Epilogue: Determination
"So, how'd it go? Your date with the young lady and the songstress?"
The day after I went to the theme park with the Young Lady and Otoha-san.
The moment I got to school, Yukimichi immediately brought up the outing. I don’t remember telling him anything, but judging by his expression, it seems he knows everything already.
"I must've done something wrong… By the end, both of them looked pretty down."
"Ah… I see. I think I get the general idea of what happened now."
I don’t have the slightest clue, but apparently, Yukimichi has pieced something together already.
As expected from someone with such a sharp sense for information. I really need to learn from his observation skills.
"……"
"So, what did you do about it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don’t bother hiding it. It’s obvious you’re troubled about something."
…Seriously, I can’t hide anything from this guy.
"Well, I’ve just been thinking about some things."
"Thinking? About what?"
"Yeah… Honestly, I feel like I might just be getting in the young lady’s way."
"I see. So this is the part where someone says, 'Save your sleep talk for when you're asleep.' Good to know. I’ve learned something today."
"Hey, I’m being serious here!"
"Oh, shut up! Spare a thought for me, the one being forced to listen to your nonsense!"
What nonsense. Here I am, seriously troubled about this.
"…Well, this is the first time you've said something like this. Fine, I’ll hear you out."
"…Thanks, I appreciate it."
Yukimichi might be an idiot in many ways, but when it comes down to it, he’s always willing to listen.
"I’ve served by the young lady’s side all this time, thinking I was supporting her. But at the same time, I wonder if I’ve been holding her back from growing."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"I think part of the reason the young lady didn’t make many friends was because I was too overprotective. Now she has people like Otoha-san, and the ones she got close to during the sports tournament. But all of that happened when I was trying not to interfere too much."
"Well… there’s a lot I could point out, but I kind of get where you’re coming from. Still, why are you suddenly thinking about this now? Did something happen?"
"Yeah… I guess I had a chance to confront parts of myself I didn’t even know—like my possessiveness toward the young lady."
"Oh? And what exactly happened to make you realize that?"
"Uhh… when I shared a bed with the young lady…"
"Hold it right there."
He stopped me at the very start of the story. If you’re going to interrupt, at least wait until I’ve gotten to the point.
"What?"
"What kind of situation was that?"
"She asked me for a reward."
"Tendou-san, you really worked hard, didn’t you…?"
"? Yeah, she did. She gave her all during the sports tournament."
"Well, fine. I’ll refrain from saying anything for now. So, what happened?"
"…I ended up teasing her a little."
"You teased her a little???"
Yukimichi repeated my words back at me like a parrot. His eyes were wide open, as if he couldn’t begin to comprehend what he was hearing.
"…Hey. If you keep interrupting me like that, I’ll never get through the story."
"Got it. Okay. I’ll keep quiet until you’re done talking. Just go ahead."
Yukimichi clamped a hand over his mouth and settled into a posture that showed he was ready to listen.
Seeing that, I finally began to explain. I told him about how I’d teased the young lady—how I’d let my possessiveness show—and I also filled him in on what had happened at the theme park.
"—And that’s the gist of it."
"You know, at this point, you’d better not complain if you end up nailed to a cross."
"Why would that happen!?"
"If you can’t understand why, then you deserve to have stones thrown at you by every man on this planet!"
"Honestly… You always blow things way out of proportion."
"Whew, I did it! I held back! I’m proud of myself for not letting my fist fly just now! I deserve a medal for this!"
Talking with Yukimichi sometimes makes it impossible to make progress. It’s one of his worst habits.
"You know what? If you’re going to go that far, you might as well just hold her already."
"Hold her? The young lady?"
"No. Never mind. Forget I said anything… So, anyway. I get it—you’ve got a sadistic streak and some possessiveness. Fine. But what exactly is bothering you?"
"…This is still just something I’ve been turning over in my head."
After thinking about it all night, coming to school, and talking to Yukimichi like this…
My mind had cooled down, but even so, my thoughts hadn’t changed. That’s why this must be something I’ve already decided. Something I’ve resolved to do.
"I think… I’m going to leave the Tendou household for a while."
"……………………"
"…Hey. At least give me some kind of reaction."
"…Sorry. I just didn’t see that coming. I’m honestly shocked."
"To be honest, I’m shocked, too. I never would’ve thought of this until very recently."
Because I always assumed I would stay by the young lady’s side forever.
"After what happened at the theme park, I’ve realized how immature I still am. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the comfort of the Tendou household. I need to take this chance to reflect on myself and become someone truly worthy of supporting the young lady. It’s unacceptable for my immaturity to hold her back from growing."
"I have to say, your utterly pointless sense of loyalty is truly impressive."
"Calling it ‘the world’s most pointless’ is pretty rude, don’t you think? You could at least drop the ‘pointless.’ Just drop it."
"But will you even get permission for that?"
"Who knows. I’m still just thinking about it on my own, and for a while, I won’t be able to take care of the young lady. If I don’t get permission, I’ll just find another way to improve myself for her sake… Besides, it’s only temporary."
"Temporary, huh… Oh yeah, summer break is coming up soon."
"Yeah. I’m hoping I can use the summer break to make this work somehow. So, if I do get permission… I might need your help. I’ve never lived alone before."
"Well, watching you try would definitely be entertaining, so I might help you out when the time comes… But I wonder how all of this will turn out."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
—That was the conversation I overheard from the hallway outside the classroom.
Strictly speaking, I read their lips to follow along with the conversation, but that’s just a minor detail.
“…Kagehito is planning to leave the Tendou household…”
I could tell he’d been thinking a lot about me in his own way.
But more than that, I was shocked. Even if it’s temporary, I’d never imagined a life where Kagehito wouldn’t be by my side.
In the end, it comes down to whether or not I give my permission… But I don’t want to interfere with Kagehito’s plans out of selfishness. If he were to ask me for approval, I’d probably end up putting on a brave face and allowing it despite everything.
…No. There’s no point in dwelling on the negatives.
I should try to think about this positively. In a way, this might be a chance.
There was a time when I tried to create a bit of distance between us to make him more aware of me. That attempt ended in disaster when it inadvertently attracted that troublesome cat burglar, Otoha, so I gave up on the idea… But maybe I could use this opportunity to try again.
Last time, the distance I created was too half-hearted anyway.
…There’s always the possibility that even more cats will come prowling around, but that’s just how it is. Honestly, they’d probably show up even if I did nothing. In fact, they’ve been multiplying just fine while I’ve been by his side. At this point, whether ten or twenty more appear makes no difference—it’s just a rounding error. That’s how ridiculous it’s gotten.
"I’ll turn this crisis into an opportunity…!"
Clenching my fist tightly, I resolved myself.
―――― And so, summer break began.
Epilogue END
(2 Side Stories Left.)
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