I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Don’t Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, I’ll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
While talking with Shinori, a notification popped up on my phone.
I glanced at it and immediately scowled.
‘Don’t you dare say anything unnecessary.’
The sender was, of course, Yukimi.
She was supposed to be sketching, so when did she find time to message me?
I glanced over, and she cheekily stuck her tongue out at me.
Somehow, my once-cold senior was becoming more playful day by day. What on earth was going on?
…I wanted to kill the part of myself that thought she was kind of cute.
I wanted to avoid the unexpected ending where I turned out to be the biggest fool.
Besides, there’s no way I would tell the details of her revenge anyway.
If I ever tried to leak it to an outsider, I’d just become the next target to be silenced.
The fact that Yukimi consulted me might seem like she’s opening up, but the issue is more complicated than that.
Essentially, she also sees me as someone she can easily discard if things go wrong.
That thought sends shivers down my spine.
It’s probably not just because she values my discretion, so I should stop deluding myself.
Regardless, I was glad our conversation reached her.
If it could change her feelings in any way, that would be even better.
I left the art room temporarily, swapping places with the three underachievers returning from outside.
◇
After Toyono Kyota left the art room, Hanesaki Shinori remained deep in thought.
—That guy’s been acting weird lately.
Needless to say, she was referring to Kyota.
For Shinori, who constantly watched Kyota, the unnaturalness in his recent behavior was obvious.
She’d always thought he had a unique aura, but this was different.
Every time he was deep in thought, he looked depressed, and it was obvious something was wrong.
Plus, there was something off about his gaze.
That chilling look Kyota occasionally flashed.
It felt like he could kill someone, Shinori thought.
“…Haa.”
—So why am I constantly thinking about that person?
I’d been deliberately keeping my distance lately.
I hate myself for still caring so much.
I’d lost sight of what I even wanted anymore.
Amidst this, the conversation from just now kept nagging at me.
“Why bring up revenge now?”
That incident was over.
Kyota secured evidence at the crime scene and got the group expelled—it should have been resolved.
In fact, after that, Shinori stopped being ignored in class.
While it’s true almost everyone avoided her, the truth was they were just behaving to avoid provoking Ami and the others.
Most of them didn’t harbor any explicit ill will toward Shinori.
So when he suddenly heard about revenge, she was confused.
And Shinori wondered.
—Could he be planning something dangerous again?
Kyota’s boldness had just shocked her.
Even though it was weeks ago, hearing that recorded audio had given her goosebumps.
Precisely because he was usually quiet, the contrast made it incredibly memorable.
That precariousness of his—if it was connected to his recent attitude…
Lost in thought about Kyota, someone sat down next to her.
“Lost in thought?”
“Huh? Ah. Senpai…”
Before she knew it, her face was right in front of her, and Shinori gasped.
The senior one year above her, whose family background, looks, grades—everything—was incredible.
This was their first one-on-one conversation, and she felt nervous.
As if sensing her tension, Yukimi, unusually, broke his expression.
“I don’t think that book is on the exam syllabus?”
“Whoa! S-sorry! I got it wrong…”
Looking closer, Shinori realized the textbook she’d opened was an art manual.
It was filled with anatomy and other difficult subjects, making her panic.
She’d been so deep in thought that she’d opened a different book nearby without checking properly.
Several art books were scattered on the desk alongside her own textbooks, leading to the mistake.
…Though all of this was ultimately caused by Yukimi’s poor organizational skills, but let’s skip over that part.
“Is something wrong?”
“…I’m finding it harder and harder to understand what Toyono-kun is thinking about.”
Asked this, Shinori decided to take the plunge and voice her concern.
Hearing Kyota’s name, Yukimi, however, wore a suggestive expression.
“Indeed, I also think he’s a peculiar junior. The more I talk to him, the more his playful tone throws me off. …It’s utterly infuriating.”
“…You two seem quite close.”
“Do you think so?”
“Well, it seems that way. Even at the recent study sessions, I’ve seen you two whispering together. He also talks about you a lot. Honestly, I’ve never seen you talk to any other guys. It’s obvious he’s special to you.”
“Fufu, suddenly so talkative.”
“Huh!? …N-no, it’s not like that!”
Shinori found herself getting defensive, suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
Yukimi twisted the corners of her mouth maliciously at her reaction.
“Are you interested? In him?”
“Well, yes. I mean, we are childhood friends. Sort of.”
“Oh, I see.”
Even though she hadn’t been asked, Shinori declared they were childhood friends. Yukimi laughed even more amusedly.
Realizing her position was getting weaker and weaker, Shinori scowled.
She vaguely sensed she was clearly being toyed with right now.
Still, it felt strange.
Shinori was once again confused by her own feelings.
Why was she competing with Yukimi?
She’d said they were childhood friends, but honestly, until recently they barely even spoke. They were barely more than acquaintances.
It was nowhere near the level where she could claim intimacy.
But she had felt compelled to say it.
Or rather, it might be more accurate to say she wanted to make her point clear.
What exactly is this feeling…?
Shinori groaned, unable to find an answer.
Then, it suddenly occurred to her.
—Wait, isn’t he late getting back?
Shinori felt uneasy about her childhood friend, who showed no sign of returning after leaving the classroom.
And at the same time, she had a bad feeling.
Knowing Kyota, who didn’t have many friends.
She knew he didn’t wander around aimlessly.
And he was taking an unusually long time coming back from the bathroom.
Could this be… him meeting up with some other girl again?
In Shinori’s mind, Kyota was already labeled as a womanizing, good-for-nothing jerk.
It was inevitable that Shinori would look at Kyota with suspicion.
“He’s late, isn’t he?”
“He’s probably talking to some other girl right now. Kijima-san or someone like that.”
Shinori replied curtly to Yukimi’s words.
Seeing this, Yukimi smiled again.
Maiban