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 - 60

Chapter 60: The Two Grow Closer, and Shouma’s Hatred Deepens

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It happened the moment I returned to the room. With a heavy thud, I was shoved in the back, and just like that, I was made to sit down on the edge of Kaede’s bed. Standing in front of me was Kaede, her eyes completely filled with unmistakable yandere light.

“……Hey, Yuuta-kun. Earlier, ‘what were you doing?’”

“—!”

She was smiling, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all. In fact, I could practically see a black aura rising behind her.

“N-no, that was… I mean, your mom said she wanted someone to talk to, so…”

“Hmmm, so ‘you were just talking?’”

Kaede stepped a little closer to me, and the creaking sound of the bed echoed strangely loud.

“I-I wasn’t doing anything weird, okay!? If anything, I was the one who got pulled in—”

“Even though you were that close together?”

Her voice was low. She was completely angry. No. Rather than angry, it sounded more like the voice of a carnivorous beast whose territory had been invaded.

“S-sorry… I mean, it was my fault, or maybe not… I just kind of got dragged into it after all… um…”

Before I could even bow my head, my wrist was grabbed firmly.

“Kyah!? H-hey, Kaede!”

Without a word, Kaede dragged me to the center of the bed and then leaned over me, pulling me tightly into her arms.

“—Now you can’t escape, right?”

“N-no, I literally can’t! You’re holding my arms and my waist!”

“You’re not going to run away, right?”

“I won’t run away!!”

I answered instantly. This wasn’t an atmosphere where resistance was an option. Then, a soft sensation pressed against my chest.

“……Hiiragi-san, um… Something’s pressing against me…”

“I’m pressing it on purpose.”

“……Huh?”

“I have to overwrite the part where you were clinging to my mom earlier, don’t I?”

She was scary. No. She was scary, but also cute. That was unfair.

“You really can’t escape anymore… So be prepared, okay?”

Her whisper fell right by my ear. My heart was completely making an error sound.

So that’s how it is…

I really couldn’t escape anymore. But…

…Well, I guess… This isn’t so bad either… Maybe…?

The moment I steeled myself, Kaede smiled happily and hugged me even tighter. It felt like every possible escape route had been sealed off, but strangely enough, I didn’t hate it.

Early the next morning. A quiet time when only a hint of birdsong mixed into the air. As I groggily opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Kaede trying to take off her pajamas.

“………………Huh?”

No—wait, I shouldn’t be making sounds. But I almost did. Kaede was undoing the buttons of her pajamas from behind, her hair slightly messy from sleep, and the line of her shoulders looked softer than usual.

This is bad bad bad!! This is absolutely something I’m not supposed to see!!

I reflexively shut my eyes and immediately resumed pretending to sleep.

Please, let my breathing sound like I’m asleep.

Under the covers, I devoted myself with everything I had to playing dead. After a while, click—the sound of the closet echoed. Rustle rustle—the sound of clothes being gathered. And then, quiet footsteps approached—

“……Yuuuta-kuuun. Wake up? If you don’t… I might start messing with you, you know?”

Little devil mode activated.

“I’m awake I’m awake I’m awake!!”

End of pretending to sleep. Instant revival.

Kaede stood there with her arms crossed, wearing a slightly sulky expression.

“Geez, you woke up way too early…”

“No, what you just said was dangerous if I didn’t wake up…!?”

“It would’ve been fine even if it was dangerous, though?”

Don’t whisper things like that!

My heart couldn’t calm down.

“……Good morning, Yuuta-kun.”

“G-good morning…”

Kaede looked way more energetic than yesterday, with no redness in her cheeks and no lingering feverish look.

“Is your cold already better?”

“Yeah! I’m totally fine now! …Because you were here with me, Yuuta-kun.”

“～!”

Please stop suddenly throwing those cloying sweetness at me.

My heart was already over capacity first thing in the morning. But Kaede abruptly switched topics.

“More importantly, we need to hurry or we’ll be late. We have to go to your house and grab your uniform!”

“Oh, right… I ended up staying over last night, so my uniform…”

“Let’s go before Mom wakes up, okay? Before she finds out.”

For some reason, Kaede’s voice sounded oddly realistic. I remembered her mother’s rampage from yesterday. Yeah. If we got caught, it would definitely be a pain.

“Come on, hurry up and get changed!”

“O-okay…”

Watching me get ready while being rushed, Kaede said with a bright smile. That smile was completely different from yesterday’s yandere vibe. It was the face of a girl who was clearly in love.

…I really hope this world doesn’t collapse. Seriously.

Thinking that, I quietly left the house together with Kaede.

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Shouma’s POV

The moment I woke up, the world looked gray. No, not as a metaphor. It genuinely felt like all the color had drained away. My body felt heavy. My head hurt. Even so, the sense of obligation—“I have to go to school”—was still there.

I slowly sat up and opened the curtains. And at that moment…

“………………Huh?”

What jumped into my field of vision was the sight of Yuuta Fujiwara and Kaede, coming out of Kaede’s house. They were close. Furthermore, they were walking side by side like it was the most natural thing to do in this world. And Kaede was smiling, lightly tugging on Yuuta’s arm.

What the hell is this…?

Something deep in my chest collapsed. Yesterday, I had been rejected. Both Mio and Kaede had run away from me. I was laughed at, gossiped about, and I had nearly lost the courage to even go to school. But…

The one who should be there… Was supposed to be me…

Even without words, it pierced deep into my chest.

I was the one who was supposed to go pick Kaede up.

I was the one who was supposed to walk beside her.

I was the one who was supposed to make her laugh.

I was the one who was supposed to protect her—

Every single bit of it should have been my place.

It’s all that guy’s fault…

The reason Kaede changed… The reason she drifted away from me.. The reason Mio started looking at me with fear in her eyes… All of it. Every single bit. It all started when Yuuta Fujiwara appeared in front of Kaede. The anger deep in my chest slowly began to boil.

“…Tch!”

Before I knew it, I was already changed into my uniform. My hands were shaking. My breathing was ragged. But I didn’t stop. The figures of Kaede and Fujiwara visible from the window kept getting smaller and smaller.

“Wait… Wait…!”

I flung open the front door of my house. I started running. The sound of my shoes slammed against the asphalt echoed.

I wouldn’t stop until I caught up. I wouldn’t stop until I confirmed it. I wouldn’t stop until I hurled this swirling rage inside my chest at them… Absolutely not.

“Fujiwara…!”

A voiceless cry leaked from my throat.

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