Iโve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Donโt Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, Iโll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
Time seemed to stand still.
The setting sun streaming through a distant window cast shadows across Yukimi’s face.
โWh-what are you talking about?โ
I tried to sound cheerful.
But my voice cracked
โIt’s simple. Trouble arose between our family and a criminal group, so there’s talk of imposing some punishment on them. I was wondering if you might be willing to take on a role in that.โ
โโฆโฆโ
I already knew this story without being told.
โFamilyโ meant herself, and โtroubleโ referred to last year’s gang assault incident.
I knew from the game that Yukimi was planning to kill those guys behind the scenes, and I understood what this proposal meant.
But.
Why did she make this proposal to me?
In the original story, this was meant for the protagonist, Suga Akito.
Akito uses this incident as a catalyst, waving the banner of reason to tell Yukimi to give up on revenge and get back on her feet.
But now, it’s directed at me.
Was it because she didn’t meet Akito today?
Or did she target me for revenge from the start because we’d already formed a connection?
Which is the truth?
Well, at this point, it doesn’t really matter.
The original story’s progression from here is as follows.
When Yukimi proposes revenge to Akito, he’s forced to choose on the spot: refuse or accept.
Refusing on the spot earns her goodwill, but accepting leads to her pressing him, โโฆAre you seriously considering this?โ and a direct path to a bad ending.
In short, to help her recover, he must refuse here.
Incidentally, refusing leads to an inexplicable development where she then tries to lure him in by dangling money, but whatever.
Whether it’s me or Akito, the optimal solution probably wouldn’t change.
Since heading toward a bad ending is troublesome, refusing is the only option here.
Besides, I don’t want to get involved in a dangerous scheme either.
โYou’ve got to be kidding me. Who would go along with such a shady scheme?โ
When I firmly refused, Yukimi’s eyebrows dropped in disappointment.
โAnd โeliminateโโฆ you’re beating around the bush, but that means getting your hands dirty, right? No thanks. My life isn’t even guaranteed.โ
If I were to agree here, it would diverge from the original story.
In the original, Yukimi stopped it because it was Akito. If the target in this world line is me, I might actually have to fight the criminal group.
Even without that, the Shichikajo Group is involved.
If I screw up, they might kill me to silence me.
I’m scrambling like this just to stay alive, so why would I voluntarily risk my life somewhere unrelated?
โSince you seem to understand, I’ll be blunt: you’re just bait. You don’t actually have to do anything.โ
โBut isn’t that the same as being an accomplice to a crime?โ
Murder is never justified, no matter the reason.
Of course, attacking someone you dislike and attempting s*xual assault is completely out of the question.
Like Akito in the True Worldline, I flatly refused Yukimi’s proposal.
From here on, it should follow the usual pattern of dangling money as bait.
If I refuse that too, at least Yukimi’s confirmed Dark Fall flag for Day One would be broken.
Or so I thought.
โโฆHehe. Is that so? Well, fine then.โ
โHuh?โ
Her surprisingly abrupt retreat made me widen my eyes in surprise.
I’d fully expected her to press the issue at least once, so this was a letdown.
โIt’s still a dangerous role, after all. It’d be too much for a commoner like you.โ
โโฆYeah, I guess.โ
I still felt somewhat patronized, but I couldn’t hide my surprise at this reaction, different from the original story.
While her quick understanding was helpful to me, I wondered if I really didn’t need to push her any further.
Honestly, I couldn’t quite figure out what Yukimi was thinking.
Maybe, as my junior, she was showing me some kindness.
Then, Yukimi flashed me a mischievous smile.
โWell, personally, I was kind of looking forward to seeing that cocky junior get his as kicked too.โ
โHey. That’s not a decoy, that’s a sacrificial pawn. That’s different from what you said earlier.โ
โOh? Was it? You’re surprisingly sharp, aren’t you?โ
โโฆโฆโ
Is this guy still holding a grudge about earlier?
It felt like she was implicitly saying, โYou should’ve died (lol)โ, sending my emotions on a rollercoaster.
Give me back the moment I thought, โShe’s kindโฆโ and felt touched.
โActually, could you stop using informal speech?โ
โThen please speak appropriately, Senpai.โ
โโฆYou’re still such an annoying junior.โ
Tit for tat.
As I fired back, Yukimi scowled but managed to plaster a playful smile on her lips.
โโโ
ใShichikajo Yukimiใ
Affection for Akito: โโ
Affection for Kyota: 40% (โ)
Maiban