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 48 - The Protagonist of This Love Story Is Me [Tsukishima Reika’s POV] (Caught up with raws)
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Chapter 48 – The Protagonist of This Love Story Is Me [Tsukishima Reika’s POV]
[Tsukishima Reika’s POV]
I, Tsukishima Reika, am interested in a boy.
His name is Ishibashi Tsuyoshi.
He doesn’t seem to care about me at all. He treats me really roughly, but he always helps me when I’m in trouble, and he’s kind…he’s cool, and also wonderful.
He doesn’t try to be something he’s not, and I can be myself with him.
Maybe that’s why Ishibashi is a little special to me.
And that same Ishibashi invited me to go see the summer fireworks festival with him.
Well… I didn’t have any plans for summer holiday, and I had no reason to refuse, so I accepted the invitation.
And then, the day of the fireworks festival arrived. I was waiting at the meeting place.
The appointed time was 6pm.
It was now 5pm.
…I was so excited that I came an hour early.
What do I do now…? There’s still a whole hour left. How should I kill time…?
As I looked around for something,
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“Huh? Ishibashi?”
In front of me was Ishibashi, walking towards me, with an astonished look on his face for some reason.
“Why are you here already… It’s still an hour before we were supposed to meet up.”
“Eh, that’s… Well, um…”
What should I do… I can’t bring myself to tell him I was too excited and came early!!
“You probably came early because you were too excited.”
“Eh?! N-no way!! That’s not it at all!!”
H-h-how did he know?!!
“I-Ishibashi too! Why did you come so early?! You’re just as excited as me, so you came early, isn’t that right?!”
“…Kohinata sent me a message saying, ‘I saw Reika-chan heading to the station, humming and skipping away, but the meeting time is 6pm, isn’t it?’, that’s why I came early.”
“…Why does Mayu know the meeting time?”
“Why…? We’re all going to see the fireworks today.”
“Huh? Isn’t it just me and Ishibashi today?”
“Well, this works out. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”
“Hey, why are you ignoring my question?”
“…I’ll buy you anything you want from the food stalls. Want something?”
“Yes!!”
“What do you want?”
“Yakisoba!!”
Anyway, we started walking towards the yakisoba stall.
“Oh, by the way, what did you want to talk about?”
“…Well, it’s not something I can just blurt out right away. The atmosphere needs to be right, you know.”
Eh, what are you talking about?
Looking at Ishibashi’s profile, he had a very serious expression.
Huh… W-w-w-what if he’s…confessing?
H-how should I answer?
“Please take care of me”? Or maybe just a simple “Yes”? Or a “Thank you”?
…Wait, why am I assuming I’ll accept before he even says anything?!
Calm down, me!!
“Hey, Tsukishima.”
“Hyah—hyah—h-hhuh??!”
“Do you want the extra-large yakisoba?”
“Eh? A-are you trying to win me over through my stomach first?!”
“What are you talking about?”
After that, he ended up buying me takoyaki, frankfurters, shaved ice, grilled beef skewers, yakisoba, octopus rice crackers, candied apple, and…more yakisoba.
After enjoying the food stalls, we returned to the meeting place where we had been earlier.
“You… You ate way too much yakisoba.”
“I-I mean… I just couldn’t find one that reached my ‘perfect satisfaction’ level…”
I couldn’t help but look away from Ishibashi.
“Well… Judging by how you look now, I guess you’re doing just fine.”
Ishibashi looked at me reassuringly.
“What do you mean?”
“You know, a lot happened on the last day of school, right?”
As Ishibashi said, a lot really happened on the closing ceremony day.
After school, Sasaki-kun called me to the rooftop and confessed to me…
Then, Ishibashi protected me from Sasaki-kun.
After that, I went to Yarita-sensei with Chiaki-san, who happened to be down the stairs, and when we returned to the roof, Ishibashi was with Sasaki-kun who was unconscious.
Ishibashi didn’t mention anything about Sasaki-kun’s knife, but insisted that they had gotten into a fight, and Yarita-sensei reluctantly accepted his story.
