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…
Bowling Tournament Day.
I sat at Spoccha with a sullen expression.
I really didn’t want to be here, but I figured it’d be more trouble if I ignored the plan and let Irie charm some new girl over here. Honestly, I had no choice.
There was a luck factor with the lottery draw, but I managed to end up in the same group as Irie.
It was a group of six: three guys and three girls. The members were the typical popular guys and the typical popular girls.
For now, I sat silently next to Irie.
The guys were talking to the other girls, not looking my way at all.
The reason was probably my outfit.
Bundled in a long coat, thick-rimmed glasses, a hat, and a mask, I was hunched overโbeyond plain, bordering on suspicious.
The plan was to get close to Irie like this and scare off the girls from other schools. By the way, Misuzu came up with the strategy.
โUm. Soramachi-san. N-nice to meet you.โ
Irie spoke to me, probably because we were seated next to each other. I kept my head down and ignored him for now.
Incidentally, I’m now going by the alias Soramachi Aoi.
โโฆAre you feeling sick or something?โ
Irie peered down at me, still facing downward, looking concerned.
This is bad. he’s misunderstanding something weird. But my voice will give me awayโฆ
Come to think of it, Hiyori said something like, โIf you type on your phone to talk, it’ll be fine!โใโฆbut no, this would definitely make him suspicious.
โI have a complex about my voiceโฆ I always communicate by text.โ
โI seeโฆโ
Irie nods, looking convinced.
Why would he believe that? This idiot.
โI never imagined someone like that existed in real lifeโฆโ
‘Huh?’
โAh, noโฆ But still, that outfitโฆโ
Seeing Irie look like he wants to say something, I type again and show him my phone screen.
โWhat is it? Got a problem with my fashion sense?โ
โEh, noโฆ Not at all. It’s justโฆ I got hassled by a girl wearing similar clothes recentlyโฆ I was wondering if it’s a trendy fashion thingโฆโใ
โExactly. You’re clueless about fashion, aren’t you?โ
โHuh, ohโฆ I seeโฆ That’s helpfulโฆ Should I wear this when I go to the movies with Tsukimi-san next week?โ
Absolutely not.
While this was going on, the bowling tournament started.
The guys were trying to impress girls by racking up strikes. Seeing this, the gals showered them with praise and squealed.
When it was my turn, I threw the bowling ball. It rolled straight into the right gutter, knocking over nothing before disappearing.
The second throw was the same. My first frame result was a gutter ball.
โAhaha, don’t worry, don’t worry~โ
The boys’ slightly mocking voices and the girls giggling as they watched me. I’m terrible at ball sports, so I knew this would happen.
โฆThat’s why I didn’t want to come.
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆ.My turn next.โ
Irie glanced at me briefly before throwing his bowling ball. It slowly rolled into the right gutter.
โฆIt’s a gutter ball.
Once again, laughter eruptedโeven more mocking than when it happened to me.
โWellโฆ guess I was off today.โ
Don’t you dare say that while glancing at me.
Irie’s first frame ended with the same gutter ball as mine. The order quickly cycled back around, and it was my turn again.
Sigh. Have to throw againโฆ It’ll probably be another gutter ball anyway. Ugh, I really don’t want toโฆ
โSora-chan. They say when you throw the ball, it’s good to aim for that triangle marker. Try to keep your body, arm, and ball facing straight ahead.โ
Shut up, gutter ball guy.
Well, I guessโฆ I’ll try to keep it in mind.
Following Irie’s advice, I focused on the marker, keeping my body, arm, and ball facing straight ahead as I threw.
โฆAh, four pins down.
โWhoa, nice!โ
I couldn’t help but turn my face away without saying anything to Irie, who was beaming at me happily.
After that, time flew by, and one game ended.
Thanks to Irie giving me all sorts of advice, I managed to get a decent score.
It was only once, but I never thought I could get a strike.
Bowling might not be so badโฆ
โHey! Bun-chin! Look at this! I got over 250!โ
โWhoa, that’s amazing! That’s practically a perfect game!!โ
The Irie & Kimura duo, two guys getting all excited together. And the girls, staring at Irie with pure hostility.
โSo how’d you do, Bun-chin~โฆ Huh?โ
The moment Kimura saw the scoreboard, he immediately turned his gaze toward Irie. Irie looked away.
โBunchin~ Let’s go talk over there~โ
โAh, yesโฆโ
Irie was dragged away by the grinning Kimura.
Where did they goโฆ Oh well.
I returned my gaze to my phone and sent a group message announcing the success of this operation.
