I Joined the Sentai Heroes Who Were Beautiful Girls Other Than Me but the Heroines Were All Yanderangers - I Joined the Sentai Heroes Who Were Beautiful Girls Other Than Me but the Heroines Were All Yanderangers chapter 83

83. Momoko’s Distrust in the Plan, Part 2

“……..”

No, ‘favorite’ isn’t what I mean.

I already knew that my senior had been a fan of Philance Red before she met us. That was the kind of admiration that ordinary people have for heroes, not something directed at a specific individual named Suoh Akane. She simply admired the strongest hero who carried the hopes of all of Japan. So there was no need to worry.

Thinking that, Momoko looked at my senior’s face instead of the TV. My senior’s face briefly lit up like a child’s before she looked at Himawari-chan, who was frowning next to her, and quickly forced a serious expression on her face, looking flushed.

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“W-well, cheering for heroes is something that all Japanese people do. It’s not like I like him in a special way.”

Momoko knew. Even after my senior and the other heroes colleagues, she still watched the news became about Philance Red. Of course, Momoko and the others also gathered information about other heroes online, but only when it came to Red’s news did she always check everything, whether it was on TV or in a video. While Momoko and the others’ news would just be skimmed over if it wasn’t a major incident, Philance Red’s exploits were never missed.

However, she had never seen her expression so clearly. Momoko could not have imagined that my senior, while denying it, would be so focused on the TV that she wouldn’t even look at Himawari-chan’s reaction to her answer.

“The mysterious heroes who have been active mainly online in recent years. Philance Red in particular has been trending almost every week, so there’s probably no one who doesn’t know him, right?”

News related to heroes is treated differently on TV than ordinary incidents, and is often featured in variety shows. Perhaps because they are not public figures, serious news programs tend to use vague expressions like “probably thanks to the hero’s efforts” and rarely give them much attention. They are more often introduced as one of the trending topics when they become popular on SNS or when videos or photos taken by ordinary people go viral. I guess it’s like what used to be called shocking videos or strange incidents.

Even in this noontime program, the MC, a comedian, was enthusiastically and cheerfully explaining it as if he were telling the plot and reflections of an action movie.

And the majority of those featured are Philance Red. He’s different from Momoko in that he can make flashy moves with just his strength.

“This time, it seems that the incident where Philance Red defeated a bus hijacker is the talk of the town. A man with a knife got on a bus and threatened the driver, demanding a change of route. One of the junior high school students on the bus for a club expedition was apparently filming it on his smartphone.”

“Hmm. If he had been discovered by the prisoner, he could have been attacked, so please don’t try to imitate him.”

A guest commentator in his 50s gave a serious opinion that was different from the quzhi of the segment, and the MC responded with a sloppy laugh.

Momoko thinks what this person is saying is right. It’s true that the people who film Momoko’s exploits are a factor in increasing her fans, so I’m happy. The people on the outside can help to hype it up and spread it around, which motivates me.

But if the people being helped don’t seem like they want to be helped, it makes me lose my motivation. As a hero, I want to help people who are clinging to me, devastated and helpless. They don’t edit those kinds of things very well. Well, the general public doesn’t care about the feelings of heroes.

“…and so, Philance Red apparently landed on the roof of the bus and then forced his way into the bus through the roof.”

“Huh!? Is that even possible!?”

This time, a charismatic model popular with high school students reacted exaggeratedly.

“Please take a look at the footage from the dashcam just before the break-in. He drove alongside the bus once to see where the passengers were, and then jumped onto the roof. Then, he landed right above the prisoner and captured him in 5 seconds . Now, here’s a video that was actually uploaded to SNS and footage of an interview with the junior high school students who were on the bus…”

I wonder how much the TV station paid for that video, or maybe the students gave it to them willingly. Either way, even if they do this kind of thing, Momoko and the others don’t get a single cent.

“…hahahaha, that’s so like Akane-san.”

My senior’s words made Momoko’s brain, which had been thinking about useless things, feel like it had been hit hard. It was a natural laugh, just like that. Had I ever seen my senior like that?

“Is your brother a fan of that?”

“Huh? No, I’m not a fan. Like I said, I admire heroes and I think they’re cool. I support other heroes besides A…not Akane, of course, Philance Red.”

That’s the face he made to appeal Himawari-chan. The face he made when he saw Philance Red in action.

My senior had shown a careless smile when she heard about Philance Red’s bold and reckless exploits. It was an expression that Momoko had never been able to see while she was watching him. On top of that, ‘Akane-san’? It was as if he was saying that he was a fan of that woman.

