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…
“Ugh… We were supposed to be eating cake and happily discussing our summer vacation plans. Why did it turn into a study session…”
Hiyori muttered beside me, urging me on.
We were studying at the library right now.
The usual four of us were studying: Hiyori, Misuzu, Tsukimi-san, and me.
We were supposed to make summer plans over cake at the matcha cafe, but it seems everyone had the same idea—it was already packed.
So we abruptly changed our plans to a study session.
“Hiyori, move your hands before your mouth.”
“Ugh… Hoshino-san is stricter than usual.”
“What can I say? We have final exams before summer break, and if we get even one failing grade, we’re guaranteed to be in remedial classes.”
As Tsukimi-san said, there’s this incredibly strict rule: get even one failing grade, and you’re locked into summer remedial classes. So the “failing grade avoidance squad” (me and Hiyori) are getting tutored by Misuzu and Tsukimi-san, who are regulars in the top 10 of our grade.
Hii-hii, me and Hiyori groan as we solve problems.
Across from us, Misuzu and Hoshino, also working on problems, breeze through them effortlessly.
Hiyori nudges me with her elbow and whispers in my ear.
“Hey, hey. Where do you want to go if we go out, Bun-kun? Is there anything you want to see or do?”
Things I want to see or do… Hmm. But summer makes me think of…
“I kinda wanna go to a summer festival.”
“A summer festival! Sounds great!”
“…Hiyori?”
“Hyaaah…”
Hiyori gets scolded again by Tsukimi-san. Then Tsukimi-san’s ‘What the heck are you doing?’ glare pierces right through me.
Yeah. Better get back to studying.
After studying English for about 30 minutes, I stumbled on a problem.
“…Bungaku, is there something you don’t understand?”
Misuzu, sitting across from me, noticed me holding my head and spoke up.
“Ah, Misuzu-san. I don’t get this part.”
“Hmm. Ah, this uses this grammar…”
Wow, Misuzu’s teaching style is super easy to understand.
Honestly, I thought she was more like, ‘I’m a feel-it-out kind of person. V.’ Sorry about that.
“…What? Oh, was it hard to understand?”
Maybe noticing my gaze, Misuzu asked, looking a little worried.
“Ah, no… it’s the opposite!! I thought it was super easy to understand.”
“…Oh, okay, that’s good then.”
Misuzu looked relieved as she returned her gaze to her notebook.
…Yeah. I’ll do my best. I want to get good grades in the subjects Tsukimi-san and Misuzu are teaching me.
I worked through the problem set, holding that thought firmly in my mind.
Another thirty minutes or so passed. Having reached the end of the test material, I stretched out fully to take a breather.
“Bun-kun? Where are you going?”
“Just to the bathroom.”
After stepping away and using the restroom, I went outside to get some air and take a break.
As I sat on a bench drinking a can of black coffee I bought from a vending machine, lost in thought,
“Whoa, slacker.”
I reacted to the teasing voice and looked at Hiyori’s face.
But for some reason, Hiyori was staring intently at my can of coffee with a solemn expression.
“…Bun-kun drinking canned coffee? That’s unusual. Did someone influence you?”
“Huh? Ah… The heroine in the anime I’ve been hooked on lately loves coffee, so I kinda got influenced by that.”
I answered honestly, feeling a little nervous. Hiyori’s expression immediately softened.
“Oh, I see. I see.”
Saying that, Hiyori sat down next to me. Was she taking a break too?
“Hey, Bun-kun. We’re the failing grade avoidance squad, right? That basically means we’re partners and a community of shared destiny, right?”
So the failing grade avoidance squad was that deep of a relationship… Well, yeah, our precious summer vacation is on the line, so Hiyori’s right—maybe we really are a shared destiny group.
“That’s why I think we should help each other out.”
“Hmm.”
“Like, studying together on the phone at night, sharing info on past exams or predicted test questions… stuff like that… wouldn’t that be good?”
Studying while keeping each other motivated over the phone, like keeping tabs on each other, might actually be good. Feeling like you’re not alone in the struggle really does boost your drive.
Studying by predicting what might be on the test using past exams and predicted questions… well, it’s one way to prepare for the test.
“Sure. So, should we start calling tonight?”
When I casually agreed, a smile spread across Hiyori’s face.
“Yeah! I’ll let you know tonight once I’m ready!! Oh, and one more thing—”
Hiyori stood up as if declaring her break was over, staring intently at my face as she spoke.
“So… what kind of girl is the anime heroine you’re so influenced by?”