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 12: All the Main Heroines, Assembled

Chapter 12: All the Main Heroines, Assembled

“Na-kun, what’s wrong?”

“Yaohara-kun, stopping so suddenly is dangerous. What happened—ah.”

At the same time, the two girls walking on either side of Nayuta Yaohara froze when they noticed Chloe.

Finally, there they were—the heroines of this manga other than Chloe. Seeing them in person, I couldn’t help but study them closely.

As expected—

Both of them were stunningly beautiful.

The black-haired girl standing beside Nayuta Yaohara possessed a sharp, icy beauty that felt like it could cut you if you touched it—almost dangerously so. She was Miyuki Hitotsuba, the main heroine of Schrödinger’s Love.

On his other side was a small girl with softly wavy chestnut hair, whose gentle presence and deep affection were obvious at a glance. She was Kanade Nikaido, Nayuta Yaohara’s childhood-friend heroine.

Even when compared to Chloe Mitsushima—flashy, gorgeous, and overflowing with aggressive femininity—these two could only be judged by personal taste.

With Nayuta Yaohara at the center, these beautiful girls formed something like a different world right in the middle of the morning school route.

“Ah, Chloe-chan, good morning.”

“Oh my, I was wondering why there were two huge lumps of fat blocking the middle of the school road—and look, it’s Miss Boobs. As indecently built as ever, even first thing in the morning.”

“Wha—! That nickname again!? Cut it out already, that’s rude! Call me by my actual name!”

“Your name? Hmm, what was it again? You see, aside from your hair color and your boobs, you leave almost no impression. Let’s see… Aloe Mitsuoka-san, was it?”

“It’s Chloe Mitsushima! Don’t throw out names that almost sound right, Hitotsuba-san! You’re as nasty as ever!”

“Now, now—Miyuki-chan, Chloe-chan, don’t fight. You’ll ruin this nice, fresh morning air, okay?”

As Chloe and Miyuki Hitotsuba snapped at each other like angry cats, Kanade Nikaido stepped in smoothly, clearly used to this by now.

Judging by how polished this back-and-forth was, the three of them were technically friends through Nayuta Yaohara—which really drove home just how strange the common sense of romcom manga worlds could be.

“B-By the way, Mitsushima. You were talking to some pretty unusual people just now. Friends of yours?”

As if trying to change the mood, Nayuta Yaohara asked Chloe that question.

“Ah—yeah,” she replied, her voice still a little stiff.

“We met a little while ago because of a small thing, and ended up getting along. This is Reiji Jeromiya—he’s in the same class as me. And the one next to him is his little sister.”

“I-I see. A classmate friend, huh.”

At that point, Nayuta Yaohara looked straight at me.

No matter how plain he appeared, this guy was still the protagonist of a hugely popular romcom manga that had sold millions of copies.

I felt a bit nervous as I introduced myself.

“Y-Yeah, you’re Nayuta Yaohara, right? I’m Reiji Jeromiya, Class C. And this here is my little sister, Eru. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah—yeah. Nice to meet you too.”

After we both stumbled through our greetings, Nayuta Yaohara turned back to Chloe with a strangely relieved expression.

“Still… Mitsushima, I honestly didn’t know you had male friends other than me. Somehow—or rather… I feel relieved.”

That look on Nayuta Yaohara’s face, and what he’d just said, made me tilt my head in confusion.

“Huh…?”

Chloe Mitsushima also seemed a little tense, her expression stiffening slightly.

“I-Is that so? Did you really think I was the type of woman with such a narrow social circle?”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant—uh, you know, you’re popular, right? But even so, you never really tried to get close to other guys besides me.”

Well, obviously.

Up until a few days ago, she’d been completely crazy about you.

As I muttered that retort in my head, Chloe’s expression seemed to stiffen even further—at least, that’s how it looked to me.

Nayuta Yaohara scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“No, um—well, you know. I always thought someone more fitting than me would come along for you. I mean, someone like Jeromiya looks smarter, seems like a good guy, and all that… Rather than you going after someone like me…”

Ah. I got it.

I finally understood what Nayuta Yaohara was trying to say.

Basically, now that he’d seen me—Chloe’s friend—he wanted to say something like, I’m glad you found someone new.

The moment that clicked, a small spark of anger flared up inside me.

What the hell was this guy saying?

I became friends with her because I comforted her when she was completely crushed after getting dumped by you.

If Chloe were the kind of cold-hearted person who could forget you the instant she got rejected, then we wouldn’t even be friends right now—we’d still be complete strangers.

