Volume 2 - CH 20

Posted on June 3, 2022by Soafp

Translator: Soafp

Shirase bows her head abruptly.

“…… I am truly sorry for hurting Shota-san and for using you for my own purposes.”

I watched Shirase apologize with her head on the ground.　

The past events and memories of the past come to mind.

I had been shutting myself away from the world since this girl had put the finishing touches on me, and I had been sitting on the floor in my room and lamenting to myself inside alone. Back then, I would have had all sorts of feelings about this scene.

“……”

But not now.

To my own surprise, I felt no emotion toward Shirase as she bowed her head. No anger, no sense of accomplishment like I had made her apologize.

It was probably because of the first semester and summer vacation during which I had been living in hiding from my true identity.

I think I feel this way because I now know everything about her thoughts, actions, and motives. In that sense, it’s a blessing in disguise that I only found out about it now.

“All right. I accept your apology.”

“……Eh, are you sure?”

Shirase was more surprised.

“Why are you surprised?”

“Aren’t you angry?”

“I was angry and sad right after that.”

“I’m very sorry”

But I got over the trauma.

“It was certainly very damaging at the time, but that was more than two years ago now. I heard about Shirase’s situation.”

“But still—-“

“In general, there’s nothing I can do if I’m angry. The guy at that time was Yakumo-kun, and I know that Yakumo-kun is a good guy. He is crazy about Kanon, so your feelings for him are surely not going to reach him. You are damaged there, and I don’t want to push you any further. You apologized to me like this.”

I forgive Shirase. Shirase must be serious about her apology and remorse since she even got down on her knees.

The fact is, even if I still hold a grudge against Shirase, I don’t have the option of not forgiving her. I wonder if she understands that.

“……Haven’t you thought about revenge?”

Apparently she doesn’t understand.

“It’s impossible.”

“Why, …… I hurt you.”

“I have Kanon now. What if I get revenge on you? The most popular goddess in the school. The fans will obviously come to get back at me if I attack you. If I make an enemy of you, Kanon, who has nothing to do with you, might get involved. Ruining a new life because of personal feelings, like a kid.”

It’s not just Shirase, but the other goddesses as well.

If the fans are outraged, Kanon could be the target of their anger.

The fact that it happened more than two years ago is not enough to prove anything. They are hiding their true nature.

Now that I’m in high school, I’m doing better at socializing with people around me, but I still have a different opinion than the goddess. No one will believe me. Then the only thing I can do is to run away. That is the best self-defense measure.

“…… so you weren’t hiding your true identity to take revenge when the opportunity arose.”

“I didn’t think that. I thought that if anyone found out, they would attack me like they did in the past. If that happened, my family would be harmed. That’s why I hid my true identity.”

Well, I didn’t want to go back to those days myself.

Anyway, for me, a stable life now is far more important than settling past grudges.

“Since you apologized, Shirase must be sorry, right?”

“Of course”

“Then it is fine. If you feel bad, it would be more helpful if you treated me normally.

I’d rather it be that, if you’re willing to apologize, I’d appreciate a lot of help regarding my life in the future. Especially with regard to other goddess measures.”

Shirase bowed her head again, then gave a small nod.

“I understand. I will cooperate with Shota-san as a matter of good faith.”

“Then we are officially on the same page.”

“Yes.”

Thus, I made up with Shirase after two years.

Perhaps this response is naive.

But, I don’t want to lose my life now. I still have mixed emotions, but this is the best thing I could do rather than upset her and have her reveal my identity to the other goddesses.

After making up with her safely.

“So, how did you know about Akazawa?”

“I heard from Inuyama-san.”

“…… From Renji?”

“Yes. It was about last year’s God Conference.”

Then Shirase told me what happened.

Renji got angry at the meeting after the male god and goddess were decided last year and told the goddesses what they had done to me in the past.

“……”

I am ashamed of myself.

It seems that the letter I left behind has caused Renji a lot of pain.

I knew that after thinking about it for a while. I would have lost my temper if Renji had treated this way too. If I may be excused, at the time I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be concerned about that.

“So …… the other goddesses know about my situation?”

“They do.”

That’s not good.

I was worried that if they found out, I might be attacked again. It’s dangerous for them to know what’s going on. They might harass me in any way they can. The fact that they all shared what was done to me could mean that the harassment would be more extensive.

…… but what’s really going on?

It is true that my impression of them has changed a little after spending the first semester and summer vacation with them. Even though they didn’t realize who I was, they seemed to have a good personality.

I don’t know how much I can think about that. Well, the only thing that helps is that they don’t get along with each other. At least they shouldn’t be working together.

They really don’t get along, do they?

“…… You know, goddesses don’t get along very well, do they?”

“They don’t get along. Definitely.”

“What’s the cause?”

“I have no idea. Until then, there was no special interference between us, but suddenly they became aggressive. They started to fight and poke at each other. That was right after last year’s God Conference.”

That part was just as I had heard.

The reason for that, I thought it was Renji. I didn’t know about Shirase, but I thought those three were in love with Renji.”

“Inuyama-san, you mean?”

“I was thinking that the goddesses were in love with Renji, and that they fought over that guy.”

There are a few things that make sense when you think about it.

The fight between the goddesses and Aoyama’s apology chat.

A theory emerges that Aoyama was actually in love with Renji in junior high school and wanted to make an excuse to Renji that she apologized to me, his friend.

Well, as for Aoyama, who has been sending me apology chats for a long time since then, he may be seriously sorry.

“I think it’s impossible that the cause is Inuyama-san.”

Impossible?

I would have liked to ask her about the basis for her decision, but Shirase was very confident. According to Shirase’s judgment, who was watching them closer than I was, it must be so. I should trust his words here.

“…… Do you think they are aware of my true identity in the first place?”

“They definitely don’t realize it.”

“Definitely?”

She was very confident.

“Yes, absolutely.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because if they knew, they would have taken action.”

That’s the same conclusion as mine.

However, I was curious as to why she was so confident.

“It must be a pretty big action. I have a hunch that those people have special feelings for Shota Nijitani. If their true identities were discovered, it would be a terrible thing. After all, those people were the worst abusers of Shota Mukawa.”

Eeh?

Special feelings toward me?

That was a word I had not expected at all.