I'm The Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier Chapter 7

Translator: shiko
Proofreader: FrowningTea
Quality Check: asuramaru & shiko

Chapter 7

"Friends… Yes, we're friends."

Is it possible that I made a mistake? Is the fact that he's smiling so brightly making me feel ashamed? What's the meaning behind that smile? Wasn't he angry just now?

"That's why I'm worried. I can't just let my friend get into trouble."

Why does it sound hard for you to pronounce the word 'friend'? 

"Yse, I know you're a good-hearted person but you don't have to worry about it. It's a bit of a hassle right now but I'm sure it'll get better soon."

"I'm worried because this is not okay with me. I mean, you're not going to go on all those blind dates in the future, right? It would be hard to keep making excuses every time you refuse.”

"Wait a second, what? Just because it's hard, it doesn't mean I can't do it."

If I could change things to the way I wanted them to be, I would have already done that. If not, it's best to just relax. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm completely stressed out, but it's better to be positive in a tough world anyway. 

"So, you want to date me." [Meize]

"What's the difference between us dating and remaining friends? You weren't in a relationship to begin with and I'm single as well. Besides, I think it's a little strange to meet someone else if you don't want to be in a relationship."

"At least it's an excuse. Sticking to a woman who has a lover would go against basic courtesy."  [Meize]

“…Don't tell me… You want us to start a fake relationship?” [Meize]

Understanding his intentions, I reflexively frowned. It's like a situation straight out of a novel or something… Oh, right. This is a novel. Regardless, this is what Yse meant, right?

"Yeah… For now."

Yse muttered in a lower voice than usual between clenched teeth.

"Why would you want to fake a relationship with me, anyway? I've said it before but as time…"

"It's because I'm in trouble. I've told you before; my parents keep telling me to get married, so this is a good chance for both of us. Neither you nor I have any intention of dating. Am I right?”  

Yse gave me a perfect smile. It was a smile that I especially liked, with his eyes bent beautifully like a crescent moon.

"Are your parents pressuring you that much? To the point that you're troubled?" 

"…Well, yes."

"You're certainly in trouble, Yse. But even if I agree, you're like family to me."

If I was in my old world, my mother would have done the same; she would have pestered me about getting married and I would get mad at her for nagging at me. Bickering with my mom had been one of my daily routines back then.

"There's one more thing…"

His index finger pressed against my forehead. My eyes widened before laughing at Yse's untimely serious face.

"Ah, sorry. I was thinking about an old thought."

"An old thought?"

"No, it's not important. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"…….."

Well, the way I just spoke sounded a bit cold. But the topic of my original world was something that I couldn't tell Yse. It's not like I can just say "We're inside a novel".

"I'll stop thinking about it, so let's get back to the original conversation. So how do you want to fake a relationship? If you're in trouble, I'll try to help as much as I can. I also feel guilty towards your parents, but you can't just marry someone you don't care about."

"You don't have to feel guilty, Meize. You're just helping me… and you're right, you can't just marry someone you don't care about."

Yse placed his hand on mine. It felt strange having fingers interlocked and I swallowed unknowingly. Yse and I were just friends so the sensation of our tangled fingers made me grimace.

"Don't worry, Meize. We're not doing anything bad, just taking some time."

"Time?"

"Yes, time. I swear, Meize. The time we're going to spend together in the future will be really special.”

Honestly, I didn't think that it was necessary to be so grand, but I didn't mention it to him because Yse looked like he was in a much better mood.

“But what if we had someone we like while we were in a fake relationship? What do we do then? Would we break up?"

"What if one of us falls in love with someone while we're pretending to date? What should we do then? Would we break up?"

I don't want to date yet but I'm not sure that I won't meet someone else. I don't know what the future will bring. Although… I'm already lucky enough to have seen a prince on a white horse. Well, as long as we're in Syukr's harem novel, nothing's going to be realistic.

"You previously said that you weren't interested in dating but you're actually curious about that?"

"Well, it's a possibility. I'm not looking for relationships for now since I'm not a perfect bachelorette yet."

"That's good. I was getting worried that you weren't interested in marriage."

Why are you worried about that? It's not like you and I are going to marry.

