About the Case of Me Being Reincarnated as a Side Character Who Got Kicked Out Immediately Of The Story, but the Heroine, Who’s My Yandere Fiancée, Won't Leave Me Alone - Chapter 51: Everyone is a good kid, and he's happy

Chapter 51: Everyone is a good kid, and he’s happy

“Cold?”

“Yeah…”

It was a sudden piece of morning news.

It wasn’t strange for a human to catch a cold, but even Arisu, who was meticulous about her health, was susceptible to it.

…I don’t mean to sound rude, but that was kind of reassuring.

It made me realize that Arisu was just as human as the rest of us.

“Hey, you’re thinking something rude, aren’t you?”

“I was just thinking that even Arisu is human.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, nothing really. More importantly, I guess saying ‘hurry up and get better’ would be weird? It’d be lonely without you around.”

“I know. I’ll make sure to rest properly today.”

“Good.”

After talking for a bit, the call ended.

“She caught a cold?”

“Yeah, rare as it is, seems like it.”

“Haha, this might be the first time.”

I don’t think there was ever a moment in the original story where Arisu caught a cold.

There was a scene where the protagonist got sick, and the heroines came to visit one after another, but… well, even if it’s under different circumstances, it’s still lonely without Arisu here.

“Let’s go, Sakuragi-san.”

I got into the car driven by Sakuragi-san and headed to school alone.

Which meant—like that day—something might happen again today… With those thoughts lingering, I still walked into school with confidence.

Lately, having Arisu by my side had become the norm, so walking alone like this felt unusual, and people were definitely taking notice.

(But, yeah, it has gone down a lot.)

The number of glances from girls had significantly decreased.

The ones still looking were mostly guys.

Arisu had subtly handled things on that front, spreading the word around, which had likely played a big role in this shift.

“Morning!”

I greeted the class as I walked in, expecting no response.

But—

“Morning, Izayoi-kun.”

“O-Oh…”

“Good morning.”

“A-Ah…”

To my surprise, I got a response.

Two guys sitting near the entrance had greeted me.

We weren’t exactly friends, and I don’t think we had ever spoken before.

That’s why it caught me so off guard.

But at the same time, it felt nice. I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Not bad at all.”

It was still before winter of my first year of high school—plenty of time to turn things around.

As I was organizing my things at my desk, the classroom suddenly erupted into noise.

I looked toward the door to see Sofia and Filia peeking in.

“What are those two doing?”

According to Arisu, since the two of them hadn’t fallen into ruin like in the original story and had no arranged fiancés, countless families were now vying for their attention.

Their parents, despite keeping their house safe, had faced the brink of ruin, so they became even more meticulous with their business, which only led to further growth.

“…Ah.”

“There he is.”

Are they here… for me?

As our eyes met, the two confidently entered the classroom and headed straight for me.

“Good morning, Akito-kun.”

“Good morning.”

“Morning, you two.”

As always, they looked eerily similar.

But, of course, I could tell them apart easily—though Sofia was still the only one aware of that.

“What’s up?”

“Ah, well, Arisu-san is absent today, right?”

“She contacted us and asked us to stay with you today.”

“Arisu did?”

Apparently, they were here because Arisu had asked them to be.

But for her to go as far as making sure I wouldn’t be alone…

I mean, I wouldn’t say I needed that level of attention, but…

“Uh, well… I’m fine, really.”

“Seems like it. But we were asked, so…”

“Yeah, so aside from classes, we’ll be by your side.”

Saying that, they sat down on either side of me.

Now I had a “both hands full with flowers” situation.

…Though I didn’t want to imagine what people would say about this.

Still, knowing they’d stay with me despite that was reassuring.

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

When I thanked them, they both smiled warmly.

From then on, Filia kept the conversation going, while I responded, and Sofia, though quieter, seemed to be enjoying herself.

(Recently… Filia’s been looking really cute, hasn’t she?)

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Both Filia and Sofia were undoubtedly beautiful—anyone would agree.

Even Arisu had called them stunning.

But for some reason, at this moment, I just thought Filia was especially cute.

“Filia?”

“Hm?”

“Nevermind…”

“???”

For a brief moment, Filia showed signs of a potential yandere awakening.

But luckily, the conversation took a humorous turn, stopping it in its tracks.

And after realizing that I really was her so-called “fated one,” she hadn’t brought it up since.

