Home?
I stayed calm. The most important thing right now was maintaining composure. I spoke as naturally as possible while quickly assessing the situation.
The most likely explanation was that Hasebe Ren and Natsumoto Ryu had already known each other before I possessed this body.
…Though I had no idea how the two of them could have been acquainted.
I had always known a day like this might come. Even if Natsumoto Ryu never appeared in the original story, he was still a living, breathing person in this world. No matter how much of a loner he was or how poor his social skills were, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to know about him.
“I am the student council president.”
“I’m aware.”
“Which means there is nothing I don’t know about the students enrolled in this school.”
Was she for real? She seemed far more competent than I’d expected. The claim that she knew everything about everyone was almost certainly thanks to the power of her family’s influence. But why would she bother investigating the entire student body?
I felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down my spine and swallowed dryly.
“So you can tell me anything at any time.”
Tap.
Ren rose from her seat, perched her hips against the edge of the desk, and rested her hands on its surface while fixing her gaze on me. The motion caused her long, pale legs and her deceptively slender yet sensuous figure to come into full view.
If there was one good thing about being dropped into this love comedy world, it was getting to see beautiful, slender girls like her every day. Her breasts were the perfect size—not too big, not too small—and her hips were downright criminal. I couldn’t help wondering how incredible it would feel to grab those love handles and thrust into her from behind.
“That is the very purpose of the student council’s existence.”
Snap out of it.
I shook off the stray thoughts triggered by Ren’s words and forced my eyes away from her alluring body.
“…Please understand that the punishment I gave you today was unavoidable.”
She was right. If the student council made exceptions to its punishments, the reason would have to become public knowledge, which would inevitably drag Yua’s incident into the light.
When her dark eyes met mine, they pierced straight through me with an icy gleam.
“I would appreciate it if you could understand that.”
“…I understand perfectly.”
Those eyes seemed capable of seeing through any lie, so the words slipped out before I could stop them.
Ren simply offered a gentle smile and continued.
“I’m glad. I’m relieved that you understand.”
“……”
Even though her gaze was clearly friendly, I couldn’t relax.
Because I still hadn’t figured out why she was showing me such favor.
“Nats…”
Yua walked with heavy, dragging steps and let out a deep sigh.
Any act of violence on school grounds resulted in an automatic one-week suspension, regardless of the reason. Knowing this, Yua felt her heart sink.
Yesterday and today, Natsumoto had stepped forward without hesitation to protect her. The thought that he’d been punished because of it refused to leave her mind.
Even if the school rules dictated a one-week suspension… wasn’t this too harsh?
‘Of course fighting was wrong, but…’
Natsumoto—no, Ryu—had done it to protect her from Takahiro and his gang. Before leaving the classroom, he had met her eyes and given her a small smile. So what should she do now?
‘…I don’t want to just sit back and do nothing.’
She understood why he was taking such a roundabout path even though revealing what Takahiro’s group had done would solve everything. He was protecting her.
It would be terrible if rumors spread that a female student had nearly been gang-raped. And since such ugly rumors already tended to cling to Yua, it was even more important to keep things quiet.
In exchange, he had sacrificed his own reputation. A few punches and getting suspended for a week probably wouldn’t ruin his standing completely, but combined with the label of “school violence,” unpleasant gossip could easily start circulating.
‘He really is protecting me…’
It wasn’t that she hadn’t believed his words. She just hadn’t expected him to go so far as to sacrifice himself for her sake.
Feeling an inexplicable tightness in her chest, Yua pressed a hand against it. Each time she did, her ample breasts swayed heavily up and down, but she was in no state to care.
‘I also…’
I want to protect him.
That was what Yua thought. The moment the idea formed, the heaviness in her legs vanished.
‘I’ll do what I can.’
Yes!
Clenching her small fists tightly, Yua nodded with determination and began reviewing the things she could actually do. Then, without hesitation, she started walking.
She was usually terrible at refusing others and surprisingly timid in many ways, but once she made up her mind, she became incredibly bold.
“Just wait a little longer, Nats!”
In the empty hallway where no one could hear, Yua whispered the words to herself and strode forward with purpose. The destination of her steps was…
The Student Council Room.
I let out a long yawn as I stretched out on the sofa, my exhausted body sinking into the cushions.
Considering I had acted without thinking things through, the outcome wasn’t half bad. There had been some calculation behind it, but it was still a gamble. I hadn’t expected those punks to show their faces again inside the school.
