Chapter 3 – Is This My Suffering Now...?
It's finally morning...
I dragged myself down the familiar sidewalk on the way to school, each step heavy as if the ground itself was trying to suck me into the earth.
I hadn't slept at all last night.
Why?
Because of her.
Because of that devil in disguise.
Airi—my self-proclaimed fiancée—decided, without warning, that she wanted to stay at my house.
And not only that... she insisted on sleeping in my room.
"I'll stay here tonight, future husband! I need to get used to my new home after all!" she'd declared with sparkling eyes, clinging to my arm like a koala refusing to let go.
How can you say such dangerous things with that angelic smile, huh?! You're ten!!
I tried to resist. I really did.
"I can sleep on the couch, you can have the bed," I had said, trying to salvage my sanity.
But she pouted. She puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel. Then she looked up at me with watery puppy-dog eyes that could kill a grown man.
"If you don't sleep with me, I'll cry..." she sniffled.
Crap. This is unfair. This is cheating. That face should be illegal.
And so...
I ended up lying stiff as a board on my bed, eyes wide open, while Airi hugged me like I was a life-sized teddy bear.
Her tiny arms were wrapped around my waist. She even buried her face against my chest, mumbling happily in her sleep about how warm her "future husband" was.
What kind of child does that to someone she just met?!
I wanted to scream.
But if I made a noise... she might wake up and cry again.
So I endured.
All. Night. Long.
And now here I am, walking to school on zombie mode with giant bags under my eyes, my soul halfway out of my body.
"...Why is this happening to me..." I muttered to myself, my voice hoarse.
I yawned loudly, rubbing my eyes with the sleeve of my uniform. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead.
It was a beautiful morning, the sky clear and blue, birds chirping cheerfully in the trees. Couples walked past me, holding hands and giggling like they were the main characters of some romcom manga.
Tch.
If Kouta—my hopeless, angry otaku friend—saw this, he'd probably start cursing.
"Public display of affection should be illegal in front of single men!" he'd say, swinging his bag like a weapon of justice.
Yeah. Maybe he's right for once.
I sighed again and quickened my pace.
I need to get to the classroom quickly. If I fall asleep at the entrance like this... someone's going to think I died on the spot.
As I trudged toward the school building, my mind wandered back—unwillingly— to Airi.
...Honestly, she was kinda cute.
I shook my head violently.
No. No no no.
What the hell am I thinking?! She's ten! Ten!! A literal child!
I'm a high school first-year! It's impossible! Illegal! Not even funny!
...But she's really affectionate... like some little animal following you around because it imprinted on you.
Stop it! Stop thinking about that, idiot!!
This isn't some romcom anime where "childhood fiancé turns into bride" plot happens for real!
...Though maybe in a few years—NO.
I slapped my cheeks.
"Get your head straight, Isagi... you're not a criminal... you're normal... NORMAL."
I could almost hear the narrator's voice in my head: "He was, in fact, not normal anymore."
I dragged my body through the school gate, barely conscious.
"...Man... I wanna sleep forever..."
I glanced around the schoolyard.
As usual, there were noisy classmates chatting, couples flirting, and upperclassmen being cool near the fountain.
None of them knew.
None of them knew the suffering I was carrying.
If they knew I had a ten-year-old self-proclaimed fiancée sleeping in my bed last night... they'd probably laugh. Or report me. Or both.
Ugh. My peaceful background character life... gone. Trampled. Burned.
I reached the classroom door and leaned on the frame, sighing heavily.
"Maybe I can take a nap before the teacher arrives..." I muttered, eyes half-closed.
But then—
"Yo, Isagi! What's with that corpse face, man?" a familiar voice called.
I cracked open one eye.
Kouta.
He grinned as he walked up beside me, pushing up his glasses with his finger.
"You look like a zombie. Didn't get enough sleep last night? What, stayed up all night watching anime finally? I told you, 'Magical Knight Disaster' is a banger, right?!"
"...No. Not anime."
"Hah? Then what?"
Should I tell him?
No. If I told him about the loli fiancée situation, he'd explode. Or faint. Or worse—get jealous.
"Nothing. Just... trouble at home."
Kouta stared at me suspiciously.
"...Huh. Weird. You do smell like milk, though. Like... fresh milk? Were you making some weird protein drink or something?"
"Shut up."
"Also... you keep muttering 'no, no, she's ten' under your breath like a lunatic. What's up with that? Some forbidden fantasy, bro?"
"Shut UP, Kouta!!"
He burst out laughing.
I sighed deeply and stepped into the classroom.
I can already tell.
This... this is gonna be a long day.