For ordinary people, heroes are like celebrities, anime characters, or historical figures, so they don’t develop romantic feelings for them. There are people who become ‘obsessive fans’, but my senior isn’t that type.

Or so I thought, but when I look at my senior now, I can’t really say for sure that he’s not with Philance Red. No, maybe before they met, he really was just a fan of the hero, but after Getting involved with Akane-san herself, it shifted to a real romance?

I’ve heard that it’s easier to become a lover with idols who you can meet at handshake events or live streams than with people you can only see on TV. Is that what’s happening?

“…I thought it was just admiration.”

Suoh Akane is a ‘hero’ to my senior, not a ‘girl’.

So, I thought that at least I wouldn’t lose my crush to that woman. She’s not cute, she’s unfriendly and rough, and I don’t understand what she’s thinking at all. I thought that even though she might be admired, she was the furthest thing from being a romantic interest.

“Does big brother like the hero who’s the most active?”

“Even if they’re not the most active, I like all heroes. They’re hard workers with a sense of justice, and it’s cool how they save everyone.”

Tokiwa Uguisu is a troublesome woman even from my perspective as a woman. It’s normal for a heavy, bothersome woman to be hated, so I thought that my crush would never love her. The only reason he’s dating her now is because Momo gave him advice , and rather, I think the possibility of them becoming real lovers is zero since my crush chose a ‘fake’ romantic relationship on the spot.

He’s just pretending to love her because it’s necessary for his job, and his real heart isn’t with that woman even a little bit. When she’s not around, he lives his life cleanly, forgetting about his fake love. I thought that she was just someone who was hurting my crush’s stomach and that he didn’t think of her at all.

“If, for example, Philance Yellow worked really hard and became the most active hero…would big brother like Yellow?”

I had forgotten to get involved in their conversation, chat with my mother-in-law, or eat my noodles because I had been thinking about unpleasant things the whole time.

Momo today, or rather, Momo recently, has been thinking about strange things. Even the things about her seat, the fact that my crush talked about Uguisu-san, and the fact that she was happy about Philance Red’s success wouldn’t have bothered Momo this much in the past. She definitely wouldn’t have cared.

My heart should have understood that it wasn’t something to think about so seriously.

“…Even if they don’t do that, I like Philance Yellow too. If they push themselves too hard, it makes me uneasy, so I’d like them to be active at their own pace.”

My crush gently stroked Himawari-chan’s head with a sad smile, as if he was worried about something.

Kutsuha Himawari is a middle school student, a child. I can only see her as a little sister, and of course, there’s no way that romantic feelings could develop. From Himawari-chan’s perspective as well, she just sees Sora as an older brother and is attached to him, so no matter how close they are, it won’t become a hindrance. There’s no romance between them. There’s only warm affection as pseudo-siblings.

Or so I thought.

“Big brother is kind.”

She rubbed her forehead on the palm of my crush’s hand, which was placed on her fluffy head. It tickled and made her happy, but she also looked a little lonely. Sora didn’t notice at all, but as a fellow woman, there’s no way I couldn’t notice something like that.

Because she clearly has the face of a woman in love.

She’s being spoiled as a little sister, acting as if she’s just a mascot, but she’s definitely in love. It wasn’t like this at first. Why? When did it change?

When did she start to like my crush as a man instead of a brother? If my crush realizes that, will something change?

Even if they don’t become lovers right away, what if, by some mistake, my crush becomes aware of Himawari-chan?

Who will my crush end up liking?

Is there a possibility that my crush will choose Momo?

She’s cute, they get along well, and she’s like a friend. Momo is just a junior. She doesn’t have any particular affection for her, and everyone else gets something little by little.

“…I see.”

I hate how smart I am. Since they say that love is blind, I wish I could have been completely blind until the very end. It would have been fine if I couldn’t see anything but my crush, even if the grass seemed greener on the other side.

I can’t feel my own worth unless I compare myself to someone else, and if I’m not praised by someone, even my own heart becomes vague and waves. Even though I only have such a weak heart, I’ve always relied on self-love, which seems unshakable but is actually the most unstable kind of love, so I guess I don’t know how to control even such a trivial emotion.

I remember the SNS I saw that time. In the end, the world is made in such a way that I can’t affirm myself no matter what I do. I’m not as strong as other girls who can believe in love even when they’re not loved. But I’m not stupid enough to think that love can be fulfilled by self-completion alone.

—Momo is at the bottom of the list, even for my crush.

If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. If I can’t make him like me, then I’ll just make him fall in love with me.

It can’t be helped. In order to obtain love and be a hero, I can’t be just.

I felt like something had fallen out of my hand, or rather, my body.