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
โThings are going smoothly for now, huh?โ
After getting home.
In my room, I look at my notebook with a cup of coffee in hand.
Written inside is the in-game scenario as far as I can remember.
Among those, I review today’s event, April 15th.
Today was the first major hurdle on the path to the Shinori route: Shinori and Akito were supposed to make plans for a date.
I managed to somehow hold things together regarding that.
After contacting Shinori, I hurriedly got in touch with Akito too.
There, I casually mentioned Shinori and advised him to subtly arrange a date.
Thanks to that, Akito changed his mind and asked Shinori out again.
Shinori accepted with a smile.
The scenario that was heading straight for a bad ending was, thanks to my intervention, somehow put back on the rails leading to the Shinori route.
I have to say, I did a pretty good job myself.
And above all, I’m filled with a sense of omnipotence and relief.
This might just work.
The chances of saving Shinori and avoiding that death-by-involvement ending for me have gone up.
I’ll celebrate for now.
However, I need to keep a close eye on Akito’s behavior.
It seems the protagonist in this worldline is pretty clueless about his actions, so if I don’t watch him, who knows when he’ll step on a landmine.
I managed to forcefully connect today’s events, but next time is uncertain.
Next is next Monday.
Shinori will finally suffer decisive bullying damage, and the protagonist will rescue herโa major event.
No matter how many dates I arrange, if the fundamental bullying problem isn’t solved, we won’t even enter the individual routes.
Furthermore, regarding the heroine Shinori, given that Sakuchiru’s game mechanics essentially equate โnot entering an individual routeโ with death, resolving her bullying issue is an absolute priority.
It seems like I’m the only one who can do anything about this.
By the way, I’m living alone now.
Being a reincarnated being, I often acted and spoke inappropriately for my age, so my parents found me creepy and we weren’t exactly close.
It was kind of like I got kicked out, but I get a hefty allowance, so I have no complaints.
I can live freely, so I’m actually pretty grateful.
Just as I was thinking that, my phone made the rare sound of a new message.
I checked it and immediately widened my eyes.
โThanks for today.โ
โToyono-kun is kind, huh?โ
Both messages were from Shinori.
I didn’t recall exchanging contacts, but she probably added me from the class group chat.
I thought she disliked me after today’s conversation, but maybe not.
It was unexpected, catching me off guard.
But what surprised me even more came next.
As I casually replied, two new image messages arrived.
One was a photo of a casual outfit: a big silhouette denim jacket paired with a tight skirt.
The other was a contrasting photo of a demure white dress paired with a spring-like peach-colored cardigan.
Both outfits were worn by Shinori.
She skillfully framed the mirror shot to hide her face.
โWhat is this?โ
As I was confused, another question immediately followed: โWhich one do you like?โ
Apparently, she wanted my opinion on her outfit for this weekend’s date with Akito.
While her passionate relationship makes me feel reassured that my daytime hustle paid off, it’s still a bit annoying.
โWell, if you ask me to pick, I guess I like the denim jacket better.โ
I answered honestly.
Then came an immediate reply.
โThanks!โ
‘I’ll go with the dress then lol’
Don’t underestimate me, I thought, nearly crushing my phone in my fist.
โThis girl is totally treating me like a toy.โ
She must have been incredibly happy about the date, judging by her overly excited message.
As the one being strung along, I felt rather conflicted.
It’s true that being able to observe their relationship up close is helpful, but having them show off their affection right in front of me is pretty irritating.
Or rather, if she had a problem with my taste, she shouldn’t have asked me in the first place.
For now, I sent a protest message saying, โWhat do you think you’re doing?โ but for a giddy young girl at that age, this was probably just fuel.
Right now, she was probably laughing her head off with tears in her eyes.
As I glared at my phone, Shinori sent another message along with an adorable cat sticker.
โI’ll buy you juice sometime to make it up to you, okay?โ
A pretty cheap apology, but whatever.
I turned off my phone and flopped onto my back on the bed.
Then it hit me.
โโฆWait, hold up. Aren’t Shinori and I actually getting along pretty smoothly now?โ
I’d rushed into talking to her to fix things with Akito, but it felt like that had accidentally made me close with Shinori instead.
Even just now, we had a fun exchange. How does this fit with my role as a background character?
Here, I tried imagining a possibility I’d never considered before.
What if, by some miracle, even one in a million chance, Shinori and I ended up getting along well?
If that happened, Akito and Shinori wouldn’t end up together.
Then, Shinori would probably die.
โโJumping off a buildingใปDouble suicideใปUnnatural death with her childhood friendใปSecond boyfriend candidateโฆ
Disturbing keywords start dancing around in my head.
โNah, that’s impossible. Hahaha.โ
Before the anxiety could solidify, I shook my head and pulled the futon over me.
For now, I’ll just stick to being a background character and support Akito and Shinori’s relationship.
โโโ
ใHanesaki Shinoriใ
Affection for Akito: 80% (โ)
Affection for Kyota: 50% (โ)
Maiban