Too Many Losing Heroines! - Volume 2 - Chapter 3.3

An unknown amount of time has passed.

Yakishio has calmed down slightly. She wept as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“…Sorry, I just keep talking about myself.”

“Don’t worry about it. If anything, I should apologize for forcing you to say something like that.”

Yakishio shook her head. She seemingly said it was nothing.

“Hehe, …you’ve seen my embarrassing side once again. Don’t tell other people I’ve cried, okay?”

She laughed with tears in her eyes. I followed her and chuckled as well.

“I can keep this a secret, but there’s something I want to talk about. Can you listen to me?”

“So it’s like hush money? Sure, what is it?”

I cleared my throat with a cough.

“This happened to one of my female friends.”

“Nukkun, you have a friend…?”

Please don’t worry about that.

“Yes, for real. That friend is just like Yakishio. Her closest boy got a girlfriend.”

“…Yes.”

“She did give them her blessings, and she didn’t try to intervene. However, from my perspective, she seems…”

“…What’s wrong with her?”

“…She’ll swoop in if she even has the slightest chance.”

“Swoop in!? She is a bad girl! Nukkun, you befriended a bad girl!?”

Regrettably, yes.

“Yet, she doesn’t want to ruin their relationship, so she decides to construct a new one. To enable herself to support those two sincerely, she’s still searching for a new distance between the couple. It’s because she doesn’t want to deny her feelings, but she also doesn’t want to deny how much she wants to stay next to her.”

“You try to sugarcoat it, but she’s just looking for an opportunity, right?”

Well, I guess.

“What’s the conclusion of this?”

Indeed, I looked to the night sky and started pondering about it.

“Let me think. Compared to her, Yakishio is definitely a good girl, alright? What do you think?”

Yakishio also stared at the sky.

“…Maybe. I think I feel better now.”

Glad you feel better now. Thank you, bad girl.

Yakishio put her hands behind her. We looked upward together.

“I’m a blessed person, okay? Even though I did something like that, everyone still came all this way to comfort me.”

“Well, you’re Yakishio, after all. Everyone cares about you because they believe in you.”

“…Eh?”

“Nukkun seems really gentle and kind today. What’s wrong? Did you get a cat?”

“Nope, …this is just midnight feelings. Forget about it.”

Midnight is bad. Yanami will absolutely tease the shit out of me if she sees this. I looked around subconsciously.

“What’s wrong? You seem startled.”

“I just think it’s almost time to go back. Yanami-san is worried about you as well.”

“Oh, did I wake Yana-chan up? I did a bad thing.”

I stood up and patted my pants.

Yakishio thought of something when she planned to stand up. She sat down again.

“Hand.”

Yakishio reached her hands out toward me.

“What’s wrong? Did a bug-“

I bitterly smiled in the middle and reached my hands out to her.

Then, Yakishio held my hand and stood up.

“Nukkun is getting reliable.”

“It’s midnight, after all. Yeah, it’s because it’s midnight.”

I quickly stepped forward to cover my embarrassment. Yakishio walked next to me.

“Nukkun.”

“What?”

“I promise I’ll explain this to Mitsuki and Asagumo-san properly.”

“Even Asagumo-san too?”

“Yeah, I met with her boyfriend in secret, after all. I want to apologize to her in person.”

…Yakishio doesn’t seem to know that Asagumo-san already knows this.

Even though I struggle with whether I should tell her, I think I’m not supposed to be the one to say it.

Whether it’s Yakishio or Asagumo-san, the best for both worlds is that they communicate themselves.

“Sure, I’ll help you tell Asagumo-san. She’s very worried about you as well. She even came to me a couple of times.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave it to you. I’ll cooperate with Asagumo-san’s schedule.”

With how Asagumo-san looked yesterday, I guess their meeting won’t go wrong.

“…There’s one more thing. Nukkun, I want you to help me.”

Yakishio lowered her head. Her face seems anxious.

“Sure, what do you want me to do?”

“I’m still terrified if I have to talk to Mitsuki. …I’ll probably run away if no one’s watching me. Uh, so-“

Yakishio grabbed the bottom of my shirt tightly with both of her hands.

“So, can you go with me!? I’m not saying that you have to watch me. I just think that I can muster my courage if someone’s there. Well, I’m really sorry for causing you trouble constantly, but I-“

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Yakishio froze for a moment upon hearing my answer.

“…Eh? Are you sure? That’s a half-hearted reply.”

“Just because I answer half-heartedly doesn’t mean I think about this half-heartedly. How should I explain this to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not that big of a deal. …That’s what I think.”

“Heh, I thought you would say something cool.”

“I only say cool lines at key moments.”

