Reincarnated as the Sidekick in a Harem Game ～Chaos Unfolded When I Helped the Losing Heroines After the Protagonist Found His Happy Ending～ - Chapter 5: The Childhood Friend and the Protagonist's Transformation

Chapter 5: The Childhood Friend and the Protagonist’s Transformation

After the opening ceremony, I was at a cafe, engaged in a consultation with my childhood friend, Najimi Ota.

“The thing I want to consult you about is… it’s about Minato. He seems to have changed, like he’s become a different person.”

Before going any further, let me briefly explain about the protagonist, Minato. In this dating sim game (all-ages edition) called “OreNaji,” Minato serves as the avatar for the player. He was born into an utterly ordinary family and, if one were to describe any notable traits, being kind would perhaps be the only one.

In the game, Najimi, Minato, and I had been friends from kindergarten until around the age of 10. However, due to family circumstances, Minato had to leave the town. The game starts when he returns to this town in the spring of his first year in high school.

The character Minato is extraordinarily popular, unnaturally so. “Romance events” keep happening around him. To put it simply, wherever he goes, heroines are being bothered by flirty guys (not me), and Minato comes to their rescue. This pattern repeated multiple times in the early stages of the game. As a result, Minato ends up getting a lot of girls. And since Minato is kind, the heroines fall for him and gradually grow more attracted to him—that’s the scenario.

I’d like to express a concern here. It’s about the far too convenient occurrences surrounding Minato. The whole “rescuing the girl” pattern happens far too frequently in the beginning. Why does it have to be so convenient that beautiful heroines are always being bothered by flirty guys (again, not me)? In my 17 years of life, I have never been blessed with such scenarios. What’s up with this disparity?

Well, it can’t be helped. To make the heroines fall in love, some kind of trigger is necessary. The most straightforward catalyst for romance is the protagonist rescuing the heroine in a pinch. It’s the most instant formula. Even so, I’ve cursed the creators multiple times for bestowing far too many such events on him.

Anyway, enough with my complaints.

“Minato is acting strangely, you say? Come to think of it, I haven’t met with him recently. What is he up to now? What’s strange about him?”

Najimi, whose eyes were wide open, and my stepsister Mai, were likely thinking that they didn’t have it as bad as I did. I’d appreciate it if they could just ignore that. Mastering this skill is essential once you become a working adult. It’s best to cultivate it as a part of your education from an early age.

“Uh, well… how should I put it, he’s been more aggressive lately.”

“Aggressive?”

“That is, he… um, is pushing for… intimate relations.”

“Hmm… so, he’s demanding sexual intercourse, is that it?”

“Ah, um, yes… that’s right.”

The game “OreNaji” is, needless to say, suitable for all ages. While there are many “lucky pervert” situations (like accidentally seeing someone undress), any explicit scenes are entirely excluded.

“Betch. What’s wrong with that? You and that piece of crap are dating, right? So what’s the problem with having sex?”

“Whoa!? Yo Mai~? Your words are so naughty, you know?” (Translation: Mai, your language is inappropriate.)

“Betch” probably refers to Najimi, and “piece of crap” likely refers to Minato. Even so, I want to argue that such foul language is unbecoming of a heroine.

“Mai, you’re a lady too, you shouldn’t be calling your friends ‘betch’ and ‘piece of crap.'”

“Eh!? Ah, um, y-yes…”

Mai seemed puzzled. I apologize. It’s just that Charao-speak has been doing too much work.

“Najimi, like Mai said, if you’re in a relationship, it wouldn’t be a problem to advance to that stage, would it? Of course, I do think it’s wrong to ignore the other person’s feelings.”

“Right… I know. But… look at this.”

Najimi showed me her smartphone. A conversation between her and Minato was displayed on the screen.

[Hey, are you free today? Wanna come over?]

[My parents aren’t home today.]

[Hey, come on. Let’s do it today.]

[Incoming call. Duration: 6 hours.]

[Let’s do it.]

[Hey, let’s have sex.]

[Incoming call. Duration: 7 hours.]

[I waited so long for you to be done. Let’s do it.]

[Incoming call. Duration: 8 hours.]

[Let’s do it.]

[Incoming call. Canceled.]

[Don’t ignore me.]

[You, being a woman.]

[You became my girl, so you should do it. It’s only natural, right?]

[Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call][Incoming call]

“This is…”

“Ew, that’s creepy.”

