Hearing the word "like," Hakuto almost laughed out loud.
But out of respect for Sayuri, he didn't say anything too harsh—he just commented that it was selfish.
"Eriri, what you really want is for things to go back to how they were before. Where I followed you around, obeying your every word, never fighting back, never talking back... Is that it?"
Hakuto really didn't know what to say to Eriri anymore.
For two years, he had never seen the slightest sign that she liked him. But now, in less than half a month, she was acting like her life depended on him.
Eriri panicked when she heard his words.
She shook her head desperately, gripping the hem of his shirt even tighter—afraid that if she let go for even a second, Hakuto would leave her forever.
"No... that's not what I meant..."
Hakuto glanced at the petite figure in front of him. Her body was trembling slightly, like a helpless bird with no home to return to, clutching onto him for dear life.
Looking at her like this, he couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
If it were the past, he would have simply walked away without a second thought. But now, he has come here with a mission.
"Eriri, in your eyes, what does it mean to like someone?"
"I..."
The question left Eriri speechless. She stared at Hakuto, unable to find the words.
Seeing this, Hakuto naturally took over the conversation.
"'Like' is a very vague concept. Eriri, your feelings for me might not actually be love..." He paused.
"Maybe it's more like guilt? Or perhaps possessiveness?"
To be honest, Hakuto couldn't believe for a second that Eriri had fallen for him. Her current behavior was nothing more than a reaction to losing something she had taken for granted.
"No... that's not it..."
Eriri didn't know how to respond. She could only shake her head repeatedly, her grip on his shirt tightening.
Having never been in a relationship before, she couldn't put a concrete definition to what "liking" meant.
But she knew that in the past few days, she had felt happy whenever she received something from Hakuto.
She had felt excited just hearing news about him. Even seeing him in her dreams made her wish she would never wake up.
It was something she had never felt before. Something she had never experienced.
Seeing that she was still holding on to her belief, Hakuto took a deep breath, preparing to lay things out clearly.
From his perspective, Eriri had fallen into a misunderstanding, and it was his job to break that illusion.
"If you say you like me, Eriri... then shouldn't you have at least some kind of proof?"
Hakuto had known Eriri since middle school. His contract with Sayuri had begun in his second year.
In these past three years, he understood better than anyone how Eriri truly felt about him.
Calling them friends would have been a stretch. At most, they were classmates. Or maybe—an admirer and his goddess?
"I..." Eriri tried to think back on every moment she had spent with Hakuto over the years.
But in the end, she found nothing. Not even a single shred of proof.
Deep down, she had always known how she had treated Hakuto during those two years.
There's a saying: "Those who are favored have nothing to fear."
Maybe, back then, that was exactly how she felt.
"If you can't find anything, then that means your feelings for me aren't love. You don't have to dwell on this anymore."
Seeing that she still couldn't say a word, Hakuto spoke again.
Then, he reached out, grabbing the hand that clutched his shirt, trying to pry it off.
"Eriri, you know it too, don't you? Your feelings for me aren't—"
But before he could finish, Eriri grabbed his hand instead, crouching down and using her weight to pin him in place.
"You ran away the moment you saw me earlier, and now you won't let me leave? How strange."
Hakuto had always struggled to deal with Eriri, whether during the contract period or now.
"Shiratori... I'll make it up to you... You can do whatever you want... Anything..."
Eriri clung to him desperately, pleading in a pitiful voice. Tears streamed down her face, but at this moment, they seemed utterly worthless.
Hakuto helped her up.
"Eriri, what do you think I want, or rather, what do you think I can do?"
Out of respect for Sayuri and that two million yen, Hakuto was being patient.
His attempt to walk away earlier had been a bluff—just a push to force Eriri to confront her feelings.
But that push seemed to have drawn out something unexpected.
Looking at her tear-streaked face, Hakuto couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
After all, Eriri didn't owe him anything. If anything, it was her mother, Sayuri, who had helped him a great deal.
Yet Eriri simply shook her head weakly at his words. In a choked voice, she kept repeating the same thing.
"Anything... Anything..."
Given her current state, if Hakuto had slapped her twice, she probably would have felt even better.
This was clearly guilt overwhelming her.
Thinking about how Sayuri had humbled herself to ask for his help, Hakuto felt a surge of frustration.
Looking at the crying girl in front of him, his voice took on a hint of irritation.
"Eriri! I'll say this one last time! You don't owe me anything! Our relationship during those two years was purely voluntary—neither of us owes the other anything!"
"I know... I know..."
"Then why are you still acting like this?"
"Shiratori... you asked me what love is... I want to give everything I have just to keep you by my side... Isn't that love?"
"You said I was selfish... but I just don't want to see you leave me. I don't want that..."
Hakuto was a textbook realist.
If he were the author of Utaha's novel, he would have outright opened bets and decided the heroine based on the odds.
People are inherently selfish. That's just a normal, realistic truth.
So, he couldn't really argue with what Eriri had said.
"If only Iori were here..."
Hakuto muttered to himself. At that moment, he found himself missing Iori's mind-reading and shared perception abilities.
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