The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem. - Chapter 92: The Protagonist’s Very Merry Christmas. ♡

The Protagonist’s Very Merry Christmas. ♡

Even though I knew Mio had me blocked, I kept sending her apology messages anyway.

I clung to the faint hope that one day, on some whim, she might unblock me… and read them.

Only now that I could no longer eat it did I truly understand how delicious and precious Mio’s bentos had been.

Why… why did I throw away Mio’s lunch back then just for some extra-large katsu curry…?

If I hadn’t done that, I would still be eating her bentos every single day.

Mio would never have handed them to Tennouji instead…

Wh—what the hell!?

Mio giving Tennouji a bento… Tennouji giving Mio a bento!?

What kind of bullshit is that!?

And that bastard even makes bentos for Shi too… Damn it all!!!!

Right in front of me in the classroom, they’re flirting again!!!

Mio’s wearing that happy face… a face she never once showed me!

Damn it!!!

I have to find some way to apologize, to make her cook for me again…

Cafeteria food is so damn bland…

Her sweet tamagoyaki… her stupidly delicious karaage…!

I want… I want that again…!

Every time Mio stood up to go to the bathroom or anywhere else, I tried to follow and call out to her…

But Tennouji or Rinko always trailed right behind her, so I never got the chance.

No way in hell am I bowing my head in front of Tennouji, and Rinko’s eyes are terrifying… There’s just no opening to apologize.

Even at lunch, I scarf down cafeteria food and hurry back to class, but Mio doesn’t return until the very last second before the bell—always with Shi, Rinko, and Tennouji.

Where the hell are they eating? What the hell are they doing!?

I want to follow them… but I can’t…

On the way home, I have club practice.

Mio leaves right away with Tennouji and the others.

Her mom told me never to come near their house ever again…

I could ignore that and go anyway… no, her mom is seriously furious—if I showed up, it’d only make things worse.

Damn it! I’m completely cornered!

Does that mean… I’ll never get another chance to apologize to Mio!?

That’s not fair… that’s just not fair…!

***

After school—practice again.

Another day without a single opening to talk to Mio.

Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, then the Winter Cup starts the day after…

But I have remedial classes. Two full days of make-up lessons, followed by a test the next day…

If I fail this, I might not even advance to the next year…!

I was supposed to shine at the Winter Cup… supposed to show Mio how cool I could be…!

“Kentarou~! Tell me what I should wear on my date~!”

Practice was over, and even though the big tournament started tomorrow, Momodani was casually asking something like that.

“Hah? You’re going on a date with Makino? Then at least ditch the damn sweats—don’t you own a jacket or some jeans?”

“I do~ Let’s see… hoodie with—”

“A hoodie!? You don’t pair a hoodie with a jacket, idiot! Don’t you have a knit or something!?”

“I hate the itchiness…”

“Are you a kid!? Tough it out! Makino’s gonna dress up all cute, right!?”

“W-well, whatever Shouma-senpai thinks is fine…!”

“No way! When is it!? We’re going shopping!”

“It’s after New Year’s. Kentarou~, you’re such a good guy.”

“Don’t embarrass the girl! If you show up to a date looking like that—”

“Hmm? And what happens then?”

“You get lectured for three solid hours until your brain melts—GYAAAAA!! Erika-senpai!?”

“What is it? Screaming like you just saw a bear… Perhaps a little lecture is in order?”

“W-wawawa…”

“Kentarou~, I’ll collect your bones later~”

“Help me!! Hey! Wait! Erika-senpai! It’s not me! It’s Shouma! Shouma—!”

“Momodani-kun. If you’re taking a girl on a date, you should endure a knit sweater. By the way, the first day Kentarou-kun showed up in a hoodie and sweats, I made him buy proper clothes with his own money and turned him fashionable on the spot. Girls like their darling to look stylish and clean. Remember that.”

“You heard the whole thing!?”

“Okay~ I’ll message you later about the next time, Kentarou.”

“Save meeeee!!”

“No way~”

“Damn iiiiiiiit!!!”

