I Was Reincarnated as the Villain in an NTR Eroge, but Since I Don’t Actually Want to Be a Villain, I’m Just Going to Live Normally - 11

Chapter 11: I Was Surprised by How Surprisingly Gentle He Was (Kasumi’s POV)

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“See you tomorrow, Kuze-kun.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Yukishiro.”

I parted ways with Kuze-kun and went through the ticket gate, boarding the train that would take me home.

Clack-clack, clack-clack–

“Phew… Today really was full of events…”

I murmured to myself as the train rocked back and forth. I had planned to hold a study session with Kakeru today, but he suddenly had something come up, so that plan was canceled. With no plans, I went straight home, changed into casual clothes, and went to the cram school’s self-study room to study. Well, with midterms and mock exams coming up, studying as much as I could wasn’t a problem at all.

I studied diligently until late at night, but just as I was about to head home, I was unfortunately caught by a troublesome guy attempting to hit on me. And at that moment, the one who helped me was… Much to my surprise, Kuze-kun.

“…He wasn’t at all the delinquent I thought he’d be…”

I recalled the scene from earlier. When I was being hassled by that guy, Kuze-kun had immediately come to my aid. Not only that, he had even walked me safely all the way to the station. Honestly, when Kuze-kun said he’d “see me to the station,” I had thought he was lying. I worried he might take me to a deserted street and force himself on me. After all, he was a delinquent with a bad reputation.

But Kuze-kun hadn’t shown a trace of that delinquent vibe. He walked me to the station while chatting casually, showing nothing but kindness. I was so surprised at such unexpectedly gentle behavior. And, moreover…

‘Even if we’re not friends, if someone’s in trouble, it’s only natural to want to help them. Besides, you’re really beautiful… So you could get caught by a troublesome guy again, right? I’m just worried about that.’

‘Hmph… Such a lousy reason… Wha-!? W-what is…!?’

‘So, in case you get caught by some weird guy again, I’ll walk you to the station… Huh? Why is your face turning red all of a sudden?’

…!

I suddenly remembered that and felt my face heat up. I had never been called “beautiful” by a male before, so hearing that completely shocked me. Well, I really only had Kakeru as a male friend, so there had been almost no chance for anyone to say something like that to me. 

So… Could it be that I’m actually kind of beautiful…? No, no, that’s impossible! I mean, I’m tall, and my face is a bit sharp and scary-looking, so honestly, I have no traits that would make me beautiful… Plus, my personality isn’t like Moeka’s—cute, charming, and sweet—but rather rigidly serious. I’m not exactly beautiful on the inside either.

So… Well, it’s kind of sad to admit, but I really think someone like me, serious and stiff, is far less likely to be popular than someone like Moeka. I’m sure even Kakeru would prefer Moeka over me if he were dating someone… Well, even so… Putting Moeka aside for a moment… What does Kakeru actually think of me?

Kakeru was childhood friends with Moeka, and I knew their relationship is close. So obviously, he probably liked Moeka more than me. I understood that, but…

Still… Could it be that Kakeru thinks I’m… somewhat an attractive girl…?

Could he think I was beautiful, or nice, or a wonderful person…? If he did, I’d be happy… though, it was a little scary but also intriguing at the same time… 

Maybe I should ask him tomorrow since the chance is here…? 

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The next morning.

“Ah, good morning, Kakeru.”

“Fuaa… Huh? Oh, good morning, Kasumi.”

On my way to school, I ran into Kakeru. He was yawning widely as he walked.

“That’s quite a big yawn. Did you stay up late last night?”

“Ah, yeah… Actually, I was playing games all day yesterday—ah! S-sorry, Kasumi! I bailed on our plan yesterday! I’ll make sure that never happens again, please forgive me!”

“You don’t need to worry about it. You’re giving me super fancy chocolates to apologize, right?”

“Eh… Huh!? N-no, fancy chocolates… I can’t… That’s too much.”

“Haha, just kidding. Even if you just get me chocolate from the convenience store, that’ll make us even. But from now on, don’t cancel plans on me, okay? If you do it again, I’ll lecture you.”

“Ah, yeah, of course. I’ll never do it again, I promise! And I’ll bring lots of delicious chocolate, so look forward to it!”

“Okay, then I’ll look forward to it.”

I talked with Kakeru right away about what happened yesterday. He seemed genuinely remorseful, and since he promised lots of chocolate, I decided to forgive him.

“Oh, right. Since I ran into you this morning, I actually have something I want to ask you. Is that okay?”

“Something you want to ask me? Yeah, sure. What is it?”

“Thanks. Um… It might be a bit of a weird question, but… From your perspective, what kind of girl do I look like?”

“Huh? What do you mean, what kind of girl?”

“Well, um… I mean, my appearance, personality, overall impression… You know, stuff like that. Could you tell me how I seem to you?”

“Uh…Your appearance, impression…?”

“Y-yeah… Just a rough impression, don’t think too hard. I just want to know how I seem to you, Kakeru.”

So, I took a deep breath and asked Kakeru the question I’d been curious about since last night. My face might even be a little red. I hoped he wouldn’t figure out why I was asking.

“Uh… Well, let’s see…”

“Y-yeah… (heart pounding)”

“Uh…Well… I guess…U uh… Kasumi… You feel like a tall, big mom!”

“…Excuse me?”

His answer was completely different from what I had expected, and I couldn’t help but make a shocked sound.

“Uh… Isn’t there a better answer than that?”

“Huh? But… Kasumi, you’re almost 170 cm tall, and your personality is super serious. You’re like a mom. Haha, that’s why my impression is that you’re a tall mom… Wait, why does your face look stiff?”

“Eh… It’s nothing. And… Who’s a mom anyway?”

“Haha, come on, everyone would see you as a mom!”

I almost froze, but I managed to regain composure and retort that I wasn’t a mom. Still…

Well… Of course, Kakeru would never think I’m beautiful or charming… I’m taller than most, and my personality is way too serious…

There was no way Kakeru would see me as an attractive girl. But…

‘You’re really beautiful…’

…

When Kuze-kun said that to me yesterday, I was completely shocked… But also just a little happy. Even if it was just an empty compliment, it still made me feel happy as a girl. And the fact that he said that, helped me out of a bad situation, and walked me to the station… He was not like the delinquent everyone talked about at all…

Despite all the rumors about Kuze-kun being a terrible delinquent, yesterday he acted like such a kind, normal boy. Maybe he was pretending to be nice to trick me… But no, I doubted he would go that far just to trick me. I had a gut feeling that yesterday, Kuze-kun was being his genuine self.

So now, I had one pure question in my mind…

Is Kuze-kun really the bad delinquent everyone thinks he is…?

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