“That's why Aika-san wanted a bond with someone so obvious anyone can tell”
“So she wanted me to put a curse on her? Surely there should be a better way?”
Koutarou was surprised. If it was like what Shizuka had said, Maki wanted to create bond by carving it into her body. That was far too violent of a method.
“She is so helplessly lonely, so she wants any kind of connection she could get”
Maki was lonely. Only a short amount of time had passed since she came to stay with Koutarou. While she believed in Koutarou and the others, she would still often feel insecure.
Was it okay for her to be here? Was she needed? Was she unwanted?
Maki was worried about a lot. That's why she wanted a bond that would let her deny those worries, even if it meant living with a gun pointed to her head. Having the muzzle pointed at her would serve as proof that she was there. Maki wanted to sense a connection to others through abandoning her own freedom.
“Doesn't that ring a bell to you, Satomi-kun? … It does to me...”
“... Yeah... it does to me too...”
Koutarou had felt something similar when he had lost his mother and when his relationship with his father turned sour. He devoted himself to fighting others, and through harming himself he felt like he still existed. What he did was the same as what Maki was doing now.
“Aika-san needs someone to save her from that. Just accepting her isn't enough”
“... To me, it had been baseball and Mackenzie...”
What saved Koutarou from his lifestyle was his baseball team and his meeting with Kenji. By working together with his team towards a goal, he was able to affirm his existence. And right now, that was what Maki needed. Koutarou understood very well what Shizuka was talking about.
“It might be the same reason as to why Aika-san is always after your money. She wants to be able to feel safe through an easy to understand bond like money”
“Aika-san...”
When Shizuka pointed that out, Koutarou recalled when he and Maki had formed a contract. Deep inside, Maki was a lonely girl shivering inside of a dungeon. And like Koutarou was, Maki wouldn't rely on others directly, even if she wanted to.
“So Satomi-kun. I want you to help Aika-san until she can properly settle in”
“... Everyone wants a place of their own, huh...”
Koutarou had felt like he had saved Maki just by taking her with him to room 106. But that alone wasn't enough. If left be, she would spend a lot of her life in anxiety. They would be very painful days. It was a problem that might eventually be resolved even if he left her be, but Koutarou couldn't find it in him to do that.
“Please, Satomi-kun. We don't need to protect just Aika-san's place, but everyone else's too...”
“Everyone else's... I see. You're right...”
Creating a place for Maki to remove her insecurity was the same as making a place where everyone could live and laugh together. That meant protecting everyone's place. It wasn't just for Maki's sake, but for everyone's.
“I understand... I'll think of something”
Koutarou decided to listen to Shizuka's request. He still didn't know what he should do, but he wanted to be mindful of it. If he was, he believed he would eventually find a solution.
“Thank you, Satomi-kun”
With Koutarou showing that he understood, tears began forming in Shizuka's eyes again. He had done exactly what she wanted, which made it hard for her to keep her feelings of joy at bay.
How troubling... I thought I was trying to hide these feelings...
The conversation she had brought up to change topic had in the end led to the same place. Shizuka's plan appeared to have misfired. But it might be that this would have happened regardless of what she spoke of. Her expectations of the future and rapidly beating heart convinced her that she would be happy as long as she was with Koutarou.
“... Could I borrow your shoulder?”
“Sure”
There, Shizuka decided to stop going against her own feelings. Even if she did, it would have the same results. In that case, she might as well just accept them. She also believed that Koutarou would accept her, even like that.