What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love? - Chapter 40 : Riku’s Threat

Chapter 40 : Riku’s Threat

Once you’ve experienced a significant trauma, you can endure most things. That’s a principle I know well from experience.

First, I undid the ribbon and two buttons on Shino’s uniform, revealing the color of her underwear.

Then, with a click, I captured her image on my smartphone.

Just that alone is enough to instill fear in a person.

Up until moments ago, she looked as if the world was ending, yet now Shino was resisting.

What scared her the most was probably the fact that she didn’t understand my intentions.

“W-What!? Stop taking pictures!”

Next, I pushed Shino further into a corner. The moment I grabbed her arm, she collapsed, unable to stand.

“Stop! This isn’t what I— No… stop!”

Who was Shinoo really resisting? It didn’t feel like it was directed at me, but rather at Ichinose and the others.

It seemed she truly had misunderstood. Though I wasn’t part of their group, her panicked excuse was likely her true feelings.

“So, you used someone’s feelings just to make yourself feel good, even though you never intended for things to go this way? What a cruel woman. That means, of course, you were prepared for something like this to happen. I have my own grudges too, so don’t complain.”

“Why…? Why does this have to happen to me? I… wanted my first time to be with Akito-nii…”

Hearing those final words, I stopped.

She had placed herself somewhere she was bound to be found. I had known from the start.

Shino still hadn’t given up on Akito. And now, for the first time, those very words had slipped from her own mouth.

“…I’ve lost interest. In the end, Akito really is special to you, isn’t he? Even if someone attacked you, you’d forgive him if it were Akito. What a crazy girl. Not my type at all… Actually, I never had that intention from the start.”

“…Huh?”

“I won’t lie and say I have no personal grudges, but I never planned on revenge. I was just pissed off because you said you didn’t like Akito. You should be happy, now stop crying.”

“…Disgusting! I’ll sue you! I won’t forgive you for this!”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot about that concern. Then… if you don’t want this photo spreading, you’ll stay quiet, won’t you?”

“When did you—?! You’re the worst!”

I had taken the picture openly, so why did she look like she had just realized it now?

I knew she was mentally drained, but at least she was still capable of understanding words.

I suppose I should be grateful for that much.

“In the end, nothing actually happened. As far as a deal goes, this isn’t bad. I have no desire to force myself on you, after all.”

“…If you won’t do anything, then delete it.”

“That depends on how you behave from now on. I’ll delete it eventually, so don’t be so scared.”

“Who’s scared…? I just… I don’t get it anymore.”

“You probably believed your own choice was the right one. That’s why you’re convinced that being rejected just once means you’ve failed completely.”

“That’s…”

“But just because you were turned down doesn’t mean your feelings were not worth it. If you put in the effort from now on, you could still make Akito turn around and look at you.”

“Why… why are you saying this to me? I have no idea what you’re trying to do.”

Was it really so strange that I was supporting Shino’s love?

Though, in this situation, I might be able to get her to listen to something.

“You probably haven’t noticed, so I’ll tell you — there’s someone I like, too. It’s Aihara-san from Nishikiba Girls’ School. But compared to Akito, I don’t stand a chance. If you manage to win over Akito, my competition disappears.”

In reality, the person I liked wasn’t Miumi, but Suisei. However, I had no intention of giving Shino that much information.

If she ever decided to interfere with me, it would be a hassle.

It would have been better if she misunderstood and assumed I was in love with Miumi.

“You’ve probably noticed a little, haven’t you? Akito has been actively pursuing Aihara-san. That’s why I can’t have you giving up now.”

“If Kokaze doesn’t give up on Akito-nii, will you delete the photo?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not ordering you to do anything. Even if you don’t do anything, I’ll still delete the photo.”

“Then… what do you want from me!?”

She was just panicking, this wasn’t some threat forcing her into obedience.

But I couldn’t leave her in this uncertain state. I knew I was the reason for it, after all.

Maybe I should just ask her something, as she wanted.

“…Then, how about you tell me a personal secret you’ve been hiding?”

“Huh…? That’s…”

“If you do, I’ll delete the photo in a week.”

“…I wear a miniskirt over my pajamas after taking a bath.”

I honestly didn’t get what was so embarrassing about that.

But Shino’s face turned bright red as she confessed.

Miumi never wore a skirt over her pajamas, so maybe it really was unusual.

Or rather, didn’t this just give me more leverage over her? Wasn’t she just trying to dig her own grave?

She should’ve just made up some random lie.

“Ugh, I’ve had enough… I’m leaving.”

Shino suddenly stood up and ran off.

Whatever secret she revealed must have been extremely embarrassing for her.

