Chapter 255: Unraveled Through Recollection

After Elizabeth, the next girl who followed after her was Ririka.

Upon seeing me waiting for her in that room, she smiled bashfully again and unhurriedly walked towards me.

"Why are you still acting shy around me? Did you not miss me?"

I asked Ririka as I grasped for her hand. Her reddened cheeks from earlier still hadn't calmed down. Most likely, she continued thinking about me after I talked to her again.

"I do miss you but you know this is how I am. I'm happy to see you again, Ruki. Will you stop running away from me? It felt like we went back to that time."

Ah. That time…

Among all of these girls who wanted to reconnect with me, I knew that Ririka simply wanted to spend time with me again just like what we were doing in the past. She didn't have any other desire but to continue our relationship.

"I won't run away anymore. This time, we will not end unless you wish to get out of our relationship."

I remembered back then how enthusiastic she was at making more costumes to wear and sometimes, I would accompany her to the events she's attending. She's fairly popular among that community after all.

Her previous boyfriend before I stole her from him was someone she got to know from a circle of cosplayers. It's someone older than her. If I remember correctly, he's a second-year high school student. That guy was probably already in college today.

When I first saw her in that maid cafe, that guy was there and even if they didn't explicitly show it, I somehow discerned it due to her interaction with him. She's sweeter than him compared to the other guests she was serving.

Starting that day, I frequented that cafe to see her and know her schedule to the point that I would specifically go to that cafe just to be served by her.

After a few times of showing up there, I planned for us to run into each other at school. During that first encounter, I exclaimed upon seeing her as if I had just found out that my favorite server at that cafe was someone near me.

Since I continued to go to that cafe, she confronted me and frankly told me what she thought. She suspected that I am stalking her, which is true but I firmly denied it at that time.

After that confrontation, I stopped going to that cafe during her shift to erase that notion she had and even if we ran into each other at the school, I would ignore her and go on my own way.

"Why will I wish to get out? All this time all I thought was how I will get you back to my side. I know that what you did that time was all for stealing me from my ex but the effort you put in… I appreciate all of it."

Ririka pouted and tightened her hold on my hand showing that my words upset her.

Continuing on, the next part of my conquest to steal her was at a convention which she attended as a cosplayer. I also planned to run into her there and when we did the first time, I hurriedly walked away.

That happened at least three times before she called out to me by herself. Since she hadn't seen me again after that day she suspected me of stalking her, she apologized and asked why I stopped coming to the cafe.

Well, that's an obvious question but I still answered her truthfully that she would just continue seeing me as a stalker if I appeared at that cafe again when it's her shift. Through that, she learned that I never stopped coming and avoided her instead.

After that event, we kept running into each other at school and every time it happened, I continued avoiding her. That lasted until she couldn't take it anymore and chased after me to confront me.

"It's just in case. My relationships are beyond normal after all. If you start to feel like to have a normal life again, don't hesitate to tell me…"

I answered her first question sincerely before continuing.

"Well, the effort paid off anyway, I got you from him. Maybe that's really me liking you at that time. I'm just in denial."

The way she confronted me when I kept avoiding her was somewhat unforgettable. She pulled me to their clubroom and she wore her maid cafe uniform just for me to see. She then asked me if my favorite maid server had changed to someone else.

Well, that sounded like someone who didn't want to lose a loyal customer, nonetheless, that was the result that I was aiming for.

I told her that it's still her but if it would lead to her thinking of me as her stalker then I would continue to avoid her. At that moment, she apologized once more and told me that she would stop thinking like that again.

A few days passed and I continued avoiding her at school but I started to time my visit at that cafe during her shift once more.

When she saw me, she was beyond happy that she chatted with me more than the other customers.

Slowly, we grew closer but when I kept avoiding her at the school even if she tried interacting with me there, her frustrations built up. When it exploded, I was once again brought to their club room and was interrogated by her.

And at that point, I told her how I wanted to steal her from her boyfriend. She was shocked by that answer but that got her curious. Starting that day, I stopped avoiding her and I even started visiting her club. Helping her with various things as well as spending time with her.

Though I never brought up the same words again, that was already imprinted deep in her mind that she started blushing whenever she's with me.

As days continued to pass where there would only be the two of us, I gradually took advantage of our situation. At first, she would reject me but the resistance she had was low.

Now that I think about it, she probably started liking me during that and all the setup about her staying in a relationship with her boyfriend that was far away was just an excuse to not turn what we had into something official.

Haa. I don't know anymore. I somehow managed to unravel the mystery of why this girl liked me by recollecting what happened to us.

"True, you called it as just your desire wanting to steal me, but I felt it, Ruki. You liked me more than you know."

Ririka lifted my hand to her cheek again and had me caress it.

I did what she wanted and a satisfied expression appeared on her face. Ririka then stepped forward and closed the remaining distance between us, embracing me with her delicate arms.

"Even if that's true, I still cut you off when it's time."

"You're trying to run away from what you feel after all… After that day, Akane invited me to the group and from there I learned how there's not just me in your life. And all of us are someone you cut off from your life."

Right. She's one of the few who I never told about my other girls. For Akane to even approach her and open her eyes to it… Could it be that I have a misconception about who joined that group? Did she specifically choose those who I also came to like and not just a stealing target?

"Isn't that enough proof for you to stay away from me? I never told you about them…"

Ririka shook her head and pinched my cheek this time.

"At first that's what I thought. That I should accept that we're over. But I heard each of their stories and that made me think that if they're staying, why can't I? It's only until I can move on from you."

So they exchanged stories, huh? Then that means, they knew the reason why each of them stayed and waited for me…

"But one day, Haruko-senpai, Akane, Aoi, and Ria told us about the change that happened in you. And as you can see, here I am trying again. I really enjoyed talking to you again through Messenger. However, this… Nothing beats having you this close to me."

Ririka continued and tightened her embrace. Her scent, her voice, everything about her kept pulling me back to that time when I'm still visiting her.

After all this, I stopped restricting myself and just held her in my arms with the same intensity as she did. With her head resting on my shoulder, I heard her giggle lovingly as she whispered in my ear.

"I love you, Ruki. Let me continue being with you."

"If everything I said about what will happen to us didn't faze you, then… let me take care of you again, Ririka."

"Gladly!"

Ririka exclaimed before taking the initiative to kiss me.

Slowly, I'm starting to understand why they stayed. Maybe the same thing will happen to the others… Still, I want to hear each of their stories.