ā¦I wonder how long she had been thinking about it?
As Senpai looked away, I could tell that she was thinking a lot, because her facial expression was moving from time to time.
And then all of a sudden, Senpai faced me.
From her determined look, she must have come to some kind of answer or decision.
āAbout Takanashi-san, I initially did not think too much about the fact that I viewed you differently from the rest of them. But before I knew it, and by the time I realized it, I was beginning to trust you and have a liking towards you now.ā
Liking!?
Eh? Iām happy, but whatās with all the sudden interest?
āBefore meeting Takanashi-san officially, I have known youā¦ Of course, I knew you were taking care of the flower garden, but what made a strong impression on me was when you helped a lost girl in the shopping district.ā
The lost girlā¦ that must have been Mio-chan.
So I was seen at that timeā¦
However, Iām sure I didnāt do anything particularly unusual.
Certainly at that time, I was desperate to get Mio-chan to stop crying, so I referenced Yuzuha as a childā¦
āIn order to calm the weeping girl, you used a cat mascot and meowed nyan~ nyan~ā¦ā
āSenpai! You donāt have to remember that part!ā
Thatās right.
Sure enough, I remembered that I had done that thing towards Yuzuha.
I didnāt think too much about it at the time, but if a guy went nyan~ nyan aroundā¦
āā¦? Whatās wrong with that? Thereās nothing strange about it. I honestly thought that it was amazing. You were able to calm and reassure the child in such a natural way, you know?ā
Apparently, Senpai placed more value on the result than on the meowing part.
āFor me, itās not much since Iāve done something similar in the past, butā¦ā
āItās inevitable that we should make use of our past experiences. That means Takanashi-san has always had such kindness in his heart from a long time ago, doesnāt it?ā
To be honest, it had been a long time since anyone said anything nice to me in a straightforward manner like this because I was isolated in middle school, so I was more than a little confused.
āYou held hands with her and took her to find her mother, right? I can still clearly picture it at the back of my mind. It was such a beautiful sight.ā
What she said made me a little embarrassedā¦
However, Senpai hadnāt lost her expression ever since we first started talking about this.
In other words, sheās really complimenting me.
āWhile on the way to school, you carried her in your arms, didnāt you? I saw you a couple of times, and both of you had such nice smiles on your faces.ā
So even she saw that much huhā¦
That means that Senpai had seen quite a bit of me by the time we talked for the very first time that day.
ā¦that senpai who was called the Lonely Goddessā¦
āTo be honest, there is an overwhelming number of unlikable people around me. In the midst of all that, what you did was very memorable to me. Then I got to know you, talked to you, and even though today was unexpected, I still had some things to think about, and I have finally realized that.ā
After Senpai said that much, she looked straight at me.
Her serious eyes made me feel like I was about to be pulled in.
āIā¦ about youā¦ā
Ehā¦ this patternā¦
No no no, I donāt think she feels that way about meā¦
āItās as if I feel I have a best friend like Natsumi.ā
Well, I didnāt think a best friend would be possible, and in any case, I didnāt think I was that deeply involved myself.
Honestly, though, Iām happy.
This was the first time Iāve ever had someone say that to me.
āThis is what Iāve been feeling up until nowā¦ā
Then Senpaiā¦ stared at me with a very beautiful smile!
āā¦And thatās how I feel about you. As long as itās okay with you, Takanashi-san, can we continue to be friends?ā
Rather, it was something I wanted to ask for.
āThank you very much. Iām really happy that you feel that way.ā
āIām gladā¦I was a little worried because I caused you a lot of trouble.ā
Iām so happy.
But since Senpai has told me this much, now itās my turn to be honest with her.
Iām not sure what Senpai will think when she hears this, and Iām scared to think that she might be disappointed, but even soā¦