Chapter 99: The Love Between You, Me, and Him

She waited at the door for a while.

Inside the Infirmary, the sound of Kondo Haruka’s crying never stopped.

“…… Haa.”

After a long silence, Kanzaki Sou finally let out a deep sigh.

There was no anger or resentment in that sigh—only deep exhaustion and helplessness.

“Haruka, you’re overthinking things.”

“I told you before, you don’t have to look at Miura-san in that kind of light.”

Kanzaki Sou’s voice softened, as if he couldn’t bear to see his Childhood Friend cry so sadly.

“You’ve interacted with her quite a few times too. You can tell Miura-san is usually very introverted, right?”

“It was just a coincidence that we ended up as Library Committee Members together, and joining the sports festival was only because she wanted to participate, but was afraid she’d drag down the team, so she invited me to join a not-so-important fun event.”

“But she—!”

“At least from my perspective, I never felt Miura-san approached me with any particular intention.”

“Miura-san didn’t do anything like seducing someone, as you said, and I don’t have anyone she’d want to take away.”

“In the end, my Childhood Friend is you, not her. Isn’t that right?”

Miura Koharu’s brow twitched.

The words weren’t wrong.

But why did they sound so awkward?

“I’m just ordinary colleagues with Miura-san. At most, we’re just normal friends.”

Not knowing there was someone outside the door, Kanzaki Sou kept talking to himself.

“It’s you who’s been targeting her on your own, treating her as an imaginary enemy all this time.”

“Sou-kun! You’ve been deceived! She’s pretending! She acts pitiful in front of you, but behind your back, she tells me directly—”

“Haruka, whatever she says to you behind your back is between you and her, isn’t it?”

Kondo Haruka’s accusatory retort was forcibly cut off by Kanzaki Sou’s raised voice.

“Everyone has privacy, and there are things they don’t want others to talk about.”

“If it’s something you have no choice but to hear, then that’s that, but I don’t think the things Miura-san said to you in private are things I should know.”

“Sou-kun…?”

“Haruka, no matter what someone does behind the scenes, once it comes back to the person involved, it’s still up to them to interact with the other.”

“I’ll judge what kind of person someone is based on my own interactions with them.”

“—You don’t need to take that responsibility for me, Haruka. We’re Childhood Friends, yes, but we’re not each other’s guardians.”

“What I can say to you is, from my own feelings,….”

“—I don’t think Miura-san likes me.”

That calm statement changed the atmosphere inside and outside the room once again.

“If even from my own feelings I can’t sense that kind of intention, and from my perspective as the person involved I can’t judge that Miura-san wants to ‘take me from you’—then your judgment of Miura-san in your heart is nothing but an undecided prejudice, isn’t it?”

“I… But!”

“I’m not saying you’re a bad person, but Haruka, if a boy told someone he was secretly in love with you—if after spending so much time together you couldn’t sense even a hint of his feelings, could you really believe he liked you?”

“There are so many reasons and explanations for why someone might say they liked you: a prank, bravado, lying, maybe they liked you before but not anymore…”

“But if you can’t feel his affection, the only impossibility is that he really likes you.”

“Can you understand that, Haruka?”

The silence lasted about ten seconds before Kondo Haruka finally let out a muffled “mm.”

“Then, Haruka, I want you to listen carefully to what I say next.”

“—No matter what Miura-san said, she never did anything to actually hurt anyone between us.”

“On the contrary, it’s you who’s trying to stop her from finishing the match just to prevent her from winning.”

“The Class (5) student didn’t do anything wrong. She was just competing seriously.”

“That’s not right, you understand?”

Kondo Haruka’s crying had stopped—

It seemed Kanzaki Sou’s words had persuaded her.

“Sou-kun… do you think I’m terrible?”

She finally asked in a trembling voice after a long while.

“It’s true this wasn’t right, Haruka.”

Kanzaki Sou softened his tone, as if choosing his words carefully.

“We grew up together. I know you’re a little selfish, a bit strong-willed.”

“Today… what happened today isn’t like you.”

Kanzaki Sou didn’t continue, but the meaning was clear.

The flaws Kondo Haruka exposed had truly left Kanzaki Sou disappointed.

There was no need for words.

The current situation spoke for itself.

“Get some rest for now.”

The sound of a chair being pushed came, and Kanzaki Sou seemed to stand up.

“The cold compress should last a while longer. No need to get out of bed until it’s done.”

“Eh… I don’t want to—“

Kondo Haruka’s voice immediately rang out.

“Sou-kun, are you leaving? Right now—”

“I’ll come back soon, Haruka. Don’t worry too much.”

Kanzaki Sou’s voice was even higher than before.

“Take this chance to calm down a bit too. It’ll be good for you.”

“…Wh-what do you mean?”

“Whether it’s friends I care about or you, I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

But you ended up hurting yourself.”

