Chapter 31.2
Suppressing my painful heart, I stare at Chako and, she gives a small sigh .
“… Y’know, Yui-chan, you’re a bit too earnest . ”
“… Earnest?”
I tilt my head a little at Chako’s sudden words .
When I do, Chako returns a small bitter smile to such a me .
“Yes… Working hard with all your might . When you hurt others you are hurt too . Even then, you don’t display that…”
The stars are projected in Chako’s golden eyes, which shine glitteringly .
“Yui-chan doesn’t have to be burned with everyone… You don’t have to be burdened with me . ”
Chako’s eyes are gentle…
Always with those eyes, she looks at me .
“I’m a casual person after all . ”
”Ah!” she lets out a voice, looking up at the sky .
“Y’know, Yui-chan is probably, thinking you’re using the feelings of others, and is slightly hurting right? You know what, the little things Yui-chan’s doing, don’t count as『using the feelings of others』, okay?”
Chako goes “Sit down?” pointing to the bench directly by our side .
When I sit there, Chako also sits next to me .
“Just now right, do you remember the things Tomotaksama said? The this and that about the Kuo siblings . ”
“… Un . ”
“You know what, I’ve always been hindering so that Yui-chan doesn’t fall in love with phantoms . ”
“… Love with phantoms?”
“Yes… Well, in other words Kousuke-chan and Sensei right? I set various honey traps so that those two won’t fall in love with Yui-chan . ”
Chako hindered my love, and set honey traps for Kousuke-kun and Sensei?
Surprised at the words coming in succession from Chako, my eyes widen .
Seeing such a me, Chako laughs “Hihihi” mischievously .
“Do you know what honey traps are? Saying suggestive things, taking on suggestive attitudes… Touching them unnecessarily? In outline it was Tomotaksama’s order but, he didn’t give detailed instructions, I’m the one who thought and put them into practice . I thought “Maybe I should do it to Yuusei-chan too”, and did it from time to time . Well, it’s awful right? This for sure, is what’s called using the feelings of others . ”
Chako looks up at the sky, speaking like it’s no big deal .
It takes everything I have to understand the words of such a Chako…
“In the Cultural Festival, Yui-chan said it’s okay to walk on my own road… So I thought I’d stop doing that kind of thing, and refrained . ”
So that was it .
After the Cultural Festival, Chako sat only next to me, and her figure of teasing the others is hardly seen anymore .
So the Chako up till the Cultural Festival had been doing things like that consciously .
“However… I didn’t intend to tell Kousuke-chan or Sensei about the things up till now . ”
“… Tomotaksenpai talked about it earlier, didn’t he?”
“Yes . I’m Tomotaksama’s familiar and approached them only because I was ordered to . I do think it’s more sincere to tell them but . ”
The Chako looking up at the sky laughing “Ehehe” .
“Things like that are so troublesome, you know?”
The Chako laughing carefreely .
“Kousuke-chan and Sensei have a bit of positive thoughts about me… Facing those is troublesome . Won’t time solve it for me at this rate? I thought . ”
Chako immediately escapes from facing others .
Surely, she had no intention of doing anything about Kousuke-kun and Sensei .
“Like “Ah, back then, could we have dated if I confessed?” or, “I sure was happy when I was with her” . It’d be good if they become trifling memories that can be turned back to with such feelings .
Not giving a reply regarding her feelings, casually evading it .
If it’s Chako, she seems like she can easily do such things .
“I don’t make things clear, living in a non-committal manner . ”
The Chako looking up at the sky looks at me .
“… However, Yui-chan’s different . You always face everyone, seriously listening to them talk . ”
Under the winter night sky .
The breath let out at times have become white .
“I think that surely everyone too, because Yui-chan looks at them directly… Because Yui-chan always works hard, they think about working hard . ”
Chako’s words make my heart squeeze painfully .
“It’s Yui-chan who saved everyone . But, you’re going to hand all of that to me?”
The golden eyes which had been looking at me soothingly up till now shakes in pain .
“Yui-chan steadily set things up, pushing me to the front… Am I to choose that, and ingest it?”
“…”
Chako laughs self-derisively .
It looks truly painful…
Chako’s golden eyes glance up, verbalizing an apology .
Then, she glares motionlessly at the ground .
I didn’t want to make Chako feel awful like this .
I simply…
“I… didn’t want to hinder Chako . ”
I want to save Chako .
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I want Chako to always laugh in this world .
That’s why, I worked hard until now .
