Final Chapter: I Want to Be Your Main Heroine
I’ve been feeling a strange gaze.
It all started a week ago.
Since the day we had lunch on the rooftop, I started sensing eyes on me more often.
However, every time I turned around to identify the source, there was either no one or too many people, making it impossible to pinpoint.
Not knowing what it was, I began to seriously wonder if I had been possessed by a ghost.
Despite trying various methods to exorcise evil spirits that I found on the internet,
there was no sign of improvement.
“It’s that! That’s it!”
“Huh? Wh-what is it?”
Today, during break, as I pondered if there was any effective way to exorcise evil spirits, I saw my childhood friend reading a book, and it hit me.
(Yes, let’s go to the library.)
I remembered entering the library once during class,
I remember it from the class I attended once; Seira High School is not only spacious in terms of the campus and grounds but also has a large library.
I heard they had a collection of a hundred thousand books, so I thought I might find one or two books on exorcism.
“That’s why I want you to go home first after school today.
“Why? I have no idea what’s going on.”
Without waiting for my childhood friend to catch up, I unilaterally declared this, deciding to research alone after school.
Time passed, and after school arrived.
As planned, Saito arrived at the library.
“Whoa, there are so many books. Let’s start with the old ones.”
“Oops!”
As he entered, he was overwhelmed by the pressure of a hundred thousand books, but determined to find a book on spirits, he began his search. Suddenly, he collided with a certain girl.
“Sorry, Kanzaki. Are you okay?”
“No big deal.”
The girl he bumped into was Kanzaki Minaka, a friend of Lily.
Despite offering a hand to help her up, she naturally ignored it, seemingly holding a grudge for no apparent reason.
Kanzaki Minaka stood up on her own, brushing off the dust from her skirt.
“It’s rare to see a fool like you around. Is it going to rain swords tomorrow or something?”
“…I won’t bring down swords just because I came to the library.”
“Just kidding. Don’t take it seriously. This is why you’re a fool. So, what did you come here for?”
“I came to look for books on exorcising spirits.”
“Spirits?”
After throwing a sarcastic remark at him, Minaka, still confused, tilted her head when he explained that he was searching for a book to exorcise spirits.
She couldn’t fathom why he would be doing such a thing.
“…Jeez, I don’t get why you’d look for that kind of stuff here. It’s not like there’s a manga like Jujutsu XXX in the library.”
“That’s not it! I’m seriously looking for a book to exorcise spirits.”
“Hmph, it’s a library. Keep your voice down.”
“S-sorry.”
After careful consideration, Minaka realized that he was searching for a popular manga on exorcising spirits.
He pointed out that he was actually looking for a proper book, but his voice was too loud,
and he received a stern warning from her.
“So, why did you decide to look for a book on exorcising spirits?”
“Actually—”
In a calmer setting, Minaka prompted him to explain why he was searching for that book.
He opened up about feeling strange gazes recently, not being able to identify them even when he turned around, and suspecting that he might be possessed by a spirit. After hearing everything, Minaka’s reaction was one of disbelief.
She looked at him as if witnessing a genuine idiot.
“”You’re just being stalked by someone. It’s not a ghost or anything.”
“But, there is nowhere to hide, like on the train platform?”
“If it’s truly an empty space. If you stick right next to the vending machine, depending on the angle, you won’t be visible. And if someone was peering from the stairs, they wouldn’t be seen.”
“W-Well, you have a point. You’re a genius.”
“…Even if you call me a genius for this, I’m not happy at all.”
When Saito praised Minaka for pointing out that blind spot, she looked dissatisfied.
After realizing that, he noticed. By praising this, it’s like acknowledging her talent in stalking.
Certainly not something to be pleased about.
Saito regretted his choice of words.
“Well, having a suspicion means it’s probably stalking. Just to confirm, Saito, do you feel the gaze when you’re with Lily?”
Now that it was clear it wasn’t a spirit but stalking, MInaka wanted to confirm if Saito feels it when Lily is around.
“Come to think of it, I usually feel the gaze when Lily is with me.”
Indeed, Saito felt the gaze when Lily was with her.
However, when asked if he felt it when Lily was alone, he said he didn’t feel anything. So, it’s likely not directed at Lily.
“I see. In that case—!?”
“In that case?”
Minaka seemed to understand something when she heard that.
However, just as she was about to say something, she seemed to notice something midway and covered her mouth as if realizing something.
As Minaka made a face as if about to say something she shouldn’t, Saito prompted her to reveal what she had in mind.
