I, Who Was Reincarnated as an Evil Character With Cheat-Level Stats in an Eroge, Will Live Freely in This Life
“Is that true… If it’s okay with you, could you tell me a little more about it?”
“Yeah. If it’s alright with you, Seito-kun, I’d like to hear a bit more too… Like the reason you changed or what happened to make you feel differently…”
Kazuki-san and Natsumi-san said that.
Apparently, Kana did mention that I’d changed from how I used to be, but she hadn’t gone into the details.
Like why I was so troubled back then, or why I changed…
Of course, I expected this question, and I never intended to hide anything from Kana’s parents.
“Well… I figured I’d have to talk about that eventually. It might take a while, but is that okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Of course.”
“Alright then, first about my past…”
◇
I then told them everything about my past.
What I shared was mostly the same as what I’d told Kana.
About my family, why I felt I had to change, what I wanted to do going forward… It’d be hard for them to understand everything on first meeting, though…
And the two of them listened to my story in silence.
That said, this time they didn’t seem completely expressionless.
When they heard I had no parents, no one to rely on, they looked genuinely shocked. I think Natsumi even looked like she might cry a little.
Amidst that, I continued speaking.
“Even so, after meeting Kana-san, I felt a happiness that surprised even me… I felt a warmth I’d never known before, and seeing Kana-san’s smile made me smile too… I’m fully aware that what I did up until middle school wasn’t good…”
It wasn’t my past, but it was definitely about me.
I’d decided to live carrying that burden, but maybe somewhere deep down, I still harbored anxiety.
Maybe I was just telling myself that the past would be okay…
Proof of that came when I actually spoke to Kana’s parents. Anxiety welled up inside me.
Would they accept me…? If they didn’t, what would I do…?
I could feel my voice trembling slightly. If I let my guard down, I’d probably start crying.
I never thought I’d become this timid myself.
The lines I’d rehearsed beforehand had vanished somewhere.
I’d told Kana how I felt several times already, but there were still things left unsaid.
I had to convey all my feelings now…
“I don’t want to leave Kana with a man like that… It’s only natural you feel that way… It might be selfish, but even so… Even so, I want to make Kana happy… I want to be happy with Kana…”
I conveyed what I was thinking in that moment.
Normally, I wouldn’t speak so emotionally; I’d have planned to think more calmly and speak carefully.
I’d spent the whole week thinking about it, figuring out how to express everything honestly and skillfully, and I’d planned to say it exactly like that.
But I couldn’t. I was surprised at myself—I simply didn’t have the composure.
I could hear Kana sniffling beside me.
As if drawn by her, I found myself looking down, tears falling.
I hadn’t intended to cry at all…
Then, seeing me like that, Kana squeezed my hand tightly.
After about a minute of silence, Kazuki-san spoke.
“Yeah. Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to leave Kana with someone rumored to be like that. Or rather, I shouldn’t have wanted to… But hearing your story, that’s changed.”
Kazuki-san’s expression was calmer than before.
Following that, Natsumi-san spoke too.
“That past… You must have suffered alone for so long…”
Natsumi looked a little sad.
“Huh, you two… What do you mean by that…”
Kana, who had been silent the whole time, sniffed and asked that.
“Even though I knew it would be fine since Kana and Mikuchan trust him so much, I was still worried at first. But after hearing Seito-kun talk, I realized it would be okay. It didn’t seem like he was lying at all, and most importantly, I could tell he genuinely likes Kana… Right, Dad?”
Natsumi asked Kazuki.
“Well, yeah. I don’t know everything about Seito-kun yet… But from talking to him, I thought he seemed like a really good kid.”
“Th-then…”
“Yeah. Please take good care of Kana from now on, Seito-kun…”
“Same here…”
“I-is that okay…”
Of course I’m happy, really happy, but I barely got to talk to either of them.
Actually, I don’t even know how long it was, but I was just rambling on about the past and saying what I thought, and unlike earlier, I was a bit surprised. Until just now, they both had serious expressions and seemed a little uneasy.
