prologue

Until I was in high school, I didn’t think of myself as a mob character in any way. In fact, I even thought that I was close to the main character.



However, after I became a high school student and met that guy, I realized that I was just a mob character.



When I met Ryoma Ryuzaki, I was reminded that I was a minor character due to my meeting with the …… harem-like protagonist.



And I became a mob character.



I ended up living an boring school life, where I couldn’t tell a story, and I was always absent-minded in the corner of the classroom.



Today, too, I was looking at the girls I used to love from the corner of the classroom.



“Hey, Ryoma Onii-chan? Let’s go buy a swimsuit together.”



A small girl with black hair tied in two pigtails was sitting on Ryuzaki’s lap. She was my younger stepsister.



Our birthdays were only a few months apart, but I was born a few months earlier than she was, so I was her older stepbrother. Since my parents remarried when I was very young, we have been like brother and sister.



My stepsister, Azusa Nakayama, who used to be very fond of me, was completely obsessed with Ryuzaki. It was heartbreaking to see her trying so hard to get his attention.



Come to think of it, a while ago, she used to spoil me like that ……, but lately we don’t talk much anymore, and I was a little sad.



” It’s only May. Isn’t it too early for swimsuits?”



“What? But I want Ryoma to see me in a swimsuit. ……”



“Well, I want to see it!”



Ryuzaki is laughing while patting Azusa’s head. Azusa was also smiling happily.



They were making out in the middle of the classroom even though it was break time. Azusa was a shy girl, so she wasn’t really good at drawing attention. But because she loves Ryuzaki, she’s pampering him like that, regardless of whether it’s in public or not.



It was terribly painful to see that.



“But it’s okay, isn’t it?　It’s a little early, but you can at least look at it.”



The one who leaned forward in defiance of Azusa was a beautiful young girl with long black hair. She’s a childhood friend of mine.



Yuzuki Hojo. She’s small in stature, but has a nice body and is popular with all the boys at school.



She is popular with all the boys at school. “Actually, my …… breasts have gotten a little bigger,” she said. That’s why the swimsuit I bought last year doesn’t fit …….”



“Oh, really?　Hmmm, the swimsuit is …… that’s a big deal.”



Yuzuki must have had a complex about her large breasts. However, in an attempt to be liked by Ryuzaki, even if only a little, she makes comments that emphasize her breasts.



It was a painful experience for me to see her trying to change herself to be loved by the person she loves.



“Ryu-kun’s lewd. You really want to see a girl in a swimsuit, don’t you? If that’s the case, why don’t you just tell me honestly that you want to see it? ♪”



The one poking Ryuzaki’s cheek with excitement was a girl with bright blonde hair that looked good on her. She was my best friend.



Asakura Kirari. She was a gal, or rather, a girl with an overall flamboyant atmosphere. Her breasts weren’t as big as Yuzuki’s, but she wore her school uniform loosely, so you could see a little of her chest. Her skirt was also too short, and for a high school boy in his adolescence, it was a sight for their eyes.



“It’s okay to tell us ~ ♪ Look, Ryu-kun … Be honest.”



“… I want to see it. I want to see a girl in her swimsuit!”



“Hmm? Do you want to see my breasts? If so, I can show you.”



With that said, Kirari deliberately bent forward and showed her chest to Tatsuzaki. I’m sure Tatsuzaki can see even the intimate parts … I can’t see it from my perspective, but since he had a dirty look on his face, I figured it all out.



…… Until high school, she was a more mature girl. To be precise, until the day of my high school entrance ceremony, she kept her black hair in a bun. She also wore glasses, and was a normal girl who wore her school uniform properly. She and I were pretty much on the same page, and we chatted a lot. …… When she met Ryuzaki at the entrance ceremony and learned that he liked flashy girls, she completely changed her image.



…… When I see Kirari abandoning her old self to become the type of person the person she loves likes, it still makes my heart ache. That girl I once liked was nowhere to be found.



(… Damn it.)



I clench my fists under my desk.



In the past, until I became a high school student, it was me who was in the position of …… Ryuzaki.



I was on good terms with those three people, and I should have been with them all the I thought I was good friends with the three of them and was always with them, but …… now I’m completely out of the loop.



I’ve always thought of myself as a protagonist.



I had a cute stepsister, a beautiful childhood friend, and a good and charming best friend. I thought I was going to have a great time with the three of them in high school.



But reality is cruel.



At the entrance ceremony of my high school, Ryuzaki stole everything from me.



The three guys that I liked have become completely obsessed with Ryoma Ryuzaki. In addition, to add to the annoyance, …… Ryuzaki seems to be a “harem protagonist,” and there are many more girls around him.



In addition to the three, there are a number of other girls in class, such as the small girl who looks like a small animal, the senior student council president, and the leader of the kendo club in the same year.



And even now, in addition to the three of them, there is one more member of the Ryuzaki harem.



“This is why I’m going to go look at swimsuits after school. …… Would you like to go too, Shiho?



Ryuzaki turned around and looked back. In the seat directly behind him sat a girl named Shiho Shimotsuki, a childhood friend of his who seemed to be the oldest member of the Ryuzaki harem.



“…………?”



She had probably been sleeping with her head down for a long time, but when Ryuzaki called out to her, she looked up as if she was bored. She seems to have Scandinavian blood and her lightly pigmented hair is very beautiful.



She is a fragile, or rather …… delicate, transparent girl, like glasswork.



It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the bestlooking girl in the school. She is Ryuzaki’s childhood friend. I wonder how lucky he is with women.



“Were you asleep again? You always look sleepy, Shiho.



He seemed to be trying to pet her, but she gave him a slight look of disgust and lightly brushed his hand away.



“…………what?”



Then she asked him what he wanted with a blank expression.



I’m not sure if she doesn’t talk much or not. She is usually very quiet and never speaks until she is spoken to by others.



Even when she is spoken to by her childhood friend, Ryuzaki, she only says the bare minimum like this.



It seems that Ryuzaki really loves her.



Perhaps more than the three girls I love, …… or any of the other girls, Ryuzaki is probably more in love with Shimotsuki.



In fact, he even went out of his way to ask her to go shopping with him now.



Usually, Ryuzaki doesn’t ask girls out on his own. He is always passive, with the exception of Shimotsuki. She was the only one that Ryuzaki always asked out.



But Shimotsuki’s answer is always the same.



“………… no.”



Two sounds were uttered and she dropped her face down again. She buried her face in her arm pillow and went to sleep.



I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I strongly felt her intention, not to go.



“Really? Then I’ll ask you out again some other time, okay?”



I guess Ryuzaki is used to being rejected. He immediately turned his face back and returned to his conversation the other three.



Watching these scenes from the corner of the classroom was the daily life of …… me, Kotaro Nakayama.



It’s been about a month since I entered high school.



I’ve been spending my days like this since I first encountered Ryuzaki.



I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel lonely.



The people I loved so much were crazy about someone else. It was too painful to even try to look good.



When I became a high school student, I realized that I was not the main character.　Apparently, I was a “mob character”.



A minor role in the story, unable to create any story. Or perhaps I was a tool to make the characters more appealing.



I must have played a supporting role for Ryoma Ryuzaki.



I’ m just a tool to explain that the hero Ryoma is attractive enough to make the three heroines …… Azusa, Yuzuki and Kirari fall in love with him, who were trapped by the false hero called me.



I wanted to have a …… girlfriend.



I wanted to make the person I loved happy and have them make me happy.



But it’s unlikely to be possible again.



I’m not going to be able to do that again, because the girls I loved have already fallen in love with someone other than me.