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 - 48

Chapter 48: The Heroines After the Gathering and Shouma’s Decision

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Mio’s POV

“…Haaah… I feel so refreshed…”

It felt like a huge stone that had been stuck deep in my chest finally dropped away with a thud. If it was going to make me feel this light, I should have talked to Kaede-chan much sooner.

“Kaede-chan really is amazing…”

She’s great at seeing through people’s feelings, and when something needs to be said, she says it straight out. Despite how she looks, she’s strong.

I walked along, replaying the conversation from earlier in my head.

“…Still…”

Before I realized it, words slipped quietly from my mouth.

“Fujiwara-kun really is kind, huh…”

Even though I suddenly started talking on the emergency stairwell, he didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. He just listened calmly. He didn’t force sympathy on me. He didn’t act awkward. He didn’t keep too much distance, but he didn’t get too close either.

“Someone who just listens when you want to be heard…”

Can most people really do that?

“…No wonder Kaede-chan fell for him.”

I couldn’t help but agree. In fact, all I could do was agree.

He was good at listening, didn’t talk much, and never made you feel like you had to be careful around him. He was the type who gave you words only when they were needed. That was unfair. He wasn’t a stereotypical nice guy, and he wasn’t flashy either, yet he naturally put you at ease.

“…I get it now… Why someone would fall for him…”

In the end, that was the thought that came to my mind. Standing in front of the entrance, I took off my shoes and let out a small laugh.

“Kaede-chan… You found a really good guy.”

With that one line, I stepped into the house. Today’s walk home felt strangely lighthearted.

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Kaede’s POV

I got home, took off my uniform, changed into loungewear, and flopped straight down onto my bed.

“…Haaah… I’m exhausted…”

A lot happened today, but what lingered in my heart the most was Mio’s face.

She was really at her limit, huh…

I thought that sincerely as I stared up at the ceiling.

“…Yeah, I guess it’s no surprise.”

Shouma was really dense.

He never properly sorted out his own feelings. And on top of that, he had this tendency to lean on the people around him for everything. But the target of that dependence had always been me. The moment I stopped playing the role of the one who absorbed it all, the balance collapsed.

“…I should have paid proper attention to Mio.”

A quiet murmur slipped out. I truly thought so. Because Mio-chan liked Shouma that much. She was always smiling right beside us.

“I don’t know whether he still had lingering feelings or not, but…”

I muttered while lazily waving my fingers toward the ceiling. But in the end, all of that backfired. Because he only looked at me, he turned his eyes away from the one who really mattered. And that was the result.

“…I feel bad for him, but… Well… He brought it on himself.”

The moment I said it out loud, my chest hurt just a little. But more than that, the weight of acceptance won out. No matter where Shouma’s feelings still lingered, it was no longer my concern.

“Even if you regret it now… I honestly can’t care less.”

I sat up and turned my gaze to the photo frame placed beside my desk. It was a two-shot photo of Shouma and me in a white frame, one we took back at the entrance ceremony.

“…Hehe.”

I picked up the frame, removed the clasp on the back, and gently slid the photo out.

“Thank you. …Your role is over now.”

I murmured that and carefully tucked it into the desk drawer. Instead, I took out another photo printed to the same size. It was a two-shot of Yuuta-kun and me. I slid that photo into the frame and snapped the clasp shut. Then I went back to the bed and grinned.

“This one just feels so much more right.”

A faint warmth spread across my cheeks.

“Hehe… I wonder what kind of face Yuuta-kun would make if he saw this…”

Imagining that, I hugged my pillow tightly. Then, I whispered softly toward the ceiling.

“Shouma… This is fine now, right? I’m moving forward.”

Those words melted into the air of the room. I gently gazed at the photo frame, and a natural smile formed on my face.

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Shouma’s POV

I sent Mio a message, but no read receipt appeared. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Nothing changed.

“…What the hell.”

I figured I’d distract myself by playing a game. So I tossed my phone onto the bed, and grabbed the controller. But I couldn’t focus at all. I even lost to the trash mobs in Stage 1.

“Haa…”

I let out a sigh and just then, my phone went ping. It wasn’t from Mio. It was the group LINE chat with my friends.

『Hey, apparently Mio was with someone on the emergency stairwell during lunch lol』

Emergency stairwell? That place… That place was… Fujiwara’s territory, wasn’t it?

My brain heated up instantly. My heart thudded hard with something I couldn’t tell was anger, impatience, or jealousy.

“…Huh? No way… You’re joking, right…?”

But the next message seemed to add insult to my injured heart.

『I don’t know who she was with exactly, though.』

At that moment, something inside my head snapped.

“Fujiwara… You bastard…So Kaede isn’t enough for you…?”

The disgust I felt when Kaede was taken from me… It felt like my chest was burning from within and that sensation was swelling up now, several times over even.

Are you going to take Mio too?

“Don’t screw with me…!”

I snatched up my phone and opened my chat with Mio. At that exact moment, as if perfectly timed, a notification came in.

『Shouma-kun, tomorrow… There’s something I want to talk about.』

My chest stirred uneasily.

“Something I want to talk about.”

Just those words gave me a bad feeling.

“…No way, don’t tell me…”

My brain started conjuring the worst possibilities on its own.

“I fell in love with Fujiwara-kun.”

“We can’t be together anymore.”

No, that can’t be right.

But during lunch, on the emergency stairwell, with someone… My thoughts began to fall apart. Anyway… I couldn’t calm down unless I heard it from her directly.

『I have something to talk about too. I’ll listen properly to what you want to talk about tomorrow.』

I sent that reply and clenched my phone tightly.

“I’ll make you explain everything…”

I didn’t know whether it was anger or anxiety anymore. All I knew was that something dark was slowly spreading deep in my chest and just looking at her name on the screen made that darkness grow even thicker.

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