When I Brought The Lost Little Girl To Her House, The One Who Came Out Of The Front Door Was The Most Beautiful Girl In The Grade. - Chapter 46

I walked along, the coins in my pocket jingling. At that moment, I wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular.

Then, I arrived at the park where Natsuno was playing. Because it was nighttime, the atmosphere felt like even ghosts could appear here.

I stood by a vending machine outside the park, pondering between a café au lait or a warm tea. As I stared at the vending machine, I noticed someone inside the park.

“Ah, um!”

The surroundings were quiet, so the conversation could be heard clearly.

I could tell there was more than one person.

“I, uh, will you go out with me?”

It was a confession of all things. I didn’t particularly enjoy hearing people’s confessions, but I suppose this couldn’t be helped.

So, what would the response from the other person be… and for some reason, I realized I was getting nervous too.

“This, this is the fifth time, you know?”

“Even so, I can’t give up on you!”

It felt like a scene from a drama… the first time I had encountered such a situation.

And confessing five times? Even though he had been rejected four times, he still liked the person…

However, I could understand how that guy felt. I, too, after confessing to Ayano for the tenth time, couldn’t just give up immediately if she rejected me.

It’s not just me. Most people would probably be the same way.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

With that one word, his confession came to an end. After buying a café au lait from the vending machine and entering the park, I saw the guy who had been rejected earlier sitting on a bench.

His face looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Um… is it okay if I sit here?”

“Huh? S-sure.”

“Thank you. There’s no other bench in this park.”

Despite being rejected, the guy kindly agreed to me sitting next to him.

“Um, can I ask you something?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I’m sorry, were you rejected?”

“Oh, you heard… Actually, yes.”

The guy let out a sigh. It was a really long one.

“You confessed five times? That’s impressive.”

“All five times, I’ve been turned down, though.”

Ha ha ha… Trying to laugh, even though it was hard to.

“I have a question. There’s someone I like. But I’m such a wimp that I haven’t even confessed yet. I feel like I’m wasting opportunities.”

The man nodded in silence. Then, I opened up and shared everything I was feeling with him.

Throughout that time, the man didn’t interject, he just listened in silence.

When I finished talking, he murmured, “I see.”

“I used to be a huge coward too. I didn’t have the courage to confess.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah, I was worse than you. I could only chase after her.”

I was surprised to hear this. A person who had confessed five times started out by just watching from afar.

“So, at one point, I thought, what would I do if she started dating someone else? I thought if that happened, I’d be bedridden from shock and frustration with myself.”

“Frustration with yourself?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t do anything. I hadn’t done anything all that time… To avoid that, I decided to take a chance even if I got rejected. To take the risk.”

Hearing this, I recalled what Yumi had said. Wasn’t this what she meant? Don’t run from a challenge.

“If a batter gets scared of the pitcher and doesn’t step up to the batter’s box, they can’t even compete.”

“Batter…”

As I muttered this, the man apologized, saying, “Sorry! Maybe baseball wasn’t the best analogy,” looking apologetic.

What he wanted to say was clearly “Don’t run from a challenge.”

But this, like that, is an action that requires courage, and the conversation has been proceeding on the premise of that.

“No, it was actually quite clear and it’s helpful. Thank you.”

“R-right, I’m glad then.”

“Would you like something to drink? As a thank you for listening to me…”

“N-no! It’s okay! You listened to me too.”

I didn’t listen to the guy as much as he seemed to think. Occasionally, I’d hear guys talking about their crushes or where they confessed, the first confession, things like that. I just responded with nods.

“I’m really…”

“Still, just having someone listen to me made me feel relieved.”

“Could I ask one last thing?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I wanted to ask this last question. It’s because he’s the right person to answer. A question.

“Are you not going to give up on her?”

“…Well, if the next confession doesn’t go well, I might consider it.”

“Actually, I was thinking of giving up if I got rejected today. But after talking to you, I realized I still like her.”

“Sorry for asking such a question.”

“No, I’m happy if it was useful.”

It felt like the park’s streetlights had become even brighter.

“Oh, there’s one thing I can confidently say.”

Saying that, the man stood up from the bench.

“Courage is magic.”

“Magic…”

Saying that, the man mentioned that he needed to catch a train and left.

It was probably about time for me to head back as well. I glanced at the can of café au lait I was holding in my hand.

Would I be able to sleep after this? I wondered about what would come next.

“Oh, I didn’t even introduce myself…”

But perhaps because we hadn’t exchanged names, I felt like there was something we could understand about each other.