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 - 37

Chapter 37: Huh? What Are You Talking About?

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Shouma’s POV

After getting out of the bath, I stepped onto the balcony, casually drying my hair with a towel. The night breeze felt nice. But my eyes instinctively drifted toward the window of the room next door.

“…Huh? It’s still dark in there?”

It was Kaede’s room. But, no light leaked through the gap in the curtains.

“Is she already asleep? Well… That’s not unusual for Kaede, I guess.”

After coming home from school, she might intend to rest for a bit and end up passing out on the bed.  I’d seen it happen plenty of times.

But…Then it suddenly hit me.

“…Fujiwara was absent today, right?”

At that moment, it felt like my blood was rushing backward.

“No, no, no… wWhat am I even thinking…”

I tried to reflexively push the thought away. But my brain connected the dots on its own. Kaede, heading to the teachers’ office after school… Fujiwara’s absence…

“No way… She’s not going there to deliver prints, is she?”

The moment I voiced it, my chest started to flutter.

No, calm down. Don’t get agitated.

But…

“…I better check with Mio first.”

I opened my phone and typed.

『It seems Kaede is not home yet. Do you know anything about it?』

A reply came in seconds.

『I don’t know.』

I pressed on.

『Or maybe she’s already asleep? That could totally happen with Kaede.』

『Ah… Yeah, that’s true.』

A bit of relief washed over me.

She really does fall asleep the instant her energy runs out.

“…Right. I’m just overthinking it.”

I muttered to myself, trying to convince my brain. But still… There was this thorny feeling lodged deep in my chest that wouldn’t go away.

But… What if, just maybe, she really did go to Fujiwara’s house? I couldn’t discard that “what if.” Because as far as I knew, Kaede didn’t just go to someone’s house easily. And especially not a guy’s.

“….”

Before I realized it, I was gripping my phone. My finger hovered over the call button. To press or not to press. Stop it, my brain told me. But another part of me spoke.

Can you really sleep without confirming it?

“…Dammit.”

I let out a sigh and stared at the screen.

“Kaede. Pick up… Please, I hope you’re not in some weird place.”

My thumb slowly pressed against the call button. And finally, I made the call. In the quiet of the night, the ringtone echoed unusually clearly through my room.

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Kaede’s POV

I was drying my hair with a hairdryer after the bath when my phone suddenly vibrated.

“…Huh?”

Seeing the name on the screen, I couldn’t help but let out a small sound.

Shouma.

“Why now?”

I didn’t really feel like answering, but I knew exactly how persistent he could be. If I didn’t answer, he’d make a fuss tomorrow.

“…I guess I have no choice. Fine, fine.”

I pressed the call button, and words immediately rushed at me like a torrent.

『Where are you and what are you doing?』

“Huh? That’s the first thing you say?”

I instinctively lowered my voice, holding back the urge to snap. If Yuuta-kun heard, that would just make things more complicated.

“I’m just staying at a friend’s house.”

『A friend… Don’t tell me you’re at Yuuta Fujiwara’s house?』

Bulls-eye. Your intuition is annoyingly sharp, huh.

“….”

I nearly said, “Yeah, but…” then caught myself. I didn’t owe him any answer right now. Not even a tiny bit.

“Not really.”

I calmly lied.

『Oh… I see. Okay, that’s fine. I see… I see.』

“Aren’t you a little too relieved?”

I couldn’t help but comment. I asked before Shouma could hang up.

“Hey, why did you even call over something like that?”

After a pause, Shouma replied without hesitation.

『Obviously, because I was worried about you.』

“…Huh?”

Why now? Ever since he started dating Mio, he didn’t seem to care about me at all. And yet, the moment I started interacting with Yuuta-kun… He became worried? 

Who does he think he is?

『Well, we’ll talk tomorrow then.』

He said that unilaterally and hung up.

“…Huh?”

I stared down at my phone, completely furious.

“What the hell is this all of a sudden? ‘Worried’? ‘Talk tomorrow’? Huh???”

He ignored me all this time, and now that I’m around another guy, suddenly he’s playing the ‘my heroine’ card?

“…You still have lingering feelings, huh…”

A part of me that had been holding back for Shouma simply shattered. I clenched my fists. And without realizing it, a smirk appeared on my lips.

…Forget it. I’m done caring.

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Shouma’s POV

The moment the call ended, the weird fluttering in my chest disappeared.

“…Haa. Thank God.”

I let out an unconscious sigh of relief. I returned to my room and collapsed onto the bed.

“Because… Realistically speaking, Kaede doesn’t even know where Fujiwara’s house is, right?”

Looking up at the ceiling, my voice escaped naturally.

“…No, but… She doesn’t…. Right?”

I rolled over in bed, thinking back to the conversation.

『Just staying at a friend’s house.』

『Not really.』

That wasn’t a lie, right? No, calm down, me.

Kaede’s terrible at lying, and her voice sounded normal.

“Fujiwara’s house? No way, no way.”

I chuckled, trying to convince myself. Lying down, I picked up my phone and launched a random game. The character moved across the screen. This was the usual thing that I could do without thinking.

“Yeah. I’m overthinking it. I’m just tired.”

I muttered that and tried to focus on the game.

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