Chapter 17 – Throb! Ba-dump! Zap!

“Kneeling formally? Why? Is it about something that serious? Well, whatever.”

Watase-san sat on her knees much more obediently than I expected. Her back was perfectly straight—a truly beautiful posture. Perhaps because she was wearing a slightly undersized blouse, the way she held out her not-so-large chest gave a tantalizing peek at her tummy. And I could see a little bit of her blue panties peeking out over the waistband of her pants. Maybe because the fabric was thin, the pattern of her bra was visible too.

“Ehh… I’m really bad at sitting like this, you know. When I sit up straight, my chest feels heavy, and I get pulled forward.”

Fujimiya-san complained while kneeling. When she puffed out her chest, it jiggled and bounced. What did? Don’t ask me. You can see, right? Boobs.

However, Fujimiya-san’s body gradually tipped forward until her chest rested heavily upon the table. The cleavage visible from her wide V-neck cut-and-sew top was quivering. They looked like they were saying, I’m not a bad boob, you know.

“Haa~ So comfortable~”

Ah, yeah. I guess that’s fine. She really does look comfortable. Having them so big must be tough.

And then Nao-chan knelt next to me as well. While kneeling, she stared intently at Fujimiya-san’s chest and leaned forward in the same way. What is she doing?

“Nn…! Nao couldn’t rest them on it… But, the tips are rubbing, and it feels kinda… good?”

What exactly is she doing? Yeah. Let’s not worry about it. Also, I wish she’d use a single first-person pronoun.

Well, putting that aside…

“I have something I want to say to the three of you, but first, look at this.”

I placed the Leo acrylic keychain I had just bought (or rather, was forced to buy) on the table.

“Ah, Leo-kyun,” they chorused.

“Don’t harmonize.”

“Right. This is Leo Shidora, whom you guys call your [Boyfriend]. I have one question for you here: what exactly is a [Boyfriend]?”

“The existence that holds my life and death.”

“My everything.”

“Fap material.”

Yeah. Everyone’s crazy in the head. That last one is especially crazy.

“I see. And you guys are saying that your boyfriend was stolen via NTR, but that’s not right, is it? I mean, this is a game character. So it’s not NTR, right? What an absolute title scam.”

“E-Even so! Leo-kyun saved me! Ayane should know that! That’s why this is NTR! …What’s a title scam?”

“That’s right. The reason I’m able to be like this is all thanks to Leo-kyun. So I have a duty to devote everything to Leo-kyun! She stole my right to sleep and wake up together with that Leo-kyun, so it’s NTR! …What’s a title scam?”

“Suuuper sexy voice.”

“Don’t worry about the title scam. That’s just my own business.”

This is that, isn’t it? The pattern where they make things way too complicated and mistakenly think it’s NTR. Well, if they themselves are calling it NTR, maybe it is. There are works out there where the protagonist is just a wimp who couldn’t confess to his unrequited love. When she dates someone else, it’s expressed as NTR even though they never actually dated, so it’s like a correct answer doesn’t even exist anyway.

Even so… it seems everyone at least understands that Leo-kyun doesn’t exist in reality. Did something happen to Watase-san and Fujimiya-san in the past? Something so bad they feel the need to cling to a 2D character.

Nao-chan is light. Lighter than helium.

“Even if that’s true, Ayane Watase-san isn’t the bad guy here, right? You all just lost in a first-come, first-served competition, didn’t you?”

When I said that, all three of them shut their mouths and went silent. So I followed up with another strike.

“So let’s stop thinking about revenge. If that game’s service gets terminated or something, all of this will have been for nothing.”

“!?”

“So—eh?”

My mouth stopped right there because all three of them had gone pale and started shaking, their teeth chattering.

“S-S-S-S-Service termination… Leo-kyun will… Leo-kyun will disappeeeear…”

Watase-san, your pupils are way too dilated. Don’t tear at your hair. That’s straight out of a horror movie.

“My 380,000 yen… The 380,000 yen I worked so hard for at my part-time job, wearing a uniform that emphasized my chest, while the manager said, ‘Doesn’t your back hurt with them being so big? Should I support them for you?’… It’s all gooooone…”

F-Fujimiya-san!? Did you blow your entire part-time paycheck on microtransactions!? And you need to quit that job immediately, you know!?

“Ababababababa.”

Nao-chan, don’t roll your eyes back into your head! Scary, scary, scary!

Ugh. This is terminal. There’s no helping this anymore. If they’re this deeply invested, it’d probably be impossible for them to find someone else they like and just forget about it. Good grief.

“Whoa, those girls are super cute.”

“For real. But isn’t there only one guy with them? Even though there are three girls.”

“And he looks like a totally boring dude.”

“It’s unfair, man—seriously unfair, it pisses me off.”

A man’s voice suddenly reached my ears.

Eh, what? Is there someone who is enviable around here? Unforgivable. Finding even one is hard enough, but three? That’s a sin. That man is guilty.

Oh, right, we were in the middle of shopping. I need to buy Nao-chan’s futon and stuff. As for these two… let’s leave them be.

“Well, we’ve got shopping to do, so we’re heading out, okay? Let’s go, Nao-chan.”

“Ababa?”

Speak properly.

And as we stood up, Watase-san and Fujimiya-san stood up too. Ah, they can move. Thank goodness.

Now that I’m relieved, let’s buy the futon, food, and various other things.

…………Why are these two following us?

They followed us to the bedding section, and even to the food area where we came to buy Nao-chan’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. They weren’t saying anything, yet they were following us and buying things. Pajamas in the bedding section. Snacks and juice in the food area. Well, surely it’s just a coincidence.

“Hey, look, they’re buying a futon.”

“And only one set? Even though there are four of them?”

“Having some fun tonight, huh? So annoyiiiiing~.”

Hm? It’s the voice I heard earlier. That outrageous man is nearby, huh? Still, what on earth does one set of futons for four people mean? Just how much are they piling on top of each other to sleep? Unforgivable…

And so, even after leaving the shopping mall, the two of them continued to follow behind Nao-chan and me. Whether we took the main street or the side alleys, they followed. It was honestly starting to get scary.

Just as I was about to complain a little, flashy-looking guys A, B, C, and D appeared in front of us.

What’s this? Were they going to say the classic line, ‘Hey there, kid, just leave the women and get out of here’?

Even though I thought that, the men didn’t say a word and suddenly marched straight toward us.

Flashy Guy A reached his hand out toward Watase-san, so I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, slammed him into the ground, and obligingly dislocated his shoulder for him.

(Throb!)

Flashy Guy B tried to touch Fujimiya-san’s breasts, so I kicked his knee straight on to bend it backward, and then gracefully introduced my knee to his falling face.

(Ba…dump…)

Flashy Guy C tackled toward Nao-chan, so I dropped my heel aimed right at the back of his head, giving him a chance to hug the earth tightly.

(Zaaaap…)

The remaining Flashy Guy D swung a nearby piece of square lumber down at me, so I tangled my right leg around the wood to snatch it away, then kicked the side of his head with my left leg, turning him into a permanent part of the wall.

What is this? A random street attack? Even so—

“Ah—that was scary.”

“…”

Hm? What’s wrong with the three of them?

(…Blush…)

Hmmm?