Chapter 103: What Only I Can Do
Some time had passed since Niigaki Takeo visited the Dragon Car. Sayaka, who had to pick flowers, got out of the car alone.
The night breeze was pleasant, perhaps because she was in a cooped up place before. She could smell the scent of the trees. When she took a deep breath, she felt as if she were being purified deep in her chest.
She opened her mouth modestly and let out a small sigh.
Perhaps she had been in bedtime mode, but now Sayaka was not wearing her glasses and had undone her hair, which she usually didin pigtails.
With her glasses off and her hair undone, her appearance was somewhat sadistic.
Reflecting the starry night sky in her eyes, Sayaka walked into the shade of the trees.
“What are you doing here at this time of night?”
A few steps further on, Sayaka was approached by someone from behind.
A platinum blonde danced across Sayaka’s torch-lit vision. She had the features of a Western doll.
A girl with a glamorous body wrapped in a worn uniform, Reika Joougaoka was approaching her.
“I’m picking some flowers. I’ll return as soon as I finish.”
was it because of the atmosphere, or because they were students with whom there was little interaction?
Even though they were classmates of the same age, they naturally took a polite tone.
“Then I will come with you. I’m not sure I’ll leave you alone.”
“Don’t worry, Reika-sama. I’ll accompany you”
Subaru, who suddenly was wide awake, quickly emerged behind Reika.
He was a very devoted person, but Sayaka couldn’t help but look uncomfortable.
As a modern high school girl, it took a lot of courage to go outdoors.
Sayaka had been living in this world for quite some time now. She used to go outside now, but she still thought it was an unorthodox suggestion to bring a boy of her own age.
“I have something to talk about with Sadogashima-san. You don’t need to come with me.”
“But the forest at night is dangerous. It would be dangerous for you two to go out alone together.”
“It will be fine. I have my spatial manipulation skill. I can kill a demon or anything else with a single blow.”
(Spatial Manipulation:Dimension the World was an all-round inherent magic skill that allowed Reika to distort space and move instantaneously, albeit at short range.)
It seemed that various effects could be exerted depending on how to handle it, and even Sayaka, a classmate, did not know the details about Reika’s ability.
It seemed to be a useful ability that could be turned into both attack and defence.
“It is not only demons that may attack you, Reika-sama. I’m also worried that two women are going by themselves.”
Subaru looked at Sayaka with a meaningful look in his eyes.
It seemed to Sayaka that he was telling her about the dangers from Ran.
“It’s bad manners for a gentleman to interfere in girl talk.”
No matter what he said it seemed that Subaru couldn’t force himself.
When Subaru was refused to go with Reika, he looked sad and depressed as he trudged back to the dragon car.
“Shall we?”
With Reika escorting her, Sayaka walked from the dragon carriage to a shaded area.
They went to a remote place and then turned around to see Subaru looking at them, with his face half peeping out from the trees.
His appearance was reminiscent of some housekeeper.
“It’s not advisable to go out alone in the forest at night.”
“I’m sorry. I just want to be alone for a while……”
Sayaka wasn’t careful, but she couldn’t help but make a soft sigh.
With Reika checking her surroundings, Sayaka quietly finished her business.
“If you like, I’d be happy to talk to you.”
As she was walking back to the dragon carriage after picking the flowers, Reika muttered something to herself as she remembered.
Reflexively, her feet stopped. Covering her mouth with a fan, Reika narrowed her eyes.
“Did you know I was having trouble?”
“What are you talking about?.”
Reika closed her fan and blinked her blue eyes.
“I won’t force you. But sometimes it’s easier to talk.”
Like a loving mother, she smiled and seemed to accept everything. In addition to the gentle tone of voice, a conflict was born in Sayaka.
For a while, Sayaka was troubled. She put her hands on her modest breasts and began to express her feelings, choosing her words carefully.
“There was a man I liked very much. I always imagined a future with him……No, we’ve tied the knot. But I realized that it wasn’t through pure feelings, and…”
Perhaps because Sayaka started talking before she had a chance to think, her speech went over and over with the same points, and as a result it was very confusing.
