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 45 & 46

Chapter 45: The Childhood Friend Who Steps Aside

…Stepping aside.

Just hearing those words somehow made the air grow heavy.

Both Chloe and I widened our eyes.

“Eh—? Nikaido-san, does that mean you’re giving up on Yaohara?”

“Yeah. I do like Naa-kun, but… it’s fine now. I’ve decided I won’t tell him how I feel. I’ll keep it to myself until the very end.”

That sorrowful sentence left Kanade Nikaido’s lips once more, and it struck me harder than I expected.

I was genuinely stunned.

“W-Why? I mean… the other heroin— no, forget the other girls. You’re the one who’s been with Yaohara the longest, right? You’re his childhood friend…”

“That’s right. Naa-kun and I are childhood friends. I know everything about him. What foods he likes and hates. The things he admires. His dreams for the future. I know it all.”

At that, she gave a small, lonely smile.

“And because I know him so well… I can tell that Naa-kun doesn’t like me. He likes Miyuki-chan instead. I can see it.”

Chloe and I inhaled sharply at almost the exact same time.

We looked at each other.

Miyuki Hitotsuba.

The very first heroine to appear in the rom-com manga Schrödinger’s Love.

The sharp-tongued, classic tsundere heroine.

“It’s my fault. Even though I liked Naa-kun, I didn’t want to ruin our friendship… so I kept sealing my feelings away. Even after Miyuki-chan transferred to this academy. Even after Chloe-chan became friends with Naa-kun. I kept leaning on the fact that I was his childhood friend. Like, ‘I’m the one who’s known him the longest,’ you know?”

“Nikaido-san…”

“But little by little, Naa-kun and Miyuki-chan got closer and closer. And Chloe-chan too, of course. Even then, I pretended not to notice. And by the time they were so close that someone like me couldn’t just casually step in anymore… I was too scared to tell Naa-kun that I liked him.”

Haa…

She let out a long sigh.

“It’s too late now, right? If I confess at this point, I’d only shake up the relationship between Miyuki-chan and Naa-kun. I don’t want to do that. Miyuki-chan is my best friend. I don’t want to get in the way of her being happy with him…”

In other words—she was stepping aside.

That was what Kanade Nikaido was saying.

Chloe and I could only stand there in silence.

Kanade Nikaido.

The childhood-friend heroine herself.

And now she was voluntarily dropping out of the heroine race.

That declaration hit me like a truck.

It shook my chest so violently it almost hurt.

Sure, in rom-com manga, it’s not rare for a heroine to step aside.

In fact, when it comes to the childhood-friends…

You could even say it’s practically tradition.

Just like Chloe Mitsushima used to be, the fanservice heroine had her own kind of curse.

The more she relied on bold, sexy attacks and used her body to go all-out on the protagonist, the harder it became for him to truly fall for her.

That was the fanservice heroine’s dilemma.

And the childhood-friends had their own version of that same cruel rule.

Because she knew everything about the protagonist…

She also understood, better than anyone, whether she even had a chance.

Whether she could win.

That was the “childhood-friend dilemma.”

A strange, invisible pull in the rom-com world that dragged girls into their assigned roles.

And right now, Kanade Nikaido was caught in it perfectly.

But still—

Even so, she was going to step aside?

This girl, who had been by Nayuta Yaohara’s side since they were born?

After that whole incident, I—a background mob—had stuck my nose in and stirred things up.

As a result, Chloe Mitsushima, the fanservice heroine, had completely dropped out of the heroine race instead of returning to it.

If Kanade Nikaido stepped aside too…

Then the first heroine, Miyuki Hitotsuba, winning would practically be guaranteed.

In a way, sure.

For a classic harem rom-com, that would be the most natural ending.

I knew that.

I understood it.

But—

Watching Nikaido get swallowed once again by that unavoidable rom-com-world force…

For some reason, a sudden wave of sadness crashed over me.

Hard.

My vision blurred.

My throat tightened.

“Ffgh…”

I lowered my head and covered my eyes.

Nikaido looked startled when I suddenly turned away and hid my face.

“Eh—Jeromiya-kun!?”

“S-Sorry—! I-I don’t know why, but after hearing that, the tears just—! Fuck, uuu…!!”

“Wha—Jeromiya, you’re crying!? Why!?”

