Kono Monogatari O Kimi Ni Sasagu - Volume 1 Chapter 3.13

It was a generic comment, one he felt he had heard somewhere before. It was as if Kotoha had forced herself to come up with something to say after Yuto’s prompt.

Gone were the precise critiques that would make him tremble or the heartfelt praises that would genuinely make him happy when they created together before.

Did he fail to make her cry with Ren and Hiyori’s drama? Did their banter not make her laugh?

Had his novel not reached her heart at all?

It was the worst possible outcome he could imagine.

What he feared had become reality.

Yuto closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

Disappointment and regret spread coldly through his chest.

He felt the heat drain from deep within his body, as if his organs were freezing.

His heartfelt novel had turned out to be nothing more than self-indulgence.

“I look forward to your future works, Fuyutsuki-sensei.”

When he opened his eyes, Kotoha wore an obviously forced smile.

Yuto swallowed hard and slowly stood up.

“…Thank you. Well, see you.”

He turned his back on Kotoha and took a shaky step forward.

See you? See you when?

Did he think there would be another chance?

The doctor had said she had only a few days left.

If he left now, he would never see her again.

That couldn’t happen.

Sure, his novel might not have touched Kotoha’s heart at all.

She might not have understood it at all.

That was a shock.

But if that were the case, he had to throw away his shame, his pride as a writer.

Even if Kotoha looked at him with disdain or contempt, it didn’t matter.

He couldn’t leave her side in a neat, tidy retreat.

That was one of the few lessons he had learned over the past three years.

Some things can only be conveyed by using words.

Yuto stopped after a few steps, took a deep breath, and turned around.

“Natsume, I—”

But the words that had reached his throat stopped.

There stood Kotoha, her eyes wide in surprise.

She was hugging the book tightly to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Huh…?”

She must not have expected him to turn around. She muttered in a daze, then hurriedly wiped her tears away.

But the tears kept flowing from her big eyes.

“N-No… Why…”

Kotoha desperately tried to wipe her tears, but it was in vain.

Her previously cold expression crumbled.

Tears and snot made her face wet, twisting her features like a crying child.

Yuto was stunned.

He couldn’t keep up with the drastic change in Kotoha, who had been so indifferent just moments ago.

The memories of the days he had spent with her flooded his mind.

Kotoha, who appeared in front of him on a summer day, suddenly telling him to write a novel.

Talking about creation until midnight, creating a script together.

Celebrating the success of their play at the cultural festival.

Confessing his past to make her give up on making him write. But instead, she helped him overcome his past wounds.

But she had collapsed due to her illness.

Just before her transfer, she had stepped down as his editor to push him forward.

Each of her actions had come with the cost of her limited life and time.

That’s right, Yuto thought.

There was no way she could remain calm when faced with something she had fought so hard to achieve.

If it had been poorly done, she wouldn’t act so indifferently.

She had every right to cry and be upset. She could be angry about how things turned out.

She had been hiding her feelings.

And now they had burst forth.

“W-Why did you turn around…?”

Kotoha protested through hiccuping breaths.

She had given up trying to hide her tears, her face a mess.

“I was holding back… trying to read calmly as an editor… I was so close to hiding it all…”

Tears streamed down her face as Kotoha sobbed.

“T-This novel is unfair…”

Despite her words, she hugged the book tightly, lovingly.

“…Was it boring?”

In response to his question, Kotoha shook her head stubbornly.

“You know… that’s not possible…”

Kotoha struggled to breathe, finally finding the words.

“I was so moved! As you can see, I’m a mess…! I tried to read it calmly as an editor, but before I knew it, I was like this!”

“Why… did you try to hide it?”

“Because, because…! I didn’t know what to do…!”

She looked at Yuto almost accusingly, sniffing.

“It’s a story I know, but it’s completely different. Ren and Hiyori’s tragic fate made me sad… I thought I might cry from sadness. But, but… this story…! It wasn’t like that.”

“Yeah, it’s not. The shinigami Ren and the terminally ill Hiyori meet, face many deaths together, and their feelings for each other deepen. Eventually, they try to escape death together, but in the end, Hiyori accepts her fate and is guided by Ren. That’s how the script for the play went.”

“Yes… that was the story we created together…!”

The memory of the summer night they spent crafting the story in Yuto’s room resurfaced.

It felt both like it happened yesterday and a long time ago.

“This story was supposed to depict Hiyori’s journey to her death. So why…!”

Kotoha’s breath came in gasps.

“Why did it change to a story where Hiyori overcomes her fate and wins life…!”

Her voice echoed with anguish in the hospital room.

“The reason is simple.”

“Simple…?”

“Did you read the colophon?”

“The colophon…? I read it till the end…”

Kotoha looked puzzled.

“Check the colophon.”

“Huh…?”

Kotoha hastily opened the book to the colophon. There, along with the usual information about the author, publisher, and publication date, there was a dedication in the center:

‘This story is dedicated to you.’

A dedication to one girl.

“…!”

Kotoha’s eyes widened, and she was at a loss for words.

“That’s why.”

“…It’s unusual to have a dedication there.”

Kotoha said, exasperated, then gently traced the dedication with her finger.

“You twisted the story for me?”

Yuto gave a bitter smile in response to her question.