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The words flowed out of me unexpectedly smoothly. Still, I can’t tell if I was the one who really spoke or if it was someone other than me.

Misaki’s head leans against mine.
Her eyes glistened, and she stared at me unblinkingly.

「I-I love Miyu, too…」
「I know.」

You can say whatever you want.
That’s why I interrupted her so I could confirm how serious she really is.
Besides, it’s my turn to speak right now, not Misaki’s.

「*Eh*, then…」
「To be more precise, I love bullying Misaki. Now, what should I do about this?」

I love Misaki.
I could’ve just ended it there, but my mouth once again needlessly twisted my words.

After all, if I tell her I love her, Misaki will feel relief and get cocky.
What happened today might happen again. She might think, ‘*Miyu is easy to please, so I can just apologize to her.*’

And with me being the way that I am, I’ll end up forgiving her like I did earlier.
That’s not good at all. In the end, I’d lose. Eventually she might just actually cast me aside.

… Or so I say.
But that’s wrong.
That’s just my outward reasoning.
A rationalized pretext I made up.

I realized. I unfortunately realized.
Misaki is the most adorable when she’s troubled, when she’s flustered, when she’s shy, when she’s embarrassed.

Normally, Misaki would fool around with me, and I’d get embarrassed and run away.
But for some reason, I felt that was wrong. I’ve always felt it.

I’m sure that, by nature, I’m not one to be bullied but the one to do the bullying instead.
I’m a sadistic pervert who delights in bullying people.

I see it now, so that’s how I am.
Still, me having such twisted preferences must be Misaki’s fault. I’m going to have her take responsibility for this.
That’s why, Misaki, you don’t get to complain even when I’m sniffing your hair and licking your earlobe.

Misaki hasn’t moved and is only staring back at me. It seems like her brain has stopped working.
Well, it’s only natural after being told something like that.

「W-what you should do?」
「Yeah, I’m asking for your opinion.」
「No, but, being bullied would be a bit t-troubling, you know～… *ah*…」

I licked the edge of the ear cavity right above her earlobe.
Misaki shudders and writhes. My mouth naturally forms a smile.

「*Fufu*, such a cute voice.」

Misaki gave a pouty glare in response. However, after seeing me unfazed by her reaction, she becomes a bit timid.

「W-weren’t you the one who said stuff like this isn’t good?」
「It isn’t. But you see, I’m a bad girl.」
「Eh?」
「After all, Misaki is a good girl who sided with justice. So I’ll be the bad guy in exchange.」

Misaki is a good girl, while I’m a bad girl.
Misaki is an ally of justice popular with everyone.
Misaki, who’s popular with everyone, loves me, the bad guy. And behind the scenes, the bad guy controls her. She can’t resist.

In other words, I’m on top. Far, far above everyone else. The sense of superiority is giving me chills.
Only I would see a Misaki that no one else knows.
If other people know what we’re doing in private, everyone will surely be jealous of me.

The more Misaki attracts other people,
The more popular she becomes,
The greater it would feel to monopolize her, to bully her, and to indulge in her.

「Misaki isn’t really fit to be a bad guy, after all.」

As Misaki was dumbfounded, I gently caressed her cheek with my hand.

「You said you love me… Are you really sure? I’m a liar, a bully, a contrarian… The kind of woman who wants to monopolize Misaki and bring you under my control. Even so, is that fine with you? Would you still love me?」

After saying it myself, I really am terrible.
Is there even any part of me that’s lovable?

Still, you need to properly know the user agreement before signing.
I may tell lies, but I never aim to genuinely deceive people. I don’t want to be that kind of person. I’m a sincere bad guy.

We continue staring at each other in silence.
Actually, why are we even doing something like this while on the floor? It’s crazy that I made what’s almost like a confession under these circumstances. If anyone were to see us, they’d surely laugh.
Misaki copies me, putting her hand on my cheek.

「… It’s fine. I’m absolutely sure.」
「Are you really? Are you sure you won’t regret it?」
「O-of course not.」
「You just hesitated, didn’t you?」

I poke her cheek with my index finger.
It dug in; her cheek was amusingly soft.
Misaki suddenly grabbed my hand, finger and all, and made a serious expression.

「After all, Miyu being a pain to deal with isn’t anything new.」

A serious gaze.
The black of her pupils and the white of her eyes were so clear and distinct, beautiful like a work of art.
I can’t take my eyes off of them.

「Besides, you say all that… But at the end of the day, you’re a kind person, Miyu.」

On the surface, I’m a kind, quiet, and affable honor student. But inside my head is a chaotic and extremely fussy egocentric woman.
I’d see a troubled person at the train station and ignore them, thinking that someone else will help.

Misaki would then casually approach them to help.
Ending with me simply hating myself for being a bad person.

「The kind Miyu is even willing to be a bad guy for the pathetic little me.」

I’m not doing it out of kindness or anything.
In short, it’s for my own sake.

「After all, you honestly admit your faults. Normally people would hide these things. That’s why I know that Miyu is really an honest good girl.」

Misaki smiles as she caresses my head.
It was just a gentle touch, but it felt like an important part of my brain was touched and all stirred up inside.

For some reason, I wanted to cry.
My eyes suddenly felt hot, like I was really about to cry.
That’s why I turned my face so she wouldn’t see it, stood up, and straddled Misaki’s hips.
I secretly wipe my eyes before leaning forward to close my face into hers.