. I’d read somewhere that girls love talking about romance. This must be her way of signaling she wanted to discuss those kinds of topics.

Even after everything that happened, she must still have feelings for Yuto.

If that’s the case, it’s only polite to keep the conversation going in a way that’s comfortable for her. That’s what a gentleman would do, right?

“Well, I only interacted with him a little, but from what I saw, Yuto’s a good guy… kind and all that.”

Man, I’m terrible at giving compliments.

But can you blame me? He’s the protagonist who led us all to a bad ending. I’ve got nothing but resentment for him—there’s no way I’d feel grateful. Complimenting someone you don’t like is harder than it looks.

Still, I thought I’d set her up nicely. Satsuki’s the type who’d start talking excitedly about someone she likes if given the chance. I was ready to endure the conversation and listen, even if it felt like pouring salt on my wounds.

But Satsuki’s reaction was… off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tell me… do you really think of Yuto Sano that way?”

Her gaze felt like she was clinging to something, silently pleading with me not to lie.

“Yeah, that’s what I think.”

I said, despite it being a lie. After all, admitting I didn’t like Yuto wouldn’t serve any purpose.

But then I realized I’d unconsciously looked away from Satsuki’s eyes. Trying to cover for it, I scrambled to add more.

“W-Well, it’s just based on rumors, but I think Yuto really likes you, Satsuki. I even heard once that━”

“Stop it.”

“Huh?”

Her sharp rejection hit me like a knife. When I looked at her, she was smiling—but her face was completely emotionless.

“I don’t like Yuto Sano at all.”

“Wait… but…”

That couldn’t be true. She had confessed to him, hadn’t she?

Satsuki moved to my right side and began touching my injured arm. I couldn’t feel anything because of the nerve damage, but her strange behavior left me more confused than anything else.

“I used to like him… a lot. After all, we were childhood friends for so long.”

She spoke softly, like she was letting the words spill out bit by bit.

“I even became a gravure idol because of him. I worked hard to improve at cooking, something I was terrible at. I got into the same high school, all because I wanted to be by Yuto’s side…”

Since I played the game, I remembered her backstory clearly. Frustrated that Yuto wouldn’t notice her no matter how much she tried, Satsuki had worked hard to become famous, hoping to catch his attention.

It was a clumsy approach, but I admired her for being so single-minded and dedicated.

“But, you know… that wasn’t really my choice.”

“What?”

Did I mishear her…?

When I tried to ask what she meant, her expression twisted into something horrifying. It wasn’t the yandere look I’d seen before—it was pure contempt, directed at something she loathed. Even though I couldn’t feel anything in my arm, it felt like her grip on it was unbearably strong.

Noticing my gaze, Satsuki quickly replaced her scorn with a bright smile.

“Oh, sorry! What I meant to say is that I only liked him in the past. Now, I think he’s nothing but a piece of trash. Just imagining talking to him again makes me feel sick.”

“Oh, uh, I see.”

Thinking about it, Yuto had made that terrible “friends with benefits” suggestion. It made sense she’d lose all respect for him after that.

“Yeah. Sorry for bringing up a loser like that.”

“No, it’s fine. Sometimes saying things out loud helps you feel better.”

“You’re so kind… Satoshi-kun.”

Satsuki lifted my unresponsive right hand and pressed it against her cheek. With a blissful expression, she began nuzzling her face against it. The way she moved, with such an overwhelming sensuality, made me wonder if she might even lick it next.

“…I can only see you now. Let’s stay together forever, okay?”

“Ah, yeah…”

Her flushed cheeks and the mysterious smile on her face left me no choice but to give a vague response.

━━━

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