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 - 22

Chapter 22: A Glimpse

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Tiger, fire, cyber, fiber, diver, viber, jyaajaa!!”

“Your voice is too quiet, one more time!!”

“Hey, just let me take a break… My throat’s about to give out…”

“As the manager, Kazuto, you’re supposed to be the one leading the hype for the live show, aren’t you!?”

While the girls practiced their singing and dancing, I was being forced by Kirari to train in calls and otagei to hype up the live performance. Apparently, Kirari had not only been a Amakoi fan in her previous life, but also a hardcore idol otaku. Her coaching was nothing short of Spartan, and after being worked to the bone with full-on power harassment these past few days, I was completely exhausted.

“Please, just five minutes…!”

“Ugh, fine. But only really five minutes, okay!”

When I pressed my hands together and begged, Kirari reluctantly granted me a short break. While I absentmindedly watched the girls singing, one voice stuck out—clearly off pitch. The song was a currently popular idol track among middle and high schoolers in this world, and because the melody was relatively simple, the odd note stood out even more. The culprit—was Nazuna.

It was predictable in a way, but even that felt like it could be an adorable part of her charm. Under the pretense of “checking everyone’s progress,” Kirari, with the face of a scheming villain, made sure to record every moment of Nazuna’s singing on camera. I could practically hear her inner voice going, “Hehehe…” I immediately whispered to Kirari.

“Hey, is this okay…? Nazuna’s singing is kind of fatal for an idol, isn’t it…?”

“Kazuto, you’re seriously so shallow… You really don’t get it at all. Fans love seeing someone try their hardest even when they’re bad at something.”

“R-Really…?”

“Really!”

Apparently, even tone-deafness could be seen as a charm point depending on the person. After the intense training ended, even though she must have been tired herself, Nazuna handed me a towel.

“Kazuto-kun, thank you for your hard work!”

“Ah, thanks…”

“At first I was embarrassed, but now it’s really fun. I want you to see me becoming a proper idol as soon as possible… So I’m going to keep working hard…!”

Nazuna made a small, determined fist pump with both hands, full of motivation.

“N-Nazuna, you’re already working hard enough.”

“No, I still have a long way to go…! Um, if it’s okay… Since the culture festival is two days long… I’d like to spend at least one of the days walking around with you, just the two of us… Is that not okay…?”

The upward gaze she gave me was unbelievably powerful. Caught completely off guard, I reflexively looked away.

“O-Of course, if you’re okay with me…”

“Really!?”

Nazuna’s voice rose higher than usual in pure joy. Meanwhile, I silently looked to Kirari for help. Letting out a deep sigh, Kirari put on a small act and called me over.

“Kazuto, come here a second, I need to talk to you~”

“O-Okay!”

Once we stepped outside the clubroom, Kirari leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

“Thanks, that helped. Nazuna’s been oddly forward lately, like she’s really close to me, and I didn’t know how to deal with it…”

“Kazuto…Are you seriously haven’t noticed…?”

“Huh? Noticed what…?”

“The Princess obviously likes you, no matter how you look at it.”

“T-That’s impossible! She’s Nazuna Akaboshi—the Amakoi heroine!!”

Kirari gave me a look full of disbelief.

“Haa… At the very least, there’s no doubt Princess has feelings for you. And even if it was a misunderstanding, you technically already confessed to her before. From her perspective, she thinks you like her back…”

“I really should clear up that misunderstanding from back then, right…?”

“And what exactly are you planning to say? ‘Actually, I don’t like you after all’? If you say that, she’ll definitely get hurt again.”

Maybe remembering the sad scene from the original manga, Kirari knit her brows and lowered her eyes.

“T-Then what should I do…?”

“Kazuto, do you hate the Princess?”

“Of course I don’t, but I don’t know if I see her as a potential romantic partner or anything like that…”

“If you don’t hate her, then you just have to try moving forward. But! If you end the relationship with ‘oops, guess it didn’t work out,’ I absolutely won’t forgive you.”

Kirari twirled the end of her blonde hair around her finger and tilted her small face toward me. Her blue eyes carried absolutely no hint of joking when she emphasized “won’t forgive.”

“That’s so irresponsible…”

On the way home from school that day, I decided to talk to Moe as well.

“Hey, Moe… Have you ever liked someone before?”

“O-Onii-chan!? What are you suddenly talking about!? Don’t ask stuff like that and make Moe panic!!”

My little sister reacted like a startled cat on the dark road.

“S-Sorry… I wasn’t trying to bother you, I just wanted to have more reference… I need more information…”

Moe lowered her head, almost as if she was trying to make herself smaller, and whispered quietly.

“I do… Even now…”

Even though I was the one who asked, her answer shocked me so much I couldn’t help interrogating her as an older brother.

“R-Really!? Who? What kind of guy!? Don’t tell me he’s actually a weird guy or something?!”

“Like I’d ever tell you something like that, you idiot!!”

After that, Moe didn’t say a single word to me until we got home.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー