You Don't Need 'Permission' to Love Someone, You Need a 'Reason'

After all, this is the reason why Shiho is angry.

"You ran away from facing your feelings, didn't you?"

Kururi Kurumizawa must have been confused, having fallen for someone different than the person she was supposed to like.

She was confused and lost in her feelings and didn't know what to do ... and finally ran away from them.

"I tried to process my feelings for Kotaro-kun as quickly as I could."

Kururi Kurumizawa couldn't bear the thought of liking two people.

After all, she is just an ordinary person. ...For example, an ordinary person cannot do the irreverent act of loving more than one person, like some harem protagonist...

This is not to say that Kururi Kurumizawa is strange.

It is just that she is too ordinary to be on the stage of this romantic comedy.

"In order to shake off your feelings for Kotaro-kun, you decided to confess to him and deliberately try to get rejected by him. And you tried to fall in love only with Ryuzaki-kun."

"..."

Kururi Kurumizawa bit her lip at Shiho's words.

Her red eyes were shaking widely.

She is obviously upset.

"B-I didn't mean it that way...!"

She tried to argue, but her will was weak.

She stammered, faltered, and the words faded away before they were fully formed.

Kururi Kurumizawa was so distraught that it was almost pitiful to watch.

"I don't feel sympathy for you."

But the main heroine would not let her escape.

She will not commit the folly of showing mercy with half-hearted kindness, as Kotaro Nakayama did.

Because there is no point in pity.

As long as she is in love with him, it is synonymous with hurting him.

The kindness extended to a love rival is nothing short of an insult.

“What is it that you think is so selfish that you can fall in love with Kotaro-kun on your own and then fall in love with someone else after having pushed him around for so long? Do you think such selfish love is acceptable?"

"... Noisy."

Kururi Kurumizawa, however, did not take kindly to being ignored.

"- Noisy! Don't assume my feelings on your own,... You talk like you know what I am feeling, but how could you possibly know!?"

Kururi's rebuttal is, of course, accurate.

Everything Shiho has said so far is just her 'guess'.

However, Shiho did not doubt her own words at all.

“I understand. I don't feel sorry for you, but I can sympathize with ... you."

Then her expression clouded a little.

“If I had met someone like you before I met Kotaro-kun,... I might have ended up like you."

So far, she has said a lot of things.

However, Shiho doesn't really dislike the girl Kururi Kurumizawa.

Although they are now adversaries in their position, ... Kururi's choices and actions themselves were often things she could relate to.

"My destiny is Kotaro-kun, so I shudder to think what ... would have been like if I had been in a situation similar to yours."

If, before meeting Kotaro Nakayama, she had met a man similar to her.

If it was someone other than Kotaro who woke up Shiho sleeping soundly in the classroom that time in April.

What if that person had a character similar to Kotaro?

Shiho might have become friends with that person at that time.

Shiho can sympathize with Kururi Kurumizawa because she believes so.

“I understand that you have been unlucky. I am also aware that I cannot deny your love for Kotaro-kun. Because you don't need 'permission' to fall in love with someone."

"... Then, why are you angry with me? If you don't have the right to stop me from falling in love, then leave me alone."

"...No. And that is a different matter."

You don't need permission to love someone.

But you need a 'reason'.

"Your 'love' is very flimsy. You messed with Kotaro-kun with such a frivolous feeling. Moreover, you hurt him."

If Kururi's love is real, it is no wonder that Kotaro is hurt.

Of course, Shiho cannot allow him to be hurt, but she cannot blame Kururi either. Because love is an act of hurting and being hurt.

However, this is all based on the assumption that Kururi's love is "real".

"Do you know what the act of hurting someone for no reason is called?"

It is the worst kind of behavior that should never be tolerated in society.

"It's called... 'violence'."

The reason Shiho Shimotsuki was angry can be summed up in one word. She was angry at Kururi Kurumizawa's one-sided violence.

"Th-That's not an accusation! I didn't do anything violent!!"

"Then explain."

Shiho was able to counter Kururi Kurumizawa's objection by putting words over her head.

"Tell me why you fell in love with Kotaro-kun."

"... Yes, of course. That's easy!"

In response, Kururi Kurumizawa immediately opened her mouth.

But...

"..."

No words were uttered.

"...See, that's all there is to it. You don't even know why you love someone, it's all just a charade."

Shiho Shimotsuki snickered at Kururi Kurumizawa...

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