Mob Character Reincarnation Loner: As a Result of Supporting the Heroine Who Had Been Rejected, I Ended up Being the Recipient of Her Heavy Emotions…
“Right then, let’s kick off Hiyori’s birthday party. Cheers!”
“”Cheers!!””
Everyone cheerfully raised their glasses.
Right now, we’re holding Nanase’s birthday party at Serizawa’s villa.
Tenma and Ichika were there too, and everyone was laughing happily.
Watching this scene from a distance, I thought to myself.
Somehow, it feels like a true ending. No, in a way, perhaps it is. Everyone together, laughing happily… You could call it the best possible conclusion.
“..Irie, thank you.”
It was Tenma who spoke to me.
“Eh? Ah, ah… It was Nanase-san who invited you to the birthday party…”
“No, that’s not it… It’s about Hiyori. All sorts of things…”
“…Honestly, there’s no need to thank me for that. We got this far because Nanase chose this path and worked hard for it.”
“..Ah, yeah, you’re right.”
The conversation should have ended smoothly there, but Tenma didn’t move away from me, still seeming like he wanted to say something else.
“Um, is something wrong?”
I decided to speak up first.
“Well… about later. Would it be alright if I called Irie by your first name?”
“Eh?”
His unexpectedly off-the-wall remark made my eyes widen in surprise.
This meant… that, didn’t it? Like close friends. Like the relationship between me, a background character, and Tenma, the protagonist, has taken a step forward.
“Of course… if that’s alright with you, Tenma-kun?”
“!!”
This time, Tenma looked startled.
“Ah, no… I just thought, if you’re calling me by my name, maybe I should call you by yours too… well, I got carried away… Sorry.”
“No!! Not at all!! Actually, I’m thrilled!!”
Tenma beamed with genuine, overflowing happiness.
Seeing him so delighted made me feel a bit self-conscious.
“Bungaku!! Cheers for everything from now on.”
Watching Tenma return to the others, I felt a little pleased.
“Tenma-kun looks really happy.’”
“Nwaah!?”
I let out a strange sound when Ichika suddenly appeared.
“Tenma-kun was really worried, you know? He was wondering if maybe Bungaku-kun didn’t think too highly of him.”
“No, that’s what I should be saying… or rather, about how you address me.”
“If Tenma-kun, my boyfriend, calls you by your first name, then it’s only natural that I, his girlfriend, do the same.”
“…Eh? Ah, y-yes.”
What was that? It should have been a completely flimsy justification, but she said it so boldly and matter-of-factly that I nodded in agreement.
“So, Bungaku-kun, please call me Hana-chan too. I’d really like that.”
“No, that’s not right.”
If it were Nanase or another girl calling me that, fine, but a guy calling me Hana-chan is just too creepy…
“……………”
Ichika puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
The silent pressure was intense.
“…………………… Hana-san, then.”
Unable to withstand the pressure, I offered a compromise.
“Mm, very well. Let’s settle on that.”
She reluctantly agreed.
“..Bungaku-kun.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you. I just wanted to tell you this.”
Saying this, Ichika smiled.
“For me, Hiyori-chan is… my first friend… my best friend, someone incredibly important. I want Hiyori-chan to be happy.”
“…Yeah.”
“So, whoever dates Hiyori-chan absolutely must be someone who can support her, someone as wonderful as Tenma-kun. I won’t accept anything less.”
The standards she demanded were far too high.
“…That look on your face—you’re thinking this has nothing to do with you, aren’t you?”
She looked at me with clear eyes, as if seeing straight through my thoughts.
“..Well, it’s not exactly relevant to someone like me who’s been rejected by over ten people, is it?”
“That’s just because those people didn’t have the discernment to see it.”
Ichika stated it bluntly with a smile.
“I think you, Bungaku-kun, are just as wonderful a person as Tenma-kun.”
“…Haha, thanks.”
“…Bungaku-kun. You think my words are just lip service, do you?”
Well… to be honest, yes.
When I involuntarily averted my gaze at Ichika’s words, she sulked and jabbed me three times with her elbow.
“Anyway, I look forward to working with you in the future, alright?”
I watched Ichika walk off towards Tenma after saying that.
“…I knew it. Irie really is a charmer.”
This time, Serizawa-san chimed in.
What? People are talking to me an awful lot today.
“Could you please not say such unflattering things…”
“But it’s true.”
Saying that, Serizawa-san stared at Tenma and Ichika.
If I were a charmer, I’d probably be building a harem by now. Unfortunately, far from a harem, there’s not even the slightest sign of anyone liking me.
“……………”
“…Eh? What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood or something?”
“..Pui.”
Eh… She just turned her head away from me.
“Um…”
While I stood there confused, Serizawa-san, still facing away, handed me her moustache glasses.
…Ah!! I forgot!! That’s right. We bought matching ones yesterday to wear together.
“..That reaction. You forgot, didn’t you?”
“No… I didn’t… I mean, yes. Sorry, I forgot.”
I obediently put on the moustache glasses she handed me.
“..Pfft, heh, y-you look good in them.”
“…Are you mocking me?”
“H-heheh… N-no, I’m not.”
Even said with laughter, it lacked all conviction.
Serizawa then put on her moustache glasses too, making us a matching pair.
“..It’s fun, isn’t it, Irie?”
“..Yeah.”
“And Hiyori looks like she’s having a great time too.”
As she said this, Serizawa-san gazed at the smiling Nanase with an incredibly gentle expression.
“..I like fun things. When someone important to me is happy, it makes me happy too. So, seeing Hiyori enjoying herself… well, I’m glad. She seemed to be struggling lately.”
She must be referring to the breakup. Serizawa-san had been worried about Nanase in her own way.
“I envy Hiyori a little. Falling for someone, loving them earnestly… Maybe that’s why. Sometimes, I get this feeling like I’m being left behind.”
Serizawa-san gazed at Nanase with a distant look in her eyes.
Her profile was clear, yet somehow lonely.
I knew my own clumsy attempts at comfort or concern wouldn’t truly reach Serizawa’s heart.
So I converted my selfish thoughts into words and opened my mouth.
“I don’t think there’s any need to rush. Everyone has their own view on love. The most important thing is for you to enjoy being in love, right?”
“…………Maybe you’re right.”
Serizawa-san smiled at my words.
“You really are an interesting one, Irie… aren’t you? A charmer, though.”
“…Er, well, thanks anyway.”
“I don’t really understand what it means to like someone yet… but I do seem to like the time I spend with you, Irie.”
“Eh?”
With a teasing smile, she left those words hanging before walking away.
…………what was that supposed to mean? Hearing something like that, I’d be forgiven for thinking she fancied me.
Back in my past life, someone said something similar to me.
I got my hopes up, and when I finally confessed, it was awkward. She said something like, “S-sorry… I didn’t mean it like that,” and then she dumped me.
I won’t make the same mistake twice.
…But no, this time might be different—
“Bun-kun!”
Nanase Hiyori, today’s star, interrupted my thoughts to speak to me.
…Well, today’s just one of those days. A day when people talk to me a lot. Part of me has accepted it.
“..Eh? Bun-kun, you’re wearing glasses.”
“It’s alright, isn’t it? They’re matching with Serizawa-san.”
“..Huh.”
In a somewhat flat tone, Nanase took the glasses off my face.
“Eh? Why are you taking them?”
“Hmm… Why, I wonder? Maybe because they don’t suit you?”