I, Who Was Reincarnated as an Evil Character With Cheat-Level Stats in an Eroge, Will Live Freely in This Life
●Nanashima Kana (side)
“Did I come too early?”
I had plans to hang out with Seito Senpai today, so I came to the meeting place.
I was so excited that I couldn’t sit still, and I ended up arriving more than 30 minutes before the meeting time.
Besides, today is the first time I’m going out with Senpai, so I might be a little nervous? I’m not sure myself, but I’m definitely excited.
――After waiting for a few minutes, Senpai called out to me.
“Good morning, Kana. You’re early.”
I quickly put away my smartphone and turned around.
It was the first time I had seen Senpai not wearing his uniform, but he looked really nice and it suited him well.
“Ah! Senpai!! You’re here. Good morning!!”
“How long have you been here? Did you wait long?”
“Not at all. I just arrived about five minutes ago.”
“Oh, that’s good. Anyway, that outfit really suits you.”
Hearing that made me feel really happy.
I bought this outfit recently with Miku-nee and Saki-nee for when I hang out with Senpai, so I’m glad I chose it carefully.
“Really?”
“Of course. I’m not the type to flatter people.”
“Hehe… Thank you. I’m so happy. Actually, I just bought this outfit recently.”
“Is that so? You have great taste.”
“It makes me feel so good to hear you say that! But Seito-senpai has great taste in clothes too. You look even more stylish than usual!”
“That makes me happy. Thank you.”
“No, I’m just telling the truth! Shall we go?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
—And so, Seito-senpai and I started walking.
“By the way, what do you usually do on your days off, Seito-senpai?”
I asked him something I had been wondering about.
“Basically, I don’t really do anything.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
“Well, I don’t have anyone to hang out with.”
“Then, if you don’t have anything to do on your days off, it’s okay for me to invite you out, right? “
I had already planned to do so, but if that’s the case, I can invite him without hesitation.
“Of course, that’s fine. I wouldn’t be unhappy to be invited.”
“I understand. Then I’ll invite you often from now on.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“By the way, Senpai?”
“What is it?”
“Did something happen with Miku-nee?”
When I asked him that, Senpai tilted his head slightly and said,
“What do you mean?”
“No, it’s just that when I’m with Miku-nee, I sometimes talk about Senpai, and when I praised Senpai, she agreed, which surprised me… Saki-nee was there too, and I think she was surprised too.”
“She also praises people sometimes, so it’s not that strange, is it?”
Seito-senpai said that, but I’ve never actually seen such a scene.
She hardly ever praise my brother-in-law either.
Well, in my brother-in-law’s case, he’s often reprimanded, but anyway, it’s really rare for Miku-nee to acknowledge a man.
“Of course, but she never compliments boys… I don’t know why, but Miku-nee doesn’t like boys, or rather, she doesn’t try to get along with them. Since Miku-nee seemed to acknowledge senpai so much, I was a little curious.”
“I wonder. If you’re curious, why don’t you ask her?”
“Hmm, that’s true. Besides, if Miku-nee acknowledges senpai, that’s good news for me too, so there’s no need to worry about it. Oh! Right, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask. senpai has been at the top of his class since middle school, right?”
“To be precise, it’s not overall grades, but final exam scores that are at the top.”
Miku-nee also said that, but senpai is really amazing… Maybe that’s one of the reasons Miku-nee recognizes him?
“Exactly! Miku-nee has been saying that all along. She couldn’t get used to it.”
“That’s news to me.”
“Miku-nee is surprisingly competitive, so she was pretty concerned about that.”
“I see.”
“Yes. So, why is senpai so smart?”
“Smart… Well, I study hard even though I don’t look like it.”
“So senpai does study!”
“Of course. But as I said before, I had to live on my own, so I studied hard by myself from a young age, and I just know more than people my age. So I don’t think I’m doing anything special.”
“Oh, I see… I’m sorry for bringing up such a strange topic…”
Personally, I just wanted to know more about Senpai, but as a result, I ended up reminding him of his past, and I felt sorry about that.
Then Senpai said to me,
“It’s okay. I’ve already moved on from the past, so even if I remember it now, it doesn’t bother me. Besides, I want to focus on the future rather than the past. Of course, I also want to cherish the time I spend with Kana.”
“With me…?”
“Of course! As I said before, Kana is the only person I can truly call my friend, and I enjoy talking with her because it makes me feel comfortable.”
Hearing that, I felt my heart warm up.
I’ve never been told that someone wants to cherish the time they spend with me before, so I’m really happy.
“You like being with me… Is that true? Are you serious? You’re not lying, right?”
“It’s true.”
“Hehehe… I see. Seito-senpai likes being with me… That makes me so happy!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! And when I’m with you, I feel so happy, and I love the time we spend together and talking!”
