The rain gradually lessened and sunlight slowly streamed through the clouds.
Minoru and Mahiru walked side by side on the street leading home.
Although the atmosphere was still silent, it was much more relaxed than before.
Mahiru occasionally glanced at the boy beside her from the corner of her eye.
Minoru walked in a relaxed manner, his gaze openly observing his surroundings.
He seemed completely unbothered by the silence between them.
Minoru seemed to be on some kind of patrol mission, as if he was afraid of dangers appearing around them, rather than walking a female classmate home.
Was he guarding against Ghouls?
This unusual frankness made Mahiru, who was accustomed to others’ gazes and careful treatment, feel a sense of novelty and relaxation.
After a moment of hesitation, Mahiru finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
“Shibata-kun, did you help me today because you heard about the ‘Angel’ title at school?”
Mahiru’s tone carried a faint sense of distance as she added, “Many people deliberately approach me because of the title ‘Angel-sama’.”
Hearing this, Minoru turned to look at her.
His face showed clear confusion, his brows furrowed.
“Angel-sama?”
Minoru shook his head, his tone straightforward and decisive.
“Of course not.
Besides, I don’t like that kind of title.
It feels too deliberate.”
Whether in anime or in this very moment, this was how Minoru felt.
Being fairly good-looking himself, he could understand Mahiru’s feelings all too well.
“But if I had to say…”
Minoru paused, seeming to search for the right words.
His gaze swept over her still-damp school uniform and not-yet-dry hair.
Finally, he gave an answer that made Mahiru freeze.
“You were so drenched earlier, sitting on the swing looking utterly hopeless, like a homeless, waterlogged kitten.
It was pretty pitiful.
Almost like you’d been through a bad breakup.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Minoru felt he’d messed up.
This deviates from the plot!
Moreover, the topic of breakups seemed to be a sensitive point for Mahiru.
But on second thought, the plot had already started deviating from the very beginning.
Well, that’s fine then.
Waterlogged…
kitten?!
Pitiful?!
Mahiru abruptly stopped walking, her eyes wide open as she stared at Minoru in disbelief.
Angel, goddess, unattainable…
She had heard too many flowery compliments, even sarcasm was often wrapped in a cloak of envy.
But Minoru’s description was just too direct, wasn’t it?
Utterly hopeless, waterlogged kitten, pitiful.
Words carrying a sense of condescension, pity, even a touch of offensiveness.
He just said them outright?
An indescribable feeling, a mix of grievance and flustered annoyance, surged in her heart.
Mahiru’s cheeks flushed uncontrollably.
This time, it was absolutely not because of a breeze brushing her face.
“I am not pitiful!
And I’m not a kitten!”
Mahiru reflexively retorted, her voice louder, the polite speech she’d been using completely dropped.
Once the words were out, she herself was stunned.
However, when she looked up and met Minoru’s clear, frank gaze, which even held a trace of ‘did I say something wrong?’ confusion, that indescribable emotion felt like it had hit cotton, with nowhere to land.
It even made her seem like she was making a big deal out of nothing.
After all, she knew herself.
What Minoru said was, to some extent, indeed the truth.
In that moment, she had truly been disheveled and vulnerable.
Mahiru’s heart pounded wildly.
That unfamiliar feeling surged in her heart once more.
“Yeah, of course you’re not.
You’re a person.” Minoru nodded, affirming.
“You!”
Mahiru was at a loss for words, all the emotions she was brewing suddenly interrupted.
“And…
I’ve never dated any guy before.”
Mahiru turned her head away, as if hiding her jumbled thoughts.
She didn’t even know why she felt the need to emphasize this to Minoru.
Maybe it was because of the ‘bad breakup’ he mentioned earlier?
Maybe it was because she was afraid Minoru might misunderstand?
But the words had already left her mouth, as if to draw a clear line.
Or to prove that she wasn’t what some people imagined.
Minoru’s reaction once again took her by surprise.
“Huh?
What on earth are you talking about?
That was just a figure of speech.”
Mahiru was taken aback.
“Eh?”
“You don’t look like someone who’s been in a relationship.”
Minoru transformed into Detective Conan, his expression showing no surprise or doubt as he began a serious analysis.
“You seem polite to everyone, but you’re actually wrapped up tight, keeping your distance from everyone.”
“And if you had really been in a relationship, you wouldn’t be hiding alone somewhere, crying in the rain, right?”
Mahiru opened her mouth, only to find she couldn’t refute it.
He saw too clearly—so clearly it left her feeling unsettled.
Yet, strangely she felt understood.
Not the distant feeling of being deified, not the vanity of being idolized.
But a very direct, even somewhat simple treatment of her as an ordinary girl who could be disheveled, who could need help.
Although Mahiru was a bit angry, this different feeling unexpectedly made her feel somewhat relaxed.
[Ding!
Frank analysis.
Mahiru Favorability +10.
Current Plunder Progress: 26%]
[Luck Points +200]
Minoru didn’t pay much attention to the system’s prompts.
Seeing the complex look on Mahiru’s face, he thought he’d said something wrong again.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly, deciding to lay his own cards on the table too, for fairness.
“Uh…
I haven’t dated either.
I’m not really interested in dating.
It seems like a hassle, a waste of time.
Right now, I only have one focus.
That’s to get stronger as quickly as possible to survive better in this world.
That’s all.”
This was Minoru’s sincere thought.
Survival and strength were the top two priorities on his list.
As for the third…
That was naturally finding a way to make money to pay off his credit card and rent.
Minoru just didn’t know if saying all this would come across as a bit strange.
Mahiru was stunned once more.
Not interested in her?
Thinks dating is a hassle?
Just wants to get stronger and survive?
Coming from any other guy, these words might have been a tactic, playing hard to get.
But coming from Minoru’s mouth, paired with his expression full of sincerity and pragmatism, they held astonishing persuasive power at this moment.
Even…
Mahiru felt a touch of preciousness.
He helped her really just because he wanted to help her, who was caught in the rain, not because she was Angel-sama.
This kind of pure goodwill, untainted by any ulterior desires, was something she had almost never experienced.
Her psychological defenses were battered by Minoru’s series of blunt, even somewhat infuriatingly sincere attacks and a crack quietly opened.
A complex mix of relief, curiosity, and a faint sense of loss began to linger in Mahiru’s heart.