Volume 1 - CH 33

Fireworks shoot up into the sky one after another.

The blue and red lights brightened the dark sky.

“It’s beautiful.”

muttered Arisa.

Yuzuru shifted his gaze from the fireworks to Arisa.

Every time a firework went off, it illuminated her art-like face.

It was very picturesque to see this beautiful girl looking up at the night sky with her eyes squinted and her mouth slightly relaxed, looking dazed but happy.

The garden, fireworks, and Arisa.

If one could capture these three in a photograph, it would be a wonderful work of art.

“…… Takasegawa-san? What’s the matter?”

“No, I just thought it was beautiful.”

“Fireworks, right?”

“Of course, the fireworks.”

He couldn’t say “You”.

Yuzuru shifted his gaze from Arisa to the fireworks again.

The two of them found themselves in silence.

There was no conversation between them.

But strangely, there was no awkwardness, and Yuzuru felt somewhat comfortable.

Finally, spectacular fireworks lit up the night sky, and the fireworks display was over.

Now that the main fireworks were finished, the festival was over.

–In an hour or so, the stalls would be ready to be taken down.

“It was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“Ah…….”

“Takasegawa-san.”

Their eyes met.

Arisa smiled at him.

“I had a great time today. Thank you very much.”

“Me too. It was fun to spend time with you.”

Yuzuru expressed his honest feelings to Arisa.

Then Arisa turned her gaze to the night sky again.

After the fireworks were over, the night sky looked strangely lonely.

“Takasegawa-san’s family were all good people, too. They were kind, gentle, and cheerful.”

“They’re just a little excited that you’re here.”

“That may be so. But …… still, it’s very different from our house.”

Arisa said, looking somewhat forlorn.

There was a touch of envy and a slight hint of jealousy on his face.

Then, Arisa shifted her gaze to Yuzuru.

There was a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

Anxiety, fear, and guilt …… mixed with a variety of emotions.

Arisa looked like she was about to cry, but she clenched her fists tightly as if she had made up her mind about something.

“Takasegawa-san.”

“…… What’s wrong?”

“I truly apologize…….”

Then Arisa bowed her head to Yuzuru.

Yuzuru had no idea what Arisa was apologizing for.

“Did you do something?”

“….I told you a lie.”

Arisa said in a small muffled voice.

She lied.

In other words, she deceived Yuzuru

Yuzuru braced himself a little.

“What was the lie ?”

Yuzuru felt a little nervous, afraid that it would be something outrageous.

And the same goes for Arisa, who is also feeling nervous.

“I told you…… that my adoptive father forced me to accept it when I was on matchmaking.”

In a shaky voice, Arisa said.

Indeed, that’s what she said to Yuzuru.

This is why Yuzuru decided to make a fake engagement to protect her.

“It’s not true.”

“…… What is the difference?”

“My adoptive father …… just asked me if I would like to accept an arranged marriage meeting. He didn’t force me to do anything. But I…… was scared, ……so I said I would take it”

Arisa turned her face down as if she was afraid to look at Yuzuru’s face.

He couldn’t see her expression, but from the slight tears in her eyes, he could tell that she was worried and scared.

“But I still didn’t want to, so I kept refusing ……. That’s how I lost track of it……. So it was all my fault. I was the one who strangled myself.”

Droplets of water fell on the porch.

With a shiver, Arisa’s small shoulders quivered.

“I thought, if I told you this, …… you would never cooperate with me. So I hid the inconvenient things. After that, I couldn’t say anything about it……. I’m sorry that I took advantage of your kindness, Takasegawa-san”.

Then Arisa fell silent.

It seemed that this was the end of her confession.

Yuzuru couldn’t help but sigh.

“‘What, that’s all it was? …… raise your face.”

When Yuzuru said this, Arisa looked up with a look of fear on her face.

Her beautiful face was smeared with tears.

Yuzuru turned to Arisa and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Well, I don’t really care about that.”

Yuzuru said slowly and delicately.

Then Arisa’s expression became distorted.

“B, But…”

“In the first place, It’s not a lie .”

Yuzuru interrupted Arisa’s voice.

He then looked into Arisa’s eyes and spoke as if to convince her.

“You were mentally trapped. At least, you couldn’t refuse your adoptive father’s proposal. You were in such a state of mind. So you had no choice but to accept your adoptive father’s proposal, didn’t you?　That’s called being “forced” in the common sense of the word.”

Yuzuru doesn’t know how her adoptive father, Naoki Amagi, felt at the time of proposing to Arisa, “Why don’t you try an arranged marriage?”.

Maybe he was really just asking for Arisa’s free will.

