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

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32, The Leader of the Members

“Hey, Hideyoshi? Are you crying…?”

“I’m just about to cry…”

Girls lined up at the counter, and Takeru and I were seated at a table.

After being thoroughly trashed by everyone, I crouched down at the table with my head down.

“Girls are scary…”

“You’re an only child, right? Women are strong.”

Takeru’s voice, accustomed to Risa, carried a sense of reality.

It seems I have a sister I’ve never even seen…

“You’re lucky… Popular and friendly with everyone…”

“Eh?”

“Especially with Sayaka and Tsugaru, but they’re always so harsh with me… I’m really hated, aren’t I? It’s like it’s my fate to be disliked by people…”

“You’re just too deeply involved with others. My relationships, aside from you and Risa, are all kept at a distance. Being a people-pleaser is the trick to managing relationships well.”

The gal game protagonist’s lecture on love began.

…Isn’t it because I keep my distance in relationships that they always end up the worst?

I feel like I can see the incompetence now.

“Maybe it’s because you get too close that you give off a sense of security and become popular. Is it the reassurance of an older figure? I can’t see you as my peer.”

“Did you say something?”

“I said it so you wouldn’t hear.”

Takeru took a sip of his coffee.

Somehow, Takeru, who seemed like a gal game protagonist with a wealth of romantic experience, started to look like a robust and reliable man.

And there’s me, Hideyoshi, who despite the kanji for ‘rely’ in my name, am nothing close to being dependable.

“You guys seem jaded…”

“Master.”

“Hey there, I’m Jumonji Takeru.”

“Ah, you’re the protagonist.”

“Protagonist?”

The master came over to us.

He sat down next to me.

“I thought you never left the other side of the counter. Like a kitchen ghost.”

“You, you called your daughter a café ghost too, didn’t you? A family of ghosts, huh?”

While sipping his own coffee, the master retorted.

“I see. Jumonji-kun, huh. With your androgynous face, you certainly seem like someone everyone would like.”

“The protagonist you mentioned?”

“Ah, Hideyoshi-kun just said you were like a protagonist, that’s all.”

While blurring the lines with the game’s protagonist, he began to appraise Takeru’s face.

“When you line them up for comparison, you really do have the face of a villain.”

“…………”

It stings a bit when someone throws that in my face.

Every time I look in the mirror, I think about how my harsh gaze makes me look nothing like a protagonist.

“Surrounded by girls, you fled, didn’t you, Master?”

“They were all bubbly and chirpy. I find it more comfortable to blend in with the withered men.”

“I’ve naturally become one of those withered men…”

Takeru gave a wry smile.

Perhaps because Master and Takeru get along so well, their ability to speak their minds to each other without reservation is comforting.

“I’m grateful to you, Hideyori.”

“Huh?”

“I couldn’t imagine Sayaka interacting with people like this.”

Pointing at Sayaka, who was sitting between Emi and Risa, he smiled happily, like a proud parent.

Though treated as an oddball by those around her, Sayaka, who seemed to fit in and enjoy herself, might indeed be the most grown-up person I know.

…However, the way she treats me, often crying or acting spoiled, makes me feel like she’s regressing.

“It’s overwhelming to actually see her making friends, rather than just hearing about it. In that sense, I’m thankful to you, Hideyori.”

“I merely provided the opportunity. Besides, those guys are my acquaintances too; they’re not the type to socialize. Sayaka wouldn’t make friends if she didn’t take the initiative. She made friends on her own. I can’t take credit for that.”

“…Being a people-pleaser just isn’t in Hideyori’s nature.”

“Eh?”

Takeru said this with a wry smile, giving me such a remark.

Master nodded in agreement with Takeru’s observation.

“Hideyori, you can be quite troublesome.”

“And oblivious too.”

“It’s irritating, isn’t it?”

“But I like you, including all those quirks.”

“…………Huh?”

“Hey, cut it out with the bad-mouthing in front of him.”

I put a stop to the two of them, who were getting a kick out of talking behind my back.

It was starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Excuse me, Master, move aside.”

“Where are you going?”

“To a seat that’s not this one.”

I maneuver past the master’s legs seated on the aisle side and head to the counter seats.

Just so happens, the seat next to Eien-chan is empty, so I plop down there.

“Ah, Hideyori-san!”

“Hideyori-kun, are you done talking with Tojumon-kun and the others?”

“Ah, no need to bother with those guys.”

I answer Emi, who’s sitting next to Eien-chan, without hiding my annoyance.

“Ahaha…” Eien-chan responds with a wry smile.

“That person is your aunt’s brother, right?”

From noble mtl dot come

“Yeah, the master.”

“They don’t really look alike, do they?”

Next to Emi, there’s an orange juice.

It’s clear she still can’t handle coffee.

“I’m envious of you and Hideyori-san, Emi. You both have so many friends.”

Eien-chan murmurs with a lonely tone.

“Then, how about we all go to the pool!”

“Eh?”

“Let’s go to the pool and Eien can get to know everyone better and deepen friendships! Sounds good, right, Hideyori-kun?”

“…Why the pool?”

“It’s summer, so it has to be the pool!”

Emi maintains her confident attitude as if it’s the most natural thing.

What’s this?

Some kind of force from a game…?

I’m torn whether I should stop this.

And then, Eien-chan shows her reaction.

“I want to go.”

“Huh?”

“I want to go to the pool with this group!”

Eien grasps Emi’s hand.

Emi was left speechless by the enthusiasm.

“I want to go too.”

“Sakiya?”

“I want to go to the pool with Emi, Eien, and everyone else.”

“Tanigawa-san…”

Sakiya, who was next to Emi, leaned in a little.

Then, she placed her hand on top of Eien-chan’s, which was holding Emi’s.

Risa and Tsugaru were also looking over, wondering what was going on.

“Alright, let’s go to the pool this summer. I’ll prepare with Hideyoshi-kun as the organizers.”

“Am I being roped in!?”

“Eh? Isn’t Hideyoshi-kun the leader of this group?”

“Is that so!?”

A fact unknown to me had come to light…

No one raised any objections.

“Yes, absolutely… I definitely want to go!”

Eien-chan’s voice, filled with sparkling eyes and anticipation, echoed in the café.

The master and Takeru also turned their gaze towards Eien-chan, reacting to her voice.

Eien-chan’s regret.

Maybe, somewhere in her heart, she wants to resolve it.

If that’s the case.

As a fan, I want to fulfill and devote myself to that desire, that’s all that’s overflowing in my heart.