Another soft sigh.

Kanzaki Sou added,

“I’ll go get the Homeroom Teacher. It won’t take long. Until then, stay here, rest, and think about what I said.”

With that, steady footsteps sounded, drawing closer to the door.

“Sou-kun! Wait—…!”

Although Kondo Haruka seemed to want to stop him, Kanzaki Sou’s footsteps didn’t pause.

Only then did the girl at the doorway snap back to reality.

She’d been completely absorbed, her mind and heart tangled into a mess by their conversation.

A storm of emotions had already swelled inside, nearly suffocating Miura Koharu with their weight.

.. Up until now, as Kanzaki Sou was about to leave the room.

Realizing she couldn’t get caught eavesdropping, Miura Koharu hurriedly prepared to run.

But the moment her right foot left the floor, she froze.

The Corridor was too long. If she sprinted full speed to the corner, she might barely make it before he came out.

But the footsteps would be a dead giveaway on the way back, and if Kanzaki Sou came to check who was outside, she’d be caught for sure.

If she tried to sneak by slowly, she could hide her footsteps, but if her luck was bad and Kanzaki Sou exited toward her side, he’d spot her back as soon as he turned into the Corridor.

With his eyesight, he’d definitely recognize her.

It was no different from being caught running.

—What should I do?

Her gaze quickly swept the surroundings.

Though the thought of “maybe I should climb out the window and cling to the outside” flashed through her mind, thankfully, Miura Koharu spotted another place to hide.

In front and to the side of the Infirmary was a small room for storing cleaning supplies.

Though it wasn’t exactly spacious, the little door was open.

As long as she could hide her body, she didn’t need to close the door completely—just staying behind it was enough.

She didn’t hesitate any longer.

Tiptoeing lightly, she crossed the Corridor in a few quick steps and slipped into the partially open Cleaning Supply Room, making sure the door shielded her from view.

Almost simultaneously, the door to the Infirmary opened.

Steady footsteps exited the room and paused in the Corridor.

Kanzaki Sou seemed to stand at the doorway for a few seconds before walking down the hall.

Then, the footsteps gradually faded, disappearing at the end of the Corridor and down the stairs.

Behind the narrow, dark door of the supply room, Miura Koharu peeked at the movements in the Corridor.

Kanzaki Sou’s direction was the opposite of her view, so she couldn’t confirm which floor he left from.

At this moment, Miura Koharu was gasping in the supply room, her heart pounding as if it would burst from her throat.

It wasn’t due to lack of oxygen.

She heard it.

She heard everything.

Every word Kanzaki Sou said to Kondo Haruka.

The conflict that had been laid bare, unresolved even as Kanzaki Sou left.

The situation was overwhelmingly in her favor.

“I won.”

Countless possible developments flashed through her mind, and with each scenario, the words echoed in her head.

—This time, she truly won.

Kondo Haruka’s deliberately provoked incident had been exposed.

Kanzaki Sou hadn’t taken his Childhood Friend’s side.

The Infirmary event, which should have heightened emotions, had turned out like this.

To Miura Koharu, it was an impossible miracle, a blessing that shouldn’t exist.

The long-haired girl pushed open the door.

The Corridor was empty, as if the boy had never existed.

On the deserted hallway, only her own shadow stretched across the opposite wall.

Miura Koharu knew she should feel happy.

With this development, if she just fanned the flames a little more, she could lower the favorability between them and win the survival bet.

But……

Standing in the bright Corridor, she unconsciously clutched her violently beating heart.

She felt no triumphant joy.

—Instead, an even more complex and powerful emotion surged within her.

Kanzaki Sou’s voice just now had sounded so disappointed and weary.

He must really cherish Kondo Haruka as his Childhood Friend.

That’s why seeing her like this made him so sad.

And the driving force behind all of this—the trigger—

Was actually herself.

If she hadn’t interfered in their lives, none of this would’ve happened.

It was her careful steps for survival that turned the enviable bond between Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou into this messy conflict.

Miura Koharu clenched her fist and stepped toward the Infirmary door.

She admitted responsibility for how things had turned out.

But, it wasn’t the kind of responsibility that meant “apologizing” for it.

Whether it was Kanzaki Sou or Kondo Haruka, both had made plenty of mistaken judgments.

As a bystander, she was the most aware of the misunderstandings each had in their recent conversation.

Only as someone who knew everything at this moment could she rescue these two from their mistaken perceptions of each other.

Only as the one with all the knowledge now could she reach a route with no regrets and nothing left undone.

Sunlight streamed through the window, dazzlingly bright.

Half her face still hidden in shadow, Miura Koharu simply stood at the entrance of the Infirmary.

Kondo Haruka.

I’m coming.

Without hesitation, the girl’s hand gripped the sliding door’s handle and quietly slid it open.