Chapter 96
...That night.
After getting out of the bath, Ryosaku looked over the "training diary" that had been prepared for each of them for this "Hokkaido agricultural training."
This was a sort of "report" in which all of the trainees, from the day they were dispatched to the farm, reflected on the content of their training and points of reflection on their own work every day until the end of their training, and recorded them in detail.
However, the trainees actually did not start recording what happened on the day they were welcomed by each farm, but rather only from the "day they started working on the farm."
Ryosaku was looking over the layout of the paper, renewing his resolve for the rigorous practical training that was to begin the next day.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and someone peeked in.
"Ryo-chan, are you awake?"
"Lisa-chan... what's wrong? Haven't you gone to bed yet...?"
"Yeah... I just can't sleep. Hey, Ryo-chan, can I sleep here tonight...?"
"Eh...? No, Lisa-chan. We just took a bath together, didn't we? That's really not good."
"But Ryo-chan, my mom and dad both said it was okay for me to sleep with you. They said, 'Ryosaku-kun won't do anything weird to you. It's okay, so don't worry, just sleep together happily.'"
(Kenichi-san and Yuuko-san, do you really trust me that much? I think Lisa-chan is just as cute as Mieko-chan. But if I go that far, I'll feel bad for Mieko-chan... that Mieko-chan...)
"Ryo-chan, what's wrong? You seem spaced out."
"...No, it's nothing. Well, I'll lie down on the carpet on the floor, Lisa-chan... you can sleep on this bed. I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now."
"Ryo-chan, you have a cold attitude... Do you hate sleeping with me that much...? Why?"
Even though they had been best friends in the past, Ryosaku felt a strong resistance to the idea of him boldly and unashamedly acting in such an undesirable situation, an adolescent boy and girl sleeping in the same bed, which was not educationally appropriate.
However, Ryosaku could not bring himself to mercilessly say, "It's because of my promise to Mieko," which could be taken as cold-hearted, to the adorable Lisa who had once supported him, loved him so boundlessly, and still had feelings for him.
Lisa, like Mieko, has been waiting for Ryosaku for a long time, and is genuinely moved by the joy of being reunited with him, trusting him so much that she even entrusts her body to him...she has told him all this.
Ryosaku was remembering how Lisa had been his strength during the difficult times when Mieko was absent, and how she had quietly supported him for three years as "Mieko's stand-in" and "behind the scenes".
"Lisa-chan, were you sad while I was away? Were you lonely?"
"Ryo-chan... You should know that without me having to say it, right...? You see, I never dated anyone, and I waited for the day I could meet you. I turned them all down, even when they confessed to me. They hated me, bullied me, and I stopped going to school many times. But even so, I couldn't forget about you. But you know, there's still "that person" in your heart. I'm sure even now... So, I'm happy to be your lover only while you're here. Ever since I was little, I've been happy just to be by your side. It makes me feel safe... so..."
Ryosaku was surprised.
Lisa, like Mieko, had thoughts of Ryosaku only, and had not opened her heart to anyone else, waiting earnestly for him until this very day.
Ryosaku was convinced that the reason Lisa had stopped contacting him was because she didn't know when Ryosaku would reunite with Mieko and return to their former relationship, and if that were to happen, she was afraid that by contacting him, Lisa might end up interfering with his relationship with Mieko... With this in mind, Lisa had refrained from contacting Ryosaku herself and was simply waiting for him to contact her.
Hearing this, Ryosaku felt an overwhelming fondness for Lisa, and he spoke gently to Lisa, who had such an honest heart.
"Come on, Lisa-chan. Let's sleep together. You're so cute, so cute, you're on my side."
