Chapter 88
Love Letter
“What is this…?”
When I arrived at school this morning, I found something unexpected inside my shoe box . It was a cute envelope with pink colored edges and cat prints .
“?”
The opening of the envelope was sealed with a cat sticker .
“…”
Is this, no way—!? Isn’t this a love letter!? N-no one saw, right…?
Taking a quick look around, there wasn’t anyone that seemed to be interested in what I was up to . In a panicked state, I headed to the nearby restroom and locked myself in a stall . After undoing the seal, I opened the envelope . Maybe because the stationary used came along with the envelope as a set, there were a few cute deformed cats printed on it .
“T-this, it can’t be, right…?”
There shouldn’t be anyone who would write a love letter to me…
To Sanadkun,
Sorry for this sudden letter . It came to this because I was unaware as to any of your contact information . We were in the same class in our first year, and talking with you was really enjoyable . Your looks are also my type . You might not remember me very well, but I have something I want to tell you . After school today, I’ll be waiting behind the school building . If you do decide to come, it would make me really happy .
2-E Hamana Yui
——It’s most definitely a love letter!? A hundred out of a hundred people would determine this to be a love letter . That’s how much of a love letter it is!
Class E’s Hamansan…? Most of my memories involving my first year of high school have become quite vague, but I do remember Hamansan . If I remember correctly, she was in the concert band . She was a free-spirited girl that talked frankly with everybody, and her smile gave the impression of a cute girl .
Staring closely at the paper, marks could be seen from using the eraser over and over again . It seems that while thinking of how she could convey her feelings, she had rewritten it multiple times . Since I don’t have any female friends, even if she asked other girls, she wouldn’t be able to find my mail address .
This was the first time I’ve received something like this since I was born . W-what should I do? I would normally be happy about this…
“Uuaaaaaaaaah!? Is this really happening?”
Don don, I hit the door . Reading it over again, I can see that she might have had feelings for me since our first year . This would mean that Hamansan favored me .
Of course, the previous time, I hadn’t had an event like receiving a love letter, which is a perfect representation of youth . I guess this would be the thing where a sheep doesn’t look attractive on its own, but when a wolf is aiming for it, it’s charm is suddenly raised .
Which means, me dating Hiiragi-chan, I don’t really know, but is there some sort of pheromone that’s associated with that? anyways, that doesn’t matter . I have to turn down Hamansan’s feelings .
“… Is this really happening…?”
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Even if I’ve been rejected before, I have never thought that I would be rejecting someone else .
If both people were put on scales, this would be obvious but Hiiragi-chan would stand out as the stronger .
My excitement cooled down in a moment .
I am going to respond to Hamansan with sincerity . Tell her that I’m sorry .
I might make her cry . Other girls might also talk behind my back, calling me terrible for rejecting her .
“… Sanadkun, you don’t seem to have much energy . What’s wrong?”
During lunch break, when the four of us gathered in the home economics room and ate our lunch boxes, Hiiragi-chan peered over at me worriedly .
“No… it’s nothing . ”
If I tell her about the letter, Hiiragi-chan will definitely feel anxious and start to worry .
During the afternoon classes, the teacher’s explanations came in one ear and out the other . Not even one bit of it entered my brain . As the end of school hours closed in, I became nervous . However, Hamansan’s nervousness was probably significantly higher than mine .
When I first confessed to Hiiragi-chan, I didn’t know when I would return to the present time, so it was partially in the heat in the moment and a part of me that knew there was nothing to lose . I was embarrassed and nervous .
However, when a time and place is decided, a different feeling of nervousness overcomes you . Her preparing the letter, placing it into my shoe locker and then waiting for school to end . That is amazing .
The last bell of the day rang, and everyone left the classroom .
Now should be alright .
With my indoor shoes still equipped, I head towards the back of the school building . The area where the tea room was also located had no people around as usual . Under the eave of the tea room, Hamansan was waiting .
When our eyes met, my heart rate suddenly increased .
as a guy, I should say something first .
“Umm . About the letter, thank you… I appreciate it . ”
“Yeah . Sorry for calling you out so, suddenly… I-if you have plans, w-we can finish this quickly . ”
Her voice and way of speaking was quieter and faster than I remember it to be . The tone conveyed her nervousness .
“No, it’s okay . I don’t mind since I didn’t have anything planned . ”
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What did you want to talk about? Should I start it off with something straight-forward like that…?
I’ll just wait for Hamansan to start talking…
“T-the sports festival, you had great success didn’t you . I was watching . ”
“ahh… Yeah, it wasn’t really that much of a success… There were just a lot of things that happened . ”
Hahaha, as I laughed dryly, I was troubled about where to look with my eyes and ended up looking down . I noticed Hamansan tightly clutching her hand into a fist .
