Clap… Clap…
Clap, clap…
Clap clap clap clap!!!
Congratulations!
You really showed us, you two!!
Wishing you every happiness!!
I’m so jealous of that beautiful girlfriend~
Thanks for the wonderful show~
What began as scattered applause quickly swelled into a thunderous ovation.
Whistles pierced the air. Only then did I realize exactly what kind of situation I had confessed in.
That’s right… there were people all around us. Though none of them were actually acquaintances, so maybe it didn’t matter.
More pressing was the fact that I had done it right in front of Mayumi-san… Sara-san’s mother.
The moment that realization truly sank in, an intense wave of panic crashed over me.
“Kazunari-san, is something the matter?”
“N-no, it’s just… Now that I think about it, even if I got carried away by the moment, Mayumi-san was standing right here…”
“Fufu… That is true. However, I have no objection at all. Mother never opposed the idea of you and me being together.”
Now that she mentioned it, she had been friendly toward me from the very first time we met. If Sara-san was fine with it… then there was no problem?
There was also the matter of Natsumi-senpai and the others.
I might get scolded again for acting like a stupid couple…
The embarrassment made me hesitate to look their way, but Sara-san’s arm was still linked happily with mine, and her presence gave me the courage I needed.
When I finally turned back toward the three of them, Mayumi-san was smiling brightly and clapping with her smartphone still in one hand.
And Natsumi-senpai…
She was laughing through her tears.
I hurried over. The instant Sara-san released my arm, Natsumi-senpai threw herself at her as if she had been waiting for that exact moment.
“I’m so glad… I’m really so glad!! I’m sorry… I thought you’d be fine, but when I saw Sara actually give her answer… Uu…”
Her emotions finally overwhelmed her, and Natsumi-senpai began crying even harder. Sara-san’s eyes also filled with tears as she gently comforted her best friend.
“Natsumi… Thank you. It’s because you supported me that I was able to come this far. I was able to become bound to the person I love most—Kazunari-san. So… so…”
Sara-san’s voice failed her. The two of them held each other tightly and cried in silence.
At some point my own vision had grown blurry, and I could no longer see them clearly.
It had been a long time since I last cried because of someone else’s tears…
I was sure Natsumi-senpai had been supporting Sara-san in ways I never knew about. She had probably been worried whether Sara-san would be able to answer properly.
Just as Yuji was that person for me, there was no doubt Natsumi-senpai was that person for Sara-san.
If that was the case, then I owed Natsumi-senpai my thanks as well. The moment that thought crossed my mind, sympathetic tears began streaming down my face.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but eventually the girls stopped crying. Somehow I was the only one still sobbing.
While crying along with them, memories of everything that had happened until now and of how I had met Sara-san came flooding back, causing me to cry even harder. This was the first time in my life I had ever cried so much.
Before I realized it, Sara-san was standing right in front of me. She pulled my head close and embraced me against her chest.
“Kazunari-san… Please calm down.”
She had comforted me and stroked my head many times before, but this was the first time she had held me so tightly.
I unconsciously relaxed in her arms, letting myself be spoiled. In response, Sara-san gently tightened her embrace.
“Fufu… Are you acting spoiled?”
The sweetness in her whispered voice made my heart skip a beat. Then, suddenly, I came back to my senses. Right now my face was buried in something incredibly soft.
“Don’t suddenly get all lovey-dovey, you stupid couple.”
Natsumi-senpai, who seemed to have mostly recovered, delivered her usual sharp retort.
In the end, I was the one who cried the longest, exposing an utterly embarrassing sight. To make matters worse, I even let Sara-san comfort me in her arms until I stopped crying… and all of it happened right in front of Mayumi-san.
When I began to feel a little down, Sara-san immediately reached out and stroked my head, which helped me pull myself together.
“Ufufu… Congratulations to both of you. I never imagined my own daughter would do the exact same thing we did. Confessing right in front of us… Kazunari-san might actually be braver than that man.”
Mayumi-san wore the expression of someone who had just witnessed a truly entertaining spectacle.
So… this meant she was giving us her approval as Sara-san’s mother, right?
“Takanashi-kun, please make my best friend happy. I won’t forgive you if you make her cry.”
Natsumi-senpai had completely recovered.
Of course I had no intention of making her cry. If she ever did cry, it would only be tears of joy.
“No, congratulations. Honestly, I didn’t expect to witness a scene like this. Just seeing this made coming here today worth it. Things might get tough at school from now on, but if you ever run into any trouble, feel free to tell me anytime. Next is… my turn, I guess.”
As usual, Hayato was a good guy.
He seemed inspired, as if the scene had lit a new fire in him.
Come to think of it, the two of them were supposed to be alone together during the fireworks festival. Had something happened between them?
From what I could see, there didn’t seem to be any obvious change.
“Takanashi-san… Please take good care of Sara. Once this girl sets her mind on something, she charges straight ahead, so if she ever goes too far, please let me know.”
“No. Even if that happens, I’ve already decided I will accept all of her.”
It seemed Mayumi-san had truly given us her blessing.
Which meant I would soon have to meet her father as well…
Perhaps sensing what I was thinking, Mayumi-san gave an amused laugh and said,
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that man just yet. He’s going to be busy for a while. If I told him now, he wouldn’t be able to focus on work at all.”
It looked like my meeting with her father was still some time away. I felt both relieved and strangely eager to get it over with.
“Sigh… I was wondering how long Sara-chan’s man-hater phase would last, but I’m relieved. Now, the next thing to look forward to is grandchildren, I suppose.”
Bfff!
We were only on the first day as a couple and she was already moving way too fast…
Besides, that was something to talk about after marriage… No, more importantly, did she already approve of us to that extent!?
Whether Sara-san was listening or not, she simply clung tightly to my arm with an incredibly blissful smile on her face.
“Heh… So we’re already at that stage? Hey, hey, Sara, do you want a boy or a girl?”
Natsumi-senpai, happily riding on Mayumi-san’s joke, asked with clear amusement.
No, that kind of joke was going way too far no matter how you looked at it.
“…? Um… Are you talking about babies?”
“That’s right!”
“Well, as for me…”
Having said that much, Sara-san looked at my face and turned bright red.
I was probably the same color.
“…It was just a joke. You’re seriously already thinking that far ahead?”
At Natsumi-senpai’s words, which were a mix of surprise and exasperation, Sara-san reacted.
“N-no, it’s still too early, right, Kazunari-san?”
She said “still”…
“Y-yeah, that’s right. That kind of talk is still too early. We only just started dating today, after all.”
We really needed to put a stop to this conversation.
If we kept going, it would create all sorts of awkward awareness going forward.
“Ufufufu… Takanashi-san, it really is still too early for that kind of talk, isn’t it?”
So please stop…