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
After giving Chagiri a stern warning.
I did mention this to Yukimi, and her reaction was better than I’d expected.
“Oh my, you sure moved fast.”
“I thought I might get in trouble for acting on my own.”
“Not at all. If there’s a risk of another victim, stopping that has to take priority. I don’t think you made a wrong decision at all.”
“Well, this might make him lose his mind…”
“As you well know, there’s absolutely no way he’d leak Hiiragi-san’s video over that. …Besides, even if there were a risk, if there’s a way to protect a kid being harassed right in front of you, that’s the best course of action.”
When I heard those words, I was surprised.
Yukimi, who seemed less interested in others than anyone else.
For her to be more concerned about the safety of a junior she didn’t even know than about our own plan…
Of course, perhaps because that thought was written all over my face, it goes without saying that I got lectured for a good hour afterward.
But I couldn’t help but agree with her to some extent.
Yukimi is someone who has actually been a victim of such an incident before.
That might be exactly why she’s more sensitive to these kinds of incidents than anyone else.
Her isolation, after all, is the result of her excessive perfectionism and a twisted sense of justice.
You could say it’s a natural reaction.
Right after I decided to protect Aoiko from Chagiri.
My head was completely filled with anxiety about twisting the scenario to suit my own convenience.
And so, the day of the sports festival finally arrived.
All classes were canceled from morning until evening, so we were immersed in sports from the moment we woke up.
It’s the kind of event that would drive someone who’s not good at sports absolutely crazy.
Of course, I don’t have any such issues myself, but I certainly don’t want to brag about it.
While we waited for our match to begin,
I was engaged in a private conversation with Akito and Ujiya in a corner of the field.
“—So, with that in mind, let’s keep an eye on Chagiri.”
It seemed Akito had recently received a consultation from Aoiko; he gave us an update on the situation and asked us to keep an eye on Chagiri.
Yes, to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t me who brought this up—it was Akito.
The other day, I’d advised Aoiko to spend time with Akito.
It seemed she’d followed my advice, and thanks to that, Akito had picked up on various aspects of Aoiko’s situation.
Given what happened at the aquarium, it’s only natural that she doesn’t have a good impression of Chagiri.
“It’s a joint event for all grades today, so we don’t know when he might try to approach her.”
“So, it’s turned into a bit of a hassle, huh?”
Ujiya listened to the story and frowned.
“Well, to be honest, I’d heard rumors about Chagiri before. He’s famous for being a total scumbag, and I’ve even heard stories from people I know about him taking advantage of them. I mean, he was already a lost cause back in middle school.”
“So he’s a notorious scumbag around here?”
“Oh, right. Toyono and Hanesaki-san went to a different middle school.”
Hearing Ujiya’s clarification, I found myself troubled.
He is someone to watch out for.
Especially on event days like today, when we can run into him at any moment.
And I have plenty of information that would help us devise a more precise strategy against him.
……If I told them everything, it would probably make it easier for the two of them to keep an eye on him.
But, of course, that would involve the whole situation with Kisa as well.
To be honest, I’m torn about whether I should go that far right here and now.
As I remained silent, Akito laughed.
“Kyota. You know a lot about him, don’t you?”
“……”
“Aoiko didn’t say anything, but even I can figure it out. I’m sure you’re pulling the strings behind the scenes again this time, aren’t you?”
“You’re overestimating me. I’m not really the mastermind type.”
That remark was so over-the-top that I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
Between the Yukimi incident and the Shinori pencil case incident before that, it’s true that I’d been working behind the scenes every time to solve the cases.
And this time, just like he said, I’m making progress on various things behind the scenes.
I agonized over it for a while.
But I didn’t hesitate that much when it came to my final decision.
After all, I’d just decided to protect Aoiko.
There’s no reason to withhold information now and put her in danger.
Besides, Kisa had said it was okay for me to tell them about that incident.
Not only was she a victim of assault, but considering Kisa’s involvement in the incident last month when Ami and the others stabbed me, it would certainly be a shocking revelation.
However, I know these guys aren’t so heartless that they’d change their attitude over just one incident like that.
Lately, I’d been starting to feel that there was a limit to keeping things vague and not saying anything.
I finally opened my heavy mouth.
◇
“—So, behind my back, something seriously dangerous was going on. No wonder you were complaining about your arm hurting.”
I started by reminding Ujiya about the incidents involving Shinori and Yukumi.
Then, turning to Akito, I told him everything: the story of Kisa’s attack, the plan we’re currently moving forward with behind the scenes, the fact that it’s still up in the air, and even the possibility that Chagiri’s next target might be Aoiko.
Seeing Ujiya’s forced smile, I bowed my head as well.
“Sorry for keeping it a secret.”
“I’d like to say ‘Don’t worry about it’—but you could’ve at least consulted me a little, you know? Ugh, what kind of friend am I, anyway?”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Haha, it’s fine. Given the circumstances, I get that it couldn’t be helped.”
Once I’d told him everything, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
Up until now, I’d been trying to role-play strictly according to the original scenario, so my thinking had become too rigid.
Because of that, even when I did consult anyone, it was basically limited to Akito, the protagonist of Sakuchiru.
In the original story, he’s supposed to be involved in all the events and resolve them.
That’s exactly why I’d even thought I should be consulting him.
But the situation has changed now.
My original goal—the pairing route between Shinori and Akito—has completely fallen apart.
On top of that, because I’ve resolved various other events myself, all the heroines’ attention is now focused on me.
To make matters worse, events are even popping up that weren’t supposed to happen in the first place.
On top of that, regarding the Aoiko matter, I’ve taken the stance of trying to prevent the incident itself—specifically, Chagiri’s attempt to protect her—from happening in the first place.
At this point, it’s an all-out battle.
Trying to resolve this on my own would only unnecessarily increase the risks.
Just then, while Ujiya and I were talking,
Akito slowly opened his mouth.
“……I see. So Aoiko is Chagiri-kun’s next target, is that it?”
“……”
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Intuitively, I sensed an overwhelming surge of anger and my body froze.
Facing Akito’s expressionless face, I paused for a moment before speaking.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Ahaha, it’s fine. After all, Kyota, you’ve been doing your own thing during this time, right? As Aoiko’s childhood friend, that alone makes me happy.”
“Ah, uh-huh.”
“But—”
Akito, still suppressing his smile, turned his gaze toward Kayaya Chagiri, who was currently playing soccer on the field.
“Then we absolutely have to stop him.”
“Of course.”
Somewhere deep down, I found myself thinking, “So he really is the protagonist after all.”
His sincere goodwill and sense of justice.
And that split-second reaction when someone close to him gets hurt.
It’s a world apart from me—someone who’s always calculating, whose inner brakes kick in whenever I help someone because I’m too busy thinking about how it’ll affect me down the line…
I really am out of my league.
For a small-time background character like me, the burden of saving the heroine is just too heavy.
Also, I wonder if Akito really does like Aoiko.
Compared to the other heroines, he’s closer to her than anyone else.
Watching him walk toward the gym, Ujiya shrugged his shoulders in exasperation.
In any case, I’ve taken another step forward.
All that’s left is to trust in myself and keep moving forward.
Maiban