But to protect Chihiro, he had brought her to this secluded place where no one would come.
"I like you, Ichinose!"
With one hand lightly pressed to her chest, the protected Chihiro gathered her courage and confessed to Ichinose.
"..." Ichinose.
"..." Oreki.
From where he stood, Oreki could see Ichinose's profile and noticed her expression change.
She seemed to be in pain.
In other words, she was indeed going to reject her.
Otherwise, she would not have looked so conflicted.
"Like me...?" Ichinose did not turn around. "I'm happy that someone likes me."
"But, Chihiro..."
"I probably can't return your feelings." As Ichinose spoke, both her hands came to grip the railing.
"Could it be that you're already dating someone, Ichinose?"
Chihiro's tears were on the verge of falling.
"Y-Yeah, we're both girls, and I like you, Ichinose, so—"
The more Chihiro spoke, the sadder she became.
She had nearly cried just now, but now she was already weeping.
"..." Ichinose.
"..." Ichinose.
Ichinose heard Chihiro crying.
"Chihiro, I don't want to hurt you."
"But I'm not such a good person. I'm not worth your love," Ichinose said.
Perhaps because those words carried such weight, Oreki noticed that Ichinose's grip on the railing tightened.
Then he looked at Chihiro.
Chihiro let the tears fall after being rejected, her lips trembling between her teeth.
Clearly, she had not caught the meaning behind Ichinose's words and simply believed she had been rejected after all.
Then Ichinose continued,
"I'm happy that I came to this school and got a fresh start."
"That I can work together with everyone toward Class A."
"But... I probably won't fall in love with anyone."
"So today, it's not just you, Chihiro. Whether it's a boy, a girl, or anyone else who confesses to me, I'll reject