Became a Villain Heroine in a Harem Story

Cough- Cough-

The coughing is getting worse. Not the usual cough that would stop after once, but a cough that felt like it would never end, digging into my chest for minutes.

Like an unsettling feeling in my throat that wouldn’t go away, continuously.

I wanted to scratch my throat. To delicately dissect my airway and use a dropper to extract the unknown substance stuck in my throat. Surely this endless coughing would subside then.

“Are you okay?!”

Did he mistake seeing the weak side of someone as becoming close?

I became even more irritated at the sight of the damned protagonist who had reverted to informal speech again. I clearly told him not to speak informally just 3 seconds ago. Is he suffering from early onset dementia?

Yes. I know. I know very well that you’re approaching me with genuine concern.

But please, learn to distinguish between people who need help and those who don’t.

Huh? Please. I’m asking you.

“I’m fine, so don’t come close.”

“…That’s the smell of blood.”

“It’s my blood.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it was a bit dark and I fell down the stairs. The dormitory stairs. Those high ones.”

He didn’t seem to believe me at all.

I quickly recovered my body’s wounds to some extent with [Regeneration] before he could examine my body in detail.

But if there were no wounds at all, he would surely suspect that the blood on my clothes wasn’t mine… so I deliberately stopped the regeneration, leaving just a few scratches.

Thanks to that, wounds that looked like I had rolled down stairs were completed.

Since they were originally sharp cuts, it wouldn’t be easy to completely erase suspicion.

But the protagonist isn’t the type to go so far as to forcibly strip me and check directly.

“I’ll look for a pharmacy that’s still open nearby and come back. Wait here.”

“…”

I didn’t give any response to his suggestion.

Of course, the meaning of silence was refusal, but it seems the meaning of silence was slightly different for him, as he immediately left the convenience store to find a pharmacy.

Hiring a part-timer, then a wounded woman visits in the early morning, and to help her, he abandons the store and runs out…?

That would be quite convincing when explaining to the convenience store owner.

There was certainly the option of just returning to my dormitory room, but for some reason, my body felt heavy.

…Fatigue.

The aftereffects of operating my ability to the limit without rest were setting in.

I had no idea that the game’s fatigue system would be applied in such a way.

Should I just close my eyes and sleep? In an empty convenience store at dawn?

If this game had been an adult harem game rather than a school youth dating sim, it might have been truly dangerous.

“Ah… status window.”

: Yes.

“I just wanted to call you once while looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.”

: …More importantly, don’t talk out loud. There might be other people nearby.

“Yes.”

: Anyway, making contact with the protagonist… Ryu Seong, is not a good choice.

I agree.

Vehemently.

But this wasn’t something I intended.

I didn’t want to receive help from anyone, and if it was a man, I disliked it even more, and especially if it was a handsome man, I disliked it much more.

If I were to receive help from a woman with large breasts, I could at least feel the soft cushioning.

How could I have known that the person working at this convenience store until this hour would be the protagonist?

If I had known in advance, I would have gone outside the academy branch and bought a bag full of cigarettes even if it killed me.

.

.

.

How much time had passed?

I heard the bell sound that I had heard when I entered the convenience store earlier, along with the rustling sound of a plastic bag.

It seemed the protagonist who had gone to a nearby pharmacy had returned with medical supplies that wouldn’t be of any help to me.

I slightly opened my eyes, which had been closed, and immediately closed them again.

‘…Fuck, why is that woman here.’

Yes. The characters in this damn harem story weren’t just the protagonist. Why had I forgotten that important fact until now?

Because they’re just trophy heroines with no personality, just different head and eye colors, so I can’t remember them properly?

Shall I be honest?

Just spending all day killing time and smoking cigarettes by myself, how much time do you think I spend in my right mind?

Damn, there’s no point in self-reflection now.

Hasn’t the plan to proceed without encountering the main characters been a mess from start to finish?

No, there’s still a chance.

I’ll just keep my eyes closed, take some medicine in front of them, and then live as a hikikomori so that I never have to see them again.

Just attend the essential classes that I have to go to, and skip the rest.

After all, the only thing that really matters to me is completing quests, right? Right? Is this how it works? Can you answer me? Huh?

I can’t decide on my own.

