LIGHTNOVELWORLD chapter 66
66. Asagi Sora’s couple plan
In short, Uguisu-san is weak to pressure and doesn’t know much about men!
“Being kept by a high-earning wife and becoming a househusband. Sure, it might sound appealing; honestly, even I’d be swayed. I’m a guy, after all, a foolish college boy. A newlywed life where we can lovey-dovey all day long must be a dream come true!”
“Ll-lovey-dovey…”
Uguisu-san’s face turned bright red. I can’t imagine she hadn’t thought about what it would be like if we lived together as a married couple, but maybe hearing it from me, who’s always been the one going with the flow, made her shy.
Incidentally, I was also getting incredibly embarrassed on the inside, but if I hit the brakes here, the name of Philance Blue would be tarnished.
“But! But hold on a second!? Uguisu-san is Philance Green. Sure, generally speaking, it’s not good to compare housework and working outside the home, saying one is better than the other… It’s not uncommon for the husband to stay at home. And especially if we have kids in the future, there’s also the burden of childcare.”
“Cc-children?”
“But! If the job outside the home is hero work, that’s a different story. It’s without a doubt the hardest, most painful, and most life-threatening job in Japan. There are restrictions on your private life to protect your secret identity, and you can’t avoid life-threatening missions like the one the other day. If there’s a disaster, accident, or even your birthday or a family funeral, you have to go out without question, no matter how early in the morning, late at night, or what day it is. What’s more, most of the work is done solo, and there are few people you can share the hardships of being a hero with. Sure, you get paid a lot for it, but I think it’s by far the hardest job, both mentally and physically, even more so than doctors or paramedics!”
This much, at least, is my honest opinion. People tend to forget because the girls themselves don’t take it too seriously, but there’s no doubt that they’re lonely stalwarts who work their hearts and bodies to the bone. Since there aren’t ‘t ‘t many of them and their abilities vary, they sometimes get called out even on their days off depending on the mission, and I think it must be incredibly difficult to pretend to be a normal student like Momo does.
But for now, I’m going to use those general hardships to my advantage.
“In other words, I’d be getting Uguisu-san to support me while she does such a difficult job.”
“As I said before, I don’t mind if it’s for Sora-kun’s sake…”
“I mind! Having Uguisu-san do dangerous work while I live a safe and secure life at home. Financially and in terms of housework, I can only support Uguisu-san a little bit. Uguisu-san is practically standing on her own two feet, and I’m just supporting a tiny corner of her life. In contrast, I’d be living off the money Uguisu-san earned by sacrificing herself. No matter how much I clean the house or make her lunch every day, it wouldn’t be worth it. Uguisu-san’s contributions are too great to make it worth it!”
“I don’t think I’m doing anything that great…”
She seemed perplexed by what I was saying, but she didn’t look too unhappy. I’ve sensed it before, but Uguisu-san tends to get anxious easily and cling to others, both in reality and in her future visions. I think it comes from her low self-esteem, and the fact that her job as a hero is a secret and that there’s someone as great as Akane-san above her means she doesn’t feel like she’s really making a difference.
In that case, I’ll affirm Uguisu-san and push through with my desire as a man.
“That’s not true! Uguisu-san is amazing. She’s a wonderful hero who the people of this country, and I, can rely on. Who knows how many people have been saved by Uguisu-san’s power, or how many fans she has? That’s a great thing… but I want Uguisu-san to rely on me.”
“Really on you?”
“…The person a man wants to look coolest in front of is the woman he loves!”
“Ll-loves!?”
“That’s right. The person I want to look coolest in front of, the person I want to rely on, is Uguisu-san. I haven’t even graduated from college, I have no work experience, and my abilities as a hero are still mediocre. I can’t stand the thought of you taking care of me! I want you to think of me as a cool, wonderful husband who you can rely on from the bottom of your heart!! I want to be someone who can be confident that you think that way!!”
“……..”
My impassioned speech left Uguisu-san gaping in astonishment. It was pretty forceful and unreasonable. I said it because I thought Uguisu-san would agree with me that she lacks confidence in herself, but I wonder if I got it across to her properly.
“…Sora-kun is…”
After a brief pause, Uguisu-san started to say something, her mouth covered by her hand.
“Sora-kun is actually quite forceful, isn’t he?”
“Huh?”
Did my forceful and emotional argument fail after all?
“…hehehe”
Uguisu-san giggled elegantly when she saw the look of despair on my face. What? What’s she thinking?
“Sora-kun’s childish side like that is kind of cute.”
“Huh?”
“When you say things like you want to show me your good side, I can’t just ignore your opinion. Besides, I’m happy that Sora-kun thinks of me that way.”
“So that means…?”
“I’ll be really lonely if I have to wait four years, but okay. We can get married officially after Sora-kun graduates and becomes an adult.”
“Really!?”
“But I’ll be your girlfriend and fiancée, so I’d like you to come and see me as much as possible, and I’d like to go on dates with you.”
“O-of course! Thank you for listening to my opinion.”
“hehehe, I guess this is what it means to be weak to love. Besides, I believe in Sora-kun, so I can wait a few years.”
Ugh. My words were 100% a lie I made up on the spot. I’m definitely going to betray this person’s trust. But for now, I’ll ignore the pain in my chest and savor my victory.
“Just one thing I want you to remember.”
As I racked my brain, my heated cheek was met with the slightly cool palm of Uguisu-san’s hand.
“To me, Sora-san is still more than handsome enough to be a husband.”
“…T-then, I’ll do my best to make you fall for me even more.”
And so, I narrowly avoided Asagi Uguisu and put our relationship on hold in the form of an engagement.
It was a great relief to have such a large buffer until graduation, but I mustn’t forget that this is just postponing the problem. Uguisu-san will continue to treat me as a lover, and I’m also curious about how Himawari, who probably heard my proposal, feels about it. Also, I wonder if Akane-san, who I haven’t been able to meet recently, is okay. I need to rethink my involvement with not only Uguisu-san but all the heroes.
As I pondered over these things while eating Uguisu-san’s homemade stewed hamburger, I received a timely call from the Doctor.
“If you’re still at the base, stop by the computer room on your way back.”