I Was Reincarnated as a Stepping-Stone Character in an Eroge, and by Breaking the Heroines’ NTR Flags in Place of the Protagonist, They Ended Up Falling for Me - Chapter 28 - Reincarnated Friends

Chapter 28 – Reincarnated Friends

“I see. I was reincarnated as a game character. To be honest, the story is so far-fetched I can’t really follow it…”

Chiaki had her head in her hands after hearing my explanation.

“Well, it’s a common story in anime and light novels. If you think about it like that, it makes sense, right?”

“Huh? There’s no way I could understand something like that. Don’t lump me in with you, you creepy otaku.”

Ouch, so rude…

“Well, it actually happened, so I guess I’ll just have to accept it…”

Chiaki muttered, scratching her head.

“Just to confirm, you were a guy in your previous life… right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But I was reincarnated as a woman.”

Wow, someone from the same world as me, and also a former guy…!

I suddenly felt a surge of camaraderie.

“Isn’t it hard to be reincarnated as a girl? You know, with… all kinds of things?”

“Huh? What do you mean by all kinds of things?”

“Eh, well… Like baths and… being naked… it seems like it would be hard.”

Chiaki tilted her head curiously as she looked at me, still muttering.

“No, not really? I had seen and touched naked women many times in my previous life.”

“Is…that so?”

Goodbye, camaraderie. I’m sorry for speaking out of line.

“…You must be a virgin.”

“More importantly, how did you get reincarnated?! Like getting run over by a truck while asleep at the wheel!?”

Chiaki must have seen through my blatant attempt to change the subject, as she snorted and said, “Yeah, I hit the mark,” and went along with the story.

“Yeah, no. I had a falling out with a woman I was mooching off of and got stabbed with a knife. Hurt like hell.”

He was a bad guy.

“What number was she again…? Ten? No, the eleventh, I think?”

“I see… So you were a total scumbag. You deserved to die. Feel some shame, seriously.”

“And you, Ishibashi-kun, must have had an oh-so-noble way of dying, huh?”

Chiaki glared at me as she said this.

W-well, when you put it like that, it’s not such a big deal.

“What? Just tell me. I’m sure it’s a stupid reason anyway”

“Congenital heart disease…”

“Eh?”

“I was hospitalized. The only way to survive was a transplant, but while waiting for a donor, I was kept alive through palliative care at the hospital…”

“Wait a second… why is this turning into a heavy story?”

“And, as expected, the donor wasn’t found in time… I spent my last days barely talking to anyone, alone, hooked up to countless machines…”

“O-oh… I see.”

“Well, it’s not like a donor was ever going to show up. And if I’d just stayed bedridden, unable to move, maybe it would’ve been better to just di——”

“I’m sorry!! It was my fault! Okay!! Stop talking about this!”

For some reason, Chiaki looked flustered and raised her voice just as my phone started ringing.

“Tsukishima Reika? Oh, what’s this, nerd? Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, just some mysterious woman acting like she’s my girlfriend. If I don’t pick up on the first ring, she screams at me.”

“She sounds crazy. You should be careful, okay? If you let your guard down, these women will stab you with a kitchen knife.”

As expected from someone with experience, their words carry a different weight.

“So you and I are reincarnated as game characters, right? What kind of character are you?”

“…I’m the stepping-stone character for the protagonist.”

“I see. So you’re just a side character. You look so manly, but you’re just a virgin, introverted loser~”

Shut up, you’re so noisy.

“And what about me? Am I a heroine character who gets conquered by the main character?”

“No, you’re just a mob character whose name isn’t even mentioned.”

“Really? Then I’m in a safe zone.”

A safe zone, huh… It’s true that she doesn’t really have much to do with the story, so it might not be an exaggeration to say that.

But honestly, wouldn’t “Ishibashi” suit this guy way better than me? It feels like our roles got switched somehow.

“Well, I’ll just keep enjoying myself, basking in attention from all the dumb guys in class… That’s why I went to the salon and put on this act, after all.”

I see, that’s why she changed her appearance and acted all cute.

“Man, thinking about all this is making me hungry. Let’s ditch school and go grab some ramen.”

Chiaki stood up, tapping away on her phone.

“I won’t stop you, but if you’re going, make sure the teacher doesn’t find out.”

I guess it’s about time I headed to the student council room too.

How should I explain to Reika that I didn’t answer her phone?

“No, no, no, you’re coming with me.”

“Huh? Why?”

She sighed in exasperation when I asked her again without thinking.

“Without a wallet, I can’t eat, right? You want me to dine and dash?”

I see. As expected of someone who was a freeloading scumbag in their past life.

“Come on, let’s go already. I’ve already texted the guys in your class to tell the teacher you passed out and I took you to the nurse’s office, so you’ll miss the first afternoon class. You’re welcome.”

Chiaki Shizuku said this with a smug look on her face. Her expression seemed to say that we’re already partners in crime

“…Just this once, okay?”

There were many things I wanted to say, but as we were from the same world, I thought it would be ok to do it just once, so I followed Chiaki.