In the end, after much hesitation, thinking it better to get up by myself than with someone else’s support, I painfully rose to my feet.

“…Are you okay?”

“Take your hands off.”

The woman standing next to the protagonist was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.

As expected of a childhood friend! As expected of the official love interest!

Where did she learn that dirty temperament of showing no mercy to other women?

Because she’s an orphan? Yes. Orphans tend to be a bit ill-mannered.

Isn’t her outfit full of problems? Even if she rushed out because someone she likes called, wearing pajamas?

“You, to someone trying to help you…”

“I never asked for help.”

“…Hey!”

“What.”

Talking back sharply… not willing to back down even a word.

I can’t even remember her name well. Who was this woman? The defeated heroine? The one the game company pushed hard as the official love interest but ranked 5th in the popularity poll?

Maybe I’ll remember if I look at her hair color?

Let’s see…

Pink, pink hair… prostitute… Hiyeon?

Ah, now I remember.

“No.”

“Hiyeon, just this once. Next time, tell me what you want. I’ll do my best to fulfill it.”

“…R-really?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Alright… [Restoration].”

Flirting in front of someone. Seems like a couple without any sense of shame. Is this the distance of childhood friends?

I had no intention of getting involved in others’ romance, but for some reason, seeing people happier than me made me feel like my insides were burning.

Those two had done nothing wrong to me.

They worried about me, treated me, and even brought medicine from the pharmacy without being asked.

More than that… if she was going to heal me with restoration from the beginning, there was no need to buy medicine. Is their intelligence a bit low?

I was internally badmouthing them a lot, but during that time, the scratches remaining on my body started to heal. An ability that restores living beings and materials to their original state… it’s certainly tempting.

‘Isn’t that better than regeneration?’

: There are limits to the rewards I can create with my ability. And, abilities always respond to necessity.

‘What does that mean?’

: It means that what you unconsciously wish for to resolve a situation emerges as the next ability.

‘By that logic, [SAVE & LOAD] or [Resurrection] is what I need right now.’

: Things that could break the story won’t be given unless you resolve considerable situations or quests.

I moved the status window, which started to ramble on about things only it understood, out of my sight.

It’s noisy. Even though it’s just text floating around, it’s noisy.

My head hurt.

“You, aren’t you going to say thank you?”

“…Since you don’t seem to understand, I’ll tell you again. I never asked for help.”

“Hey!”

“Since earlier… mumble, mumble, yelling loudly, you’re noisy.”

“This is really!”

“With your trash ability, want to fight?”

To be strictly honest, I didn’t provoke her because I could win against her.

First of all, my stamina was at rock bottom, and just because my body’s wounds had recovered didn’t mean I could immediately operate my ability to the extent of fighting.

Regeneration, restoration.

Recovery abilities, including these two, couldn’t touch the fatigue accumulated in a person’s mind.

If she seriously tried to hit me, it was clear that the protagonist beside her would stop her.

That’s why I could put on such a cowardly bluff.

“Y-you…!”

I know. I know very well that my appearance right now looks very ugly and unattractive.

That my image of casually spitting out thorny words despite receiving plenty of help and goodwill from others resembles the type of person I hate the most…

“Get out.”

“…Fine.”

Even that kind protagonist couldn’t stand by watching someone who picked a fight with his childhood friend.

In the end, I was ordered to leave.

♦♦♦

After returning to my individual room in the dormitory, I immediately took out the cigarettes I had bought at the convenience store and put one in my mouth.

The damp matches wouldn’t light at all.

Nothing was going well today.

In the end, I took out a lighter and lit it.

A diligent smoker always carries at least two sources of fire.

‘Tomorrow is… a test? Written? Might be practical.’

Won’t I be fine even without taking the test? There’s never been a precedent of expelling an ability user, so maybe I’ll just take a good rest tomorrow.

The written test consisted of simple moral sense quizzes to distinguish between diligent students, ordinary students, and delinquent students.

And the practical test was at most to check if you can properly control your ability, and if you can, to what extent you can use it, how outstanding your talent is—that’s what it was for.

The most important test would probably be the mock battle directly against a teacher.

Ah, I really don’t want to take the test.

No, is that too delinquent-like? Let’s go to school first… and play the role of a student… like others.

Because that’s what the mister would want.