Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: “Do I really need to get involved with my step-sister now?” ①

After leaving the police station, Natsuki, who had been told by Chief Aoyama to “make sure to go to school,” was cycling towards Mukaijima Daichi Middle School.

While they had been talking in the chief’s office, his uniform had been washed and dried.

It wasn’t properly cleaned, so it still smelled a bit like the sea, but it was better than being soaking wet. The problem now was how to explain this sea smell to his mother.

“Hmm? Oh, right. I had left my smartphone with them. Eh? What’s this, so many people have contacted me.”

He stopped his bicycle to check his phone. Messages were still coming in one after another.

“Hey Natsuki! What’s this about Yuto having a girlfriend!?”

“Do you know anything about Yuto-kun’s girlfriend, Yura-kun?”

“Yuto’s got a girlfriend and it’s total chaos!”

“Some girls are freaking out, it’s hilarious!”

“Where are you, Yura? You’re missing out on the fun, come to school!”

Reading the messages, Natsuki felt disheartened.

“I don’t want to go to school. Really don’t want to.” 

Everyone was still obsessed with Yuto Miyahara, as usual. 

The only good thing about that other world where he had no good memories was not having to hear his childhood friend’s name. 

He found himself missing the world he never wanted to return to, just two days after coming back.

“Well, I knew it. There’s no way those girls who were half-heartedly involved with Yuto could stay calm if he got a girlfriend.”

Yuto Miyahara is popular. Extremely popular. He attracts attention not just from the opposite sex, but sometimes even from the same sex. 

The tricky part is, he’s not oblivious to these affections; he’s acutely aware of who is interested in whom and quickly notices it. Yet, he seems to crave this attention, especially collecting the affections of girls, to the extent that one might wonder if it’s a habit of his.

He’s not a typical adolescent boy who indiscriminately pursues every girl out of mere curiosity. 

He excels in diverting the affections of girls, who are interested in someone else, towards himself. During this process, he becomes completely engrossed in that girl, but as soon as he feels he has ‘won’ her over, he quickly loses interest. Despite this, he maintains a flirtatious and ambiguous attitude towards girls.

It’s not just bad; it’s beyond that.

Even so, there were girls with influence and clout who fancied themselves as Yuto’s girlfriends and controlled his entourage. But now that Yuto has officially taken a girlfriend, there’s no doubt that this balance is going to crumble.

Natsuki tries to stay out of Yuto’s circle, but for some reason, some girls confront him. They compare him to Yuto, always concluding that Yuto is better. Natsuki can’t help but think, “If that’s how you feel, why bother with me in the first place?”

“I kind of want to see the chaos among the girls who were played by him, but I also foresee being blamed for everything and that makes me not want to go to school… Sigh.”

It’s already noon. Lunch break must be starting soon at school. 

Natsuki dreads arriving at school during the most chaotic time, but after being told by Chief Aoyama to go, he feels reluctant to head home instead.

(Anyway, I’m being watched, aren’t I? I don’t know who, but someone is definitely keeping an eye on me. It can’t be my uncle’s doing; he wouldn’t stoop to such pettiness. Maybe it’s someone who has realized my abilities?)

If he was under surveillance, going home didn’t seem like a wise choice.

His mother was at work, and being alone made him vulnerable to potential threats. While he wasn’t incapable of defending himself, he hadn’t yet gauged the capabilities of the people in this world and there was a risk of going overboard.

He definitely didn’t want to overreact at his own home.

(The watcher probably won’t try anything inside the school building.)

Feeling the gaze upon him, Natsuki pedaled his bicycle towards school.

After passing through the school gates and parking his bike, he headed to the shoe lockers. 

He took off his damp shoes and socks, put on his indoor shoes, and was about to head up the stairs to the third floor of the school building.

“―Onii-chan.”

He heard a voice that seemed familiar but continued to step onto the staircase.

“Onii-chan.”

A louder call made Natsuki wonder if he was being addressed. However, Natsuki had no one he would call a brother.

Wondering if it was his imagination, he turned his head, and on the landing below the stairs, there was a girl with flaxen twin-tailed hair.

“Natsuki, Onii-chan.”

“Who might you be?”

The fact that this unknown girl knew his name and called him ‘big brother’ struck him as a little frightening.