Noboyuki knew something about lies, having told them all of his life to cover up for his screw ups and for whatever he didn't want to say, and that something was that lies had one great fault. That you needed to remember each and every one of them to follow up the story later. Noboyuki thought he had all and each of his lies stored away in his memory, but having been caught off guard like that took it away. He couldn't access his lie database after a question that threw him off as badly as that. 

And now, he was put on the spot right now after she said that he had previously commented on how he liked mature women. That was a big lie if he ever told one. And Rena had to remember precisely that one of the many lies he had told during the trip. Then again, most of those lies were white lies that no one would have thought twice of. Like, I didn't eat your food or, I didn't cut down that mugger. Things like that that did more harm to his own person than to others. 

[B]"Oh, that was, you see, well, I meant......!"[/B] He tried to lie his way out, as he had done several times before. [B]"I-I meant....! Kind of like, mentally? Something like that? I-I dunno...."[/B] He was losing his cool again, despite wanting to turn the tables on the girl to stop that. What could he do now? He was making a fool out of himself now. He propped his glasses up and took a deep breath. Yeah, he was just about prepared for any kind of curveball the girl threw at her right now. He was confident of that. It was just a matter of how he could steer the conversation away from that subject.

And then, she asked something else that surprised Noboyuki so much that he felt like dropping comically like in an anime character would when asked something ridiculous. [I]'A-A screwball!?'[/I] What the hell, why was Rena being so straightforward all of a sudden!? He had been thrown off his comfort zone in an extreme manner. Now, this truly put him on the spot. His heart was beating at one hundred per hour. He knew what would happen if he answered from the bottom of his heart. He thought he knew what would happen. Previous experiences spoke harder than just imagination. [B]"I.... I know we are friends. At the very least, I know that's what we are right now. I know that I... am happy? Yeah, I'd say I'm happy with how things are right now."[/B] At least that came from the bottom of his heart, but what came next didn't. 

Noboyuki bit his lower lip. Hell, he knew perfectly well what that question meant. He knew why Rena was asking it, and he knew the real answer for that, but... [I]'You gotta lie all the way, huh? Even if it is only for the sake of status quo..... For not changing things from what they are right now. It would hinder things in the future, and I think both of us cannot afford that. No. It is like it must be. I'm sorry....'[/I] After thinking about it for a while, Noboyuki finally came to a conclusion. 

[B]"And to me, Rena.... To me you are...."[/B] With his eyes stuck to the ground, Noboyuki finally swallowed everything up and decided to live up for his lies and go on with that path. He lifted his gaze to look at Rena, a kind, yet apologetic look in his eyes. [B]"My comrade with whom I've been in an adventure with for a while and a precious friend."[/B] Having said what he had to say, he was fairly sure that that answer would give a satisfactory conclusion to all of this. Both of them would finally be able to look at each other in the eye, even if right now his heart ached like crazy.