Genuine love

"…Tired."

Too much has happened today.

I got out of my aunt's car and my home was already in front of me, but my steps were heavy and I couldn't move forward. Suddenly I felt the need to take a break, so I leaned against the wall.

The wind blowing through the air was freezing cold to the core, but I somehow didn't want to go inside the house, so I just stood there.

I looked up at the sky and saw nothing but a cloudless sky, no stars, no moon, nothing.

"What a day..."

I sighed in disgust and reflected on the day.

First, Ryoma Ryuzaki has turned into a mob character when he came to school for the first time in a while.

Second, Kururi Kurumizawa, who had transferred to our school, was trying to leverage the romantic comedy between Shiho and me.

Finally, my mother, who had never intervened in the story before, suddenly made her presence felt.

I am sure that this is a foreshadowing of what is to come.

They were probably a prelude to moving my romantic comedy out of the stagnant state it was in.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

(... I wish I could hear Shiho's voice.)

Her face came to mind.

Then I finally realized that I had not turned on my phone.

I hurriedly turned it on and... to my surprise, I had received 42 incoming calls and 102 unread messages.

"…Give me a break."

My cheeks relaxed. My heart was warmed by the behavior of that adorable girl.　

It was already past 8 pm. Shiho would be home... I wanted to hear her voice a little, so I called her.

Without even waiting for one ring, Shiho picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshu... ahhh, I bit my tongue."

I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined her apparently physically biting herself.

“Ahaha… Shiho, are you okay?”

"It's not okay. You forgot to turn it on again, didn't you? If you do that, the little girl inside me will go berserk and play Yandere-chan with you, you know? You could be more careful."

"I'm sorry. I'll be careful."

Ah, that calms me down.

Talking to her puts my mind at ease.

She is a really nice girl. Just by talking to her, I feel warmed up. She is such a wondrous person.

I had been going through a rough time, but thanks to Shiho, I felt healed.

"I missed you today... I got moved to a different seat at school and I couldn't get enough of you, Kotaro-kun. I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to do with this. So, please spoil me a lot... next time, okay?"

She is, by her own admission, the type of girl who grows better when she is pampered than when she is praised. She is a cunning girl who makes me believe that tomorrow I definitely need to spoil her.

"Yeah, I promise."

I nodded and searched for the next topic of conversation.

I was in the mood to talk with her some more.

But Shiho seemed to have sensed that I was acting strangely.

"Kotaro-kun...? You seem a little down, is something wrong?"

Even though she can't see my facial expressions, she can tell how I'm doing just by my voice.

Shiho must really care about me. I'm sure she wouldn't be worrying about me like this if she didn't.

Kurumizawa-san, ... you are absolutely mistaken.

Shiho thinks so much of me. So there is absolutely no way that she is stalling or ignoring my feelings.

"If there is anything I can do, I will do it, so just tell me, okay? I'll do anything I can do for you, Kotaro-kun, even conquer the world. Because you are my precious treasure..., so don't hesitate, okay?"

Even now, she is trying to take good care of me with all her heart.

The love of this girl is genuine.

I realized that once again.