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??? POV
'People don't stay with you for long, don't they?'
'Why do you say that?'
'Today, I couldn't relate to what they were talking about, so I stayed silent.'
'Is that so?'
'Yup, I didn't like it. So I just kept quiet, and thought about something else, afterward, they told me that I was being strange.'
'I see.'
'Do you also feel this way?'
'Well, yes, I do.'
•__________________________________________________________•
"Ah! This won't do."
Somehow, I always get sleepy whenever she tells me to.
Today━ No, should I say tonight? It's raining heavily. It appears that the raindrops are just disappearing, it's not piling up at all.
"Hey, how come it's raining."
". . .It happens every once a while, I like it after all."
"Hmm. . .so everything you like appears like this, huh."
". . ."
'Ahh. . .the usual silence. I've gotten really used to it.'
But I know that it can't stay like this, I've thought about it a lot.
After what she said last time━
'If you get a 100, I'll let you meet Kan.'
Current favorability: 58%
'If I get a 100, I'll meet another person, he or she might be the key to get out of here.'
With that in mind, I started to do things that would gain her favor.
Cooking━
"Good morning, I cooked breakfast for you!"
". . .I see. Thanks."
"I prepared our lunch. Come, let's eat."
". . .I see."
"Want some dinner?"
". . ."
"How about some midnight snacks?"
". . . . ."
Cleaning━
"I dusted the shelves for you."
". . .Right."
"I'll wash those plates!"
". . ."
"I'll clean the bedsheets and I'll━"
•__________________________________________________________•
"Hey, can you stop this already?"
All my movements came to a halt.
"There's nothing more obvious than a person with ulterior motives for me, you know."
"Wh━? Ulterior motives? What are you talking about?"
I looked at her nervously as I fiddled my fingers around. She kept staring at me coldly.
"Don't take me for an idiot. I know what you're doing."
"Uuu. . ."
I lowly stooped my head as I was being lectured.
"Kan is more perceptive than I am, she hates deceptive people. If you keep acting like this, she won't even want you to be near her."
"Mmm. . ."
I kept looking down. Repenting for my actions.
"I apologize. I just wanted to please you."
"For the 100?"
"Uu!!"
I flinched as she hit the bull's eye. The heavy atmosphere just wouldn't let up and it went on for a while.
sigh*
"You don't need to do all that. Just do what you want to do."
"Huh?!"
I slowly raised my head and saw her solemn expression.
"I like it when you act like your usual self. No need to force yourself like that."
She touched my cheeks and squished them. Pulling them all over. But other than that━
She was smiling. She was smiling so warmly like that one time. I was left in a daze.
'I don't know why, but I feel like crying. Why?'
All I could see was her face. It's really a waste having half of her face covered like that.
'I wonder. . .If I reach a 100, would she take it off?'
As I kept gazing at her, she abruptly took her hands away and turned her back from me.
"Anyway, just keep doing what you did before. I'll continue reading my book."
"Eh? Ah. . .right."
She gradually sat down on her usual spot as I was left hanging.
•__________________________________________________________•
As Naiko sat down, she kept on stealing glances at the girl, seemingly worried.
'That was close.'
She looked down at her left wrist.
'I can't be that careless.'
"Haa. . ."
She sighed deeply.
•__________________________________________________________•
After that, a few days seemed to have passed. Nothing much has changed since then. She seems to be more comfortable around me now, though.
"Hey, did the favorability rise?"
". . .Well, 65%"
"65? So, 7% up!"
'Not bad, but it's really slow progress.'
I looked back at her, as usual, she's reading. I shook my head as I washed up the plates.
'No, no! Don't get impatient. Getting to know a person is not an easy task. She won't suddenly get close to me like we're best buddies in a mere month or so like what you see in anime or novels.'
"Let's do this!!"
I invigorated myself as I scrubbed the plates with soap. Behind me, was Naiko, looking at me strangely.
•__________________________________________________________•
As the girl diligently washed the plates, Naiko was quietly stealing glances at her every once in a while.
'She seems to be more energetic than usual. I hope she hasn't forgotten that I know what she's thinking.'
Getting to know a person is not an easy task.
'Of course, it isn't. Even if an individual stayed with you for years, you can't guarantee that you already know him/her completely. Everyone has something to hide. No one is completely innocent.'
'Yes, you can't guarantee that you know everything about me, no matter how many years pass by. In the end, there is still a thick wall that I've built between us. Don't expect that you can pass by it so easily.'
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