“Finally, tomorrow, huh?”
The cherry trees in front of the station were blooming with pale pink flowers, seemingly blessing the students who were about to start a new school year. My university’s entrance ceremony was also tomorrow, and I felt like I was being blessed as well.
The university I was entering was an ordinary one, located close to my home. It was a liberal arts university, about three train stops away, and a short walk from the nearest station.
By the way, I had successfully passed the university I had been aiming for in my previous life. Its academic level was higher than this liberal arts university, but it was too far from my home.
…That was the cool-sounding excuse I gave on the surface.
The truth was that I had been hospitalized, and I hadn’t noticed the acceptance letter, so I couldn’t pay the entrance fee.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. Despite having the advantage of knowledge from my previous life, the fact that things turned out this way meant that I probably wasn’t meant to go there. I got my revenge, and I atoned for my previous life. I have no regrets… or so I should.
Rather, I was surprised that the liberal arts university had sent my acceptance letter to the hospital where I was staying. If things had gone wrong, I might not have become a university student at all, so this was truly a divine revelation. Because of this, I had come to like this university even before I had enrolled.
Even so…
“I started cleaning to welcome the new year, but it’s more tiring than I thought…”
My room was located in the suburbs of the city. It wasn’t in the city itself, but just barely within the prefecture, so the rent wasn’t too high. Even so, it was a one-room apartment with a loft for 50,000 yen. It also had a bath and appliances, so I thought it was a great deal. Normally, it would cost at least 80,000 yen, or even more.
I tossed the luggage in the loft into trash bags and tied the magazines into bundles with string, placing them in front of my room.
Since I could only use my left hand, the task of tying the string was more difficult than I had imagined. I was also worried about losing my balance when climbing the loft stairs.
It would have been nice if my dominant hand had been okay…
For now, I had finished sorting the trash.
However…
“I sorted everything without thinking, but what do I do now…”
It was true that my right hand was the most severely injured, but the wounds on my whole body hadn’t healed yet. My legs weren’t fully recovered, so I had to drag myself when I walked, and going back and forth to the trash disposal area was too tiring.
“I did all this work, and I can’t throw it all away? Well, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll divide it into smaller portions and reduce it little by little…”
If possible, I wanted to finish everything today, but I had a handicap, so I gave up. Besides, getting frustrated about things I couldn’t do would only increase my stress. It was time to accept my current situation.
I sank into the only piece of furniture in my room, the sofa.
I recalled the after-party I had with the four Heroines of LoD the other day. Since entering high school, I had only thought about dying every day, so it was fun.
Although, the mental strain was constant…
“Buying a smartphone, yakiniku… there are a lot of things I don’t want to remember…”
On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I wanted a smartphone before the after-party. Akina also wanted one, so we decided to go buy one together, but the other three simultaneously smashed their phones on the ground. With smiles on their faces.
“I don’t want to touch a smartphone that’s been contaminated by trash. I was thinking of buying a new one anyway, so I’ll buy the same smartphone as Satoshi,”
…or so Reon (Kitagawa Reine) said.
After that, we all went to buy smartphones together, and it just so happened that there was a “couple’s discount” going on… no, I should stop remembering this.
After that, we all happily got our smartphones and went to a yakiniku restaurant, where they fought over who would sit next to me. If I chose one, the others would have fallen into darkness, which would have been a real problem.
I accepted the ‘aah’ feeding, but I firmly stopped them from trying to do a naked body platter with the yakiniku. It wasn’t a no-pants shabu-shabu restaurant, you know…
By the way, the meat was very delicious.
I operated my smartphone with my unfamiliar left hand and opened LINE. Registered there were the names of the four Heroines. Even including my previous life, this was the first time I had exchanged contact information with girls.
However, there had been no messages exchanged…
No, I was a little hopeful.
If the person who saved my life offered to exchange contact information, then surely they would contact me. I was naive. Nothing happened in the meantime.
You might say I could just contact them, but I didn’t know what to send. In other words, I was stuck.
“Well, I guess that’s how it is… they fulfilled their obligation, and they’re starting a new life.”
For them, exchanging contact information was probably just like a greeting. Thinking about it that way, I felt a little sad.
“It can’t be helped if I worry about it. It’s enough if I can live happily.”
Originally, I was supposed to die, so I had no intention of getting involved with the Heroines. The fact that they had taken care of me until now was more than enough.
“Alright! Time to take out the trash!”
After all, it felt weird to start the entrance ceremony like this. I steeled myself to go up and down the stairs and held the trash bag with my left hand.
“Ding-dong.”
“Huh?”
I had just put my hand on the doorknob. Something I had ordered online must have arrived. Without even looking through the peephole, I opened the door.
“Yo, Satoshi-kun! It’s been a few days!”
“Eh, ah, eh?”
Standing in front of the door was Sakurazuki.
Eh? Why is she really here?
“Ah~! No, Satoshi-kun. You’re a patient, so you should be resting!”
“Ah, sorry.”
