I Was Reincarnated as a Mob, and After I Kept Listening to the Losing Childhood-Friend Heroine’s Complaints, I Somehow Maxed Out Her Affection Rating - 12-13

Chapter 12: Shouma’s Rampage

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Kaede’s POV

After shopping, we went to the food court. When I placed the shopping bags together under the table, I let out a long breath. I had been walking nonstop today. My legs were seriously like sticks.

“Hiiragi-san, what do you want to drink? I’ll go buy it.”

“Really? Then I’ll have an iced tea.”

“Got it. What about food?”

“Hmm… Maybe omurice.”

“Omurice and iced tea, right? Okay, sit tight. Guard the bags.”

With that, Yuuta-kun lightly waved his hand and walked toward the line. While watching his back, I fiddled with the straw and couldn’t help but smile a little.

…This totally looks like a normal date, doesn’t it?

Just saying it in my head made me suddenly embarrassed, and I pressed my cheeks with my fingers. The fact that Yuuta-kun actually asked what I wanted to eat, and even went to order for me…  If it had been the old Shouma, he would’ve said, “Let’s go together,” without thinking.

…Just a few minutes after I was thinking that. In that tiny window of time, the incident happened.

“…Kaede!”

The moment I looked up at the familiar voice, time stopped.

“…Eh, Shouma?”

“I knew it… It was you!”

He was out of breath. Sweat was forming on his forehead. He stood before me with the intensity of someone who had just reached the finish line of a marathon.

“A-are you okay!? Did that guy do something to you!?”

“…Huh?”

The sudden line made me forget how to blink.

“Um, wait a second. What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about!? I saw you walking with some guy I don’t know! I saw it!”

“…Are you talking about Yuuta-kun?”

“I don’t care about his name! I’m saying he must be blackmailing you or threatening you or something—”

“What the haaahhh!?”

My voice came out pure and unfiltered. A few people around us started glancing our way. But more unbelievable than those looks was the Shouma in front of me.

“W-what are you imagining on your own!?”

“It’s not imagination! You were depressed, weren’t you!? Ever since I turned you down—”

“Wait, no, WHY are you bringing that up here!?”

“Why wouldn’t I!? I’m worried about you—”

“That doesn’t mean you get to decide I’m being ‘threatened’ on your own!”

My voice, as I stood up, echoed louder than I expected. The chatter in the food court paused for a moment.

“Let’s go home. Right now.”

“Huh? Hey, let go!”

…I never thought he’d grab my arm in front of this many people. The stares were painful. The murmurs in the food court stabbed at my ears.

“Shouma, stop it…!”

“But something’s definitely wrong with you! Why would you hang around with a guy that lame!?”

“Hah!? EXCUSE ME!?”

Every time he opened his mouth, it was another insult toward Yuuta-kun… What on earth was he thinking!?

“Shouma-kun, stop! People are looking!”

“But Kaede—”

“No ‘but’! You’re completely misunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding!? I’m—!”

“You’re not worried about me. You just want to satisfy yourself!”

“N-no! I’m worried—”

Mio’s words were so on-the-nose that several nearby people burst into laughter.

Please, seriously, stop…!

“Shouma, I said let go!”

He was completely beyond reasoning now. I looked around desperately for help, and at that moment—

“…Hey. What are you doing?”

A familiar voice came from behind us.

“Yuuta-kun!”

When I turned around, Yuuta-kun was there, slightly out of breath and he was holding two trays. He must have run here. The ice in the iced tea rattled noisily.

“Hey, what’s—”

“Yuuta-kun, help me!”

I found myself yelling. Shouma’s hand was still gripping my arm, and more than the pain, the embarrassment had reached its limit.

“You bastard…!”

Now it was Shouma glaring at Yuuta.

“You’re taking advantage of Kaede’s weakness, aren’t you…!?”

“Hah? What the hell are you talking about…?”

“Don’t play dumb! You’re definitely plotting something—!”

At that moment, Yuuta-kun’s expression cooled instantly. It was that rare “serious tone” of his.

“You. …Take a good look around.”

“Hah? At what—”

“You’re grabbing Hiiragi-san’s arm and yelling. Everyone’s watching. Some people even have their phones up like it’s a ‘dramatic showdown.’”

Shouma turned his head to look. There were curious eyes everywhere, families looking uncomfortable, students trying to record a video.

“…Eh.”

“Congrats. You’re about to go viral nationwide.”

“S-shit…”

Finally, Shouma let go of my arm. Mio immediately pulled him by the sleeve.

“Shouma-kun, let’s go! Seriously, you’re gonna get roasted online!”

“B-but…”

“No buts! You’re really causing trouble for the store! Come on!”

Mio bowed her head apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Kaede-chan, really sorry. …I’ll take him away right now!”

And with that, she dragged Shouma off. He resisted a little, but at the end he glanced back at me once before leaving without another word.

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Chapter 13: The Three After That

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The normalcy of “everyday life” finally returned to the food court. People’s eyes drifted away, and all that remained were Kaede and me, and a plate of cold omurice.

“…Thanks. For earlier.”

