I Reincarnated as the Counselor NPC in a Dating Sim, and Now Every Heroine I Treat Becomes Obsessed with Me - Chapter 08: “The Transfer Student Arrives—The Game Begins”

Chapter 08: “The Transfer Student Arrives—The Game Begins”

May 7th.
The first day after the long holiday.

The staff room was unusually noisy that morning.

“Looks like we’ve got a transfer student starting today.”

“That’s rare for this time of year. What’s he like?”

“Haruto… Hanasaki, I think. His father got transferred from Tokyo.”

While being slowly roasted by the copier’s exhaust heat, I heard the name.

Haruto Hanasaki.

He’s here.

Finally—

The game’s protagonist had arrived at this academy.

(From here on, the scenario of Bloom Garden begins to move.)

A cold tension ran through my chest.

—

Before first period, I stood by the hallway window and looked down at the courtyard.

A single male student was walking in through the main gate.

Haruto Hanasaki.

He was refreshingly good-looking.

Even from a distance, his features were well-defined.

Tall and lean.

Wearing a brand-new uniform like it had been tailored for him.

Bag slung casually over one shoulder.

He walked like he belonged in a youth drama.

The kind of guy whose hair would flutter perfectly if the wind blew.

It was the game’s opening CG—brought to life.

No—

Reality felt a little more vivid than 2D.

The real Haruto seemed far more human than the version I had seen through a screen.

Obviously.

Girls passing by turned to look.

Whispers spread.

“Did you see him?”

“Is that the transfer student?”

“He’s so cute…”

The opening of episode one.

Accuracy: one hundred percent.

I stepped away from the window and returned to the counseling room.

(Alright. Now the real part begins.)

Haruto’s transfer caused an even bigger stir than I expected.

By lunchtime, the whole school was talking about him.

“I heard there’s a transfer student in Class 2-3.”

“He’s super refreshing and handsome.”

“They say he’s good at sports too.”

“And really easy to talk to!”

Bits of information floated around me in the hallway as I went to buy convenience-store bentos.

Class 2-3.

The same class as the heroines.

Just like in the game.

Midori. Rin. Akane. Mio.

All in the same classroom.

Only Shizuku was different—she was a first-year. In the game, her encounter with Haruto happened in the library.

Which meant—

Starting today, Haruto would be spending every day in the same room as four of them.

I bought two bentos and headed to the rooftop.

I opened the door.

The usual scene.

—Except today, something felt slightly off.

Akane’s expression was different.

She was leaning against the fence as always.

But there was a faint irritation in her eyes.

“…You came.”

“Like always.”

I placed the bento at the midpoint.

Chicken nanban today.

Yesterday, Akane had said she preferred fried food—

As a complaint.

She stared at the box for a moment, then walked over and picked it up without a word.

She opened the lid.

Snapped her chopsticks apart.

But she didn’t start eating.

She stared at the chicken nanban blankly—

Then muttered, almost to herself.

“…A transfer student showed up today.”

“Yeah.”

“He’s like… always grinning, talking to anyone right away.”

“I see.”

“He even talked to me. Said, ‘Nice to meet you, Hinomiya!’”

“And what did you say?”

“I told him, ‘You’re annoying. Don’t act so familiar.’”

“Mm.”

“He just laughed. Like, ‘Haha, you’ve got spirit!’ —It’s not like I was actually mad, though.”

Akane poked at her lunch with her chopsticks.

“…He’s kind of light, you know. I can tell he’s not a bad guy. But it’s like…”

She searched for the right words.

“…Like you can’t tell if he’s actually listening to you.”

I nodded quietly.

Akane’s instincts were sharp.

Haruto wasn’t a bad person.

He spoke out of goodwill.

He just wasn’t the type who read between the lines.

When Akane said “You’re annoying,” not many people would notice the caution and unease behind it.

Haruto would take the words at face value and respond brightly.

That was one valid way to communicate.

But for someone like Akane—

Who wanted her unspoken feelings to be understood—

It didn’t quite align.

It wasn’t about good or bad.

It was about compatibility.

“Well, it’s his first day. Anyone would be trying their best. If you watch him a little longer, your impression might change.”

“…Whatever. I’m not interested.”

Akane tossed a piece of chicken nanban into her mouth.

Conversation over.

I didn’t push further.

I simply went back to eating my own lunch.

(Haruto Hanasaki. You didn’t do anything wrong. Talking to your classmates on your first day is the right move. It’s just… your way won’t reach this girl. And the frustrating part is, that’s no one’s fault.)

—

After school.

Counseling room.

Shizuku came.

Same seat.

Same book.

Same—

—Or it should have been.

But today, Shizuku was slightly restless.

Her book was open, yet the pages weren’t turning.

She kept staring at the same page.

