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 leaving the classroom, I walked straight through the connecting corridor toward the abandoned school building.
This place had been in use until very recently.
Though demolition was decided and all classes had completely moved to the other building, some students still used it for club activities.
That said, it was only as club rooms or storage.
The classrooms themselves were basically unused by anyone.
But that’s precisely why it had value.
Precisely because no one set foot there, it was the perfect spot for secret meetings and scheming.
I tiptoed around the classrooms in the building and found the spot I was looking for.
“Hey, what are you gonna do with that pencil case?”
Holding my breath, I listened intently and immediately heard a girl’s laughter.
This was none other than the hangout spot for Shinori bullying group.
Inside, the girls were chatting, letting out dirty, “gyahaha” laughs.
“Seriously, did you see her face? She looked like she was about to cry.”
“That’s so funny. Maybe she was actually happy getting comforted by her beloved Akito?”
“It’s so annoying seeing them lovey-dovey in the classroom~”
“Exactly! I wish that ugly bitch would just kill herself already.”
“Hey, A-chan, you’ve got some nerve calling Hanesaki ugly with that face of yours.”
“Huh? You gonna get mad?”
“But I kinda get it. Isn’t her nose shape kinda weird?”
“Maybe she got plastic surgery or something?”
“Spending money to end up looking like that? That’s beyond hopeless.”
Unbearable insults and baseless accusations.
Inside were five girls, all from the same class.
Not that I cared.
They were just background characters destined to exit the stage soon anyway.
I just silently raised my phone.
I deliberately chose video recording to capture both audio and visual evidence.
Just then, a clang! of metal echoed from the classroom, and I peered inside.
Just then, the girls were kicking around Shinori’s pencil case for fun.
“It’s such a lame design, so we’ll make it cute for her, okay?”
The leader-type girl, called A-chan, boldly stomped on it.
The pencil case dented in a big, ugly way.
Even if it got cleaned up nicely, she probably wouldn’t want to use a pencil case like this anymore.
I wonder how the original Akito felt bringing this home.
Well, this is about what I expected.
Of course, having captured the whole crime on camera, I opened the door with my phone in hand.
“So, about this pencil case—” Whoa! Who’s there!?”
Startled by my intrusion was A-chan, aka Kato Ami.
“Who? That’s rude. We’re in the same class.”
The first tragic fate of a background character: not even recognized by classmates.
Her first words stung, catching me off guard, but I pulled myself together.
I stepped into the classroom.
Then, upon hearing my words, she finally seemed to remember.
And once she realized I was just a class-level background character, her attitude changed in an almost amusing way.
As if to say I’d lost out by freaking out, she started laughing with her friends.
Seemed she’d decided someone like me wasn’t worth worrying about.
The second tragic fate of background characters: being looked down on, so your existence tends to be dismissed.
…Wait, this isn’t the time for jokes.
To get straight to the point, I smiled at them.
Then, waving my recording phone for them to see, their expressions changed again.
“You, that…”
“You looked like you were having so much fun, I thought I’d film it. Sorry if the quality’s bad.”
“Hey! Delete it!”
“No way.”
When I refuse, Ami steps forward, glaring at me.
While the others panic, this one still seems intent on confronting me.
“You gonna snitch to the teacher? No way I’m letting you do that.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
“Sure, I filmed it to show people, but I’ve got zero intention of handing it over to some unreliable organization like the school. The school knows about the bullying but does nothing about it.”
“You… you wouldn’t go to the police—?”
“Sorry, wrong guess.”
A girl in the back asked, so I denied it.
I just smiled wryly at the others making wild guesses like ‘The Board of Education?’
“Where else would I post this… The internet, obviously.”
“Huh!?”
Even in this world, social media is a cesspool.
In my past life, idiots would get burned alive online, and it’s the same here.
Dump it into the internet ocean, and it’ll spread like wildfire.
Not only are their faces in the photos, but their uniforms make the school identifiable, and you can even make out their last names.
Their personal info would be identified in no time.
Given that, it’s easy to imagine what their future lives would become.
“S-stop it!”
Ami lunged at me unexpectedly, but I dodged her.
Ignoring her as she stumbled and braced herself with her hands on the floor, the others stood frozen, their faces drained of color.
“You’ve done quite the thing to my childhood friend,”
One of the girls let out a high-pitched voice.
