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 50 - Moving Forward (Mizukami Noa’s POV)

Chapter 50 – Moving Forward (Mizukami Noa’s POV)

(Mizukami Noa’s POV)

The morning of Thursday, September 5th.

I came to Kaede’s house to go to school with him. I’ll follow Ibuse-kun’s advice and have a proper talk. With that in mind, I rang the doorbell in high spirits, but…

“Sorry Noa-chan. Kaede just woke up… Why don’t you come in and wait?”

“Ah… No, it’s okay. I’ll wait here.”

It was Kaede’s mother’s voice coming through the intercom. I thought I had come at the usual time… He must have stayed up late last night. Probably working hard on his assignments.

A few minutes later…

“…Good morning.”

“Good morning!”

I greeted Kaede cheerfully to cheer him up, since he seemed lethargic. Lately, I’ve been greeting him half-heartedly too, I have to be serious about these situations.

The two of us started walking to the station, and I decided to talk about the things I’d promised myself to tell him.

“I said too much the day before yesterday. Sorry.”

“…I don’t mind.”

“…I see, thanks.”

…This is supposed to be a discussion. A conversation.

“Um… Well…Is there anything you want to say about the day before yesterday, Kaede?”

“……I was wrong too. Sorry.”

“Too”?!! You’re supposed to just say sorry! You’re so bad at apologizing!!

…Well, whatever. He apologized, and that’s what matters. It’s a step forward. Let’s keep going like this.

“Hey, how about we go on a date this weekend? We could look for some vintage clothes you like. Oh, and maybe see a movie too.”

“…But isn’t this weekend you’re still…?”

“Still?”

“You know, you know… in your period. It’s going to be painful, so it’s fine.”

“Ah… But by the weekend, it should be lighter than now. Maybe I won’t be able to do much, but a date would be totally fine.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

Oh, he’s definitely not going. For a moment, I was happy thinking he was being considerate, but that wasn’t it at all.

…This is bad. The more I talk, the more I see Kaede’s bad side. All the things he’s said and done that I’ve been ignoring up until now are starting to bother me.

But… If I keep talking to him patiently, I’m sure he’ll go back to being the kind Kaede he used to be…

As we continued talking on our way to school, we reached the nearest station when Kaede finally initiated the conversation.

“…Hey, let’s stop talking about gloomy things. It makes us less motivated in the morning, doesn’t it?”

“…T-that’s right!”

You were the one who said we should talk today! That’s why I said we should’ve talk yesterday!

…No, stop it, me! It’s only the first day! It’s too early to give up!

After Kaede’s suggestion, I decided to talk about as many fun things as possible. About the school festival, class matches, and all that. Well, I was the one doing all the talking though!

As we arrived in front of the school gates listening to Kaede’s clumsy responses, Kaede suddenly looked serious and called out to the president.

“Good morning. You’re working hard today too.”

“…Good morning. Thanks.”

The president replied in a very formal way… But Kaede looked happy… If you can make that face, why don’t you do it in front of me too?

And like that, I arrived at the classroom and sat down in my seat. Kaede was not talking to me, but to another friend from class. He seemed to be having more fun than before.

I tried to talk to him as Ibuse-kun had advised, but my frustration only grew. Maybe I should get some more detailed advice.

I took class with this in mind, and during break time after the second period, on my way back to class from the bathroom, I saw Kaede talking with a male friend.

“You’re so lucky, Miyano. You’ve got a cute childhood girlfriend like Mizukami-san.”

It seemed like they were talking about me. This was a good opportunity, so I tried to eavesdrop and find out what Kaede was thinking.

“She’s cute, kind, and I’m proud of her.”

Oh? Is he complimenting me?

“Wow, I’m jealous… Don’t brag like that all of a sudden.”

“Hey, you asked me first.”

…What the? So he’s proud of me.

Yes! I’ll do my best from now on——

“But Noa used to be really fat, you know? Well, she’s still a little chubby now.”

“Eh…”

“I mean, it’s not a big deal, right? She’s got that ideal body type for guys.”

“No way, it was really bad! I’d show you pictures if I had any. She started losing weight around middle school, which was a relief. I don’t know if I would’ve dated her if she’d stayed like that.”

“Oh come on, don’t lie just because you’re embarrassed.”

“No, it’s really true! It’s not just an excuse.”

“Yeah, yeah, must be nice. Be careful not to let her know, or she’ll get mad.”

“There’s no way I’ll say that to her… She’ll just get mad again for no reason.”

Kaede and the boy continued to chat as they returned to the classroom.

I know. I understand. It’s not that at all. Just like Kaede’s friend said, he was just embarrassed and tried to lie about it.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said those words.

I had a complex about being fat… and I was bullied because of that when I was little… I knew all that… But it was Kaede who helped me and told me not to worry about my appearance…

“That’s not right… I’m sure Kaede is…”

As I suppressed the urge to cry and returned to the classroom, I felt like even the precious memories of that day were going to be ruined.

After the third period, the next class was the classroom change. Just as everyone was getting ready and starting to move, I heard the sound of someone falling in the hallway and things scattering.

“Ouch…”

When I went out into the hallway, it was a female classmate who had fallen. Her pencil case had been opened, so the contents were scattered all over the place. To put it bluntly, she was very fat. She was a girl who often couldn’t read the atmosphere, and because of that she stood out. None of our classmates, including Kaede, who should have already been in the hallway, offered any help.

I didn’t either. Seeing her reminded me of my past self, and I wasn’t feeling great about it. Moreover, her personality had its issues. Despite having said so much about Kaede, I’m also picky about who I interact with. Maybe I should at least pick up the pen at my feet——

“Hey, are you okay?”

As I was thinking about picking up the pen, Ibuse-kun and Kinoshita-san came through the classroom door on the opposite side and offered to help.

“N-no, it’s okay… I can do this by myself…”

“Don’t worry about it. Us two can clean things up faster, don’t you think?”

“…Three people. Right, Ibuse-kun?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you…very much…”

As the three of them were picking up the scattered textbooks and stationery, Ibuse-kun suddenly froze when he picked up a clear plastic sheet with a design on it.

“This…”

“Oh, that’s…!!”

At first glance, it looked like a plastic sheet with some kind of anime or manga character on it. The girl looked embarrassed and reached out to try and get it back, but Ibuse-kun suddenly shouted out loud.

“This is from a special edition of the movie, right? I really wanted this version!”

“Eh… You know about it!?”

“I do! The live performance at the theater was amazing!”

“I know! I really wanted this too, that’s why I went to see it many times… But every time I got something new!”

“I know, right? It’s great!”

“…Just keep moving, Reo-kun. We’re running out of time.”

“I’m sorry…”

I didn’t really understand what he was talking about, but I was surprised that Ibuse-kun had such a hobby.

However, it seemed that the reason he helped her wasn’t because of shared hobbies.

He just helped someone in front of him who was in trouble. That’s all it seemed to me.

…I have to move forward too.

“Here. I picked this up for you.”

“T-thank you…”

I picked up the pen at my feet and handed it to the girl. She looked me straight in the eye and thanked me. At first, it felt very awkward and difficult to handle, especially since I had initially intended to ignore her, but there was also a sense of pride.

“I’ll help too. With four people, it should be even faster, right?”

As I tried to help, a cheerful voice came from behind me.

“With six people, it’ll only take a second! Right, Tecchin~?”

“Stop it, get away from me…”

They were clearly an odd pair. But I had seen them talking to Ibuse-kun since the second semester began. They must be friends.

And so the six of us worked together to pick everything up. By the time we’d finished, I had completely forgotten about Kaede’s complaints from earlier, and we all decided to head to the next class together.