"Mother!! What have you been saying this whole time!?"
Yuzuha seemed irritated that she was being ignored even as the conversation centered entirely around her.
However, we—and presumably Kumiko-san as well—knew that nothing would progress if Yuzuha was allowed to interject. We shared a silent, unspoken agreement to keep frozen her out.
What I wanted…
Through this ordeal, Yuzuha had finally realized what Yamasaki actually thought of her and the fact that she had merely been a tool for his games.
Moreover, through her conversation with Sara-san and the exchange with our former Middle School classmates, I believed she had understood at least a fraction of the pain and misery I had endured.
In her own way, she must have felt some level of suffering today.
If so, things should have proceeded as planned. Yet, looking at her now, she showed no sign of true remorse. Instead, she was even starting to suggest that I was also at fault.
It wasn't that I was particularly seeking an apology. I had no intention of forgiving her in the first place.
But as a Childhood Friend, I had at least wanted to wake her up by exposing Yamasaki's true nature. I simply hoped that, upon seeing the truth, she would reflect on her actions… or so I had thought.
And yet, what was this girl thinking?
Did she feel no sense of guilt? No remorse toward me? Did it not occur to her that she had done something unforgivable?
As I stood there at a loss for words, unable to comprehend her mindset, Sara-san spoke up once more to back me up.
"You really are a hopeless fool. Kazunari-san wanted to liberate you from a Scumbag like Yamasaki, thinking that if you at least reflected on your actions afterward, that would be enough. That is why we respected Kazunari-san's wishes and offered our cooperation, and yet…"
"That's… I know I did bad things to Kazunari, but I also…"
When Yuzuha began to mutter more excuses, Sara-san let out a deep, weary sigh.
Then, her gaze turned frigid. She glared sharply at Yuzuha.
"I have been wondering… you actually realize the gravity of what you have done, don't you? You have simply become terrified of the consequences and are thinking only of self-preservation, right?"
"!?"
Faced with Sara-san's sudden, piercing insight, Yuzuha’s expression froze in shock.
The moment she realized I was watching, she winced and awkwardly averted her eyes.
"As I thought. You were entertaining the ridiculous notion that Kazunari-san was also to blame, but has your victim complex grown so strong just because you were deceived by Yamasaki? Are you trying to convince yourself that you are also a victim to downplay your own guilt?"
"…………"
Yuzuha remained silent, but her reaction was effectively a confession that Sara-san had hit the mark.
In other words, even at this stage, she was still only thinking about herself.
"Yuzuha… don't screw with me!!!! What is wrong with you!? Are you really only capable of thinking about yourself!? You haven't changed a bit!!!!"
"No… I wasn't thinking that far!!"
"By saying 'that far,' you admit you were thinking it to some extent, don't you? I wondered if it was unconscious… but you were intentionally deluding yourself. Kazunari-san believed it would be enough if you simply reflected honestly… That is why I called you a hopeless fool."
Sara-san cut off her excuse with cold, heavy words laden with disdain.
Cornered and unable to speak, Yuzuha was suddenly subjected to a barrage of criticism from everyone else in the room.
"Heh… so even though you knew, you were just trying to shift the blame to escape an apology? This woman is the absolute worst."
"Takanashi-san, I don't think there is any need to hold back now. I will assist in any way I can as well."
Natsumi-senpai and Nishikawa-san glared at Yuzuha with faces of pure fury.
"Takanashi-kun, you should make this girl suffer. There's no need for leniency. She's definitely entertaining some deluded idea that her responsibility is lighter because she's a victim."
"I was going to let it slide for Takanashi-kun's sake, but I've reached my limit. She really is the lowest of the low."
"I can't believe it… that people like this actually exist."
The point Hanako-san made was a high possibility given the current Yuzuha. Thinking that only made my blood boil further.
"I've seen many types of women, but she's a top-tier piece of work."
"It's no use anymore. Kazunari, I told you there wouldn't be a second time, right? It will be hard on Kumiko-san, but you need to make Yuzuha take full responsibility. Being soft won't help her."
Without needing to be told, I resolved to hold Yuzuha accountable. However, for Kumiko-san's sake, I would keep the demands within a feasible range.
"Yuzuha, I've realized that I was far too soft. If that's how you're going to be, then I'm changing my mind."
"Kazunari!! I'm really sorry!! I'll apologize! I'll apologize properly!! So…"
Panic flooded Yuzuha’s face as she desperately repeated her intent to apologize. But it was clear this wasn't an apology to me; it was a desperate attempt to save herself.
"Don't screw with me!!! Enough is enough!!!!"
"Eek!?"
Yuzuha flinched at my roar.
Thinking back, I had never raised my voice at her like this before today. By intending to treasure her, I had likely just been spoiling her all along.
