Episode 60: A Reward in the Name of a Lecture

「Takanashi-san, it makes me happy that you don’t want to worry or trouble us. But what would happen if you suppressed your pain or the fact that you’re struggling, and things got worse because of it?」

Ugh, her words are piercing right through me.

「Since you’re alone at home, if a sudden change in your condition occurred, or if you happened to get worse, I wouldn’t be able to realize it, nor would I be able to help you.」

Senpai is staring straight into my eyes.

Her serious gaze is so intense, I feel like I’m being sucked in.

「If the result of that was that you became seriously ill in a place where I couldn’t notice……… I would cry, you know?」

Guh, that’s a finishing move.

I can’t believe Senpai would say something like that.

「I told you this yesterday too, but looking after you is neither a burden nor a hardship for me. In fact, it’s more painful for me when you’re enduring something difficult. So…」

Saying that, Senpai stepped closer.

When she got quite close, she held up her index finger and poked my forehead.

「If you tell a lie, that’s a no-no!」

Waaaaaagh, stop it, don’t turn red, hold it together… No, that’s impossible, this is way too cute!

Just watching this is embarrassing!

Takanashi-kun is beet red… well, you can’t blame him after that.

Knowing Sara, I thought she’d give him a much more solid lecture, which is why I brought it back up thinking it would be fun, but I never expected to be counterattacked by this kind of lovey-dovey display.

I mean, Takanashi-kun is totally a goner now, right?

This is Sara we’re talking about, you know? The Sara that 100 out of 100 people would describe as strict.

And that Sara is actually doing a “moe scolding”…

Usually, when Sara lectures someone, she’s truly harsh. Only the idiots in her fan club would say “thank you” for it, while most people are left on the verge of tears.

…Man, a high school girl saying “no-no” to a guy her age, Sara is incredible.

I could never pull that off, and I wouldn’t have even thought of it in the first place.

It’s not like she did it to be calculated or kitschy, it’s just natural… even her feminine power is a concentrated mass in areas like this.

I’m sure Takanashi-kun has feelings for her deep down, so how does it feel to have that done to you?

…It doesn’t really matter, but even though she said「us」 at the start, she switched to only「me」 halfway through.

「Are you reflecting on what you did?」

「Yes… I’ve reflected on it a lot…」

I really, truly have.

The feeling of guilt is there, of course, but the embarrassment is just as strong.

「…Ah… was I a bit too harsh? I’m not angry anymore, so it’s okay…?」

I kept my head down because I didn’t want Senpai to see my face, which was probably bright red, but she seemed to misunderstand and think I was depressed from being scolded.

A hand was placed on top of my head.

Is she really… in a place where there are this many people passing by!?

「Takanashi-san, I’m not angry. If you’ve reflected on it, that’s enough… Could you look up for me?」

Stroke… stroke… stroke…

This is just making it even harder to look up!

“Exasperated” is probably the only way to describe this.

Seriously, they’ve gotten way too close… what happened in these past few days?

Sara has changed the most, I think.

Until now, there was always that part of her that worried about being a nuisance to Takanashi-kun, but now it feels like she trusts that he’ll accept her actions.

She said she was lonely last night, so this probably has the nuance of filling that void.

Though she probably thinks she’s just doing it because she’s happy…

Hmm, I’d really like to confirm Takanashi-kun’s feelings.

Since we have things to talk about, maybe I’ll consult with Tachibana-kun tonight.

A lot happened, but we finally arrived at school.

Sigh… I have to go back to that class starting today…

「Takanashi-san, if there’s any change in your condition, please go to the nurse’s office. Also, you must contact me without fail, okay?」

「…(Is Sara his legal guardian or something?)」

「Y-yes. But I think I’ll be fine.」

「Well then, see you at lunch break.」

「See you later~」

「Yes, see you later.」