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 - 2

Chapter 2: I, a Mob Character, Become the One Who Listens to Kaede’s Complaints

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The next morning. I finished my usual, unnoticed mob-character commute to school and quietly sat down at my desk. But in the back of my mind, yesterday’s events kept looping around and around.

No way the “heroine” Kaede Hiiragi would talk to me that much… I mean, if you think about it normally, that was way too irregular. I’m supposed to be “Classmate A,” nothing more.

Just as that inner muttering filled my head, the classroom door opened.

“Good morning—”

The voices belonged to two people—the original story’s protagonist, Shouma, and the transfer student who was this work’s main heroine, Mio. And on top of that, they were holding hands. No, seriously, they were way too lovey-dovey… And it wasn’t even normal handholding. It was the lovers’ handhold type.

“They really suit each other, don’t they?”

“They’re like the perfect classic couple…”

It seemed the class’s overall opinion of them was favorable. 

I don’t approve of this relationship at all… Kaede and Shouma’s childhood-friend couple is way better!

While thinking such things as I watched the two, Kaede appeared a few steps behind them. She paused for just a moment, looked at their joined hands, and with a lonely expression, lowered her eyes. But she quickly lifted her head again, spotted me, and walked over.

“—Good morning, Yuuta-kun.”

“Huh?”

A totally unexpected direct hit. A straight shot from Kaede herself. In that instant, every gaze in the classroom focused on me.

“Wait, Hiiragi talked to that guy?”

“Who is he again… a classmate?”

“Hey, hey, Hiiragi is greeting some guy I barely recognize.”

This is bad! Don’t drop a bomb like that on a mob character like me!

“G-good morning… Hiiragi-san.”

I replied while trying to hide the fact my voice nearly cracked, but the whispers didn’t stop. My heart rate only kept rising. Mob characters weren’t supposed to draw attention… Why was this happening…?

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Lunchtime. I had no friends, and erasing my presence like air was part of my routine, so I went to the emergency staircase holding my lunch box. Naturally, it was the designated mob-eating spot. And just as I was about to open my lunch…

“Ah, there you are. Yuuta-kun.”

“…Huh?”

Kaede arrived with a bright smile.

Stop itttttttttttttt! Why is the heroine searching for a mob character like me!?

“Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

“…Well, I don’t mind, I guess.”

“Thanks.”

Kaede sat down next to me as if it were the most natural thing to do in this world.

No no no, why are you sitting next to me like it’s the most obvious thing in the world!?

“Thanks for yesterday.”

“Huh? Oh… I didn’t mind.”

“But it really helped. Talking about it made me feel a bit better.”

“I see.”

“So, today too… Will you listen to my complaints?”

“…Complaints?”

“Yeah. About Shouma and Mio-chan.”

“…Well, if you’re okay with me.”

“Fufu, Yuuta-kun, you’re so kind.”

While opening her lunch, Kaede began venting.

“So first, on the way to school, right? Watching from behind, it wasn’t just a simple lovers’ handholding. They actually had their fingers intertwined all the way to the joints! And then, I thought they were whispering to each other, but no, their laughter was echoing everywhere!”

She continued, shoulders bristling.

Ah, huh? Kaede-san… Is she this kind of character?

“And in the classroom, every time their eyes meet, they do that ‘smile’. What is that? A signal? We’re in class, look at the teacher’s board!”

“Ahaha…”

All I could do was give a strained laugh in return. Still, Kaede didn’t stop, and at the end she let out a huge sigh, delivering the final blow.

“And lunchtime? They were doing an ‘aah—say ahh♡’ contest. ‘Do you want some hamburger?’ ‘Yeah, aaahn♡’ Everyone’s stomachs in the class flipped over thanks to that!”

Kaede lightly slapped her knees and covered her face.

“Someone please build a separate cafeteria distribution line for that couple… They’re already at the level of a class-wide public nuisance.”

While nodding along, I thought to myself.

No, Kaede-san, your commentary is way too detailed. She must really be watching Shouma that closely.

When lunch break was nearly over, Kaede stood up with a refreshed expression.

“Thanks, Yuuta-kun. I feel better now.”

“I see. Glad to hear it.”

“Okay, see you later.”

Saying that, Kaede returned to the classroom. Phew, I somehow got through it. It had to be just for today, right? There was no way the class’s top heroine would go out of her way to vent to a mob character like me again. This had to be a rare event.

Thinking that, I headed back to the classroom a little later. But… The next day…

“…Yuuta-kun. Will you listen to my complaints today too?”

Holding her lunch box, Kaede showed up again, just like yesterday.

Yes, déjà vu detected.

…Uh, I heard them yesterday too, right? Seriously… She really came back? Kaede began complaining again just like yesterday. This time it was about after school, about how the two stared at each other on a park bench forever, or how they kept waving at each other endlessly when parting, and so on. No, she totally liked Shouma. She still had so much lingering attachment.

“Ahh, they’re flirting too much! Even when other people are around!”

“They should show a little restraint while they’re in public space.”

“Exactly!”

While I nodded, I suddenly felt a strange sense of discomfort.

I’m a mob character. So why am I interacting this deeply with the heroine? There aren’t any flags being raised, right? If there are, that would be terrifying…

However, Kaede’s face looked a little softer than yesterday as she vented. …Well, if this helped her reduce some stress, then fine. This was probably the least someone like me could do.

Before I realized it, lunchtime had ended again.

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