This was not a consultation, it had become a complaint. Still, the overflowing emotions pierced Sayaka’s heart so blatantly that she felt like she was about to burst into tears.
She had a crush on a boy - Ran Kirishima. The result was the same.
It was a great leap forward from the days when she could only watch from afar, without exchanging a word.
However, her relationship with Ran was completely different to what Sayaka had imagined in her mind.
“Maybe I should be satisfied with the status quo. Maybe I’m just being selfish. Maybe it’s too much for me to wish for something special. However, I still feel that I don’t like the way things are.”
There were many girls surrounding Ran. One of them was her.
Sayaka hated herself for being jealous. She could not say anything like a heavy woman and she was bothered by all the things she’d accumulated.
(Note: heavy woman in this context extreme jealousy)
Ran was a boy, so he should know that there may be something wrong when a girl was being quiet. She couldn’t help but think about such selfish things.
“I don’t know what to do,……-I’ve been wondering for a long time.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you want to make the man you love fall in love with you.”
“……Roughly speaking, yes. He is liked a lot not only by me, but also by other attractive girls. …… I don’t like predatory love or anything like that, so I don’t want to initiate it myself.”
Sayaka didn’t want to think about another girl having a bad experience because of her. The other girl also demanded for Ran.
It was a very selfish and naive argument. Recognizing her disgusting self again, Sayaka sighed.
“I don’t think I’d stand a chance in the first place……”
Despising herself, feeling sorry for herself, healing and comforting her wounded self.
Not thinking for herself and instead relying on others for ideas.
The only thing she wanted was for Ran to choose Sayaka.
And not him trying to seduce her to make her choose him.
She was afraid that the other girls would be jealous of her, so she shied away from them.
She tried to be a good girl by putting all the unpleasant tasks on her beloved Ran. She was a jerk.
The negative thoughts were rising and Sayaka became sullen.
“That’s just too convenient. ……”
“I don’t know. I think it’s a natural human desire. 『I don’t want to be the bad guy, I don’t want to hurt. I don’t want to be hurt either.』”
“But everyone else is trying so hard to be in love, and I’m the only one cheating……”
“I think you need to think more positively than to think badly about outwitting and looting.”
Reika looked straight at Sayaka who raised her face.
“It’s not just about doing what only you can do.”
“What only I can do……?
Reika licked her lips and her cheeks slightly tinted.
“I’m going to talk about Subaru. When I first met him, I didn’t care about him at all, although I now recognize him as ‘the one’.”
Sayaka is surprised by the sudden remark.
She had heard that they had been together since childhood, but did Reika also have such a time?
It was hard to believe, seeing as how they usually had a close relationship.
“It was a relationship decided by our parents. I’m an adult now, so it’s not impossible for me to reject it if I wanted to. Of course, there will be many things that I will have to let go of.”
Reika jokingly put her fan to her mouth.
Sayaka could only nod her head in silence.
“But now I can think of no one else but Subaru as my partner. No matter how many attractive men appear before me in the future, I will always choose the Subaru. I can’t think of anyone else I would rather be with for the rest of my life.”
Sayaka blushed in embarrassment at Reika’s straightforward infatuation, even though she was not involved.
Reika also looked a little embarrassed and turned her blue eyes away from Sayaka. freewe(b)novel
“Love and affection, I’m sorry you had to go through that. But that’s what love is all about, isn’t it? There are many reasons why I chose Subaru, and it’s not something I’m going to blabber about to everyone, so I’ll keep the specific memories to myself…… He is also willing to do everything for me and only him that can do it for me. He is very devoted to me. That’s why I want to answer Subaru with all the love I can muster.”
“Joougaoka-san…”
“I think you should do what only you can do and do it to the best of your ability. It’s not about outdoing your rivals. In fact, it is something to be proud of. There is no one who would think badly of you for doing your best to make your beloved boy happy.”
In today’s world, it was not always convenient to work hard and be rewarded for it.
