I Was Helping Out With The Harem Plan Of The Romcom Protagonist I Admired, But Now That I’ve Realized He’s A Scumbag, Next Time I’m Going To Stop It And Make The Girls Happy Myself - Chapter 8 & 9

Chapter 8: Pretend Lovers

The next day, when I got to school, I noticed that the three-girl group led by Anna-san wasn’t here.

That was because yesterday after school, I submitted proof of the bullying to a teacher.

According to what the teacher told me, there was no avoiding a suspension. Depending on how things went, expulsion was even possible.

With that, you’d think the three of them would’ve learned their lesson, and I could finally live my school life in peace—

Not happening.

Because the root problem hasn’t been solved at all.

For just a split second, Takasaka-san and I made eye contact—then today, just like always, she kept talking with the “protagonist.”

I stood at the classroom entrance watching her blush again, when another heroine spoke to me.

“Hey, you.”

It was Hina Kisaragi.

Then she continued.

“Which do you think is cuter—her, or me?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, the girl talking with Kouki. Between her and me, who’s cuter?”

At that out-of-nowhere question, I started with, “Well then…”

“You, I guess.”

“Well then?”

Kisaragi-san’s face stiffened instantly.

“Um. You.”

“Tch.”

Watching her ask me first and then act cold about it, I thought about it.

Sure, the “well then” part might’ve been unnecessary—but with the person standing right in front of me, there’s no way I could say the other girl was cuter.

Meanwhile, the very person who basically forced me to choose was now resting her cheek on her hand by the window, staring at her rival, Takasaka-san.

Why was she going this far just to mess with me? I thought, If you’re that bothered, just talk to Jinguuji yourself—but that would bring his harem plan closer to completion, so that’s still a no.

“Hm? That girl just looked over here for a second—”

Kisaragi-san muttered.

“Something wrong?”

“No… there’s no way. Maybe I imagined it.”

“I see.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, so after replying, I threw a question back.

“So, did you need something from me?”

“Ah, right, right. You know—will you go out with me?”

“Huh?”

Go out… as in, the kind where a guy and a girl become boyfriend and girlfriend?

But why? I thought Kisaragi-san was completely devoted to her childhood friend, Jinguuji.

“What? Is that a no?”

“No, it’s not that it’s a no, but…”

“You think I’m cuter than her, right? Then it’s fine.”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying… You like Jinguuji, don’t you?”

“……”

Kisaragi-san’s confident attitude from earlier vanished. She looked away with an embarrassed expression.

“Y-yeah, I do… so what? Are you going to go out with me or not?”

“No. That doesn’t answer anything…”

Apparently, unless I agreed, she wasn’t going to tell me the reason.

“Fine. Then I’ll go out with you.”

Even so, I had a pretty good idea already.

“Really!? You will!?”

“Sure, but can you tell me why? Why go out with me when you don’t even like me?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you.”

And so, so only I could hear, she explained her reason.

In the end, it matched what I suspected.

Her plan was to go out with another guy to get Jinguuji’s attention.

In other words, she wanted to make Kouki jealous the way she’d gotten jealous—by showing him she was “taken.”

The reason I accepted was simple: I couldn’t think of another way to interfere with her and Jinguuji.

Kisaragi Hina was already head-over-heels for Jinguuji Kouki. Otherwise, she wouldn’t do something like this.

She wanted to monopolize Jinguuji Kouki no matter what.

If dating her created even a single opening to sabotage something, that would be enough… hopefully.

“So what’s your name?”

As I was thinking, the girl I’d just started “dating” asked.

“My name’s Yuuya Sugita. You can call me Sugita, or Yuuya—either’s fine.”

“Then Sugita. And call me Hina.”

“Got it. Hina.”

I wondered why I was last-name-only, but she probably had one person in mind as the only one allowed to call her by her name.

“Good. Then tomorrow, since it’s a day off, we’re going on a date. Time is—well, we’ll swap LINE later.”

“That’s fine, but a date already—”

“See you.”

Before I could finish, Hina had already returned to the classroom.

And just like that, the protagonist’s childhood friend—Hina Kisaragi—and I became fake lovers, all to get the protagonist’s attention.

Chapter 9: Date

If the goal was only to draw Jinguuji’s attention, I honestly thought pretending to be lovers was a solid plan.

Because if it’s Jinguuji, there’s a high chance he’d pull that “don’t touch my woman” routine again and try to take the heroine back.

And that’s not what our “protagonist” wants.

The protagonist makes each heroine fall for him thoroughly, one by one, then “cherishes” them all equally.

