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 47 - Still Only Halfway There

Chapter 47 – Still Only Halfway There

After school on Monday, September 2nd.

I was going to my first day at work. Even though I chose the same type of restaurant as the one I worked at for several years in my previous life, I was still nervous. If I made a mistake on my first day, I would be in big trouble.

On top of that, I had another concern. It was about today’s shift. I was supposed to be in training for a while, and there’s a supervisor who should be supervising me since I’m a newbie. but…

“Ah…”

I happened to bump into the supervisor at the back entrance for staff.

Her face still had a childlike look to it, with a fluffy bob. She looked thinner in person than in the game’s character portrait. Her fluffy, loose look was cute in a way that no other heroine had.

Yes. The girl in front of me was my supervisor, Mizukami Noa, childhood friend of the protagonist, Miyano Kaede.

“…It’s your first day at work, right, Ibuse-kun!”

“Ah… Yeah. Thanks.”

Noa instantly put on a smile and called out to me in the same tone as if she was talking to a friend in class. As expected of the main heroine, she’s able to be kind even to someone like Ibuse Reo.

“Wow, I never thought I’d be working at the same part-time job with a boy from my class. What a coincidence.”

“…Yeah, I never thought Mizukami would be working at a place like this.”

As we made casual conversation, we headed to the staff room. That said, I’ll be honest here. I’d never heard of Noa working a part-time job in the game. So when I saw a familiar name on the shift schedule, my heart nearly stopped. I thought about taking another part-time job to get away from her, but the hourly wage here is too good to give up. After much deliberation, I came to the conclusion that it’d be fine if I just keep it professional.

And so I changed into my uniform and headed to my first day of the job. Noa carefully explained the rules and procedures of the restaurant, and since it was my first day, I was shown how to wash the dishes and how to clear away customers’ dishes.

“You’re pretty efficient for a first timer.”

“Oh… That’s because Mizukami is good at teaching.”

I wonder how much I worked in my previous life… We were always short on staff, and I would always think about quitting after working on every holiday shift. But I died before acting on it.

Compared to that, this is a much easier environment to work in. There are plenty of staff, and not too few customers. The relationships don’t seem bad either, and it’s so easy to work here I could cry.

“Shall we go over how to take orders?”

“If possible. I’d like to get up to speed quickly.”

“Sure, I’ll show you.”

Noa should know the rumors about Ibuse Reo, too. Kaede must have warned her. And yet, she’s talking to me so naturally. Her communication skills are really impressive… But I wondered if this kindness was what gave Ibuse Reo an advantage over her. Life can be unpredictable like that.

And so, Noa taught me other jobs, and I was able to finish my first day without making any mistakes.

It was all smooth sailing. I was making friends at school, and my part-time job was going well. The first day of the second semester was nothing short of perfect, but a problem arose the next day.

……

…

Tuesday, September 3rd, after school.

I wasn’t scheduled for work, so I had planned to play the card game we bought during summer vacation with Nanami at home.

“Re… Ibuse-kun. I’m going to the library for a bit, so can you go home first?”

“Will you take long?”

“Hmm… I don’t think it will take long…”

“Then I’ll wait. Let’s go home together.”

“……Yeah.”

Nanami nodded cutely at my suggestion and left the classroom. Although Nanami said she wanted to hide our relationship, she still wanted to go to and from school together. According to her, it was her “privilege as a classmate.” Clever.

So I waited for 10 minutes… I didn’t go out of my way to follow her because she said it would be over quickly, but I was a little worried. Maybe some kind of trouble had occurred.

Thinking that, I hurried towards the library. It would be fine if it was just some trivial trouble, but I had a bad feeling about it.

Sure enough, I found Nanami and Kaede talking in the hallway in front of the library. From Nanami’s profile, she was clearly troubled. What is that guy doing?

“Kinoshita-san, you have a boyfriend, right? If so, you shouldn’t be involved with a guy like that.”

“No… Well…”

“He may look nice on the surface, but he’s just deceiving you. Recently, a girl said she was a victim of his——”

“Oi.”

I took Nanami’s hand and hid her behind me, pulling her away from Kaede. It’s fine to worry about Nanami, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that he was lying so blatantly as if it were normal.

“Wha… You! Take your hands off Kinoshita-san!”

“…Nanami. Is it okay?”

“…Y-yes.”

I felt that the only way to convince the angry Kaede was to clearly tell him about our relationship, so I decided to check with Nanami before saying it.

“……Listen, Miyano. I’m Nanami’s boyfriend.”

“……Huh??”

Kaede seemed unable to process my confession and froze for a while. He then suddenly became enraged and grabbed me by the collar.

“That’s impossible! Why the hell would someone like you——”

“A lot of things happened. Things you didn’t know about.”

“Kinoshita-san! He’s only after your body! You’re just being deceived!”

“Well… We’re not like that…”

“……!!!”

I braced myself for some harsh words. Given my past actions, it was only natural to be doubted. And I knew it would take time to persuade Kaede.

…It would be understandable if it was about Akari or Shiori, but honestly I don’t understand why I need to convince Kaede about me going out with Nanami.

“That’s enough, Kaede.”

As Kaede and I were glaring at each other, Noa appeared out of nowhere and pulled Kaede away from me.

“Good timing… Noa, please convince Kinoshita-san too! She shouldn’t date Ibuse! He’s definitely going to drag her into dangerous situations!”

“……I don’t think it’s a big deal. She doesn’t seem to mind, and if anything happens, it’s her responsibility. Come on, let’s go.”

Noa pulled Kaede away from the library. Now that I think about it, what’s going on with their relationship? In terms of the game, it wouldn’t be strange if they were dating by now…

“H-hey, Reo-kun…”

“Hmm?”

“…So Mizukami-san acts like that in front of Miyano-kun.”

“Yeah… She gives off a completely different impression.”

I realized it as Nanami pointed it out. In the game, Noa was generally cheerful, but she always acted with a family-like warmth towards Kaede. It could be due to their childhood friendship, but there seemed to be more to Noa’s feelings based on her current behavior. She must be going through a lot.

“Shall we go home too?”

“…Yeah.”

I never thought I’d get caught up in something like this on the second day. I realized I still have a long way to go before I can live without worries.

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T/N: Flags are being raised