“To be precise, I just want to be cautious when it comes to marriage. It's better to stay single if you're not entirely comfortable with the relationship."

“You mean you're not against it."

If you keep talking like that, I might misunderstand you. You don't know this, but I actually liked you since our first meeting. Of course, you wouldn't like me after witnessing all my shortcomings.

"So what if I'm not against it? There are no men around me. I'll be honest with you, you're the only guy that I meet regularly."

"Really?"

Why is he so happy about my lack of connections? Is it because he can relate?

"Yes, really. Don't tell me you've got another woman?”

I muttered half joking, half serious.

If I said that I was dating Yse, everything would quiet down for a while. Just like when I was with Syukr. And things would be the same as now when we eventually split up.

“First of all, I can't be…”

Yse, who was fumbling with his words, looked down at me and stopped speaking. It was unlike him. His expression was very strange and unsettling.

"Meize, if you meet someone like that…"

"If?"

"Of course…"

I swallowed my saliva curiously as I watched him smile with his hand on my cheek. He caught my arm as I tried to pry off his hand, since it had wandered too close to my lips. A moment of awkwardness passed.

"I'd congratulate you. I really care."

When I saw him smiling brightly, I sighed. I was slowly getting used to his pranks but I got fooled again, ugh.

"Meize, h-hello."

"Hello, Henry. Are you on an errand?"

I smiled brightly as I saw Henry holding an envelope in his hands. His shoulders were slouched, but because of his size, I had to look up. 

"N-No. It's not an errand, um, no."

"Really? I saw that you had a big envelope so I thought you were on an errand."

"Y-Yeah. T-That's right!"

While looking at Henry, who could hardly look at me as he fiddled with his hat, I waved goodbye and turned around. We weren't that close anyway, and I had a sleepover at Sarah's tonight. If I was late, I'd get an earful from her later.

"W-Wait, Meize!"

"Yes? Did you have something to tell me?”

"W-Well…"

My heart jumped in shock when I saw Henry, who was shaking like a small animal. This is crazy. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but this was really insane!

"I-It's a gift!"

The gift is nice, but you just had to give it to me like this… Can't you see the tears in my eyes right now? I tried to let out my voice in a fit of rage, but because I was in a state of shock, Henry had already ran far away.

I've been trying to give off a good saint-like image like the original Meize, but this wasn't working at all. I tried to calm my anger by pressing on my throbbing chest and abdomen with my fingertips, but the lingering pain didn't help me cool off at all.

Yeah, I'm still a little angry. Honestly, I'd like to be upset about the gift, and I don't need anything, but I should take Meize's image into account and say something. If I receive this type of gift more than once, I won't be able to keep Meize's slim body. 

Furthermore, the rumors hadn't subsided yet, so it wasn't a good thing to get a gift like this. I don't know what kind of gift it is, but it'll only worsen the rumors. Village gossip travelled fast after all.

I made up my mind and urged myself to walk in the direction of Henry's disappearance, but I couldn't even catch a glimpse of him… it was probably due to the differences in our strides.

Despite it being a waste, I should still return his gift. After considering whether to put up with Sarah's nagging for being late or the rumors from accepting this present, I finally decided to stop by Henry's house. It's his gift, so if I leave it at the door, he'll know what it means.

"Ugh….."

What was that? I thought I heard a voice. It sounded like a man's moaning…

“Hey, is there anyone here?”

It might've been my imagination, but I slowed down and looked around just in case it wasn't. I didn't have a charitable personality, but I couldn't just ignore someone who was hurt.

"Is anybody here?"

I wandered about and looked around meticulously, but I couldn't hear anything else, let alone the injured person's voice. Did I mistake the wind for a moan? But it really sounded like a human being…

I tilted my head a few times, but there was no answer. I'd only heard one pained moan, and after searching for a while, I couldn't find any trace that someone had been here.

I don't know, I must've misheard. Nothing dangerous goes on in a peaceful village like this one after all. I probably overreacted.

As soon as I concluded that there was no injured person there, I picked up the pace again. It was better to move as fast as possible so that Sarah wouldn't complain as much.

meize being the most oblivious person ever is a mood and I'd like to give Yse a big F

watch this suddenly turn into a mystery novel lejrbevsd don't make me tl that pls id cry

Chapter end