She put her hand on her hip, acting coy. She was lecturing me. I reflexively apologized, but that wasn’t the issue. Then, Sakurazuki stretched her neck and peeked into my room.
“Wow~, there’s a lot of trash. You just need to take all of this out, right? Leave it to me!”
“Ah, wait!?”
Ignoring my protests, she barged into my room. Then, she grabbed the trash bags with both hands and left the room.
“Ah, Satoshi-kun, you should rest in your room! I’ll finish this quickly!”
“Ah~, uhm…”
She acted immediately before I could even say thank you. I could hear the light, rhythmic sound of Sakurazuki descending the stairs.
Since she was going to do it for me, I guess I’ll make some coffee and wait.
◇
When all those trash bags disappeared at once, the room suddenly felt much larger.
“Sorry. Thanks for the help.”
“Don’t worry about it! You can use me like a slave, you know?”
“No, that’s a bit…”
It felt like I was taking advantage of her weakness, and I definitely didn’t want to do that.
“More importantly, why are you here?”
I, the owner of the house, was sitting on the sofa, and Sakurazuki was sitting on a cushion on the other side of the table. That was about the size of a one-room apartment. When it was time to sleep, I would climb up to the loft.
More than that, it was about Sakurazuki. I hadn’t told her my address. I was about to ask her how she knew, but she was staring intently at her cup. Then, she began to sip her coffee.
“Mmm… mmm.”
Her glossy lips traced the rim of the cup, and a sensual sigh escaped her with each swallow of the liquid.
To put it simply, it was incredibly erotic.
I hadn’t expected any visitors, so I had served her in the cup I usually used, which made it feel even more so.
“Haa~, delicious…”
Her cheeks were flushed, and she had a very beautiful expression.
“It’s instant, but I’m glad you like it.”
“Is that so? Maybe it’s because Satoshi-kun made it, but it’s the most delicious coffee I’ve ever had.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
It was much better than being told it was bad. More than that…
“I don’t think I told you my address, so how do you know it?”
“—Isn’t that something that doesn’t really matter?”
There was a slight pause, but Sakurazuki looked at me with her usual smile. However, I felt a slight shadow.
“No, it does matter. “More importantly, there’s something I wanted to ask you, Satoshi-kun.”
Sakurazuki interrupted me, speaking clearly.
A chill ran down my spine.
“What have you been doing since the day after the after-party?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked at me with dilated pupils. Her voice was flat, without intonation, and spoken quickly. Her calm, still way of speaking made me shudder.
“Well, I was just preparing for the new semester.”
“With that body?”
“Yeah, but…”
There was no particular problem with moving around inside the house. I had gone out a little, but I hadn’t gone far. Staying in the room made me feel like bad things were accumulating, so I went for a short walk, but that was really it.
“Hey, am I not needed anymore…?”
Tears welled up in Sakurazuki’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“You’re so inconvenienced with that body, right? Why won’t you rely on me? Why won’t you tell me your address? I was waiting, you know? I was ready to do anything if you ordered me to. But even after waiting and waiting, you didn’t contact me, so I mustered up the courage to come here, and you’re doing all this cleaning by yourself… hey, answer me?”
This is too heavy, and scary!?
The current Sakurazuki was so terrifying that horror movies seemed like child’s play.
A clumsy deception or lie could hurt her. I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
“I was going to contact Sakurazuki first, but I thought you’d be busy… with university preparations and all that, right? I didn’t want to bother you…”
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. For something I came up with on the spur of the moment, it was a pass.
“…Really? It’s not that you don’t need me anymore?”
The dullness in Sakurazuki’s eyes returned to life.
“I really wanted to say that I was fine on my own, but it seems I still can’t. Honestly, I was really saved by Sakurazuki coming today. Thank you.”
“Yeah… yeah! I’m so glad!”
“Whoa!?”
Sakurazuki was so moved that she jumped into my chest. I reflexively caught her, and the scent of fabric softener and the popular gravure idol’s nice body were touching me. My reason was about to fly away.
“Sakurazuki, um, I’d be happy if you could move away.”
“Ah, sorry? I was so relieved because I thought I’d been abandoned.”
“No, I wouldn’t abandon you…?”
I don’t remember picking her up either. Rather, I even thought that I was the one who had been abandoned.
“I’m so glad… If you hated me, I would have had a dark campus life.”
Sakurazuki was patting her chest in relief. Seeing Sakurazuki like that, I was driven by a sense of duty. I had to cast aside my indulgence and speak. I couldn’t let Sakurazuki feel guilty forever.
“…Hey, Sakurazuki. Can I talk to you for a bit?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“It’s okay about me, so enjoy your university life. It’s the last moratorium before you enter society, you know?”
I don’t know what kind of career Sakurazuki will pursue since she’s already working, but normally, university is the last paradise before entering society. I don’t want her to waste those four years feeling guilty about me.
“…So, you still don’t need me?”
“That’s not it. It’s really helpful when you help me like today. But, we’re going to different universities, and Sakurazuki has her own life, right?”