Kaede said that, her head slightly lowered. Her voice was surprisingly calm, so calm that it was hard to believe she had been yelled at just moments ago.

“Thanks for helping me. Honestly, I kinda felt like crying.”

“Well, I’m just glad Hiiragi-san is safe now.”

Kaede laughed. With that smile, the tight knot in my stomach finally loosened. This girl really switched gears fast.

“So, uh… What was that about in the end?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know either!”

“No, that wasn’t exactly the kind of situation where you can go ‘I don’t know’ and move on.”

“It really was a mystery. But the look on his face felt kinda like jealousy.”

Kaede spun her straw around, then spoke softly.

“My guess is… He just didn’t like that I went out with you, Yuuta.”

“…Huh? Just that?”

“Probably. I can’t think of anything else.”

“Is that…Okay? With you?”

“It’s fine. Shouma’s just an old childhood friend. And sure, he’s a ‘special person’ to me, but not in a romantic way or anything.”

Kaede lightly laughed as she kept spinning her straw. The half-melted ice made a tired little clink. Still, Shouma actually yelled at her like that… Honestly, I still couldn’t believe it. In the original story, that guy was the eternal “honor student,” the “voice of reason,” the “gentle type.” At the very least, there was never a single scene where he raised his voice in public like that.

But the real Shouma was different. He exploded with emotion, glared at me, and tried to drag Kaede away. Was that just jealousy? No… It felt different than jealousy. There was a deeper, distorted feeling underneath.

Was it my fault after all? Maybe because I interfered with “this world,” the story’s route had begun to fall apart. Did my intervention cause this?) I listened to her complaints, stayed by her, got closer without realizing it. Because of a mob character named “Yuuta,” who didn’t exist in the original, being by her side… Did something change?

“…Hey, Yuuta-kun. You’re making a weird face right now.”

“I am?”

“You are. Very much so.”

“That much?”

“Yep, super much.”

“Well, I mean… A lot happened.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kaede burst into laughter. And because of that, I couldn’t help laughing too.

“Forget it. Let’s just ignore Shouma.”

That line was surprisingly light, yet it carried a quiet strength underneath.

“…Are you sure? He was pretty serious back there.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Come on, let’s eat. We finally got our food warm.”

“Well… I guess you’re right.”

So the two of us started eating lunch together, peacefully. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept thinking… Because I stepped into this story, something might be starting to go wrong.

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Shouma’s POV

I gulped down the cold mineral water in one go while standing in front of the vending machine. My throat felt like it was burning from how dry it was. Every time the water hit my stomach, the scene from earlier replayed again.

Yep. I totally screwed up.

“Are you calm now?”

Beside me, Mio sipped her café au lait through a straw. Her voice was strangely flat and strangely gentle.

“Yeah. I mean… Well, more or less.”

“That’s like the ‘more or less’ level of calm, not actual calm.”

“Your words have spikes.”

“They’re not spikes, they’re facts.”

Mio let out a small sigh. Just that was enough to tell she was thinking a lot inside. She probably thought I was being childish.

“So? Why did you do that?”

“…Do what?”

“Grabbing Kaede-chan’s arm and yelling at the food court.”

“…That was…”

Excuses reached my throat, but I swallowed them. That said, letting the silence drag on felt even scarier.

“…Because Kaede was with some guy I didn’t know.”

“Uh-huh.”

“…I thought maybe he had something on her.”

“What?”

Mio’s eyebrow twitched. Her expression was so calm it was scary.

“Hold on. You think talking to a guy equals being threatened by him? That’s a huge leap in assumption, don’t you think?”

“She doesn’t usually talk to guys like that! Especially strangers! Not to mention, her face too…!”

“Her face?”

“…I mean, she looked kinda happy. She never looked like that around guys she didn’t know.”

Mio spun her straw around before saying quietly.

“Shouma-kun… You’re being way too biased.”

“Huh?”

“You should pay more attention to Kaede-chan herself.”

“…”

She said it plainly, quietly. Not comforting me. Not blaming me. Just stating a fact.

“…You’re too calm about this.”

“Someone has to be. Otherwise you’d go out of control, Shouma.”

“Guh…”

“Well, apologizing to Kaede-chan… Would probably backfire if you did it.”

“Hey.”

“I’ll apologize to her for you.”

Mio gave a small smile. It was gentle, so gentle it made my chest sting.

“…Sorry.”

Her words were too accurate, leaving no room to argue. But that “I understand her more than you” vibe irritated me, too.

“Anyway… Who is that guy?”

“Who?”

“That dude. Fujiwara, or whatever. What’s he like?”

“Just a normal boy. In our class.”

“‘Normal’ is the least trustworthy word ever.”

“That’s some serious bias you have there.”

Mio chuckled quietly. But in my head, another thought was already forming.

I should talk to him. Just the two of us….Just to confirm it…. Whether he’s really “just a classmate,” or—

“You’re thinking about something again.”

“Nope.”

Mio’s voice made my tension ease a little.But the doubt growing inside me didn’t fade.

Who the hell is that guy? …To make Kaede smile like that.

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