Reika’s advice was clear and unadulterated, like crystal-clear water. It was hard to deny that she was a good person.
But when Reika told her, Sayaka felt like it was the right thing to do.
“Was it because I could hear one answer from the mouth of another?”
Sayaka felt a little clearer. The dark clouds in her chest seemed to be dissipating.
“Hmmm,yeah,……Yeah, I guess so”
Sayaka had been unable to talk to anyone about her small but deep-seated worries.
Sayaka’s true feelings, which she couldn’t tell even to her best friends, Yuri and Emi. Though when she tried to reveal them, they got stuck in the back of her throat and became painful.
The only girl who had escaped the Ran’s poison - perhaps because she was a classmate of the same sex.
Sayaka felt a little better after talking with Reika.
“You’re looking better.”
Brushing her long platinum blonde hair with her hand, Reika opened her fan to cover her mouth.
“Is everything all right now?”
“…… Yes. I feel like I can do it.”
Sayaka nodded her head in agreement, her intention was modest but certainly strong.
Something that only Sayaka could do for Ran.
“I’ll do my best to find it.”
Clenching a small fist in front of her chest, Sayaka made up her mind to do so.
◇◇◇
When Sayaka returned to the dragon car with Reika, she found Kanami in front of the boarding gate.
Her hair was shaggy and her ponytail was slightly unravelled, which was unusual for Kanami, who was always so well-behaved.
Despite her lumpy appearance, her skin seemed to have a certain glow to it.
When Sayaka realised what had happened, she felt a pang in her chest for a moment, but secretly took a deep breath to calm her aching heart.
“Joougaoka and Sadogashima, what an unusual combination.”
“The forest is dangerous at night. It’s not safe for a weak woman to be alone.”
“From my point of view, Reika-sama is also a fragile woman. Please go back inside. Come on, quickly.”
“I understand, but please don’t push me!”
Like a squire who has lost sight of his princess, Subaru pushed Reika as she headed back into the dragon carriage.
Sayaka turned to Reika and thanked her with a bow. She smiled brilliantly and disappeared into the dragon carriage.
“-to. Welcome back, Kana-chan. Is it time for your shift?”
(ーーっと)
Saki appeared before both Reika and Subaru.
Sayaka, who had lost track of time, sat outside the dragon car, absentmindedly playing with her knotted hair.
“Aa, Aihara or Onigawara should be back in a little while. Why don’t you go over there and have a rest?”
In the direction that Kanami pointed out, there should be a dragon carriage parked for luggage storage.
Saki glanced at Kanami’s direction, then shook her pale face and shook it from side to side.
“……N-no, thank you. I’m staying here for the night.”
“Really? You don’t have to be shy.”
“Eh, I’m not being shy, I’m just saying, you know, …… You see that thing over there? It’s ……, you know, the thing.”
Kanami mysteriously tilted her head to Saki’s muddy words.
Eventually, she came to her senses and patted her palm with her fist.
“ーーAa, I remember, it was hooked up in the middle of the road.”
“Isn’t it?! I mean, it’s even faintly visible from here: ……! Aamou,It’s impossible. It’s moving so fast it’s freaky. …!”
Saki embraced her body in a creepy way and shook a little. Kanami turned her face to see what she noticed when she noticed Sayaka, who was confused.
“Shirayuki is not very good with reptiles in general. …She’s afraid of the high-black lizard that Ran brought with him.”
“I tried not to make a fuss because I was in front of Kiririn, but I just couldn’t. …… I can’t. ……!”
In the face of a groaning Saki, Sayaka wondered if she should tell her. Eventually Sayaka decided to tell her just in case.
“I hear there are lots of lizards like that in the woods around here……”
“That’s true. That’s what Ran told me a while ago.”
Saki sighed painfully at the information from Sayaka and Kanami that seemed to remind her.
“Misuzu felt sorry for me, too…I was fine with the dragon, but I’m not so sure about that one. It’s tough, but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it……”
She clutched her head with a heavy heart and went back to the dragon car.
Kanami and Sayaka looked at each other and followed her.
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