I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine - I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine chapter 56

56. The Sea and the Villain⑥

Reflecting the sunlight, the vibrant blue sea sparkled as the three of us swam gently.

The waves were calm, and the water temperature was just right, making it perfect for swimming. Since both Mashiro and I were good swimmers, we enjoyed the beach while pulling Mai along in her float.

“This feeling of freedom is the best! Just riding in the float while you and Mashiro pull me along is so much fun!”

“Don’t get too carried away, okay? If you tip over and start to drown, that would be a disaster.”

“I’m fine, big brother! I’m already a middle schooler! Come on, come on, let’s go faster!”

“I’m telling you it’s dangerous, you silly. Just behave.”

I gave Mai a light chop on the head, but she just giggled, showing no signs of remorse.

Even if she tipped over, the water wasn’t deep enough for her to be in real trouble, but I still didn’t want her to swallow seawater and cough. I needed to keep an eye on her.

While Mai was frolicking around, Mashiro was enjoying the sea in a relaxed manner.

Just being rocked by the waves seemed to satisfy her, and she gazed at me with a cute smile.

However, I couldn’t look directly at Mashiro and instinctively averted my gaze.

“Hey, Ryusuke? What are you looking at?”

“Hm? The horizon over there. The sea is vast and amazing.”

“Right? And it sparkles beautifully. But, um, your face is kind of red, Ryusuke. Are you okay?”

“Ah, that’s right. Big brother, and that weird face. Ahaha.”

“It’s, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The two tilted their heads at my response. However, I couldn’t explain the reason, so I had no choice but to dodge the topic.

(There’s no way I can say I’m getting all flustered looking at the pure white chest floating in the sea…)

I had heard that large breasts tend to float due to buoyancy, and it seemed that was indeed true.

The large white curves of Mashiro floated gently on the surface of the water, and when the waves came, the rich hills wrapped in her white swimsuit bounced and swayed. That sight was far too stimulating for a healthy high school boy.

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(She’s completely unaware, which makes it all the more unfair…)

Mashiro seemed oblivious to how attractive her swimsuit looked to the opposite s*x; she truly had an innocent and natural charm.

Even now, Mashiro swam slowly, pressing her soft body against mine each time. The sensation of her bare skin directly against my body, clad only in swim trunks, felt like cheating.

Is there any man who could remain calm in such a situation? At least, I couldn’t.

My heart was pounding, and even though I was in the sea, I felt my body temperature rising. I seriously wondered if I might faint from it. My face was probably as red as a boiled octopus by now.

Yet, whether Mashiro noticed the cause of my distress or not, she continued to lean against me, smiling sweetly.

“Hehe, this is fun, Ryusuke. Mai-chan is full of energy and so cute too.”

“Y-yeah. You look like you’re having a lot of fun, Mashiro. But I feel like you’re a bit more subdued than usual; usually, you’d be more hyperactive.”

“I’m planning to play a lot with you today. If I go all out too soon, I’ll get tired quickly.”

“I see. That does sound like a way to enjoy it for a longer time.”

“Yeah, so let’s take it slow and easy for now!”

“Taking it slow, huh? Well, we’ve swum enough, so let’s take a break.”

Mashiro and Mai nodded in unison, and we headed back to the sandy beach. We swam slowly, swaying gently with the calm waves.

Just as we settled down under the beach umbrella, Mai suddenly opened her mouth as if she had remembered something.

“Hey, big brother. By the way, I saw something when we were borrowing the beach umbrella earlier; it looks like they’re having a three-on-three beach volleyball tournament!”

“A three-person beach volleyball tournament, huh? Are there any prizes?”

“Yeah! It’s not a tournament; you can participate just once. If you win the match you play in, you get meal vouchers you can use at the beach house!”

“Meal vouchers, huh… Well, I might join if I feel like it.”

“Not just if you feel like it; let’s enter! I’m good at sports too, and with your and Mashiro-san’s teamwork, we can definitely win!”

“I’m confident we can win, but…”

A summer beach volleyball tournament.