"It's so transparent when you don't even have the slightest intention of apologizing!!!! It's over. I thought it would be enough if you just reflected, but I will never forgive you now!!!"
"I'm sorry!! I'll really apologize!! I'm reflecting!!"
She was desperate, but it was far too late. If the cause of her selfishness was that Kumiko-san and I had spoiled her, then it was time she learned to struggle on her own.
"Kumiko-san, please make her transfer schools. Send her somewhere where she has no friends or acquaintances and make her live alone. No Allowance, either. Make her pay for all her Living Expenses with a part-time job. Don't let her play around at all; her life should consist of nothing but school and work from now on!!"
I blurted out the first things that came to mind. Kumiko-san seemed shaken by the revelation of Yuzuha’s true character, but that only seemed to solidify her resolve. She nodded deeply at my instructions.
"……I understand. We will vacate our current house and move. I will have Yuzuha undergo a School Transfer and live alone in a place where she has no ties. I will live nearby to ensure she reflects this time… I will have her work a part-time job and put every cent toward her Living Expenses. How does that sound?"
Kumiko-san proposed a plan that she judged to be executable. The scale of the conversation had grown, but she was clearly serious. She intended to enforce the apology by following my directives to the letter.
"I don't want to transfer!! I finally made so many friends! I don't want to be alone again—"
SLAP!!!
With a face of pure rage at Yuzuha’s selfish rebuttal, Sara-san slapped her across the Cheek with all her might.
"Those friends were built on the sacrifice of Kazunari-san!! Stop being so spoiled!!!"
Sara-san's scream echoed through the Venue.
Her words struck a chord with me. How could Yuzuha even say such a thing? I was the one who had ended up alone because of her lies, yet even at this stage, she was only worried about herself.
Ignoring Yuzuha, who was silenced and weeping, Nishikawa-san began to speak with Kumiko-san.
"If you need a School Transfer, I know the perfect place. It's a Private School attached to a Group-related Facility. The required grades are low, so the transfer shouldn't be a problem. I'll handle the paperwork directly. It's quite far, but that shouldn't be an issue, right? Oh, and if you like, I can introduce you to Real Estate and a Place of Employment as well. That area has plenty of options."
"Thank you very much. I am causing you so much trouble, but I would appreciate your help."
With Nishikawa-san's involvement, the arrangements progressed rapidly, completely bypassing Yuzuha. Realizing that this was no longer a hypothetical but a concrete reality, Yuzuha’s panic turned into a frenzy.
"Hey, this is a joke, right!? Mother, you're not serious!? Moving is going too far!! I'll apologize to Kazunari properly, so just wait—"
"Kazunari-kun, I will visit your Parents later to apologize as well. And I will prepare Settlement Money to ensure Yuzuha takes responsibility for what she did to you. I will front the money for now, but I will make Yuzuha pay me back eventually. As per your instructions, I will have her focus solely on school and her job. I have no intention of letting her play at all during her High School Life. It is my responsibility for letting her do as she pleased until now… I promise to stay close to Yuzuha this time and discipline her properly. I am truly sorry."
Kumiko-san bowed her head deeply, tears in her eyes. To ensure Yuzuha couldn't interfere, she finalized the details in rapid succession.
Within minutes, her fate was sealed: a new house, a School Transfer, a part-time job, Settlement Money, and a life under total supervision, with Nishikawa-san providing the logistics.
"I understand. If you're willing to go that far, I'll accept those terms. I hadn't even considered the Settlement Money, but…"
"Kazunari-san, that is also a necessary form of responsibility. You have the right to receive it, and Sasagawa-san has the obligation to pay it. You should accept it."
Sara-san was right. If I had decided to make her take responsibility, I had to accept the weight of that decision.
"All right. Yuzuha, you heard that? Take responsibility for what you've done."
Yuzuha, who likely thought an apology was a "get out of jail free" card, clearly hadn't expected me to be this uncompromising. She looked at me with genuine shock.
As the discussion concluded, Nishikawa-san turned a merciless gaze toward her.
"Regarding your New Life, I happen to have an acquaintance who will be your classmate. I'll be sure to give them a very thorough briefing on your background."
Nishikawa-san's declaration cast a terminal shadow over Yuzuha’s future High School Life. Sara-san followed up with a finishing blow.
"How wonderful for you. Perhaps by the time you transfer, those rumors you love so much will already be circulating? Only this time, you'll be the subject of them. You must be thrilled."
If that happened, Yuzuha would walk the same path of isolation I had been forced onto. It was the exact outcome I had sought: for her to understand my pain while paying for her actions. It was the harvest of the seeds she herself had sown.
"This is too cruel!? I don't know what will happen to me!"
"Be quiet!!! Everything happening to you is exactly what you did to Kazunari-san!!!!!"
Sara-san roared at the girl, who looked like she was about to collapse in tears. Then, she let out a long sigh of exasperation.
