The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem. - Chapter 37: Fuyuki Rinko Can’t Focus on Her Studies.

Fuyuki Rinko Can’t Focus on Her Studies.

Fuyuki Rinko’s POV.

Outside, the rain continues to fall in a gentle, steady rhythm. It’s been pouring since evening, showing no sign of stopping. The forecast had promised a clear day, yet here I am—sharing an umbrella with Tennouji-kun on the way home.

“…Haah.”

I’m supposed to be studying now, but nothing I read is sinking in. My mind keeps drifting back—to that walk home under a single umbrella. And to those words I whispered at the end…

“See you again, Dai-kun.”

Just remembering it makes my heart race. The same feeling I had when I asked him to call me Rinko. Ever since then, it hasn’t stopped pounding. I place my hand over my chest—smaller than Mio’s or Shina’s—and sigh.
…Would he care about something like that?

No. I don’t think so. He doesn’t seem like the type.

That day when those scary men approached, he didn’t even glance at me—his eyes were fixed on Mio and Shina’s chests the whole time. I felt like a mere afterthought. I suppose that’s only natural—men prefer girls with bigger chests. Even Imamiya-kun was like that. I never understood the appeal of… well, lumps of fat, to put it bluntly. But he—no, I don’t want to talk about him that way. Not Tennouji-kun.

Why is he so kind? To someone like me, who’s often called cold and distant? Even when other boys approached me, I never understood why. I turned them all down, of course—men scare me. But him… Tennouji-kun is different. He’s someone I can approach. Someone I trust not to hurt me. Otherwise, I would never have shared an umbrella with him.

“An umbrella together… What was I thinking?”

It’s only with him that I feel this way. When I’m with him, I can’t keep being “the cold girl.”

Talking with a boy, visiting his house, asking him to call me by my first name, walking home under one umbrella… The delinquent everyone once feared—now walking beside me. If someone had told me this back in early September, I would’ve laughed.

And yet… I envy Shina. Her innocence, the way she can approach him without any hesitation. The way she can lean on him, cling to him, and smile so openly. I didn’t think much of it before—but now, when I see her throw her arms around him, something dark and heavy stirs inside me. Something that feels an awful lot like anger.

“Rin-chan, that’s jealousy.”

That’s what Mio said when I confessed it to her. Jealousy? Me? Of Shina? I wanted to laugh. But she just smiled softly.

“Rin-chan, you’ve been watching Tennouji-kun a lot lately. When Shina hugs him, your face gets kind of scary sometimes…”

“Scary? Do I really look like that?”

“You do~! Not angry, exactly, just… blank. But in a scary way.”

Maybe I should see that face in a mirror someday. Though I’d rather not.

“Hehe… Rin-chan, what do you think of Tennouji-kun, really?”

What do I think? I almost said, “Well, at this rate, he’ll probably end up dating Shina,” but the words wouldn’t come out. The moment I imagined it, my chest tightened painfully.

Something deep inside me twisted—a restless ache I couldn’t name.

“I… don’t really know,” I said at last.

Mio just grinned. “Your eyes say something different. You look at him differently than other boys. Rin-chan… have you fallen in love?”

Love?

At that word, my whole face went hot.

“W-wait—what?!”

“Rin-chan, your face! It’s red as a tomato!”

“It’s not! It’s just… warm in here, that’s all.”

“Oh, Rin-chan~♪”

She looked at me with this teasing, knowing smile. No, she was wrong. I don’t… love anyone. I can’t.

And yet—back in the classroom, I caught myself watching him again.

He’s just a friend who shares my taste in books. That’s all. At least, that’s what I tell myself. But even Shina asked, “Rin-chan, do you like Daiki-kun?”

Like.

I thought I’d thrown that word away a long time ago—back when my tutor tried to hurt me. But now…

Why does he keep knocking on the door of my heart?

And worse—why am I opening it for him? Only for him. Because somehow, I believe… he could make me happy.

Maybe it started that day, at the opening ceremony, when I first learned he liked mystery novels.

Maybe that was the day my story began—my love story.

Yes… I can’t deny it anymore. I’m in love with him.

Aside from Mio and Shina, he’s the only one who’s ever called me cute—and made my heart tremble.

Discussing books with him feels like the simplest, purest joy. Because in those moments, it’s just us.

His laughter when I say something funny. The way he listens seriously when I share my thoughts.

…I love that.

I love him. Tennouji-kun.

And when I admitted it to myself, it was as if the tight knot in my chest finally came undone. The dark, broken shards of the past shattered and faded, like glass sinking into the sea.
Maybe now… I can finally take a step forward.

“Dai-kun… I love you.”

The moment I said it aloud, the gray, faded world around me bloomed into color. It’s strange—how easily he’s changed me. We’ve only been talking for less than two months, and yet my heart feels closer to him than to anyone I’ve ever known.

Maybe it’s because he truly sees me.

When he called me “cute” or “beautiful,” it wasn’t with any ulterior motive—it was pure, genuine. That’s why my heart couldn’t stay calm.

That day at Mikudo… when I saw him with that policewoman he knew, I panicked.

I thought she was his lover—she was beautiful, mature, confident, with a figure I could never match.

Just the idea of it made my chest ache unbearably. But when he explained she’d simply helped him in the past, my trembling hands finally stilled.

When we shared that umbrella, he tilted it toward me so I wouldn’t get wet—getting his own shoulder soaked instead. Somehow, he knew I was frail. I don’t remember telling him that. But he knew.

If not for him, I probably would’ve caught a fever that night. Thanks to him, I stayed dry… except for the storm in my heart.

“Fufu…”

A quiet smile slips out before I realize it. He understands me—that alone makes me happy.

“Rin-chan, are you studying hard~?”

“Mom? Yes, I’m making progress.”

“That’s good~! Here’s some hot tea for you~.”

Mom hands me a cup of sweet milk tea. I’m actually a bit of a sweet tooth. Still, the tea he brewed for me at his house was so much better than this bagged kind… though I’d never tell her that.

“Oh, by the way, Rin-chan,” she adds with a grin. “That boy who walked you home today—did you thank him properly?”

“N-no, not yet.”

“Oh, that won’t do~! If you wait too long, it gets harder to say~.”

“O-okay, I’ll send him a message now.”

“Hehe~ And next time, bring him over! A boy who’d get himself drenched just to keep you dry? That’s a keeper~!”

“M-Mom! Don’t say weird things!”

“Oh, come now~! Good boys like that don’t stay single for long~. Blink, and someone else will snatch him away~!”

The phone slips from my trembling hands, clattering onto the desk. The thought of him—of Dai-kun—being with someone else…

Just imagining it sends a chill through me.

“Good luck, Rin-chan~!”

“Y-yeah…”

I quickly pick up my phone and open POINÉ to send him a message.

After that, of course— my studying didn’t progress at all.