So he won’t allow them to get friendly with another guy—actually dating someone else is completely out of the question.

If characters start acting on their own, the script falls apart. So from here on out, I’d probably be fighting Jinguuji head-on.

I needed to brace myself.

That’s what I thought—but the very day we started “dating” was horrible.

No, for me it wasn’t exactly unwelcome, but for Hina it must’ve been the worst day imaginable.

After that—during short break, lunch, after school—I stayed with Hina the whole time, and yet Jinguuji didn’t even glance our way.

The twist was so far beyond what we expected that both Hina and I could only feel confused.

What was going on? Why didn’t he say anything?

Those questions never got answered, and the day ended like that.

※

Then came the next day: the day of the date.

Hina was obviously low-energy. Of course she was—her crush didn’t spare her a single look.

“Morning, Hina.”

“Y-yeah. Morning, Sugita.”

She probably thought she was acting normal, but her face was faintly stiff.

I threw words at her like I was a real boyfriend.

“That outfit looks good on you.”

“Y-yeah… but you don’t have to go that far. We don’t need to be that serious.”

“Weren’t you the one who said it yesterday?”

Yesterday, after we exchanged LINE, I asked why she wanted to go on a date right away.

Her answer was: “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it seriously.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting self-conscious?”

“No.”

That wasn’t tsundere at all. It was a flat-out, genuine denial.

“I-I see. Then… let’s go, I guess.”

“Go where? You didn’t tell me where we’re going today.”

“It’s fine. I already made reservations.”

“That doesn’t answer the question…”

Ignoring her words—like she was mimicking what I’d said yesterday—we headed to the classic date spot: the movie theater.

※

The movie we picked was a hardcore romance film.

Since Hina said “do it seriously,” I figured I should give her a seriously proper date experience if I could.

This was her idea, so don’t get the wrong impression. Seriously.

So we bought the proper couple-sized popcorn, and then our seats were—

“H-Huhhhhh!?”

Hina’s voice echoed through the theater before the screening even started.

“Hey, it’s a theater.”

“Ah, sorry.”

After she came to her senses, Hina shot me a sharp look.

“What is this?”

She pointed toward the seats we were about to sit in: a row of couple seats.

“What do you mean ‘what’? Couple seats.”

“No, I know that. That’s not what I mean… I did say to do it seriously, but… I didn’t think you meant this seriously…”

Hina muttered to herself under her breath.

“Just to ask—Sugita, you don’t seriously like me, right?”

“What are you talking about? What kind of boyfriend hates his girlfriend?”

“Haa… maybe I picked the wrong guy.”

I meant it as a small joke, but she muttered something depressing back.

Well, as long as I can stay near Hina Kisaragi, I don’t care. If it changes the future, that’s enough.

“Whatever. You went through the trouble of reserving them, so let’s watch—just so you know, no hand-holding or anything.”

“Got it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Even with her on guard, we sat down and killed time until the movie started.

The film was one of those tearjerking romance dramas.

A story about a heroine who gradually loses her memories, and the protagonist who stays by her side.

It seemed to hit Hina too—she was glued to the screen the whole time.

But because of that, when we reached for popcorn, our hands ended up touching.

Even in the dark, I could tell. Hina was definitely giving me a dead-eyed stare.

Like that, the movie went on, and finally it reached the climax.

The heroine—who’d completely lost her memories—remembered the protagonist, and it ended in an emotional happy ending.

I heard sniffing from beside me. And as for me—

“Sugita. Your face is a total mess.”

In front of the screen after the credits finished, I’d cried so much my tears felt like they were about to run dry.

“It can’t be helped. Anyone would cry at that.”

“Well… true, but…”

And then, without warning, Hina went “pfft” and started laughing.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Sorry. It’s just—whenever I go to the movies with someone, nobody’s ever cried harder than me. So seeing you like that is kinda funny.”

“What is that supposed to mean…”

Even as I said it, my brain “helpfully” assumed she meant Jinguuji.

I took the handkerchief Hina handed me and wiped my tears.

After leaving the theater, we walked toward the station.

“By the way, Sugita—why did you try to steal that money?”

She asked me exactly what I didn’t want her to ask.

Why…?

There’s no way I could tell her the real reason. Even if I did, I don’t think she’d believe me.

“Actually… I wasn’t the one who stole that money.”

Even so, the reason I could say the truth was probably because my partner was Hina Kisaragi.

“……”

But for some reason, Hina didn’t respond.

I learned why immediately.

In the direction of Hina’s gaze—

Stood the boy she truly loved: Kouki Jinguuji.