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
Come to think of it.
Now that itโs June, Cleaning Month is over.
With that, I can finally bid farewell to those days of living in fear of Yukimi, and I feel refreshed.
Needless to say, Iโm also a little relieved that I can put some distance between myself and Kisa.
That said, because of that, Iโve now started getting followed home from school or having Shinori tag along with me, so on balance, Iโm still in the red.
Since that โdoomed heroineโ was on classroom duty today, I practically fled the classroom.
At long last, Iโm a free man.
โAhโโ
Just as I was thinking that, I ran into someone else.
A girl dressed in a dowdy outfitโit was Ouka.
Seeing how Iโd reacted so strongly, she froze too.
In her hand were her outdoor shoes.
โฆโฆ
โO-oh. Heading home now?โ
Since I couldnโt just ignore her, I asked, and she snorted.
โYou can tell just by looking, canโt you?โ
โWell, yeah.โ
โSo, what about you?โ
โYou can tell just by looking, canโt you?โ
โI guess so.โ
While exchanging this meaningless banter, I changed into my outdoor shoes at the entrance.
It was drizzling outside, which was a hassle.
I was debating whether to open my umbrellaโit was that kind of light rain.
Ouka stood next to me.
For a moment, I wondered if she planned to walk home with me, but since we knew each other and lived in the same apartment building, it actually seemed unnatural not to.
โAre you free?โ
โWell, I donโt really have anything to do.โ
As you can see, Iโm a social outcast who doesnโt have many friends.
When I nodded, Ouka opened her umbrella and said,
โSo, why donโt you hang out with me?โ
โHuh?โ
And just like that, I found myself once again being dragged along by one of the heroines without really understanding what was going on.
โ
She took me to a karaoke bar.
Itโs usually bustling, but maybe because of the bad weather, there were slightly fewer students there today.
ใ
Needless to say, I was stunned when she signed me up for a three-hour โshort free timeโ session without my permission.
Iโd assumed it would be about an hourโjust enough to blow off some steam from the testโฆ
Three hours, just the two of usโthatโs quite a long time.
I could conveniently interpret this as her opening up to meโฆ but thatโs not it.
In short, the way sheโs trying to get closer to me is off.
Even though sheโs a model, deep down sheโs just an otaku girl who canโt read the room.
In the original work, too, Ouka was often depicted as not reading the room and bluntly saying whatever came to mind.
Since sheโs actually a bit self-conscious about it, I suppose I canโt help but find it kind of cute.
All of this stems from her background, but letโs set that aside for now.
Itโs already the third song since we walked in.
Part of it is that I havenโt grabbed the mic yet, but sheโs singing away regardless.
After watching her like that with a sidelong glanceโฆ
When she finished singing, she set the mic down with a satisfied look.
Waiting for that moment, I called her out.
โWait, am I paying for the room?โ
Thatโs rightโactually, the only thing worth calling her out on isnโt just that she turned it into a short free time session.
When the receptionist asked, โDo you have enough money?โ I just brushed it off, but now that I think about it, what did that even mean?
When I asked her about it, she replied nonchalantly.
โRemember when I treated you to that matcha latte the other day? You said youโd return the favor next time. So I went with the โShort Freeโ planโitโs cheaper with the discount.โ
โWell, I guess thatโs fine.โ
I never expected that a free drink would lead to a karaoke session.
Is she just bold, or is she just practical?
โArenโt you going to sing?โ
โDo you want to hear me?โ
โNah, not really.โ
โโฆWell, then, never mind.โ
As always, arenโt the heroines in this world a little too cold toward me?
Itโs easy to get the wrong idea from Shinori and Yukumiโs abnormal affection, but even they were pretty aloof when we first started hanging out.
Shinori, for instance, put up such a wall that youโd never guess weโd known each other since kindergarten.
Setting aside the irony that it might actually have been better that way, it still hurts.
Even if Iโm just a background character, couldnโt she go a little easier on me?
As Ouka turned her face away with a sigh, I quietly shed a tear.
The weather outsideโand my heartโwere both gloomy.
No one was holding an umbrella for me.
For the next hour or so, Ouka kept singing.
She was actually pretty good, and I found myself genuinely engrossed in her performance.
Her song selection was wide-ranging, focusing on famous tracks from anime songs to Vocaloid, J-POP, and K-POPโenough to resonate even with an otaku like me.
Iโd kind of suspected it, but it seems our tastes are similar.
Just then, after she put down the mic for the first time in a while,
She tried to play the next song, but then just shook her head and set the tablet down.
โHuh? Is something wrong?โ
Ignoring my puzzled look, she stared intently at her smartphone.
After a while, she suddenly slapped both her cheeks.
โโฆOkay. Iโve made up my mind.โ
โHuh?โ
Such an abrupt, bizarre behavior.
Even from my perspectiveโsomeone whoโs always rolling my eyes or talking to myselfโit looked completely out of the ordinary.
Just then, Ouka suddenly held up her phone.
The screen displayed a photo of a certain popular model.
It was the one that had been posted on social media just the other day.
I recognized it because I remembered seeing it myself.
Because it was none other thanโฆ a photo of the popular model โOuka.โ
โHey, donโt you think this girl looks like someone?โ
โโฆโฆโ
An incredibly beautiful girl, captured naturally with a cool expression.
A stylish alleyway at duskโthe perfect setting.
Against that backdrop, her charm was amplified, radiating an irresistible allure.
Her hair was translucent, shimmering as it reflected the reddish light.
Her long eyelashes and large eyesโnarrowed as if to shield them from the sunlightโexuded a dreamy, wistful atmosphere.
And above allโฆ that mole by her mouth is perfect.
ใHer beauty is usually thoroughly concealed by her long bangs, her tendency to look down, and the mask that serves as full-body armor.
But for me, who knows โSakuchiru,โ thereโs no way I could ever doubt her true identity.
After a momentโs hesitation, I answered honestly.
โI think she looks like Shiraki san.โ
โ!? โฆReally?โ
After gasping in surprise, she slowly removed her mask with a nervous expression.
And there, in exactly the same spot as the modelโs, a mole appeared.
โฆThat mole is a complex sheโs been deliberately hiding.
โYou can tell?โ
โWellโฆ yeah.โ
โActually, Iโm a model.โ
โIs that so?โ
Of course, even when it comes to information I already know, I have to react as if Iโm seeing it for the first time.
Feeling a bit out of place in this situation, I nodded.
Still, what on earth caused this change of heart?
In the original story, Akito was supposed to figure out her true identity on his own.
Why did it shift to her revealing it herself?
And to me, of all peopleโjust a random background character.
I donโt get it.
Just as I was puzzling over this, Ouksaid something even more baffling.
She said:
โIโve got a photoshoot coming up in the neighborhood.โ
โOh.โ
โSo, you know what? They actually told me I could invite friends.โ
โOh?โ
โSoโฆ do you want to come?โ
โโฆHuh?โ
An unexpected event that just sort of happened.
While I was still confused, she blushed and gave me a shy smile.
And just like that, I found myselfโsomewhat forcefullyโinvited on a photo shoot dateโ
Maiban