“My life is for Satoshi-kun, you know?”
“Ehh…”
She said it with a straight face…
She was too serious, and I was taken aback.
Sakurazuki smiled.
“Besides, Satoshi-kun is saying strange things. We’re going to the same university, you know?”
“Eh?”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you? Our faculties are different though.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Even when playing [LoD], there was talk of going to university, but it never said which university it was.
“So, there’s nothing to worry about! I’ll take care of you at university too!”
“Ah, okay.”
I couldn’t refuse when she said it with such an innocent smile. Rather, it would be scary if I refused. I’ve decided to let her do as she pleases until her guilt towards me disappears. I have no choice but to compromise here.
However…
“Well, well. I might need your help at school, but you don’t need to come all the way to my place, okay? I won’t be that much of a bother—” “Ding-dong”
The intercom rang, interrupting my words.
“I’ll get it.”
Ignoring the owner of the house, she went to the entrance on her own. Probably something I ordered online had arrived. My nerves were on edge, so I sank into the back of the sofa.
“Who is it~?”
“Whoa!?”
Suddenly, my vision was completely filled with black. No, more than that, this familiar voice was,
“Akina…?”
“Correct~”
When she let go of me, I tilted my head back from the sofa and hit something soft. Akina was looking down at me with a smile.
“It’s been a while~”
“Yeah, well, it’s not ‘it’s been a while’! Why is Akina at my house!?”
Also, if you do that from behind, Akina’s melons will hit me!?
“It’s not just Akina-san, “I’ve missed you!” Ah, wait a minute!?”
Following her, Shino, with tears in her eyes as if it were a dramatic reunion, jumped on me.
“It’s been a few days, Satoshi-sama… Even though there were preparations, the days when I couldn’t take care of you felt so long. How is your injury? If it were to worsen—”
“Ah~, I’m fine. It’s healing well.”
“That’s good to hear…”
Shino was sitting on my lap and talking to me, but the distance between our faces was almost zero. Even with our faces so close, Shino’s skin was as beautiful as a jewel.
No, don’t do such a creepy analysis!
“Sorry, Akina, Shino, move away…”
“That’s right. Move away! You’re bothering Satoshi, aren’t you?”
“Okay~”
Akina and Shino reluctantly moved away from me. I’m grateful that she pulled them off, but why is Reon here too?
“It’s been a while, Satoshi.”
“It hasn’t been that long. More importantly—” “Hey, Satoshi.”
My question was silenced again. More than that, Reon’s way of closing the distance was too smooth. My sofa was a two-seater so that you could lie down on it, but in an instant, she took the seat next to me, and then, she wrapped both of my hands with her own.
“I wanted to see you. I was worried the whole time. I was wondering if you were crying alone because you were scared…”
“I’m not a child… More than that, mgh!?”
“But, you don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll be by your side to watch over you, so you can rest easy. If you get scared, you can cry on my chest, okay?”
It was after I was enveloped in a blissful sensation that I realized Reon had pulled my face close. More than that, it was Reon who was crying with emotion.
How worried was she about me… Was I that childish…? I’m a little shocked.
More than that, these guys aren’t letting me talk at all!?
It’s nice that they’re taking care of me, but I want them to respect my will. I tried to escape from Reon’s hug that makes people useless.
And then…
“Haa… So, why are you all here…? I don’t think I told you my address…”
“Why? Didn’t you hear it from Sakurazuki?”
“No, nothing…”
“That person… It’s obvious that Satoshi would be confused, geez.”
Reon was pressing her temples, but I wanted to do that a hundred times more.
“Everyone’s here!”
Sakurazuki came back from the entrance. I haven’t gotten any answers since earlier, and only my questions are piling up. Now that it’s finally quiet, I’ll get them to answer properly.
“It doesn’t matter how you know my address at this point. More importantly, why are all of you in my room…?”
“What do you mean? It’s moving day. We all moved into the room next to Satoshi-kun’s today, so we’re neighbors! And we’re all going to the same university!”
“Eh…?”
“Our faculties are all different though.”
“Yeah~, I should have gone to the same economics faculty as Satoshi-kun~”
“That’s right… I want to beat my past self to death during the exam period.”
“Seriously…”
At this point, I want to suspect the World’s Compulsion, but the game itself should have ended when the ‘BAD END’ notification appeared. There was no university student arc, and there was no sequel. In other words, it’s a coincidence (・・), that I ended up going to the same (・・・・・・・・) school as the heroines (・・・・・・・・・).
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? Ah. I’m okay.”
“That’s good.”
I was brought back to reality when Sakurazuki spoke to me. When I looked up, the four heroines of [LoD] were smiling down at me.
“Well then, Satoshi-kun. Let’s enjoy our university life, okay?”
It was supposed to be a carefree smile, but I felt a hint of darkness somewhere.
“Please be gentle…”
That was all I could say.
Thank you for reading this far!
Please [Follow]!
If possible, I would be happy if you could go back to the [Work Page] and press the [⊕] three times in the [Review]’s [Praise with ★]!