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 - 39-40

Chapter 39: The Next Day After Noon, at the Meeting Spot (Moeka’s POV)

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The next day, a little past noon. Today was the day the three of us—Kakeru, Kasumi-chan, and I—were going to the movies. I arrived at the meeting place a bit early. Since neither Kakeru nor Kasumi-chan had arrived yet, I waited there for the two of them to show up.

“Fufu, I wonder how I look…”

Muttering that to myself, I looked at my outfit in the mirror. Today I was wearing the clothes I bought yesterday with Kuze-kun. On top, I wore a spring white sweater, and on the bottom, I had on loose-fitting black slacks. And even though I usually wore sneakers, today I tried matching the outfit with black loafers instead. It made the whole look feel stylish and put-together. But since I usually wore skirts and dresses all the time, it had really been a while since I wore this kind of outfit, so my heart was beating a little fast.

“Well, Kuze-kun said it suited me, so I should be fine…!”

“Oh, there you are! Moeka—!”

“Eh? Ah, Kasumi-chan! Morning!”

Right when I was feeling nervous, Kasumi-chan came walking quickly toward the meeting place. And just as we successfully met up, Kasumi-chan stared at me intently and said to me.

“Yeah, good morning! Wait, huh? Moeka, your outfit today…”

“Ah, u-um. I tried wearing something different from usual for a change, but…What do you think?”

“Mm! It looks really good on you!”

“Really!? I’m so glad!”

“Yeah, I mean it. Your usual cute look suits you, but this kind of boyish style looks great on you too, Moeka!”

Kasumi-chan smiled while complimenting my outfit. She praised me so sincerely that it made me happy.

“But Moeka, you’ve always worn skirts or dresses since middle school, right? So why did you try a boyish outfit today?”

“Ah, well! The truth is, I’ve always thought this kind of style was really nice. I’d been hesitating, but… A friend told me, ‘Sakagami would look good in that,’ and it gave me the courage to try buying it.”

“Heh, I see? Fufu, that’s a good friend you have. Ah. Sorry, I want to go buy a drink, so I’m going to run to the convenience store for a moment.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll wait here then.”

“Okay, got it. I’ll be right back.”

Saying that, Kasumi-chan left the meeting place for a bit. So I waited alone again. And then, soon after—

“…Ah, there you are! Hey—!”

Kakeru’s voice reached me shortly after. It seemed he had arrived too.

“Ah, Kakeru! Over here!”

“Yo. Morning. Man, good thing I didn’t end up being late… Wait, huh? Moeka? That outfit…?”

“Ah, yeah! Hehe, I actually bought new clothes to wear for when we all hung out today. What do you think? Do they suit me??”

I said that as I showed Kakeru my outfit. And then…

“Uh, well… How do I put this… Moeka, seeing you dressing like that is… Haha, it feels crazy weird.”

“…Eh?”

Kakeru laughed as he said that to me.

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Chapter 40: When I Went to the Literature Club Room During Lunch After the Weekend…

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The next week on Monday. All the morning classes had ended, and it had just become lunchtime.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm♪”

I walked down the hallway with a plastic bag holding the onigiri I bought at the convenience store. As usual, I was going to eat lunch in the Literature Club room. So I soon arrived at the clubroom. I took the key out of my pocket and inserted it into the keyhole of the door.

“Hmm-hmm-hm… Huh? It’s already unlocked?”

As I slid the key into the keyhole, I immediately noticed that the room wasn’t locked. The Literature Club room had never been unlocked during lunch break. This was the first time. Which meant… Maybe…?

Click

“Oh, just as I thought. You’re here. Good work, Sakagami.”

“……”

When I turned the doorknob and stepped into the clubroom, Sakagami was inside. She sat at a desk, quietly eating her lunch. It was the first time I had ever seen Sakagami in the clubroom during lunch break, so it felt strangely refreshing.

“You always eat in the classroom during lunch, so it’s rare to see you eat in the clubroom today. Why are you eating lunch here?”

“……”

“Oh, or do you have some Literature Club work to do during lunch? If you want, I can help you with it.”

“……”

“Huh? Hey, what’s wrong? You can hear me, right?”

“……Eh? Ah, huh? Kuze-kun… Good work, Kuze-kun…”

When I hurried over and waved my hand in front of her face, she finally noticed me. It felt like she was spacing out today. And when I looked at her properly, I noticed she was wearing a really gloomy expression. Something had definitely happened.

“Yeah. Good work. But seriously, what’s wrong? You look really down.”

“T-That’s not true… I think I’m normal, just like usual…”

“No way. Not even close. If something happened, I can at least listen.”

“N-No, that would be a burden on you, Kuze-kun… It’s fine…”

“Hm? Seriously, what’s going on?”

I asked lightly, but Sakagami kept her gloomy expression as she answered. She had been totally normal when we went shopping for clothes together on Saturday, so why had her expression become this dark after just two days?

“Hm… So in other words… Did something happen on Sunday?”

“…!”

When I asked that, Sakagami flinched. So my guess had been completely correct.

“I see. So something sad happened on the day you went out with your childhood friend, huh? I don’t know what happened, but if you’re hurting, I can help you out, you know?”

“Eh… B-but…”

“You don’t have to hold back. I owe you for always letting me use the clubroom and lending me book recommendations. If you’re feeling miserable, then I’ll help however I can. And honestly, when you’re sad or upset, venting a little actually helps you feel better. So try telling me. I won’t tease you at all. I’ll listen seriously.”

“Kuze-kun… Okay, thank you… You’re right. Then um… Would you listen to me complain a bit?”

“Yeah, of course.”

And so, right after that, Sakagami told me what had happened on Sunday.

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Some time later—

“…and that’s what happened…”

“…I see. So your childhood friend said that to you…”

“…Yeah…”

I listened as Sakagami told me what happened on Sunday. She had gone out wearing the men’s-style outfit we bought together. She had met up with the protagonist, Kakeru, at the meeting place and the very first thing he said was basically, “Those clothes don’t suit you.”

And apparently he kept going after that, laughing while saying things like “Your usual style is better” and “Those clothes look weird.” After being insulted over and over like that, she ended up looking incredibly depressed. Well, of course she would be. Any girl would be hurt if the childhood friend she liked kept dissing her.

Seriously, what the hell is that guy doing? Saying things that hurt the heroine like that is way too awful…

I pictured the protagonist in my head and sighed internally. For a protagonist to hurt the heroine? Absolutely unacceptable. Good grief…

“So that’s why… He kept saying the clothes didn’t suit me, over and over… And it made me really sad. And if he thinks they’re weird clothes… Then I thought maybe I shouldn’t ever wear them again…And that just made me feel worse and worse…”

“…I see. I get how painful that must’ve been. But honestly, about what your childhood friend said… You don’t need to let that drag you down.”

“…Eh?”

“Because those clothes looked amazing on you. I’m the one who was with you the entire time while you were choosing them, so I know for sure. They weren’t weird at all. They were stylish, and they definitely suited you.”

“…Kuze-kun…”

So I did my best to speak gently toward the downcast Sakagami.

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