โIrie, right? Why is someone like him so close with Kimura-kun?โ
โExactly. He’s not exactly handsome, he sucked at bowling, and he has zero awareness that he’s dragging down the level of this lane.โ
โSeriously, he looks so out of place, you wonder why he even came.โ
โHe’s obviously just the designated loser, right?โ
Irie was getting roasted by the folks on Lane 3. Well, couldn’t argue about his bowling skills.
Butโฆ
โฆthey don’t know anything about him.
Somehow, I felt uncomfortable here and left. Walking aimlessly, I happened to spot Irie and Kimura.
โBunchin. You haven’t forgotten today’s goal, right?โ
โAh, yesโฆ To rack up strikes, get fawned over by girls from other schools, and maybe even lead to something afterward.โ
โBunchinโฆ You deliberately acted bad so machi-san wouldn’t get made fun of, didn’t you?โ
โฆHuh?
โYou’ve gotten as good as me nowโฆ What a waste.โ
โButโฆ since we ended up in the same group, I wanted her to enjoy herselfโฆโ
โEven soโฆ didn’t the others make fun of you?โ
โโฆWell, yeah.โ
โHaa, why do you alwaysโฆ reallyโฆโ
โBut I’m glad Machi-san seemed to be having fun.โ
Irie said thatโฆ with a carefree smile.
I slipped away from the two of them, heading for the restroom so they wouldn’t notice.
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆ.โ
Standing before the vanity, I took off my coat, glasses, mask, and hat.
The half-up style Hiyori had set for me to look neat and demure. It was a bit messy now, but I could probably fix it.
I fixed my hair and fiddled with my bangs.
โฆThere was one more plan.
The plan Hiyori suggested: me, dressed up super stylishly, sticking close to Irie to intimidate girls from other schoolsโฆ
I rejected it immediately since it assumed Irie would notice, but I gave in to Hiyori wanting to style my hair and let her do it.
Not to brag, but I’ve been confessed to by boys just like Hiyori and the others.
So, I’m somewhat aware that my appearance is above average.
When I returned to lane 3, the boys’ gazes instantly turned towards me.
โโฆHuh? Who’s that cute girl?โ
โIsn’t that Soramachi-san? Wait, she was that cute?โ
The two boys ignored the girl next to them and stared at me intently. Even though they hadn’t looked at me at all until just nowโฆ
โAoi-chanโฆ right? We’re going to karaoke after this. Want to come?โ
โWe’ll treat! Come on!!โ
โโฆHuh? Tsukimi-san?โ
โBungaku-kun, you’re late.โ
I stood up, carrying both my bag and Irie’s. Then, I threw my arms around the stunned Irie and announced to everyone present.
โI’m going to Bungaku-kun’s place tonight, so sorry.โ
“”โ!?โ””
My bombshell statement sent Lane 3 into an uproar.
Seeing their stunned expressions gave me a sense of satisfaction. I dragged the bewildered Irie out of Spoccha.
โUmโฆ Tsukimi-san? Whyโ?โ
Bungaku, being pulled along, asked, looking completely confused.
โHiyori and Misuzu asked me to come check on you. That’s all.โ
โOh, I seeโฆ That hairstyleโฆโ
โDon’t say anything about this hairstyle.โ
โAh, okay. Umโฆ Wasn’t there another girl?โ
โShe went home firstโฆ She asked me to tell you thank you.โ
โI seeโฆโ
He smiled, looking relieved.
โActually, it didn’t go so wellโฆ I was having a hard time coming back. You saved me.โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโ
โTurns out, it ended up just like Tsukimi-san said, huh? Ahaha.โ
I stopped walking and stared intently at Irie’s face.
โTsukimi-sanโฆ?โ
I’m tired of roundabout methods like this time. Besides, I’m sure this guy would reach out to someone like me if they were there.
โฆLike today.
Even if everyone else laughs at him, without needing anything in return.
So, if Hiyori and Misuzu can’t say it, I have to.
โโฆStop hanging out with other girls.โ
โโฆYou mean girls from other schools?โ
โโฆYeah.โ
โโฆI understand.โ
Irie nodded, his face clearly reluctant.
โAre you sure it’s okay?โ
โโฆWell, seeing that look on your face, Tsukimi-san, I couldn’t really refuse.โ
Huh? What kind of face am I making right nowโฆ?
โThat lookโฆ What kind of look?โ
Irie thought for a moment, then said with a wry smile.
โI’m not going to say it because I’ll probably get scolded.โ