Villain: Your Heroines Were Delicious - Chapter 129 - 50

Chapter 129: Chapter 50

“So, when did you return Seijirou-kun?” Rei asked, subconsciously leaning into his arms. “Suzune and the others returned a few days ago.”

“Just now.” Seijirou answered, “I haven’t even returned to my house. I asked Retsu to drop me off to a convenience store and I decided to walk from there.”

“I see. Your training must’ve been tough right? But you’ve surely gotten stronger! Did you know Rindou senpai cut down a boulder! She showed it to Touka and I a few days ago! That was so cool! Can you also do that?”

“Rindou?” Seijirou muttered. She must’ve already awakened her origin as well. “Of course I can.”

“I knew it! Oh, and did you know Touka was assigned by your mother to take care of your entertainment building? And she actually named it Kagewara Barcade! I don’t know what she’s thinking!”

Oh? It seems her mother have also discovered Touka’s talent, otherwise she wouldn’t leave a highschool student to manage the business.

Still, Kagewara huh? Is that a nod to their last names? Kageyama and Fujiwara?

“Oh, we’re here.”

Seijirou stared at the school gates and felt nostalgic. Even though he knew that it has only been a month, but it feels like it has been a long time since he last came here.

“Let’s go.”

The moment Seijirou stepped through the front gates with Rei tucked under his arm, the air in the courtyard seemed to change.

They entered the school building, and there, near the shoe lockers was the girls, who seems to all have gotten along; Suzune, Yukina, Emi, Haruka, and Touka.

They stood in a semi-circle, talking about some stuff Seijirou has no idea about.

Then, as if sensing them, everyone of them turned towards them…and their eyes immediately widened in shock and joy.

“Seijirou-kun!” Suzune was the first to break, her usual composure shattering as she sprinted forward.

She threw herself into his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck with a strength that spoke of her intense training. “You’re finally back! I miss you so much!”

“Hm, I miss you too,” Seijirou murmured, pulling her close.

Emi didn’t wait her turn as she crashed into his side and buried her face in his shoulder, her hands clutching the fabric of his jacket, she was as happy and excited as others, but her words were far calmer, “You’re finally back… I miss you.”

“I missed you too, Emi,” he chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

Touka and Haruka approached with more measured steps, but their eyes betrayed their calm.

But Yukina was not that reserved. She immediately tackled Seijirou, burying her face on his chest, grinning happily, wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Oh, it’s really you… This familiar scent, this warmth,” she whispered, her voice thick with relief. “Wooo~, I’m so lonely without you, you know? My fingers just aren’t enough anymore…”

“Yeah, I miss you too.” Seijirou smiled wryly.

Haruka stood beside her, her red eyes locked onto his. She didn’t say anything at first, but she leaned in, a small, gentle smile appearing on her face for a fraction of a second before disappearing, “Welcome home, Seijirou-sama.”

Touka, the most timid of the group, was blushing furiously but refused to be left out.

She stepped into the fray, her hands gripping the hem of his sleeve. “I… I prayed for you every day, Seijirou-kun. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Group hug!” Rei shouted, refusing to let go of his left arm.

For several minutes, the entrance of Shunji High was a chaotic, joyful scene of overlapping voices and shared warmth.

Seijirou stood at the center of it all, accepting their kisses on his cheeks and the weight of their bodies against his.

He looked at each of them, seeing the growth in their eyes and the sharpness in their auras.

“You all look stronger,” Seijirou said, his voice brimming with genuine pride. “I can feel the Karyoku burning in all of you.”

“We had to get stronger,” Suzune said, looking up at him with a fierce, loyal smile. “We can’t let you be the only one doing the heavy lifting.”

The girls laughed, a bright, melodic sound that drew the attention of every student in the vicinity.

They didn’t care about the stares or the whispers. In that moment, the world consisted only of them and the man who had returned to lead them.

“Come on,” Seijirou said, a sharp, confident glint in his eyes as he began to lead the group toward the main building. “We have a lot to catch up on before I go and break Ayano’s face.”

“We’re with you all the way!” Yukina cheered, clinging to his arm as the group moved as one, a formidable phalanx of devotion and power.

*

*

*

At this moment, Rindou was moving through the hallway with her usual disciplined stride, her Student Council armband tucked neatly into place.

Her presence usually commanded a certain degree of order, but today, her own heart was racing.

She can feel it, instinctively… Seijirou was nearby.

As she rounded the corner near the faculty lounge, she nearly collided with a woman whose presence felt like a sudden drop in atmospheric pressure.

