Can't We Skip Dating?

When the girl changed out of her work uniform and walked out from the back of the shop with her hand on her forehead, she saw Utaha, who had just finished her ice cream.

"Ah, you were with that man earlier, right?" the girl said apologetically. "I'm really sorry about what happened just now."

Utaha glanced at her and said, "If you want to apologize, say it to him. Come with me—he wants to see you."

For some reason, the girl felt as if she saw a trace of... pity in her eyes?

Although her current sickly appearance could indeed evoke sympathy, the girl felt that the pity in Utaha's eyes wasn't quite that simple—there was something deeper and harder to interpret.

"Eh? Why?"

"You'll understand once you come. Don't worry, he's just by the roadside."

Utaha turned and left. 

The girl, clearly not the type to be good at saying no—and ashamed about what had happened—couldn't find a reason to refuse, especially since the meeting place was reasonable.

So she followed.

She was led to a car parked by the roadside, where Akira sat inside playing with a lighter.

When he saw the two approaching, Akira lowered the car window and said, "Get in. I'll take you to the hospital."

The girl had been expecting to be scolded. Though she would've felt a bit wronged, she was ready to continue apologizing. His response caught her completely off guard.

Out of habit, she instinctively shook her head. "No, no need. I'm fine…"

"That excuse doesn't hold anymore. Next one."

People in Japan usually spoke with courtesy, so this blunt retort made the girl feel a bit uncomfortable. 

She forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your concern. I can go on my own."

"What makes you prefer dragging your sick body to the hospital under the hot sun over accepting an act of kindness? Have you been hurt by kindness before?"

"No, of course not..."

"Then it must be a concern for safety—which is valid." Akira took out his driver's license and handed it to her, also gesturing behind her. 

"This is my license. You can take a picture and send it to anyone. 

And the person behind you is Kasumi Utako-sensei, a light novel author with over 500,000 copies sold. 

With these two assurances, I think your safety concerns should be eased for now."

The girl looked back in surprise but didn't take the offered license. She just shook her head frantically. "No, that's not it, it's not that either..."

She wanted to say something more, but another sudden dizzy spell interrupted her. Her body swayed again and she leaned against the car window.

In this condition, just standing in the blazing sun could be dangerous.

"Alright, get in." Akira frowned and gestured toward Utaha. 

"Being strong and independent is a good trait. But if you reject all goodwill and help unconditionally, that's extremism. And nothing good comes from extremism."

The girl didn't have the strength to argue anymore. 

She couldn't think of any response either, so she softly murmured "Thank you" and allowed Utaha to help her into the back seat.

Akira turned the AC up a bit. Since the car had been off and the windows open for a while, the interior wasn't too cold—it wouldn't harm her condition.

Utaha noticed this small detail, and her already complex expression grew a little more nuanced.

She then watched as Akira twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to her. 

The meaning was clear—she remembered that this bottle hadn't been in the car earlier. He must've just gone out and bought it.

And it was room temperature.

Akira navigated to the nearest hospital and started the car. 

Then he instructed, "Before giving her the water, look up your own profile on your phone, and use hers to take a picture of my driver's license."

The girl, now shielded from the sun and able to rest a bit in the car, regained enough energy to speak. 

She quickly said, "No, no, it's okay. I trust both of you. Th-thank you."

Akira gave a light "Mm" and said nothing more. Utaha kept her head down, tapping away on her phone. 

The atmosphere became a bit awkward.

The girl pursed her lips nervously and said, "May I ask your names? I'm Aoyama Nanami."

"Akira," Akira replied simply from the driver's seat.

Aoyama Nanami looked toward Utaha—only to be met with a phone screen held up to her face. It was a news article introducing the rising star light novelist Kasumi Utako-sensei and her debut hit, complete with a photo.

"Phone," Utaha extended her hand.

Aoyama Nanami handed her phone over instinctively.

Honestly, she was completely dazed at this point.

She had been bluntly exposed for pushing herself while sick, taken to a car, rendered speechless when trying not to inconvenience others, and now found herself riding with a girl who looked her age but was already a famous light novelist.

Add in the sickness and exhaustion—her sluggish brain couldn't keep up with this breakneck development.

Click—

Utaha took a photo of the driver's license, then handed the phone and water back.

Only then did Aoyama Nanami realize the meaning behind the phone request. She blankly accepted both items, feeling like everything today was just so strange.

After a brief hesitation, she cautiously asked, "Why are you two… being so nice to me?"

They had practically forced their kindness on her, but did so gently, even removing all her doubts with careful reassurances. 

Normally, even if people wanted to help, they wouldn't go this far for a stranger, right?

"It's not me. It's him. I'm just following instructions," Utaha said, gesturing forward. "Honestly, I'm also curious why he's being so kind to you."

"If you want to know why…"

Akira drove in silence for a long while.

Until Aoyama Nanami began to feel uneasy, and even Utaha felt something off, Akira finally spoke.

"Because I saw my past self in her."

Aoyama Nanami's eyes shifted slightly. "You used to be like this too?"

"Yeah. If I may ask, why do you insist on working even while sick? Is it because you'll go hungry if you don't?"

"...Yes."

"Then that's it. I was like that too." Akira's tone darkened. 

"Even when sick, I still had to go to work. When people noticed, I tried my best to deny it or brush it off with some excuse. 

Of course, that was during the earliest days, when I was dirt poor, and missing even one shift meant starving."

"Besides that, I had no family. I had to do everything on my own, solve everything by myself. Even when sick, I had to get up and fix myself a meal. 

I've seen malice disguised as kindness, and I've seen well-meaning kindness that still hurt. So I stopped trusting kindness and stopped accepting help."

"Yeah… almost worked myself to death."

Actually, the word "almost" could be removed—since that was exactly how Akira had died before reincarnating. 

But he couldn't exactly say he had already died once.

Aoyama Nanami's gaze changed from initial shock to gentle understanding. She softly said, "But now… your life's gotten better, hasn't it?"

"It has."

"That's wonderful. Your hard work has paid off, then."

"Oh no, the reason I have money now is because I suddenly awakened superpowers later on."

"...?"

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