“……Hmph, I’m telling you, don’t get carried away.”
Maybe it was because she’d praised Xiao Chun Miura’s poster design from the heart earlier, but Kondo Haruka was now acting tough with her words, even though her resolve was starting to waver inside.
She still had her arms crossed, her expression tight, but it had softened more than before.
“Anyone can see what you’re up to. Just because you think you’re a nobody in other people’s eyes doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”
“……”
“Haruka?”
Kanzaki Sou’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about?”
Kondo Haruka let out a gasp of exasperation.
“Look at everything she’s done, Sou-kun!”
“What do you mean—Didn’t I already tell you, I was the one who asked Miura to do it?”
“No—Ugh, I’m not talking about just today, Sou-kun~”
Kondo Haruka waved her hands in frustration, her face flustered.
“There were so many times before! Didn’t you notice any of them?”
“——Then tell me, what exactly did Miura do?”
Kanzaki Sou seemed to find Kondo Haruka hard to communicate with at this point, so he decided to just go along and see what his childhood friend had to say.
“Haa? She deliberately fell into your arms! It was the first time you’d met, so why did she have to fall right into your lap—”
“Miura explained that to me later. She found out I had a book that wasn’t returned to the library, so she came to look for me that day.”
Kanzaki Sou clarified.
“As for the fall, it was just an accident. Anyone can trip anywhere. Since she was coming to see me anyway, it’s not strange that she fell in my direction, right?”
“Ugh……then why did she become a librarian just to get closer to you?”
“Haruka, in terms of timing, Miura became a librarian first.”
Kanzaki Sou shook his head.
“I only came afterward, and originally just to check things out. I never told anyone I wanted to be a librarian—you of all people should know that.”
“……”
Kondo Haruka frowned and bit her finger.
“And what about last night? Didn’t she fall on top of you again—”
“Haruka.”
Pushing up his glasses, Kanzaki Sou called out crisply.
“……Like I said last night, it’s your habit of swinging open doors. If Miura hadn’t been there, the one you knocked over would have been me.”
“……Ummmphhhh—”
Unable to argue any further, Kondo Haruka could only bite her finger and let out a resentful whimper.
Xiao Chun Miura snickered quietly to the side.
“What are you laughing at?”
As if she’d found a reason, Kondo Haruka glared over.
“See, Sou-kun, she—”
“Haruka, that’s enough.”
Kanzaki Sou stopped her helplessly.
“You misunderstood Miura. I told you before, didn’t I?”
“Kondo-san……”
“I. Am. Not. Mis.tak.en~——”
Kondo Haruka was so frustrated she messed up her carefully styled hair, all while shooting a “shut up” at Xiao Chun Miura.
Xiao Chun Miura looked at Kondo Haruka’s sulking face, a little curious.
Come to think of it, hadn’t she directly told Kondo Haruka before that she “had feelings for Kanzaki Sou”?
Why didn’t she just spill it to Kanzaki Sou?
……Though, she had said it at the time to justify certain actions later on, to make them seem more reasonable in the eyes of others.
But if she really had to admit to “liking Kanzaki Sou,” she would probably “take it back” now.
Besides, who knows what kind of consequences admitting such a thing might bring……Even just handling things within Kondo Haruka’s storyline was already tricky—if the news that she liked Kanzaki Sou spread, would she become a target for more heroines?
Moreover, if she really drew too much of Kanzaki Sou’s attention, how would she deal with this main character?
With those thoughts swirling, Xiao Chun Miura actually regretted lying to Kondo Haruka back then.
The benefits she’d gained were minimal, but it made Kondo Haruka wary of her from the very start.
She’d been worried Kanzaki Sou would grow suspicious of her, but he turned out to be more tolerant and understanding than she’d imagined—not only did he not avoid her, he even treated her more kindly than the average classmate.
……So in the end, the so-called exposure of her feelings hadn’t achieved Xiao Chun Miura’s intended effect, and it became one of her more regrettable actions in recent days.
Hmm——But this really had nothing to do with Kondo Haruka.
If she just told Kanzaki Sou directly, he would know: everything Xiao Chun Miura did so far had a purpose—even if she looked harmless, she might be deliberately creating opportunities to get closer to him……
Or something like that?
As long as that idea was conveyed, Kondo Haruka’s goal would be met.
So why not just say it?
Xiao Chun Miura gazed at Kondo Haruka’s flushed face, who looked like she wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words, a faint doubt growing in her heart.
“……Ugh……Anyway! In short——”
Kondo Haruka pressed her lips together, her frustration clear.
……Hmm?
Wait, was it because of this?
Suddenly, Xiao Chun Miura’s eyes widened in realization.
The reason Kondo Haruka didn’t want Kanzaki Sou to get close to her was because she knew Xiao Chun Miura “had feelings for Kanzaki Sou.”
And the reason she didn’t directly tell Kanzaki Sou—didn’t blurt out “the librarian from Class (5) likes you”—
——was because she was afraid that once Kanzaki Sou found out, his “attitude toward Xiao Chun Miura” would change……
Right now, the reason Kanzaki Sou was defending and explaining for her in front of Kondo Haruka was fundamentally because he considered “this Xiao Chun Miura from Class (5)” to be just a normal colleague, without any of the “little schemes” Kondo Haruka imagined.
The fall was an accident, working together was a coincidence, and getting knocked over was actually Kondo Haruka’s fault.
By that logic, all of Kondo Haruka’s accusations were “unjust”—crimes she forced upon her.
……If Kondo Haruka revealed what happened before, causing Kanzaki Sou to become aware of this female classmate’s feelings—
And then, seeing her as the opposite sex, actually started to develop feelings for her too—
That would be unacceptable to Kondo Haruka.
……So, the reason she kept quiet about “that incident” was because she was afraid of “this possibility”?
Afraid that Kanzaki Sou might fall for someone other than herself because of someone else’s affections.
If that’s the case, then what am I…?
Xiao Chun Miura’s eyes widened a bit in shock at the conclusion her mind reached.
——What is this.
She’d never cared before—in games or anime, she’d never paid much attention to these types of scenarios.
She was always focused on the CP of the male and female leads, and as long as the side characters didn’t interfere with the main relationship, she had no opinions.
But the way things were progressing now, even if she wasn’t aware of it, in Kondo Haruka’s eyes and from an objective standpoint, she was already “that person.”
……Even though they weren’t that close yet, and the description wasn’t fully accurate, in terms of “attributes,” they weren’t far off.
A confidante, an opposite-sex best friend—someone with a similar role.
Xiao Chun Miura’s expression grew complicated.
The so-called “she’s just my little sister,” huh?