Maybe he thought that Arisa really wanted to have an arranged marriage.

You’ll have to ask the person himself to find out more about this.

But, as a result of it……, Arisa was forced to go on an arranged marriage.

She was forced into a situation where she was forced to get engaged and married.

“As I said a while ago, you are a victim. You may think you are at fault for your actions, and maybe you are. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be unhappy. And it doesn’t remove your right to ask for help.”

If there is something to be angry about,

If there was something Yuzuru to complain about,

There is only one.

“I’ve told you before. That I wouldn’t be bothered if you asked for my help. Just rely on me a little.”

That was all he wanted to say to Arisa.

Then she said in a thin voice, with red eyes and tears in her eyes.

“Well, can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure.”

“…… Please lend me your chest.”

Yuzuru did as he was told and hugged Arisa.

She pressed her face against Yuzuru’s chest and started sobbing softly.

As he hugged her, he realized how small and slender she was.

He could feel her heat, her softness, and the trembling of her body.

She must have endured a long time with this small body.

Maybe it’s some kind of defense instinct that makes her feel guilty so easily.

The reason for her unhappiness is that she is at fault, not because of the irrationality of the situation.

That’s what she has been trying to convince herself……

Either way, her timid personality and the way she puts up walls between people are probably due to her repressed family environment.

Yuzuru stroked Arisa’s head gently, trying not to ruin her hair.

Whether this would help her or not, he didn’t know, but he still wanted to do something for her.

After a while.

Arisa looked up from Yuzuru’s chest.

Her eyes were still wet with tears, but she looked a lot better than before.

She was blushing, probably embarrassed that she had cried in front of Yuzuru.

She turned her gaze away awkwardly and remained silent.

“Yukishiro, are you finished?”

“……can I be selfish?”

“Sure”

“Please let me do this a little more.”

Arisa said and pressed her face against Yuzuru’s chest again.

This time not burying her face, but pressing her cheek against it.

“Please stroke my head.”

“Yes, princess.”

“….. Aren’t you embarrassed to say that?”

“Didn’t I tell you that it’s more embarrassing when someone points it out?”

“….I thought it would be embarrassing even if it wasn’t pointed out”

“I think your little plea is pretty much the same.”

Even as he said this, Yuzuru stroked Arisa’s head.

It was smooth and very comfortable to the touch.

As he hugged her tightly and stroked her while performing the ‘good-girl,good-girl’ routine, Arisa opened her mouth again.

“Um, Takasegawa-san…”

“What’s up this time?”

“…… Can I call you by your name?”

“Name?”

” Yuzuru-san, is it okay if I call you that?”

For a moment, Yuzuru was taken aback.

Perhaps it was because he was flustered, his hand stopped stroking Arisa’s head.

Then Arisa said as if to make an excuse.

“Because Satake-san, Ayaka-san, and Chiharu-san call you by your first name. …… I think it’s a bit distant that I’m the only one who calls you with the last name.”

Arisa said it somewhat sulkily.

She glanced up at Yuzuru with upturned eyes, as if she was a little worried.

Yuzuru began stroking Arisa’s head again.

“It’s okay. Can I call you Arisa as well ……?　Everyone calls you by your first name after all.”

“Yes. Please call me that.”

Arisa gave a small nod of satisfaction and closed her eyes.

Then she tightly grabbed Yuzuru’s body with both hands like a baby who refuses to let go of his favorite blanket.

“Hey, Arisa.”

“…… What is it?”

“How long do you want me to stay like this?”

Yuzuru asked as he stroked Arisa’s head.

It’s tiring to keep stroking her, and even at night, it’s a little hard to hold her body against his in the summer.

Arisa’s answer was as follows.

“All the way to my heart’s content. Is that no good?”

Yuzuru sighed.

“I have no choice then. At all.”

Yuzuru continued to stroke Arisa’s head.　

Author Note: 

Dere degree: 120%.

Ohh, the scouter!

So, it has exceeded 100%. However, if we inflate it too much, it will become stale, so we will change the standard from now on.

From now on, it will be “True Dere Degree”.

Until now, the “dere” degree was an indicator of the feeling of “I can be a lover with this person, and I like this person”. But the “True Dere” level is a measure of how you feel about a person. Like, I would be happy to be married to this person for the rest of my life, and I would be happy to have a child with this person.

In common parlance, the previous level of “dere” is “like” and the new level of “true dere” is “love”.

The current True Dere level is ……

Well, it’s about five percent.

There’s a big difference between a lover and a husband and wife. Arisa is a very strong person. So when it comes to children, she is a bit …… prepared.

If you are curious about the future of the true dere degree, look forward to it.