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…
โThanks, everyone, for helping carry it this far!โ
At Nanase’s words of thanks, Serizawa-san, Tsukimi-san, and I gave her a thumbs-up in return.
The day after the birthday party, Serizawa-san and I managed to carry the giant stuffed bear to Nanase’s house in about an hour, with Tsukimi-san helping us along the way.
Serizawa-san beside me was panting heavily and looked exhaustedโฆ
โฆwe started walking home, seeing Nanase off behind us.
โโฆIrie.โ
โโฆHm?โ
Serizawa called out to me. I turned around to find her sitting down, not moving a muscle.
โโฆCarry me. I can’t do this anymore. Walking is exhausting, tiring, and a pain.โ
โUmโฆ why not ask Tsukimi-san to carry you?โ
โAbsolutely not.โ
โButโฆ hm?โ
Serizawa-san held out both her hands.
โNo, no, stop being so selfish. Come on, walk yourself. I’m leaving you behind.โ
โโฆIrie.โ
โWhat?โ
โMy boobs are pretty big, you know.โ
โFine. Just this once.โ
โYay!โ
Tsukimi-san gave me a look like I was trash, but what can you do? Guys just love boobs, after all.
I hoisted Serizawa-san onto my back and started walking again.
The soft sensation against my backโฆ Surprisingly heavy.
โIrie, you’re not thinking something rude right now, are you?โ
โHuh? Oh, just thinking it’s surprisingly heavyโah, hey, stop poking my head like that.โ
โYou brought that on yourself.โ
Tsukimi-san, walking beside me, glared at me with a stern look.
Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t thanked Tsukimi-san for helping me yet.
โTsukimi-san. Thanks for helping me today.โ
โIt’s fineโฆ But seriously, couldn’t you have asked Shindo and Ayabe-san for help too?โ
โNah, I couldn’t drag two unrelated people into this.โ
โThat’s right, Hoshino. We’re actually pretty considerate, you know.โ
Serizawa-san, who I’m carrying, chimed in.
โI kind of wanted you to be considerate of me tooโฆ?โ
โHoshino helps out even while complaining, so there’s no need to be considerate.โ
โI’ll pull your cheeks.โ
โThat’s what Irie said.โ
โI’ll kill you.โ
Hey, Serizawa. Don’t drag me into this.
My head was being patted warmly by Serizawa-san, my legs were being kicked hard by Tsukimi-san, but we finally made it to Serizawa-san’s house.
โโฆIrie, thanks for carrying me. Today was fun tooโฆ See you both again on Monday.โ
โYeah, good work today.โ
โSee ya.โ
Serizawa-san saw us off, and eventually it was just me and Tsukimi-san.
I glanced at Tsukimi-san’s profile as she walked beside me.
In the end, Nanase-san explained that the late-night incident happened because she tripped and pushed me down. Tsukimi-san looked skeptical until the very end, but she didn’t press further.
โโฆWhat?โ
โAh, no, nothing.โ
โฆMaybe we should split up here before she presses me about last night.
โโฆAh, um. Should we call it here?โ
โWhat are you talking about? We can walk home together. I want to hear all about last night, too.”
Right.
โLuckily, we live close by and have plenty of time.โ
โYesโฆโ
โโฆSo, what were you doing?โ
โWellโฆโ
Even so, how should I explain it? Honestly, I don’t really understand why I got pinned down either.
โโฆWhat, were you trying to do something you can’t talk about?โ
โAh, noโฆ I mean, well, let me just explain the situation firstโโ
For starters, I explained the sequence of events from waking up late at night until Tsukimi barged in.
โI seeโฆ If it had been you who pushed me down, things would’ve been simple.โ
Tsukimi-san, your face is scaryโฆ
โHiyori can show intense possessiveness and jealousy towards things she doesn’t want anyone else to haveโฆโ
Huh? What? I didn’t know thatโฆ
At least, I never saw that side of her in โTenichiโ.
โShe wasn’t like that with Shindo thoughโฆโ
Sighโฆ She let out a big sigh, looking exasperated. Then she glared at me with those piercing eyes.
โโฆWh-what is it?โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆNothing. It’s nothing.โ
Huhโฆ That’s definitely the โnothingโ type of thing.
โAnyway, we gotta be careful this doesn’t spread over to usโฆ Seriously, how much longer do you plan on walking home with me? We’re already at my place.โ
โMy place is on the fourth floor of this building.โ
We’d just reached the entrance of the apartment building where I lived. The moment we did, Tsukimi-san froze, staring blankly ahead.
โโฆNo way.โ
โTsukimi-san?โ
โโฆI live on the fifth floor of this building.โ
…oh no. Never tell Nanase, ever. XD