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 - 61

Chapter 61: Shouma Goes Out of Control, and Yuuta Tries to Stop Him

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By the time we arrived at my house, rocked by the first train of the morning, it was still an hour when the town was dragging along its sleepiness. The moment I opened the front door, Kaede naturally lined up her shoes and stepped inside, making me almost feel like—wait, did we start living together today?—for just a second.

“Yuuta-kun, go change your clothes. I’ll make breakfast.”

Saying that, she briskly headed for the kitchen. It was so natural it was almost scary. No. It felt pleasant, but scary at the same time.

…We really look like a married couple, don’t we?

Thinking that, I went to my room, changed into my uniform, fixed my hair, and returned to the living room. Then… Kaede was efficiently making breakfast in the kitchen.  The rhythm of the knife. Her back as she stood at the kitchen counter. This was completely a “newlywed wife” move.

Wow… This is kind of amazing.

As I stood there silently, impressed, Kaede turned around and our eyes met.

“Yuuta-kun, if you space out like that, you’ll be late. Come on, sit down!”

“Ah, yeah.”

When I sat down as prompted, simple sandwiches were already lined up on the table, and there was even soup steaming gently.

“I couldn’t make a proper bento today… Sorry, okay?”

“No, no, I really don’t mind. This is more than enough.”

When I said that, Kaede’s face brightened softly.

“Eating at the cafeteria once in a while might be nice. Want to do that today?”

“…Yeah!”

Her cheerful reply rang clearly through the morning air. After that, the moment we stepped out the front door, Kaede and I froze at the same time.

Shouma was standing there. His uniform was messy, his hair unkempt. The “shadow” of someone who hadn’t slept properly clung stubbornly to him, refusing to melt away in the morning light.

“Sh-Shouma? What’s wrong…?”

Kaede spoke cautiously.

“…Found… You…”

Shouma was quietly muttering something. It sounded less like words and more like a murky groan. I couldn’t make it out, but the bad feeling… I understood it clearly.

This is bad. He’s completely not in his right mind.

“Hiiragi-san, stay back.”

“Huh? O-okay.”

I instinctively moved Kaede behind me and stepped forward myself.

“Shouma. What’s going on? What happened?”

When I asked, Shouma slowly raised his face and suddenly flung his eyes wide open.

“Everything… Everything is your fault!!!”

“…!”

His roar echoed through the residential neighborhood.

“H-hey—!”

The moment I shouted, Shouma charged straight at me.

“Yuuta Fujiwara!!”

Kaede screamed behind me. I reflexively dodged sideways to shield Kaede, and Shouma’s arm sliced through empty air. When he turned back toward us, his eyes were those unmistakable “broken eyes,” a mix of resentment, impatience, and loss.

…His reason is completely gone.

“Kaede’s… Mio’s… It’s all your fault… All of it…!”

His voice trembled. Something that could’ve been tears or sweat slid down his cheeks. He was just someone who had lost sight of who to blame. That instinctive realization tightened my chest.

“Shouma… Please, just take a deep breath. This isn’t you.”

“Shut up…! Shut up!!”

As Shouma clenched his fists again and stepped forward, I desperately pushed back against his shoulder.

“Shouma, please! Stop it!!”

Kaede’s voice was shaking. This was getting dangerous. Crushing down the fear welling up in my chest, I raised my voice.

“That’s enough, Shouma!! Calm down!!”

The instant I yelled, Shouma’s movements froze. The morning air went taut, like a stretched wire.

“Shouma.”

I spoke low, but clearly. And then, unable to hold back anymore, I began spilling out the dissatisfaction I had kept buried toward Shouma.

“You know… Getting rejected by Shinomiya-san was your own fault, wasn’t it?”

“…!”

“You never tried to see Shinomiya-san’s feelings or her attitude. You were only focused on Hiiragi-san, weren’t you?”

At those words, Shouma’s shoulders jerked violently.

“And more than anything…”

I paused for a beat, then went in for the finishing blow.

“If you had properly chosen Hiiragi-san from the beginning… Things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

Shouma’s eyes flew wide open. What ran through them wasn’t anger. It was that pain of having the reality he’d kept avoiding thrust right in front of him.

“Hiiragi-san was… She was always by your side. She’d always loved you…So why couldn’t you notice that?”

“……”

“This happened because you didn’t choose properly. What happened to both Shinomiya-san and Hiiragi-san is the result of you refusing to look at what’s in front of you properly. So don’t say it’s all my fault!”

Shouma couldn’t answer. Then, slowly, he stood up. The anger and impatience were gone. All that remained was the expression of someone who had accepted it. As if he had finally realized his own defeat.

“…………”

Without a word, Shouma turned his back and began to walk away. That walk wasn’t like him yesterday. It was far too quiet. It was the footsteps of someone who had come to a painful realization. Only the sound of the wind remained in the residential street.

“Y-Yuuta-kun…!”

The next moment, Kaede leapt into me from behind.

“I was scared… Really, really scared…”

Her voice trembled with tears. She shook slightly in my arms.

“It’s okay. It’s all okay now.”

I slowly stroked her back. Kaede’s trembling gradually eased. As I hugged her tightly, a single resolve lit up deep in my chest.

I won’t forgive anyone… Who makes Kaede cry anymore. Not Shouma. Not anyone. The only one who can protect Kaede now… Is me.

“Let’s go, Hiiragi-san. We’ll be late.”

“…Yeah.”

Wiping away her tears, Kaede gripped my arm tightly. That warmth felt far stronger than it had that morning.

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