“U-ummm——During the borrowed item race… the person you like… you brought Hiiragi-sensei, right? About that——what does it mean…?”
“Aaah, that… I just thought that it would be safe to bring a teacher… Me included, everyone likes Hiiragi-sensei, right?”
It was a response that I had thought of beforehand in order to answer anyone’s questioning . In reality, I was asked similar things by the girls in our class after that .
Whether she thought of it as a joke, or whether it was because of something else, Hamansan’s expression slightly softened .
“That’s true… D-do you have anyone else you like?”
Why are you asking that——I won’t say something dense like that . If I wasn’t handed the letter, then I would think that it would be weird to have been asked that though .
“There’s no one else . ”
Other than Hiiragi-chan, there is no one else that I like . That isn’t a lie .
“…Umm, you know . ”
Dokin, my heart jumped .
Hamansan cut off her words, and pursed her lips for a while .
“Ummm…”
“Yeah?”
“Since before… since our first year, I’ve always liked you . ”
Gripping the hem of her skirt, Hamansan said that while looking straight at my eyes .
“Thank you . ”
This confession, if we were still in our first year, I would have easily answered her and dated her .
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I mean, it’s normally impossible for me to date a teacher .
It’s impossible .
That’s something that everyone knows as common sense . No matter how deep or shallow those feelings are, the chance of it happening is zero .
If a girl in front of me liked me, and that person was also a girl that I felt like I could like… there would be no reason for me to refuse——There would probably be some jealousy directed at me from Fujimoto though I think .
Even if that is something that might happen, it’s still just an if .
This time, I don’t understand how it happened, but that supposedly impossible if, has now occurred .
After my word of thanks, I spoke again to Hamansan who was waiting .
“However, I’m sorry . I’m really happy to receive your feelings, but I cannot reciprocate them…”
After a breathtaking silence, Hamansan opened her mouth .
“I… I see… Your reason, can I ask you for it…? Is it because you don’t have much interest in romance…?”
It seemed like she would cry at any moment, but still, she asked me straight on .
Just telling her that I have someone I like would just be passing it off . Thinking that, I didn’t do it . Most likely, if I did, she would accept it, but after receiving a love letter for the first time, towards the girl who while nervous squeezed out her courage to confess to me . Running away from that with some vague statement? Is that really me being sincere?
“… Sorry . Earlier, when I said ‘Everyone likes Hiiragi-sensei, right?’ it was brushed over a bit, but… I was serious . I seriously like her . Hiiragi-sensei that is . ”
I left it with the nuance that I liked her one sidedly though .
“… Yeah… I thought that might be it… When we went on our school trip… you seemed to be really enjoying it after all . ”
Good luck, saying that with a tearful voice, Hamansan ran off .
Haaah… as I let out a sigh, I sat down on the spot . This was good . However, my chest hurts . If I hide the fact that it’s Hiiragi-chan and announce that I have a girlfriend, this probably wouldn’t happen, right?
“… Sanadkun . ”
“Aah… Sensei . ”
She might have been watching the whole thing from the start . Normally, Hiiragi-chan would tell me that she likes me, and look completely happy, but right now she had a slightly complicated expression .
Hiiragi-chan also sat down beside me .
“You were confessed to by Hamansan?”
“Yeah . I rejected her though . ”
“I see… Last week, I was asked by Hamansan . Do you like Sanadkun? She held the determination of a maiden in love . ”
It seems that Hamansan had asked her when Hiiragi-chan was alone . At that time, Hamansan had apparently revealed that she liked me and declared war on Hiiragi-chan .
“How did you respond?”
“I like him, you know? I said it with a really light tone . I didn’t lie . I don’t know how Hamansan interpreted it though . ”
“It seems that she somehow had a feeling that I liked you . ”
“You naturally end up chasing your eyes the person you like, and then you end up knowing a lot about them . And so, she was probably wondering what I thought of you I think . ”
That means, Hiiragi-chan knew that I would be confessed to at some point .
“Dating at school means that this type of thing would happen… You’ll end up making every girl other than me cry . ”
“Every girl? That’s an exaggeration . There probably won’t be anything like this from now on . ”
“Is that really true? I can think of at least one more person . ”
Who would that be?
“… You know, I’m actually a little worried . ”
“That I would two-time?”
“That you would change to liking someone younger than me . ”
“Someone younger…”
I smiled wryly .
“The only person I like is Haruksan . ”
Hiiragi-chan placed her hand on top of mine .
“Thank you . Me too . ”
That day, for dinner, I was called over by Hiiragi-chan . The number of words exchanged between us were few . However, it was just that the number of kisses we shared had increased .