I, Who Reincarnated as the Villain in a Romance Game, Somehow Became Doted on by the Heroine. And That Heroine Turned Out to Be a Yandere Stalker - Chapter 7: Being Liked Even by the Troublemaker

Episode 7: Being Liked Even by the Troublemaker

Since Minami’s hair turned a light shade of blue, I’ve been curious about her.
Is this… the power of anime!?

“Hehe… F… Fujiwara-kun, I b-brought you a gift.”
“Woah, seriously? Thanks a bunch…”

After school, Minami handed me a bag stuffed with “It Was a Carabiner When I Reincarnated in Another World” merchandise.
I’ve been dying to see this.

The package featured a cute girl and an iron carabiner.
Hmm, this looks interesting.

“S-s-see you later… hehe”
“Yeah, see you later.”

She went out of her way to give it to me in a secluded place.
She’s a good person.

Now, let’s head home for now.
Recently, it takes me longer to get home because Hiyono-san is watching me.
Rinka always asks to hang out when we meet, so I have to find a way to get home quickly.

For now, I’ll prioritize my hobbies over improving my reputation.

—

A backyard of the school building that I don’t usually pass through.
It seems like it’s not well-maintained, with overgrown vegetation.

If I take this route, those two shouldn’t notice me.

Heh heh heh! This will be fun—

“Taro, you think you can mess with me? Huh!”
“I-I-I-I’m sorry, please stop!”

The leader and two lackeys.
One of them punched glasses-kun in the stomach, and he fell to the ground.

Hmm, it definitely looks like a bully and a victim.
Is this… that thing?

I’ve seen it in the original work.
I think… the bully’s name is Akudou-kun.
The two lackeys are irrelevant, but the victim, glasses-kun… was his name Taro?

I think… no, come to think of it, I was the one leading the bullying.
Akudou was like my right-hand man, standing by my side.

“Hey! Taro!”
“P-please stop…”

Wow… isn’t this going too far…? That’s really cruel…
Was I supposed to be in that position, seriously, am I done for, Mitsuru Fujitou?

And here, Tendo Tsukasa should appear and help— but he didn’t.

However, Tendo-kun… chose to turn a blind eye.
Why… it’s different from the original work…

“Hey, Taro. Try imitating a dog’s bark.”

…I can’t just stand here and watch. But even though Akudou isn’t as strong as me, he’s quite sturdy.
His physical strength status should be pretty high.

And… I’m just scared…
On the outside, I’m Mitsuru Fujitou, but inside, I’m different.
Just… a shut-in. What am I supposed to do to help?

But… when it was Hiyono-san, my feet moved.
If I try my best… it might work.

“What are you doing there?”

“Huh? W-wait, isn’t that Fujitou?”

Huh? Oh, right, wasn’t Akudou-kun like a subordinate of Fujitou?
Maybe they’ve changed it…?

“What’s with that tone?”

Oh, a phrase that sounds more like it than I thought just came out.
Maybe it’s thanks to my reincarnation.

But Akudou-kun didn’t flinch and stared back.

“What? You got something to say? Fujitou, I know about you.”
“Huh?”

Huh, what!? What does he know!?

“You… you’re going home with Hiyono-san, right? You even walk to school together in the morning! I… won’t forgive you!”

S-so that’s it!? Akudou-kun liked Hiyono-san…
Ah, so that’s why he followed me. Originally, he’s a character meant to bully Tendo-kun.

So, the focus has shifted to me.
I was too surprised and unintentionally showed my past self’s strong side.
I need to switch gears.

Sorry, but Taro is completely useless as a fighter.
Even if he uses his glasses as a weapon, it won’t do much damage.
On the contrary, it’s a double-edged sword that could inflict fatal damage to the eyes.

His special skill, “Hey! You broke my glasses!” that shakes the mentality of elementary and middle school students, probably won’t work on Akudou.

In a fight… 1 vs. 3… Can I win?

“Hey, surround Fujitou!”
“Y-yes!”
“Got it!”

Hmm, but it seems like the two lackeys are scared.
They probably don’t like Hiyono-san. There’s an opening there.

Remember the saying: “If you want to shoot a general, aim for his horse”—

So, I shouldn’t focus on Akudou, but on the two lackeys.

“Hey, do you know who I am? I’m Mitsuru Fujitou-sama. Even if I lose here, what about next time? On the way home? On the way to school in the morning? Will you always be on your guard?”

Will my best shot hit?

“S-s-s-sorry!”
“W-we’re out!”
“Hey, don’t run away, you cowards!”

And the lackeys left.
Now it’s just Akudou. If it’s one-on-one, I might stand a chance.

“What’s wrong, Akudou? You’re alone now.”
“Tch, those cowards. Can’t rely on them from the start.”

Hmm, it seems like he’s not backing down. Please, just step back.
I don’t want to fight, no, I’m scared to fight.

“Why did you help? Are you some kind of hero?”
“…No, Taro is my prey. I just won’t let you do it.”

Sorry, Taro-kun. I don’t mean it. You’re scared, but I’m sorry.
I won’t actually lay a hand on you, so please forgive me for now.

“Hmph, you bastards!”

Akudou-kun raised his right fist and came at me.
I tried to dodge smoothly, but he managed to hit my right cheek.

But it seems like there’s a weight difference, and I didn’t budge.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! Is this what a muscle punch feels like!?
Did he knock out some teeth!?

“Damn… don’t underestimate me—”

“Stay calm. Next time, I’ll let you eat Hiyono-san’s homemade lunch. So, give me this prey.”

And I whispered softly. No, because I’m scared to fight.
Somehow explain it to Hiyono-san and have Akudou-kun make me a homemade meal.
Love the sinner, hate the sin.

“I-I see…”
“Y-yeah, got it!”
“Hey, you’re scared, aren’t you!”

And the lackeys left.
With that, Akudou-kun became my ally.
Taro-kun, I’m sorry I couldn’t punish you.

“So, why

were you bullying him?”
“He’s the one at fault here.”

Taro was trembling. There’s no way this glasses-kun is at fault.
Akudou-kun’s nature needs to be changed.

“This guy, Akudou, has been extorting money from local elementary school kids, and he’s seduced about five girls and dumped them. He’s even mugged an old lady’s purse recently. So, I wanted to straighten him out…”
“W-what? Is he really doing such terrible things? Taro?”

I turn to Taro in shock after hearing this revelation.

“U-um, y-yes. W-well, yeah… b-but, I only extort money once a week, and I only seduced… four girls…”
“Akudou-kun, go ahead.”
“Huh? But violence is bad…”
“It’s okay, right? Some people won’t understand unless you do a little something.”
“Y-yeah, you’re right! Hey, Taro! You!”
“H-hey, what!?”

Judging people by their appearance isn’t good.

Later, I learned that Taro was truly despicable. He got expelled a few days later.
There were actually some underlying issues like these.

“Bro, let’s go!”
“O-oh, yeah.”
“By the way, what’s in that bag?”
“Shut up. Don’t pry.”
“O-okay…”

As in the original work, Akudou-kun became my subordinate.

My reputation as Mitsuru Fujitou has significantly declined.

One step forward, four steps back.