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

68

24, Akechi Hidetaka wishes for the everyday

Nursing Sakiya, a secret confession to the master.

It was a day full of various things.

I just want to sleep now.

I just want to lounge around.

That’s what I thought as I finally made it home.

“I’m back—”

“Ah, welcome back! Hideyoshi-kun.”

“…Huh?”

When I returned, Emi was scurrying down the hallway, coming to greet me at the entrance.

This isn’t the lounging around pattern, I realized, seeing Emi’s face.

Immediately, “Welcome back, Hideyoshi,” said the aunt, peeking out her face.

“Eh, Emi? What’s up?”

“I wanted to study with Hideyoshi-kun, but since you were out, I’ve been waiting.”

“What a sweet girl.”

The aunt has always favored Emi, treating her well in various ways.

Emi, too, has built a good relationship with the aunt, chatting and cooking together during my absence.

Lately, the aunt seems to be getting along with Emi’s mom next door, even going shopping together.

“Come on, let’s not talk in the entrance but in the living room.”

The aunt guided Emi and me down the hallway.

Perhaps because she had been chatting with Emi, she seemed to be in a good mood.

The aunt had us sit down and was boiling water in the kitchen.

It seemed she was going to make us tea or coffee.

“Sorry, I feel bad for wasting your day like this, Emi…”

“It’s okay! I enjoy talking with you and the aunt. Besides, I’m happy to be meeting with you like this now.”

“You really are a good girl, aren’t you?”

I patted Emi’s head, feeling happy.

She’s really grown up, hasn’t she?

Year by year, Emi becomes cuter, and it seems she’s even more charming than the original Emi from the story.

She must be quite popular, I guess.

“Ehehehe. I love your expressions of affection, Hideyoshi-kun.”

“Haha.”

I turned my face away from Emi, feeling embarrassed.

Why does this girl always have to face such unrewarded ends?

…Fate really is cruel.

Hideyori Akechi is the worst.

Maybe Emi would be happier if someone like me didn’t exist.

“Yes, the tea is ready. Hideyori, is coffee okay for you?”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Yeah, coffee is fine.”

I had just received coffee from the master, but I also accept coffee from the lady.

I like the master’s authentic coffee, and I also like the instant coffee the lady makes.

I let the coffee cool a bit before taking a sip.

“By the way, it seemed like your brother called for you, what did he ask?”

The lady asked while sipping her tea, inquiring about today’s errand for the master.

Oh right, she didn’t know the situation.

“Sakiya was bedridden with a cold. The master didn’t want to close the shop on Sunday, so I was tasked with taking care of her for the day.”

“Eh? Sakiya caught a cold?”

“Yeah. She’s gotten a lot better and said she’s going to school tomorrow, so her health has improved.”

“That’s not fair! You didn’t take care of me when I caught a cold about two years ago!”

“Eh?”

Hearing this, Emi began to argue about the significance of taking care of someone.

“I, …I wasn’t asked to?”

“Hmm… Then I want to be taken care of too! In return, if Hideyori catches a cold, I’ll take care of him.”

“I’ll kick you out if you’re not wearing a maid costume.”

“Where can you even get a maid costume…?”

“Murashima, KuroUni, UG, maybe?”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t carry them.”

Emi retorted while muttering things like “Maybe you can buy it online.”

The fact that ‘online’ comes up as an option so quickly makes me feel the generation gap.

“Do I have to wear a maid costume too?”

“No, that was… just a joke, ma’am. Sorry…”

I don’t usually joke around with the lady, so she was genuinely surprised.

She’s the master’s sister, but I can’t show her the same banter I have with the master.

It’s not just the two of us, so I think I’ll be careful with my words.

“Emi-chan, is Hideyoshi usually this playful?”

“This is just a jab.”

“I can hear you, you know!?”

They seem to be whispering, but the room is so small that everything is heard clearly.

They must be talking like this on purpose, so it can be overheard.

