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 - 44

Chapter 44: Kaede: Yandere Mode Activated

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After school. Homeroom had ended, and I was heading toward the entrance, planning to go home as quickly as possible. Today, everything had drained way too much of my mental strength…

“Fujiwara-kun?”

When I turned around at the sound of my name, Mio was standing there. It seemed she was also about to head home. She held the sleeve of her uniform and smiled a little awkwardly.

“Ah, um… Hello.”

What was it with this person? Unlike Kaede, she was gentle and easy to talk to, like air… And yet she had this atmosphere like she might poke right at the core of something.

“Oh, right. Fujiwara-kun, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“S-Something you want to ask…?”

Cold sweat began to form on my forehead. It was definitely going to be something like “So what’s your relationship with Kaede?” and I wasn’t mentally ready at all.

“How did you get so close to Kaede-chan?”

“…U-Um, well…”

The very first question was too direct, and my throat went dry. Well, of course. Even lunchtime today had been a huge mess.

“N-No, it’s nothing special! I didn’t do anything! I just… Ium… I listened to her vent a little…”

“Vent?”

Mio-san tilted her head with a blank expression.

“Um… About Shouma… And a bunch of things…”

“Aaaahhh—”

Mio-san suddenly made a “now I understand everything” face and clapped her hands.

“So Kaede really does talk about him… About Shouma-kun.”

“Y-Yes… Well…”

Mio smiled like she was having fun.

“I see. That girl talks big, but she’s actually pretty delicate inside.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. She’d never say it to Shouma-kun himself, but she’ll say it to other people. She’s more honest than she looks, that girl.”

Honest… Yesterday she had crawled into my bed, today we held hands, and at lunch we were practically glued together for the whole school to see.

…Is that really “honest”…?

“Well then, Fujiwara-kun.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Next time, will you listen to my venting about Shouma-kun too?”

“Eh!?”

A louder voice escaped me than intended. Mio-san laughed, saying “I’m joking~,” but something in her tone didn’t sound like a joke at all.

“Because you’re good at listening, right? I mean, Kaede-chan is that attached to you after all.”

“A-Attached? That’s a bit…”

“Well then, next time I’ll—”

“What are you talking about?”

That moment…. A chilly voice fell from behind us. When I turned around, Kaede was there. She was smiling, except her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“K-Kaede-chan…!?”

“Yuuta-kun, you’re heading home, right? Why are you talking with Mio-chan?”

Kaede stepped forward and stood in front of me like a wall. She completely blocked the way.

“Ah, no, um… Shinomiya-san just—”

“…Hmph.”

Kaede let out a short breath.

Hit by that gaze, Mio gave a wry smile.

“Kaede-chan, we weren’t talking about anything weird~ I just asked him, ‘How did you get so close to Kaede-chan?’ That’s all.”

“Hmph.”

“Well… Fujiwara-kun, see you later.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Mio waved lightly and walked away. And then… Left behind, I was stared up at by Kaede.

“…Yuuta-kun.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Let’s go home?”

“Ah, yes!”

She grabbed my arm, pulling me halfway as we exited the building. By the time we had walked about five minutes past the school gate… The tense “surveillance mode” aura around Kaede gradually softened, and I finally relaxed my shoulders.

Haah… I can finally take a break for a bit…

Just when I thought that—

“So?”

“…Eh?”

“That conversation just now. What were you talking about with Mio-chan?”

When I looked back, Kaede-san was there. She was smiling more than earlier, but her eyes still weren’t smiling at all. She had completely entered the “Truth-Seeking Mode (Yandere ver.)”

“Uh, um… We weren’t talking about anything important! Truly…!”

“Alright. Then prove it wasn’t anything important.”

Prove it… What was this, a courtroom? No, more importantly, this pressure was terrifying.

“W-Well, um…She asked how I got close to Hiiragi-san.”

“Mhm.”

“And then she said she’d like me to listen to her venting sometime too…”

“Heh…”

Kaede’s eyes narrowed.

Ah, this is the look she gives before cornering someone.

The sound of her exhaling alone made my heart stop two beats. Then, after one breath—

“So then…”

“Y-Yes?”

“If I hadn’t shown up, you would’ve listened to Mio-chan’s venting too?”

“…!”

Her tone wasn’t low, yet somehow it felt like the air temperature behind me had dropped five degrees.

“…W-Well… Maybe… Depending on the situation…?”

“Depending on the situation, huh…?”

Ah. This was bad. I had definitely stepped on a landmine. Kaede’s lips puckered a little as she turned away.

“Hmph. …I see.”

It sounded like a normal response, but the atmosphere clearly shifted into “Kaede-is-now-upset mode.”

This is bad. This is really bad.

My brain hurried to hold a strategy meeting. What should I do? I needed to somehow fix her mood… Then I remembered last night’s “clingy Kaede.”

…Probably… That thing. The one she likes…

I took a deep breath, braced myself, and spoke.

“Um… Hiiragi-san…”

“What?”

Her sulky voice hit me directly. But I couldn’t run. Backing down here would trigger a death flag.

“Would you forgive me… With a strawberry roll cake…?”

Silence ensued. A few seconds later—

“…Huh?”

Kaede-san looked at me. The light returned to her eyes, and her bad mood vanished instantly.

“A strawberry…Roll cake?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“…!”

In the next moment, Kaede’s expression brightened like a flower blooming.

“I’ll forgive you!!!”

“That fast!?”

“Because it’s a strawberry roll cake! You’ll buy it for me!? Yay!”

The mood swing was insane. A moment ago she had eyes like “Who do you belong to?” and now, Kaede-san happily spun in little circles as she walked.

“Let’s stop by on the way home! Let’s buy the best one!”

“Ah, yeah… Thank goodness…”

“Eh?”

“N-Nothing!!”

I let out a deep sigh of relief. I managed to narrowly escape death… Seeing that, Kaede-san gave me a bright smile.

“Hey, Yuuta-kun.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“More than Mio… And more than the roll cake…”

She looked straight into my eyes.

“I want you to look at me, okay?”

“……….!? ”

It was a very sweet statement, but it was also one that left me with no room to escape. Today again, my self-control was barely hanging on.

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