(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 43: A Classmate's Circumstances

With a clunking sound, the elevator suddenly plunged into darkness.

“…Huh? Are we trapped?”

Most likely, yes. 

…Well, I figured the electricity would probably come back soon.  

For now, I took out my smartphone, turned on the flashlight, and searched for the elevator’s emergency call button.

“The emergency call button should be… wait, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

As I shone the light around, I saw Tachibana-san crouched down, her face hidden in her hands.

“Hey, are you all right? What’s wrong?”

I moved closer, trying to put a hand on her shoulder, but I noticed her whole body was trembling faintly.

“…I’m not good with dark and confined spaces.”

“Ah, claustrophobia?”

“Yeah…”

Her usual cheerful tone was completely gone, and in its place was the fragile image of a scared young woman.  

So that’s what her earlier scream was about. She wasn’t just startled; she was genuinely scared.

“It’s okay. I’m sure we’ll get out soon, so hang on for a moment, okay? I’ll make a call.”

I pressed the emergency call button, and the line connected right away.  

After explaining the situation, I learned that the building management was already aware of the issue and working on it.

“They said it’ll probably take about thirty minutes to an hour to get the elevator running again.”

“That long?!”

“Yeah, but there’s not much we can do except wait. Let’s just chat or something to kill time in the meantime.”

“…I guess that’s all we can do.”

Even so, her voice still lacked its usual energy.

“Still, it’s kind of frustrating, isn’t it?”

“…Frustrating?”

“Yeah! I mean, if we’d just gone one floor higher, we’d be in the cat café, meeting the cats!”

“The cats?”

“Yes! The cats! I was ready to pet all the fluff and soak in their cuteness!”

“You can pet them at the café, but I think soaking up their cuteness completely might be a bit much.”

“Wait, really? You can’t?”

I loved “cat-snuggling”, though.

“Probably not. I mean, wouldn’t it bother the other customers if you did that?”

True.  

Even though she was playful, Tachibana-san was surprisingly considerate.

“Ohhh noooo.”

“You’re being so obviously depressed,” Tachibana-san said with an amused smile.

“I live to adore cats. Seriously.”

“That’s definitely an exaggeration.”

“Fine, maybe it’s an exaggeration… but that’s how much I love cats.”

“So, was the cat café part of today’s plan because you wanted to show me something you love?”

“Yeah. I wanted you to get to know me better, since we haven’t had many chances to talk one-on-one.”

“…That’s true. Whenever we’ve talked before, it’s always been in a group.”

“Exactly! Plus, I kinda thought I could get you hooked on cats too.”

“But, you know, I actually don’t like cats—or animals in general.”

“…What?!”

She said it so casually!  

Didn’t that mean taking her to the cat café was a huge failure as a date plan?

“I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to dislike animals… I’m shocked.”

“Well, obviously there are people like that.”

“If someone dislikes animals, it’s only because they haven’t discovered their charm yet… But that’s fine! Even if you don’t like them now, I can help you fall in love with them! Cats are infinitely adorable. Maybe you’re just wary of them like a tsundere at first, but—”

“Whoa, slow down! You’re talking so fast you sound like a cultist.”

“Humans are meant to serve cats, you know?”

“That’s terrifying! And I can’t even see your face because of the blackout, but I’m sure you’re dead serious right now! You’re joking, right?!”

“Why would I joke about something so obvious?”

“Wow, you’re hardcore.”

Why did she seem so taken aback? It was just the truth.  

“…Okay, I’m kidding. But seriously, cats and animals are incredibly soothing. Actually… can I ask you for a favor?”

It was such a relief that she liked animals after all. 

For a moment, I thought this whole plan had been a disaster. Shiraishi-sensei had said she liked animals, but I’d started to wonder if I’d misheard.

“A favor? I’ll try to help, but I don’t have much money, so if it’s about that—”

“Why would I ask for your money?! That’s not it!”

“Then what could it be? I mean, I don’t have much else to offer, but if it’s something I can do—”

“Exactly! You don’t have much! But there’s one thing only you can do right now!”

Wow, that was harsh. Talk about a verbal slap.  

I might cry, you know?

“May I ask what it is?”

“Well… It’s kind of hard to say, but…”

“Wait, is it about money after all?”

“No, it’s not! It’s just… ah, fine! Can I get a little closer to you?”

“C-Closer?!”

“Is that a problem?”

“N-No, not at all!”

I felt her breath closer now. Then, I felt her lightly grab the hem of my shirt.

“If I don’t do this, I’ll lose track of where you are… it’s so dark, after all.”

“Because it’s dark, huh.”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, I was glad it was dark.  

If she could see my face right now, I was sure I’d be blushing bright red.

“I’m sure they’ll come to help soon. Let’s sit down so we don’t get too tired.”

“Good idea.”

She released my shirt, and we sat back-to-back against the elevator wall. I felt the soft weight of her back resting against mine.

