LMLCG – Episode 21 – She Really is a Goddess After All

“Um… Senpai, let me say something as well.”

“Of course. There was something you wanted to talk to me about, right?”

Now it’s my turn.

“Yeah… Well, it might come off sounding like I’m talking about my personal issues, but I want to be honest. I want to be honest with you if we’re going to get along from now on.”

Honestly, I’m a little worried that telling her this would make her disappointed in me, but after everything she shared with me, I knew I had to say it too.

Looking straight into Senpai’s eyes, I made up my mind and began to speak.

“Did you know that I’m isolated in my class?”

“I hadn’t thought of it as isolation… but considering what happened when we first met on the rooftop, I figured there might be some issues.”

Senpai nodded slightly as she replied.

I had hinted at it before.

And if someone is always alo ne, it’s hard not to notice.

“It’s not like anything specific happened in the beginning. I just didn’t fit in. I guess I was still carrying things from middle school and ended up hating the people in class without even giving them a chance.”

There’s a lot I can’t or don’t want to say about my time in middle school.

But unless I touch on it, even just a little, I can’t explain any of this.

“Is this about your time in middle school?”

“Yeah. Right after I became a third-year, I got into a fight in class. After that, I was isolated from the rest. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, but I was ignored and left out of everything.”

“Something like that…”

“The people in my current class are just like the ones back then. That’s why I hated them, and they hated me back. And just like that, they made fun of me on the rooftop.”

“…”

Senpai listened in silence.

I could tell that she was listening carefully without averting her eyes.

And now comes the part I was most afraid to say.

“There was a time when the class atmosphere made everyone follow along with the idiots. That made me hate it all even more, and I ended up isolated again. I didn’t want to be with those guys anyway, so I ran away from the classroom. The flower bed was just a place I happened to escape to. I started watering the plants because I had nothing else to do.”

“The thing with your grandmother, she was right in front of me. Part of it was that I couldn’t just ignore her, but honestly, I had this overwhelming fear that if I passed by without helping her, people would judge me. And when I misunderstood your words and ran away without really listening, it was just me giving in to my own inferiority complex, believing no one saw me at all.”

Maybe I didn’t have to be so honest.

But Senpai had spoken to me the way she did.

So I wanted to be honest with her too.

“So, even though you praised me a lot, the truth is…”

“I won’t change my opinion of you just because of what you said, Takanashi-san.”

Senpai, who had been silently listening until now, suddenly spoke.

I had braced myself for disappointment, but what came out of her mouth surprised me and brought me relief.

“I said that I trust you, Takanashi-san. Besides, I feel like there’s something in your story, even the part about middle school, that resembles my own experiences.”

I felt the same way when I heard Senpai’s story.

It seems Senpai also felt something similar when she heard mine.

“The flower bed, my grandmother, and the girl, whatever the reason, you acted. That already sets you apart. And you didn’t do it reluctantly, right? That’s your kindness, Takanashi-san. Today as well, you had been avoiding me, and yet you still came to help me, didn’t you?”

I never imagined she would take it so positively.

I didn’t think she would hate me, but I was prepared to be let down, to see disappointment in her eyes.

That’s why I was so relieved. The tension in my body finally eased.

“No matter what you say, I trust you and I believe in you, Takanashi-san. So my opinion of you will not change. Do you get it now?”

“…Yeah… yeah…”

Before I knew it, I was crying.

She was watching me closely.

She thought of me this way.

She believed in me, completely.

The person I had been searching for all this time had finally appeared.

I was truly happy…

Senpai came closer and began to gently pat my head.

“Fufu… So this is what it’s like to pat someone’s head…”

“Senpai…”

With a kind smile, Senpai stroke my head and continued speaking.

“You didn’t answer me earlier. Let me ask again… Will you… continue to be friends with me?”

“Yes… Of course.”

“I’m glad. Then, let’s get along from now on.”

And until I stopped crying, Senpai kept smiling like a goddess, gently stroking my head…