“What else am I supposed to do after hearing something like that!? It’s awful! It’s so cruel! Stepping aside on purpose just because you care about the childhood friend you love…!!”

My voice trembled as I cried, and from the bottom of my heart, I pitied Kanade Nikaido.

To me now—someone who had already been reincarnated—she wasn’t just a character from some fictional rom-com manga world anymore.

She was my classmate.

A friend of a friend.

A real person standing right in front of me.

And knowing that someone like her had made such a painfully serious decision…

It hurt.

It hurt so much I could barely stand it.

Back in my previous life, I had lived clinging to rom-com manga my parents brought to my hospital bed.

There was one kind of development I absolutely hated.

The one I could never stand, no matter how many times I saw it.

The heroine who steps aside on her own.

Because think about it.

If you compared a rom-com heroine race to my old life of battling a serious illness…

Then “stepping aside” and quitting the race could only mean one thing.

Giving up.

Even I had thought about it a few times back then.

About giving up.

But the more I thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

It wasn’t something I could ever bring myself to do.

And yet—

Kanade Nikaido was about to do it.

She was about to carry out that painfully sad choice.

Of course I couldn’t accept that.

I shook my head hard, rejecting the idea outright.

I even pushed Chloe aside and grabbed Nikaido by both shoulders.

“Eh—Jeromiya-kun!?”

“No, Nikaido! That’s not okay! Absolutely not!! Even if you do that, nobody will be happy! All it does is create one more sad, lonely person in this world!!”

“J-Jeromiya-kun, i-it hurts…!”

“H-Hey, Jeromiya!? What’s gotten into you!?”

I turned to Chloe.

“Because—because it’s just too sad!! I know what that feels like! I spent my whole life in the hospital with a heart disease!! Stepping aside on your own… giving up on your own… that’s—that’s the same as killing yourself!!”

Nikaido’s eyes widened in shock as I shook her shoulders.

Chloe looked just as stunned, overwhelmed by my words.

Suicide—

That was the ultimate option I could never choose in my previous life.

Ending my own life so I wouldn’t burden my parents anymore.

So I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

Sure, maybe if I had chosen that path, I would’ve died more easily back then.

But if I had…

I definitely wouldn’t be here now.

I wouldn’t have become Chloe’s war buddy either.

With my eyes burning red, I turned back to Nikaido.

“You can’t think like that! Why are you dropping out!? Why are you giving up on your own!? There are so many people in this world who want to live tomorrow more than anything! Can you really say the same thing to them!? That you’re going to give up on something you might still be able to reach? That you’re just going to end it yourself? Can you really say something that cruel!?”

After my desperate outburst, she stood there, completely stunned.

Like some spell had just been broken.

“If you like him, then say you like him! There’s nothing wrong with that! If you don’t want to die, then you don’t want to die! If you love someone, then you love them! That’s it! Giving up on Nayuta Yaohara is absolutely not okay! At the very least, tell him you like him! Otherwise—otherwise… even the fact that you ever loved him will start to feel like it never existed at all!!”

Sniffling like an idiot, I wiped my nose with the back of my hand—

But I still shouted with everything I had.

Under my desperate words, she slowly lowered her head.

She looked exhausted.

“Nikaido-san… can I say something too?”

After a small pause, Chloe spoke, a little quieter than usual.

“I think Jeromiya’s right. I was only with Yaohara for about a year. But you’ve been with him since you were born, right? The way I liked Yaohara… and the way you like him… they’re probably not the same at all.”

Chloe Mitsushima—usually bold, loud, or rough around the edges—

Spoke in an unusually gentle tone.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to give up, Nikaido-san. I got officially rejected by Yaohara the other day. And even so, I don’t want someone I considered a serious love rival to step aside on her own. I want you to fight properly—just like me—against Hitotsuba-san. I’m sure Hitotsuba-san would say the same thing.”

After Chloe said that, a brief silence settled between us.

“…Jeromiya-kun really is amazing, isn’t he? Yeah… yeah, you’re right…”

Nikaido murmured that all of a sudden.

I sniffed again, still a complete mess.

When she lifted her face this time, something had changed in her expression.

Resolve.

Clear and unwavering.

“Jeromiya-kun scolded me, and it woke me up. Saying I’d step aside on my own… that’s not something I should say. No—more than that, I don’t want to say it. I like Naa-kun too…!”

