I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!?

Chapter 21: A Feeling of Trouble Right After Returning

We overcame a three-day expedition and rode the bus back to school safely. The time was already evening, after school hours, and few people were around.

We baseball team members gathered at the practice field for a final meeting after the expedition and then disbanded. I changed into my uniform in the clubroom and ran into Senior Makabe by chance on my way out.

“Hey, Minase.”

“Senior Makabe, good work today.”

“Good work. By the way, you were outstanding during this expedition. All the opposing coaches flipped out watching your pitches, didn’t they?”

“Well, I think I was in good form…”

“Then keep that up for the summer!”

“If I get chosen as a regular, that is.”

“That’s true. You need to practice properly.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

Senior Makabe had a meeting with the catchers and went back to the practice field.

Even though I was only away for three days, I felt a strong sense of nostalgia.

…Probably because I haven’t seen them, I feel this way.

Even though it’s only been about two months, I seem unable to endure a life without them anymore.

I already told the two of them I’d return this evening, so maybe I’ll call them tonight…

While thinking this, I walked to the school gate and saw two familiar figures standing there.

…Have I finally gone crazy?

No matter how much I want to see them, to think I’d start seeing hallucinations so conveniently…

“Ah, Ryu-kun!”

“Ryu!”

The hallucinations of my beloved two, Makoto and Kanade, ran toward me as if to fulfill my wishes and tried to hug me.

If these two were real, I could enjoy their soft touch…

No, my thoughts are going in a weird direction because of fatigue…!

I took a deep breath to calm down, but guh!?

I fell to the ground, pushed over by the two.

I managed to hold their bodies reflexively, so I think they’re not injured.

“Wah! Ryu-kun, are you okay!?”

“I thought the usual Ryu would catch us without a problem…”

“Oh, right! Ryu-kun is tired from the expedition! Sorry for doing this at such a time!”

“I messed up… You’re not hurt…?”

…Could it be that both of them waited for me to return?

How much do these girls want to make me love them?

While lying on the ground, I hugged them tightly.

“…I’m back.”

At that, they smiled brightly.

“Welcome back!”

I thought life would continue as usual after returning from the expedition, but…

I felt a sense of trouble again.

Apparently, even after being harshly rejected and knowing I’m dating them, Koki Nishino approached Makoto again.

His mental strength and optimism are admirable, but I think courage and recklessness are different things.

I could talk to him directly about this, but if he gets furious, it might cause trouble not only for us but also for the baseball team. I’ll have them stick together and stay with them as much as possible.

It wasn’t all bad news, though.

Apparently, Makoto and Kanade bonded with Yuna.

I’ll question them later about visiting the two while I was away.

When Nishino bothered them, and even afterward, Yuna stayed with them to protect them from his threats.

“And then, Yuna was like!”

“Yeah, Yuna is already our comrade.”

But aren’t they getting too close?

What happened while I was gone…?

Well, there’s no problem with the three of them getting along, and it’s not something to worry about.

…

…I’ll buy them some presents later. It’s definitely not a bribe.

Anyway, during lunch break.

Makoto and Kanade had promised to eat lunch with Yuna, and I decided to join them, but Yuna never showed up at the cafeteria.

…That’s strange. Yuna is extremely punctual.

I’ve known her for a while, and she’s almost never late. Even if she is, she always contacts someone.

…I have a bad feeling.

It’s like the feeling I had at that mixer.

I excused myself from the two and went to look for Yuna.

Just in case, I told them not to be alone and searched the school.

Then, I spotted her in the courtyard, but the problem was the guy with her.

“Nishino?”

Yes, Nishino and Yuna were in the courtyard together.

It’d be fine if they were just together, but they seemed to be arguing, drawing attention from everyone around.

“What’s that guy doing?”

I hurried toward them.

As I approached, I overheard their argument.

“I repeat, I won’t fall for sneaky tactics like blackmail.”

“Please trust me! He’s definitely trying to ruin you! I can protect you!”

“You’re persistent. I don’t know why you’re so fixated on me, but even if I had a problem, I’d solve it myself. I don’t need your help.”

“Don’t be so stubborn. That guy is despicable. A woman like you can’t handle him. If you had a guy like me by your side…”

“I’m good.”

“Just once! If you stay with me, you’ll understand what I mean…”

“Yuna.”

“…! Minase…kun…!”

When I called out, Nishino glared at me with hatred.

This guy was about to call me by my first name, wasn’t he? Well, I can’t say much since I do that in my head, but at least try to keep up appearances.

“Need help?”

“Sorry. I’m late for our promise. This conversation is over, so let’s go to the cafeteria.”

“No! The conversation isn’t…”

“It’s over. I said so.”

“Gu…!?”

Yuna’s pressure is scary.

It took me a while to get used to it…

Being stared at by those eyes makes you freeze like a frog stared down by a snake.

“Let’s go, Ryu.”

“Yeah.”

“Wait…! That guy… Shuji Kuroki is…!”

We left him clinging to Yuna and headed to the cafeteria.

“That guy again…”

“After giving up on us, now he’s after Yuna… He’s too shameless.”

“What a disaster.”

Afterward, I calmed down an angry Yuna and joined Makoto and Kanade in the cafeteria.

While eating cafeteria curry, I asked Yuna about what happened.

“By the way, why did it turn into such a fight?”

“That wasn’t a fight. It was one-sided nonsense.”

According to Yuna, it went like this.

It started when Nishino saw Yuna talking with Shuji Kuroki, who’s in our class.

I didn’t know, but Kuroki is a student at Yuna’s family dojo and her junior disciple.

Yuna is in the student council besides her club activities, and at that time, she had to buy equipment for her club and handle student council tasks.

She ran into Kuroki by chance and asked him to do the shopping, and Nishino saw her handing him money.

“Kuroki isn’t exactly known for good behavior. In that situation, it might look like I’m paying a delinquent or being extorted.”

…If you know Yuna, you’d never think that, but if you don’t know her strength, that misunderstanding could happen.

“So, Nishino confronted you.”

“At first, I thought he was just being kind. I tried to explain the situation carefully, but…”

“From the looks of it, that didn’t work.”

“Yeah… He kept saying, ‘He’s dangerous and sneaky,’ ‘You need a man by your side, or you could get attacked’…”

“Is Kuroki really as bad as Nishino says?”

“He’s not exactly a model citizen. But I think he knows where to draw the line. At least he did when we were at the dojo together. But since I saw him again after two years when he joined the kendo club, I don’t know if he’s changed.”

Hmm.

When he shut down our classmates for making a fuss about us, I didn’t think he was rotten to the core.

For now, staying cautious is the only option.

Lately, it’s been one thing after another. Isn’t high school life supposed to be more bittersweet or youthful…?

“Well, Ryu, you know I’m fine. Even if something happens, I’ll take them down.”

“Maybe so, but not every attacker will be unarmed. Let me worry.”

“Hm, well, okay…”

“You’re my important childhood friend, after all.”

“…Don’t say stuff like that out of nowhere.”

“Huh? Out of nowhere?”

“Yuna, we get it.”

“Yeah, same. He does it to me all the time.”