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 23: A Post on the Bulletin Board

Episode 23: A Post on the Bulletin Board

“Kaede, did you see the school bulletin board today?!”

As soon as I arrived at school, Narita rushed over to me.

“The bulletin board… I don’t usually check it,” I replied.

“Come on, just look at it now!”

Narita turned on his phone’s screen.

“Uh, ‘About Nishikouji Kaede’s wrongdoings in Class 5’…? What is this?”

“I’m not sure of the details, but look here,” Narita pointed to a section.

I read the part he pointed to:

“Nishikouji Kaede has been secretly bullying his classmate Saitou Daisuke. He has been using violence and extortion in places where no one can see. His wrongdoings don’t end there. He has repeatedly bullied others since middle school, using his power to cover up everything. High school students should be wary…”

This…

“Is this… Saitou’s doing?”

“Yeah, it probably is.”

Narita nodded in agreement.

“But normal students probably won’t think it’s Saitou’s work. What we’re looking at is… someone who knows about our middle school days, or maybe someone we wronged,” he added.

“Well, if that’s the case, then we’re the ones at fault. We probably deserve the blame.”

Looking around, I noticed that every student gossiping quickly turned their eyes away from me. It was clear that this rumor was going to spread throughout the school.

Even in games, the heroine’s bad reputation would often spread via a bulletin board, causing problems. Unfortunately, in this school, using the bulletin board seemed to be the norm.

“So, what do we do? Since it’s anonymous, there’s no way to prove Saitou wrote it,” I asked.

“Even if we ask the bulletin board administrator, it’s not like we can do much about it. Plus, we don’t even know who posted it,” Narita replied.

“Hmm… I guess we have to start gathering evidence.”

“Yeah, we’ve definitely been marked as enemies.”

“Why are you getting marked as the enemy? Did you do something?”

“I didn’t do anything to Saitou. Maybe it’s because of some middle school friend I had? Maybe I did something to them…”

“That seems like a possibility.”

That’s the only thing I could think of. They probably know about my past.

Well… there is one more possibility…

“Reincarnators, or something?”

“What?”

“Ah, nothing.”

It seemed unlikely, given his actions, but who knew? His behavior didn’t seem to align with the game, so maybe he just didn’t know the story? No, this was all too confusing.

“We can’t just ignore it anymore, right?”

“Yeah. If we leave it alone, he’ll probably keep doing things like this.”

“Yeah. If we want to gather evidence, the safest bet would be setting up a camera.”

“Right. We could hide it in the classroom… but that would take time.”

“Yeah, that’s a problem.”

“Other options would be for me to just ask Saitou directly.”

“Ah…”

Narita seemed to get it.

“That’s actually a pretty good idea.”

“Then we could record the conversation, and if he slips up, we’ll have proof. To make sure it doesn’t seem like we’re pressuring him, we could set up a camera too. That way, it wouldn’t seem like we’re just threatening him into talking.”

It was a brilliant idea.

We didn’t know what Saitou would do next, so confronting him directly might be the quickest way.

Unfortunately, I’d have to get involved with the protagonist, but I couldn’t just let this slide anymore.

“As a temporary solution, that should work. But don’t meet him alone; it’s too risky. Let’s bring Sasaki along. We can watch from the background.”

“That would make me feel safer… Wait, Shunichi, are you getting a little excited about this?”

“I-I’m not!”

“Then why are you looking away, Narita Shunichi?”

“Alright, alright. Let’s just go with that plan for now.”

Narita smiled widely, clearly enjoying this.

“Let’s make a plan quickly. This way, you won’t be the villain anymore.”

“Not being the villain, huh…”

“Yeah.”

If that’s the case, then fine.

“Hey, didn’t you see those crazy posts on the bulletin board yesterday?”

The first heroine of this story, Hananoi Ayame, turned around at her friend’s words.

“That’s why the classroom is so noisy today…”

“Crazy posts?”

“Yeah. Something about Nishikouji in Class 5 being a bully. The hate in it was way stronger than usual. It was honestly a bit scary to read.”

“That’s scary indeed.”

Ayame frowned slightly. She was raised in a sheltered environment and was a kind-hearted girl. She wasn’t good at handling these kinds of rumors.

“Yeah, right? Oh, speaking of Nishikouji, remember the fight he had during the entrance ceremony?”

“Fight at the entrance ceremony? That’s a pretty dangerous story.”

“Yeah. He apparently skipped school that day. Then the next day, he came to school with a swollen cheek. So it seems pretty certain. I guess he must have made a lot of enemies. By the way, this rumor is pretty famous, but you didn’t know about it, Ayame?”

“This is the first time I’m hearing about it.”

Around the time of the entrance ceremony, she was too preoccupied with the stalker rumors to pay attention to anything else. Plus, Ayame didn’t like gossip in general.

…Hmm? A stalker? A swollen cheek?

“Can I ask the name of that person?”

“That person… you mean Nishikouji? It’s Nishikouji Kaede from Class 5.”

“I see. Nishikouji-san, thank you.”

“Why are you curious about Nishikouji?”

“I think he might be the person who helped me before.”

“You’re kidding, right? After all, ever since he started, all we’ve heard about are bad rumors.”

“I still want to check. Because, after all, he never told me his name. I just want to thank him properly.”

That day, she had tried to thank him but had been rejected. Since then, she’d searched for him many times, but never found a way to learn his name…

“I see… Well, good luck! I hope you can find the person you want to thank soon.”

“Yes!”

Ayame nodded firmly. This was the first real chance she had, and she couldn’t let it slip away.

(I will definitely find him and say thank you.)

Ayame made a strong vow in her heart.