Volume 1 - CH 3.1

I always felt uncomfortable.

Ever since I was little, I was never in the middle of things. After all, I was always the quiet one in the corner. In short, I would never know whether I existed or not.

Therefore, I could never think of myself as a ‘protagonist’, living my flimsy daily life as if I were a supporting character in someone else’s story.

This became more apparent during high school. I became estranged from the girls I thought I was close to, passing the time in loneliness and boredom.

Why I was going through such a dull routine…I thought I could finally understand the reason at last.

I was a mob character in a “harem romantic comedy” spun by Ryouma Ryuuzaki.

I’ve had a vague sense of this before, but…..now I’m convinced after my interaction with Ryuuzaki.

I guess I’m just there to enhance the “Protagonist”, Ryuuzaki Ryouma. Just some time ago, I foiled him by playing the part of the dog, and awfully enough, it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

I could only show a smile towards him as he acted resolutely like a hero. It felt miserable, but I think it suited me.

Maybe it’s because I’m a mob character that I’ve never had much success in my life. In case you’re wondering, I tried harder than most, but it didn’t head the way I wanted because I wasn’t the protagonist──looking back, it became clear to me.

Unlike me, Ryuuzaki was at the centre of the ongoing story. I would be lying if I didn’t say I envied that.

……If I had to give a title to Ryuuzaki Ryouma’s romantic comedy, it would go something like this.

(『” I’m a harem protagonist, but I only love my silent childhood friend.”』Something like this?)

The story may be that Ryuuzaki, who has the temperament of a harem protagonist, is seduced by all kinds of girls but only loves his childhood friend, Shimotsuki-san, single-mindedly.

The sick and silent childhood heroine, who loves to be alone, doesn’t open her heart up to Ryuuzaki at first, but little by little, they become friends…and eventually, “I like you more than the other heroines!” He confesses, and they become a magnificent couple.

Though frustrated by this, the other sub heroines congratulate the protagonist and main heroine, convincing themselves that

‘if it makes Ryouma happy, then it’s fine.’

──My head nearly fell off as it felt as if a template harem romantic comedy was about to be spun from now on.

Their story as a couple comes to a close, but life continues.

Can a harem-dispositioned protagonist really have a normal married life?

For Shimotsuki-san…could being tied to Ryuuzaki be the best thing for her?

Perhaps one of the sub heroines could potentially become his mistress…but if that were to happen, what would Shimotsuki-san think of it?

……Just thinking about it makes my head hurt.

But if this reality is Ryouma Ryuuzaki’s romantic comedy, it wouldn’t be strange.

The hero-sama has an ally called opportunism.

No matter what he does, he’s always in a favourable position. If he gets caught in a predicament, someone will extend a helping hand to him, and if he overcomes difficulties, he awakens and grows.

Characters around the protagonist are moved to suit the story, their thoughts are twisted, and they become puppets purely to make the protagonist feel good.

You may think this sounds ridiculous.

However, I just couldn’t laugh off the hypothesis.

(Thinking back, Azusa and the others were strange, too.)

High school entrance ceremony.

The three people who met Ryuuzaki Ryouma appeared to have a sudden change. I can’t help but think that it’s unnatural that they would fall in love with someone they met for the first time.

And all three of them at the same time.

It was so strange──as if there was some kind of invisible force at work, or at least that’s how I would describe it.

Shimotsuki-san might suddenly have a change like one of those girls.

Although she wasn’t very good with Ryuuzaki at the moment.

If Shimotsuki-san was also twisted by opportunism, she might also develop a liking for Ryuuzaki──such anxieties came to mind.

If that’s true, then this would really be “Ryuuzaki Ryouma’s romantic comedy.”

If possible, I want to prevent the story from progressing further by keeping plots and events from happening as much as possible. To protect Shimotsuki-san, I needed to stall, slump, and slow him down.

For this reason, I still felt it was not a good idea to talk to her in the classroom.