And if you said something like that, it was basically the same as calling Chloe an easy woman who jumped from guy to guy without a second thought.

No matter how dense a romcom protagonist was supposed to be, that was one line you absolutely shouldn’t cross.

“H-Hey, Yaohara—what you just said—!”

Just as I was about to blurt out a protest, gyu—the hem of my uniform was grabbed and sharply tugged.

I snapped my mouth shut.

Behind me, Chloe’s left hand was clutching my jacket, clearly stopping me from saying anything more.

“Chloe…?”

“He’s absolutely right, you know. Compared to you, Yaohara, Jeromiya is way more of a good man.”

Suddenly raising her voice, Chloe spoke up, and I turned to look at her.

She lifted her chin with a smug, can’t-top-this look, stepped behind me, and wrapped both arms around my shoulders.

“He’s super kind, really attentive, fun to talk to—and he eats the bento I make every day like it’s the best thing in the world, always finishing it clean. We’re not dating yet, but hey… maybe we really will be, before long.”

“Right~?” she purred, rubbing her cheek against my head.

Students on their way to school all turned around in shock at her sudden change in attitude.

While I stood there completely unable to say a word, Chloe grabbed my right arm—the one Eru wasn’t clinging to—and pressed her ample chest firmly against it, pushing in without hesitation.

“Aaah, what a waste of time. Lately I keep thinking I really should’ve met Jeromiya before you. Figures—someone as great as me was never gonna be left alone by other guys anyway. You’re seriously an idiot, Yaohara, dumping a woman this good—”

The slight tremble in her voice toward the end was something she couldn’t fully hide.

And it wasn’t just me who noticed.

Miyuki Hitotsuba, Kanade Nikaido—even my sister Eru—were all staring at Chloe with shocked expressions as she desperately kept up her tough act.

After forcing out that shrill burst of words in one breath, Chloe finally let go of my arm and turned sharply on her heel.

“Idiot. Why are you acting considerate now, of all times? You never even looked at me properly to begin with. If you were going to say things like that after dumping me—then you should’ve paid more attention to me from the start.”

“N-No, that’s not it, Mitsushima! I really did take your feelings seriously—!”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to dress it up like that.”

She let out a short, sharp sigh.

Without turning back, Chloe spat out those words and walked away.

“I’m fine now. So just relax in whatever way you need to feel at ease.”

As Nayuta Yaohara stood there, fidgeting helplessly while watching Chloe—

Suddenly, without warning, Miyuki Hitotsuba’s low kick shot out like lightning and slammed straight into his leg.

Smack!

A sharp sound rang out, followed immediately by—“GYAAH!?”

“Gyaa!? H-Hitotsuba!? What was that for all of a sudden!?”

“…Yaohara-kun. I knew this already, but that habit of yours—trying not to hurt people and somehow hurting them even more—is truly beyond saving. You trash.”

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Miyuki Hitotsuba looked genuinely irritated as she slowly raised her head.

“Um, Mitsushima-san—”

“It’s fine, Hitotsuba-san. That low kick was more than enough. Alright, I’m heading in first.”

With that, Chloe briskly walked toward the school gate.

As her back disappeared through it, Miyuki Hitotsuba and Kanade Nikaido both glared at Nayuta Yaohara, clearly blaming him for his careless words.

Being scolded from both sides by the gazes of two heroines, Nayuta Yaohara could only pale and panic in place.

And as for me—

I stood there, still stunned by what Chloe had just said, silently following her retreating back with my eyes.

“ONII-SAMA, GO AFTER CHLOE-SAN.”

All of a sudden, Eru let go of my left arm and said that in a commanding tone.

“E-Eh!? M-Me!?”

“I see now. I understand what’s going on between you and Chloe-san. This is more serious than I thought… which is why, Onii-sama, you should go after her and comfort her.”

“H-How do I put this… are you really okay with that?”

“What kind of misunderstanding are you having, Onii-sama? Besides, the Chloe-san right now won’t fall for someone like you no matter how desperately you try to comfort her or take advantage of her weakness.”

It seemed Eru had picked up on something only girls could sense, because her voice turned firm.

“She doesn’t have that kind of emotional room right now.”

Those words vividly brought back the sound of Chloe’s desperate sobs from a few days ago—when she’d cried into my chest without holding anything back.

I sucked in a breath.

Yeah.

There was no way the current Chloe had any emotional space to spare.

“I-I see… yeah, you’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

The moment I said that—I took off running, chasing after Chloe’s retreating back.