I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Strongest Villain in an NTR Eroge, so I’m Going to Break the Heroines’ Doom Flags on Behalf of the Main Character! - Chapter 24 - The Angel Made Me Stay up All Night

Chapter 24 – The Angel Made Me Stay up All Night

“Cos…play? Is this like the thing from the other day?”

Shiori tilted her head to the side at Nanami’s sudden suggestion. Nanami nodded her head and showed us the screen of her smartphone.

“Here, take a look at this…”

It showed clothes that looked like they were from anime or manga, and there were both men’s and women’s clothes.

“Actually… making clothes like these is my hobby…”

“You made this, Nanami!? That’s amazing!”

“Ehehe…”

The quality was indeed very high. I wouldn’t have realized it wasn’t a store-bought cosplay outfit if she hadn’t told me.

“That’s why… I’ve always dreamed of one day having someone wear a costume I made myself. But if it’s just me, I feel like I wouldn’t do the costumes justice… and it would ruin the whole vibe. I just couldn’t stand that.”

“That’s not true! I’m sure you’d look great in them too, Nanami! Right?”

“…I guess.”

Don’t drag me into this for support. I just got rejected, remember?

“And, well, I actually talked to that man about it, asking if he’d wear my costume. He said we should go to karaoke sometime and discuss it more in detail, but I’ve turned him down for now…”

I see, so he was planning something for later, not on that day. No wonder he didn’t make a move then.

“But I still… I couldn’t give up on this year’s event… and ever since I saw Ibuse-kun and Shiori-chan talking next to each other, I’ve been thinking about something.”

Nanami took out a novel out of nowhere and thrust the cover at us with force.

“You two are just like Wolf and Celia from this ‘Hangan’ book!”

“Hangan…? Wolf? Celia?”

It seems Shiori couldn’t keep up with the situation, bewildered by Nanami’s momentum, and had a bunch of questions lined up in her head. Still with the same momentum, Nanami continued speaking.

“‘Hangan’ is just an abbreviation, the full title is ‘Hand Gauntlet.’ It’s a story set in a different world from the one we live in. Oh, this is a novel, but the original is a manga, and it’s really interesting, so you should definitely read it sometime. It’s an older manga, so compared to more recent ones, the storyline is a bit more clichéd, and there aren’t many gruesome scenes, but that’s what makes it great. The plot is straightforward and easy to follow, and there are no grotesque scenes, so it’s really easy to enjoy. The main characters of this manga are Wolf and Celia. It’s a classic buddy story. Wolf is the silver-haired, rugged guy, and Celia is the serious-looking woman with red hair. Oh, and by the way, the outfits in that picture earlier were inspired by the novel version’s costumes. I mean, the manga version is good too, but I prefer the costumes from the novel. Aren’t they super cool? They’re designed like military uniforms, and both of their outfits incorporate elements from the other’s design. Look, Celia’s outfit has these silver claw marks here, and Wolf’s has a red hawk on his chest. And then——”

“I…see… I see…”

It seems Nanami is the type of otaku who can’t stop once she gets going. Shiori’s head is already bursting, but Nanami is showing no signs of stopping. It looks like I have no choice but to step in and stop her.

“So, why exactly do you want us to cosplay as them?”

“——Eh… Ah… I’m sorry… About that, um…”

She must have finally realized that she was getting carried away after I stopped her. Her face went red and she bowed her head.

“It’s just that… Ibuse-kun and Shiori-chan look so much like the two characters in this manga… I mean… um…”

Nanami was so embarrassed that she struggled to find the right words, fumbling as she tried to explain herself. Still, I got the gist of it. In short, she wants to see us cosplaying as these two characters because we look alike. I’ve always been interested in cosplay, so if this completely breaks Nanami’s doom flag, it would be perfect.

“…Okay. I’ll cosplay.”

“Eh… Really…?”

Nanami couldn’t hide her surprise at my answer. She probably never thought that a delinquent like me would be okay with cosplaying.

“The President is okay with it, right?”

“…Ah, of course!”

Judging by that reaction, she probably wasn’t listening to the conversation. Well, knowing Shiori, it should be fine.

“That’s how it is. This should be fine, right?”

“…Ah, yes!”

After a final confirmation from Nanami, we decided to participate in the large summer event.

More importantly…

“So, is it interesting?”

“Eh… You mean, Hangan?”

“Yes, Hangan. I might as well learn a little about it.”

“…Ah… Um… What should I do… I didn’t bring the manga… The first season of the anime is available for streaming… Ah, but if Ibuse-kun doesn’t have a subscription, then it’s no good…”

Nanami was troubled by my question. I pointed to the novel she was holding and asked her.

“Can’t I just read that?”

“……Ah! Eh, do you want to read the novel?!”

“Yeah. I’ll give it back to you tomorrow, so let’s meet again at lunchtime in the student council room.”

“…Ah, yes!!”

Like that, I borrowed the novel from Nanami and decided to read it as soon as I got home.

……

…

“It’s been a while since I’ve read something like this.”

After all, it was easier to watch manga and anime, and I hadn’t read any novels since I became a university student in my previous life.

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got here…”

Two hours later…

“There are 15 volumes of the manga… Oh, there’s a digital version. Lucky.”

Another two hours later…

“For an old anime, this is pretty well animated…”

Five hours later…

“…The animation quality in the second season is too good. Amazing.”

…

……

Wednesday, July 17th.

In the student council room during lunch break.

“A-are you okay, Ibuse-kun…?”

“I’m okay… I’m still alive…”

As promised, I had come to the student council room to return the book to Nanami, but Nanami was worried about me because I looked so exhausted. By the way, Shiori has already scolded me, saying I’m an idiot.

I thought that this body was young so I could easily stay up all night, but it was no good, after all. It’s really tough. I feel like I’m going to puke.

But more importantly…

“Hey Kinoshita…”

“Y-yes…”

Trying to steady my trembling body, I held the novel firmly in both hands and offered it back to Nanami.

“This… It was really amazing…”

“!!! …Right?!!”

Hearing my words as I was on the verge of collapse, Nanami was overjoyed and flashed me an angelic smile.

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T/N: Dem, this isn’t the stay up all night we wanted!!

Patience, boy… What you want will come soon enough