"Hey, Kyosuke, you okay?"
"Ugh, damn it...! Shit, shit!"
The delinquents who always skipped class and killed time in back alleys were slumped against the wall, groaning.
"I'll kill him... I'll definitely kill him..."
"But that guy's a monster. You saw it too, right? He smashed that bat with his bare fists."
Unlike the blond delinquent who clutched his swollen cheek and kept muttering "kill him, kill him," the bald one realized he wasn't someone they could take head-on.
"So what? We're just gonna let it slide? You pussy-ass bitch?"
"Pussy? What the hell?!"
The bald guy snapped at Kyosuke's dismissive words.
"You just cuss me out?"
He flinched.
They might seem like friends, but their hierarchy was clear.
In the end, Daisuke stopped growling and apologized.
"...S-sorry."
"Whatever. If we can't handle it ourselves... we can get help."
"Help? From who...?"
Kyosuke curled his lips into that sleazy delinquent grin and dropped a name.
"I'm talking about Senior Kurogami."
Daisuke shot to his feet at the name.
"K-Kurogami Senior...? You serious? That lady's no joke. She's hard to even make an appointment with for anything normal."
"I know. We have those photos we took last time, right? We can use those to get a meeting. I heard she deals in distributing that kind of stuff."
"Ooh...! You mean the changing room camera footage?"
"Yeah. Let's check if this week's video came out good over the weekend. If the goods are solid, she'll meet us for sure. She's always short on that kind of material."
Daisuke rubbed his bald head nervously with his palm a few times.
"If she's really in the shady business world, taking out one punk like that should be nothing..."
"Exactly."
They stared at each other, grinning wickedly for a good while.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Cheers~!"
Clink clink.
The izakaya was filled with the sound of beer glasses toasting and chopsticks picking at food.
It smelled of delicious yakitori skewers and oden stew, but right now, I couldn't tell if the food was going in my mouth or up my nose.
'Eating across from Ren...!'
The seating was girls with girls, guys with guys, to avoid any awkwardness. But by some coincidence, Ren was sitting right across from me.
Did Saki plan this...?
Wink.
-'Just trust this big sis.'
Saki winked at me with an eye greeting.
...Even if you end up in hell, I'll pull you out at least once.
You're my soulmate now.
As the afterparty heated up, everyone started flushing from the booze.
But Ren was still barely touching her glass, just moving her chopsticks.
Glance.
Hm...?
Her gaze kept drifting toward the oden pot. Following it, I saw a big piece of kombu swirling around in the bubbling broth.
Ah.
Right.
Ren liked her kombu nice and soft-boiled, didn't she?
She was embarrassed about it, calling it an old lady taste, but to me, it was just plain cute.
I silently fished out the kombu with the tongs and put it on an extra side plate. Ren's eyes wavered.
"Ah..."
She pouted her lips, like she thought I'd stolen the piece she wanted.
I wordlessly slid the plate over to her.
"Huh?"
"...You kept staring at it, so I thought you might want it."
"I wasn't particularly craving it. I was just looking."
"At the kombu? Why?"
She looked a bit flustered, like she hadn't expected me to pry that much, and made an excuse.
"Because it's cute..."
What?
The kombu?
You're so insanely cute I'm getting hard down there again.
You little tease. Maybe I should mess with you a bit.
"I see. Well, I'll put it away then."
She flinched.
"...No, just leave it. It'd be rude to refuse the gesture now."
She quietly added that and quickly popped the kombu into her mouth.
Munch munch.
She must've really wanted it.
After fishing out a few more pieces for her, the mood shifted to wrapping up the drinking.
The theater club had plenty of guys, but none of the creepy types.
Makes sense—they're a group that shares emotions and collaborates, so weirdos probably never joined, and Saki would've weeded out any suspicious ones early.
No guys hitting on girls for a second round either. Instead, some headed out arm-in-arm, saying they had a gaming session, grabbing a taxi.
Pretty wholesome and solid club.
Ren impassively packed her bag and stood.
Guess I should head out too.
Since both Ren and I live in the dorms, we walk the same way to school.
"Hey~ Yuu-kun! Heading back now?"
Saki, who'd stayed till the end to check for forgotten items, came out late and waved at me.
"Oh, Saki. Yeah, time to wash up and get ready for bed."
"...'Saki'? 'Yuu-kun'?"
Ren muttered the nicknames Saki and I had used.
"Take care then. Thanks for helping with the play. You too, Ren-chan!"
"Ah, yeah. See you, Saki."
"Yup yup. Later~"
Saki flashed an uncle-like smile and winked at me. Probably "good luck."
Feels like I found real friendship after getting isekai'd.
Crunch crunch.
Cool night air.
Ren and I headed down the hill from the academy's back gate.
The neon signs and shop lights were gone, leaving only dim streetlamps to light the streets.
Ten steps.
Twenty steps.
I subtly slowed to match her stride.
Our footsteps gradually synced up.
Bit awkward.
Should I say something?
"Tsumeta—"
"Yuu-san."
Huh?
Unexpectedly, Ren spoke first.
"Yes, Ms. Tsumetai?"
