Shimotsuki-san Likes the Mob

I was quite worried about my acting, but when I tried it, I was surprised that I could do it.

“Nakayama-san, you are very good at it… It’s kind of unexpected. Oh, excuse me. I had a strong image of you as a quiet person, so I was surprised that you could say your lines so smoothly in front of people.”

Even Niou-san, who is supervising me, praised me for it. As a neutral actor, she only speaks the truth. That is why I was honestly happy to receive the compliment.

Perhaps it was because I had been a nobody until now. Maybe because I had no character, I could get into the role more easily than other people. Besides, since I was a mob character, I am good at playing the roles I am given.

And so the acting practice began.

Naturally, I interacted with Mary more and more. Thanks to that, Ryuzaki’s attitude was much worse during the practice.

I guess he was not happy that the girl he was interested in was talking to me.

It is the nature of harem heroes that they are usually insensitive to girls, but once they are about to lose them to another man, they become possessive.

That is exactly what Ryuzaki is doing right now.

And Mary-san is talking to me with an understanding of Ryuzaki’s jealousy. This must be making him very impatient.

He is already in Mary’s trap. He’s also neglecting the other subheroines and tends to leave Yuzuki and Kirari out of it.

I’m sure Yuzuki, who is devoted and rarely expresses her feelings, doesn’t seem to mind being left alone….

Kirari, however, seems blatantly dissatisfied. She hasn’t talked to me since we met at the bookstore before, and … she seems to be alone more often these days.

What on earth is she thinking?

I don’t know the answer to that question… but so far, Kirari has also been doing what Mary wants her to do. That makes me a little uneasy, but since I have no control over that, so I guess I can’t stop thinking about it.

Meanwhile, outside of the story, Azusa was having a very peaceful time.

She has been assigned the role of the chatty teapot in the play and is very motivated. She is so excited that the wardrobe staff gave her a costume to wear as a teapot.

“Wow, it’s so cute. Was this handmade? That’s amazing.”

Lately, she’s become much brighter and has been getting along well with the other girls in our class. When she was in Ryuzaki harem, she only talked to harem members, but I think it’s a good sign. I guess she has broadened her horizons and can see many things now. Her relationships were also expanding.

As an older brother, I would be happy if she continues to be a normal girl…, but who knows what the future holds.

…And with only two weeks left until the cultural festival, I’m spending my days in a bit of a hurry.

“Muuu……!”

Recently, I have been spending all my time after school practicing for the play.

This made it hard for me to have fun with Shiho.

But she stayed in the classroom while I was practicing.

And from the corner of the classroom, she was staring at me with a dissatisfied look on her face.

（What? Did I do something???)

To be honest, I didn’t know why.

During practice, she was always sulking, but when it came time to leave, I called out to her, and she instantly got excited. So I still couldn’t ask her what she was unhappy about.

Well, I was thinking that if the problem was not a big deal, I could go through with it ……, but today, her frustration finally seemed to ‘explode’.

It was after school. Practice went long today, and it was past 6pm.

Shiho has a curfew of 19:00, so unfortunately we didn’t have much time to chat, and we soon parted ways.

“Shiho, see you tomorrow, okay? Don’t just watch anime, do your homework, okay?”

I walked her home and waved to her.

I turned away, intending to go straight home.

“Gnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!”

Shiho grabbed my belt forcefully and pulled me back.

“Gghh!”

Thanks to this, my stomach is compressed and I let out a strange sound.

Why? Why are you so, so angry?

I’m confused, not understanding the significance, and Shiho finally tells me the reason.

“It’s not fair! You keep talking to Mary …… and telling her you love her and that she’s important to you!”

–She was jealous.

She was jealous of Mary, who played the main heroine.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Isn’t that strange?

“Oh, even though she supported me? Even though it was Shiho who made me the main character???”

Because you’re the one who made me the star of the show with your pushy attitude.

No, I have always been aware that her love was a bit heavy. But I thought she understood that and supported me. I was thinking that if it was an act, I could talk to other girls.

And Shiho is quite a jerk.

Apparently, she hadn’t thought anything through.

“I didn’t expect that Kotaro would make out with another girl like that! Ugh, this is cheating…. You haven’t been talking to me much lately, could this be a ‘plateau’? No, I’m still passionate about it, you know? I still smile just being next to Kotaro-kun, you know? Since I’m thinking about Kotaro-kun so cutely, why don’t you give me more and more attention? I have a curfew, but why don’t you come over to my house? Come on, let’s go, shall we? I’m going to lecture you a lot today, okay? Kotaro-kun, you don’t know enough about being my friend.”

I feel like it’s been a long time since she’s done something like this.

I half smile and slyly drag myself along with Shiho.

…… Well, okay.

I didn’t think we talked enough, I’m with you.

Being lectured by Shiho would be a reward in a way.

Because no matter what this girl does, she’s cute…