Chapter 10 – Who Is the Real Heroine?
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After finishing the dishes, Kihara briefly explained to Rikka that monsters like the spider creature might appear in the city again. Thanks to that, he successfully got her contact information.
"Kihara… you're not just trying to scare me, are you?" Rikka asked skeptically.
"Huh? Why would I do that?" he replied, genuinely confused.
Rikka was momentarily speechless.
She had suspected that he made the whole thing up just to get her contact info—but now it was obvious he was simply stating facts.
How can someone be this straightforward…?
To be fair, Rikka wasn't exaggerating her own popularity. In class, aside from Akane Shinjo, who firmly held first place on the "most wanted girlfriend" list, Rikka had once ranked second.
Although she quickly dropped off that list.
She was the typical "modern high school girl" and, according to her friends Namiko and Ren, the hardest girl in class to approach.
No particular hobbies, no interest in social events like group dates…
Facing someone like her, most boys eventually lost interest. Compared to her, Akane who smiled warmly at everyone—felt far more approachable.
Given all that, Rikka's suspicion of Kihara's intentions was understandable.
But now, reality shattered that small bit of pride—and even left her feeling slightly guilty.
He was genuinely worried about me… and I doubted him.
What am I even doing…? Isn't this exactly the kind of petty girl I dislike?
"Phew, finally done."
Kihara stretched his stiff neck, wiped his hands dry, and pulled down his sleeves.
"Rikka, I should head home now. See you at school tomorrow."
"Ah… yeah. See you tomorrow!"
Rikka walked him to the entrance of the shop, watching until he disappeared from sight before turning back inside, only to be greeted by her mother's teasing voice.
"Well, this is rare. You actually walked a customer out. Don't you usually just sit there and say 'thank you for your purchase'?"
"Mom! Don't say weird things! Kihara and I are just classmates and he saved me today!"
"He saved you?"
"Didn't you see the street? It was all damaged!"
"Now that you mention it… I guess something did look broken."
"Ugh, honestly!"
Rikka stomped her foot in frustration. She had no way of dealing with her carefree mother.
"I'm going to take a shower. If you're tired, just have instant noodles for dinner!"
Meanwhile, back at home, Kihara lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
"Could it be… Rikka is actually the heroine, and Akane is just an NPC to start the story?"
His mind kept replaying the moment before he passed out his face buried in Rikka's thighs.
It felt like being wrapped in soft, slightly elastic marshmallow…
He sniffed lightly, as if her faint scent still lingered in the air, then closed his eyes and began thinking about how to deal with the next monster attack.
At the same time, Akane Shinjo was reviewing the spider monster battle with Alexis on her computer.
"This monster was definitely smarter," Alexis commented, "but still too weak."
"Of course," Akane replied matter-of-factly. "What kind of tokusatsu gives the protagonist an unbeatable enemy right at the start? That would just wipe out the whole cast."
She had fully embraced her role as the "scriptwriter."
Although she didn't know what happened after the spider monster was defeated, she wasn't worried. As the god of this world, she had already assigned Kihara the role of protagonist, there was no way he would die.
Alexis glanced at a half-finished monster model on the desk.
"By the way… why did you stop making this one halfway?"
"I just lacked a bit of inspiration… and motivation. Besides, the protagonist needs some downtime too, right?" she said shamelessly.
"I look forward to your next creation."
With that, Alexis disappeared from the screen.
Akane rested her chin in her hands, gently swinging her legs under the desk, her eyes fixed on a screenshot of Kihara's transformation.
"Hehe… that determined and cool expression…"
"As expected… my protagonist."
Suddenly, she shook her head hard, snapping out of her daze, and lightly slapped her cheeks.
"No, no. I'm the writer. Rikka is the heroine. It's only natural for a god like me to be loved by everyone. Finishing the script comes first!"
She pushed aside the unfinished monster model, opened a notebook labeled "Script", and began writing the perfect tokusatsu story in her mind.
After all—she was a god.
If she wanted something, there was nothing she couldn't achieve.
The next day, as Rikka Takarada walked to school, she passed the street where she had been attacked.
To her surprise, everything was completely restored.
"So efficient?" she muttered, not thinking much of it.
The moment she entered the classroom.
"Rikkaaa~ I caught something very interesting yesterday~"
Namiko jumped in front of her with a mischievous grin, holding up her phone.
On the screen was a photo of Kihara leaving Rikka's shop.
"Confess! What exactly is going on between you two?"
"Suspicious~" Ren appeared behind Rikka, cutting off her escape route. "You have nowhere to run. Just tell us everything."
"Alright, alright, I surrender but can I at least put my bag down first?"
Rikka sighed, raising her hands.
She sat down and quietly explained everything that happened yesterday.
After listening, Namiko reached out and touched her forehead, her expression full of concern.
"Rikka… are you okay? Even if you want to hide your relationship, there's no need to make up such an obvious lie."
Rikka slapped her hand away and said firmly:
"I told you, I'm not lying! I really was attacked by a monster yesterday!"
Namiko frowned, even more confused.
"But when I went to your place yesterday, I didn't see anything damaged. The utility pole, the signboards, the streetlights they were all perfectly fine."
"...Huh?"
Rikka froze, her lips slightly parted.
A chill crept up from deep within her chest.
Could it be… I'm the only one who remembers what happened yesterday?
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Thank you for reading.