The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem. - Chapter 76: A Kansai Guy Cheats Death by a Hair’s Breadth.

A Kansai Guy Cheats Death by a Hair’s Breadth.

The way she was falling was catastrophic.

If things continued like this, Rinko-san would land head-first. Her skull would split open, or her neck would snap. In other words—she would die.

I had to catch her.

Of course, that meant I’d fall with her. We’d either slide down the stairs… or be slammed straight into the landing below.

I didn’t care what happened to me.

Rinko-san. I had to protect Rinko-san. That was the only thought in my head.

“UOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!”

I twisted my body with all my strength, forcing the girl I was holding to land on top of me. That way, her injuries would be minimal!

I wrapped my arms around her head to shield it completely—and then my back hit the bottom of the staircase with full force.

“GUAHH!”

An insane wave of pain exploded across my spine. And because I’d taken the impact directly—

“Gah! Kah—!? Gha—! Guhah!”

No good—my lungs refused to work…!

Pain and oxygen deprivation threatened to drag my consciousness into darkness.

Rinko-san! How was Rinko-san!?

I had to know. I couldn’t afford to black out here!

With nothing but sheer willpower, I clawed my awareness back from the brink.

“…Dai…kun?”

“Agah—kah!”

“Dai-kun…? Dai-kun!? Dai-kun!! Dai-kun!!!!”

Rinko-san was shaking me.

Good—she was safe…!

Now if only my breathing would come back…!

“Dai-kun!! No!! Dai-kun!!! Dai-kun!!!!”

She was panicking, able only to shake me and scream my name.

I somehow forced my voice out.

“R-Rin… Rinko…-san…! Kah—! I-I’m… o-okay… Gofh!”

I tried to speak and sit up, but the agony in my back and the fact I still couldn’t breathe properly pinned me to the floor.

This was exactly the situation you see in manga where the hero wheezes, “Did I… break a rib…?”

Except if my spine was actually fractured, I was in deep trouble.

“Dai-kun…! No… no, no… Dai-kun, stay with me…! Dai-kun!”

“Rin-chan! Don’t move Daiki-kun right now!! Somebody—anybody—go get a teacher!! No, call an ambulance!!”

“Oi, Tennouji! Hang in there! I’m going for a teacher—Akutani, take care of him!”

“Tenma-kun, please!”

“Hello? Yes, excuse me—my friend just fell down the stairs and hit his back hard. Yes—ah, the location is Sumizome Academy—”

Momodani-kun had apparently called 119.

Shit, I couldn’t move…! My breathing was finally coming back, though.

“Tennouji, ambulance is on the way. Can you hold out?”

“Momodani-kun… thank you… I can wait…”

“Stay strong, man!”

“Dai-kun… uu… Dai-kun…”

Rinko-san’s face was completely drenched in tears.

Seeing her cry like that sent blood roaring to my head far more fiercely than the pain ever could.

Right after the relief of knowing I’d protected her came a murderous rage toward the person who tried to kill her.

I will never forgive them…!

I forced my head up and looked toward the top of the stairs.

There I saw Shi-chan grappling with another girl.

“You bitch!! How dare you try to murder Rin-chan and Dai-chan!!? What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“Shut up!!!! That ugly cow should just die! She ruined my entire life!!!! I’m gonna kill her!! I’m gonna push her down the stairs again right now!!! Tennouji, stop protecting that ugly bitch!!!!”

“Shut your damn mouth! Like I’d ever let you!!”

“Let go of me!! Let go—you’re probably another ugly cow!! If you’re friends with that bitch, I’ll throw you down the stairs too!!!! I’ll kill every last one of Fuyuki’s friends!!!!”

The girl was yanking Shi-chan’s hair, dragging her toward the stairs while screaming hysterically.

That must be… Tsuruhashi’s little sister.

She was using terrifying strength to shove and push Shi-chan’s face. Shi-chan was desperately holding her ground, but it looked dangerous.

So she intended to kill not just Rinko-san, but Shi-chan as well.

And that probably included Mio-chan.

