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

69

25, The Path of Akechi Hideyori

The next day, after parting ways with Risa from a different class, I walked to the classroom alongside Emi and Takeru.

While letting the two of them chat, I was nodding along when a student called out to me.

“Ah, good morning, Akechi-san!”

“Good morning, Miyamura-san.”

It was a greeting from Eien-chan.

Lately, she’s been greeting me more often, and I’m almost falling for her.

If I didn’t know she was the heroine who ends up with Takeru, I would have confessed to her already—she’s that nice of a girl.

Watching Eien-chan return greetings to Takeru and Emi, one thought crossed my mind.

—She’s supportable!

I liked her so much that I used to listen to Eien-chan’s drama CD pillow talk with a grin in my previous life in the metafiction world.

But I like her…

…The guy she’s getting cozy with in those pillow talks is right in front of me…

It’s a feeling too complex for words.

I recall various pillow talk voices of Eien-chan.

“Takeru-san, I love you.”

“The warmth of your skin, the sound of your heartbeat… it’s so comforting. I might get addicted to cuddling up to you.”

“I feel safe when I’m with you, Takeru-san.”

“Takeru-san, your sleeping face is adorable.”

“Good morning, Takeru-san. It’s a lovely morning.”

“I kissed you silently.”

“You’re the most wonderful man in the world.”

“I love you, Takeru-san, far more than someone like Akechi-san, who’s nothing but trash.”

“Takeru-san’s expressions change so much, he’s cute!”

“Oh, oh, oh… It was huge.”

Crap… I’m starting to want to die just imagining Takeru naked…

And here I am, getting treated like trash directly by Eien-chan.

“……..”

“What’s wrong, Hideyori? Staring at me?”

“It’s nothing.”

Is this kind of treatment even possible…?

It’s enough to make one face the regret of being born a scumbag like Akechi Hideyori.

“Fufufu, Akechi-san’s expressions change so much, he’s cute, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, yeah. He tries to act cool, but he’s really a cute person inside.”

Eien-chan disappears into the classroom while talking with Emi.

…Leaving me behind, I might already be hated.

“It’s okay, Hideyori! I’ll be waiting for you!”

“Oh, right.”

“But man, having a quiz first thing in the morning is such a downer. I didn’t study at all.”

“There it is, the ‘I didn’t study’ brag from someone who obviously did.”

“Heheh, you caught me.”

Entering the classroom, the two boys began studying for the quiz.

Eien-chan was facing Emi, working together on their notes.

The two seemed to be getting along well, and I couldn’t help but feel reassured as I glanced at them.

——

“By the way, Hideyori, have you decided on your career path or future dreams?”

While studying for the quiz with Takeru, the conversation shifts to career paths and the future.

Honestly, I don’t even know if my life will continue after high school graduation, and I have to suppress the urge to yell, “What are you asking me for!”

“I don’t have a dream for the future yet, but I’m thinking of studying about Gifts.”

“Gifts, huh? I see. So you’re aiming for the Gift Academy?”

“Sort of.”

In this world, those like me and Takeru who possess Gifts must attend a school where we learn about them.

In other words, “If I don’t go to the school where the original story is set, wouldn’t that solve the problem?” is not an option.

Moreover, at some point in middle school, I’ll have to take the “Gift Aptitude Test.”

In short, Takeru, who is currently unaware of his Gift, will inevitably need to learn about it.

The school that all Gift holders are bound to attend is none other than the “Fifth Gift Academy,” the setting for the “Breaking the Chains of Sorrow” series.

…Hasn’t the world view changed too abruptly?

By the way, it’s not uncommon for people like Takeru to be unaware Gift holders, and even after being forced to enroll in the Gift Academy in middle school, it’s not rare for someone to still not understand their own Gift ability.

For example, someone who has been learning the abacus since childhood and is good at mental arithmetic might actually have the Gift ability to “instantaneously derive calculations up to three digits,” making the Gift hard to discover.

Indeed, since Takeru doesn’t have any Gift holders around him, it’s no wonder he hasn’t thought of the idea of “negating a Gift.”

I haven’t revealed my Gift ability to Takeru, so he doesn’t know I’m a Gift holder either (only Emi, Tsugaru, and the Master know, and I’ve lied to Emi about it).

Every time I wonder whether to teach Takeru about the Gift ability or not, I end up hanging in limbo and haven’t taught him yet.

“Are you aiming for a Gift-related company in the future?”

“No, not really. I just thought I’d kill the annoying god who distributes Gifts with my own hands.”

“Whoa, that’s quite a bold statement…”

The supernatural power, the Gift, given to humans by a being greater than god.

The god who carelessly scatters Gift abilities to me and Takeru.

The mastermind and final boss behind “Breaking the Chains of Sorrow.”

“What about Takeru? Have you decided on anything?”

“It’s still a bit vague, but…”

Takeru blushed and awkwardly averted his gaze from mine.

“I’ve been thinking, I’d like to go to the same school as Hideyoshi and work the same job forever. Is that… weird?”

“Heh, that’s quite an interesting thing to say.”

As I said that, Takeru’s face lit up, and he grabbed both my hands.

“!? Right?! It’s interesting! We’re best friends, after all! I want you to walk through life with me, always, from now on!”

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t expect you to be so passionate about friendship.”

From noble mtl dot come

“Let’s both be happy together!”

“Well, let’s do it then.”

Having someone to be foolish with is precious.

In that sense, Takeru is a man, and I can show him any face I have.

…But why did he use words that sounded like a parody of a confession scene to a heroine in a separate route on me?

Is this really how much he wants to play through life together from now on?

In the original story, Takeru is mostly betrayed by Hideyoshi in every route.

No matter how much of a scoundrel Hideyori was known to be, and even if he was despised, he was the guy who would still say to the heroine, “We’re best friends for life,” and even come to visit the grave.

He’s the kind of man whose feelings wouldn’t change even if he killed Hideyori with his own hands in, say, the Risa route.

That’s how unrequited his feelings for his best friend are.

That’s why I wanted to accept his feelings, even just a little bit.

“Heh, I’ve got your promise now. We’re together for life, Hideyori!”

Sometimes Takeru’s androgynous face looks like a girl’s, which is strange.

†

I struggled with the title because this episode was packed with too much information.

There are similarities between the eternal pillow talk quotes and the conversation scenes with Emi and Eternity, but it’s an intentional direction.

And Takeru, you…

The naming of Gift Academy is based on Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

It’s because I wanted to create a school story like GX.