Iโve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Donโt Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, Iโll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
The world of eroge where the scenario branches based on the protagonist’s choices.
Once you deviate, recovery on that world line is impossible.
You either see the bad end or give up and start a new game with a different save file.
The protagonist, completely unaware of the magnitude of the mistake she’d made, left the classroom laughing cheerfully with her male friend.
Watching that, I was troubled.
Just now, in this timeline, Shinori’s death became certain.
Since Akito skipped the first date event, entering the Shinori route became impossible. She will attempt suicide by jumping off somewhere down the line.
And at that moment, I will be dragged down with her and die too.
Even if Shinori goes through with the jump, I don’t know if I alone could avoid death.
Since the original work didn’t provide detailed descriptions of the suicide, the only way to eliminate the risk entirely was to forcefully alter the scenario.
I wasn’t keen on it, but what choice did I have?
โGood morning.โ
โโฆAh, Toyono-kun.โ
Shinori gave me a faint, ambiguous smile when I resolved to speak to her.
Her dark brown hair, cut into a short bob, swayed as she turned.
At the same time, a faintly sweet scent drifted over.
Faced with her overwhelming presence, accentuated by natural makeup, I raised my hand with a smile.
Incidentally, Shinori and I spent kindergarten, elementary school, and junior high together. Conversely, that’s the extent of our relationship.
Proof of that was the distance in our relationship, despite its lengthโwe still called each other by last name.
It wasn’t one of those convenient love-comedy tropes like, โWe’re practically family, living next door, stuck together forever~.โ
Truly, we were just old acquaintances who’d been around each other forever.
โWhat do you want?โ
Her indifferent, blunt words made my face twitch almost immediately.
โโI knew it, but isn’t the emotional distance between me, a nobody, and Shinori just too vast?
Or rather, I feel like I’m about to get a runny nose, blocked by that uniquely female physiological rejection barrier.
Um, sorry for acting cocky despite being a nobody.
I can’t push any further, but what the hell?
My momentum was crushed, leaving me wondering how the hell I’m supposed to break this one’s death flag from this relationship level.
But I can’t give up now.
What I need to do first is clean up the mess from Akito’s earlier miscommunication.
I have to forcefully restore the favor she lost for that guy.
In game terms, we’re still in the early common route phase, so I need to get a flag established with Shinori first.
That’s where my influence comes in to tweak things a bit.
I’ll call it โOperation: Guide him to the Shinori Routeโ.
So, first things first: find an opening to slip into her good graces with some light conversational jabs.
โI and Hanesaki go way back, huh? I was surprised we ended up in the same class this second year.โ
โYeah. Though, to be honest, we never really talked much back then either.โ
โWell, yeah.โ
Snap. I could hear the shutter closing in her mind.
Game over.
Good effort.
โฆMan, she’s tough.
And it’s taking a huge toll on my mental state too.
There’s nothing harder than keeping a conversation going with a girl who clearly doesn’t want to talk.
Unfortunately, I’ve never been the type who’s good at talking to girls, even from my past life.
It’s pathetic how my plan stalled at such a basic level.
But just as I was agonizing over my next move, Shinori unexpectedly expanded the conversation herself.
โActually, it feels weird when Toyono-kun calls me by my last name. See, my parents remarried when I started high school, so my last name changed.โ
I nodded at her wry smile.
This was actually one reason I hadn’t realized I’d been reincarnated until recently.
I’d known Shinori since childhood, but because our last names were different, I never recognized her as an eroge heroine.
Plus, she hadn’t really stood out as a beauty until around middle school.
I never dreamed this childhood friend would be the grim reaper dragging me to the brink of death.
With Shinori entering conversation mode, I shifted to the main topic.
โYou’ve been getting along with Suga lately, huh?โ
The moment I uttered his name, Shinori’s face clouded over in a way that was almost amusing.
โโฆDid you hear that earlier?โ
โYeah.โ
โWhat do you think?โ
โWhat do I thinkโฆ Well, you seemed close, so I didn’t expect him to turn you down.โ
I’d been carefully observing Akito and Shinori’s relationship over the past few days, and frankly, that guy’s words and actions were suggestive.
It’s natural for an eroge protagonist, but seeing him as a real person, there were moments that genuinely annoyed me.
Hearing my agreement, Shinori leaned forward.
โRight?! It’s impossible, right?!โ
โWell, I don’t think he’s a bad guy, so don’t worry about it too much.โ
โBut still, would anyone normally turn someone down like that? Seriouslyโโ
Once she started talking, she wasn’t about to stop.
From here, Shinori launched into a flood of complaints.
She ranted about how his recent teasing attitude was infuriating, how it was a pain he never did his homework, how she was kinda happy he relied on herโฆ but regardless, she couldn’t forgive his non delicacy.
I think there was a hint of infatuation mixed in there somewhere, but that was probably just my imagination.
And as for that last bit.. well, it couldn’t be helped.
I mean, he is an eroge protagonist, after all.
He’s not a bad guy, but to some, he’s practically the enemy of women.
Anyway.
Seems her feelings for Akito had dropped more than I realized.
โNow, nowโฆโ
Shinori gave me a glare as I tried to calm her down.
Looks like she’s really getting tossed around by Akito’s words and actions.
But enough small talk. Let’s get back to the core of this game, โSakuchiruโ.
In this game, every heroine hides a heavy problem.
Solving those problems is the job of the protagonist, Suga Akito.
The problem of the doomed heroine currently pouting and complaining right in front of me? Bullying.
Shinori is currently enduring insidious bullying from the girls in her class.
Perhaps exhausted from venting, Shinori began to laugh bitterly.
โI know. That person is incredibly kind. โฆhe is the only one who even talks to me in class now.โ
โโฆโฆโ
Shinori’s bullying stems purely from jealousy.
Apparently, they resented Shinori being called beautiful and fawned over since enrollment.
What started as mild snubbing escalated dramatically in their second year, with the popular girls in the class now harassing her relentlessly.
If Akito can’t save Shinori from this, a hopeless bad ending awaits her, defeated by the bullying.
It’s a future with no redeeming qualities.
But then, Shinori softened her expression.
โAh, but you’re the second person to talk to me.โ
โWell, we’re childhood friends, so it’s only natural, right?โ
โChildhood friendsโฆ fufu yeah. I guess so.โ
โEh? Why are you laughing?โ
โNo, I was just surprised you’d approach me like this. You’re always holed up in your own world, aren’t you?โ
โSorry for being a socially awkward introvert!โ
Hey, what’s going on with how this girl sees me?
Well, I did kind of suspect it.
But I never imagined I was being treated as such a clear background character.
It’s a bit of a shock.
โIt’s not like that, you know?โ
โโฆWell, whatever.โ
I sighed at the baffling attempt at reassurance.
My own treatment doesn’t matter.
For now, I need to get something important across.
โMore importantly, make sure you talk properly with Suga later.โ
โWhy?โ
โHe’s just dense, that’s all. But if you talk to him, he’ll get it.โ
โHuh!? โฆWhat? Are you implying I like him or something?โ
โHuh? Oh, no. Sorry if that offended you.โ
Her feelings for Akito were obvious even without game knowledge, but she seemed annoyed that I pointed it out.
Shinori shot me a meaningful look.
โYou’re definitely number two. Non-Delicacy No. 2.โ
โโฆThanks for the honorable title.โ
Right after slightly recovering the favorability with Akito.
My favorability with her steadily declined.
โโโ
ใHanesaki Shinoriใ
Favorability with Akito: 80% (โ)
Favorability with Kyota: 30% (โ).
Maiban