“Oh, Kana~ I’m consulting someone right now, but I don’t have fashion sense on my own, so I’m dragging Akitani along. It’ll be a double date—me and Kana, Tennouji and Akitani. That cool with you?”

“Eh!? With Mio-senpai!? I wanna go! Ehehe, it’s been forever since we talked ♪”

“Alright, it’s decided~ I’ll tell you the date later~”

“Yes! A date with Shouma-senpai—I’m so excited! And Mio-senpai will be there too—I can’t wait!”

“Kana~, you’re too cute.”

“Ehehe ♪”

A double date with Mio and Tennouji!?

Screw you, Momodani! When!? Tell me when! Where!?

Not that I could go even if I knew…

When did Tennouji get so buddy-buddy with Momodani anyway…?

A date with Mio… I wanted that too…

Back in middle school we walked together at the zoo on the field trip… that was nice in its own way…

But more than that, I wanted to walk wherever she liked, on a real date…

“Alright! Winter Cup starts tomorrow. Kentarou, let’s go wild!”

“Fufu, do your best! We’ll be cheering for you.”

“With Kana cheering me on, I might even be able to dunk~”

“Hawawa! Senpai, you can dunk!?”

“Everything is possible with fighting spirit, Kana~”

“E-ehh…”

“Okay, let’s head home and rest up for tomorrow. Kana, coming~?”

“Yes!”

Damn it… flirting again…

And starting tomorrow, I’ve got remedial hell…

I should’ve joined Rinko’s study group…

***

And so the remedial classes began.

Nothing but math, all day long…

There were a few others there, but still… I couldn’t help feeling pathetic.

Kicked off the Winter Cup regular roster, not even allowed in the cheering section—just stuck in remedial.

Second semester had been nothing but disasters…

Third semester, I have to buckle down and fix everything…

I’ve completely lost the club advisor’s trust too…

“That’s it for today. Don’t be late tomorrow either.”

First day of remedial—done…

I’m exhausted… all-day math…

Ugh, this sucks. Gotta get home.

I walked through the downtown area in a foul mood.

Maybe hit the arcade, blow off some steam… that’s what I was thinking.

It was noisy everywhere. Of course—today was Christmas Eve. Everyone was in high spirits…

“Crab, crab ♪”

“Cake first, Shi.”

I heard familiar voices mixed into the crowd.

He was tall, so I spotted him instantly—Tennouji!

I could see Rinko and Shi too.

Who was the girl linking arms with him right now…? Did the bastard get yet another girlfriend?

…Wait.

That short height… even in a black knit, unmistakable… those huge breasts…

No way…

“Mio…? Shit!”

Panicking so they wouldn’t see me, I ducked into an alley.

Shi might have spotted me.

Peeking from the shadows… crap… Shi was looking this way.

If she finds me, I’m screwed…

After a moment, Shi walked off.

Phew… close…

But… that was definitely Mio.

It was Mio…

She’d gotten a perm… her whole image had changed, and she was wearing a smile I had never once seen when she was with me.

Why…? Why didn’t she ever show me a face like that…!?

Did Tennouji tell her to change her hair too…?

Shi’s black hair, Rinko’s hairstyle… and now Mio…

Even Rinko was wearing pink, a color I’d never seen on her…

All of them—my childhood friends—had been completely dyed in Tennouji’s colors…

For the first time, I felt true despair: the childhood friends who had always been by my side had slipped from my grasp and gone somewhere impossibly far away—to Tennouji.

And it wasn’t just that. Even Mio herself had been completely reshaped by him…

Why… how…

My childhood friend… the Mio I loved… she was gone.

That girl wasn’t Mio anymore. She was Tennouji’s Mio.

Rinko, Shi…

I was the one who loved them first…!

“U… uaaaa…”

They were already out of my reach—three girls smiling happily beside Tennouji.

Three girls I no longer recognized.

What I had lost… it was too much.

“AAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!!!!”

I broke down sobbing.

The despair of losing something priceless.

Realizing once again that the girl I loved more than anything had become Tennouji’s woman…

All I could do was cry.