For the sake of saving Chako, I dragged everyone around and arrived at this point .
However…
I can only pull Chako’s hand till the summit .
After that, it’s Chako’s choice who to walk around with .
I… am unable to cheer everyone on .
I also don’t want to help them out .
However…
I don’t want to hinder Chako .
“… Because, if I choose anyone… Chako will be mindful of me, and won’t choose anyone, right?… So I, didn’t want to choose anyone . ”
“I see…”
Thinking that Chako may be angry, I’m unable to meet eyes with her .
However, I bring out my courage, glancing at Chako with upturned eyes and, she’s smiling with a tender face .
That smile is extremely pretty…
“… Yui-chan, so you won’t choose anyone . ”
Chako mutters softly .
“Ah, sorry it came out like I’m condemning you somehow . I know . Yui-chan was concerned about me, right?”
“… Un . ”
Chako laughs happily .
Although I’m relieved she isn’t angry at my words, this smile is strange somehow . Not understanding Chako’s feelings, my eyes flutter and swim .
“But you know what, Yui-chan . ”
Chako looks at such a me unmovingly, her golden eyes shining brightly .
“I don’t need the role of an otome game heroine . ”
”Yui-chan really can’t be helped, huh?” Chako laughs .
Then, stretching out her right hand, she pats my head .
“… Chako?”
“Remember before, Yui-chan said it, right? That『I can probably persist if Chako pats my head』 . So, this is advance payment . Recall this when you can’t persist anymore .
I don’t know why, it suddenly became like this .
However, somehow feeling suffocated, I stare up at Chako .
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When I do, Chako moves away the hand patting my head and quickly bends down in front of me .
Chako squats in front of me who’s sitting on the bench .
Chako’s head has become around the height of my stomach .
“Chako? What’s wrong?”
At Chako’s strange behaviour, I also try to stand from the bench .
However, Chako stops me from that, taking both of my hands gently .
Chako’s hands wrap my hands up .
“I pray that Yui-chan will always be happy . ”
Then, while holding my hand, Chako sticks that hand onto her forehead .
“I pray that Yui-chan will always smile . ”
The stars are faintly twinkling in the sky .
Under that, Chako takes my hands and prays .
Towards that which seems like a ceremony somehow, I’m unable to say a thing, and I simply stare at Chako .
For a while, Chako sticks my hand to her forehead but, she gently lets go .
“… Yui-chan . I, am going . ”
“Chako?”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry I’ll be back at Valentine’s . I finally got away from Tomotaksama so, don’t look for me . ”
Laughing “Ehehe” like always, Chako stands up .
My anxiety increases at that smile . I also stand up and stretch my hand to Chako .
When I do, something soft enshrouds me from above my head, blocking my field of vision .
“…, what?”
The hand I stretched out to Chako is pulled back in a fluster, and brought to my head .
Hurriedly taking it in my hands, I recover my vision .
“Chako…?”
Tightly grabbing the thing enshrouding my head, I get up and look around .
I’m the only one in the quiet sports ground…
“CHAKO… CHAKO!”
I call with a loud voice but .
There isn’t a response .
“CHAKO!”
I look up at the sky while calling her name .
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There, unfitting with the night sky, a light brown bird of prey that looks like a falcon flies .
“… Idiot… Chako’s an idiot!”
When I shout facing the sky, that bird gyrates, setting off for someplace far away .
That bird is surely Chako .
Chako changed her form and left flying .
… I can no longer chase her if she goes so high like that .
“… Didn’t I say you don’t have to be the villain . ”
The whispering voice is shivering…
I drop my eyes to the thing my hand was grasping tightly .
The thing Chako enshrouded my head with before changing form .
A light brown, soft and fluffy to the touch muffler .
I wind that muffler around my neck .
Then, hanging my head, I press the muffler tightly against my eyelids .
Warm, tender .
“Idiot…”
Why did you decide it on your own?
I wanted to tell you various things today, from now on .
Chako’s always like this .
Not listening to me, always being convinced on her own .
In this manner, she chose a road .
My body shudders .
I didn’t feel cold when I was talking to Chako but, alone on the sports grounds it feels like the core of my body will freeze over .
Only the muffler wound around my neck, gives me a little warmth .
“… The muffler too, will disappear tomorrow . ”
If Chako disappears, the things Chako makes will disappear immediately too .
Surely this muffler too will disappear tomorrow morning .
“Idiot . ”
The word muttered softly disappears without reaching anyone .
As such, Chako disappeared from our sight .