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 - 8

Chapter 8: The Apology Went Well…I Think?

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Shouma’s POV

Afternoon. I had finished eating my lunch on a bench in the courtyard and was spacing out, staring up at the sky. The stuffed cabbage that Mio had made… Well, the shape had fallen apart a little, but the flavor had been really good. The problem was the memory of what I had messed up before that.

“…I might’ve done something bad to Kaede…”

When I muttered that without thinking, Mio, who had been sitting next to me, stopped her fork. She furrowed her brows slightly and peered into my face.

“What’s wrong? You look kinda down.”

“No, well… Actually, you know. Yesterday, I asked Kaede to make stuffed cabbage for me.”

“Mm?”

“And I… totally forgot about it. She made it for me this morning and brought it, but I was sitting here eating your stuffed cabbage…”

“……”

“……”

“…Shouma-kun, that’s not okay.”

Her tone dropped. Ah. She was definitely mad.

“Well, I mean, yeah, I know that, but… Kaede knows me really well. Me being forgetful isn’t anything new. She’s probably just like, ‘ahh, he did it again,’ you know?”

“How many times are you planning to repeat that ‘again’?”

“…Huh?”

“Shouma-kun, at that rate, it wouldn’t be strange if she ended up hating you at some point.”

“Ugh…”

She got me right between the ribs. A perfect straight punch to the heart and at the most defenseless timing, too.

“B-But, you know. Even when I forgot stuff or came late back then, Kaede always laughed like, ‘geez, you can’t be helped.’”

“That wasn’t ‘laughing.’ That was ‘giving up,’ don’t you think?”

“…Ugh.”

“People, you know… When they get betrayed over and over, they lose even the energy to be angry.”

“No, the way you’re saying that really stings…!”

“It’s fine if it stings. Reflect on it.”

“Your lecture power’s insane, Mio…”

Scratching my head pathetically, I felt like Kaede’s face appeared in the dappled sunlight on the ground. That face she made this morning… She had smiled, but she hadn’t really smiled. That had probably been one step before her limit.

“…But, going to apologize now is kinda… She’d probably make a face like, ‘Oh, now you’re apologizing?’ It’s awkward, or like…”

“You’re going anyway.”

Immediate answer. Not even a second delay.

“No, but, there’s a timing for these things, right?”

“If you miss the timing, you might never apologize again.”

“I get the logic, but my heart ain’t keeping up…”

“See? You’re trying to run away. That’s exactly the problem, Shouma-kun.”

When I held my head, Mio sighed, but her expression softened just a little.

“Okay then. I’ll go with you.”

“…Huh?”

“When you apologize,you’ll definitely run if you’re alone.”

“Guh… I can’t deny that…”

“Right? So I’m coming too.”

“No, but, the two of us going to apologize together… Doesn’t that look like a whole love-triangle showdown situation?”

“You brought that on yourself.”

“…Got nothing to say to that.”

A short silence. Branches rustled softly in the wind.I sighed and looked back up at the sky.

After school. Mio and I stopped in front of the classroom door and exchanged looks.

“…We’re really doing this?”

“Yeah. And if you try to run halfway, I won’t forgive you.”

“How little do you trust me?”

While having that kind of exchange, we slowly approached Kaede’s seat.

“Yo, Kaede. Got a minute?”

Kaede turned around, her expression a little surprised. But she quickly smiled her usual gentle smile.

“Yeah, what’s up? Shouma, and Mio-chan too.”

“Uh, well… It’s about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“The stuffed cabbage. I asked you to make it, but I totally forgot.”

“Ahh, that.”

“Yeah, I’m really sorry!”

I bowed my head sharply. Just barely stopping before slamming into the desk, basically a full kneel-and-apologize posture.

“I’m sorry. Seriously. That one was totally my fault. I’m reflecting on it. I’ll be careful next time. No, I’ll fix it right now!”

“Shouma, you don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.”

Kaede smiled gently. Her voice was light, almost as if “nothing had happened.”

“I’m not bothered by it. Really.”

“Eh, seriously? Thank god…”

I let out a huge breath and my shoulders relaxed.

“Man, I was worried what I’d do if you were angry.”

“I’m not angry. I just thought, ‘That’s so like Shouma.’”

“Like me…?”

“Yeah, totally as usual.”

“…Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“It is, right?”

“No, I mean, answering with a question back makes me lose confidence, you know?”

At my pathetic comeback, Mio sighed softly.

“Well, if you feel better now, then it’s fine, right?”

“No, it’s not fine! I want to make it up to her!”

“You’re unusually motivated today.”

“Of course. I did something bad to Kaede.”

I clapped my hands together with a slap.

“Okay, I’ll treat you to something next time. Anything you want.”

“Eh, you don’t have to.”

“No no, don’t say that. I need to show my sincerity somehow.”

“…Then, just a juice is fine. Whatever kind.”

“Eh, that’s enough?”

“Yeah, that’s plenty.”

Kaede smiled and picked up her bag.

“Well then, I’ve got something to do, so I’ll go.”

“Ah, yeah. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Still smiling, Kaede left the classroom with light steps. Left behind were Mio and me. Watching her walk away, I muttered quietly.

“I’m seriously glad she wasn’t mad… I thought my heart was gonna stop.”

“…Yeah, well, sure. Good for you, I guess.”

Mio’s voice had a slight thorn in it.

“Hm? Are you annoyed?”

“Not really.”

“People who say ‘not really’ are usually totally ‘really,’ right?”

“Shouma-kun, do you seriously think that counted as ‘making up’?”

“Huh? Well, she said she wasn’t bothered, so…”

“…Hmm. Well, if you say so.”

Mio shrugged slightly and grabbed her bag. Tilting my head, I leaned my elbow on the desk.

“Come on, we patched things up with her, didn’t we?”

“Patched up, huh.”

Mio repeated the words, stretching them out slightly. She was smiling, but there was something distant and cool about it.

“…It’d be nice if that were really true.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Saying only that, Mio left the classroom quickly. Watching her back disappear, I muttered under my breath.

Girls are seriously hard to understand.

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T/N: At this point I hope Mio is yuri for Kaede and only stole Shouma for Kaede’s sake cuz tf with Shouma?! I’m gonna slap this boy for real（ꐦ𝅒_𝅒）