She probably wouldn’t be going back to class. But honestly, I couldn’t be bothered to chase after her.

She willingly shared a secret, so she’d likely be fine on her own.

I absentmindedly opened my phone.

Looking at the photo I had taken earlier, there was a girl crying miserably.

There was no denying it… I was the villain in her story.

I reflected on my actions for a moment, but the truth was that Shino had always hated me.

In the end, nothing had really changed.

“I should’ve just shown her the photo Chiya gave me and explained the situation from the start.”

Shino was likely under the false impression that she was being punished by a guy she had unintentionally hurt.

I had proof—I could have just explained. But trying to correct things now would only complicate matters.

I let my emotions take over and used her misunderstanding to my advantage.

At this point, revealing the truth would just make me look pathetic.

Still, there was one thing I decided to do for her.

I sent both the photo from Chiya and the picture of Shino to a certain someone.

I lightly cropped out any embarrassing parts, so it should be fine. The recipient wouldn’t even know who she was.

“If you make a girl cry, you should be properly disciplined. Let’s see if those words weren’t just empty promises.”

The recipient was Iyo Yasuike’s older brother.

Along with the two photos, I included a message explaining how Yasuike was involved and a few complaints of my own.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Kokaze endured the slight pain in her knee as she ran back home. Once she arrived, she changed out of her damp clothes into her casual wear and collapsed onto the bed.

Even though she had changed into her favorite mini-skirt to feel more liberated, an inescapable sense of frustration washed over her.

“That coward… He was just too scared to make a move.”

She kept telling herself that and convinced herself that must be the case.

Earlier, Kokaze had been so overwhelmed that she couldn’t even stand.

Kaido Riku… He was always sticking to Akito-nii and occasionally meddled in her affairs like an annoying obstacle.

A bothersome guy who used his childhood friend status to get close to Suisei-chan and Chiya-chan.

Just as she expected, the moment she let her guard down, he tried to intimidate her. But at the same time, he gave her a band-aid. Maybe he wasn’t entirely bad after all. There were a lot of things about him that contradicted the impression she had of him.

But it was natural. Kokaze had never been interested in that guy, nor had she ever tried to understand him.

And that was precisely why a frustrating whirl of emotions was swirling inside her.

“But still, who does he think he is, saying I’m not his type? That’s so irritating! Seriously annoying!”

In the end, Kokaze had ended up giving him leverage over her. That guy was cunning… there was no way he’d delete the photo. He’d definitely try to use it against her.

But if his goal was just to date Miumi-chan, maybe it wasn’t such a bad deal for Kokaze either.

“I’ll just pretend to be obedient, and when the time is right, I’ll make sure to get back at him.”

Even though she had sorted out what she wanted to do, her heart still felt unsettled.

“…You know what? Never mind. I should just stop — huh?”

Before she realized it, she had unconsciously spoken words of resignation.

She took a moment to sort through her emotions. It was a fact that Kaido had given her a band-aid. If she had just listened to him and returned to the classroom as he said, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten so mad.

Thinking back on it, little doubts started surfacing.

To say that Kokaze’s attitude wasn’t problematic would be a lie.

In the end, was Kaido actually just trying to comfort her out of kindness?

Maybe he took such a roundabout approach because she made it clear she didn’t want his concern… And yet, she never even gave him a chance to talk.

“Well, I mean… I am cute, after all.”

Yeah. That was the reason she could justify it to herself, because Kokaze was undeniably cute.

For someone to make a move on her only to back off? That was unheard of.

At that thought, an inexplicable emotion welled up from her chest.

“But… I just got completely and utterly rejected, didn’t I?”

Kaido had said she still hadn’t given up on Akito-nii, but Kaze knew better than anyone that her feelings were just remnants of an idealized past.

She wasn’t willing to chase after him after confessing her heart out only to be rejected.

Her admiration for Akito-nii had already ended.

And now, she finally realized it.

“…I see.”

After thinking for a while, she finally understood what had been bothering her — Kaido dating Miumi-chan was what unsettled her.

Just moments ago, she had felt an unexpected sense of frustration.

If she helped Kaido now, it would feel like she was losing again, just like with Akito-nii.

Then, what Kokaze had to do was—

“I’ll pretend to help with Kaido’s love life… and sabotage it instead!”

That thought brought a spark of light into her heart.

She didn’t know exactly what that tiny light was, but she was certain it wasn’t something bad.

With that, she found the motivation to go to school again tomorrow.

“If I’m not full of energy, then I wouldn’t be Kokaze anymore, would I?”

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Translator’s Note : Just a reminder, Kokaze refers to herself in third person perspective.

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TL : zenon_xt