(Chastity Reversed) The Legitimate Wife War: How I, a Harem-Hater, Ended Up Creating an Ultra-Eccentric Harem with a Villainess, a Sadistic Beauty Teacher, a Scheming Classmate... etc. - Chapter 110.1: The Worst Confession

“Good morning, Takeda-kun.”

“G-good morning, Akizuki-san……today you have a completely different atmosphere than usual.”

Akizuki-san, who usually kept her short hair neat and gave off a languid atmosphere, was completely different today.

Her longer bangs were beautifully styled with gel or something, and her hairstyle was different from usual. Her glasses had been switched to fashionable sunglasses, and combined with the pink eyeliner drawn around her eyes, she exuded a mysterious allure.

In her ears were large circular ornaments.

Her outfit further enhanced Akizuki-san’s mature woman atmosphere—a white lace blouse on top that showed hints of skin, and navy high-waisted pants below that emphasized her good figure.

“You look……very beautiful.”

It was my honest feeling.

Akizuki-san seemed a little surprised by my straightforward words, her eyes widening before she immediately showed a gentle smile.

“Really? Thank you. You look wonderful too, Takeda-kun. You’ve become a bit more mature.”

My outfit was honestly Kazari-san’s suggestion.

Just a tailored jacket with skinny pants, put together in monotone.

“……With this, I should be okay walking next to you, Akizuki-san.”

“I should be the one saying that. Of course it’s fine. Come on, get in?”

Next to Akizuki-san was that red car I’d seen before. Apparently this car wasn’t just Shiraishi-san’s—they could both use it.

“Where are we going today?”

While sitting in the passenger seat, I looked at Akizuki-san’s profile. Seeing Akizuki-san’s profile while she was driving felt refreshingly new.

“Today I want to buy you something you like. ……Well, a present, I guess? I really should have prepared something beforehand, but unfortunately I don’t know what you like, so I thought we could go shopping together for that purpose too.”

“Shopping for me……no, that’s too much.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You helped us out this time, and of course I don’t think this will repay the debt, so this is just a small token of my feelings.”

“But——”

“——It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Just think of it as casual window shopping, Takeda-kun.”

She really didn’t need to worry so much about us helping them out.

“Repaying a debt……but even setting aside presents for me, window shopping sounds good. Let’s definitely do that.”

“I’m saying this after suggesting it, but really? I thought men generally felt aversion just hearing about shopping with women. My father didn’t like it either.”

Certainly, father-in-law Tadashi-san would probably dislike shopping.

“I like it. There are lots of interesting things, and I used to go often with my sister too.”

“……Takeda-kun, you really are a strange man.”

“……Strange?”

“Yes, strange.”

But as she said this, she was mysteriously smiling.

Unlike her words before, I could tell there was no malice or hostility in it.

“I am a teacher after all, so I’ve had opportunities to talk with men before. The men I’ve met could generally be classified into two types. Either men who were thoroughly afraid of women and felt depressed, or the opposite—men who acted arrogant like Kuzuryuu. But both types had something in common—they distinguished between men and women as different in their minds. Well, maybe women do that too……I’m not saying it’s bad, but Takeda-kun didn’t give off that feeling.”

‘Though it was hard to admit you were different at first,’ Akizuki-san muttered quietly.

“……Is that so?”

I hadn’t really thought about it that consciously.

“You’re probably doing it unconsciously. But that’s why you were able to quickly joke around and become friends with Aoyama-san and other women, right? I think it’s because you accept women from the bottom of your heart and think of them as the same human beings.”

Well, it’s true that as Akizuki-san said, I don’t have any strange aversion.

That’s probably because I’m influenced by my previous life.

Actually……

“Akizuki-san, you know that Aoyama-san and I get along well.”

“Of course I know—I’m the homeroom teacher. I’ve been keeping an eye on you ever since you came to class, not as a fiancée but because you’re one of the few men. It probably didn’t seem that way to you, and I made sure it didn’t show.”

“I wouldn’t say……”

I couldn’t exactly say there wasn’t any of that.

“That’s fine. I was acting coldly so you wouldn’t think I was giving you special treatment. But it’s true that I don’t bring personal feelings into work……though I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that anymore.”

She laughed softly as if restraining herself, yet also seeming a bit happy.

Akizuki-san’s smiling profile was beautiful against the background behind her.

It was completely different from the image I’d known until now. Not the angry, stern face I knew Akizuki-san for, not her displeased face, not her sad, crying face—but a gentle smile directed at me.

A peaceful atmosphere flowed through the car.

The car got on the highway and drove along the seaside. The ocean was visible through the windows, and because of the clear weather, we could almost see to the horizon.

It was like showing her heart.

