NOVEL NEXT chapter 47
47
4. Suffering Damage from Imagination
I enter the classroom and join up with Takeru and Emi.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ I apologize as I approach the two of them.”
“Huh? Hideyori, where were you?”
“Ah, just spotted a UFO.”
“What?! That’s amazing! You should’ve called us too!”
“What color was the UFO?”
“……Grey?”
I feel a pang of guilt as they bite on my off-the-cuff lie.
Sorry, I was introducing myself to Eien-chan.
Eien-chan, who entered the classroom a bit later, catches my eye and gives me a bright smile.
An angel…
“What color is grey?”
“Ash color.”
The mismatch of the usual two in the space where an angel exists…
With various schemes in my heart, my middle school life began.
———
“Hey.”
“You’re here.”
After school that day, I went home and then headed out again.
To talk things over with Tsugaru.
Ever since our first meeting, the riverbank had become our go-to spot for discussions.
“How was your class?”
“Just a normal class. But that Tanigawa-san you introduced…”
“I didn’t intend to introduce her…”
“She’s intense…”
Tsugaru’s eyes looked a bit spent.
Maybe tired from dealing with her.
Let’s just leave it at that.
“She’s got quite the impact, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah… Isn’t her personality a bit too strong for a heroine? Also, unrelated, but I was surprised when you suddenly used the word ‘impact.'”
“So, no foreign words then?”
“You say that, but you’ve never actually avoided using them, have you?”
Sakiya Tanigawa is, in any case, elusive.
She’s not a bad girl, nor uninteresting, but she’s not someone you’d want to meet every day.
“What about you? The heroine that makes otakus rejoice has arrived, right?”
“Yeah, I was in the same class as Eien Miyamura. Had a light conversation with her.”
“And? As someone who’s cleared the game, I’m curious, what’s she like?”
“In a nutshell… an angel.”
“Huh?”
Emi, Risa, Tsugaru, Sakiya—I know a lot of good-looking girls, but Eien-chan is in a league of her own.
“Eien-chan is precious… It’s just unfair that Takeru could possibly date her… Makes me wanna cry…”
“Well… hang in there. It’s that NTR thing, right?”
“Guho!?”
It’s devastating to think about your crush dating a friend, even if you’re not together…
After all, in the original story, Takeru kisses her, touches her chest, and does all sorts of things…!
It’s killing me!?
“Sigh… I envy the protagonist…”
“It’s super depressing.”
“Think about it, Tsugaru. What if the girl you like was taken by Eien-chan? Imagine them going to karaoke or a fireworks festival without you knowing, flirting over magic tricks…”
“Guho!?”
“See, it hurts, doesn’t it?”
Tsugaru also feels the pain just imagining it.
I don’t know what kind of guy she imagines, but he must be incredibly handsome.
“My brain is shattered…”
“Get it now? But still, I’m thrilled that Eien-chan calls me by my past life’s name.”
“Huh? What are you enjoying about being the heroine! Aren’t you missing the sense of crisis here!?”
No matter what harsh words Tsugaru throws at me, it’s an event too delightful to be upset about.
“How do you even get her to call you by your past life’s name? You’re one step away from being considered weird, you know?”
“Ah. My past life’s name is that of a Sengoku warlord.”
“Sengoku warlord? Stop with the ridiculous lies… Wait, there are names like that.”
“Of course. After all, Hideyori is also mentioned in textbooks.”
I wanted to deny it, but my very name is akin to that of a Sengoku warlord.
“Eh? Your past life’s name is the same as a Sengoku warlord?”
“Hey, hey, we agreed not to interfere with each other’s pasts, right?”
“Th-that’s right… I’m sorry.”
Tsugaru, unusually close to losing his composure.
He seems to be shaken.
“…That can’t be right.”
“What can’t?”
“Don’t worry about it. For now, Eien is a heroine with problems. Do your best.”
“Yeah, I guess…”
Takeru doesn’t seem to be moving.
That means I have no choice but to act.
I make up my mind while watching the flow of the river.
“I’ll do what I can and try to change the flag. If anything happens, I’m counting on you.”
“Sure, sure, see you later.”
With that, today’s strategy meeting with Tsugaru is over.
There’s no need to move right away.
For now, I might as well enjoy middle school life.