This was bad.  

Being alone with a girl in a confined space was making me way too nervous!

I could feel Tachibana-san’s heartbeat through her back.  

But even more than that, I was worried she might hear my own heart, which felt like it was about to burst.

“Hey, um…”

“Y-yeah?”

What now?  

Surely she was not about to say something like, “I want to kiss you.”

No way, right?  

That would really put me in trouble!  

But, well, since she was my fiancée, technically it wouldn’t be wrong, would it?  

But was it really okay for things to escalate to an R18-like scenario?!

“…I’m scared of the dark.”

Ah.  

It was nothing like that. It wasn’t some cutesy, silly scenario.  

“…And I’m not great with confined spaces either,” she continued.

Her usual energetic way of speaking was replaced by something more vulnerable, like her true feelings were peeking through.  

…Maybe this was another side of her real self.

“So, it’s kind of like claustrophobia combined with fear of darkness?”

“…Not really that extreme, and on their own, they’re manageable. But when they come together, well… you saw what happened.”

Come to think of it, when I shone the light at her earlier, her face had been completely pale.

“Yeah, this elevator is pretty much the worst-case scenario for you.”

“Seriously! It’s like a direct hit!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize! It’s not your fault.”

“…I used to be fine, you know? But over time, without realizing it, I started having a hard time with it.”

Without realizing it, huh.  

That sounded like something from her past—like something had happened repeatedly over the years.

“I see.”

“…You’re not going to ask more?”

Tachibana-san looked at me curiously.

“Would you prefer I ask?”

“I… I don’t know! I just didn’t expect you not to push for more, so I was surprised!”

“I just figured you wouldn’t like it if I pried too much. If it was something I had to ask, then I would, but otherwise, I wouldn’t.”

I remembered the time with Hosho-san.  

Back then, I had to ask. I prioritized my sister over her feelings, so I asked even though I didn’t want to.  

But if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t do it.  

“Well, it’s not that deep of a story. It’s just… when I was younger, if I did something bad, my parents would lock me in a closet to reflect on it. I mean, I deserved it because I did something wrong, but… after a few hours of that, I just couldn’t handle dark and confined spaces anymore.”

She laughed brightly, almost too brightly.  

“…It’s a common, ordinary reason like that.”

“I see.”

What was I supposed to say to that?  

“That’s awful”? “You must’ve had a hard time”? “It’s okay”?  

None of those seemed right.  

“That’s why I was glad you were here today. There haven’t been many people who’ve respected me like you did. And having you here, well… I wouldn’t say I felt completely safe, but you being here really helped. So… thank you, Kyo-kun.”

“?! …I didn’t really do anything, though.”

“Kyo-kun really seems like the type who’d genuinely believe that, huh.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.

“So, how much longer until we’re rescued? I really want the lights to come back on soon.”

“Seriously, same here!”

“Wow, that was an intense agreement! Oh, Kyo-kun, are you scared too?”

“Not really. If anything, I kind of like the dark, especially at night.”

“Whoa, we’re total opposites! I love bright places!”

That fit perfectly.  

Crap, I was starting to reach my limit here.

I had been absorbed in her story earlier, but now that the conversation had turned normal again, I was remembering something important.

“Hey, um… since we’re in this situation, there’s something I want to say.”

“?! Already?! Isn’t this a bit sudden? Way too fast!”

Tachibana-san looked startled, her reaction exaggerated.  

But this wasn’t unusual, was it?

“It’s not sudden. This moment was inevitable.”

Ever since that time—

“Whoa, what’s with the sudden romantic vibes?! Wait, wait, I can’t keep up with this character shift!”

“Can I say it now? I can’t hold it back anymore!”

“Uh, um… I’m not ready, but fine, go ahead!”

It felt like her body temperature had risen slightly.  

But maybe it was just my imagination—or rather, I was probably imagining it because my own body felt like it was burning up.

“I… really need to go to the bathroom.”

“…What?”

“It’s really bad. I might not make it.”

My bladder was approaching its absolute limit.

“…Now?!”

“If they don’t get us out soon, it’s going to be really bad! Are you okay with me wetting myself here?”

“That’s absolutely not okay!”

“Right?! That’s why I wanted to warn you ahead of time!”

“No, just hold it in for now!”

She grabbed my shoulders from behind and started shaking me.

“Stop shaking me! That’s making it worse!”

“Ah! Sorry!”

This was really, really bad.  

“If this keeps up, I might develop my own fear of dark elevators!”

“Please don’t equate your bathroom crisis with my legitimate phobia!”

“Just keep talking to me! Help distract me!”

“Why am I engaged to someone like this?!”

Honestly, I was wondering the same thing.  

Why was such a cute girl my fiancée?

…Oh, bathroom…

—

Ten minutes later, we were finally rescued, and my dignity remained intact.