She alternated glances between her bandage-wrapped hand and the ground.
"Why are your hands injured?"
Lying here would be game over.
"I got in a fight."
"...Didn't you promise not to? You're the Practical Committee Member for our Mid-tier Class now. Do you think it's okay to go around fighting like some middle schooler? We're adults."
She's right.
"I know. But it was to protect someone."
"...Pardon?"
"And I didn't start it—they swung a bat at my head first, so I got dragged in."
Her eyes, which had been subtly glaring, went wide with worry.
"No other injuries besides my fists, so don't worry. Haha."
"...I wasn't worried."
Even as she said that, I felt her gaze checking me over carefully. Acting tough while her eyes welled up like that—isn't that cheating?
Ah... Just her stare is gonna make me hard.
Come to think of it, I haven't jerked off once since arriving in this world.
Holding back all that pent-up teenage horniness—it's hitting at the worst times.
Still, I don't want my first release post-isekai to be into some tissue.
Save it up and blast it like a one-shot into the heroine's deepest—!
"Yuu-san...? You look pale. Hurt somewhere else?"
Oh right, mid-conversation.
"Ahaha, it's nothing. Anyway, you were worried, huh?"
"Eep... N-no?"
She glared cutely, then fidgeted her lips like she had more to say.
I thought she'd grill me more about the fight, but her question was something else entirely.
"...Why do you keep looking out for me, Yuu-san?"
A much more fundamental question than whether I fought delinquents.
"Even today—you memorized lines that weren't even yours to help me. We've only known each other less than a week."
"Well..."
Well, because I love you.
Because I know how tragic your end is, far worse than Juliet's.
Because I know the pure heart that threw your body into a 10-second freefall to protect our shattered love...
'Because I want to save you.'
"..."
But the words wouldn't come.
Even knowing everything... Even after hundreds of days together, hugging on screen—it was all just pixels, not reality.
Right now, we're just classmates who've known each other less than a week.
Telling Ren that? Best case, she cuts me off. Worst, cops or psych ward.
It stung deeper than just rejection.
Is this the isekai protagonist's plight?
Nothing to be done.
Someday.
When our hearts connect, she'll understand the full truth. For now, stay sharp and keep the route going.
"Yuu-san?"
"Hm, well... Repaying a favor, I guess."
"...A favor?"
She looked baffled.
"Come on, you told me about the Practical Committee Member gig on the first day."
I laughed casually to hide the ache, avoiding her eyes on purpose. She stared at me like I was ridiculous.
"That was just what the teacher told me to do, and I barely taught you anything. Calling that a favor is—"
"No. It was a favor. That's how I feel."
Maybe she thought denying my feelings was weird, because she clamped her mouth shut.
Her cheeks puffed a bit, reminding me of her munching the kombu earlier. Made me smile warmly.
"Ms. Tsumetai."
"...Yes?"
"You might be shocked or get the wrong idea about me, but... I have no family."
She halted abruptly.
"Ah! Don't worry, I'm not trying to guilt-trip you or anything."
"..."
Twitch twitch.
Her ears twitched like a bunny's.
She did that sometimes when something bothered her a ton.
Cold on the outside, but such a kind girl.
"Anyway, maybe because I've lived without a home or family, kindness from others feels kinda fuzzy to me."
This isn't the game's protagonist backstory—it's my real life.
"Eep... Ah..."
She bit her lip, flustered.
"Sorry, Ms. Tsumetai. Didn't mean to dump my sob story so clumsily."
"That's... not it."
She shook her head, eyes fixed on the ground, probably feeling guilty for making me bring it up.
"Anyway, living like that made my motto 'repay small kindnesses a hundredfold.' Ahaha."
A bit flimsy excuse for my overly attentive care, but it'd work. My dead parents and life story weren't made up.
And Ren doesn't ignore sincerity.
"I get it. Why you see small kindnesses as huge favors."
She swallowed hard and continued.
"But honestly... your care makes me anxious."
"Not burdensome, but anxious?"
Unusual phrasing.
"Yes. Anxious. People... can change in an instant."
She phrased it like general wisdom, but it's about her dad.
Normal most days, but a drunken wife-beater.
Why she distrusts men so deeply—especially violent ones, treating them like trash.
"I understand."
"No... You probably don't know what that really means."
I do.
No need to worry.
Even if I kill someone, I'd never lay a hand on you.
As we talked, the dorm came into view.
Time to wrap on a light note.
"Ah! One more reason why I keep looking out for you."
"...?"
"You're fun."
"Fun how?"
She looked up at me sideways, like what the hell. I grinned back.
"Your ears, Ms. Tsumetai. They're fun—pretending you're fine, but turning red when you're happy about help."
"...?"
Thud.
Her handbag slipped off her shoulder to the ground.
I picked it up, dusted it off, and slung it back over.
"There. Careful now. This is the girls' dorm, so I'll head off. Sweet dreams~"
As I walked to the guys' dorm, Ren's mutter reached my back.
"She... heard..."
Kehehehe.
Broken.
Driving me crazy.
Tonight's gonna be sweet dreams.
Hope it's one where we cuddle and make a baby.