I almost found myself staring at her profile and hurriedly looked away. Fortunately, Akizuki-san didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, we’re here.”

She parked the car at Yokohama’s Minato Mirai.

Various commercial facilities lined up, with amusement parks and other typical dating spots.

Beautiful night views could be seen at night, and recently a gondola crossing through the city had been built.

“Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

Somewhere I’d like to go……

“There are places I’m curious about, but there are so many I can’t decide where to look.”

“Then let’s look at clothes for you first, Takeda-kun. They should have men’s clothing here too. Just first, though.”

Saying this, Akizuki-san timidly extended her hand while looking forward.

“……It would be troublesome if we got separated……if you don’t mind……that is.”

Perhaps because she was embarrassed, Akizuki-san kept facing forward and absolutely wouldn’t meet my eyes.

But her cheek visible from her profile was slightly red.

I was taken aback by this side of Akizuki-san I’d never seen before.

“……R-right, it would be bad if we got separated.”

Her hand I grasped was soft, supple, and warm.

The moment we held hands, the attention we were already drawing intensified even more, with voices rising.

At moments like this, I really felt that this world had few men.

I was used to it, but Akizuki-san apparently couldn’t bear being the center of attention……

“Let’s go!”

She began walking quickly.

After that we went shopping and tried on clothes at several stores.

I tried on clothes recommended by Akizuki-san and such.

Akizuki-san looked at each item very carefully and seriously.

‘This looks good’ or ‘This one’s better’—I felt a bit like a mannequin.

Having her seriously select my fashion was refreshing above all else.

After looking at clothes, quite a bit of time had passed.

“I’m really sorry for having you buy things for me. Are you sure this is okay? You chose so much, so at least let me pay——”

“Didn’t I tell you? These are just my feelings. Don’t worry about it. If you’re going to worry, I’d be happier if you accepted it with a smile.”

Akizuki-san’s way of speaking reminded me somewhat of Shiraishi-san’s manner.

Lovers apparently become similar in some ways.

Even if I said more, Akizuki-san probably wouldn’t accept it, so I should just gratefully receive it here.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it. I’ll treasure it!”

“That would make me happy.”

A gentle smile.

She wasn’t tense, or rather, wasn’t putting on a brave front.

This was a different Akizuki-san from before.

“What should we do next?”

“There’s something I’d like to see, if that’s all right?”

She pointed to a large billboard showing a man and woman facing each other against a sunset background.

From the poster, it seemed to be a romantic drama.

“A movie?”

“Yes. Could you watch it with me? I actually like this kind of thing.”

That was a bit surprising.

That she liked romantic stuff.

“That’s perfectly fine. Let’s go.”

When I agreed, Akizuki-san looked a little happy as she grasped her own hands.

Did she really want to see it?

The movie theater was moderately crowded.

We sat in the premium seats on the second floor that allowed us to sit comfortably in the back.

Here there was distance from the surrounding seats so we could apparently watch the movie calmly.

According to Akizuki-san, ‘Since we have the chance, we want to enjoy the movie without worrying about other people, right?’

I understood—if the person in front was noisy, it would be distracting and you couldn’t enjoy the movie.

The movie itself was a tragic romance.

A sad love story where a boy and girl lived in opposite time flows and could only be together for fleeting moments. (T/N: Atleast try to be subtle author, for those who didn’t get it, the movie is Your Name)

The final scene was so moving I almost teared up.

Actually, there were people crying here and there in the theater.

It was a really good movie.

“It was really moving……wasn’t it?”

When the movie ended and I looked to the side, tears were flowing down Akizuki-san’s cheeks.

Tears that seemed to spill drop by drop.

Beautiful tears.

“……It was really wonderful.”

I handed her the handkerchief I had and had her wipe away her tears.

“I’ve seen it several times—this is a revival screening. The story is so wonderful, and when you watch it from both male and female perspectives, it adds more depth to the story.”

Looking back after it was all over, that was certainly true.

The first meeting, the “Nice to meet you” greeting was actually the last words of the older woman whose time was flowing backwards—thinking about it was so moving I was about to cry myself.

“……Do you want to use a handkerchief too, Takeda-kun?”

“……No, I’m fine.”

“I see. But I’d like to calm down and relax a bit. How about that over there?”

By the time we left the movie theater, the sun had already begun to set.

With shopping and everything, quite a bit of time had apparently passed without me noticing.

Following Akizuki-san, we entered an amusement park. I think it had a space-themed name.

This amusement park was a facility right in the middle of downtown Yokohama, bustling even at night.

“Nice view.”

From the Ferris wheel we rode together, we could see all of Yokohama’s cityscape.

Below, various people walked about, laughing happily.

“But you two really are similar.”

“Eh?”