Something inside me snapped.

I surged to my feet and bounded up the stairs like a wild animal.

I seized Tsuruhashi’s arm with crushing force.

Shi-chan let out a startled “Hii!?”

Probably because my face had twisted into something truly demonic.

“So you’re Tsuruhashi. You really tried to murder Rinko-san, huh. And at the same time you said you’d kill Shi-chan too? Don’t you dare spit that kind of shit at me, you piece of trash! If you’re gonna kill them, then come at me with the intent to kill me first… because I’m not dying quietly…! I’ll slaughter you first…!”

My voice came out low and guttural, dripping with every ounce of rage I possessed.

The pain in my back only fueled it.

This girl had tormented Rinko-san mentally and now tried to take her life.

I would never—could never—forgive her.

“L-let go! Damn it! Let go, you bastard!!”

“I’m not letting a murderer escape. You’re finished.”

I squeezed her arm like a vise, hard enough that I thought the bone might snap.

She screamed about the pain, but I didn’t care.

I absolutely could not let her get away.

“What’s going on!? What happened!? T-Tennouji!?”

“Kaminari-sensei—this girl pushed Fuyuki-san down the stairs. I took the fall on my back to save her.”

“What!? Y-you’re Tsuruhashi! I told you to stay home under suspension until your punishment was decided! Why are you here!?”

“Shut up!! I came here to kill her! I’m going to kill her! Die! Die, die, die!!!! Fuyuki, just drop dead already!!!!”

“Ashiharabashi-sensei! Call the police! Right now!! This is unforgivable—this is a crime!!! Come here, you little—!”

“Let go!!!! I have to kill Fuyuki!!!! Let gooooo!!!!”

“Guoh… guh…!”

“Dai-chan!?”

Damn it—my back…! The damage was worse than I thought!

My knees buckled.

“Dai-kun!!!! Nooooo!!!!”

“Rin-chan, calm down!!”

“Tennouji, you okay!?”

Shit… I wanted to tell Rinko-san I was fine, I wanted to go to her, but I couldn’t move…!

Move, damn you!

In the end I had no choice but to leave it to Mio-chan.

I was loaded into the ambulance while Ashiharabashi-sensei accompanied me.

***

“Yes… I understand. I’ll head back with Tennouji now. Yes, he’s perfectly fine—no need for hospitalization. Thank you.”

I underwent every test imaginable at the hospital, but there wasn’t a single fracture—not even a hairline fracture—in my spine or ribs. No internal organ damage either.

The doctor looked genuinely impressed and said, “You’re incredibly tough, young man.”

They asked if I wanted to be admitted just in case, but I was worried about Rinko-san and wanted to return to school immediately.

If I got hospitalized, the story might veer into the original’s dark hospital arc… and that would be disastrous.

“Ahhaa… Dai-ku~n… I fooound yooou~♡”

No, no, no—if I saw that in real life I wouldn’t know how to react.

According to Mio-chan, Rinko-san was resting in the nurse’s office…

Both Mio-chan and Shi-chan couldn’t go home because they were worried about me…

If I didn’t get back soon I’d just cause more trouble…

“Tennouji, it must still hurt badly. Are you sure you shouldn’t have stayed overnight?”

“Nah—if nothing’s broken, there’s no point in hospitalization… My parents would make a huge fuss anyway…”

When the school called to inform them I’d been taken away by ambulance, they panicked and said they were coming immediately.

I desperately talked them out of it since there was no danger to my life.

My back hurt like hell, but it was just a severe bruise…

“Tennouji, I heard Tsuruhashi has been taken into police custody. Attempted murder, after all…”

“It’s way beyond simple expulsion now.”

“Indeed… The principal and vice-principal are treating this extremely seriously. We failed to notice that a suspended student had returned to school grounds. Fukushima-sensei must be devastated…”

On the taxi ride back, I heard the conclusion of the Tsuruhashi affair.

Turning her over to the police was only proper.

In my mind, the person who would harm Rinko-san no longer existed.

That alone was enough.

I let out a long, slow breath.