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…
After school.
I, Kirifuji Sena, was preparing to receive a visitor in the student council room.
Our student council is working to resolve a certain rumor.
It concerns the vicious rumors circulating about Irie Bungaku-senpai, a friend of President Kamito.
Currently, we’ve identified the culprit and gathered evidence; only the final steps remained.
Just as I finished preparing, a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
“Um… Excuse me.”
The one who hesitantly opened the door was the victim of this incident, Irie Bungaku Senpai
“Thank you for coming. The president told me about you. Please, have a seat.”
“Ah, yes…”
I spoke reassuringly, and Irie-senpai sat down at the guest table with a look of relief.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, thank you… very much.”
I handed Irie-senpai a freshly brewed cup of tea.
“My apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Kirifuji Sena, the Student Council Treasurer. Since I’m a first-year, you don’t need to use honorifics with me, okay? Irie-senpai?”
“Uh, sorry… I made you feel awkward, didn’t I?”
I smiled politely at Irie-senpai’s words.
“Not at all. For some reason, everyone who comes here seems nervous…”
“Oh, I see… So, you called me here today about the rumors about me…?”
“Yes. We asked you here to hear the perpetrator’s side of the story and then let you, as the victim, decide what to do next.”
I drank my tea straight, without sugar or milk. Then, as if following my lead, Irie-senpai added sugar and milk to his tea and drank it.
“It seems we acted quickly, so rest assured the rumor itself hasn’t spread too far yet… Soon, the president and the others will bring the culprit who spread the rumor here.”
According to the plan, they should be here any minute now.
The moment I checked the time, the student council room door opened again.
“Bungaku, thanks for your time. Sorry to take up your time.”
There stood President Kamito and Vice President Kimura. And the culprit—Basketball Club Captain Sasahara-senpai—was there too.
At first, Sasahara-senpai looked completely bewildered. But as understanding dawned, his expression gradually hardened.
“Um… so Sasahara-senpai is the one who spread the rumor…?”
Irie-senpai, still looking confused, asked for confirmation.
“No point in denying it, Sasahara-senpai. I have a recording of the rumor you told me about Irie-senpai.”
I smiled and flashed my phone, where the recording was stored.
“…Wh-when did you…”
“I’m pretty good at this sort of thing.”
“……………….Yeah. I spread the rumor.”
He looked at Irie-senpai with a resigned, self-mocking smile.
“I never imagined the Student Council would get involved… After Nanase, how exactly did you get it?”
“Sasahara-senpai. Literature is the benefactor who kept ‘my beloved person’ and ‘my precious friend’ connected. She’s my precious friend. Please stop talking like that.”
Rarely, truly rarely, that Kamito-senpai was angry. Quietly, but definitely.
“Why… why did you do this…”
“Mostly… it’s revenge for getting thoroughly rejected by Nanase senpai… I suppose.”
When I answered Irie-senpai’s question instead, Sasahara-senpai said nothing and fell silent.
“Ugh… what a petty little guy.”
Vice President Kimura made an unmistakably disgusted face as he said this, and I couldn’t agree more.
“…Well, sorry about that, Irie-kun. I won’t do anything like this again. I promise.”
A hollow apology, completely devoid of sincerity.
As if to make sure he understood, President Kamito drove the point home to Sasahara-senpai.
“…Sasahara-senpai, we’re watching you.”
“!! Ah… I know.”
Sasahara-senpai, visibly shaken by Chairman Kamito’s pressure, fled the student council room as if escaping.
I too thought his attitude was questionable, but seeing his back, which seemed smaller than usual, made me lose the will to speak.
“Well, the rumors have calmed down somewhat. I suppose this wraps things up?”
“I suppose so. Fortunately, we were able to act early on this rumor, and everything meshed together smoothly for a quick resolution… It’s good it didn’t cause any direct harm to Irie-senpai.”
“…Well, I didn’t like Sasahara’s attitude, though.”