“What’s Hideyoshi-kun’s attitude like when it’s just the two of you with auntie?”

“He’s rather distant… Maybe it’s his adolescence.”

“I’d rather not have this conversation; it’s too awkward.”

“Hideyoshi-kun, you’re totally different from usual, aren’t you?”

Emi reaches out and pokes my cheek with her finger.

It’s difficult to do this in front of auntie.

From noble mtl dot come

“What’s it like with Sakuya-chan’s father? What kind of conversations do you have?”

“I talk to Master like he’s my brother…”

“It seems like you’re closer to him than to your own brother…”

Auntie’s voice sounds a bit lonely.

Maybe it’s because she’s surrounded by men that she finds Emi, a girl, so endearing.

“What kind of conversations do I have with Master…? Hmm…”

I can’t exactly say we talk about Sawamura Yama’s nudity…

I try to think of what else I talk about with Master.

Come to think of it…

“Today, I asked Master about my parents.”

“Eh…?”

“Parents…?”

Auntie and Emi’s gazes suddenly focus on me.

I feel the atmosphere turn sour in an instant.

“Did you hear about your parents from your brother?”

“I heard it for the first time today. It wasn’t interesting at all, just a trivial story.”

“Are you… interested in your parents, Hideyoshi?”

Uncle and auntie have never spoken about my parents in front of me, not even once.

Even so, the parents of my previous life—Toyotomi Mitsuhide—were my parents, and I had no real interest in the parents of Akechi Hidetaka, as they didn’t feel like parents to me.

“I’m not interested at all, you know. Things like what my parents did, or having a sister, or what kind of person she was… That’s what it’s about.”

“……We haven’t had much of a conversation like that with you.”

“I thought it was taboo because Hidetaka-kun and auntie usually don’t bring up such topics.”

“It’s not like I miss my parents or anything. I think of my aunt as my mother, and the master as my brother. With friends like Emi, Sakuya, and Takeru, I’m happy. For me, that’s a satisfying life.”

I don’t really think of my uncle as family…

But I don’t dislike him as much as before.

“Hidetaka-kun has a sister?”

“Yeah. I was surprised too because I didn’t know. She’s probably cute or beautiful, and quite busty, I guess.”

“That’s just wishful thinking…”

I get a sarcastic remark from Emi, who is appalled.

Somehow, I feel like I understand Takeru’s clingy feelings towards his sister.

“Hidetaka’s sister, her name is ‘Hoshiko.’ I don’t know what she’s doing or even if I’ll ever meet her.”

“The last name must be different, right?”

“Hmm. I’m a bit curious to see Hidetaka-kun’s sister.”

It feels really strange to call someone I’ve never met my sister…

A character like “Hoshiko” doesn’t exist in the “Breaking the Chains of Sorrow” series or in the games that share the same world.

A truly irregular existence.

If you ask me—it’s a bug.

That alone makes me very anxious that Hidetaka’s character setting has changed from the main story.

But my daily life doesn’t change.

I like my daily life.

Parents and sisters don’t matter.

I will survive in this world.

Surviving is the top priority.

To extend this daily life even a little longer.

That’s my modest wish.

†

There are no children between my uncle and aunt.

Although there is no blood relation between my aunt and Hidetaka, she raised him as if he were her own son.

However, there’s a sense of guilt for not being able to shield her from her uncle’s abuse, making their interactions awkward.

Auntie has taken a liking to Emi and hopes that Hideyori will end up with her.

As for Sakiya, the master’s daughter, Auntie is acquainted with her but doesn’t think too highly of her, perceiving her as a child with a lack of courtesy and poor language—though she doesn’t dislike her.

So, she’s subtly at odds with her brother, the master.

Or rather, it’s Emi who’s filled in the moat too much.

It might even be a parody of Toyotomi Hideyori, who was defeated at the Siege of Osaka partly because his moats were filled in…