I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

Chapter 195

“I don’t have any plans for the weekend, but where do you want to go?”

“How about Tokyo Dis●eyland? When I went to Universal Studios in Osaka last time, I thought it would have been nice to go with you, Ryu-chan.”

‘Tokyo Disn○yland, huh.’

To be honest, I’m really tempted.

I had just recently felt bad about not being able to go to the amusement park.

“No…?”

Rika’s bright eyes looked at me anxiously.

Faced with those innocent eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.

“Of course, it’s possible.”

As soon as I agreed, Rika’s anxious expression brightened up.

Seeing her like that, I felt a pang of guilt.

Because Rika still doesn’t know.

That I have a girlfriend.

I thought it might be better to tell her now, but I couldn’t bring myself to say something unpleasant in front of her when she was so happy.

So I kept silent, and Chiaki, who was watching me, spoke up.

“Dragging this out too long isn’t good. For her sake, and for yours.”

I know that.

No matter how much this world might seem like a love comedy, there are still things that can’t be forgiven.

Thinking that, I turned my gaze away from Rika, who was looking at me with a bright smile.

I was certain that Rika had special feelings for me during summer vacation.

Even before that, I had vaguely thought ‘maybe,’ but I consciously ignored it, thinking it couldn’t be true.

Because I thought there was no reason for someone as exceptional as Rika to like me.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the President’s case, it was natural for romantic feelings to develop since she had known me much longer than Rika, but I had only known Rika for about six months.

Of course, for someone, six months could be a very long time.

But for someone like me, who doesn’t believe in love at first sight, it felt strange that Rika fell for me so easily.

I even hypothesized that since Ryuji, the original protagonist of this world, couldn’t play his role, I, a third party, took on the protagonist’s role instead.

Of course, I still had no way of knowing the truth.

Moreover, since I was now in a relationship with the President, I felt the need to redefine the relationships I had been vague about until now.

“So what should we do?”

“…Yu-seong, your honesty is a problem.”

The President sighed deeply as she said that, after hearing about the date with Rika in the student council room.

“I’m seriously asking for advice. Rika is one of my closest friends in class, so I don’t want to hurt her.”

Hearing my explanation, the President shook her head firmly and said,

“Once you choose to reject a confession, that’s impossible.”

“Is that really the case?”

“Women aren’t that simple. If you act ambiguously, you could hurt her even more.”

“Then what should I do?”

The President was silent for a moment after my question.

Then, after taking a sip of the tea Minami had made, she answered.

“Draw a clear line. You need to make it clear that there’s no chance, so she can give up.”

“…Isn’t that too cruel?”

“I think giving her false hope is even crueler, especially if you don’t intend to. Or are you planning to cheat, Yu-seong?”

“What? No, of course not.”

When I hurriedly denied it, the President chuckled and nodded.

“That’s all I needed to hear. I trust you, Yu-seong.”

“Yeah…”

Receiving such blind faith made me feel a heavy burden on my shoulders.

“Thanks for the tea. I’ll get going now.”

“Okay. See you at home this evening.”

“Yes.”

Saying goodbye had become very natural now.

I left a message for Minami, who was beside me, saying I’d see her tomorrow, and headed back to the classroom.

“Miss, what should we do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you going to follow Yu-seong and Kishimoto Rika on their date?”

At Minami’s question, Kumiko Saionji chuckled and covered her mouth with a black fan.

“I trust Yu-seong. He’ll do fine even without me there.”

“I’m not doubting Yu-seong’s feelings for you, Miss. But Kishimoto Rika could be a significant variable in your relationship. She was the closest person to Yu-seong in the relationship chart that Shinji collected.”

“So, what are you trying to say?”

“I’ll make the preparations, so you just need to show up. Why don’t you think of it as going out for a walk after a long time?”

“Really…”

Kumiko Saionji murmured as she put down the teacup she was holding.

“I guess I have no choice. Let’s do that.”

Though she said she trusted him, Kumiko Saionji was actually nervous about losing her boyfriend.

“Mama! How’s this?”

“Yeah, that looks good too.”

“Then how about this?”

“That looks good too.”

“…Aren’t your answers a bit too insincere?”

“But it’s true that everything looks good. You’re my daughter, after all.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. I am Mama’s daughter.”

When Rika said that confidently and puffed out her chest, Maria smiled wryly and asked,

“So, what made you suddenly want to go shopping with your mom?”

“Huh? It’s just that something happened.”

“Hmm~ What exactly happened?”

As Rika suddenly avoided her gaze and mumbled, Maria, sensing an interesting story, pressed for details.

In the end, Rika, not being good at lying, confessed the truth.

“What?! You’re going on a date with Yu-seong this weekend?!”

“Mama!”

“Oh, sorry. I raised my voice without realizing it.”

As Maria giggled and apologized, Rika looked at her mother with a pout.

It was clearly intentional.

But knowing that scolding her would be pointless, Rika gave up and said,

“This is my first date, so I need your advice, Mama. What should I wear on a date?”

“Hehe, leave that to me. I’ll make sure you know exactly what to wear.”

Maria, who had been reluctant, suddenly became enthusiastic about coordinating.

Looking at her enthusiastic mother, Rika sighed deeply, probably for the nth time.

‘That’s why I didn’t want to tell her.’

And the day of the showdown arrived.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“……”

When I opened my eyes to the familiar alarm sound, I saw the ceiling of my room covered with white wallpaper.

I turned off the alarm on my phone, checked the time, and quickly got up from bed.

“Yaaaaawn.”

Normally, I would have slept half-naked in the living room, but since the President was staying in the guest room, I had to tidy up my room properly.

By doing so, I managed to create just enough space to lie down, avoiding the unfortunate situation of meeting the freshly woken President in a half-naked state in the morning.

Following my usual routine, I went for an early morning jog, trained Swift Wind at the city park, and then returned home to have a quick breakfast.

After taking a shower and changing clothes, I left the house early in the morning.

Normally, I would either work out at home or laze around reading manga, but today was a bit different.

That’s because I already had a prior engagement.

Beep!

I passed through the subway turnstile and went down to the platform.

I made sure to check my messenger app from time to time.

It seemed Rika was on the next train coming.

Fortunately, it seemed she arrived right on time.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the train Rika was on arrived at the platform.

“Ryu-chan!”

Rika, who was sitting, spotted me and waved.

“Ri… ka?”

I was about to wave back when I saw Rika’s new look and instinctively stopped in my tracks.

It was because Rika, who always wore her hair in a side ponytail, had let it down straight for the first time.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I snapped out of it, shook my head, and boarded the train.

The doors soon closed, and the train slowly started moving.

Clank, clank! Clank, clank!

Feeling the familiar vibrations, I sat in the empty seat next to Rika and deliberately looked out the window as I asked,

“What’s the occasion today? You suddenly let your hair down.”

“Just because? Since it’s a rare date, I thought I should show a different look from usual.”

Rika said that while scratching the back of her head, then cautiously asked,

“Does it not suit me?”

A question that suddenly came out of nowhere.

I turned my head to answer, but I was momentarily speechless.

I already knew Rika was pretty, but her makeup look was absolutely stunning.

Even now, the men around us kept glancing at her.

‘This is the power of the most popular girl…’

Thinking it was truly impressive, I told Rika that it suited her well.

“Hehe, thanks.”

As she said that and smiled shyly, it was downright unfair.