“I see… Well, hearing you say that does make me feel happy.”
“Right! Then let’s have a great time today!”
“Yeah.”
I don’t know why being with Senpai makes my heart feel warm, but I’m just so happy to know that Senpai and I feel the same way.
◇
Senpai and I played a lot of games and then took a break.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s embarrassing…”
I feel complicated.
I came here today with the intention of teaching him various things, but Senpai was much better at games than I was.
I felt really embarrassed about saying things like, “I’ll teach you!” and “Don’t be discouraged even if you lose!” with such confidence.
I thought today was going to be my day to show off…
As I was thinking about this, Senpai said,
“By the way, thank you for today, Kana.”
“Seito-senpai, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
I was surprised when he suddenly thanked me, so I asked him that.
“No, I’m just glad you invited me. It was a lot of fun, and I’ve never played with friends like this before, so I’m really glad I came.”
I was very happy to hear that, but I also had other feelings.
It’s really nice that he said he had fun, but today was just too embarrassing…
“But I was pretty lame today, wasn’t I… I was so cocky at first… I didn’t even know Hoshito-senpai was so good at games…”
“You weren’t lame at all. Well… I can’t really put it into words, but I thought that was cute too. I can honestly say that I’m really glad I came here with Kana.”
At that moment, I felt my body temperature rise suddenly and looked down.
I never expected to be told that today’s me was cute instead of embarrassing, so I felt embarrassed in a different way than before. It felt like I had been caught off guard.
But why… I’ve been told I’m cute before, but when Seito-senpai says it, it makes my heart race.
“C-cute…”
“Ah. It was nice to see a different side of you.”
“Oh, I see… Maybe that’s a good thing…”
“That’s right, Kana. Here, take this.”
As I said that, blushing, Seito-senpai spoke, so I slowly looked up.
And there it was—the prize from the crane game I had tried to win earlier but failed.
“I thought you had something in your hand, but is this…”
“You looked like you wanted it, and I thought you should take it home. It’s also a thank you for today.”
“Is that okay?”
“I got it for that reason, so of course it’s okay.”
I gently took the stuffed animal and held it tightly.
I was really happy that Seito-senpai had gotten it for me.
Since earlier, my feelings had been unstable, and I felt happy, embarrassed, and nervous. I had all kinds of emotions, but one thing was clear. I really liked being with Seito-senpai.
Realizing this, I looked up and said with a smile,
“Thank you so much, senpai! I’m so happy! I’ll treasure it forever!!”
“I’m glad you like it. Oh, by the way, are you thirsty? Kana was shouting the whole time.”
“Yeah, I might be a little thirsty!”
“Then I’ll go buy something from the vending machine we saw earlier. What would you like?”
“Thank you! Then I’ll have orange juice, please.”
“Got it. I’ll go get it then.”
“Okay!”
senpai said that and headed toward the vending machine.
senpai is really kind. I can tell he’s always looking out for me, and what’s more, he does it so naturally and effortlessly.
I guess I’m just…
As I was thinking about that, someone spoke to me.
“Hey, what are you doing here alone?”
I understood intuitively.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
“No, I’m not alone, so don’t worry. The person I came with will be here soon.”
“Oh, really? Then why don’t we talk until he come? It must be lonely being alone, right?”
“It’s not necessary. Could you please leave me alone? It’s bothering me.”
I had been feeling nervous thinking about Senpai earlier, but being interrupted made me feel a little annoyed.
“You’re alone after all. Let’s play together then.”
I only said I wanted to be alone, not that I came alone…
At that moment, I was hoping he would come back soon… When I looked in the direction where senpai had left, I saw him coming back at just the right time.
“Ah! Seito-senpai, welcome back!”
I hugged Seito-senpai’s arm and said that.
I felt a little embarrassed because of what had happened earlier, but I thought that if I did this, he would go away.
Seito-senpai looked at my face, then at the man, and then back at me again. He smiled and hugged me, saying,
“I’m back, Kana.”
…At that moment, I had completely forgotten about the man from earlier.
That’s because Seito-senpai’s voice was coming from right next to my ear as he hugged me.
Not only was I being hugged, but hearing him say “I’m back” so close to my ear made my heart race like never before.
No matter how hard I tried to calm down, Senpai’s smile from earlier wouldn’t leave my mind.
The more I thought about it, the more my heart raced.
What should I do… Does senpai know?
“Kana?”
At that moment, Senpai’s voice reached my ears, and I hurriedly stepped back and said,
“I’m fine! I’m sorry. I’ll just go to the restroom for a moment!”
“Ah, yeah…”
I just wanted to be alone for a moment to calm down… or rather, I didn’t feel like I could talk properly. Thinking that, I hurriedly fled to the restroom.
Maiban