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
After talking it over with Yukimi, my mind has finally found some peace.
It’s just that it became clear there’s nothing I can do, but I feel much better now.
It’s great to have such a capable senior.
That aside, let me get my thoughts in order once more.
The immediate event is the midterm exams.
And once the exams are over, June will be right around the corner.
Based on the story of Sakuchiru, Shiraki’s event will begin right away.
I don’t have the luxury of getting bogged down solely by the matter involving Kisa.
Well then.
Following Shinori’s declaration that she has no intention of dating Akito, I’ve completely given up on that pairing.
For now, I intend to continue resolving the events that occurred in the original story.
As I said before, if those events remain unresolved, there’s a possibility they could have some kind of impact on Shinori as well, so it’s probably best to settle the issues in the common route.
Even setting that aside, I already have a relationship with all the heroines at this point.
Knowing the tragedies that will befall them and just looking the other way—well, that’s just plain sickening.
Since there’s no need to pair Akito and Shinori, I no longer have to worry about Akito’s favorability ratings with each heroine.
That was, after all, just preparation to get players to enter Shinori route from the common route, following the original story’s flow.
With one less thing to think about and the freedom to move as I please, I should be able to resolve the events for the remaining two a little more easily.
“Hey.”
“――Hm?”
“Hey, Kyota. This is about what we were talking about yesterday. You said you’d be free after the test, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
I was lost in my own thoughts when a voice suddenly interrupted me.
I mustn’t forget—I’m at school right now.
Actually, it’s the day before the test, so the classroom is currently set aside for self-study.
However, this isn’t a prestigious academic high school.
While there are a few people concentrating on their studies, most are just hanging out with their close friends, chatting away.
And we’re no exception.
“……Still, why did it turn out like this?”
I was currently sitting across from Shinori, just the two of us.
I’d taken my seat as Akito led me, but the guy in question had gone off somewhere else with Ujiya.
In short, I’d been set up.
It seemed they’d successfully created a situation where it was just the two of us.
And in that situation, my childhood friend sitting across from me was flashing a wicked grin.
“Of course, it’s fine once your arm heals, but let’s go on a date.”
“……”
I looked away from her feelings, which she no longer even bothered to hide.
What came to mind was this morning’s nightmare.
I swore I’d make her happy with these hands, but I still had to refuse the path of dating her.
So, I tried to deflect the situation.
“What if I say no?”
“Hahaha, what are you talking about? I know you’re free.”
“…Plans tend to get filled up pretty suddenly, you know.”
“Even though we’re each other’s only friends?”
“Shut up.”
Sure enough, my escape route was cut off, and I let out a sigh.
When Akito asked me yesterday, I’d instinctively answered that I was free—but maybe I was already cornered at that point.
I never had a choice to begin with.
It seems pointless to argue, so I guess I have no choice but to go along with it.
“Well, if it’s just hanging out…”
“Sigh, you really do love to beat around the bush, don’t you?”
Perhaps finally worn down by my resolute attitude, Shinori finally gave a wry smile.
But please forgive me.
As long as the fear that “Kyota Toyono dating Shinori = a ‘jump-off-the-building’ ruinous ending” hasn’t been dispelled, I don’t want to get too close.
I’ll have to keep her in a good mood while continuing to keep a moderate distance.
That said, depending on how you look at it, things are better than before.
There’s a lot to do, but right now, all I have to do is watch my own actions.
Until recently, on top of that, I was also managing the favorability ratings of Akito and the other heroines, so when I think about it that way, this is easy mode.
With that in mind, I suddenly remembered something and opened my smartphone.
Since the teacher isn’t watching, I won’t get in trouble for using it.
I open a social media app.
Specifically, the account of the popular model “Ouka.”
Needless to say, this is the public alias of Shiraki, one of the heroines in Sakuchiru.
In the original scenario, a depressing plot twist awaits where she gets caught up in a social media scandal, so I’m checking to see if anything’s happened yet.
I checked to see if I could take action early on, but as of now, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
Given that Shinori and Yukumi’s storylines had been distorted, I was worried the subsequent storylines might also be out of sync, but for now, everything seems fine.
That’s a relief… but still.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“What’s with checking out another girl’s social media right while we’re making plans to hang out?”
“Hey, I don’t think it’s a good idea to snoop on other people’s phones.”
I said this, my face twitching, as Shinori glared at me.
Does this girl think she’s my girlfriend or something?
I don’t think I ever said we were dating or that I liked her, so what’s going on here?
Even after hearing my words, Shinori continued to give me a silent, piercing stare.
…Hmm.
“I-I’m just kidding, okay? I was just curious because she’s popular.”
“Huuuuuuum.”
“Ha, ha, ha!”
As always, I’m painfully aware that managing Shinori’s favorability is a brutal challenge.
lancing out of the corner of my eye, I spotted two male students grinning at me.
They were Akito—who was originally supposed to be Shinori’s boyfriend—and his friend, Ujiya.
I secretly vowed to give those guys a massive dose of harassment next time.
Maiban