...honestly, sometimes I wonder if what I'm thinking is actually only obvious to me. It's hard to tell.

[Because honestly, he's pretty sure everyone listening to that post of hers assumed Lightning was he boyfriend. But only Ranpo can see the complexity below the surface.]

In any case, I can tell exactly how you feel about Lightning-san-- that's not his real name, right? Ignoring it won't make things better. There's never going to be a "better time" to address it with someone like him... he probably tried to warn you off when you first met, right? Something like, "I'm not that kind of guy" or "I'm just going to leave when I get tired of you"-- I get the feeling he doesn't have a lot of tact when it comes to feelings.

And you can say you won't hold it against me-- but I won't call you a liar if you do.