I, Who Was Reincarnated as an Evil Character With Cheat-Level Stats in an Eroge, Will Live Freely in This Life
“By the way, Senpai?”
“What is it?”
“If it’s okay, I’d like to ask you something. You said you were trying to change, but was there something that triggered that?”
After talking for a while, Kana asked me that question.
A trigger… I can’t exactly say that I was reincarnated, so I’ll just have to gloss over it somehow.
“Well, yeah… It’s a bit of a dark story, but are you okay with that?”
“Yes. If Seito-senpai is okay with it, I’d like to hear it.”
“Actually, I lost my parents when I was in elementary school… And since I had no one to rely on, I had no choice but to live on my own…”
“…”
This is the truth.
Seito lost his parents and had no relatives to rely on, but there were other reasons as well.
Apparently, while his parents were alive, the people who had been friendly with them, claiming to be indebted to them, had been candidates to take him in. But after his parents died, everyone started treating him like a nuisance.
I guess they really didn’t want to take in a stranger’s child.
I don’t remember the details of my feelings at the time, but from elementary school on, I was forced to live alone… It’s no wonder my personality became rough… Even when I tried to ask for help from people who had been kind to me, they all ignored me. It’s no wonder I couldn’t trust people after that.
I continued talking to Kana, who was listening silently.
“So I thought I had to live alone… I’ve been living without relying on anyone, but maybe I was just lonely. I was rough around the edges because of those feelings, but when I became a high school student, I finally understood. Being rough and giving up on interacting with people causes trouble for others. And then everyone fears you and you become even more isolated. If that’s going to continue, then I’ll be alone forever… So I thought I had to change from now on.”
Even as I said it, I didn’t fully understand myself.
Of course, part of it was because I was thinking about it at the moment, but the more I remembered Kisaragi Seito’s past, the more I remembered living alone.
And in my past life, my parents decided everything for me.
My father’s dream was to be a professional fighter, but he had to give it up due to an injury. He insisted that his son, me, would definitely become one! My mother, on the other hand, kept saying things like, “Your father was really suffering back then, so please fulfill his dream…”
So I was trained by my father every day to become a fighter, but by the time I was in middle school, I wasn’t even allowed to play with my friends.
He said things like, “If you play with your friends, you might eat something unhealthy,” or “If you have time to play, you should be training or studying!”
Because of that, I couldn’t defy my parents and was forced to continue being a martial artist even though I didn’t want to.
When friends invited me out, I always refused, and because of that, I became isolated from my friends.
Then, one day when I was 20, I suffered a serious injury. It was so severe that I couldn’t walk anymore… From then on, I just stayed in my room and played video games every day.
My father was disappointed that I couldn’t do martial arts anymore and stopped interacting with me, while my mother would bring me meals but wouldn’t speak to me.
Ironically, the time I spent locked up playing video games might have been more enjoyable… even though I couldn’t walk.
It was such a meaningless, boring life.
Being tied down by my parents, a life without friends, and a life without parents or friends in the first place… I wondered which was harder, but honestly, they were probably similar.
Thinking about it made me feel pretty complicated.
“Gusu. It’s okay, Seito-senpai!”
While I was feeling so complicated, for some reason, Kana, who was crying a little, said that to me.
“What’s okay?”
“From now on, I’ll always be by your side… gusu..”
This time, she took my hands, which were on the desk, in both of hers and said that.
Always by my side… This was the first time I’d ever been told something like that, even in my past life.
When I came to this world, I thought I didn’t need friends, but maybe that was just a remnant of my past life… I realized that it actually made me happy to hear her say that.
Well, her words didn’t include the phrase “as a friend,” but… Still, it wasn’t the kind of atmosphere where I could point that out.
“I see… Thank you.”
After that, we repaired the slightly heavy atmosphere and ended up having a fun conversation together before parting ways.
◇
“Phew, that feels better.”
That night, I collapsed onto my bed after taking a bath.
I don’t know why Nanashima Kana wants to be friends with me, but if that’s what she wants, I have no reason to refuse.
It’s true that I had thought it was fine to be alone based on my past experiences, but today I realized that maybe that was just my own prejudice. Being freed from everything might have been a big factor too…
I think it’s partly due to Kana’s personality, but talking with her was really fun, and I definitely felt more fulfilled than when I was alone.
(Beep)
At that moment, my smartphone suddenly notified me.
The only person who would contact me after I’d sorted out all my past relationships… there’s only one person I can think of…
Thinking that, I reached for my phone to check.
“I knew it.”
The sender was Kana, whom I had just exchanged contact information with today.
“Seito-senpai! Thank you so much for making time for me today. It was really fun. I look forward to seeing you again!”
That’s a really polite message…
“Sure, count on me. And don’t worry about the time; I’m usually free after school anyway. Also, you don’t have to be so formal; just be more casual.”
“Got it! I’ll do that! Um… let’s hang out again! I have other people I want to hang out with, so every day might be tough, but…”
The people she wants to hang out with are definitely Miku and Saki.
Kana, Miku, Saki, and Nanashima, the three heroines, don’t participate in any club activities, so they often play together after school.
They usually play with the three girls, but sometimes Nanashima joins them.
“Yeah, let’s play again.”
“Yes! … Oh! Can I ask you one more question?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Has Seito-senpai ever talked to my stepbrother?”
I don’t know if they talked before the reincarnation, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t.
“No, we haven’t.”
“Then, what about Mikku-nee, Saki-nee, and Seiya-san? They’re all in the same class, so do you know?”
“Miku, Saki, and Seiya, right? I haven’t talked to them at all, but why do you ask?”
I had a vague idea of what she was getting at, but I asked her anyway.
“Well… actually, those three are close friends with my stepbrother, so if they find out that Seito-senpai and I are friends, it might cause trouble for Seito-senpai…”
“Trouble?”
“Yes… It’s really hard to say, but I’ll tell you because keeping it a secret might cause trouble…”
“It’s okay, tell me.”
I said that to Kana, who seemed reluctant to speak.
“Um… Actually, my stepbrother has told me several times not to get close to Seito-senpai. So if my stepbrother finds out, it might cause trouble…”
I see… I didn’t know about it in the game, but he had already told her not to get close to me at this point. I knew he had a bad impression of me…
Well, considering my personality before I was reincarnated, that’s probably the right thing to do.
To be honest, I’m not in a position to complain about that.
“I see. Well, I think it’s okay. It’s only natural for family members to worry.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to persuade him when the time is right…”
Persuade… To be honest, I don’t know what kind of person Nanashima is, so I can’t imagine how it will turn out.
“Well, in that case, it’s probably better not to talk about it too much at school for now. It might be okay after school, but it might attract unwanted attention at school.”
“Yes, you’re right… I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. If I were a normal person with no weird rumors, this wouldn’t have happened…”
“Well, then, let’s show everyone a different, cool side of you, Seito-senpai.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
As Kana said, I hope everyone understands that I’m not trying to hurt anyone…
“Speaking of which, Seiito-senpai? Does that mean you’ll keep it a secret from everyone for a while?”
“I guess so. It might come out eventually, but I’m going to try to live honestly from now on, and maybe the bad rumors will fade with time.”
“Then let’s do that! Please take care of me from now on!”
“Yeah, take care of me too.”
And so, the conversation with Kana ended.
“Actually, now that I think about it…”
Judging from Kana’s behavior today, she’s definitely not the type who can keep a secret.
In fact, it almost got out to Miku and Saki…
“Well, it’s okay.”
There’s no point in overthinking it and ruining the fun… Since I’ve decided to become friends with Kana, it’ll probably come out eventually anyway.
Maiban