“Well, it’s nothing. Well, if you’re having trouble with stalking, I recommend going to the police.”
However, Minaka didn’t easily go along with that suggestion and deftly avoided the topic.
“I see. Thanks for today. Kanzaki, I thought you were a sarcastic girl, but you’re surprisingly nice.”
Disappointed, but having gained a significant insight by coming to the library, Saito tried to lift his spirits.
Next time, he decided to be more aware of blind spots. Thanking Minaka, he turned away from her.
“Wait.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
At that moment, Minaka stopped Saito.
Wondering what was going on, Saito looked at Minaka’s face with curiosity. She seemed uneasy, then took a deep breath and spoke.
“Minazuki, you see. What do you think of Lily-chan?”
“What do you mean? She’s just a childhood friend.”
Asked about Lily,
Saito immediately shared his feelings.
“Right. But, what if, hypothetically, a knight in shining armor appeared in front of her and took her away? How would you feel?”
In response, Saito, trying to understand Minaka’s somewhat unclear intentions, asked a question.
“Um, just to confirm, if it’s taken away, does that mean you can’t talk to them anymore or can’t meet them?”
“It’s not about being taken away. It’s simply about getting a boyfriend.”
Her wording was peculiar, so Saito didn’t quite understand what she meant. Desperate to comprehend her intention, he proactively asked for clarification.
As a result, understanding what Minaka wanted to know, Saito nodded and said,
“It’s fine, isn’t it?”
“!?”
Nonchalantly stating that, Saito surprised Minaka.
It seemed quite unexpected to her.
From an outsider’s perspective, it might be natural to be suspicious when someone like Lily, who supposedly dislikes guys, is getting along well with a guy. However, for Saito, Lily was not that kind of person.
Literally, she was his childhood friend,
someone he had known since he was a kid.
Though there were moments when he thought of her as a slightly troublesome sister or older sister, he never thought of her in any other way.
“Well, it’s her decision. I have no right to say anything about it. Well, if the guy turns out to be a total jerk, maybe I’ll say something. But if she thinks he’s good, I want to respect her choice. She’s been through a lot, and if she can be happy, that’s what matters.”
Therefore, Saito wouldn’t be saddened by her getting a boyfriend.
Instead, he even wished her happiness, considering her struggles.
When he first met Lily, she was like a ghost who seemed to disappear at any moment.
It is a great pleasure for Saito to have her in his life.
“Ah, but, I don’t think a white knight suits Lily.”
However, during the conversation with Minaka, they seemed to have a slight difference in understanding, so Saito denied that a white knight would suit her with a wry smile.
” Eh? “
“Because, even though she may seem delicate at first glance, she’s incredibly strong. No matter what difficulties come her way, she’ll struggle to overcome them. She’s a strong heroine like that.”
Lily Machigane was not a weak heroine who would stop and seek help when faced with misfortune.
She was a strong heroine who could carve her own path and face difficulties head-on. Saito knew that.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
It was seven years ago.
Seven years ago, when Lily and Saito were still in the early years of elementary school, Lily was being bullied by her classmates.
The reason was slightly different from the first time, but generally the same.
It all started when she became the object of affection for popular boys in the class, which led to her being disliked by the girls in the class. She faced insidious bullying, such as having erasers and textbooks hidden, pencil leads broken, and even mud thrown at her on the way home.
Saito was her source of comfort, but honestly, it was tough.
Learning from the reflections of her first life, she tried to avoid making close friends and always made an effort to be alone.
So, she would never experience the pain of being betrayed by others.
However, everything else remained unchanged.
Enduring the daily pain of being targeted for no reason was agonizing, and the accumulated frustration was overwhelming.
Finally, one day during the summer vacation, after enduring all of it,
Lily encountered the girls from her class in a park on her way to the station to welcome Saito, who was coming to play.
“Why bother wearing fashionable clothes? They don’t suit you at all.”
“The smell of trash must have rubbed off on your clothes. How cute~”
They said, surrounding Lily and throwing dog feces from nearby on her white dress.
As a result, her dress became stained and started emitting the smell of feces, and her classmates laughed satisfiedly.
“… sniff …why, huff, why like this? sniff”
In the midst of having her long-awaited meeting with her only solace, her childhood friend, ruined, Lily shed large tears and attempted to voice her protest.
However, a flashback to past traumas triggered a feeling of nausea in Lily, causing her to struggle for words.
“Huff, huff”
“Oh, what’s wrong?”
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