Chapter 111
Tsukiyo’s Birthday, Part 6
The conversation ended, and for a moment, silence fell over the group.
…This might be a good chance to ask.
“There’s something that’s really hard to bring up—would it be okay?”
“What is it?”
“I mean… I understand how Tsukiyo feels about me, but I honestly don’t think I’m that attractive as a person myself… I could kind of get it if I were like Seiya—even if his personality is bad, at least he’s good-looking.”
“Hey, are you insulting me or complimenting me? Which is it?”
I decided to ignore Seiya’s complaint.
“Everyone else thinks so too, right…? That Tsukiyo and I don’t really match.”
“Huh?”
Everyone spoke in unison, sounding completely stunned.
To be honest, that reaction surprised me. Up until now—even if it was half-joking—there had been plenty of talk within the group about how Tsukiyo deserved a man from the very top tier.
And I actually agreed. Someone like Seiya, or a guy straight out of a shōjo manga—a prince-type—felt far more suitable for Tsukiyo. There had to be at least a few of those kinds of men somewhere in Japan.
No one could possibly think that someone as unremarkable as me was worthy of the academy’s Princess Kaguya.
Mizuri let out a quiet breath.
“I thought so too, you know. Tsukiyo-chan’s cuteness, her figure, her intelligence… I always thought that someone worthy of all that would appear someday.”
“Yeah.”
“But we’ve never once thought that Taiyō-kun wasn’t worthy of Tsukiyo-chan.”
“R-Really?”
I looked around. Mizuri-san, Kudō-san, Hii-chan, Yumizaki-san, and Hōjō-san all nodded the same way.
“We only said that maybe someone better might appear—and that was back around August or September. Now it’s different… no, even during the New Year’s shrine visit, we all supported you, didn’t we? Because we thought Tsukiyo-chan and Taiyō-kun were a good match… and because we want you two to be happy.”
I was left speechless by something I had never expected to hear.
Hōjō-san continued.
“I said this earlier too, but there’s no way we’d send Tsukiyo to someone we thought wasn’t good enough. I don’t know what you think, but… it’s about time you understood how much we want to support your relationship with Tsukiyo.”
“……”
“You’re one of our important friends too, you know. Everyone knows how much you’ve helped us. We’re friends—of course we’d return the favor.”
“Honestly, we don’t know how Tsukiyo-chan truly feels deep down, and it’d be wrong for us to decide that on our own. In the end, it’s up to you and Tsukiyo-chan.”
As Mizuri-san spoke one thought after another, my emotions continued to sway.
This group had originally formed because they liked Seiya. Somewhere along the way, I’d started to see myself as an outsider.
Since I was a guy, I shouldn’t get too involved… that’s what I believed.
And because no one was interested in me, I’d convinced myself that they wouldn’t approve of Tsukiyo—someone everyone liked—having feelings for me. That I shouldn’t accept Tsukiyo’s feelings, because it wouldn’t be good for her… that’s what I’d been thinking.
No good—my head isn’t working.
“Hey… Taiyō, you… could it be—”
“Ah, it’s almost 5 p.m.! We need to start getting ready soon!”
At Yumizaki-san’s words, everyone looked toward the clock propped against the wall. We still had preparations to make for Tsukiyo’s birthday party.
The person in question was currently overheated and collapsed, though.
The discussion was put on hold for now, and we left the large bath and headed for the changing room. While changing into our yukata, I spoke to Seiya.
“By the way, earlier… weren’t you about to say something?”
“Not now. It might’ve just been me sticking my nose in.”
“What? Now I’m curious.”
“There’s no time to talk. Let’s go.”
I wasn’t satisfied—but we moved on anyway.
…Maybe I’d been under a huge misunderstanding all this time.
