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 39: A Turbulent Event

Episode 39: A Turbulent Event

“Well then, goodbye. I had so much fun today.” “Thanks to you, I had fun too.”

After walking Ayame to her nearest station, we parted ways. We finished window shopping just like that, maintaining the slightly close distance that might have been a little unusual for friends. But I think things went pretty well overall.

Waving goodbye to Ayame, I waved back and started heading home.

Now that I think about it, didn’t I see someone who looked like Kana Sasaki before we went to the mall? There’s no way she’d be in a place like that, though. It was probably a good thing I didn’t call out to her. That would’ve been super embarrassing.

The regret of thinking so nonchalantly about that would come the next day.

“Hey, Nishikikouji, this is bad!” “What’s going on?” “What? Do you mean you haven’t checked the message board yet? It’s a total uproar!”

“Sorry, I don’t usually check it…” “Here, just look at my phone. This!”

The day after I hung out with Ayame, as soon as I got to school, Narita came up to me in a panic. Deja vu hit me like a truck.

Still, I never developed a habit of checking message boards in my past life. Apparently, in this world, the school message board is the place for the latest gossip.

“Uh… First-year Class 5, Sasaki kana… compensated dating…?” I read the words right in front of me out loud. But my brain couldn’t process them. What is this supposed to mean?

“Look, there’s even a photo. Someone from our class probably took it.”

Narita lowered his voice. The people around us were whispering as well. Most of them were probably talking about Kana.

After checking the atmosphere, I looked down at the phone in front of me. Sure enough, there was a photo of Kana walking with a man in the Love Hotel district.

She hadn’t shown up at school yet today, which was unusual. Knowing Kana, who’s pretty plugged into information, she probably already knew about this. In that case, maybe she decided to skip school.

…So the person I saw in the Love Hotel district yesterday was Kana. I should’ve called out to her.

As I sat there regretting it, the classroom door suddenly slid open with force. “Good morning, everyone~!”

Her voice made everyone turn to look. “Huh? What’s up with this? Why is everyone staring at me?”

Kana, oblivious, had her usual bright demeanor. Could it be that she doesn’t know yet? “Staring at you? Well, uh, Kana, I have something I want to ask. …This isn’t you, right?”

“Huh? Let me see~.” Kana froze as soon as she looked at the phone screen. “This… is definitely you, right?” “Ehh, is it me?”

“The person with this custom bag is only Kana, isn’t it?” “But I don’t remember anything like this…”

“I see. Well, alright then.” One of her female friends pulled away from Kana. It wasn’t like they outright ignored her, but they didn’t strike up any casual conversations either. 

It was like there was an invisible wall between them, a clear distance being set. What is this feeling…

When I glanced back at Kana, she was frozen in place, her smile looking forced.

Author’s Note

The story suddenly took a sharp turn into serious and turbulent territory. I promise this arc will conclude neatly, so I hope you’ll keep reading with that in mind.

As always, thank you so much for reading. Also, a bit late, but we’ve hit the dream milestone of 2,000 stars! Truly, thank you!!

I’m incredibly grateful and happy that this work has been appreciated in some way.