“W-well, it wasn’t exactly bullying—”
“I see.”
Even now, she was trying to make excuses.
Ami glared at me as she stood up, so I grabbed her arm and threw her back to the others.
“Well, sure, bullying depends on how the person perceives it.”
“Right? We talk to Shinori and stuff.”
“Yeah, totally. Only A-chan really hates her, right?”
“Huh!? You guys were talking trash too, weren’t you!?”
“……”
The moment I let them off the hook, the others started using Ami as a shield.
Looks like they plan to shift all the blame onto her and wriggle out of it.
This was getting ridiculous.
I snorted, and they looked at me like I was scary.
“You guys are seriously mistaken. The evidence I just suppressed isn’t bullying—it’s theft and property damage. Proper criminal acts.”
“!”
Whether it was bullying or whatever, they’d committed crimes first.
Proclaiming friendship with Shinori right here and now is pointless.
I laughed at the girls, who started darting their eyes around in despair.
“But hey, if you accept my conditions, I might consider negotiating.”
“Negotiate?”
“I might make a concession to settle things without exposing this recording to the teacher, the police, or the internet.”
My goal isn’t their destruction.
Even after threatening them with such extreme cruelty, that was merely a prerequisite to make them understand their position.
I continued.
“If you all stay away from Hanesaki from now on, and even quit school, I’ll back off.”
“Q-Quit school—!”
“Hey, A-chan!”
The other girls tried to stop Ami as she lunged forward.
The earlier threat had clearly worked.
They seemed to understand their position.
But Ami shook off their restraint and shouted.
“Don’t mess with us! There’s no guarantee you’ll keep your promise! Even if we transfer, you might just leak it online anyway!”
“True enough.”
“Then—!”
“Then what? Whether you trust me or not, I have the evidence. It’s your choice not to negotiate here, but if that happens, I’ll just expose it. So I think it’s more peaceful if you just obey quietly. Right?”
I asked the girls behind her, and they all nodded.
Then, as a final hammer blow, I added.
“By the way, my account has a lot of otaku friends, so I’ve got a decent number of followers. If I post it, it’ll spread like wildfire. Scary stuff. Otaku are sensitive to bullying and a lot of them have twisted senses of justice.”
Not that I’m bragging, but in this world, I’m a cancer.
Being a reincarnated soul meant I couldn’t get along with my peers, and the internet and creative works were pretty much the only things I could enjoy.
In a way, becoming an otaku was inevitable.
Anticipating a cyberbullying frenzy, everyone’s faces turned pale.
“…Fine. I’ll quit school, okay?”
“Yeah. After that, I won’t interfere. Do whatever you want.”
“Of course. Seriously though, otaku are gross.”
Whether it was because I claimed to be an otaku, or because they thought my safety was assured,
I shrugged at her, who was once again provoking me with a confrontational attitude.
I’ll let her parting shot slide.
After they left the classroom.
Only me, my smartphone, and a dirty pencil case remained in the room.
“…Phew.”
I have no regrets.
I carried out the expulsion of the bullying group that wasn’t in the original story, but this was for the best.
They won’t appear in future scenarios, so whatever happens to them shouldn’t matter.
Since there’s a deal in place, there’s absolutely no way they’ll bother Shinori again. I doubt they’d hold a grudge and cause more depressing events either.
Besides, if they stayed at school, there’d be a risk they’d tell Shinori about me later.
For the sake of covering my tracks, it’s essential they disappear.
And of course, Shinori is happy now that the bullying’s gone.
It’s a happy ending for everyone, I suppose.
If anything, maybe I’ll get stabbed personally in the future.
That would be an odd twist, but it would mean avoiding Shinori getting dragged into it.
Yeah, interesting.
“Ha ha ha, well, that’s not going to happen.”
Laughing just made me feel like I’d set an unpleasant flag.
You shouldn’t think strange things, even as a joke…….
Well, we ended the event in a way where it’s unclear who the villain really is.
Regardless, I’ve discarded the source of anxiety.
Now, all that’s left is to guide Akito into reciprocating the affection Shinori will surely show him going forward.
The mob will fade back into the background once more.
“Ah… feels like I just gained some extra years…”
Relieved after completing the event.
My strength drained away, and I sprawled out on the dusty floor.
I doubt I’ll be moving anytime soon.
Maiban