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 55 - What I Have to Do

Chapter 55 – What I Have to Do

My impression of the game’s protagonist, Miyano Kaede, was neither good nor bad, just average.

Sure, many of the choices available in the first playthrough made me think,  “That’s not how it’s supposed to turn out.” But it was just a game. If the original protagonist was perfect, there’d be no point in the player trying so hard.

It was a game that’s meant to be played over and over again, and I thought the purpose was to show the heroines’ unhappy endings.In the second playthrough——when the player can make choices——some options were more reasonable.

Because of this, I might have misunderstood, thinking there would be no problem as long as I followed a route.

But this is a world within a game, yet it’s not a game.There are no routes, and there is past and lifes that has led up to this point that wasn’t properly explained. Maybe there was some deeper reason that led to where Kaede is now. If I had talked to him and tried to find out more, maybe I would have found that out.

How did Kaede know that he wasn’t related to Sakura by blood? Normally, you’d have to choose a specific option for that.  But that’s just in the game. Their parents must have had some reason or made a decision that led them to reveal that. Not everything is going to go according to the game.

……Maybe if I had handled things better.

If only I had supported Kaede from the beginning. If only I hadn’t tried to solve the problem and had just given information to Kaede. Kaede wouldn’t have gone out of control, and Noa and Sakura wouldn’t have been hurt.

I was completely overconfident. I thought everything would go the way I knew. But that wasn’t the case. It’s been three months since I was reincarnated. I’ve met many people besides Akari and the others. Everyone here is alive, with their own lives and feelings.

I should have realized that with just a little more thought, but I deluded myself into thinking I knew everything and could solve everything because I was the chosen one.

If only I had talked to Kaede more. At least if I’d supported Kaede and Noa more. If I had done that, this incident surely wouldn’t have happened.

I was the one who ruined it.

Kaede… Noa… Sakura, too…

“——Reo!!”

“——Yes?!”

Suddenly, I heard a loud voice calling my name, and my back straightened. I suddenly found myself standing in front of the school gates, and it was Shiori who called out to me.

“Good morning.”

“Yeah… Good morning…”

After exchanging greetings, Shiori pointed beside me. Nanami was there, looking very anxious.

“Honestly… Apologize to Nanami and come to the student council room. I have something to tell you.”

“Okay.”

After Shiori told me that, she headed towards the school building. I bowed to Nanami and apologized for making her feel uneasy. After she scolded me a bit, I hurried to the student council room.

“Did you get properly scolded?”

“…Yeah, pretty much.”

“Be careful. Despite how she seems, Nanami is the most greedy.”

After a brief exchange, Shiori got to the point with a serious look on her face.

“There are two things I want to talk about… Let’s start with the first one. It’s about Miyano Kaede. To summarize… things look pretty grim at the moment. There are several reasons, but the main one is because there’s no conspicuous evidence. Fortunately, Sakura-chan was saved by Mizukami Noa before she could be harmed. In other words, it was an attempted act.”

“But Sakura is really the victim…”

“…There is also the possibility that Mizukami Noa fabricated that in itself. It’s not something that can be solved with just a third party’s testimony. Besides, Mizukami Noa hit him, right? The only visible damage we see… as much as I hate to say it, is on Kaede Miyano.”

“Huh…”

“Of course, things would be easier if we had testimony from the victim herself. But that brings us to the second issue. Sakura-chan’s mental state.”

As soon as we started talking about Sakura, Shiori explained while holding her head and her voice trembling with anger.

“…We don’t know how deeply she’s been hurt… She stayed with me last night, but she kept apologizing for some reason. We couldn’t have a conversation. Even when my mother gently tried to talk to her, Sakura-chan just burst into tears, even though it was just casual conversation. That’s why, she’s in no condition to testify. Even now, my mother has taken time off work to look after her, but… I don’t know how long it will take for Sakura-chan to recover…”

“No way… Then…”

“…Anyway, my parents are coming to Miyano Kaede’s house tomorrow. They’ll tell them the whole story and decide what to do about Sakura-chan going forward. But this isn’t an issue that can be resolved quickly. Even if they hear the story and understand that something happened… it’s not something they can easily believe. The idea of a brother assaulting his sister… it’s just unthinkable.”

Listening to Shiori’s words, I was at a loss for words. I felt anger and despair directed at myself. This must all be the result of my actions. If I had handled things better…

If I had tried harder, I could have prevented this… I could have——

“Reo.”

“Ugh…! …Ow!”

As I was regretting my actions up until this point, Shiori suddenly squeezed my cheeks with both hands.

“Mmf… Why are you…?”

“…Just because.”

“Hey, quit it… Ow, ow!”

Shiori kept squeezing my cheeks and then suddenly pulled on them, playing with me in such a ridiculous way. But even in the midst of all this stupid stuff, Shiori kept a serious expression and continued talking while looking me in the eye.

“I understand that you have some history with Kaede Miyano, and that you’ve been avoiding him. But why on earth do you think you need to carry his burden too? Especially when he’s crossed a line that should never have been crossed. Does that really have anything to do with you?”

“Well… no, it doesn’t…”

“…You see, Reo. There is no such thing as a perfect person. And even if there were, it would only be someone who thinks they’re perfect. Behind every success, there is failure. Everyone learns from their failure and works hard to do better the next time. That’s true for you too, isn’t it? You’ve realized your mistakes and are now trying to walk the right path.”

“…But… That’s not…”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to justify your foolish past in any way. If you mess up again, I won’t hesitate to throw you in jail. That’s why I introduced you to my parents in the first place.”

Shiori stopped teasing my cheek and started patting my head.

“Maybe, just maybe, this incident will finally force him to confront himself. I’m sure of it. He’ll realize his mistakes and apologize to Mizukami Noa and Sakura-chan. It’s not something that can be resolved with just an apology… but if that happens, even if Sakura-chan hasn’t fully recovered, we might be able to start moving forward with everything. So…”

Shiori held my head to her chest and spoke to me gently.

“Don’t act like a hero. You’re not some savior. You’re my boyfriend. And if you keep looking away like this, I’m going to get jealous.”

“…Ugh…”

“……Well, would you look at that. You’re more of a crybaby than I thought. How cute.”

“Shut up… Seriously…”

I… in the end, I couldn’t save them…

But… this isn’t a game world.

No, this isn’t the end… Noa and Sakura still have their whole lives ahead of them. This isn’t the end.

There should be a lot more that can be done. If I’m going to regret anything, I should focus all my energy on doing everything I can now.

First… I have to deal with that idiot.