I had no idea how the Circle would react, but at the very least they wouldn’t side with Takahiro’s group. After all, drugging and attempting to rape Yua had been Takahiro’s crew acting on their own, not the Circle’s orders.
“The Hasebe family’s influence should act as a strong deterrent.”
No matter how large the Circle was, its reach couldn’t compare to the Hasebe Group. Therefore, they wouldn’t be able to interfere with an incident that had occurred on school grounds. Even from a simple cost-benefit perspective, cutting Takahiro’s group loose would be more advantageous for the Circle.
“It’s been a while since I had a proper break…”
In truth, I didn’t have time to lounge around like this. Even if Takahiro’s gang had disappeared from inside the school, there was still a chance they might target Yua outside of it. I still didn’t understand why they were so obsessed with her in the first place.
Besides, in this damned NTR world, anything could happen.
But the exhaustion that had been building up from barely sleeping lately was impossible to ignore.
“…Maybe I should take a short nap.”
There was still some time left until school ended, so catching a quick nap seemed like a good idea. I shook my head, trying to drive away the drowsiness creeping in.
“Thoughts like that are exactly what leads to NTR.”
Not being able to sleep properly? NTR was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Reminding myself of that fact, I forced my foggy mind back into focus.
“Ah, perfect timing…”
The message from Yua that arrived at just the right moment helped clear my head a little. I sent a quick reply and pushed myself up from the sofa. If I stayed lying down, I wasn’t confident I could fight off the drowsiness.
Home…? Why did she suddenly want to come here? The unexpected suggestion caught me off guard, but after a moment of thought, I replied that it was fine.
It was better to keep her close than let her wander around and run into danger. Once Yua arrived, Haru would be home soon too, so nothing bad should happen.
After sending the short message, I let out a deep breath and stood up. I should drink some cold water to freshen up.
As the icy liquid slid down my throat, my mind sharpened. Once my thoughts had cleared somewhat, I was finally able to organize them properly.
“Hasebe Ren…”
Meeting her had been dangerous. I had known it wouldn’t be strange for one or two people to know about my existence. But I couldn’t deny that I had let my guard down a little.
“After all, neither Haru nor the others sensed anything strange about me.”
They might tilt their heads at my behavior from time to time, but they had never found it particularly suspicious. So the fact that the first person to directly question me was Ren—someone who should have been a complete stranger—was rather ironic.
“…It’s inconvenient not having the original memories.”
What I could be certain of after meeting Ren was that Natsumoto Ryu had not suddenly appeared in this world because of my possession. He had been living a normal life before I took over his body.
Honestly, the fact that I didn’t have Ryu’s original memories wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If I had inherited them, there was a chance my personality and humanity could have been completely overwritten.
“Still, I need to be careful for a while…”
There was a good chance other people who had connections to me from before existed, just like Ren. That didn’t mean I planned to hide, though. When the time came to reveal myself, I would do so without hesitation.
“The real problem is Daiki…”
Daiki was clearly off. I couldn’t be completely sure yet, but his lack of urgency was abnormal. Even during Yua’s crisis, he had just smiled awkwardly and brushed it off. And earlier in the classroom as well.
I would need to observe the situation a bit more with the other heroines. I really hoped this incident with those guys would wake him up at least a little.
And…
I stroked my chin and narrowed my eyes.
“No, it’s still too early to be certain.”
There were too many things that didn’t add up. Starting with the identity of whatever had brought me into this world, Daiki’s abnormal behavior, and even the original owner of this body and the current state of my own.
There were many things I needed to think about, but I couldn’t be certain about any of them. The most important point was—
“Even I can tell I’m being way too rational.”
Even in extreme situations, I remained logical and made quick judgments. If I asked whether the original me had been this way, the answer would be… probably not. I had always been thoughtful, but I wasn’t this level of rational.
One possibility was some kind of system correction. In novels, it often meant the system helped maintain ‘rationality’…
“But there isn’t really a system here, is there?”
This wasn’t an action fantasy; it was a love comedy. There was no need for status windows or anything like that. The second possibility was the typical novel correction—like the feeling of breaking the ‘fourth wall.’
But that didn’t sit right with me either. I was fully aware that this place was reality. The fourth wall was supposed to make me perceive this world as a novel.
“…I still don’t get it.”
Thinking too deeply about things I didn’t understand would only give me a headache. With that thought, I stared blankly out the window.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
Right now, I needed to focus on saving the heroines.