Yakishio put her hands on her waist dumbfoundedly. She even sighed explicitly.

“That’s why I don’t like this part of you, Nukkun.”

Yakishio turned around and strolled forward with light steps.

“Which part are we talking about here…?”

She seems to have heard my mumbles. Yakishio turned around and showed her shiny teeth toward me.

“I’m not telling you.”

After that, Yakishio walked faster.

*

It’s the morning. Yanami clapped her hands and said, “Thanks for the food.” She stacked the plates together sleepily.

“I’m tired. …Nukumizu-kun, aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine. I immediately went to bed after coming back. Yanami-san, did you not sleep?”

I put the last bit of orange jam onto my last bite of toast. Yakishio’s grandma’s special orange jam’s sweetness is just right. It’s delicious.

“I don’t remember when did I go to bed. I’m so tired that I didn’t even eat much for breakfast.”

After that, she yawned without covering her mouth. Sidenote: this girl ate three pieces of toast for breakfast.

…Yanami waited outside the entrance when Yakishio and I came back yesterday.

The two girls had a small chat, poked each other’s waist while chuckling, and returned to their room. After watching them, I just collapsed onto the bed and slept without even changing my clothes.

Then, Yakishio pushed open the door and slapped me up this morning.

“Komari-chan, you want another bowl of salad? You only finished half of your toast.”

“W-Woke up too early. C-Can’t finish it…”

Yakishio talked to Komari when she was having an uphill battle with the remaining half of the toast.

Yakishio seems just as cheerful and energetic this morning.

Her wobbly feeling from before has already disappeared.

This is probably my one-sided thought. However, even so, I still think that period of time isn’t meaningless.

I sipped some black tea while watching Yakishio and the girls having fun. Then, I saw Yanami’s eyes.

“Oi, Nukumizu-kun. That t-shirt.”

“Oh, this one? Yakishio gave it to me. I have to wash it and give it back to her.”

Remember I said I didn’t have spare clothes? I’m glad she can lend me that.

Then, Yakishio interrupted us when she was still teasing Komari.

“That’s mine. Glad that the size is right.”

“Ah, this is Yakishio’s shirt? Eh? Really? Should I take it off?”

I thought this was Yakishio’s grandpa’s. Even though it’s washed, will I really be forgiven for wearing a girl’s clothes?

“It’s just spare clothes. I was going to give this to Yana-chan yesterday, but the size-“

“Remon-chan!?”

Yanami yelled. Oh, this is the one Yanami tried to wear, but she didn’t fit.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep this a secret!?”

“It’s Nukkun. It doesn’t matter, right?”

“It matters a lot!”

Sheesh, these two are already so loud in the morning. I stacked the plates together after drinking the last sip of red tea.

Just as I’m planning to stand up to tidy up the utensils, I glance at this shirt I’ve borrowed from Yakishio once again.

…This shirt seems too tight for Yanami to wear. There’s no way she has a wider shoulder than I do. In other words, it’s the bust that doesn’t fit…?

Ah, shit. Loads of imagination appeared in my brain.

I tried to calm myself down by remembering Kaju’s face. At this time, a slim arm hugged my shoulders.

“Yo, playboy. You had fun yesterday, right?”

Tsukinoki-senpai hugged my shoulders intimately.

“Please don’t whisper to me suddenly. By the way, can you let me go?”

Please spare me. I barely calmed down. What a waste.

“I think you’re going well. Nukumizu-kun is unexpectedly capable.”

“I didn’t really do anything…”

I changed my mind in the middle.

“In the end, we can only watch over them. Also, can you let me go?”

“Hiya, you’re embarrassed even when it’s me? Onee-san is really happy here.”

Tsukinoki-senpai rubbed my head chicly.

“N-Nukumizu…even s-sexually harasses senpai as well.”

Komari raised her head. She’s looking at me like I’m a piece of garbage. I’m used to it at this point.

“Wait, I’m the one being sexually harassed, right?”

Yes, this is precisely the kind of bias that causes my reputation to plummet.

I ran away and watched the lively girls from a distance. At this time, Yakishio’s grandma came to me with a teapot.

“Nukumizu-kun, do you want another cup of black tea?”

“No, thanks.”

Grandma nodded. Her eyes squinted as she looked at Yakishio and the girls chuckling as if they were too bright.

“Remon has some excellent friends.”

“Not really, right? Girls from literature clubs have a special kind of courage, or you can say the kind that causes headaches.”

“Hiya, I’m actually talking about you, Nukumizu-kun.”

Grandma smacked my back as she joined Yakishio’s group with a smile.

…I finally know why Yakishio loves hitting my back.

I turned from their waves of laughter and walked to the kitchen with the utensils.