"Kazunari-san was concerned for you until the very end, and yet you truly only care about yourself, don't you? Why was someone like you his Childhood Friend? Why was it not me?"
Sara-san spoke pensively, her eyes full of disdain for Yuzuha.
"I have been hounded by boys since I was a child. In Middle School and high school, Scumbags like Yamasaki and total idiots did nothing but bother me… but no one ever helped me. I was even mocked by girls for my status. I had no choice but to handle everything alone. Compared to that, look at you. You had someone by your side who was so kind he would sacrifice himself to prioritize you. If it were me, I would have cherished Kazunari-san more than anyone else in the world. After all, there is no way I could fail to love such a wonderful man."
As she spoke, Sara-san suddenly turned toward me with a loving smile.
Even in the middle of her fury toward Yuzuha, being looked at with such warmth made me blush. Feeling the heat in my cheeks, I instinctively looked down to hide my embarrassment.
Sara-san didn't allow it. She slowly reached out, cupped my face to keep me from looking away, and gazed into my eyes. After a moment, she gently pulled my head against her chest. She embraced me tenderly, holding me close.
"That is exactly why I cannot forgive you for making light of Kazunari-san's kindness. I cannot forgive you for betraying him. I will never forgive you for disparaging him and putting him through such misery."
Her words were harsh, but her movements were incredibly gentle. She stroked my hair and my Cheek, demonstrating her devotion through her touch.
"Does our relationship seem strange to you? If so, it only proves that your connection with that Scumbag was superficial at best."
Sara-san suddenly withdrew her sharpness, bringing Yamasaki back into the conversation. When she began to compare our relationship to Yuzuha’s failed one, Yuzuha muttered weakly, "What are you trying to say?"
"Toward a beloved person, one feels the desire to be kind and to make them happy—anytime and anywhere. And that, in turn, allows one to find their own happiness. Therefore, I wish to do this for Kazunari-san at all times, and that, in itself, makes me happy."
This was the "Sara-san Theory" in action. While I thought the "anytime and anywhere" part might need a little practical calibration, I couldn't deny the sentiment.
"That is why I am truly at my happiest when I am caring for Kazunari-san. Kazunari-san… do you feel happy when I hold you like this?"
She held me tighter and asked in a sweet, hushed whisper.
"…Yes. I'm really glad when you do this for me… I'm happy, Sara-san."
Hearing my honest answer, she pulled back just enough to—
Chu.
She kissed my forehead.
With a gentle smile, she turned back to Yuzuha.
"This is the happiness that you threw away. This is the result of your foolish choice to sacrifice a man as precious as Kazunari-san for a Scumbag like Yamasaki. And you, who even crushed the last chance Kazunari-san offered you… life is going to be difficult from now on, isn't it? I'm sure a delightful Second High School Life awaits you. It's all your own fault, of course."
Sara-san slowly released me, putting her arm around my shoulder to turn me toward Yuzuha. She intertwined her arm with mine.
"Let me offer my thanks one last time. I said this when that man was here, too… but thank you for choosing that Scumbag. Thanks to that, I was able to find the precious man that is Kazunari-san. I am truly glad you were such a fool."
Sara-san looked into my eyes with the most radiant smile I had ever seen.
"I will absolutely be the one to make Kazunari-san happy."
Wasn't that supposed to be my line?
In terms of my own happiness, the moment I met Sara-san—the moment we were together—I had already received more than I could ever ask for. I felt it every day. That was why I wanted her to feel that same joy.
"Sara-san, that's my line. I'll be the one to make you happy."
When I stood my ground, Sara-san beamed and hugged me from the front. I wrapped my arms around her Back, pulling her into an embrace.
"Fufu… then let us become happy together. I truly love you, Kazunari-san…"
"I love you too, Sara-san."
I smiled back at her. She shifted slightly, turning her head toward Yuzuha.
"Sasagawa-san, as you can see, Kazunari-san is fine now. Please focus on your New Life without any lingering worries. I'm rooting for you, okay?"
"Yuzuha, work hard and take responsibility, okay?"
Sara-san's parting words were kind and polite—the ultimate height of condescension for someone in Yuzuha’s position. My own parting shot was a straight delivery of reality.
"…………"
Whether she had finally realized there was no escape or she had simply given up, the silent Yuzuha finally broke. Large tears began to spill down her face. She didn't scream or sob hysterically like before; she just cried silently, enduring the weight of her regret.
Yuzuha didn't interject in the final, detailed discussion with Kumiko-san after that.
From that moment until the very end, she never once opened her mouth or stopped crying.
"Yuzuha, don't cause any more trouble for Kumiko-san, all right? And… take care of yourself."
Yuzuha remained unresponsive even to my final words.
In the end… until the very last moment, she never uttered a single word of apology or reflection.