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

Gentle words were uttered in a trembling voice.

Once again, Yō was reminded of Marin’s strength.

Even though she had been betrayed by the person she loved, and that person had laughed at her for being hurt, Marin had not shown any anger.

On the contrary, she even apologized to the other person and tried to control herself for the sake of that person.

She was the only person Yō knew who could do such a thing.

“Marin-chan…?”

Haruki was also puzzled by Marin’s sudden appearance.

No, on the contrary, he seems to be impatient and apologetic about the fact that she overheard their conversation earlier.

Yō didn’t miss this change in attitude.

At least, he is sure that this is not an act.

Marin smiled again at the upset Haruki, then she turned around and looked up at Yō’s face.

She also smiled and opened her mouth in the same cute way.

“Thank you, too, Hazakura-kun.”

“You aren’t angry…?”

He thought that Marin was angry with Yō because of his attitude earlier, but instead of reprimanding him, Marin thanked him.

This was surprising to Yō.

However, this seems to be a normal thing for Marin.

“How can I be angry with the One who got angry for my sake?”

It was a very gentle voice, just like the previous one he had heard before.

Yō recognized that it was not a voice that she forced out, but a voice that came out of gratitude for Yō.

And when he saw the girl smiling in front of him, he felt that what he was doing was childish.

That’s why he changed his mind.

“‘You’re still as strong as ever.”

Thinking that Marin was an amazing person, Yō showed her a gentle smile for the first time.

This caused Marin to gasp in surprise, but after patting her on the head, Yō opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you, and I was going to make it easier on you… but, I got a little emotional.”

“Ah, no… I really, really do appreciate it…”

“Ah, thank you. I’m sorry for bringing it up again, even though it may have already been over for you. But I need you to let me be a little more involved.”

Yō said only that, and gently patted Marin’s head to comfort her, and then looked at Haruki.

“Hey, Kinoshita. What happened to you in the past? Isn’t there something you haven’t told me yet?”

Yō already had an idea of what had happened to Haruki.

To be honest, he had some doubts about whether he should let him talk about it in Marin’s presence― but he knew that she would not leave them alone in this situation.

That’s why Yō stepped in, prepared to face the possibility that he might be forced to push her further.

If what Yō had in mind was the case, then Haruki would no longer be a target to be cut off, but a target that needed to be saved, just like Marin.

And that, Yō decided, was the best way to settle this matter.

“I―”

In response to Yō’s question― Haruki almost opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it.

For Haruki, Yō was not a friend he had been with for many years, nor was he a close friend.

The darkness that Haruki was facing was not so light that he could talk to such a person.

That’s why Yō stepped into his life a little more.

“You’ve been acting like an idiot, but when you’re actually in front of Akimi, you feel guilty. Isn’t that what you really feel?”

There was one thing that didn’t make sense to Yō.

That is, why did Marin fall in love with this man?

Now that she was in high school, she might have just been blinded by her longtime love.

However, according to what he had heard, Marin had been in love with Haruki since she was a little girl.

Even if it was because she was young, her feelings would have changed as she progressed through the following years.

The fact that it hadn’t changed meant that Haruki had that much in him.

Also, Haruki doesn’t seem to have the brains to be able to deceive others since he was in elementary school.

For these reasons, Haruki must have been kind in the past.

No, rather, Yō had seen a side of Haruki that was too good-natured during their first year, but he couldn’t help but see it as an act.

So there must be a good reason why such a man has come to do so many painful things.

One of them came to Yō’s mind.

“I…”

However, Haruki still opened his mouth and then closed it immediately.

He could tell from the way he was talking that it was a heavy thing to say.

However, this is not the way to go about it.

So, Yō decided to get to the heart of the matter.

“You were bullied, weren’t you?”

“―Ah!”

When Haruki heard Yō’s words, he stared at Yō’s face with a clearly upset expression.

Seeing this, Marin looked up at Yō’s face in surprise.

“W-what do y-you mean…?”

Her voice was more shaky than before, and she seemed to be as upset as Haruki.

But from this point on, Yō can only imagine.

The only way to know everything is to hear it from the person himself.

So, Yō went through Marin and called out to Haruki again.

“I’m sure that none of our schoolmates would do such an absurd act, given that we are a progressive school with a high deviation score. But are you still being treated like that by someone? Or did they do it to you back in middle school?”

“…”

In response to Yō’s question, Haruki is still silent.

Before Yō could open his mouth again, Marin grabbed Haruki by both shoulders and looked into his face.

“Tell me, Haru-kun…!”

“…”

However, Haruki only had a pained expression on his face and did not try to speak.

That was enough to tell them that something terrible had happened.

Above all, there was no doubt that this incident that happened in the past destroyed his personality.

The fact that Marin didn’t know about it meant that he might have been attacked by someone who was able to manipulate him in a very clever way.

Thinking about this, Yō put his hand on Marin’s shoulder and instructed her to move away.

He then looked into Haruki’s eyes from a short distance and opened his mouth.

“Are they still doing something to you?”

“―!”

In response to Yō’s question, Haruki’s shoulders shook.

So Yō believes that Haruki is still being bullied in some way. 

He had no idea that the bullying was ongoing, but it made sense that Haruki was reluctant to talk about it.

He’s afraid of some kind of reprisal if he’s found out about it here.

To this Haruki, Yō said the best thing he could offer.

“I know it’s hard to believe coming from the guy who was accusing you just now, but I’m going to make you and Akimi one promise. If you confide in me, I’ll do something about that guy― or them.”

Yō knew.

He knew that when people do this kind of bullying, they do it in groups, not alone.

“Why are you…? You’re mad at me, aren’t you…?”

“Yes, I am. But what I want most of all is for this matter to be settled. I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.”

“But you can’t do it alone…”

“Well, I can’t go into details, but don’t worry. I have the means to destroy those scumbags, that’s all I’m saying.”

When Yō said this strongly, Haruki slowly opened his mouth.