In her beautiful amber eyes, a determined fire burned brightly.

“Jeromiya-kun, Chloe-chan, thank you for listening to me. I’ve decided—I won’t step aside after all. I’m going to tell Naa-kun I like him properly! I don’t want to just hand him over to Miyuki-chan without saying anything!”

Clenching her fist tightly, Kanade Nikaido declared it as if announcing it to the entire world.

Chapter 46: The Childhood Friend Holds a Strategy Meeting

“I’m going to fight Miyuki Hitotsuba.”

With those words, the second “childhood-friend” heroine, Kanade Nikaido, made her bold declaration.

Hearing that resolve, Chloe and I wiped our eyes hard with our sleeves.

Then we looked at each other and smiled.

“That’s the spirit, Nikaido-san! You’re Yaohara’s childhood friend! There’s no way you’ll lose to Hitotsuba-san!”

“Yeah, that’s right, Kanade Nikaido! Wrap Nayuta Yaohara up in that powerful, motherly aura of yours! If you do that, even Yaohara will have to start seeing you as a girl—not just a childhood friend!!”

As we both cheered her on at once, she let out a shy little laugh.

Her eyes softened as she smiled, slightly embarrassed.

“Alright then. If that’s your decision, we should move on to an actual plan, right? Jeromiya, Yaohara at least kind of realizes how Nikaido-san feels, doesn’t he?”

“Hmm… hold on, let me think… Yeah. I’m pretty sure he does. At the very least, Yaohara has realized that Nikaido doesn’t see him as just a childhood friend anymore.”

I quickly ran through the original story of Schrödinger’s Love in my head before answering.

Even in the source material—already well into its second half—Nayuta Yaohara still carried that stubborn, half-baked confusion when it came to Kanade Nikaido.

He never gave her a clear answer.

He just kept her suspended in that vague, uncomfortable middle ground.

“But we probably don’t have much time. Nayuta Yaohara’s feelings are already leaning toward Miyuki Hitotsuba. I hate to say it, but… the fact that Chloe got officially rejected the other day proves it.”

When I first regained my memories of my previous life, Nayuta Yaohara had said it clearly.

“I like Hitotsuba.”

No hesitation.

Clear as day.

Chloe nodded quietly.

“Yeah, he told me that too. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before Hitotsuba-san and Yaohara officially get together. We need to act before that happens—something that makes Yaohara stop and rethink everything.”

“Agreed. Nikaido still hasn’t properly told Yaohara how she feels. We’ve got to break through somehow—and fast.”

“Come on, Jeromiya, don’t you have any ideas? Even a lame one’s fine. You’ve got those so-called Akashic Records powers, right? Use your amazing psychic ability and fix this already.”

“Even if you say that… my ‘ability’ isn’t that convenient. Hmm… Chloe, don’t you have any ideas? Something that could shake Yaohara’s heart?”

“If I had thought of something like that, I would’ve used it before Nikaido-san even got the chance.”

“…Fair point. That’s why you ended up desperately pressing your boobs against him and going for the full-on seduction attack, huh? Sigh… I guess advice from the ‘boob support character’ can only go so far.”

“Hey! That’s way too harsh! What are you saying, Jeromiya!? Are you trying to say the only charm I have as a heroine is my boobs!?”

“W-Whoa, don’t hit me! Stop! Okay, okay, I’m sorry! That just slipped out!”

“Kyaaah! So that’s what you really think!? Calling this gravure queen comic relief! That was totally out of line! Right, Nikaido-san!?”

When Chloe tossed the question toward Kanade Nikaido—

She just stared at us, completely overwhelmed.

“Um, Chloe-chan… you and Jeromiya-kun got really close in such a short time, huh…? I honestly can’t keep up…”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. Well, I kept coming here every day to complain to Jeromiya about getting rejected, and somehow it just happened. Now we practically read each other’s minds. Right, Jeromiya?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s about right. Feels weird to say it myself, but we’re seriously close now.”

At that, Chloe and I naturally leaned closer and casually slung our arms around each other’s shoulders.

Then we looked straight at Nikaido with completely serious faces.

She blinked in shock.

“T-That’s amazing…! You two are more in sync than Naa-kun and I are!! How did you get that close in such a short time!?”

