Chapter 105
"Rika-chan, I have something to tell you too. Won't you listen...?"
"What is it, all seriousness?"
"Actually... it's about those girls I was talking to you about before... about them."
Ryosaku once again detailed the "new information" he had told Rika about when he'd invited her to his room on the day K Elementary School was demolished.
"Hmm..."
Rika sighed, folded her arms, and fell into a long silence.
An indescribably heavy atmosphere drifted through the lab.
"Hey, Ryosaku-kun. I wonder if I was a clown... a sad clown. A clown who puts on a funny face in front of other people. What a fool."
"... That's not true, Rika-chan. I think of you as an important person. In the past... and even now, at this very moment."
"Ryosaku-kun..."
"It's true, my honest feelings towards Mieko-chan are exactly as I just told you. But, Rika-chan, I don't want to make Lisa-chan, who's in Hokkaido, and Rika-chan, unhappy. Both of you supported me, and both of you always encouraged me and helped me. I can't express my gratitude in words. I have so many memories of you two that I couldn't write them all down even if I wrote a million pages in a notebook. But... it's precisely because you two were like that that I don't want to leave you in a half-hearted, painful position any longer. I couldn't do such a heartless, cruel thing any longer, not telling them about Mieko-chan, deceiving them, and making them put up with me forever..."
"Ryosaku-kun..."
"You know, Rika-chan, this is what I think. Mieko-chan, Lisa-chan... and Rika-chan were all "angels" that descended on my shoulders when I was in pain... But, Rika-chan. There is only one "angel" I can truly love. I love Rika-chan. But... there is only one "angel" who will be by my side until the very end. In the end, I had to choose that "someone". And that was..."
"For you, Ryosaku-kun, that was Mieko-chan. I'm sorry, Ryosaku-kun. I wouldn't have been able to do something like that either. I knew that. And I came to see you, Ryosaku-kun. "
"Rika-chan..."
"The truth is, Ryosaku-kun. I put on an act."
"Acting...?"
"That's right. I... purposely put on an act for you. I've always wanted to know whether you're a truly kind person, or whether you're a cowardly, sly person who'll keep fooling me and Lisa-chan, telling us all sorts of lies and beautiful words, and living your life cheating on women twice and three times... I've always wanted to know which one you are...
Ryosaku-kun. I wanted to hear what you really think... whether you'll tell me the truth... your true feelings, honestly, at the last moment, without hiding anything. "
"......."
"And now...Ryosaku-kun has confessed your true and honest feelings to me, without any lies or deception...and of course to Lisa-chan too."
"Rika-chan..."
"Ryosaku-kun is such a kind person...I know it's a little late to say this, but I'm really touched. You're such a warm-hearted person who genuinely cares about others...Even though I wasn't chosen by Ryosaku-kun in the end, and I didn't become your true girlfriend...I'm proud of myself. Because you expressed such a warm heart to me... And you have always been so kind and cherished me. It's the ultimate pleasure for a woman. Seriously."
"......."
"Ryosaku-kun, your 'scent' has changed... I noticed it right away when I got close to you. It's so lovely... and yet somehow sad, like a sweet and sour cherry scent... Could this be Mieko-chan's scent?"
"That's right, Rika-chan. That's absolutely true. Hey, Rika-chan, why don't we go for a walk around there... just the two of us."
"...Yeah."
