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
Right now, I’m in Akito’s room.
And right in front of me is one girl staring intently at me.
This girl, who has this adorable, small-animal-like charm, is glaring at me with a fierce expression.
It’s incredibly awkward.
By the way, my arm is fine now.
Just now, Aoiko, who’s currently giving me the stink eye right in front of me, stopped the bleeding for me.
Being the club manager, she knew exactly what to do with the first-aid kit and handled it perfectly.
In no time, the wound was disinfected and the bleeding stopped.
I have to admit, she’s impressive.
As for the room’s owner, Akito, he’s in the bath.
Can’t blame him, since we’re basically crashing at someone else’s place.
So, right now, it’s just me and Aoiko.
“…Thanks for everything. And sorry.”
“If you feel that way, could you at least explain the situation?”
“…Sorry.”
Unable to bear the silence any longer, I offered my thanks and apology. Aoiko turned her face away in a huff.
This was why she’d been wearing that suggestive expression.
Because I hadn’t told her a single thing about my arm injury or the incident earlier.
But I couldn’t really talk about it either.
I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I didn’t want to increase the number of people who knew the details.
I felt bad about being helped, but there was nothing I could do about this.
At my words, Aoiko burst out laughing.
“Well, it’s fine, I guess. You probably couldn’t tell me anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to get involved either. It reeks of danger.”
“Hey—”
I’d been feeling bad for making her worry.
But she brushed me off so easily, leaving me wide-eyed.
Then, seeing my reaction, Aoiko flashed a carefree smile, “Hehe.”
I’d suspected it before, but for someone so soothing, she’s surprisingly blunt.
I averted my eyes from Aoiko, who radiated a warm, fuzzy vibe while saying pretty harsh things.
I just stared at Akito’s room instead.
Even though it was my first time inside, this room felt strangely familiar.
The bed’s placement was exactly as I remembered it.
This room is gonna be the so-called hookup spot, huh… I couldn’t help thinking such a ridiculous thought.
Because of that, I started feeling restless.
I was also confused by the situation of having the heroine sitting right in front of me.
Wait, no, no.
Shaking off those impure thoughts, I brought my gaze back to Aoiko.
There was one thing I’d been wondering about.
“Still, you and Akito seem pretty close, huh?”
I’d been a little bothered by the fact they’d gone out of their way to walk home together.
I’d heard they weren’t dating since the amusement park day, but maybe things had progressed since then.
Besides, Akito had been studying with us just a little while ago.
The fact that they were together meant Akito had deliberately waited for Aoiko to finish.
Just suppose…
If Aoiko and Akito started dating now, it would be unbearable.
All my desperate attempts to steer the scenario since April would be wasted.
Or rather, it would all be a complete waste of effort, including getting stabbed like this.
To my panicked question, Aoiko flashed a mischievous smile.
“We just went home together because it was close to time, okay? Like I said before, we’re not dating.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
Relieved to have confirmation once more that they weren’t dating.
Well, come to think of it, since the amusement park, Akito’s been a bit closer to Shinori.
There’s no way he could be flirting with Shinori while also messing with someone else behind the scenes.
Only an eroge protagonist could pull that off.
…Which reminds me, this guy is an eroge protagonist.
He’s settled into being just a regular friend in my mind, so I’d almost forgotten.
Yeah.
Anyway, for now, Akito isn’t dating anyone.
As I pondered this deeply, I noticed Aoiko’s gaze.
What was that? Did I say something weird?
I said “That’s good” because I knew it was just a worry that wouldn’t happen—that it’d be a problem if she ended up dating Akito.
…Huh?
I thought I was just nodding along, but something feels off.
Why?
Then, Aoiko asked, her eyes wide as saucers.
“Huh? What… did you mean…?”
“What about?”
“No, no. ‘I’m glad’… Does that mean you’d be troubled if I started dating Akito-kun?”
“Huh? —Ah! No, no! That’s not it at all! Um, well…!”
Am I an idiot?
Only when she asked me to repeat myself did I finally grasp what I’d said.
This makes me sound like some crazy guy relieved about Aoiko and Akito’s relationship!
And while I denied it, the fact remained that I would be troubled if they did start dating, so I couldn’t find the words to continue.
I just kept flapping my mouth, waving my hands, and repeating “No!” over and over.
Seems like I’m low on blood; my brain isn’t working.
Damn it, it’s all that woman Hayase’s fault.
I never usually make such a huge slip-up.
Just then, Aoiko suddenly drops to all fours and closes the distance.
“Huh, I see.”
“You’re close.”
“You’re the one who closed the distance, aren’t you~?”
“I’m talking about physical distance.”
“So you admit you closed the emotional distance. I see.”
“……”
Her tone and expression were taunting.
What the hell is this?
I don’t know any heroine like this.
The more I talk to her, the further she drifts from my image of her in the original story.
“Now, now. I’ll keep that feeling tucked away in the back of my mind.”
“You can forget it right now.”
I absolutely must deny any misunderstanding that I have feelings for Aoiko.
But my words were just laughed off.
This is going to be a running joke for a while, and it’s already annoying.
Just thinking about her saying it in front of Shinori… gives me goosebumps.
As we were talking like this, Akito came out of the bath.
Finally, my awkward one-on-one time with the heroine was over.
With Akito’s return, Aoiko stood up, gathering her things.
It turned out she’d stayed behind just for my treatment.
She’d deliberately delayed going home to help me with my treatment.
This left me indebted to her in a way I couldn’t easily repay, even if she teased me about it.
“Thanks so much. I’ll repay you properly next time, Aoiko-san.”
“Yeah, yeah. First, you need to stop calling me that weird name~”
As Aoiko left, I bowed my head to her once more.
―◇―
【Kijima Aoiko】
Affection for Akito: 20% (→)
Affection for Kyota: 2% (↑)
Maiban