Mai spoke with clear distaste. I had to agree. What is this? As a man, he shows a complete lack of respect for women, prioritizing only his own needs and desires.

“I eventually… had to block him.”

Tears began to drop from Najimi’s eyes. I took a handkerchief from my pocket and gently offered it to her.

“Najimi, you should use this. A sad face doesn’t suit you.”

“Ugu… ugu… Charaoo…”

Najimi took the handkerchief and wiped her tears. She must have been struggling. Being aggressively pursued like that by a man would indeed be distressing.

“I… I liked Minato. But the Minato I liked… was kind, and he would always come to help me when I was in trouble. But this… this isn’t the Minato I liked…”

Najimi continued to weep. How pitiful. My heart ached for her. On the other hand, Mai spoke with a very sober expression.

“Isn’t that just your own wishful thinking?”

“Eh…?”

With eyes as cold as the Arctic wind, Mai said, looking at Najimi.

“That piece of crap… Minato being kind, isn’t that just your imagination?”

“But… he really was kind before, you know? At least he wasn’t openly lecherous like this.”

“Don’t you know the difference between true feelings and facades? From what I see, he was holding back his desires because you weren’t together yet.”

—I waited so long for you to be done. Let’s do it.

Surely, one could interpret it the way Mai had suggested. However, I felt a peculiar sense of discomfort.

“So what you’re saying is, Minato was a lustful monster from the start. He was just hiding it. But he wouldn’t dare to act that way before actually dating you. Then, once he did start dating you, he felt like he didn’t have to hide anymore, showing his true character. Isn’t that also a possibility?”

“That is…”

“What you saw was the ‘kind Minato’ you wanted to see. You never saw—let alone understood—his true nature.”

At Mai’s pointed remark, Najimi fell silent. Irritated, Mai clicked her tongue.

“First of all, you! You chose that lowlife over Onii-sama, after rejecting Onii-sama! It’s way too audacious of you to come crying about it! This damn bi—”

“Mai, that’s enough.”

“But…”

I restrained my sister with my hand.

“Mai, I understand that you’re angry on my behalf. Thank you. You do have a valid point. That’s kind of you.”

“Onii-sama…”

“But look at Najimi. She’s crying, isn’t she? What do you think about hurling harsh words at someone who’s already in tears? What will you achieve by throwing stones called ‘hard truths’ at someone who’s heart is weak?”

I stood up and sat next to Najimi. She was trembling, her lips pale blue. How pitiful she looked. I hugged her tightly.

Whether this is my action or an action as Charao, I’ll leave that judgement to the readers. However, I’d like you to understand that both Charao and I share the feeling of not wanting Najimi to cry.

“Charao…”

“Najimi, I understand you’re hurting. Thank you for confiding in me. I want to help you.”

“But… I abandoned you…”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t feel abandoned by you at all. Didn’t I say it? I would support your love with Minato. Our relationship as childhood friends remains unchanged.”

I patted Najimi on the head.

“…Will you really help me?”

“Yes, leave it to me. I will find out Minato’s true intentions for you. So please, no more tears. When you’re sad, it saddens me too.”

Thus, I decided to investigate the truth behind Minato’s abrupt change.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

★Najimi’s Perspective

Until I entered high school, I—Najimi Ota—had a crush on Charao.

But last year, when Minato came back, it was as if electricity coursed through my body. As if by magic, Minato looked incredibly handsome.

Until then, I had been drawn to Charao. His actions might be odd, but he was kind. If Minato hadn’t returned last year, I think I would have confessed to Charao.

But… after reuniting with Minato, I… changed. I had changed. I couldn’t think of anyone but Minato.

At the same time, I had completely forgotten about my feelings for Charao. I liked him. I really liked him. I loved Charao… yet why?

Why couldn’t I say that I loved him? Why did I think I liked Minato? I did like him last year, that’s for sure.

We started dating, and I should have been at the height of happiness…

But the messages that came from Minato started to make me feel uneasy. His sudden change frightened me… disgusted me… and I couldn’t consult anyone about it.

So… The fact that Charao defended me, listened to my concerns, made me incredibly… incredibly happy…

When Charao hugged me, it was a fact that I felt a heartbeat for him that I hadn’t felt for a long time.

…I don’t understand anymore. I don’t understand my feelings. I don’t know why I suddenly started to like Minato.

I was scared and anxious… that’s why, Charao, being able to talk to you made me really… really happy…

I’m sorry for saying awful things. For being cold. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…

TLN:
OOF, Charao-speak is really hard to understand.