I Went Out With a Losing Heroine, But Before I knew It, My Childhood Friend, Who’s Supposed to be Th

“…Did you come to console me…?”

　When Marin heard Yō’s words and saw his eyes, she asked in a mumbling tone.

　But Yō slowly shook his head.

“Do I look like someone who would do such a thing? Like I said, I’m just here to watch the sunset.”

　Yō kept his stance.

　But this was not all a lie.

　It’s true that he had some feelings for Marin and came to follow up with her.

　However, Yō is not going to comfort her.

　No, he knew that he couldn’t comfort her even if he tried.

　That’s why he didn’t come to comfort Marin.

“It’s just… not good to see Akimi still trying to force herself to smile, even though it was so painful that you were crying. It’s clearly important to put up with it. However, it’s difficult to keep painful things inside your heart for a long time, isn’t it? So, if you can let it out, there’s nothing better than letting it out.”

　As a result of accumulating negative emotions, people break down.

　Or, when the limit is exceeded, the accumulated negative emotions are vented all at once, causing an irreversible situation.

　With Marin’s personality, the former would probably be the case.

　She has a gentle nature that does not allow her to vent her frustrations on the people around her.

　However, because of this, the negative emotions that have lost their place will cause Marin to suffer.

　That’s why Yō wanted her to let out her emotions before it was too late.

“There’s no one here but me. That’s why, don’t hesitate to let it out.”

　She didn’t smile, she just stared back into his eyes as Yō said this emotionlessly.

　A few moments later while looking at each other, Marin opened her mouth with an almost bitter smile.

“一I don’t want to vent it alone right now… Can you stay here and accompany me…?”

“I suppose I could. If you can do it, I’m fine with it.”

　If Marin vented alone, she would probably only let out as much as she could stand.

　However, that would soon bring her to the limit, and the negative emotions that had built up would still continue to torment her.

　Yō, who has been watching her for a short time, understands this.

“I’m not asking you to tell me everything. Just tell me what you want to tell me. I’m just going to listen to what Akimi has to say.”

　People can release their negative emotions by having someone listen to them.

　And once you start talking, you can’t stop.

“…”

　When she heard Yō’s words, Marin fell silent and thought about it.

　She’s probably wondering if she should talk about it or not.

　He did not interrupt her, but closed his eyes, folding his arms as he held them against the fence.

“―It was my first love…”

　Eventually, in a fading voice, Marin began to speak.

　Yō deliberately did not open his eyes, but encouraged her to go on.

“I loved him so much… Haru-kun and I have known each other since childhood….”

　Haruki and Marin are childhood friends― indeed, Yō heard of such a thing in rumors.

　At the time, he didn’t really pay attention to it, but when he heard about it again, he came up with a possibility.

“I see, so that’s what happened…”

“Eh…?”

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, since you’re childhood friends, you’ve liked him for quite some time now, right?”

　Responding to the words he muttered, she shook her head from side to side so Yō decided to change the subject.

　He decided that there was no need to say something that would make her sad, and that she could only speculate about.

“Since we were in preschool… I’ve loved him…”

“That’s… Certainly, your first love…”

“Yes… We’ve been together since we were little… The adults around us used to say that we were like brother and sister…”

　For that matter, it’s not like the two of them look alike at all. She swallowed a tactless comment about them being siblings, and Yō’s heart ached when she said they’d been together since childhood.

“Well, the two of you have been close since first years.”

　In the beginning, a love triangle had not yet been formed, and there was a perception that Marin and Haruki were like a couple.

　That’s why some people would be very surprised to know how things ended up today.

“Hazakura-kun… was there something wrong with me…?”

　Marin asks Yō why she was not chosen.

　When Yō opened his eyes and looked at Marin, she was looking up at him with clinging eyes.

　Marin is the kind of girl that the whole school admires.

　To be honest, Yō even wondered if there was anything wrong with her.

　However, if he had to pick one thing that was wrong with Marin, it was because she was too kind.

　She was always reserved towards her rival, the beautiful black-haired girl.

　This was probably the decisive factor.

　But that’s just a guess, and of course there are other reasons.

“I think it’s probably because the other party was Nemoto-san…?”

　The other person’s fault, it’s supposedly true.

　Marin would not have lost if it wasn’t for the other one of the two beautiful girls, Kasumi Nemoto.

　But that doesn’t mean that Marin’s charm is inferior to Kasumi’s.

　Kasumi is a cool, unassuming, slim, beautiful girl who looks great in a kimono.

　She is a perfect human being who can study and exercise.

　But on the other hand, she is also cold and scary, but one part of her that makes her very attractive as a girl is being flat-chested.

　To a man who cares about such things, her attractiveness would drop several notches.

　On the other hand, Marin is a girl who, despite her short stature and baby face, makes men want to tickle her and protect her.

　Above all, Marin is a beautiful girl, no less than Kasumi, just in a different lineage.

　And her personality is kind and caring, and one girlish part of her is so big that it seems to have taken most of the nutrition from her body.

　It’s hard to accept her as an adult, but if you look at her as a whole, more people would probably choose Marin over Kasumi.

　The reason why Marin wasn’t chosen is because of Haruki’s taste.

　However, saying such a thing would only hurt Marin, and would not help move anything forward.

　So Yō decided to say something else.

“I’m not Kinoshita. So I can’t answer that question.”

“Yes, that’s right…”

　Hearing Yō’s answer, Marin cast her eyes down sadly.

　The answer must have been different from what she expected.

　With her by his side, Yō turned his gaze again towards the sunset.

“Hey, Akimi.”

“Yes…?”

“Thinking about the reasons won’t change the outcome. So, first of all, let out as much frustration and bitterness as you can. ―After that, I’ll make you forget about Kinoshita.”

　Yō did not look at Marin’s face, but told her so while staring at the sunset.

　It is inevitable that Marin would ponder over the reasons.

　But that would not solve anything, it would only continue to hurt her.

　So, Yō guided Marin to let out her negative emotions again.

“Hazakura-kun, you’re surprisingly bold…”

“…?”

　Marin muttered to herself in front of Yō, who tilted his head in wonder, not knowing what was so bold.