The Villain Who Got Pinned Down Until He Ran Out Of Stamina ~ This Time I Raised The Protagonist's Affection Too Much And Everyone Fell For Me~ - Chapter 59: "How Happy I Would Be If I Confessed and We Got Together"

We entered the shopping mall, following behind them. After entering…

… 

“Now, let’s get back to following those two.” 

“Why did we have to disguise ourselves too…”

After entering the shopping mall, instead of following Yuito and his companion as I’d expected… Mahiro took me to a variety store.

“If they’re in disguise, we need to be in disguise too.”

With this mysterious logic, I was forced into a disguise.

Mahiro purchased round glasses. They had no prescription and were more like decorative glasses, but when Mahiro wore them, they added to her stylishness.

As for me, Mahiro had instructed me to sweep my hair up into a slicked-back style. And on top of that, I had to wear sunglasses…

“I look like a scary person no matter how you look at it.” 

“Yes, you do look scary.”

When someone with an already intimidating face did a slicked-back hairstyle and wore sunglasses, they became visually intimidating, but I felt like it actually made me stand out more…

“Anyway, how are we going to find Yuito and his companion?”

While we were at the variety store, we’d completely lost sight of them. Finding specific people in this large shopping mall would be difficult…

This was hopeless, right?!

“Mahiro-san. We have no choice but to give up—” 

“It’s fine.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’ve put a GPS tracker on Yuito’s smartphone.” 

“What… that’s not fine at all.”

Did she get permission for that? Being shown her smartphone with such a proud look was troubling…

“Now, shall we go?” 

“Umm…”

“It seems like they’re here.” 

“Another stylish café, huh?”

It was the type of place I wouldn’t normally visit — the kind that couples or girls would use. According to the GPS, Yuito and his companion were here.

After a while, a female server approached us.

“Welcome.” 

“Table for two, please.”

“Yes, table for two. Actually, our café has a couple’s discount if you’d like to—” 

“We’re not a couple.”

Mahiro and I replied in unison. The server seemed a bit confused, but we had to deny it, naturally.

We were guided inside. There were quite a few customers. The lighting was subdued with just enough brightness. The seating was similar to a family restaurant with partitions between tables. If we stood up, we could see the entire place, but that would look suspicious.

Yuito’s table was… ah, in the corner on the left side. Quite far from where we were guided near the register.

Which meant…

“Hmm. This makes it difficult not only to hear their conversation but even to keep an eye on them.” 

“Right. So let’s give up…” 

“They’ll have to pass by here when they leave.” 

“Seriously…”

Mahiro showed no signs of giving up. She opened the menu, assuming we would be staying.

…I guess I was going to be stuck here too.

“Kasajima-kun, are you hungry? Since I’m making you tag along, I’ll cover the cost of food and drinks here.”

“No, it’s fine…” 

“No need to hold back.” 

“No, really…”

I felt guilty as a man to let a girl treat me. Besides, I had some money…

“I’ll treat you.” 

“Huh?”

The words just slipped out. It was fine. I could afford food and drinks for two people with my allowance…

“Fufu. This has become a complicated conversation. Let’s each pay for what we consume.” 

“Y-yeah…”

The conversation paused there.

Like Riina, Mahiro would only talk if spoken to, but we weren’t particularly close… so the conversation didn’t flow.

Then our two iced coffees arrived. The iced coffee was… delicious. Really delicious…

“Hey, Mahiro-san.” 

“Yes?” 

“You like Yuito, don’t you?” 

“That’s quite direct. Well, I won’t deny it. I do like Yuito.”

She said it clearly without changing her expression. Of course, if she didn’t like Yuito, she wouldn’t have gone this far.

“…Aren’t you going to confess?”

When I asked that, Mahiro slowly put down her iced coffee cup, and said,

“How happy I would be if I confessed and we got together.” 

“Huh?”

I thought I saw Mahiro’s eyebrows droop for a moment.

“Liking someone is a freedom of choice, but becoming a couple only happens when both parties like each other. Even if I like him, if Yuito only sees me as just a friend, confessing would only lead to rejection.” 

“W-well, that’s…”

When we talked about confessing and getting together, the first thing that came to mind was mutual feelings. Given Yuito’s personality, and especially in this story, he wouldn’t date someone just to try it out.

“Besides, we’re talking about Yuito here. You understand what I mean, right, Kasajima-kun?” 

“Y-yeah…”

Because Yuito was oblivious.

“I’m just not confessing because I think I need a bit more time.” 

“So even you worry about these things, Mahiro-san.” 

“Of course. I’m still just a girl, after all… Though there might come a situation where I can’t afford to wait.”

Those final, cryptic words… were scary.

“I think you’ll have someone you like someday too, Kasajima-kun, and then you’ll understand my feelings.” 

“Someone I like, huh…”

Someone I like… I thought that was still far away for me.

◆

“…” 

“Is something the matter?” 

“No. It’s nothing.”

The woman sitting across from Yuito was looking at her phone with a contemplative expression… but then closed it and put it back in her bag.

“I think it’s safe to remove our disguises now.” 

“Ah, yes. We’re in the café now.”

Both Yuito and the woman removed their disguises.

“Shall we order some drinks?” 

“Yes. After they arrive, shall we get to the main topic?” 

“O-of course, Hibari-san…!”