“Ah, Retsu-sensei! You’re finally back!” Rindou beamed, her professional mask slipping to reveal a glimpse of the girl who had spent the last month training to help the man she loves. “As expected, if you’re here, then Seijirou should be back too, right? I was just about to head to the courtyard to check!”

Rindou waited for the usual gentle, and slightly playful greeting that Retsu was known for.

Instead, she was met with a silence so profound it felt heavy.

Retsu stood rooted to the spot, her blue eyes wide, staring at Rindou with an intensity that bordered on the clinical.

It was the look of someone seeing a ghost, or a rare, prehistoric creature suddenly materializing in a modern hallway.

Rindou tilted her head, her smile faltering.

“Retsu-sensei? Is something wrong? Did the mountain air get to you?” Rindou blinked, tilting her head in confusion.

Retsu didn’t answer.

Instead, she stepped forward, closing the distance until her face was mere inches from Rindou’s, her pupils were dilated, vibrating with a frantic, internal calculation.

“You…” Retsu whispered, her voice sounding raw, as if she were speaking for the first time in years. “Who… what are you?”

Rindou blinked, then let out a small, nervous chuckle. “Come on, Sensei, it’s only been a month! You can’t forget me that fast, can you? It’s me, Kobayashi Rindou. The one you usually tease about being too stiff?”

“Kobayashi… Rindou,” Retsu repeated the name like a mantra, her breath hitching.

In Retsu’s mind, a fundamental law of her universe was shattering.

For over two decades, Retsu had believed that she lived in a world similar to a cardboard cutouts.

To her, every person in this reality was a hollow shell, or a low-resolution NPCs in a simulation that didn’t matter.

Only Seijirou had possessed “weight.”

Only he had been “real.”

But now, as she looked at Rindou, her spirit, her entire beliefs, every single part of her body were screaming at her…this girl is real.

The girl in front of her didn’t feel like a phantom anymore. She now felt solid, as if she now had a “presence” that screamed back against the void, telling the world; I am real!

Retsu could feel the heat of Rindou’s blood, the sharp, jagged edges of her awakened soul, and a terrifyingly vivid sense of existence.

It was as if Rindou had suddenly been rendered in high-definition, stepping out of the background of the game and becoming a player.

How is this possible? Retsu thought, her hand trembling as she reached out to almost touch Rindou’s cheek.

Only Seijirou was real. Only we were supposed to be the only beings who are ’true’, the rest were mere things that can be discarded if they are no longer useful.

So why… Why does this girl have a ’weight’? Why does she has a soul that feels… authentic.

Is the world itself changing? Is the ’fake’ reality finally becoming solid?

The realization was terrifying.

If others were becoming “real,” then Retsu’s monopoly on Seijirou’s reality was under threat.

The world was no longer her playground; it was becoming a true battlefield of souls.

…no, it couldn’t be that the world was becoming real, but certain characters were becoming real.

Retsu’s eyes sharpened, a flash of blue light glinting in the dark of her pupils.

“I see,” she murmured, her voice turning icy. “You’ve changed, Rindou-san. You’ve grown quite… substantial while I was away.”

“Sensei, you’re scaring me a little,” Rindou admitted, taking a half-step back, her hand instinctively going to her hips, as if trying to draw a blade that wasn’t there.

Retsu suddenly snapped back to her smiling, composed self, though the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Forgive me, Kobayashi-san. I suppose I’m just a bit overwhelmed by the sudden ’growth’ of the student body. Yes, Seijirou-kun has returned. You should go to him. He’s currently in the courtyard, being quite popular.”

Rindou didn’t need to be told twice. She gave a quick, confused bow and sprinted off.

Retsu watched her go, her gaze lingering on the spot where Rindou had stood for a few moments before she looked at her own hand, still feeling the phantom resonance of Rindou’s “realness.”

Just then, she felt her heart tightened.

She grasped her chest and frowned. Using her Ki and knowledge of human anatomy, she tried to search if she was injured…she was perfectly healthy.

’…If so, what is this tightness I’m feeling?’

She thought back earlier…what happened? Her heart began to ache after Rindou left to go and meet…. Seijirou… Ah, I see.

This is jealousy.

Before, seeing Seijirou with other girls doesn’t even cause any ripple in her heart, after all, they aren’t real.

Why would you get jealous for toys you can discard any second?

But now, Rindou was real.

She was no longer a toy, but a rival that must be…. Eliminated.

Retsu shook her head. No, she can’t do that. Seijirou would get angry at her, and that would hurt more than this jealousy she was feeling.

She took a deep breath. For now, she suppressed that feeling deep into her heart.

She will solve that problem later on.

Right now, she needs to check who amongst these people have actually become ’real’.