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…
“Hiyori—I’m home~”
The sound of the door clanging open accompanied a woman’s voice from downstairs.
She’s here…!! Hiyori’s mom!! I have to hurry and greet her and explain the situation before she gets suspicious!!
…Huh? Wait, Hiyori won’t let go of my hand…!?
“Hiyori, are you awake~? …Hm? Is someone here?”
Footsteps hurriedly climbing the stairs could be heard.
Oh, no! This isn’t the time to be messing around…!!
Somehow, I managed to get her to let go and re-tied my tie.
Alright…!! Here goes!
Steeling myself, I stepped out of the room to find Hiyori’s mother standing there, looking startled.
Wow, Hiyori’s mom is young!! She’s a big-breasted beauty with a baby face, just like her daughter. She doesn’t look like she has a high school-aged daughter at all…
“Oh, you must be…”
“Ah, um, thank you for always looking after us. I’m… Hiyori’s best friend…”
“Bun-kun… right?”
“Eh, uh… yes.”
“I knew it!! Hiyori always talks about you~?”
Is this okay? She’s not talking about complaints, right?
“Could it be… you’ve been taking care of Hiyori this whole time?”
“Well, yeah… yes. She’s sleeping soundly now.”
“Thank you… By any chance, haven’t you eaten yet?”
“Ah, no… I made some egg rice porridge and she ate it.”
Well, I just fed it all to her…
“But I asked about Bun-kun, not Hiyori~?”
Hiyori’s mom chuckled softly as she said this.
Oh, she’s talking about me.
“Ah, no… not yet.”
“I knew it! If you’d like, please stay for dinner! I want to thank you for looking after Hiyori!”
“No, really…!! Please don’t trouble yourself.”
“…No?”
Hiyori’s mom stared at me, her cheeks puffed out.
C-cute… Ah, no. Right. No good. She’s a married woman. Pull yourself together.
…Well, but still. Leaving after being welcomed this warmly might be rude… maybe?
“Th-then, I’ll take you up on your offer…”
“Leave it to me!! Mama’s gonna do her best!”
Hiyori’s mom stuck out her tongue and gave a peace sign. She really is cute… this person.
Hiyori-mama grabbed my hand and tugged me along, leading me to the living room table.
I waited for several minutes, watching her humming and efficiently preparing the meal.
A delicious-looking omelet rice was brought over.
“Here you go, enjoy your meal♪”
“Itadakimasu.”
I clasped my hands together toward Hiyori’s mom sitting across from me, then picked up my spoon.
“Mmm… delicious… way too delicious.”
“I’m so glad~ I was confident in my omelet rice, so I was relieved.”
She smiled brightly, cupping her cheeks as she looked at me.
“…Hey, Bun-kun. How’s Hiyori been at school lately?”
Hiyori at school?
Just the usual… I guess.
“Well… she’s bright, energetic, seems happy, and really popular. She gets tons of attention.”
“Mm-hmm. Anything else? Who does she usually hang out with?”
Who she usually hangs out with… huh.
[When you think of Hiyori-chan, you think of the class president, right? They’re always together.]
“Ah, me… I guess?”
…………Huh? Did I just say something super creepy?
“Yeah, yeah. I see, I see~”
Despite my creepy comment, Hiyori’s mom just nodded with a big smile.
“…Bun-kun. Thank you so much.”
“Huh? No, really. Just nursing her back to health… it’s no big deal…”
“Hmm~ That’s part of it, but it’s not just that. I think.”
“…Huh?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I heard it from Hiyori. All sorts of things… you know.”
Hiyori’s mom smiled, looking troubled.
Various things… That must be about Tenma and Ichika.
“Listening to Hiyori talk, I realized something. I think the reason she was able to keep going was because you were there for her.”
Hiyori’s mom suddenly narrowed her eyes and smiled at me.
“Bun-kun…”
“Y-yes?”
“Please take care of her, okay?”
“Y-yes…”
Hiyori’s mom nodded with satisfaction, seeing me nod reflexively. Then someone’s footsteps approached.
“Mom, you’re back… You’re all sweaty, so why not take a shower—”
Opening the living room door was Nanase Hiyori, dressed in her pajamas. She rubbed her eyes, then froze the instant she spotted me.
“Wh-wh-why is Bun-kun here with Mom!? Why are you eating omurice!?”
“Mom invited him. Right, Bun-kun~?”
“Ah, yes…”
“…Aren’t you acting all lovey-dovey with Mom?”
I’m not. Even if I was, I’m trying hard not to show it on my face.
“Ehh? Bun-kun, are you being all lovey-dovey with me? Mommy’s so happy~”
“H-hold on, Mom!! You’re too close!! Way too close!!”
Hiyori pushes between me and her mom, looking a bit annoyed.
“Ugh!! Mommy, go over there!!”
“Ehh~ Mommy wants to talk more with Bun-kun~”
“No way!! Bun-kun will get all lovey-dovey!”
“Ooookay…”
Hiyori’s mom, looking pouty and dissatisfied, was chased out of the living room.
“…Bun-kun. Why do you look disappointed?”
“Ah, no… w-well, speaking of which, is your fever okay now?”
Avoiding Hiyori’s somewhat reproachful gaze, I changed the subject.
“Huh? I wonder… Hmm. Come to think of it, I feel a lot better… Hey, Bun-kun. Why don’t you check?”
Hiyori looked up at me with a mischievous expression.
Huh? No way… Is she going to do it again? That thing where we touch foreheads.
“Hurryyyy!”
This is it. There’s no avoiding it now. I have no choice. Let’s get it over with before Hiyori’s mom comes back.
I brush Hiyori’s bangs out of her eyes with my right hand as she looks up at me.
“…? Bun-kun?”
Then, I press my forehead firmly against hers.
“!?”
Hmm… seems like her fever’s gone down.
“H-Hyahh!?”
“Hegoh!?”
Suddenly, Hiyori shoves me away and I tumble over.
Huh? Why…?
“Wh-wh-what…!!? Bun-kun, what are you suddenly doing!?”
“Huh? What do you mean… I was checking if you had a fever.”
“Why would you check by touching foreheads!? Normally, you’d use your hand for this, right!?”
“Eh, but you wouldn’t know that way…”
“You would know!?”
Seriously… What is this? This is unreasonable. Wait, could it be… she doesn’t remember…?
I’ve heard that when you have a high fever, your consciousness gets fuzzy and your memory deteriorates.
At least, if she remembered, she wouldn’t have reacted like she did earlier.
Or rather, if she remembered, she would’ve totally freaked out the moment she saw me.
Then… honestly, it’s a bit harsh to say, but that’s actually more convenient.
If even Hiyori doesn’t remember, I’ll just keep it buried in my heart as an accident.
“Um… Well, I guess I should be going soon? It’s getting late.”
“Ah, yeah… Dad should be coming home soon too. I’ll walk you to the door.”
Oh, right, Hiyori’s dad is coming home too… I should leave now.
I grabbed my bag and hurried toward the entrance. Hiyori followed right behind me.
“Well then, Hiyori. Take care.”
“Okay. Bun-kun. Thanks for today.”
I opened the front door and stepped outside.
Suddenly, I glanced back for an instant. I thought I saw Hiyori staring at me, her cheeks flushed as she touched her own lips.