I Was Reincarnated As the Hated Scummy Best Friend in a Gal Game and the Protagonist Is Useless

22

4. Alliance

The next day, I prepared a letter.

I tossed that letter into Tsugaru Madoka’s shoe locker.

Alright, with this, the preparations are complete.

Today, I should be able to have a conversation with her without any disturbances.

“Is this one of those? Like a love letter?”

“Geesh! Takeru!?”

I thought I had timed it when no acquaintances were around, but I never expected Takeru to witness it.

If it were Emi or Risa, I could use “Commanding Rule” to make them forget, but “Anti-Gift” doesn’t work on him.

“Uh… I see, aiming for Tsugaru-san from yesterday, huh?”

“It’s not what you’re thinking…”

“Don’t blush, best friend.”

He pats my back with a thump.

It seems like his way of showing concern.

“If you were aiming for Risa, I would have knocked you flying, but if it’s not Risa, I’ll forgive you.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. Siscon Demon Lord.”

“I’m not a Siscon Demon Lord. Call me Siscon Dragon.”

“Why dragon…?”

“Dragons seem stronger than demon lords.”

He responds just like in the original work, and for now, it seems safe to assume that everyone except for the men and Tsugaru has the same personality as in the original.

“But demons are gods, right? Wouldn’t a demon lord be stronger than a dragon?”

“Seriously!? You prefer a ‘Siscon Demon’ over a ‘Siscon Dragon’?”

“Siscon is a no-go.”

“There’s no changing it.”

Takeru gives up immediately.

Knowing the original work, he understands that’s just how it is.

“I’ll keep quiet about it for Sasaki’s sake.”

“Oh, really?”

“I’m rooting for your love life, you know.”

“Uh, thanks…”

Emi and Tsugaru are not romantic interests, but it’s too much trouble to deny it, so I’ll pretend I’m aiming for Tsugaru.

All that’s left is to meet up at the designated place after school.

—

As soon as school ends, I leave the classroom immediately.

It’s a tight schedule, but if I meet up with Takeru and the others before going home, I’ll definitely be late.

When I reach the entrance, I spot Tsugaru, who seems to have the same idea.

“Let’s meet up after I drop my stuff at home.”

“Got it!”

With that, Tsugaru runs off.

I follow suit, running straight home.

I almost throw my backpack into my room and head to the place I told Tsugaru to meet.

Sure enough, she’s there at the river, lying in wait for me.

“So we’re meeting at the river where ‘Akechi Hidetoyo gets killed by Takeru on the Risa Jumonji route’, huh? We’re kind of like kin.”

“You’ve changed from just a noisy extra to a completely different character.”

“And you, from a scumbag villain best friend to an ordinary guy.”

I get it.

Tsugaru Madoka (this girl), I hate her!

“It’s like we’ve both been sucked into the world of the game.”

“Seems like it.”

“By the way, what should I call you—?”

“Whatever you like.”

“Then, can I assume Akechi has completed the entire ‘Breaking the Chains of Sorrow’ series?”

“I’ve played through all the works. Tsugaru, have you completed them all?”

“Of course.”

Good.

It seems we have roughly the same knowledge of the game.

“I don’t want to be dragged into this. I just wanted to live a peaceful life in this one. That’s why, when Sasaki-san approached me, I immediately thought of Akechi… and I panicked…”

“I hate Akechi Hidetaka too. There’s no way I’m letting the original storyline happen… Besides… I don’t want to die…”

“But if you exist within Akechi’s body, isn’t the problem already solved? It’s a simple matter if Akechi doesn’t use his Gift or kill the heroine.”

When that’s pointed out, it might be true.

But that doesn’t allow me to be optimistic about the situation.

“I have dreams.”

“Dreams?”

“I dream… that I commit the atrocities from the original work. At any moment, they could become reality. That’s what scares me.”

Especially with each new encounter, I dream of the original work.

As if a demon is nesting inside my heart.

I glance away from Tsugaru for a moment.

“Emi seems to have had dreams of being murdered too. It can’t be a coincidence. Maybe Tsugaru will have some kind of dream as well. That’s why I want to form an alliance with you to destroy the original work. Specifically, I want to avoid the original storyline as much as possible.”

“…I understand. I don’t want to see a tragedy either.”

“Thank you.”

We both build an alliance to stay as far away from the original work as possible.

I will also use my Gift as little as possible, and Tsugaru won’t become a lesbian-like character.

That’s about all we can promise in our alliance for now.

After that, we discussed how we each remembered our past lives and whether we really came from the same Japan.