After that, Sasaki-kun seems to have been holed up in his house…
It all happened because I rejected his confession.
“Just so you know, none of that was your fault. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Ishibashi nudged me with his elbow.
Sometimes I wonder if Ishibashi can read my mind.
“…Wait, did you invite me to the fireworks because you were worried about me?”
His eyes widened for a moment before he looked away, clearly embarrassed.
“Well… I figured if we all hung out together, it might help take your mind off things.”
That’s just how he is.
“And… I was worried. That because of what happened, you might become afraid of falling in love for real.”
“Eh?”
“You said it yourself, right? That you want to be with someone you truly love. I’d hate for this whole thing to make you afraid of loving someone for real.”
At that moment, the first firework exploded in the sky with a sharp crack.
“…I’ll be okay.”
My answer wasn’t some kind of bravado, nor was it some kind of considerate words to avoid worrying anyone.
It was the truth.
“Because right now, I’m really in love.”
Many fireworks were launched, and the sound of their explosions echoed in the air.
I don’t know why, but…
Maybe this isn’t something that can be explained logically.
But I think if I don’t say it now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
That’s why…
“Ishibashi, I like you.”
For the first time in my life, I confessed my true feelings.
Ishibashi looked at me with a surprised expression.
………I…I went and said it!!
W-what should I do!! I-I confessed without thinking!!
As I was panicking, Ishibashi opened his mouth and——
“————”
Eh, w-what? I couldn’t hear Ishibashi’s reply over the sound of the fireworks.
“W-what did you just say?”
When I said that, Ishibashi whispered in my ear.
“I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the fireworks.”
…Huh?
“Sorry. I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the fireworks, so can you say it again?”
Perhaps he hadn’t heard me, because when the fireworks stopped, Ishibashi said the same thing.
“…I-I said the fireworks are beautiful!!”
I yelled, completely flustered, trying to cover up my confession in a fit of desperation.
“Ah, there you are! Tsuyoshi~kun~!”
“So you got here first after all, Reika-chan.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
The moment I finished shouting, Sakurai-san, Mayu, and Chiaki-san joined us.
“Oh, looks like everyone’s here now.”
“…………Yeah.”
“…What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing at all!!”
As the five of us gathered, the atmosphere instantly became lively and chaotic.
…Well, for now, I’ll treasure this friendship we share.
Besides, I think the other four feel the same way… So maybe, for a little while, I should just enjoy these peaceful days.
“Alright then, let’s hit the food stalls!”
Everyone agreed with Sakurai-san’s suggestion and we started walking towards the stalls.
It might not be possible now, but someday…
Looking at Ishibashi’s face, I made up my mind and started walking with the others.
“Sorry. I lied.”
As we all walked, I grabbed Ishibashi’s arm and stopped him.
Everyone was surprised by my actions. And so was Ishibashi.
“I said I like you, Ishibashi.”
This time I spoke a little louder, before the fireworks got in the way again.
I confessed to Ishibashi once more.
If he didn’t hear me the first time, if my words didn’t reach him, if my feelings didn’t get through——
Then I’ll keep saying it.
Again and again, over and over, until he hears me.
Until he understands.
So that I can be happy.
After all, the protagonist of this love story is me.
Seeing Ishibashi’s face turn bright red in shock, along with the flustered expressions of my love rivals, I couldn’t help but laugh.
◇ ◇ ◇
T/N: Honestly, I was a bit mad because of the cliche firework confession plot, but I’m glad Reika found the courage to push through… Best girl, no doubt.
By the way, at the time of translating this chapter, this is the most recent chapter. The author hasn’t put up a new chapter for…a week now, even though he updated daily before.
I’m guessing we’re nearing the ending soon too, it depends on the author how he wants to play this out. The author can turn it into a daily-harem story with all the heroines, but who knows… We’ll just have to wait and see
If you enjoy Eroge reincarnation novels, you might enjoy these 2:
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