NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34.1
Stage 2-3. Sometimes, Pain Is Necessary
“Ouga!? Hey, Ouga! Come back!!”
“…Why are you panicking, Karen? I’m the same as always.”
So don’t get your well-groomed face so close.
The more you press against me, the more my consciousness is stolen by those ample breasts of yours…!
“R-really? But it seemed like you froze up for a second there…”
“It’s just your imagination. Heh, Karen, you’re such a worrier.”
That’s a lie. I was momentarily captivated by her drastic change in appearance, by how cute she looked.
The only one who noticed that was Mashiro, pinching my back from behind.
It hurts. Mashiro, stop it, that hurts.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ouga?”
Weird, her smile is scary.
Heh, as expected from the girl I like. She’s got nerves of steel.
I’m falling for her all over again.
“Welcome back, Karen. You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
I force a nihilistic smile while touching Karen’s bangs, hoping she doesn’t notice Mashiro pinching me.
It brings back memories. She used to hide her eyes behind her bangs. I gave her a hair accessory as a gift to pin them back.
It seems she still treasures it.
Thanks to that, I immediately recognized her as Karen when we reunited, and even now.
“…I no longer have a reason to disguise myself as a boy. I’m free now. It’s all thanks to you, Ouga.”
She continued.
“And since you seem to like girls with, uh… big breasts, I thought this would make you happier… because I’m your fiancée, after all.”
“…I see.”
My childhood friend knew about my preferences.
But Karen accepted it, and despite her embarrassment, she exposed the part she had been hiding for my sake.
I’m rethinking everything now.
Trampling on the feelings of someone who has gone this far for me… wouldn’t that be the worst thing I could do?
Sure, Arnia was a huge problem, but Karen’s affection toward me is also partly due to my own actions.
Throwing all that responsibility away and abandoning Karen would be an incredibly cruel act—and there’s no way the woman of absolute justice behind me would allow it.
So, it can’t be helped if I change my opinion that I had before coming here. Yeah, it can’t be helped.
I’ll accept it—my engagement to Karen.
I gently take her hand.
“Karen.”
“What?”
“Let’s get married.”
“E-eep.”
And so, Karen and I were bound together, and we lived a happy married life. The end.
Happy ending!!
“Okay, Ouga, come back to reality now.”
“—!”
The pinch on my flesh twisted even tighter.
…As sharp pain coursed through me, my consciousness, which had been flying toward the future, was pulled back to reality.
I resisted the urge to let out a yelp and patted Mashiro on the head.
“Thank you, Mashiro. Thanks to you, I can make a sound decision.”
“I’m glad~. After all, I’m Ouga’s most important wife, right?”
“Huh?”
Before I could say anything, Karen’s voice rang out with an intensity I’d never heard before.
“…Riche, that’s quite the amusing joke. I almost laughed.”
“I’m only speaking the truth, though? Ouga gave this to me, with some very passionate words, too.”
Mashiro flaunted the necklace she wore around her neck.
Karen clenched her teeth, took a deep breath to calm herself, and spoke.
“Now that you mention it, I also remember Ouga saying something similar to me when we were kids. Something like, ‘Karen belongs to me’… wasn’t it?”
“Aren’t you just misremembering? Childhood memories are often more like wishful thinking.”
“”……””
Uh… why are they both looking so hostile all of a sudden?
“…It seems like the reunion went well, at least.”
“…!? Headmaster…”