Konbini Ossan Volume 6 Chapter 19 — And Then, the Truth (Finally…)

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“There is a girl who truly wants to make the man she loves happy, someone willing to throw everything away for his sake.
…
Otsugi-sama, will you make her happy? Or do you intend to make her miserable? Which is it!?”


Maria’s question hit me like a blade.

Even so, hesitation I still hadn’t shaken rose to the surface.


“But I will fail. I’m sure of it. Just like this time… and again, and again.”


“Then you reflect, and you fix it. Just like this time. And again, and again.”


There was nothing to refute.

It was correct. All of it.

Her words made me face the truth: everything I’d been saying was nothing but an excuse to run.

And still, I couldn’t fully trust myself.


“But I don’t have the right. I’m the one who named that child. I gave her a name no decent adult would ever burden a newborn with. Someone like me has no right to stand beside her.”


“Her name, hm? If what you say is true, then yes, you wronged her. Which is exactly why you should take responsibility.
…
If you feel guilty, then you should be the one to make her happy to atone for what you did.”


Indeed.

If logic were all that mattered, then this was the only path that made sense.

I felt guilty, yet rather than take responsibility, I chose the path of escape.

And I tried to erase my debt by letting a stranger compensate for it.

At last, every rational retreat I had been clinging to collapsed.

I rose to my feet and murmured:


“You’re absolutely right. I want Arisa-san to be happy.”


“Yes. And only you can do that.”


Maria stepped forward and gently embraced me.


“I’m sorry for speaking so harshly. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch. And it was obvious you were lost.”


“Lost, you say?”


“Yes. You act like a confident man, but something is off. It isn’t confidence. It’s desperation. And when you came back from your journey looking so small, I was sure.”


Her words cut through me with uncanny precision.


“Otsugi-sama. You believe you have no value, don’t you?”


There was no use denying it.

I nodded.


“Yes.”


It was exact.

So exact I had no strength to argue.


“Because you think you have no value, you’re not afraid of failure. So you can challenge anything. You became an adventurer despite the danger, you opened a magic tools shop even without certainty it would succeed.
…
But none of that comes from confidence. It’s the opposite. You believe you’re empty, that you have nothing to lose, so you act.
…
And because acting gives the illusion of purpose, you cling to it, desperately trying to prove you aren’t worthless.
…
You want someone to acknowledge you, so you live recklessly, pushing forward without thinking.”


“Haha… hearing it laid out like that, it fits so perfectly it’s almost frightening.”


“It would. I’ve seen men like you before.”


With that, she stepped behind me and bam — struck my back.


“That’s why I know exactly what needs to be said to get someone like you moving.”


Then, softly, she placed a hand on my back and spoke in a gentle, steady tone.


“I don’t know whether you have value or not. I can’t answer that for you.”


Her distancing words somehow landed warmly inside my chest.


“But whatever you do, I will accept it. No matter how many mistakes you make, no matter how many times you fail, I will be right here.”


I felt the knot of fear inside me loosen, little by little.


“So go. Do what you want to do. Chase it with everything you have.”


Those words finally lit the spark of resolve.


“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve made up my mind.”


“What will you do?”


“I’m going to Arisa-san. After that… well, it’ll be pure improvisation. I haven’t thought ahead at all.”


“Good. That’s exactly how it should be. Off you go.”


Another bam to the back.

This one felt like a send-off.

After everything she had done for me, I couldn’t possibly stay.


“Then, I’ll be going.”


“Yes.”


Maria pushed me forward, and I left Arisa’s room behind.

Then I broke into a run, headed straight for the engagement ceremony. 


——————
E/N:

Bro, even though I told you to run last chapter… SMH! But that also means, finally, there's HOPE, ladies and gentlemen!

Stay tuned! (3/3 chapters)

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