When I Grabbed a Cute Girl’s Weakness, I Threatened Her to Be My Girlfriend, But She’s Too Wholesome

Chapter 27 – My Story

Kotone-chan has a complex on her older sister. She has always seen her sister above her. She’s always been made aware of that by people around her.

I don’t know how painful it is. As an only child, I don’t understand.

However, I think it’s hard to be neglected as an individual.

“But other people are so selfish. Of course they are, they don’t think about our feelings.”

Kotone-chan’s feelings are complicated. There are feelings she hasn’t told me about yet. I feel like that’s not all of them.

But it’s very hard to let it all out at once. She has to look back at a past she doesn’t want to look back on.

It’s my fault. It must be really hard for Kotone-chan to feel that way. People say it’s easier to let it out, but I guess that depends on who you’re talking to.

“It’s my own fault, and it’s not something I want to talk to anyone about.” If that’s what she thinks, I want to tell her that it’s totally okay to talk nonsense.

“Yuji-senpai?”

“I’m going to digress for a moment, but can you listen to my bullshit?”

I made sure Kotone-chan gave a small nod, and I began to speak.

“…When I was in the second grade, we had to do a play for a school event.”

I think back to when I was little. When I was still old enough to innocently frolic on the swings…

“The play was ‘Momotaro’. First I had to decide on a role, so I ran for the role I wanted to play.”

Kotone-chan is silent, but she’s listening to me. I made sure of that and continued talking.

“Just because we’re kids doesn’t mean we all want to be the main character. In fact, there were quite a few who didn’t volunteer. In the midst of all that, I decided to play the role of a dog.”

“A dog, huh?”

“Yeah, a dog. I wanted to play the role of the dog who begs for kibidango to become Momotaro’s companion.”

“If you say that much, you’re a gluttonous dog.”

That’s a lovely thing to say.

I guess I found the role of the dog endearing at the time. Compared to monkeys and pheasants, it was an animal I felt closer to.

“Well, I wasn’t the only one who volunteered. I think there were about three of us, including me.”

“So you three got on well and shared the role?”

“No. I said the line of the dog on the spot, and everyone voted for it.”

Suddenly I was saying my lines in front of everyone. It was difficult for me as a little boy, apparently. It brings back memories of making the usual mistakes.

“Of course, someone other than me was chosen. Those of us who weren’t chosen were told by the teacher, ‘You didn’t put in enough effort. Next time, let’s try harder.’ I thought, ‘What’s the point of trying if I’m not going to get it?’”

It was a real mystery to me at the time. I had no idea when the effort would be recognised.

“In the end, my role became a supporting role with one or two lines. I ended up in the same role as those who didn’t volunteer.”

“……”

“It’s a really silly story, but I think it was the beginning of it all. The next year, and the year after that, every time we did a play, I ran for a certain role. I even practiced my acting so I could play different roles. I tried to do what the teacher told me to do.”

Looking back, I don’t know why I was so angry. It wasn’t that I wanted to be the lead, or that I disapproved of the supporting cast.

“But the result didn’t change. It was only natural that no one chose me, and it took me a while to realize that it was embarrassing to have nominated myself.”

The main character is usually the same guy, and the supporting characters are not so different.

They say that children have unlimited possibilities, but they grow up with their childhood experiences. I still remember my childhood.

Unfortunately, the aspirational me is gone. Since childhood, I had no idea how to surpass the boundary between “capable” and “incapable” people that was shown to me.

“It was similar until the sixth grade, when I ran for a role but wasn’t chosen. It was my last play in primary school and you know what the teacher said to me? ‘You didn’t put in enough effort. Next time, let’s try harder.’ It’s a great formula, isn’t it?”

After coming that far, even a dumb person like me finally understood.

“After that, I went through middle school and high school. It’s the same whether I’m in front of people or not. And I’m not just talking about the play. It didn’t change my reputation for not trying hard enough no matter what I do.”

It’s a stupid story.

Lack of effort? I guess so. I’m sure others were all working hard in places I don’t know about. They must be so much better than me that every time I raise my hand to do something, they look at me like I’m a dunce.

I didn’t like the way they looked at me or their attitude, even though I knew I was in the wrong. They were the type of people that I could never be friends with.

That’s why, if I had to pick and choose my friends, Ide was the only one left. He’s a classless boy, but he doesn’t label me in a bad way.

“Well, that’s just my silly story… Hmm, Kotone-chan?”

I thought Kotone-chan was listening quietly, but she was looking down.

“Hi, hicc… Y-Yuji-senpai… You went through all that… ugh, gusu…”

Or rather, she was crying. I can hear her sniffling.

“…Why is Kotone-chan crying?”

“Gusu… Yuji-senpai… You talk like it’s nothing…”

Kotone-chan is sniffing. Is that appropriate for a maiden?

“……”

But as her boyfriend, I can’t leave her crying.

So I reached out and stroked Kotone-chan’s head. I kept stroking until she stopped crying. I think it’s my privilege to be able to do that.