Chapter 8: You're... an otaku too, right? You get it, don’t you?

“Ughhh, seriously!?! Why the hell did I reincarnate into this body!?”

“Well, um… I mean, yeah, that sucks. Hang in there!”

“This is not the time for comforting words!”

“B-but still, why do we even have memories of our past lives?”

“…Hmmm.”

That was something none of them had really thought about until now.

“I figured it might be because I’m the heroine or something—but that doesn’t apply to you…”

“Well, I wouldn’t rule it out just yet… You know how reincarnation rom-coms always have that ‘story correction force’ or whatever? Maybe that’s working on me too.”

“So you’re saying you’ve been counted as a heroine too?”

“That’s the most likely explanation.”

After all, I did fall over during the initial encounter scene, just like a heroine would.

But then that leads to a different question.

“Still… I don’t actually appear in the main story, do I?”

“Hmm… Ah! I think I remember the author mentioning somewhere that there was supposed to be a childhood friend heroine, but they scrapped the idea.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that!”

“Right? So maybe that’s where you came from?”

“So I existed as a concept, but never as a character in the story. Which would mean… there’s no blend of past and present personalities for me?”

“That makes sense. Honestly, I only really remember when I died and what I was doing at the time… I can’t recall the names or faces of any of my old friends.”

“Same here.”

I remember having friends, but their names, their faces—it’s all gone. All that’s left are bitter memories.

Yeah… I guess that’s just how it is. Now, one last thing left to figure out.

“…Hey. You do like Yuuki, don’t you?”

“Of course. So much that I wanna have a sleepover date with him!”

“That’s… a lot of enthusiasm…”

“What about it?”

“Well, I’m trying to decide whether or not to let the other main heroines enter the picture.”

“Ah, right. If there aren’t any others, then by default, I’m the obvious choice.”

“Exactly.”

“But can you even do that? Won’t the story’s correction force just kick in and block you?”

“That’s the thing… Tell me, what’s your favorite scene from Ainako?”

“That’s easy—it’s definitely… Wait, huh?”

She stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as if something had just clicked.

“…I can’t remember.”

“What’s the one scene you do remember?”

“…The heroine introduction scene.”

“Knew it. I don’t remember anything else either. But for some reason, the heroine meet-up scenes are the exception. I’ve got no memory of what came before or after.”

“Ughh, it’s such a weird feeling—like forgetting everything about your favorite manga… But wait, if that’s the only part we remember, then maybe if we block those flags, the other heroines won’t be able to interfere after all?”

“Exactly. They don’t remember the manga either, so they can’t interfere if the flag never triggers. But that’s just a possibility—it’s not foolproof. Still, it could work. So, what’ll you do? It’s your call.”

Yui cleared her throat dramatically and leaned in with a deliberately theatrical tone.

“Towa-kun…”

“W-what now?”

“You’re an otaku, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Then don’t you… wanna see it?”

“…I do.”

See what, you ask? That should be obvious.

“I wanna see all the main heroines gathered together!”

“Ughhh, I get it!!”

A wonderfully simple motive.

“Even if it means more rivals, I don’t care!”

“I see!”

“By the way! Who’s your best girl?!”

“Shidare Sakurako.”

“…You… get it.”

“Yeah. Girls with hidden eyes are just the best…”

“I know, right?! There’s just something about them—you can’t help but wanna peek into that deep abyss.”

“And then those rare moments when their eyes sparkle out of nowhere—it just hits you, you know?”

“Totally! It’s like—bam! Instant heart-melt. And the fact that she acts all quiet and homey on top of that? So good.”

(Incidentally, that heroine doesn’t show up until middle school.)

“Oh, break time’s almost over.”

“Ah, already? Oh! Give me your home number—I wanna talk more later.”

“Sure.”

The earlier awkward tension between them was nowhere to be found as they chatted away like old friends, heading back to class together.