The Villain Who Got Pinned Down Until He Ran Out Of Stamina ~ This Time I Raised The Protagonist's Affection Too Much And Everyone Fell For Me~

Since the bus that was scheduled when I was lining up earlier had already departed, Mahiro and I boarded the one that came 20 minutes later.

“It’s crowded…”

“On holidays… especially during summer vacation, visiting shopping malls is part of everyone’s schedule.”

“Wow, I totally relate to that…”

That was typical of slightly rural areas. Especially places like A*on Mall were almost like a lifeline.

Being summer vacation, the bus was completely full. By the looks of it, there were many young people. Due to the crowding, we couldn’t move further in, so Mahiro and I had to stand near the entrance.

“Kasajima-kun, you seem to have a strong core.”

“It’s just my appearance.”

Actually, I was different on the inside. The roads around here were clean, so there wasn’t much shaking, and as long as I was careful about the swaying when the bus stopped, I’d be fine.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Hm?”

A voice called from behind. It belonged to a woman with straight brown hair.

“Please take my seat if you’d like…”

She suggested this with a somewhat nervous voice. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

I was not a man who misunderstood things. Her gaze was surely directed at…

“I appreciate your kindness, but please keep your seat, miss. I’m fine standing.”

…The handsome Sumino Mahiro, of course.

“But…”

“Kasajima-kun, would you like to sit instead?”

“No, I can’t. Why are you offering it to me?”

“Didn’t you just say your core is weak?”

“I didn’t. I just meant my core isn’t as strong as my rugged appearance might suggest. Besides, why would a man take the seat?”

The woman had directed her offer to Mahiro, after all… But I kept that thought to myself.

“So as I said, both he and I are fine. Actually, I would be happier if you kept your seat, miss.”

I didn’t think that made much sense… However, when Mahiro showed her refreshing smile, everything seemed to resolve itself smoothly. Not just from the woman, but from the surrounding passengers who had been watching, there were subtle exclamations of “Wow…”

“As expected of the prince… you’re used to handling these situations.”

“When something happens repeatedly, one naturally becomes accustomed to it.”

“Is this also an everyday occurrence for you…?”

Unlike her sister Riina, who sharply cut off things she disliked and obviously distanced herself, Mahiro properly faced situations and skillfully declined.

“We’re here~!”

I stretched my arms to loosen up my body. We had arrived at the shopping mall. From the number of cars in the parking lot, it was easy to guess how crowded it would be inside.

“Well, this is where we part ways.”

“How sad of you to say that.”

“No, we have different objectives, right…”

“After hearing you talk, I also want to buy a new swimsuit. May I go with you?”

“Um… shouldn’t you save that kind of thing for Yuito? I can’t be a substitute for him. Sorry, but save swimsuit shopping for another occasion.”

I said this as I moved away from Mahiro.

In this kind of eroge world, inconvenient flags could be raised at any moment, so it was safer to act alone—

“Wait.”

“Ugh!? W-what…?”

My collar was suddenly grabbed, choking me and causing a strange sound to escape.

“…Look at that.”

“Look at what?”

“There. Those two people wearing hats.”

“Hmm?”

I looked in the direction Mahiro was pointing.

…Which ones? As I strained my eyes to see…

“That black cap guy… it’s Yuito.”

“Seriously?”

The cap hid the face, making it difficult to see, but… if Mahiro said it was Yuito, I could believe it.

“The woman next to him… she seems to be in quite a disguise. A casquette hat and round glasses…”

A casquette must be the name for a hat that looked like a beret with a visor. The woman had her hair tucked under the hat, wore round glasses… her face was almost completely unrecognizable.

Indeed, as Mahiro said, both Yuito and the woman next to him had fashion choices that seemed like disguises.

“…So this was Yuito’s plan. Hmm.”

At that dissatisfied tone, my spine froze. Even though Mahiro was right next to me, I couldn’t bring myself to check her expression. Her reaction was too scary for me to meet her eyes…

Yeah, this was bad… It felt dangerous. I needed to calm her down…

“M-maybe it’s not Yuito! We didn’t get a good look… And you know what they say, everyone has three lookalikes out there…?”

“…”

“…Right?”

Mahiro had her hand on her chin, appearing to be in thought. Good, good, just a little more push…

“Kasajima-kun.”

“Alright, ignore him and head inside…”

“Now you have a reason to accompany me.”

“Huh?”

“If that person isn’t Yuito, we’ll just ignore them. But to confirm that, we need two pairs of eyes to be sure. Come on, let’s go.”

“Umm…”