CH 31

The Main Character’s Unnecessary Meddling

After class, I decided to go to the bathroom.

“……Ah!”

As I was leaving, Shimotsuki looked lonely, but I was just going to the bathroom, so don’t look at me like that……. Like a baby bird left behind in the nest.

And since Shimotsuki is shy and doesn’t talk much in class, I don’t think it makes a difference whether I’m there or not.

I think ……, but maybe it’s different for Shimotsuki.

Apparently, she seems to be at ease just knowing that I am next to her.

She looks at me all the time, and when our eyes meet, she smiles at me. …… An unexpected smile is bad for the heart because it makes me nervous.

I still can’t get used to it because I have no idea why she misses me so much.

She really is a strange girl.

I finished my business while thinking about that.

I wonder if the reason I’m walking so fast is because I’m subconsciously trying not to keep Shimotsuki waiting.

I was thinking of returning to the classroom as soon as possible, but on the way ……, I was interrupted.

“Hey. Nakayama, do you have a minute?”

The one leaning against the wall in the hallway was Ryoma Ryuzaki, the protagonist.

Do you have a minute? It was a formal question, but he didn’t care about my answer. He didn’t even wait for an answer, he just came at me.

“Did you do something during the seat change? To my eyes, it looked like you were cheating.”

I knew he suspected it.

I was expecting to be questioned like this, since I had seen the suspicious look on his face during the lottery.

I was already prepared to fake it.

That’s why I laughed in a funny way. I tried to play the role of a good-natured mob, trying to play it off.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

It wasn’t because I was upset that I didn’t hesitate to say something.

It was a trap to mislead Ryuzaki’s perception.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you? You’re chewing on your words a lot.”

He clenched his fists and took another step closer to me. He grabbed me by the chest as hard as he could.

He was quick to show his hands. …… That’s how annoyed he was.

The protagonist is obnoxious.

“Okay, okay! I’ll be honest with you, ……, so please forgive me~.”

Like a dog that has been bitten, I show a slumped posture.

I was worried that I was overacting, but Ryuzaki was not calm and did not seem to notice the difference.

“Tell me quickly. What did you do?”

Okay, he’s saying it well.

While laughing inwardly, I made a troubled expression on my face and said the answer I had prepared in advance.

“I was just cheating on the lottery. …… If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be able to get close to Shimotsuki-san, whom I adore.”

Half of it is true, half of it is a lie.

It’s not really my fault, but …… I wanted to make sure that Ryuzaki knew that this cheating was planned by me.

To make Ryuzaki realize that this is ‘just a miserable mob character’ struggling painfully.

“But, Shimotsuki-san is always so naive that it hasn’t worked out so well…….”

At the same time, I casually pretended that it was a failure to make Ryuzaki feel less jealous.

It will make the protagonist feel much better.

“Oh, I see. You cheated after all, didn’t you? I’m sure you’ve done something clever. ….. Shiho is a serious person, she doesn’t like that kind of thing. You can’t get people to like you stupidly for cheating.”

This seems to have taken some of the frustration away.

With a sigh, Ryuzaki let me go.

“I’ll give you a tip, okay?”

He then gave me the advice that a protagonist should appreciate.

“There have been many men who have fallen in love with Shiho like you. …… All of them have been crushed. I’m not sure what to say. She’s not interested in other people. …… I’m sure she’s the type who only opens up to the person she’s married to. So don’t be too pushy.”

I almost laughed at that statement.

(Shimotsuki is serious? Not interested in others? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. ……)

She’s quite the prankster.

She often teases me and laughs at me like a little devil.

And it’s not that she’s not interested in other people.

It’s just that she’s too shy to chat with others.

And yet, Ryuzaki’s misconception of Shimotsuki was a little scary, as he misunderstood her in a way that suited him.

“You’d better give up on Shiho. This is for your own good. …… Taking on a reckless challenge is not a bad idea, but you’d better step aside before you get too hurt.”

With serious good intentions, the protagonist-sama gives me unnecessary fuss.

I wanted to say this out loud to Ryuzaki.

It’s none of your business….