(Shimotsuki-san said that she wanted to talk to me, but…if I started getting friendly with her, Ryuuzaki would get suspicious.)

The “enjoyment” she gets from talking to me is not balanced by the risk of having Ryuuzaki see me as an enemy.

Afternoon, while in class. I looked at the empty seat and thought about it.

In the end, Shimotsuki-san didn’t return from the infirmary. Her baggage was also missing, so she probably returned home.

Just being made aware of Ryuuzaki caused such a change in her.

However, Shimotsuki-san wanted me to talk to him…but I wasn’t quite sure on what was the right thing to do.

The most important resolution right now is that this problem is too much for a mob character to handle──.

◆

I was so troubled by this that I didn’t speak much with Shimotsuki-san the next day.

However, just like yesterday, I was expecting Shimotsuki-san to lose her patience and talk to me….but she was continuously quiet, perhaps due to her poor physical condition.

The reason for this, I think, was partly because Ryuuzaki was talking to me so much.

In other words, even though I wanted to talk to Shimotsuki-san that day, I 『couldn’t.』

“Nakagawa, where do you eat during lunch break?”

“I eat together with Hanakishi of the baseball team? That guy always eats his lunch on the rooftop, so I have to get going about now. I wonder what he’s thinking, even though it’s so hot and humid outside.”

“I see. Don’t you have to ask Shiho today?”

“Oh….how I wish I could! But she didn’t seem to like it yesterday, and if I kept asking her out every day, she’d probably think that I’m pestering her.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

He checked to see if I was with Shimotsuki-san during the day,

“Well then, Nakagawa. See you tomorrow.”

He properly saw me out of the classroom on my way home.

Clearly, that guy was wary of me.

After coming to the shoe shelf, I confirmed that Ryuuzaki wasn’t following me and relaxed my shoulders.

In the end, he still got my name wrong till the last moment, but that’s fine.

Anyway, I managed to make it through the day.

Perhaps, I should start loosening my guard starting tomorrow. After all, Ryuuzaki himself doesn’t have that much free time, and I’m sure he’d start getting tired of observing the school life of such a boring mob character.

With this expectation in mind, I boarded the bus on my way home.

In the end, I didn’t talk with Shimotsuki-san.

Not that I don’t miss that.

But I couldn’t trouble her, so I had no choice.

Telling myself such a thing, I got to the closest bus stop near my home.

After touching my commuter pass to the fare adjustment machine, I try to get off the bus.

That’s when it happened.

“What? Money? W-Wait, my wallets…not here? I-I forgot my wallet!?”

I heard a voice that I wasn’t supposed to hear.

(Shimotsuki-san──could it be?)

My mind seems to be overthinking about her and hearing auditory hallucinations.

Perhaps I’m fatigued. I should go home and get some sleep.

“H-Help. Nakayama-kun, help me!”

──No, I’m not hallucinating!

“It isn’t a mistake…….?”

Turning around, I saw Shimotsuki-san staring at me with tears in her eyes.

“I-I don’t have any money…my wallet, I forgot it.”

Perhaps because her shyness had been put in operation, Shimotsuki-san asked me for help in a very thin voice. Next to her was the bus driver, gently smiling as he waited for Shimotsuki-san.

I’m glad he seemed mild-mannered. I rushed back to the bus and pulled my wallet out of my pocket.

“Well, do you have a ticket?”

“Um, yes. Here.”

Trembling, I held out the ticket to him. I may have crushed it in my nervousness.

But I’m glad he properly accepted it.

“Excuse me. Here you go.”

Both the ticket and money were deposited into the fare adjustment machine.

“Yes, thank you for boarding.”

The driver watched over us until the very end without making an unpleasant face. I am truly glad that he was a kind person.

“For the time being, let’s get off right away.”

“Ah! Mm!”

Shimotsuki-san nodded her head repeatedly, as if in a hurry.

(Hey, why is Shimotsuki-san here?)

