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 - 25

Chapter 25: Caring for the Sick

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After school the next day, I visited Nazuna’s house. When I walked up the path past the gate, there was a fairly wide garden on both sides, filled with well-maintained greenery. I had walked her to the front of her house a few times before, but this was my first time actually ringing the doorbell, so I felt a little nervous. Greeting me at the entrance was Nazuna’s mother, whom I had only briefly seen yesterday.

“H-Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Kazuto Kurosaki, Nazuna-san’s classmate. I came to visit her…”

Strictly speaking it wasn’t the first time we’d “met,” since she appeared a few times in the original manga.

“Oh my, I heard a classmate was coming to visit, but haaah—so you’re Kurosaki-kun!? How polite of you~! Come in, come in!”

As expected of mother and daughter, her face carried that same bright, gentle impression as Nazuna’s. I had braced myself to possibly be yelled at and turned away, so her warm welcome made me feel a bit deflated from the tension. I stepped inside as she beckoned me in.

“Wait, come to think of it—how do you know about me…?”

“Oh, Nazuna always talks about you!”

“Eh—what exactly does she say…?”

As I lined up my shoes, Nazuna’s mother covered her mouth with a knowing smile.

“Well, that is…”

At that moment, a voice called out from deeper in the hallway, cutting her off.

“Mom—!”

The voice belonged to Nazuna, dressed in pajamas.

“I’m sorry, Kazuto-kun…! My mother didn’t say anything unnecessary, did she…!?”

Her face was still slightly flushed, probably from a lingering fever. As for the fact that the buttons on her pajama top were on the verge of bursting… I made a wholehearted effort not to notice that part.

“N-No, nothing. She really didn’t say anything…”

“Kurosaki-kun, why don’t we have some tea together?”

“Eh…”

Nazuna frowned at her mother’s suggestion and grabbed my arm.

“Mom, go back to the living room! Kazuto-kun, let’s go to my room!”

It felt strange, hearing Nazuna—who used polite speech with everyone—talk so casually to her own mother.

“Yes yes. Well then, Kurosaki-kun, make yourself comfortable, okay?”

When we entered the room she showed me to, we sat across from each other with a small white low table between us. Overwhelmed, I found myself taking in every detail of her room. But not because it was my first time being in a girl’s room other than my sister’s. It was because Nazuna Akaboshi’s room, which had appeared many times in the original manga, was recreated exactly as it was. As a fan of Amakoi, my heart couldn’t help but race in excitement. 

Well, whether “recreated” was the right word was debatable. Noticing my odd gaze, Nazuna asked nervously.

“Is…Is there something strange about my room…?”

“N-No, I just thought this room is really girlish… By the way, are you sure you should be up? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Yes… When I took the medicine the doctor gave me, my fever already went down. I think I’ll be able to come back to practice tomorrow or the day after…”

“You don’t have to push yourself. Your health comes first, so rest properly.”

“Thank you very much. And… I’m really sorry for all the trouble I caused…”

Her heavy expression made it clear she felt a huge sense of responsibility due to her sudden illness.

“I’m the one who should apologize… I didn’t notice how you were feeling. I’m really sorry…”

“N-No! Kazuto-kun didn’t do anything wrong! I was the one who pushed myself too far…”

“Kirari felt really guilty too. Could you forgive her?”

“I’m not angry at Kirari-chan at all. All the fault is mine…”

“It might be strange to say this now, but I’m genuinely looking forward to everyone’s performance. I want to see the result of all your hard work, your effort shining in its purest form from the best seat in the house. So don’t apologize. I really want Nazuna to keep smiling from the bottom of my heart.”

Nazuna blushed intensely and lowered her head.

“Kazuto-kun… You’re so unfair…”

“I’m sorry… All I can do is cheer you on, but…”

“I—I’m going to sleep…! I’ll sleep a lot, and get better as fast as I can!”

As if deciding on the spot, Nazuna swiftly slipped into her bed and covered herself with the blanket, hiding her face. She didn’t say so directly, but it felt like she was politely telling me to go home, so I slowly stood up.

“Well, I guess I’ll get going…”

Then, Nazuna peeked just the top half of her face out from under the blanket.

“W-Wait…!”

“W-What is it…?”

“Because of you, Kazuto-kun… It doesn’t feel like I’ll be able to fall asleep right away. S-So… I want you to take responsibility…”

Her grandiose words stunned me.

“R-Responsibility!? H-How do I…!?”

“H-Hold my hand…”

From under the blankets, her left hand slid out.

“What!?”

I let out the lowest-pitched voice of my entire life.

“I-Is that… Not okay…?”

Her eyes glistened with moisture, shining so brightly I couldn’t look away.

“W-Will holding hands help you sleep…?”

“Yes… I think it will…”

“Alright…”

I sat down beside her bed and held her hand. Nazuna’s face flushed even deeper, and she quickly turned away toward the wall.

“I-Is this okay? My hands are sweaty from nerves…”

“M-Mine too…”

“Then maybe we should let go—”

“Don’t say something so mean!”

She snapped her face toward me for a split second, only to immediately avert it again. It was then that I noticed it. There was a faint scar on Nazuna’s wrist. The only relief was that it didn’t look recent, but all I could do was pray nothing like that would ever happen again.

“I’ll stay here until Nazuna says it’s okay for me to leave. So rest easy and sleep…”

From underneath the blanket—already muffling her voice—Nazuna whispered softly.

“Then… I’ll never e-ever say it’s okay…”

I didn’t catch what she said and asked her to repeat, but all I got was, “Good night!”—as she escaped back under the covers.

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