Instead, she’d just engage in normal conversations like this, flashing her bright smile.

Which… honestly… made her even more of a straightforward beauty.

…I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.

“Hey, Akito-kun?”

“Yeah?”

“You know, I really enjoy talking with you.”

“S-Sure…”

And sometimes, Filia would say things like that.

Each time, her face would turn red, and she’d look down, making it obvious she was aware of her own feelings.

“… … …”

As I kept staring at her, she started fidgeting, before suddenly standing up and heading to the restroom.

“You’re pretty amazing, Akito-kun.”

“I wasn’t even trying to do anything…”

“Filia… ever since that day, she won’t stop talking about you.”

Sofia explained.

Apparently, after that day when I visited the Roland family with Arisu, Filia stopped mentioning “fated one” nonsense in front of her family.

Instead, she just wouldn’t stop talking about me when alone with Sofia.

“Well, I don’t mind. We always end up having fun conversations.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah. Anyway, we’re being stared at a lot.”

Sofia’s gentle expression turned cold as she glanced around.

“It’s probably because you and Filia don’t normally come over here.”

“I understand that our family draws attention, but… this feels different. More like… unpleasant stares.”

“Unpleasant?”

Sofia frowned slightly.

It wasn’t just about being stared at—there was something else bothering her.

“To put it simply… the stares are filled with why? or how? It makes me want to say, What does it have to do with you?“

“…Ah.”

So that’s what she meant.

More than people looking at her, it was the people looking at me—with disbelief—that she found unpleasant.

Most of them were from families with higher social standing than mine, likely the ones looking to tie their names to the Roland family.

“Akito-kun is my friend. I won’t let anyone interfere with that.”

“Thanks, Sofia. That means a lot to me.”

“It’s only natural… If anyone tries to ruin our relationship, I won’t forgive them.”

「……………」

With eyes as cold as frost, Sophia glared at them.

Their gazes soon vanished, but once again, it became painfully clear how much family status dominated in this world.

“…Originally, someone like me would’ve been crushed immediately, huh? Thinking about that, I really can’t thank Arisu enough.”

“You can’t say it’s impossible, but that’s just a hypothetical. Right now, Akito-kun has nothing to worry about. Even if you were to earn someone’s resentment, they wouldn’t act on emotions alone. They understand that making a move on you would be the end of them. That’s how powerful the Saijou family is… and Arisu-san is thinking about you.”

“Ahh… Wait, the way you put it makes me even more scared, though.”

“And besides—”

“Besides?”

“The Roland family is the same. If anything were to happen to you, neither Filia nor I would let them escape… not even to the depths of hell.”

At those words—”not even to the depths of hell”—the sound of chairs rattling filled the room.

I don’t know exactly what made them flinch, but whoever it was… they were probably the ones who, if I hadn’t been engaged to Arisu, would have done just that to me.

(…Wait a minute. If my engagement with Arisu had been smoothly annulled from the start, would I have already been erased…?)

Now, I can’t even imagine breaking off my engagement with Arisu.

But thinking that such a future could have existed… I really had been walking on the edge of a cliff.

“Akito-kun, are you going to visit her today?”

“Of course. Arisu would probably say, ‘Don’t come, you’ll catch it,’ but this is what a fiancé should do, right?”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

To think she’s even considering Arisu’s feelings… Filia too, but Sophia is really such a good girl.

I couldn’t help but think that.

(Seriously… it’s nothing but good girls around me. I even managed to prevent Filia from turning yandere, and Sophia is just as great as ever. Really, I’m surrounded by such wonderful people! That kind of extreme yandere only exists in stories, huh?)

(That’s right… we’re friends. No, more than that—I will be the one closest to Akito-kun. We’ll deepen our bond… and then, I’ll reach the moment where we surpass the boundaries of friendship… Fufu. Akito-kun doesn’t harbor any unpleasant feelings toward me. That alone is reassuring… but more than anything, it fills my heart. If I were a boy, I could be close to Akito-kun without worrying about anything. We could touch, spend so much time together… No, but if I were a boy, I wouldn’t have this heart-throbbing feeling. And more importantly, he’s looking at me with such kind eyes, just as I am now…)

(Ah, geez…! Running off to the restroom because I’m embarrassed—am I a child!? Am I really that childish!? But… but I can’t help it. I was just too flustered…)