Mob Heroine - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - She's So Beautiful, She's Even Getting Hit On

Her steps as she walked down the hallway were more aggressive than usual.

"Seriously! They’re so rude... they didn't even remember your name, Sato-kun!"

Mogami-san was angry.

Her cheeks puffed up adorably as she expressed her emotions honestly. She looked really cute, of course, but what happened earlier wasn’t really something to get that mad about, so I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Hey, it's fine, it's fine. I'm not bothered by it."

“…But I am.”

It was so kind of her to get angry on my behalf. That, too, was one of her charms. Also, one more thing. I felt bad for changing the subject, but there was one small favor I wanted to ask before we headed home.

“Mogami-san, I kind of need to use the restroom.”

Just as we were passing by the restrooms, I told her that, and she stopped walking.

“Oh, okay. I’ll wait here for you then.”

After she said that, she finally let go of my hand.

(...I wonder if she even realized we’d been holding hands.)

We’d drawn quite a few stares while walking together, not just because Mogami-san was cute, but probably also because we were holding hands.

Of course, it wasn’t intentional. It just happened that way. But there's no way for the people around us to know that. The end result, of course, is that a rumor is going to spread... something like, 'Mogami-san was seen walking around holding some guy's hand.' I was worried that it would mess things up for her with Sanada. So, that's why I decided to slip away to the restroom.

(Whew... calm down. I'm the adult here. I can't let a kid get me this rattled.)

I didn’t actually need to pee, so I just splashed some water on my face at the sink to clear my head. It was too hot for the water to be really cold, but splashing the lukewarm water on my face was still enough to help me think a little more clearly.

Alright. Deep breaths. Stay calm when talking to Mogami-san. 

And so, after getting my thoughts in order, I walked out of the restroom.

"C'mon, what's the big deal? Just give me your number, yeah?"

“Or better yet, why don’t you come to the karaoke with us?”

"I just got paid from my part-time job! I can treat you to something, whatever you want!"

...Right in front of me, some upperclassmen, who looked like third-years, were hitting on Mogami-san. They were the flashy, playboy types. Our school allows dyed hair, so the bright colors weren't unusual, but the way they wore their uniforms was... questionable. I mean, suits and uniforms only look cool when you wear them properly, you know? Wait, that doesn't matter right now.

“Eh? U-um, I… uh…”

Mogami-san was clearly struggling to respond. Standing in front of those upperclassmen, she’d shrunk into herself. Their bodies blocked me from her line of sight, so she hadn’t noticed I was there.

I could have just ignored the whole thing and gone home. But, of course, there was no way I was going to do that.

"Is there a problem here, senpais?"

I called out from right behind them without hesitation. That, it seemed, was what finally made Mogami-san realize I was there.

"Ah! S-Sato-kun...!"

Her expression relaxed, as if in relief, and she slipped between the upperclassmen to come over to me. Then, she grabbed my arm. Hey, that might not be the best move… Showing that kind of affection could easily provoke them. Or perhaps, it just meant she was so scared that she just had to hold onto me.

…If I were the protagonist, this would’ve been my big heroic moment. I’d probably unleash my anger and show off how cool I could be in front of her. But I wasn’t the protagonist. I was a twenty-eight-year-old man in his second life, far too experienced to let emotions take over that easily.

“Sorry, but I promised we’d go home together today.”

"Huh? The hell? She's with you?"

“Yes. I’m her boyfriend.”

"She's way too good for a plain-faced guy like you. Right, Mogami-chan?"

“Ahaha, yeah, people say that about me a lot.”

I played it humble, refused to take the bait, and kept my tone perfectly calm.

People are like mirrors. How you act toward them is often how they'll act right back at you. Perhaps because of that, the upperclassmen seemed to have lost interest.

"...Well, if she's got a boyfriend, it can't be helped, right? C'mon, let's go hit on some other girls!"

“Yeah, let’s bounce.”

“Wheeeey!”

“Catch you next time, Mogami-chan~”

They backed down surprisingly easily. A lot of guys who hit on girls like that are, in reality, just... silly idiots who are inherently cheerful, not genuinely bad people. Of course, there are bad guys out there, too. There's definitely a certain number of creeps who only see women as an outlet for their desires, so you can't just say they're all harmless.

But... they're still just high schoolers. They're on their way to becoming adults, but at the end of the day, they're still kids. I was just glad they had a reasonable side to them. Thanks to that, the whole thing was settled peacefully.

“M-my boyfriend… ehehe.”

And, uh, Mogami-san? I've got something to say to you, too. Y-You know you could've denied that part just a little bit, right? When you blush like that, it really makes it hard not to get the wrong idea.

Also, you're late... Sanada.

“…So, you two really are going out, huh?”

At those words, I let out a small sigh.

Aargh, geez! Why did you have to show up now of all times? This just makes the whole situation much more difficult to explain—.