I Reincarnated as a Mob Character in a Romcom Manga—After I Kept Comforting the Third “Fanservice” Heroine When She Got Dumped and Cried, I Feel Like She’s Started Directing Some Seriously Heavy Feelings at Me - Chapter 02: Reincarnated as a Gloomy Mob

Chapter 02: Reincarnated as a Gloomy Mob

After that, the hazy memories in my head gradually began lining up with Reiji Jeromiya’s memories, and somehow, I managed to make it home.
It seemed I really had reincarnated as a guy named Reiji Jeromiya. Relying on his memories, I found my way back, took a shower, ate dinner, and brought to an end the unforgettable day on which I had regained my memories from before reincarnation.

The next day, carefully tracing through Reiji Jeromiya’s memories, I headed to the massive school that served as the setting of the original manga—Seiran Private Academy.

Even after entering the classroom and taking my seat, my classmates ignored me completely, as if I didn’t even exist within their field of vision.
Looking back through Reiji Jeromiya’s memories, I couldn’t find a single instance of chatting happily with someone or hanging out together, so I had already guessed he was the type with very few friends.

But honestly—this was more convenient.

Until I reincarnated as Reiji Jeromiya and regained my memories from my previous life, I hadn’t even been able to attend school properly, let alone have friends.
The kids I occasionally got close to during hospital stays either recovered and returned to their normal lives, or left for the other world earlier than I did.

Because of the repeated pain of parting, and even more so the constant fear of death looming right in front of my eyes, I had started deliberately avoiding people.
Little by little, my world shrank, until all I had left were the manga, games, and light novels my parents brought me—and I sank completely into those worlds instead.

Even so… it still felt unreal that reincarnation could actually be a thing.

I was sighing to myself when, at that very moment, the classroom door slid open with a clack, and a familiar head of silver hair stepped inside.

Chloe Mitsushima—the third “fanservice” losing heroine from the romcom manga Schrödinger’s Love.

So she really was in the same class as me.

I hadn’t been able to look closely yesterday, but now that I did, everything matched perfectly: her shining silver hair, her striking figure that didn’t quite feel Japanese, and even the small earrings that were just barely within school rules.
She looked exactly like she did in the manga.

For a brief moment, the noise in the classroom died down—

Then, several boys sitting diagonally behind me started whispering among themselves.

“Man… Mitsushima still looks insanely good today.”
“Yeah, seriously—pure eye candy again today. That H-cup every guy in the country uses as fap material is right here in the flesh, you know? This is heaven.”
“But isn’t she totally into Yaohara from Class C?”
“Right? I still don’t get why a girl like her fell for such a plain guy.”
“Who knows? Maybe she got bored of flashy types and wanted something different this time.”

Hearing the boys snickering to themselves, I couldn’t help but feel sorry all over again for the situation Chloe Mitsushima was stuck in.

Sure—

In the original manga Schrödinger’s Love, the nickname readers had given Chloe Mitsushima was “big slut.”

In reality, she wasn’t anywhere near as man-crazy as that label made her sound.

But considering how she repeatedly tried bold, borderline tactics to make the protagonist, Nayuta Yaohara, fall for her… maybe it was inevitable that readers ended up seeing her that way.

But that image was wrong. Completely wrong.

At the very least, the sobbing I had seen from her yesterday wasn’t fake or shallow.
It was the raw, broken crying of someone who had genuinely fallen in love—and had that love crushed.

Chloe Mitsushima wasn’t cheap or shameless.
If anything, she was just someone who tried desperately, putting everything she had on the line to make one man turn her way—

That was what I was thinking, when—

“Morning, Jeromiya.”

Out of nowhere, someone spoke to me—for the first time since I’d entered the classroom today—and I jerked my head up in surprise.

At the same time, the classroom noise, which had briefly returned to normal, quieted down once more at the sound of that voice.

Her silver hair looked like threads spun by angels themselves, and her eyes were a clear, beautiful shade of blue.
Her skin was so pale it almost glowed, and her finely shaped features made her look like a perfectly crafted Western doll.

And when you looked up from below, her figure was striking enough that her face nearly disappeared from view—an overwhelming sense of femininity.
Long, slender limbs that could only be described as completely unlike those of a typical Japanese girl—

That Chloe Mitsushima was standing right next to my desk, looking down at me with blue eyes that still clearly showed traces of tears at the corners.

Being spoken to so suddenly had startled me, sure—but more than that, seeing Chloe Mitsushima up close again left me utterly overwhelmed by just how stunning she really was.

Swallowing the strange shiver that ran up from my waist, I forced myself to speak.

“Ah—uh, Mitsushima…-san.”

“What’s with that face? And hey, yesterday you were calling me by my name without honorifics.”

“W-Was I?”

“You were. Anyway, Jeromiya.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Do you have any plans during lunch today?”

I thought for a moment, then silently shook my head.

For just a split second—only barely—Chloe Mitsushima seemed to relax.

“Good. Then eat lunch with me. I’ve got something I want to talk about. Let’s meet at the same place as yesterday, okay?”

She rattled that off incredibly fast, and without waiting for my still-dazed reply, she briskly walked back to her seat at the back of the classroom.

The moment she did, whispers erupted all around the room, boys and girls alike starting to murmur at once.

“No way—are you serious!? That Chloe Mitsushima just invited Jeromiya!”
“Hey, hey, what the hell is going on!? Why Jeromiya of all people…!?”
“But wasn’t Mitsushima supposed to be totally into Yaohara from Class C!? Is she switching targets already!?”
“Even so, Jeromiya feels like a stretch! I get Yaohara—he’s a decent guy—but still…!”
“Wait, was there even a guy named Jeromiya in our class!? I swear I just learned his name today…!”

Hearing the intensity behind those whispered conversations, I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh inside my head.

Reiji Jeromiya… just what kind of life had you been living until now?

Getting talked about this badly by your classmates was kind of impressive in its own way.

After that, I spent the time until morning homeroom started feeling incredibly awkward and out of place.

Only once did I sneak a glance behind me.

Chloe Mitsushima was resting her cheek on her hand, staring absently out the window.