High School Girl Warrior: How to Save an Apocalyptic World - CH 93

Chapter 93 – Love Confession

Later, on that day’s night.

I was in my nostalgic nest. The third classroom for the third years. I was sorting the items I had obtained, like the Magical Cat Staff.

Then, I heard someone discretely knock on the door.

“Coming.” I said that, then opened the door shortly after.

“… Good evening, senpai.” Ritsuko was the person who was on the other side of the door.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“Well… Uhn… Would you like some tea?” Ritsuko asked me.

In her hands there was her favorite food, a box filled with octopus-shaped chocolate.

“I don’t mind it, but won’t you gain weight if you eat before going to bed?” I asked her.

Ritsuko gave me a meek smile, “It’s okay… I don’t get fat, so…”

“Oh, how envious.” I told her.

This was unexpected. Ritsuko wasn’t usually this assertive…

Well, in any case, I pointed her to a desk for visitors (sort of), then sat on my usual desk.

“Thank you, senpai…” Ritsuko muttered.

She seemed to be quite nervous for some reason. She couldn’t even open the box of chocolates that she brought.

“Uh… Uuuuh…” Ritsuko muttered.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her as I brewed some tea.

“Se-senpai…” Ritsuko took a deep breath, then asked, “Well, you see… Just… What kind of relationship do you have with that girl that came here together with you, senpai?”

“Together…? Oh, do you mean Iroha?” I asked back.

“Yes.” Ritsuko nodded.

What kind of relationship though? “We’re friends.” I replied plainly.

“Really…? Isn’t it more than that?” Ritsuko asked me.

Why is Ritsuko this obsessed with me? And what does she mean with ‘more than that’? What is this ‘more’ that she is referring to?

I suddenly imagined Iroha, who was probably sleeping sprawled out on the ground, in the room right next to this one.

“Why do you ask that?” I decided to ask.

“Because…” Ritsuko dropped her gaze to her teacup, “Matching…”

Matching…?

I was confused for a second, but then I remembered the Friendship Rings that has basically become a part of my body.

“Oh, this? That is…” How do I explain it…? Honestly, I haven’t used the shared skill even once… “It’s not really a big deal. It’s just reassuring to have it on me.” I told her.

“Ah… Reassuring…?” Ritsuko muttered.

Oh dear, did I make a mistake on my choice of words?

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Ritsuko stood up and squeezed my hands tightly. As if she couldn’t back down after coming this far, “To you, Senpai, what am I to you?”

“What can I say? You’re one of my closest juniors, I guess?” I replied.

“Uhn… When you say closest, do you mean close enough to get married!?” Ritsuko suddenly asked.

W-whoa!? W-wait, “H-hold on a second! Same-gender marriage isn’t even legal in this country!” I hastily replied.

“Please don’t try to avoid it like that. The law doesn’t matter anymore.

“Senpai, you really left without telling me anything… I had a really hard time these past few days…” Ritsuko muttered.

“A-ah…” I didn’t know how to reply.

The way this was going was worrisome…

“I want to hear it clearly. Your feelings, Senpai.” Ritsuko told me.

For a moment, I didn’t even know how to answer.

And then I noticed it… Ritsuko’s hands were shaking.

I can’t try avoid answering by making a joke here… I wish I could just get through this by having a sudden hearing loss, like what the dense protagonist of a novel would do.

But unfortunately, I heard it very clearly.

“Well…” I started trying to answer.

I’m sorry, but I’m heterosexual.

I was about to answer that, but… At the edge of my line of sight, I could see the Magical Cat Staff. A staff that can change one’s appearance at will.

With this kind of thing existing… Isn’t the gender barrier mostly meaningless?

That thought made me hesitate… Even if it was only for a short time, I walked around in the form of a man before. And the experience definitely left an impression on me.

Then, maybe, would this kind of relationship…?

I started feeling dizzy.

In this world filled with hardships, wouldn’t it be very reassuring to have someone that could spend the lonely nights right by my side?

“Senpai. If you nod here… I’m not leaving this room tonight.” Ritsuko told me.

“Wait… That means…” I muttered.

“Tonight. I will sleep with you, Senpai.” She stared deep in my eyes as she said those words.

I wonder how much preparation it took her, who was usually so silent, to say those words to me.

“Senpai… Please answer it… Am I… Am I no good?” Ritsuko asked.

I had a hard time processing it… A world that I couldn’t have even imagined a few days ago, was now opening up right in front of me.

Silence filled the room… The mood here was very tense. A mood that didn’t allow me to leave the answer for later.

“… Uhn… Well…” I finally opened my mouth. My voice was surprisingly loud, “… I’m sorry.”

I knew that if I included even a hint of a joke in my reply, I would be insulting Ritsuko right now. I had to be serious.

“I have a duty to fulfill. To save as many people as possible.” I told her.

“So, you don’t have time to go out with me?” She asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Is that so…?” Ritsuko seemed to be absolutely dejected.

This is troublesome… What kind of face am I supposed to make tomorrow when we meet again?

On top of that, I also need to use Enslave on her and the others tomorrow…

“… However!” Ritsuko lifted her face up with such momentum, that she made my heart skip a beat, “It’s okay! I still love you, Senpai! And I won’t ever feel bad by being by your side, no matter what!”

I was stunned.

Ritsuko really… She really thinks of me like that…

My face suddenly turned bright red. A feeling that I hadn’t felt before suddenly filled my chest. Something that I couldn’t quite understand.

“Of course.” Before I realized it, I was already holding Ritsuko’s hand.

And then, I did something wild. Something that would surely make me freak out on the next day and make me wonder, ‘Why did you do that!?’

… I kissed Ritsuko’s cheek.

“We have to get up early tomorrow, so let’s have a good night’s sleep today, alright?” I told her.

Ritsuko nodded stiffly. Like a slave who had just received an order.

She drank her whole tea in one gulp, then left the classroom with mechanical movements.

Ugh… Did I just… Make everything a lot more complicated?

“It’s surely hard to be popular…” I muttered to myself.

… What the hell did I just do!?

About one minute after the cheek kiss happened, I started banging my head against my desk.