I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Don’t Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, I’ll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
That Friday after school.
As planned, study sessions had become a daily routine lately.
The location was the art room, since it was Yukimi’s territory.
We were essentially intruding on Yukimi’s workspace by showing up there.
But as for me, I was completely distracted.
I didn’t really need to study anyway; I was just here by default.
So I spent most of the time lost in my own thoughts.
There had been no progress in my conversation with Yukimi since then.
Honestly, I sensed she was still hesitating, unable to make up her mind.
She couldn’t forgive the other group, but she also seemed reluctant to seriously pursue revenge.
Especially since I had opposed it, she appeared deeply troubled.
As a common route event in ‘Sakuchiru’, the point of Yukimi’s revenge plan this time is that it ultimately stalls.
The scenario’s goal is to keep her hands clean.
If she just backs out now, that’d be great… but that’d only mean clearing the first stage.
The problem is, this is an eroge scenario, and fundamentally, it’s just a setup for the heroine, Yukimi, to fall for the protagonist.
In short, no matter how much Yukimi recovers, it’s meaningless unless she falls for Akito.
And as for that crucial protagonist… well, my forced event creation did get him in contact with Yukimi.
“So, how many times do I have to tell you? Substituting into that equation won’t give you the answer.”
“Uh, wait. But you just said to substitute it in.”
“That was after I’d rearranged the equation, wasn’t it? …Sigh, you really don’t listen to a thing I say.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
The current situation shows not a single hint of progress toward a romantic relationship.
Yukimi was quietly irritated.
Her eyebrow twitched as she tapped her temple and glared at Akito’s profile.
Not a trace of affection could be seen in that expression.
Forcing that encounter event had been a good idea, but since they’d deviated from the original story, it seemed unlikely Yukimi would develop feelings for Akito because of it.
I’ve got too much on my mind; my head’s about to explode.
Come on, Akito… show me something cooler soon.
Right now, you’re just a nice guy.
I gained a strange insight: in a world line where the eroge protagonist can’t win the heroine’s affection, he just becomes a convenient, overly kind guy.
“Is that problem really that hard?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, my fantasy world crumbled, and I turned toward the voice.
There stood Shinori looking utterly bewildered.
At her words, I looked down at my own desk and understood.
Right.
Apparently, I’d been staring at the same problem spread out, lost in other thoughts.
“You’ve been deep in thought a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“You noticed?”
“Yeah. Your pupils disappeared again today.”
Apparently, I’d rolled my eyes back as usual, and I started to feel scared of myself.
I seriously wonder what kind of body structure I have.
I’ve never heard of a pupil disappearance bug.
Joking aside, I shot Shinori a glare.
“Seriously, you’ve got time to stare at my face? You’re pretty relaxed.”
“Honestly, I’m satisfied as long as I get average marks. Besides, I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s goofing off making funny faces instead of studying.”
“Who’s making funny faces? I look cool.”
“…Ah, yeah. I guess so.”
Brushed off casually, I felt a little hurt.
And at the same time, today’s likability adjustment was spot on.
Watching Akito, Ujiya, and Kisa flee toward break time as if escaping Yukimi, I glanced over at Shinori, who had resumed studying beside me.
Lately, Akito and Shinori seem to be getting along well; I often see them talking together.
From the perspective of Shinori’s feelings toward Akito, I’d say things are progressing pretty well, staying true to the original story.
All that nagging about “Just date Akito already” paid off.
But there’s still this lingering uneasy vibe.
“I’ve been watching you the whole time, Toyono-kun. If you think about doing anything weird, I’ll know, okay?”
“Why have you been watching me all this time…?”
“Huh? Ah, no. Well, that’s… Well, we’re childhood friends, you know. I’ve seen your face for so many years, so I notice even small changes. Yeah.”
“…Oh, I see.”
And so, my childhood friend keeps blurting out strange things like this.
It’s hard to believe these words came from the same person who put up a wall against me back in April.
Used to seeing my face?
Cut the crap.
Who the hell was it that said with a wry smile, “We barely even talk, right?”
Also, I think you probably get it, but I’m definitely being watched by Shinori right now.
I don’t know what the purpose is.
A little while ago, I could have thought maybe Shinori disliked me for getting too close to Yukimi because my popularity had skyrocketed, feeling I lacked principles. But now it’s different.
For Shinori right now, Akito is probably more important than someone like me.
There’s no reason for her to sulk over my petty romantic entanglements.
If I’m being overly self-conscious, maybe she’s testing my feelings for her, or something like that.
She might be saying suggestive things on purpose to get my attention.
Well, either way, I’m probably overthinking it.
Yeah.
That must be it.
Anyway, I can’t waste time.
Right now, it’s just me, Shinori, and Yukimi here.
Truthfully, I’d been waiting for this situation to arise.
I asked Shinori in a voice loud enough for Yukimi, who was sketching alone, to hear.
“Hey, Hanesaki. What do you think about revenge?”
“Huh? What’s that about?”
I saw Yukimi flinch at the edge of my vision.
Good. She’s listening.
That’s fine.
Shinori blinked at my question for a moment, then immediately gave a wry smile.
“I’ve thought about it when I was alone, but that was ultimately… you, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Shinori phrased it vaguely because Yukimi was listening.
She’d long since figured out my shadowy activities, so it was unnecessary consideration, but I’ll let it slide this time.
“In my case, there was someone who went way overboard on me. Somehow, I felt more pity than anger, so revenge doesn’t really matter anymore.”
“…I’m really sorry about that.”
“No, it’s fine. Ah, but you know. I do think about it sometimes.”
Shinori let out a sigh.
“In the end, I probably would’ve regretted getting revenge myself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I think the reason I can look forward now isn’t because I’m satisfied seeing those people fall. It’s simply because there are so many more fun things right in front of me.”
Akiho and the others conveniently hadn’t returned yet, probably still at the convenience store.
“Well, also, simply put, I’m a bad person. If I were to retaliate, I’d want to do it thoroughly, so I’d rather not do anything directly. See, the thing people hate most is being ignored, right? So deliberately acting mature and ignoring them might be worse for the other person. I’d get revenge by ignoring them completely, treating everything like it never happened. Your harassment? It’s not even worth my interest—just trivial stuff.”
“I see. Like, ‘You’re not even worth my attention!’ That’s good.”
“Ah, exactly. …Or rather, is this revenge after all?”
“I don’t think so.”
In her own way, Shinori had been confronting that bullying in various ways.
But still, she chose to look forward.
Of course, part of that was probably because I thoroughly crushed Ami and the others, letting her vent her frustration.
But even if that’s true, the bottom line is Shinori is genuinely facing each day head-on, trying to enjoy it. There’s no doubt about that.
Yukimi had stopped writing with her pencil the whole time to listen.
Her gaze was still fixed on the paper, but I could tell.
I think I managed to tell her a pretty good story.
“Seriously, why do you bring it up? I don’t want to remember.”
“Sorry about that. But thanks.”
“? You’re welcome.”
I let out a wry smile at Shinori, who tilted her head in confusion.
At the same time, I found myself wondering again.
—Why would such a positive girl end up jumping off a building?
The more I talked with Shinori, the more often I found myself wondering this.
Sure, she had her heavy moments, but fundamentally, I thought of her as a bright girl, completely absorbed in enjoying the moment.
Why would someone like that meet such a tragic end?
“Hey, stop staring at me so much.”
Unconsciously mesmerized by the blushing Shinori, I found myself thinking.
Maiban