If it’s just a one-time participation rather than a tournament, it wouldn’t be too much of a burden for either Mashiro or Mai. Regardless of winning or losing, it would be a good memory.

However, I had a reason to hesitate. That was because the protagonist, Fusegawa Ryoto, was here at this beach.

There was no way that Fusegawa Ryoto would miss out on such a classic event as a beach volleyball tournament. There was a good chance he would enter with the heroines to showcase that he was the main character.

If I, the villain, were to participate in such an event, it was clear that I would be led into a troublesome situation where I would have to fight against the protagonist team.

Mai would surely be disappointed, but I had planned to proceed by saying I wouldn’t participate this time.

“Eh!? Are you not going to participate? What should I do— I thought you would join, so I went ahead and registered us!”

“You really registered us? Is that true?”

“Yeah… The opponents were already decided by lottery, and it’s a high school team with one boy and two girls, just like us. Since they’re the same age, I thought we could definitely win.”

“Hey, hey, that means you—”

—It’s definitely the protagonist team we’re up against, no doubt about it. The moment I realized that fact, I let out a deep sigh.

The reason Mai registered for the beach volleyball tournament was surely due to the coercive force of this world.

I was unconsciously forced to participate so that Fusegawa Ryoto and I would face each other in beach volleyball. Thinking about it this way, everything fell into place.

If I had come with Mashiro, she would have simply nodded if I said I wouldn’t participate, and I would never have acted on my own. But Mai is different. She often acts without thinking ahead. That’s where they took advantage of me.

(I’m in trouble…)

Considering the developments that were likely to unfold, my face naturally twitched.

The reason Fusegawa Ryoto came to this beach with the heroine wasn’t just to show the readers who the protagonist was through an event at the sea.

This was surely a chance for revenge from the midterm tests.

The protagonist couldn’t just keep losing without any consequences. This was the climax of a story set at a beach, a perfect opportunity to team up with the heroine to defeat me and reclaim previous losses in the beach volleyball tournament.

If that’s the case, Fusegawa Ryoto would surely unleash the full power of the protagonist, trying to crush me. With a fate that overcomes any injustice, he would create miracles and surely try to snatch victory.

There was no escape route left. A default loss would be the least cool option.

If I were to tuck my tail and run in front of the protagonist, it would be even worse than simply losing. Anyone would be disappointed by such a development. For me, aiming to be the protagonist, being abandoned by the readers would be the worst possible outcome.

What on earth should I do? Is there any good way out of this—?

As I desperately pondered, Mashiro gently grasped my hand. With her clear blue eyes fixed on me, she said straightforwardly.

“Could it be, Ryusuke? Are you worried that you might face that classmate—Fusegawa-kun in beach volleyball?”

“Mashiro, how did you know…?”

“I can see through everything you’re thinking. You often have a serious face when it comes to that Fusegawa-kun. It’s been like that ever since I twisted my ankle when I bumped into him.”

As if she could see through my feelings, Mashiro let out a small chuckle and gently patted my head.

Then she continued in a soothing voice to reassure me.

“I like the serious and cool Ryusuke who thinks deeply, but I really like the smiling Ryusuke the most. So, I’ll make sure to support you. I’ll do my best to make you smile.”

This childhood friend truly understands me well and always gives me the words I need. Just having her by my side fills me with confidence that everything will be alright.

(I have no choice but to do this…)

Now that it had come to this, I couldn’t run away. So I steeled myself to fight with all my might.

I would show a twist where the villain defeats the protagonist in this beach volleyball match.

Just like that time during the final exams, let’s grab victory together with Mashiro.

With that resolve in my heart, I tightly squeezed the hand of the girl sitting next to me. In response, Mashiro smiled happily while returning the grip.

“Ryusuke, as long as we’re together, we’re invincible, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t feel like I can lose when I’m with Mashiro. Here we go, the beach volleyball tournament. If we win, we’ll get meal vouchers, and lunch will be a feast at the beach house.”

At my words, Mashiro nodded enthusiastically. Mai was also overjoyed that I was motivated, bouncing up and down as she stood.

And so, I quietly ignited my fighting spirit for the battle against the protagonist.