“True… But we did make our point clear, so it should be fine. Let’s get ready to head home.”
With President Kamito’s words, everyone began packing up. We stopped by the staff room to handle some urgent tasks the teachers had asked us to do, then left the school.
As usual, President Kamito and Vice President Kimura were chatting happily, so I spoke to Irie-senpai.
“Irie-senpai, thank you for helping with the tasks.”
“Ah, no problem. It’s the least I could do.”
“…Actually, President Kamito thinks very highly of you, I hear?”
“Huh? Really?”
“He says you’re dependable, mature… and carry yourself with great dignity.”
“…That’s an overestimation.”
“Brilliant intellect, athletic prowess. A superhuman excelling in both academics and athletics… that’s the reputation you have in the student council.”
“Overrated!?”
Teasing Irie-senpai as we walked along,
“Whoa, this pond. It’s seriously filthy.”
Kimura-senpai muttered, glancing at a pond we happened to pass.
The filth was so bad that trash floated on the surface, and though it couldn’t be deep, the bottom was completely obscured. Probably poorly maintained.
“…Hey, isn’t that Sasahara-senpai?”
Where President Kamito pointed, Sasahara-senpai was frantically searching for something in the filthy pond.
“Probably dropped something? Ha, looks like he’s getting covered in mud. Serves him right.”
“Sorry. Tenma-kun, can I leave my bag with you?”
Saying that, Irie-senpai took off his blazer and started rolling up the sleeves.
“Huh? Irie… you’re not seriously going to help him, are you?”
“Yeah. I mean, he’s searching so desperately. It must be something important.”
“No way. That guy’s the one who spread those nasty rumors about you! Just leave him be!”
“That doesn’t matter right now.”
We were stunned by how casually Irie-senpai said it, as if it were nothing.
“Well then, I’m off!”
Leaving us gaping, he ran off toward Sasahara-senpai.
We couldn’t take our eyes off him—how he plunged into the ditch without hesitation, how he searched desperately, mud splattered across his face.
“Tenma cchi, what is that? That excessive do-gooder…”
“Ahaha, he sure is a do-gooder. But I can’t just leave a do-gooder like that alone. I like him. You feel the same, Ryota, right?”
“Huh? Hey! Tenma cchi!?”
The president also dropped his bag and followed after Irie-senpai.
“…Ah, damn it, those guys are seriously idiots!”
Saying that, Kimura-senpai set down his bag and started running toward the muddy pond.
I headed toward the shallow bridge over the muddy pond, carrying everyone’s bags.
“For now, please put everything you picked up on the shallow bridge. I’ll check it.”
“Thanks.”
I stared intently at Irie-senpai’s face.
His mud-stained profile somehow looked cool.
And above all, seeing Irie-senpai’s desperate expression made me realize.
Ah, I see. This is the kind of expression he can make for someone else.
My heart was stolen by those earnest eyes.
After searching until just before sunset, the lost item was found safely.
The lost item was an earring. Apparently, it was a precious memento from his late mother.
Seeing how reluctant he was to explain why, it was probably something involving a romantic entanglement.
“Irie, thank you… really… I’m sorry.”
Sasahara-senpai’s heartfelt words of gratitude and apology to Irie-senpai.
“Huh? Ah, ah… don’t worry about getting covered in mud.”
“No, it’s not just that…”
“Huh? So it’s because it got so late?”
“No, it’s not that either…!”
“You really don’t need to worry about it. Oh, right. Then why don’t you treat everyone to some croquettes?”
“No, that’s not it! It’s not about that!! Ah, no, I’ll treat croquettes, though…!!”
Somehow, the conversation between Irie Senpai and Sasahara senpai just wasn’t clicking.
“Tenmachi. What’s with this exchange?”
“…I dunno? Well, they’re getting along, so isn’t that fine?”
“…I guess so.”
We laughed at the banter between Irie Senpai and Sasahara senpai, which sounded like a comedy routine.