Episode 19 – The three on their way home


Mob Character Reincarnation Loner: As a Result of Supporting the Heroine Who Had Been Rejected, I Ended up Being the Recipient of Her Heavy Emotions…


โ€œThanks, everyone, for helping carry it this far!โ€

At Nanase’s words of thanks, Serizawa-san, Tsukimi-san, and I gave her a thumbs-up in return.

The day after the birthday party, Serizawa-san and I managed to carry the giant stuffed bear to Nanase’s house in about an hour, with Tsukimi-san helping us along the way.

Serizawa-san beside me was panting heavily and looked exhaustedโ€ฆ

โ€ฆwe started walking home, seeing Nanase off behind us.

โ€œโ€ฆIrie.โ€

โ€œโ€ฆHm?โ€

Serizawa called out to me. I turned around to find her sitting down, not moving a muscle.

โ€œโ€ฆCarry me. I can’t do this anymore. Walking is exhausting, tiring, and a pain.โ€

โ€œUmโ€ฆ why not ask Tsukimi-san to carry you?โ€

โ€œAbsolutely not.โ€

โ€œButโ€ฆ hm?โ€

Serizawa-san held out both her hands.

โ€œNo, no, stop being so selfish. Come on, walk yourself. I’m leaving you behind.โ€

โ€œโ€ฆIrie.โ€

โ€œWhat?โ€

โ€œMy boobs are pretty big, you know.โ€

โ€œFine. Just this once.โ€

โ€œYay!โ€

Tsukimi-san gave me a look like I was trash, but what can you do? Guys just love boobs, after all.

I hoisted Serizawa-san onto my back and started walking again.

The soft sensation against my backโ€ฆ Surprisingly heavy.

โ€œIrie, you’re not thinking something rude right now, are you?โ€

โ€œHuh? Oh, just thinking it’s surprisingly heavyโ€”ah, hey, stop poking my head like that.โ€

โ€œYou brought that on yourself.โ€

Tsukimi-san, walking beside me, glared at me with a stern look.

Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t thanked Tsukimi-san for helping me yet.

โ€œTsukimi-san. Thanks for helping me today.โ€

โ€œIt’s fineโ€ฆ But seriously, couldn’t you have asked Shindo and Ayabe-san for help too?โ€

โ€œNah, I couldn’t drag two unrelated people into this.โ€

โ€œThat’s right, Hoshino. We’re actually pretty considerate, you know.โ€

Serizawa-san, who I’m carrying, chimed in.

โ€œI kind of wanted you to be considerate of me tooโ€ฆ?โ€

โ€œHoshino helps out even while complaining, so there’s no need to be considerate.โ€

โ€œI’ll pull your cheeks.โ€

โ€œThat’s what Irie said.โ€

โ€œI’ll kill you.โ€

Hey, Serizawa. Don’t drag me into this.

My head was being patted warmly by Serizawa-san, my legs were being kicked hard by Tsukimi-san, but we finally made it to Serizawa-san’s house.

โ€œโ€ฆIrie, thanks for carrying me. Today was fun tooโ€ฆ See you both again on Monday.โ€

โ€œYeah, good work today.โ€

โ€œSee ya.โ€

Serizawa-san saw us off, and eventually it was just me and Tsukimi-san.

I glanced at Tsukimi-san’s profile as she walked beside me.

In the end, Nanase-san explained that the late-night incident happened because she tripped and pushed me down. Tsukimi-san looked skeptical until the very end, but she didn’t press further.

โ€œโ€ฆWhat?โ€

โ€œAh, no, nothing.โ€

โ€ฆMaybe we should split up here before she presses me about last night.

โ€œโ€ฆAh, um. Should we call it here?โ€

โ€œWhat are you talking about? We can walk home together. I want to hear all about last night, too.”

Right.

โ€œLuckily, we live close by and have plenty of time.โ€

โ€œYesโ€ฆโ€

โ€œโ€ฆSo, what were you doing?โ€

โ€œWellโ€ฆโ€

Even so, how should I explain it? Honestly, I don’t really understand why I got pinned down either.

โ€œโ€ฆWhat, were you trying to do something you can’t talk about?โ€

โ€œAh, noโ€ฆ I mean, well, let me just explain the situation firstโ€”โ€

For starters, I explained the sequence of events from waking up late at night until Tsukimi barged in.

โ€œI seeโ€ฆ If it had been you who pushed me down, things would’ve been simple.โ€

Tsukimi-san, your face is scaryโ€ฆ

โ€œHiyori can show intense possessiveness and jealousy towards things she doesn’t want anyone else to haveโ€ฆโ€

Huh? What? I didn’t know thatโ€ฆ

At least, I never saw that side of her in โ€˜Tenichiโ€™.

โ€œShe wasn’t like that with Shindo thoughโ€ฆโ€

Sighโ€ฆ She let out a big sigh, looking exasperated. Then she glared at me with those piercing eyes.

โ€œโ€ฆWh-what is it?โ€

โ€œโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆNothing. It’s nothing.โ€

Huhโ€ฆ That’s definitely the โ€˜nothingโ€™ type of thing.

โ€œAnyway, we gotta be careful this doesn’t spread over to usโ€ฆ Seriously, how much longer do you plan on walking home with me? We’re already at my place.โ€

โ€œMy place is on the fourth floor of this building.โ€

We’d just reached the entrance of the apartment building where I lived. The moment we did, Tsukimi-san froze, staring blankly ahead.

โ€œโ€ฆNo way.โ€

โ€œTsukimi-san?โ€

โ€œโ€ฆI live on the fifth floor of this building.โ€


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Shield Loyalist
Shield Loyalist
2 months ago

…oh no. Never tell Nanase, ever. XD