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 80

80. The Trigger

After school, I was heading towards Mashiro.

It seemed she had been busy since morning, as we hadn’t seen each other even during lunch.

I want to show you that I’ve recovered from my cold and feel better, and our class is about to start preparing for the cultural festival. Once that begins, there might not be much time for us to talk leisurely.

That’s why I wanted to meet Mashiro today, so with my bag slung over my shoulder, I was about to leave the classroom and head towards Class 1, where Mashiro was—when—

“Hey, Shindo-kun. I need to talk to you?”

“Himeno Karen…”

Himeno Karen was standing with her arms crossed behind the open classroom door.

Normally, after school, she would be heading home happily with Fusegawa Raito, but for some reason, she was waiting for me outside the classroom.

I was taken aback by her displeased glare, and my classmates, who had been watching the scene, began to whisper among themselves.

“Hey, it looks like Shindo made Himeno-san angry?”

“Is that really Himeno-san getting angry…? It must be because of Shindo Ryusuke doing something again, right?”

“See, that guy is a delinquent after all…”

I involuntarily let out a sigh while managing a wry smile, and Himeno Karen shot a sharp look towards my whispering classmates.

“I’m not angry. Can you all stop saying random things?”

Her intensity silenced my classmates, and with a huff, Himeno Karen turned back to me.

“Shindo-kun, do you have some time? Can you come with me?”

“Do I have time…? Is it okay to talk to me?”

“It’s fine. Rather, are you okay? I thought you might be going to see your childhood friend you’re always with.”

“Well, that was my intention. But I do have time.”

Mashiro was staying late in the classroom preparing for the cultural festival, so we could meet at any time. It was a little lonely for both of us.

Seeing Himeno Karen’s serious expression, it was clear she had something important to discuss. It must be something that would significantly impact the story of “Fusekoi,” a sign of irregularities that were never present in the original work.

If I let this pass, I would surely face serious consequences later. I had a strong sense of this and listened attentively to Himeno Karen.

“What do you want to talk about? Is it something we can discuss here?”

“It’s not good to talk here since everyone is around… I want to talk just the two of us.”

Himeno Karen glanced at our classmates in the classroom, her expression slightly clouding. If that was the case, I had no choice but to take a step outside the classroom.

“There’s a quiet café near the school. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I’d prefer to avoid being overheard by other students if possible.”

“Understood. Then let’s go.”

As I started walking, Himeno Karen silently followed me. We changed into our outside shoes at the entrance and left the school.

The café I mentioned nearby has a calm clientele, a rich menu, and the coffee brewed by the master is delicious—it’s one of my favorites.

Sometimes I go there with Mashiro to spend some relaxing time. Since not many students from Takizakura Academy come here, it serves as a bit of a hidden spot for us.

As I opened the café door, the bell rang, and the master noticed us. It was a weekday afternoon, so we were the only customers in the store, and we were guided to a table at the very back of the quiet interior.

I sat across from Hime no Kakeru, opening the menu as we began to talk right away.

If it were just Mashiro and me, we would be enjoying the café atmosphere while chatting. However, Hime no Kakeru wore a serious expression, as if she was deep in thought, making me feel quite awkward.

After a long silence, Hime no Kakeru leaned her elbows on the table, clasped her hands, and let out a deep sigh. Then she looked up and stared at me with earnest eyes.

“Um… first of all, thank you for making time to talk with me.”

“It seemed like an important conversation. I thought it would be better not to leave it hanging.”

“That’s true. If I had been left like that, I might have been pretty hurt.”

Hime no Kakeru broke her earlier stern expression and smiled playfully. Seeing that smile, I felt a little relieved.

…Now, what kind of conversation is about to unfold?

I didn’t sense even a hint of wanting to get closer to me. During the discussions about the cultural festival, Hime no Kakeru had been cooperative towards me, but now her expression was a bit tense.

She is one of the heroines who colors the protagonist’s surroundings.

Normally, there shouldn’t be a reason for her to talk to me, the villain, one-on-one, and there was no such scene in the original story that I knew. She always radiated a bright smile next to Fusegawa Yorito, supporting the protagonist as a devoted childhood friend.

Yet here she was, trying to have a private conversation with me. A bad feeling crept in, and my throat felt dry with tension.

“Shindo-kun. Can I ask you a question first?”

“Of course, I don’t mind, but what do you want to know?”

“…The reason you suddenly started coming to school. I heard that after enrolling in Kizakura Academy High School, you stopped coming to school pretty quickly, right?”

“Yeah. I started skipping school after Golden Week.”

“But then, after a while, you started attending again. And it was as if the notorious delinquent you were in middle school was a lie, acting like a model student.”

What Hime no Kakeru was talking about was when I had reincarnated into the world of “Fusekoi” and decided to start over.

When I resolved to change my hopelessly villainous self and live seriously.

To make Mashiro, the important girl to me, smile, I had been fighting against the fate of the story with all my might.

That was something that had never existed in the original, and to Hime no Kakeru, my serious demeanor must have appeared abnormal. After all, a person who was supposed to be completely tainted by evil was suddenly trying to act normal.

I could understand her curiosity about the reason, but I felt there was another intention behind her question.

“I do think I’ve been living a lot more seriously than before. But isn’t it unnecessary for you, Hime no-san, to know the reason? We are classmates, but we’re not particularly close. We’re just in the same class, and there’s no need for us to know each other deeply.”

“Yeah, to be honest, we’re not close at all. In fact… yeah, I dislike you. I really didn’t intend to get involved with you.”

“But now, Hime no-san is trying to learn about me, someone she dislikes. It’s not normal to wait outside the classroom just to talk one-on-one with someone you hate, is it?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“I want to know what triggered you to take action. If you share that with me, I’ll answer your questions too.”

“I see… So if I’m going to ask more questions, I have to answer first, huh?”

Hime no Kakeru crossed her arms with a stern face, biting her lower lip as she continued to gaze at me thoughtfully.

Then, still wearing a serious expression, she muttered softly.

“…It’s strange, isn’t it? The way Raito has been acting. Ever since that day you started coming to school, he seems like a different person.”