Every now and then, her eyes drifted toward the window.

“Shizuku-chan. Did something happen today?”

She looked at me.

After a few seconds of silence, she took out her memo pad.

『Today, someone I didn’t know talked to me in the library』

“Someone you didn’t know?”

『The transfer student. He asked, “Do you have any book recommendations?”』

(…It’s already moving.)

Haruto’s actions were following the game’s script exactly.

The first event in Shizuku’s route was “asking for a book recommendation in the library.”

To be honest, the action itself wasn’t bad.

Approaching a girl who likes books in the library—

That’s normal communication.

But Haruto probably had no idea how much stress “being suddenly spoken to by a stranger” could cause for Shizuku.

And he wouldn’t.

He didn’t know her circumstances.

“How did you respond?”

Shizuku began writing again.

『I couldn’t say anything. I stayed quiet, and he said, “Then maybe next time!” and left』

“Then maybe next time.”

That was very Haruto.

Light. Easy. No pressure.

No bad intentions.

If anything, you could say he backed off because she didn’t respond.

In the game, this is where Haruto keeps coming back to the library, talking to her again and again, slowly raising her affection.

In the game, that’s the correct route.

But for the real Shizuku—

Right now, what she needs is someone who doesn’t push her to talk.

I waited for her to speak when she was ready.

Haruto would probably go talk to her again.

That’s his kindness.

It’s not wrong.

It’s just not compatible.

Shizuku slid another memo across the desk.

『Will he come again?』

I considered the meaning behind the question.

“He might. Transfer students usually try talking to lots of people at first.”

She stared at my face for a few seconds.

Then she wrote again.

『Sensei, you didn’t tell me to “talk,” like he did』

My heart jumped.

She was—

Comparing us.

Me and Haruto.

“…Yeah. I won’t. Your pace is what matters, Shizuku-chan.”

She nodded.

More deeply than usual.

Then she handed me another memo.

『I like your way better, Sensei』

(…………)

The calm, professional part of my brain analyzed it.

This wasn’t “romantic affection.”

It was an expression of comfort.

Shizuku was simply saying that my approach made her feel safe.

Nothing more.

That was all.

And yet—

The two characters “I like” stood out on the memo with unnecessary weight.

(Stay professional, Ren Asagiri. This is normal positive feedback within a therapeutic relationship. Nothing more, nothing less. Just because your favorite heroine wrote “I like” doesn’t mean you get flustered. Don’t get flustered. I am not flustered. Absolutely not.)

“Thank you. I’m glad to hear that.”

I answered as calmly as I could.

The fact that my voice didn’t crack deserves recognition.

—

Evening.

After Shizuku left, I stood by the counseling room window and looked down at the courtyard.

Haruto was sitting on a bench.

He was surrounded by several girls, laughing easily.

First day at school, and already this popular.

And in that circle—

Was Rin.

“Ahaha, Haruto-kun, you’re hilarious!”

Her laughter carried all the way up here.

Bright.

Like the sun.

She was laughing as always.

Playing her role as the mood-maker, lifting the atmosphere.

Haruto would look at that smile and think, Rin is so energetic.

That would be the normal conclusion.

Her smile was that convincing.

He didn’t know—

The Rin I saw in the infirmary.

The one hiding a sprained ankle and saying, “I’m fine!”

And for now—

He had no way of knowing.

(…I’m counting on you, Haruto Hanasaki. If you someday notice what’s behind that smile—maybe I can finally relax and go back to being a background character.)

I knew that was unrealistic.

At least for now.

Even in the game, Rin’s true feelings only surfaced in the later chapters.

Haruto was still at the “surface” stage.

That couldn’t be helped.

They had only just met.

But—

I had already seen what lay underneath.

In just one month, I had seen it.

And that created a strange sense of guilt.

A mere NPC, stepping ahead of the protagonist and touching the heroines’ inner worlds.

Originally, this was supposed to be a story where the protagonist saved the heroines.

I was nothing more than a one-line text character.

And yet—

I had seen their tears.

Accepted their silence.

Lined up bentos on a rooftop.

Maybe I was overstepping.

(But once you’ve seen something, you can’t pretend you haven’t. I’m not skilled enough to look at their wounds and act like I saw nothing.)

I closed the window.

Starting tomorrow, the game’s scenario and my counseling would run side by side.

Haruto would draw closer to the heroines.

And I would continue facing their hearts.

The front side of the game—

And the back side.

The official-route protagonist—

And the one-line NPC—

Standing beside the same girls.

(For the record, the vice principal still hasn’t remembered my name. This morning I was once again “the counseling teacher.” Meanwhile, Haruto apparently had every teacher memorizing his full name on day one. …Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a little jealous. Just a little.)

The everyday life of a mob character continued.