Episode 44 – Oshi’s Feelings

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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…

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“…Alright, that’s it. I think.”

“Yeah~”

After school, Hiyori and I were handling some errands the teacher had asked us to do as class representatives.

Once we finished everything, we headed back to the classroom to get ready to go home.

“How should I put it… I feel like being class rep with you, Bun-kun, is starting to feel natural.”

“…Yeah, even though it doesn’t feel like that much time has passed.”

Hiyori nodded in agreement with my words.

“Right? I feel like our legendary duo has gotten even better too!”

Legendary duo… Well, while Hiyori was out sick, everyone kept asking me about her.

Oh, come to think of it.

“Hiyori, there’s that Kotori-san in our class, right? She—”

“Why are we talking about Kotori-san now?”

…Huh?

“Bun-kun… were you close with Kotori-san? Or did you get close while I was out?”

I looked at Hiyori in surprise. Her gaze was fixed on me. Somehow, the air felt heavy.

It was strange. Her voice hadn’t changed, she didn’t seem angry, nor did she look upset.

But the air was tense.

“Ah, no… The other day, when I mentioned Hiyori to Kotori-san, she said we were practically inseparable… So…”

Completely discouraged, I mumbled incoherently while looking at Hiyori.

“Oh, I see…”

Huh? Wait… The tense air vanished in an instant.

While I’m still confused, Hiyori suddenly seems in a great mood and scurries back to her seat.

Watching her absentmindedly as she gets ready to leave, I suddenly remember.

The classroom in the evening.

The slanting sunlight streamed through the windows, bathing the classroom in orange.

This space, dyed in twilight.

…Nanase Hiyori confessed to Tenma here, and got rejected.

“What’s wrong, Bun-kun?”

“Huh?”

Hiyori noticed I’d been staring blankly. She peered at my face curiously.

“You were staring at my face… Is something on it?”

“Ah, no… It’s nothing.”

Feeling a little awkward, I instinctively looked away.

“Speaking of which, how long are you going to keep up that fake relationship with Mii-chan?”

“At least until summer break ends, I guess.”

“Hmm…”

Summer break ends… Hiyori murmured under her breath, her voice a little lower than usual.

“…Bun-kun, have you found someone you’re interested in?”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

“Hmm. Love talk, maybe. So, I wouldn’t say you have someone you like, but you must have someone you’re interested in, right?”

“Ah, no… Not yet… Not at all.”

“What about Mii-chan?”

“Why bring up Misuzu’s name here?”

“Hmm. The fact you said that means it’s probably fine, right?”

Confused by Hiyori’s somewhat relieved smile, I opened my mouth.

“Well, I guess you don’t really force yourself to like someone. It’s more about sharing lots of events and time together, letting that liking grow…”

“Ahaha, I kinda get that.”

“…So, Hiyori, have you started noticing any boys?”

When I casually brought up the topic, Hiyori looked at me with a somewhat solemn expression.

“I remember. I confessed to Tenma here and got rejected… It’s strange. It hasn’t been that long since that day, but it feels like ages ago.”

Hiyori stared intently at the blackboard. Then, she slowly walked towards the teacher’s desk and leaned on it.

“Hiyori…?”

“……………….”

Hiyori looked at me with a gaze like she was praying, as if she’d made up her mind about something.

…Just like when she confessed to Tenma.

“I like you.”

…

………………Huh?

“So, I said I like you.”

Hiyori repeated it once more to me, who was completely flustered.

My mind went completely blank.

Like me? Hiyori? Me?

…………………………Why?

“I, I…”

“…I confessed to Tenma like that, right?”

Huh? Ah, yeah?

“And then, I got completely rejected… and ended up running away from here.”

Yes. She wore a smile that was troubled, sad… and utterly drained of energy.

Ah, ahh!! I see, it’s a reenactment of Tenma’s confession scene!!

Ah, that was close…!! I almost blurted out something weird…!!

“The moment I got rejected was really painful, but thanks to Bun-kun, I was able to recover.”

“Huh? Me?”

I unconsciously repeated the unexpected name.

“Even though I knew Tenma would reject me if I confessed back then, I’m glad I went for it anyway. Because of that, I got to connect with you, Bun-kun.”

Hiyori smiled brightly, showing her white teeth.

“…Hey, Bun-kun. Let’s all go around the summer festival together.”

“Huh? Oh… Yeah. Sounds good.”

“We’ll go around the school festival together, and on the school trip, we’ll go wherever we want together. Oh, and I want to have a Halloween party too!”

“O-okay…”

“And… Christmas… too. It’s booked.”

Blushing, she held out her pinky finger.

“I don’t think you need to book anything…”

Thinking to myself how sad that sounded, I offered my pinky and made a pinky promise.

“Because we might have a party with everyone else!”

“…Huh? Just the two of us!?”

“Yes!! That means you can’t meet anyone else but me!”

Oh, oh… Seriously?

Dad, Mom, Pochi.

I made a Christmas date with a girl (a beautiful girl) for the first time.

…Even if it’s about half a year away.

“…Do you get it?”

Hiyori asked, her eyes glistening.

“Huh? It means we’re going to hang out together on Christmas, right? What else could it mean?”

When I said that, Hiyori slumped her shoulders.

“…Well, that’s just Bun-kun.”

Somehow, I didn’t feel like that was a compliment.

“…Huh? What about New Year’s?”

“…New Year’s is fine.”

“Why?”

Hiyori gave me a gentle smile as I tilted my head in question.

“Because I’ll make sure we can spend it together, even without making reservations.”

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