To be honest, even I’m confused.

Because this wasn’t a school.

It was a bus stop three meters from my home.

The corner of a common residential area. In this place, there was a little girl who looked like a princess out of a picture book.

Moreover, she was currently attached to me.

“I-I was surprised that I didn’t have my wallet…it was also my first time riding the bus, but I heard a rumour that money was necessary, so of course I tried to pay, right? But you know, I was in such a hurry that I chased after Nakayama-kun and left it in the classroom……!”

Such a thing…

At any rate, I’m glad I noticed.

“I’ll properly return the money to you tomorrow, so don’t worry…and, in any case, thanks for saving me! Nakayama-kun, you’re so reliable in my times of need.”

“No, no, that’s a little too much praise…”

I just paid the bus fare for her, nothing more. It was just a usual thing, although Shimotsuki-san immensely appreciates it.

“It just happened again. I love it when you’re like that, so modest.”

“B-But, I really didn’t do much.”

“I don’t think so. When people are troubled, the proper thing to do is help them, right? It seems like an obvious thing to do, but it really isn’t, you know? That’s why it’s a very nice thing to do.”

And then, Shimotsuki-san suddenly stretched out her hand to my head.

As I watched to see what she would do to me…she ruffled the hair on my head in order to smoothen it.

“Even so, Nakayama-kun helps me, although he isn’t able to praise himself. If that’s the case, why don’t I do it for him?”

Once again, she treats me like a child.

Due to her height being slightly below average, Shimotsuki-san was standing on her tiptoes.

It was pretty embarrassing to be stroked by someone standing on her tiptoes.

“U-Uhm…t-thank you…”

But even so, I couldn’t refuse that kindness.

“Fufu, to be stroked by someone as short as me, I wonder how that feels?

Your face was flushed, and you were so embarrassed….seeing you like that, k-kind of makes me a little embarrassed too, heh heh.”

No, I’d rather Shimotsuki-san not be embarrassed, however.

“Then. Can you tell me why you’re here, Shimotsuki-san?”

I felt like I was going to go crazy from being stroked forever.

So I had to cut to the chase about now.

“I stalked you.”

Shimotsuki-san said so without any difficulty.

“…..Why?”

“Because you didn’t talk to me today. I decided to chase after Nakayama-kun, however, I couldn’t talk to you since other people were looking at me….so, I, er, came all the way here.”

“….So it’s like that.”

“But since we were on the same bus, I wondered if you would even notice me. And yet, you didn’t notice me at all, not in the slightest.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

I had no idea that we were on the same bus.

It’s pretty funny how I didn’t notice Shimotsuki-san gives how much she stands out.

But, today, I seem to be more tired than I realized.

“Well…..Nakayama-kun, you were in a daze the whole time, so I guess it’s no wonder you didn’t notice. You were acting somewhat different at school, so I wondered if something was wrong? I was worried.”

“Was I really that unusual?”

“Yes. The sound…um, how do I say this? It was jagged.”

As usual, it was difficult to understand her unique sensitivity.

But, one of the reasons she followed me──might be because she was worried about me.

“If you were well, I was going to lecture you for neglecting your friends, but….you don’t seem to be looking too well, and you helped me on the bus, so I’m not in the mood to be mad anymore.”

I’m very grateful for that. I wanted Shimotsuki-san to smile and laugh because yesterday, she looked angry with a blank expression on her face.

She tends to talk a bit too much, but since I’m not the best at talking myself, it makes for a great balance altogether.

“Ah, I’m getting tired talking while standing. I’d like to take a break and have a glass of juice, but I wonder if there was such a convenient place for me to take a break? Hey, Nakayama-kun…what do you think? For example, your house. Don’t you think it’s just right?”

“That’s why let’s go? I’ve always dreamed of playing at a friend’s house! So we’re definitely going to Nakayama-kun’s house, okay?”

When she said it like that, there was no way I could refuse.