CH 223

–Who is that girl over there?

“Is that…?””

I feel uncomfortable. Or, perhaps that expression is not quite accurate.

It’s more like a feeling of discomfort, or inconsistency, or unnaturalness,… like when you’re looking for a mistake, like you know something’s wrong but you don’t know exactly what it is.

“Shiho, right?”

As far as I can see, Shiho Shimotsuki is in the back part of the school building. Facing her was Kurumizawa-san, and the two were speaking to each other.

As usual, Shiho is cute.

Her silvery white hair, shiny black eyes, snow-white skin, and small body all tickle a man’s fancy and makes me happy just by looking at her.

She is also soft and fluffy inside, and although she has some imperfections, she is pure white and beautiful. So transparent that it gives the illusion of bringing out one’s own uncleanness.

But now Shiho … something, something different?

“…Oops. It’s time to go back, Kotaro. … It’s only a short time before she conveniently notices us, even if she has good hearing. Even the God of romantic comedies has a hard time fooling her.”

I want to observe her more closely.

I can’t help but feel like there’s a Shiho there that I don’t know about.

But Mary prevented me from doing so.

“It’s not the right time yet. Kotaro is too weak right now to face her.”

She pulled my hand away, smirking at me. I wondered what was so funny.

“I’ll tell you, by the way, it’s not Kotaro who’s in distress. I’ll say it’s Shiho who’s in trouble. … I know a lot of stories. About characters like that who, if they take a few steps down the wrong path, can end up in a lot of misery.”

–The one who is in trouble is Shiho.

Hearing those words, I quickly backed away.

I want to know more about Shiho.

But it was too early for that, I was told by the girl who was a self-proclaimed creator.

Mary was not a very likable person for me.

But when it comes to her knowledge, experience, and abilities, she is a character on a scale many times larger than mine.

So I did as she asked.

Mary gave me a sarcastic smile.

“… I think it’s the nature of mob characters not to be selfish at times like this. If you don’t care about a character as wacky as me and stick to yourself, even if it’s at your own will, there might be a different path ahead.”

“Which is it, … you want me to stop? Do you not want me to stop?”

I don’t understand.

As I walk back down the corridor, I sigh at Mary, who keeps going around in circles.

This person was as annoying as ever.

And it’s not a cute annoyance like Shiho, it’s simply annoying, and it’s a chore to be involved with her.

“I don’t have a will. I don’t care which one it is, but I just stopped Kotaro as I was supposed to do. I’m on your side this time, apparently.”

“Ugh…”

Mary is on my side, I’m more worried than reassured.

I was a little uncomfortable because I had been pushed around a lot by this person.

“Well, well, well, I don’t really dislike Kotaro, so it’s all right. Nahihi♪ There’s a really interesting story being told around Kotaro. … Well, I never thought I’d be able to see the whole story of that main heroine-chan.”

“…Shiho’s, the whole story?”

It was very interesting to hear Mary, who, like me, …… or, if anything, sees the story in reality from a more bird’s-eye viewpoint than I do…

“I had never seen Shiho expose herself before,” he said. All this time she’s been a good girl, playing the cat in front of her beloved Kotaro, never showing her true nature. But that’s unnatural,… because how can there be a heroine who just stays beautiful?”

“What if … beautiful is her true nature?”

“If you want to believe that, then believe it. But I look at it differently. Because it’s more interesting that way.”

The hedonistic nature remains the same as ever.

“The main heroine, whom even I couldn’t quite see the full extent of, is starting to show some signs of falling apart as the story progresses… That’s why Kotaro has matured so much, and that means the lukewarm relationship has reached its limits. I guess.”

Mary said something amusing and she was trying to rouse me.

“I wonder if Kotaro will still be able to love Shiho when he finds out ‘everything’ about her… I’m looking forward to seeing where this romantic comedy between the two of you will lead.”

She said something that made me uneasy, like she knew something I didn’t know, which made me shut down.

Is this the end of the road for me and Shiho’s romantic comedy? … What on earth is going to happen?

I thought it would be a flat, peaceful romantic comedy with no mountains and no valleys.

But perhaps that’s unacceptable…