I Was Reincarnated as a Mob in a Completed School Rom-Com Manga, and When I Tried My Best to Cheer Up the Broken Losing Heroines, I Realized I Had Surpassed the Original Story - 19

Chapter 19: The Perfect Weather for Going Out 2

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“Indeed, what a coincidence. Are you alone?”

Did my completely harmless question end up putting her in a bad mood? Konno-san narrowed her eyes.

“Got a problem with that?”

“No, not at all…”

“What about you, Kurosaki-kun?”

“I was with Moe until a moment ago, but she got scouted as a hair model right over there, and now I’m stuck here waiting…”

Even in the original story, Konno-san on her day off was hardly ever shown, so her casual clothes today were a rare sight. I couldn’t help but stare.

“You’ve been staring for a while. What?”

Her eyes sharpened even further, the edge unmistakable.

“S-Sorry! It’s my first time seeing you in casual clothes, and I thought that your outfit really suits you, Konno-san…!”

“I see.”

Her sharp gaze softened for a moment, and then with a curt reply, she turned away.

“So, you came to the bookstore today. Does that mean you came to buy the new volume of that ninja manga?”

“H-How did you know…!?”

Konno-san snapped her head back toward me, her face full of surprise.

“It came out yesterday, and I was planning to buy it too… Though my budget got wiped out by Moe earlier…”

“Then I’ll buy it, so… Do you want to read it together?”

“Eh, seriously!?”

“I was planning to buy it anyway. And I always borrow your manga at your place.”

“Thanks! I was about to give up on buying it, so this really helps!”

“I’ll go pay for it. Wait here.”

After she finished at the register, Konno-san briskly walked toward the reading space in the corner of the bookstore and sat down. Then, without saying a word, she signaled with her eyes alone for me to “come here.” I had said those words earlier without thinking, carried along by the moment, but now that it was actually happening, an indescribable tension wrapped around me as I slowly sat beside her.

Konno-san stared at the cover featuring the ninja heroine and smirked. Then she carefully peeled off the transparent film and flipped open the first page. The tension made it hard for me to breathe. There was no way I could focus on reading a manga like this.

“U-Um… It’s kind of hard to see from here, so maybe I can borrow it after you finish… On another day, perhaps?”

“Why? Don’t you want to read the rest?”

Konno-san looked completely unfazed, to the point that my nervousness felt ridiculous in comparison.

“I-I do want to…”

“Then come closer.”

W-What did she just say…!? Realistically speaking, it was only natural that someone like me—just a mob character—wasn’t being seen as a man by her. But that didn’t change how I felt.

“B-But…”

“Do you not want to get close to me?”

“T-That’s not it at all…”

There was no way I’d ever accumulated the life experience needed to calmly sit side by side with the heroine I admired and read from the same page like a couple.

“Ugh, you’re such a pain.”

Maybe she was just irritated because she wanted to read the manga quickly—Konno-san grabbed her chair while still sitting in it and slid herself closer to me in one big movement. At that moment, a soft, delightful scent drifted past me. Was it fabric softener, shampoo…? It was a floral fragrance.

“Can you see now?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“I’ll turn the pages at my pace, so if you’re not done, tell me ‘wait,’ okay?”

“Got it…”

And so we began reading the manga together from a single book. But with her sitting so close that our sleeves brushed, I could barely breathe. It went without saying that I was completely out of it until she turned the very last page. What worried me even more was that I occasionally stole glances at Konno-san’s side profile—god knows if she noticed.

“W-Wait…? That’s the end…?”

Konno-san flipped back and forth between the last pages, unable to accept reality.

“…Looks like it.”

Meanwhile, I was caught between the relief of finally escaping perpetual oxygen deficiency and the bittersweet feeling of wanting the moment to last a little longer.

“If it was going to end at such a good point, I shouldn’t have read it… Now I’m not gonna sleep wondering about the next chapter…”

She slumped over the desk, looking like her soul was slipping out of her mouth.

“Well, think of it as something to look forward to…!”

“When will the next volume come out?”

“This one just released, so… Usually in about two or three months…”

“Huh…? No way. I can’t wait that long. Then Kurosaki-kun, you write the continuation.”

“Don’t ask the impossible…”

“And you call yourself a member of the manga research club.”

“That’s rich coming from you too, Konno-san!?”

“What even is that secret clan technique!? I’m so curious I’ll only be able to sleep at night…”

“Sleeping at night sounds plenty good enough…”

“If I can’t nap I’ll die.”

“Do you have sloth blood or something?”

“Maybe…”

“Actually, Konno-san does kind of look like a sloth right now.”

“If only I could sleep and wake up and it’s two months later…”

“Ah… So you’re gonna sleep after all…”

At my muttered comeback, Konno-san—still slumped on the desk—laughed quietly.

“Puhaha… What is this conversation.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Ahh, why can I talk to you without holding back, Kurosaki-kun? It’s so weird…”

“You already said the same thing before. It’s probably because I’m like a bird, I guess?”

“What does that mean?”

“Sloths and birds… Both live in the trees.”

“I see…So that’s why…”

Something about that seemed to make sense to her, and she answered in a calm voice.

“H-Hey, don’t take that seriously, it was a joke…”

Konno-san suddenly lifted her head, propped her cheek on her hand, and muttered while staring at a bookshelf in the distance.

“Speaking of birds… I wonder what Shiratori-kun is doing right now…”

I screwed up. I should’ve thought before speaking. Panicking, I tried to change the subject. My mouth moved faster than my brain.

“H-Hope he’s doing well… A-Anyway, Konno-san, do you have plans after this!?”

“No…”

“Moe still hasn’t contacted me either, so…Do you want to go somewhere!?”

“I don’t mind… Where? to”

“Th-That’s… Uum… Before that, I’m gonna go to the bathroom, so wait a bit!”

Someone like me shouldn’t be doing things on impulse. I rushed into the restroom and, desperate, called Kirari for help.

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