Plus, some of the things I was thinking midway just flew out of my head, so my explanation might have been clumsy, and I had no idea how much of it they’d believe anyway…
“Yeah. Because we already understood. And above all, it really came across how much you care about Kana. That was probably the deciding factor.”
“Yeah… I felt that too. It definitely felt like we could trust you with Kana.”
“And more than anything, your words—not just that you’d make Kana happy, but that you wanted to be happy with her—really resonated with me… I could feel how sincere you were.”
They both gave me such affirming words.
“I’m so relieved… Ah, thank you both…”
Hearing their words, all the tension drained out of my body at once.
It hadn’t been that long, but I’d been tense the whole time since arriving at Kana’s house. I’d been anxious. All that feeling was released in an instant.
“Ah, thank you both so much!!! Thank you, Seito-senpai!!!”
Then, after thanking her parents, Kana hugged me tightly while saying it to me too.
She was definitely happy, but Kana was still crying.
Just like me, she must have been anxious.
With Kana’s parents watching, I gently stroked her head and said.
“I’m the one who should thank you, Kana. Let’s take care of each other from now on.”
“Y-yes… I’ll do my best… Please take care of me too…”
Then, she said she’d come back when Kana and I had calmed down, and stepped out into the hallway.
◇
●Nanami Natsumi (side)
“He’s such a good kid…”
“I can’t say for sure yet, but I kind of felt that too…”
“But still, his feelings for Kana… no, their feelings for each other… they’re definitely real, right?”
“Yeah. I guess there’s no doubt about that…”
Despite saying that, he sounded a bit complicated.
Well, I know the reason, so I won’t bring it up, but it’s probably because he’s lonely now that Kana has a boyfriend.
Honestly, when Kana talked about Seito-kun, she was truly desperate, her eyes more earnest than I’d ever seen before. Kazuki-san said it too—it was the first time Kana had ever tried so desperately to convey something to us. So there was no doubt about Kana’s feelings.
For Kana, it was painfully obvious she loved him from the bottom of her heart. Even if Seito-kun was a bad boy, I don’t know if I could have opposed it.
Of course, as parents, we probably had to oppose it, but Kana was so head over heels that it made me think that.
And then there’s Seito-kun. I was really shocked to learn he has no family.
And no relatives either… that he had to be alone since he was little… What I felt for him wasn’t pity, just pure worry… That’s how I felt. Sure, it’s in the past, but still.
Even so, I honestly thought Seito-kun was amazing for trying to pull himself together on his own. If I were in the same position, could I have recovered? No, it would be tough. Honestly, I doubt I’d even have survived that long.
Kana must have wanted to help him after hearing about his past. Truthfully, once I heard about it, the fact that he’d been acting out became pretty irrelevant to me. If he’s changed, that’s good, right? If he’s trying to change, that’s good, right? I even started thinking I wanted to support him.
Kana really is my daughter…
That’s what I think, but what about Kazuki?
“What do you think about Seito acting out?”
“I’m not sure. What Seito was doing… well, he admitted it himself, and it definitely wasn’t good. But knowing his background and seeing him now, I can’t bring myself to condemn him… At least, I felt sure he’d be okay now. And anyway, like I said before, just looking into Seito’s eyes, you can see how much he loves Kana. As a guy myself, I can tell that’s genuine.”
Honestly, you didn’t have to be a guy to see it.
More than anything, the way Seito-kun looks at Kana reminds me of Kazuki-san when we first started dating. I’m sure that’s part of why I believe Seito-kun really cares about Kana.
Remembering the past, I felt a wave of nostalgia and happiness wash over me, and I smiled as I said,
“Hehe, well, that sounds reassuring.”
“For now, anyway. Of course, if anyone ever makes Kana sad, I won’t forgive them.”
“Well then, we should probably head back soon. We haven’t properly entertained Seito-kun yet.”
“You’re right.”
And so, we returned to the room where Seito-kun and Kana were.
Maiban