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“…This was my life so far.”

Rir had told us in broad strokes how her life had been before she met me.

I see, now I know the whole truth about the wounds carved into her body I saw when she got naked at the beginnin’. At any rate… it’s incredible that she managed to hold on to her ego and develop her personality in such an environment. That might sound extreme, but sayin’ that her mental age stopped at five years old wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

“I see. I’m not in a place to judge this other world…” Pops said, “but for the time being, let me say that it must’ve been harsh.”
“Rir…” Mom added.

Rir looked at us as if she was about to break into tears at any moment. She was trembling more than I had ever seen her.
Come to think of it… she did say that I’d no longer like her once I knew about her life, didn’t she?

“Hey, Rir.”
“What… what is it?”
“I now know what happened to you before we met… must’ve been terrible. What you said and how you acted when we were together makes sense now. On that note…”
“Woof.”
“What about that would make me dislike you?”

Her eyes opened wide, and she looked as if I had caught her unawares. Her eyes were so bloodshot, it looked as if the slightest shock would cause her tears to overflow.

“Eh… after all… I’m f-filthy… a-and I don’t have a proper background… and my e-education is lacking, and… more than anything, more than anything… I’m covered in wounds…”

What the hell… is she talkin’ ’bout?

I looked at her while scowling a little and decided to tell her what I thought about that reply.

“After bein’ together for several months, you should know that I never thought that way ’bout you. As for your education… I’m pretty sure you’re already smarter than me, but you’ll get exactly that from now on. I healed your wounds. If your heart still has scars that make you think of yourself as somethin’ filthy… then I’ll heal those, too.”

“After muttering a “Huh…”, large tears finally started to flow ceaselessly from Rir’s eyes, likely since what held them back was gone. They kept flowing like a waterfall as her mouth stayed open and her gaze fixed on me.

“B-B-B-But I-I-I’m calculating and dirty. Th-Th-The reason I told you my story now, i-i-is because I thought you wouldn’t reject me if we talked in front of your parents, Shuu. Even though I sh-sh-should have told you sooner.”

With a trembling voice, Rir told me what she couldn’t forgive herself for. She kept going on and on about things that either no longer mattered at this point or were so insignificant, they wouldn’t bother anyone, as if she was trying to get me to dislike her. As if she was trying to repent.

“That’s not all. I also-”
“Say, Rir. Do you want me to hate you?” I tried to stop her.

With her mouth still open, about to continue speaking, she went rigid again. No, I could just barely see her shake her head.

“You don’t want me to hate you?”

There was the slightest of nods, barely distinguishable from a tremble.

“Then why did you only talk about your negative parts earlier? Could you tell me the reason?”

When I asked that, she moved just her mouth, looking as if she was taking a deep breath, before replying while trembling again.

“In the end, I simply don’t understand… why a wonderful man like you… would want me, Shuu. Someone so…”
“Hang on, it was you who confessed to me, didn’t you? And I accepted, right?”
“Uhm… m-my confession… was on the spur of the moment, I guess… my feelings just exploded… a-and I also thought you’d reject me back then.”

Is this what it boils down to? She apparently never believed me all those times I said that I cared for her. Did I go the wrong way about tellin’ her ’bout my feelings?

I dunno. Is the love I have for my first girlfriend… nah, some part of me already knows there won’t be anyone else, she’ll be my first and last girlfriend. Is that love not enough?
Then… I gotta tell her my feelings clearly.

“Listen to me, Rir. This will be the last time. I’ve already told you before, many times. I said this again and again since we met a few months ago. This really will be the last time, so listen well.”
“Y-Yeah.”

I took a breath. Rir was looking at me with a serious expression.
…I’ll say it.

“I love you. I love how cute you are. I love how you laugh and smile at my stories. I love how you devote yourself to me. Of course, I would still love you, even if you didn’t do that. I love how you react so happily each time I do something for you. I love everything about you. I love you!”

She stared at me with her mouth open. It looked like Pops and Mom were just quietly watching us.
I don’t mind them being here other than Rir and me. I’ll keep tellin’ her my true feelings.

“Stuff like what you said just now, how you regularly put yourself down, doesn’t matter to me! So, please. Stop thinkin’ I dislike you. My feelings aren’t fake! They’re not lies! From now on… if you’re anxious ’bout yourself or somethin’, tell me. Just try to tell me. I’ll give you a reply each and every time. And vice versa. If you’re unsatisfied ’bout me, just tell me. I’ll fix it… I’ll say it again. No matter what you think about yourself, I love you deeply.”

I got it out.

It seemed as if my surroundings had… no, other than Rir’s ceaseless tears, everything really seemed to have stopped in time.

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