kscans

Chapter 759 - Mutual Indulgence

Beautiful────I feel like that might be the first time anyone has ever said that to me.

My life is still short and shallow, so it wouldn't be impossible to recall my past. I could check if I wanted to... but I won't.

I want him to be the first.

That's enough for me.

"────...Haru."

While conveying both my protest and gratitude for how he always throws my heart into turmoil with both hands, I waited for the heat in my cheeks to subside before looking up.

And for good measure, I pinched both of his cheeks as he looked down at me.

"Are your words a little too loose... but only with me? Things like 'cute,' or... that... just now. You always say them so easily, without any hesitation..."

"Uh, well, um... 'only,' well, I guess..."

"It is only with me! I know, you know. You don't really say things like that to Nia-san or Iris-san."

"May I ask an unrelated question? How is it that you know that?"

"Because I've heard it from both of them."

"You guys have transcended the realm of 'good friends,' haven't you...?"

Aware that this, too, was a form of indulgence, I laid my heart bare without restraint or hesitation. As I questioned him frankly, I kept my grip on his cheeks so he couldn't get away...

"........................I feel incredibly guilty confessing this to Sora────to a girl who has told me she loves me, but..."

"...! Y-Yes."

His words pricked at my heart, and I fought to hide my once-again racing pulse as I urged him to continue. And then, without averting his gaze, he said,

"It's not just to you, Sora. I'm trying to say it. Now, I am."

"..."

"To Nia, and to Arshe, too. When I think it, when it comes to mind, when I feel it... Apparently, what's going on in my head is harder for people to understand, so I figured I should at least be honest about everything."

He was trying to change his way of thinking, he said. Not to change who he was, but to find a new way to face the people walking beside him.

"Anything I don't get about myself, I figured I should just let someone else notice it for me. Just like I've been taught over and over this past half-year... ever since I started Arcadia."

It wasn't just those around him who had found clarity.

"So I decided to give it my best shot, clumsy as I am, and try to rely on them. Try to be indulgent. So, well... I'm trying to say things more, without holding back."

He himself was starting to find clarity, too.

"But, well, even though I said I'd try, it's hard. The more conscious I am about telling a girl she's 'cute' or 'beautiful,' the less I'm able to say it."

The smile he wore────even if it was a self-deprecating one.

"...Then why can you say it to me so easily?"

"Right, that's how it would seem. Um, yes. I'm aware that the casualness I feel as your partner gets mixed in, and it just slips out. But, you see, that's not because I'm saying it lightly or anything, it's just that with you, Sora, my feelings of comfort and trust come first, which makes it easier for me to say, I guess you could say────"

It was still the smile that Sora loved.

"...I know."

"So────ah, huh, you do...?"

"I do. Because it's you, Haru."

Yes, I know.

I confirm it with words to uphold the promise we made that we'll never forget. The promise from that night when we linked our pinkies, not just to understand each other's hearts, but to communicate properly.

"...Please make sure you say it to Nia-san and Iris-san, too."

I released his cheeks but didn't let go, instead cupping his face with both hands. In the moonlit darkness, I offered him words of encouragement, cheering on his heart as it ran with all its might.

"...Are you sure it's okay for me to say that?"

"It is. Both of them are so cute and beautiful and charming that it's almost a problem for me. It wouldn't be healthy for you to say it only to me."

"Unhealthy... uh, you know. Like I said, I'm already trying to—"

"────Then please try harder."

"Ehh..."

With all my trust and confidence.

"You'll be fine, Haru. ...Because you're my partner, the one I'm proud of."

It was selfish, and childish.

A cheer, hiding none of my affection, I send to you.

Now, that being said...

"Speaking of which, I was also waiting for the right moment to say this."

"Hm?"

"Your yukata looks wonderful on you. It's very handsome."

"Oh, uh. Thanks for that────"

"It's a little alluring, it made my heart pound."

"What are you even saying???"

As an equal partner.

Of course, I have to get my own back.