“Well, I mean… we went through a bunch of crazy stuff together as war buddies. Tough situations, life-or-death vibes—you know. When you survive that kind of thing side by side, it kind of bonds you.”

Together through so much.

At those words, a certain scene flashed across my mind.

Right—about one year ago in the original timeline.

It was summer, when they were first-year high school students.

Kanade Nikaido had watched fireworks while riding on Nayuta Yaohara’s back.

And in that moment, she had almost asked him about the promise they made as children.

That promise to get married someday.

She had tried to bring it up—

But the fireworks swallowed her voice.

And now, in the current timeline, July was just around the corner.

Which meant one thing.

Seiran Private Academy’s biggest summer tradition.

The massive annual event.

And for the readers—

The glorious swimsuit event.

This was it.

My eyes snapped wide open.

That’s right—Kanade Nikaido already had something Miyuki Hitotsuba didn’t.

An absolute advantage.

A built-in childhood-friend trump card.

“T-That’s it…! I’ve got it!!”

I clenched my fist and burst out with sudden excitement.

Chloe and Nikaido both blinked.

“That’s it! It’s so simple! Nikaido—last summer, during the seaside training camp fireworks, you tried to ask Yaohara if he remembered your childhood marriage promise, right!?”

Kanade Nikaido, gentle and soft-spoken as always, looked slightly overwhelmed by my intensity.

But after a moment, she nodded.

“Yeah.”

“That’s it! At the seaside training camp before summer vacation, ask him again! Ask him when he’s going to make you his bride! Tell him you waited a whole year, so it’s time he finally gives you an answer!!”

At my words, her eyes flew wide open.

Chloe’s eyes sparkled too.

“Y-Yeah, Jeromiya, that’s perfect! Nice one! If you do that, Yaohara won’t be able to dodge the question anymore, and he’ll realize all at once how serious Nikaido-san is! Two birds with one stone!!”

As Chloe added that, Nikaido nodded eagerly.

“I-I see…! I promised to become Naa-kun’s bride! Miyuki-chan never made a promise like that with him! If I bring it up, maybe Naa-kun will finally start seeing me as a girl!!”

That’s right.

The childhood-friend heroine almost always had that kind of promise with the protagonist.

It was practically a special privilege—an overwhelming advantage reserved for the childhood-friend characters.

Sure, it was basically a rule in rom-coms that the childhood friend tended to lose.

I couldn’t deny that.

But this time, there was one major difference.

Me.

A background mob who wasn’t even part of the story.

If I helped, maybe the outcome wasn’t set in stone.

At the very least, we could shift the balance.

Right now, the race heavily favored Miyuki Hitotsuba.

But maybe—just maybe—we could push things back to a point where Kanade Nikaido had a real shot at being chosen.

If that happened…

We might overturn the iron rule of the rom-com world.

—“The childhood friend always loses.”

If we broke that rule, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime giant-killing upset.

And the thought of pulling that off with my own hands made me tremble with excitement.

“Heh. See? I told you it was a good idea to talk to Jeromiya, right, Nikaido-san? Not only did he scold you for trying to step aside, he even came up with a plan like this.”

“Yeah, right! Jeromiya-kun, you’re amazing! Seriously amazing! How do you understand us so well? I suddenly feel like I can really do this!”

“Right? Jeromiya has these mysterious powers. Not just the Akashic Records thing, but… something else too. Like he can actually change our fate.”

Changing fate.

When I heard that, I turned to Chloe.

“Huh?”

“What are you so surprised about, Jeromiya? If you weren’t there, I wouldn’t have bounced back this fast. There’s no way I’d be sitting here helping Nikaido-san right now. And if you hadn’t gotten all fired up and lectured her, she would’ve truly given up on Yaohara. Seriously… you’re an incredible guy.”

Even after she said that—

I couldn’t just smile and accept the compliment.

“S-Seriously…? Haha…”

I forced out a weak laugh.

Chloe tilted her head.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Jeromiya? Did that bother you?”

“N-No, it’s not that… It’s just… I started wondering if it’s really okay for me to do this.”

I muttered the rest under my breath.

“I mean… I’m not exactly close friends with Yaohara or Nikaido. And yet I keep stepping in, telling them what to do, pushing things around on my own… Maybe I’m not helping at all. Maybe I’m just messing up your relationships instead.”