I Reincarnated as the Villain Who Bullies the Protagonist in an Erotic Game, but I Just Want to Stay a Nobody, Yet Somehow the Heroines Keep Obsessing Over Me - Episode 19: The Person Who Came to the Stairs...

Episode 19: The Person Who Came to the Stairs…

Drawn by the shadow, I lifted my head.

There’s only one person who would know I often come to this spot.

“Shunichi…”
“Well, uh… what can I say? Hang in there.”

His words caught me off guard. To be honest, I didn’t think he believed me.

“You believe me…?”
“Yeah, I mean, there’s no benefit for you to do this now, right?”
“Exactly. I mean, considering what I’ve done before, it’s no surprise I’m being blamed, though.”
“Yup, that’s true.”

We both nodded and sighed. Well, if you think about it, Nishikouji being the bad guy isn’t a huge loss. But for me, there’s the whole death flag thing hanging over my head.

“How did you know I’d be here?”
“I dunno, just a hunch. You were framed, and even though it’s probably nothing to you, I figured I’d check on you anyway.”
“Ah… well, thanks. I was actually a bit shaken.”
“For real? You, Nishikouji Kaede?”
“Yeah, well…”

In some ways, I accepted it as something inevitable, but at the same time, it hit me harder than I expected. In my entire life, I’d never been framed for something I didn’t do. And I’d never been looked at with such hostility by my classmates, either.

Nishikouji, on the other hand, apparently never flinched at stuff like this. Maybe he really was a psychopath or something.

“Doing stuff like that, no wonder people hated him. But you’re not planning to track down the culprit, are you?”
“Not at the moment.”

If these kinds of attacks kept happening, I’d have to reconsider. But if it’s someone trying to settle a grudge, I’m not sure I’d have the heart to get mad at them. Not that it’s okay to mess with someone else’s stuff, of course.

Then there’s the other hypothesis I came up with: what if the protagonist framed me? I can’t see a reason why, but considering I reincarnated into this world, it wouldn’t be strange if something irregular happened.

If, for some reason, the protagonist was behind this, proving my innocence might just make them resent me even more. In this game, becoming the antagonist in the protagonist’s eyes is probably a direct route to a game over. I can’t afford to act rashly.

So, after thinking it through briefly, I decided I’d only clear my name if things escalated to a point I couldn’t tolerate. There’s still room for further thought, but I need to tread carefully.

“What now? Head back to class?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Second period was about to start. As we descended the stairs, a girl came toward us. She seemed to have been waiting.

“Sasaki…?”
“Nishikouji-kun. Um…”

Kana glanced around, lowering her voice.

“Um, I know you’re not the culprit. So… I want to help. I want to help prove your innocence, Nishikouji-kun.”