See ya later, Shinozaki. Today was a blast, eh?
Urk W-Well, I guess.
Heh, too bad it doesnt look like your lower half had any fun.
Of course not! Im not a playboy like you!
Touch,Ryuichi remarked as he chuckled. He never wouldve thought hed be able to joke around with Sohei like this, so having dinner with him at the club today was an unforgettable experience for him.
Touch,
Ryuichi remarked as he chuckled. He never wouldve thought hed be able to joke around with Sohei like this, so having dinner with him at the club today was an unforgettable experience for him.
It wasnt like the manga world had been that dark and brutal, but the sight of the protagonist and the antagonist getting along like this wouldve been unimaginable to those who knew the manga from Ryuichis previous life.
Later, Shinozaki.
Yup. See you, Shishido.
They exchanged farewells and turned their backs to each other. However, just as Ryuichi was about to leave, he heard a voice call out to him from behind.
Shishido.
Hmm?
When he turned around, Sohei hesitated for a moment before he firmly looked Ryuichi in the eye and said this:
The last time I saw you coming out of that store with Shizuna, I said things like how indecent and inappropriate the place was.
Yeah, that you did.
He sure did,Ryuichi recalled. He had also rubbed Shizunas breasts in front of him while she was lightly disguised as a gyaru, which, in a way, mustve been another painful memory for Sohei too.
At the time, hed done it knowing it would spite him, but now that he was talking to him like this, he immediately regretted his actions.
He sure did,
Ryuichi recalled. He had also rubbed Shizunas breasts in front of him while she was lightly disguised as a gyaru, which, in a way, mustve been another painful memory for Sohei too.
At the time, hed done it knowing it would spite him, but now that he was talking to him like this, he immediately regretted his actions.
About that time, wellactually, nevermind. So?
Yeah.
Sohei continued.
I still think that places like those are inappropriate, or at least, that theyre for adults. Butthe manager and the waitresses are very kind, and I think theyre really warm people.
I truly feel that way, he added.
Even though the club was inappropriatewell, in practice, itwasa place that was made to serve those purposes, but still, it was undeniably run by very kind people.
Even though the club was inappropriatewell, in practice, it
was
a place that was made to serve those purposes, but still, it was undeniably run by very kind people.
Nevertheless, it wasnt strange that people like Sohei would have negative impressions of the place, but it still made Ryuichi really happy to hear him say that.
It was the figure of a person who couldnt accept reality and kept complaining about it.
It was the figure of a person who had depended on the intimacy hed had as her childhood friend and had continued to cling to the sweet illusion that she would definitely look back at him When he looked at it objectively like this, he could clearly see how pathetic it was.
Why are you laughing?! Do you have no pride?!
I see. So I was laughing.
Apparently Sohei had been laughing at his dream-self. Realizing this hadnt invoked any thoughts in particular, though; in fact, he laughed even more at himself.
Pride, huh Ive long since thrown my pride away; that very same pride thats constantly nagged at me and made me hesitant and wavering. Shizuna is certainly important to me, but
He paused for a moment, took a deep breath in, and continued.
Ive decided to leave her to a man who can make her truly happy and at the same time make her fall in love with him. That guyShishido will surely make Shizuna happy.
Youleaving her tohim?!
Youleaving her to
him
?!
What a strange dream this is, he thought. And yet, he still couldnt understand why this person was so angry. Well, Sohei had a lot of things on his mind as well, but he decided to forget about this dream as soon as possible and turned his back on it.
What a strange dream this is
, he thought. And yet, he still couldnt understand why this person was so angry. Well, Sohei had a lot of things on his mind as well, but he decided to forget about this dream as soon as possible and turned his back on it.
Are you running away?!
Running away? No, not at all. When I go to sleep, I wake up, which means it will be tomorrow, so Im not running away, Im just facing the future, you idiot~.
After he said this, his dream-self disappeared with a vexed look on his face. It wasnt that he didnt feel anything when he saw himself vanish without a trace; it was just that he was thinking that if hed slipped up, he could have ended up like that, too.
I learnt quite a bit about Shishido in my talk with him, huh.
While they were eating dinner together, the manager and the female waitress had joined in the conversation and asked Ryuichi about himself. Sohei learned that he, too, had suffered a lot in his own way, and in the process had met Shizuna and many other people who helped him get to where he was today.
There was no doubt that he was a delinquent, but what Shizuna had fallen in love with was his true self, his kind self. Sohei laughed when he thought about how a girl falling in love and going out with a person feared by others was almost like something out of a well-made manga.
Well, a lot of things happened, but he was easy to talk to. And he was a good guy Truly.
If this world was a manga, then all hed done was win over the heroine that was Shizuna.
If I had to use the word protagonist, Id say Shishido more than fits that role.
Sohei muttered as he surrendered himself to the sensation of waking up. Unbeknownst to Sohei, this world was a former manga world that had already begun to take its own route. The original protagonist, the one whod only been stolen from, was not here.
Instead of being sulky and disgruntled, Sohei had the strength to accept reality and look firmly ahead.
All in all, it was a pretty nice place. Well, obviously I cant say Ill become a regular there, though.
Well, of course you cant,most people would retort and laugh.
Well, of course you cant,
most people would retort and laugh.
Sohei had said that Ryuichi was a protagonist, but having the strength to accept his frustrations like this was also another sign of a protagonist.
Hang in there, MC. It was as if the light shining on him was telling him that the future would surely be bright.