Welcome, to the Bad End Route - V3 SS 4

Volume 3, Side Story 4: Bad Selection, Broken Heart ~Don't Worry About It~

 

 

"―― Huh? Why'd you refuse her?"

"I’m not interested."

 

After dinner, we headed towards Umi's house and played some games.

Actually, a few more were supposed to come, but for some reason, they all couldn't make it.

Right now, I was raising my voice in response to the fact that Umi was confessed to from a girl from another class.

 

"You know they said she might even be the prettiest girl in our grade, right?"

"Hmm~? Ah...maybe there was something like that."

 

What a sloppy response. Umi had always shown no interest in things that others did.

Or rather, if that girl wasn't good enough, then who was?

This guy was popular and got confessions on a daily basis, but I never heard of him going out with anyone.

 

"More than that, how about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That thing I said a while ago~? About Hanae-chan and Reika-chan."

 

Umi's eyes were glued to screen. But unlike the confession talk from earlier, it was clear that he was interested in this topic.

Did he like talking about other people's love stories? How girl-like.

 

"There's really nothing..."

"...You, don't you like those two? Any romantic feelings for them?"

"I..."

"I've said it before, but ――"

 

As I paused the game, I saw Umi with a serious face for some reason, and I couldn't say anything back.

To be honest, I didn't pay attention to that matter very much, but I was sure I had feelings, romantic even, for those two.

But I had no idea what to do.

 

"―― they'll be taken, you know?"

"!"

 

Taken.

One guy's face came to mind when I heard that. I had a flashback of two girls with their arms entwined with him.

No, such a situation was impossible. Hanae and Reika had always been by my side, and I never heard of them being acquainted with that guy.

Besides, I was confident that Hanae and Reika liked me, unlike with Shigure and Yukinaga-senpai.

I wasn't going to make a mistake this time. Sorry for not playing the role of a fool anymore.

 

"Well, either way is fine for me. ―― Hey, let's play a game instead."

 

After tilting my head at the words Umi muttered at the end, he switched the topic from romance to friendship.

Then, we played through the night, and before I knew it, we fell asleep.

 

――――

――

―

 

――――～～～～♪　～～～～♪

 

Early in the morning, I was awoken from a deep sleep by a ringtone beside my ear.

Probably because I was up all night playing, I was still quite sleepy. I answered the call in a state that could hardly be called awake.

 

"...Henlo."

"Ah, Susumu-kun? Good morning."

"...Ah."

"Like I thought, you were asleep, weren't you? Time to wake up."

"...I'm awake."

"Great, great. So, you know? I'm leaving now, so why don't we meet at the nearest station from school?"

 

―― Don't meet up

 

"What are you saying to someone who just woke up..."

"I'm a bit farther away, so...I thought it would be okay for me to wait for little while."

"No, it's fine. I don't want to keep you waiting, so I'll go with Umi."

"...I see~, got it. See you at school, then."

 

I answered without giving it much thought to my responses because I was too sleepy, but there was no need to go out of my way to meet up with her.

However, as my head gradually cleaered up, I began to regret my choice.

I just thought about apologizing to Hanae yesterday. And what did she mean by a bit farther away? Didn't she go home after that matter?

I rushed to call Hanae, but I was unable to connect with her, and I could tell than an opportunity had slipped by

Left with no choice but to change my course of action, I knocked Umi, who was sleeping with his stomach bare open next to me, awake and hurried to prepare to leave.

 

――――

――

―

 

Arriving at the nearest station from school, I traveled in a different environment than usual.

The people next to me were different, and so were their destinations. Feeling refreshed, I headed to school in a brisk manner.

 

"Why are you such in a hurry~..."

"Nothing really, isn't this normal?"

"It's not. Look around you..."

 

Umi was right, it was certainly too early.

I forced Umi to come, even though we were still safe, and left the house.

He might have been referring to the sparse number of students around us. Maybe because it was so early, there were considerably fewer of them than usual.

Hanae wasn't at the station, so it was possible that she had already left for school. That was also the reason why I rushed.

 

"Geez...hm?"

"What is it? Don't stop so suddenly and start moving, will you?"

"No, that...―― That's Hanae-chan and Reika-chan, right?"

"Huh...?"

 

Reacting to the words Hanae and Reika, I turned my eyes in the direction Umi was looking at.

But...I couldn't see them. I could definitely see some students walking around, but it wasn't clear to me who they were.

 

"You have too good of an eye ――"

"―― Oh? Isn't that...Jimichi? Yikes..."

