Chapter 9 – Conversations with a Mob Character

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I'd already decided to support her, so why the hell did Mahiro break up with Hashizume?

I needed to know what the f**k had happened, so I shot her a message. She left me on read.

Not that I could blame her. I'd already declared I wasn't getting involved again, so she had every reason to ignore me. Still, it stung. Even if we were childhood friends, getting completely disregarded by a girl who had once dumped me for being physically repulsive was a special kind of humiliation.

More than anything, though, I just couldn't keep up with how fast everything had spiraled out of control. If I left it alone, I'd probably end up venting my frustrations online like some bitter a*****e, and that wouldn't help anyone.

No, I had to corner Mahiro and get a damn explanation in person.

Not because I wanted to.

Because I didn't have a choice.

That was the plan, anyway. But when I arrived at her classroom, she was nowhere to be found.

—F**k.

I didn't know anyone here, so it wasn't like I could just ask someone to call her for me. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Was this checkmate?

As I stood there, scanning the room like a lost idiot, a voice cut through my thoughts.

“…Mahiro's absent. She hasn't been to school in three days.”

I turned toward the speaker and instantly recognized her.

“Oh, you're… Mobuko A, right?”

“Wha—! W-who the hell is Mobuko A!? That’s seriously rude, you know!”

“Oh? And calling me a ‘scrawny twig’ behind my back isn’t?”

“…..I already apologized for that, okay? So? Do you need something from Mahiro?”

“Yeah. I heard she broke up with Hashizume and wanted to know why she’d suddenly dump the guy she was so obsessed with. Figured she must’ve had a really good reason, so I was planning to interrogate her for a solid hour. But she won't even reply to my messages.”

“…Just drop it already. Come with me for a sec.”

“Huh?”

Before I could react, Mobuko A grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the classroom. I didn't even try to resist. Not that I could. I was a scrawny twig, after all.

And just to be clear—nothing was touching me. Not even a graze. But still, she had a surprisingly stacked figure. Honestly, it was a damn waste for her to be stuck in the background like this.

But more importantly—Mahiro had been absent for three days?

***

“…So? How exactly did you convince Mahiro?”

“Huh?”

Mobuko A had led me to the schoolyard again. At this point, it might as well have been our designated meeting spot.

She fired the question at me the moment we were alone, completely catching me off guard.

“I didn't convince her of anything.”

“Then why did she suddenly break up with Hashizume!? No matter how much we begged her to dump him, she absolutely refused to listen!”

“I actually supported her instead. I was deeply moved by her devotion.”

“…What?”

“I mean, think about it. She gave up so much of herself just to take care of Hashizume. She did all that because she truly loved him, right? That's the very definition of true love. So I just cheered her on.”

“… …”

I went on to explain everything, recalling my conversation with Mahiro in as much detail as possible.

“—So, no matter what filthy nickname they branded her with, no matter how stretched or ruined that pussy got, I told her to keep at it—taking every dick in school, one after another, until she turned the whole damn student body into her personal cock-brotherhood. All for Hashizume's sake.”

“…Haaah…”

Mobuko A let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“I swear, you're something else. You really are Mahiro's childhood friend.”

“Huh? What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means she's as stubborn as a virgin's first time. The moment you tell her not to do something, she digs her heels in like a brat throwing a tantrum. The more we tried to get her to drop that a*****e Hashizume, the tighter she clung to him—like a chick gripping her first bad decision in bed.”

“…That so?”

“But you? You didn't fight her on it. You just let her be, let her face the consequences of her own choices, and that made her wake up. She had to confront reality and see just how deep she was in over her head. That was some real psychological reversal right there.”

“Nah, I was just genuinely touched by her dedication.”

“No need to be modest.”

“…I don't get it.”

“You're surprisingly humble, huh? Now that I think about it, you also told me, ‘Don't go telling people that I did anything for Mahiro,' or something like that… I guess I kinda respect you now.”

Somehow, she was twisting everything to make me look like some kind of genius manipulator.

But really, I had started off trying to stop Mahiro too. It was only after seeing just how devoted she was that I flipped my stance and decided to support her.

So, in a way, we were both dumbasses. Let's call it a draw.

As a bonus, it seemed like Mobuko A's opinion of me had improved a little.

Not that NPC affection levels meant anything. Hell, I wasn't even sure NPCs had an affection system.

No point in thinking too hard about it.

“…So, Mahiro's been absent for three days. Is it because she's in shock?”

“Of course it is. You don't just get over something like that overnight.”

“Yeah… I guess that makes sense…”

“She said she couldn't bear to face either of us, that we'd probably give her an earful, so she didn't want to come to school at all. She's completely depressed.”

“Wait…? Why would she feel like she couldn't face me or you? If she's just heartbroken, then not wanting to come to school makes sense. But why would that stop her from facing us?”

“…Huh?”

“…Huh?”

“…I take back what I said. You are an idiot.”

“…I don't get it.”

Apparently, this NPC's opinion of me was fluctuating wildly.

I just wished the only thing fluctuating was a girl's hips in bed.