Chapter 43 – It’s Just Normal, After All

As I stood in front of Mana’s house fiddling with my phone while waiting for her to come out, she appeared almost immediately—dressed in her uniform—as if she’d been waiting for me today too.

“Ah, Mana, good morning!”

When I saw her, I smiled and called out.

“Eh…? Y-Yuuto!? Wh-why? D-did I keep you waiting…?”

Mana looked surprised and asked anxiously.

“I wasn’t waiting at all. I just decided to wait for you on my own, so even if I had been waiting, it’s not something you need to worry about.”

“O-okay. B-but if you’d sent me a message, I would’ve left the house right away, you know?”

“But Mana, you always wait for me without saying anything, right? So today, I thought I wanted to be the one to wait.”

“I-I’m a girl, so it’s fine. But Yuuto, you’re a boy, so I don’t want you waiting around. Besides, it’s dangerous.”

…Oh right, this is that kind of world.

Actually, it’s precisely because this is that kind of world that I’m trying to build a harem. I get it, I do, but somehow I still can’t quite wrap my head around the whole “it’s dangerous for a guy to be alone” thing.

Maybe it’s because I rarely end up alone outside my house, or maybe I’m just lucky, but so far I haven’t run into any dangerous situations.

“Sorry about that. But in that case, let’s decide what time we’ll leave the house from now on, okay? I don’t want to make you wait either.”

“O-okay.”

After hearing my words, Mana nodded, looking embarrassed.

Good.

Even though I didn’t ask her to—and maybe this is a bad way to put it—I’m waiting on my own, but I still don’t like making her wait.

“Well then, shall we head to school?”

“Yeah. …Yuuto, can I hold your hand?”

Mana’s face turned red as she gently took my hand, then asked.

…You’re already holding it, though. But whatever.

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Yuuto.”

“I’m happy too, so it’s totally fine.”

As we walked to school together holding hands, the crowd around us grew, and I started feeling more eyes on us than before.

If this were the world from my previous life, those gazes would be directed at Mana, a beautiful girl. But most of the stares I’m feeling now are aimed at me.

The reason is simple: a boy is walking hand-in-hand with a girl, looking close.

As I was thinking that, I noticed Yui among those watching us.

…Ah, w-well, I guess it’s not a problem.

I’m planning to build a harem anyway, so it shouldn’t be an issue if she knows about my relationship with Mana. Probably.

Yui doesn’t seem like the yandere type, so she’ll forgive me.

After all, harems are perfectly normal in this world.

Chapter 44 – If She Saw Me Like This

“…Yuuto, see you later.”

When we arrived at school and reached the entrance to Mana’s classroom, Mana reluctantly let go of my hand and said that.

“Yeah.”

I nodded at her words, and after confirming she’d entered her classroom, I headed to my own while playing with my phone.

“Ah, sorry.”

Then I bumped into someone again, so I reflexively apologized while raising my gaze.

…Walking while using my phone really isn’t good. I seriously need to stop doing that from now on.

That’s what I was thinking.

“Where are you look— Ah, Yuuto.”

When I looked up, there stood Yuna, the blonde ponytail delinquent girl.

“Oh, it’s Yuna-chan. Sorry, okay? I bumped into you again.”

“Y-you not watching where you’re going is nothing new from last time, so whatever. Just be more careful from now on. …And you’re not supposed to bring your phone to school in the first place!”

…Even though she’s supposed to be a delinquent girl, she just scolded me.

Well, I’m clearly the one in the wrong, so I’ll honestly reflect on it.

“I’ll be more careful from now on. Thanks for going out of your way to warn me.”

“I-I don’t have any intention of getting along with you, and I didn’t say it for your sake!”

“Really? But I plan on getting along with Yuna-chan, and I was happy you said that, you know?”

“Nnya— W-whatever!”

After hearing my words, Yuna’s face flushed red, and she was clearly flustered—anyone could see it.

…This is bad. If I see her like this, it makes me want to tease her even more.

…Come to think of it, when I asked Yuna what she meant by “attacking” me the other day, she told me to look it up myself and ran away. Should I mess with her by saying I looked it up when I got home?

“I-I’m leaving now!”

“Ah, wait a sec.”

I called out to Yuna, who was trying to head to her classroom.

A little teasing should be fine, right?

Plus, you could say that being able to tease her like this is because I’m oblivious. …Probably.

“What?”

“The other day, when you said you’d attack me, you told me to look up what that meant myself, so I properly researched it at home.”

“Wha— S-so wh-what about it?”

“Yuna-chan, did you want to do something naughty with me?”

I moved close to Yuna’s ear—who was clearly flustered just like before—and said that.

Even as I said it, it felt so cringy I could get goosebumps, but I held it in.

“Fueah— Th-th-there’s no way that’s it!”