 

...You said Jimichi? Jimichi was with those two?

No, no, he must have seen it wrong. I turned to Umi to complain about such a silly mistake.

But staring at Umi's face, cold sweat ran down my face.

Why was he looking at me like that? Such a sympathizing look, like he was seeing something pitiful.

 

"Uh, yeah, so~...ah, that's right, Susumu! I'm starving, so let's go to convenience store, okay?"

"..."

 

―― Chase after

 

Seeing their shadows gradually moving away, I unconsciously ran towards them. Behind me, Umi shouted something as if to stop me, but I couldn't hear him.

I had to make sure. But I didn't want to.

I didn't want to admit, accept, nor see.

 

"―― ?!"

 

I got close enough until I could see someone. That back was from someone I knew well.

I felt a heavy impact. It was like being hit in the head with a blunt weapon.

The scenario I wanted to deny had confronted me in reality.

Close. They were too close. Although they weren’t linking their arms, both Hanae and Reika were intimate with that guy.

 

"―― Hanae! Reika!"

 

I found myself shouting. What raged inside me were anger and jealousy.

But I couldn't take those feelings out on them. I let those out on the guy standing in the middle.

 

Jimichi...!!

 

I couldn't identify him just with his back, but it did look like it came from the last guy I wanted it to be from.

Various emotions ran through my head and I was dazed. I couldn't perceive the world around me, nor myself, and it felt like I was losing sight of everything.

I couldn't think straight. Why did I call out to him, what did I want to ask, and what did I want to do.

It was then. I saw the movements of Jimichi and Reika turning around to leave.

 

―― Tell them to come

 

That's right. Don't go that way, come to me.

Reika, why were you headed there? Hanae, why do you have that expression?

You guys should be here. You guys should come here!

 

Hoever, Reika and Hanae didn't move.

Reika grabbed Jimichi's arm and tried to head for the shoe lockers, trying to show off.

At that moment, something seemed to snap.

I knew it was bad, but I couldn't control it. I just felt like mischievously letting my emotions get the better of me.

But the sight of Hanae coming over calmed me down.

 

Hanae did, but Reika didn't.

Even if I talked to her, she wouldn't understand. I didn't know how to tell her.

That was the truth. The only reason I had was because I didn't want her to leave my side, nor I wanted her to be stolen.

That was why I clung on to our past interactions.

I wasn’t able to see how far our relationship had gone, nor how it currently is. I couldn't even think about what would happen to us.

Only the past stood out to me, just like then, as always, and would forever be.

 

Then Jimichi pointed it out to me.

He was right. I was only thinking about myself, but not Reika.

I didn't think, confirm, nor care about her.

But in the first place...was I wrong to think of that?

 

―― Ah, was I too late? Was I done already?

What a happy expression she had. She never showed that kind of face to me even once.

No matter what I said, Reika didn't look back. She followed Jimichi with fluttering steps.

Hanae, next to me, stared at them with a melancholic expression, then let out a sad smile.

 

I finally noticed the whispering around me.

The guys were crudely complaining that Reika dumped or NTR-ed them.

Umi, arriving late, put his hand on my shoulder and told me to not worry about it.

I lost her in an instant.

Lost...lose, huh.

Hey, Jimichi, who are you?

Yes, I was certainly the wrong one.

But why did they go to you? And why were those girls associated with me?

Were you enjoying this? Did you take pleasure in seeing me lose them?

If so, I'd like to give you the taste of it.

 

"...Should we go?"

"Ah..."

 

Hanae called out to me in a slightly absentminded state. Her smile was still the same as usual.

I see. You're the only who can stand by me.

Then, I'll ――

---

Only one chapter for today, sorry about that. I have 20 chapters in my backlog, so expect at least 2-3 chapters posted during schedule. I still have upcoming tests, so please be considerate. <(＿　＿)>

Once again, thanks for those who donated! I ordered the parts I needed, and it should arrive in 2 weeks. If you are wondering why I didn't leave to a repair center, it's because they suck, and they actually broke my previous 5-year old laptop. I grew distrustful of them, and learned to repair stuff by myself since then.

Lastly, I'll mention this again in case you hadn't read the update last chapter. If you still plan to donate, please do note that there might not be enough chapters left. Translating those 20 alone would leave around 10 chapters left until the novel is finished, not to mention the regular chapter on schedule.

So yeah, once again, a big thanks to Vilidious, Eddy, Thatbuckshot, and ButterBaron! I'll try to translate as fast as I can, and I'll make sure to post an update once I got my laptop fixed.

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