CH 21

If one day I am no longer a Mob



Shimotsuki follows me around a bit.



“Ufufu, I’ve never been to a friend’s room before. Do you know the rules of etiquette for this kind of situation, Nakayama-kun?　When you go to your boy friend’s house for the first time, there is a certain etiquette that you must follow, you know? I’ve been wanting to try it ever since I saw it in an anime.”



She was eager to see my room, so I had no choice but to show her around.



Shimotsuki is a strange girl, and she thinks I’m special. So when she asked to see my room, I couldn’t refuse.



She really seemed to be looking forward to seeing my room, and her steps were light and fluffy. She looked as if she was almost dancing.



“Etiquette? I don’t know. …… I don’t watch a lot of anime.”



“Eh? Nakayama-kun, are you insane? I don’t see the point of living if you don’t watch anime. …… Could Nakayama-kun be dead? That’s terrible, you’re my friend, you have to come back to life.”



“No, I’m not dead.”



When I answered with a chuckle, she let out a happy giggle.



“Of course I know. That was just a joke. If it were possible, I would have liked Nakayama-kun to make a comeback saying, `I’m not dead yet,’ but I’ll give you a pass. I also like comedy shows, so I know a lot about them.”



This girl has quite a lot of interests.



And she is the type of person who mistakenly thinks she is an expert in a field just because she has heard about it.



Yeah, …… Well, it wasn’t very interesting, whether it was the comedy or the jokes. Shimotsuki is pretty clumsy, so the quality of everything she does is surprisingly low.



And so, we arrive at my room.



The reason why we’ve been talking so idly is because I’ve been slowing down.



I was hoping that maybe Shimotsuki would change her mind, but she was still determined to get into my room.



“So this is it, huh? Okay, I’m coming in! Now, I’ll give you the answer …… The first thing you should do when you first go to a boy’s room is to look for a naughty book! I’ve been wanting to try this since it’s a standard anime rule!”



Shimotsuki enters the room with great enthusiasm.



Perhaps she’s getting excited, but her voice has been loud since a while ago.



Since we were in a situation where it was just the two of us, of course her shyness was not triggered.



Maybe it was because she was so shy, but now she was also loud.



“Now, where could it be! Under the bed? Or in the back of a drawer? Maybe in a closet? I saw a movie about a treasure hunter the other day, so I’m probably pretty good at treasure hunting. There’s nothing I can’t find!”



With that, Shimotsuki starts rummaging through my room.



I watched her absentmindedly.



Normally, I might be in a panic, but …… unfortunately, no such interesting events happen to me.



Because I don’t have any hobbies.



In the first place, I don’t like anything.



The truth is that I don’t really know much about naughty books either.



Perhaps it is the nature of a sad mob character, but …… I have no personality.



It’s like I don’t have a set of principles or assertions that can be called a personality…… It’s a bit meta, but that’s how it is.



So, I’m sorry to disappoint her, but …… no matter how hard she looked, there was nothing interesting in this room.



“Um, Shimotsuki? I’m sorry, but I don’t have any naughty books, okay?”



Sorry, but I’ll make sure to let her know.



“I don’t have any hobbies or preferences, so I don’t …… have any of those tastes or entertainment items.”



As I said this, I felt a little ashamed of myself.



I can’t even be normal, I’m just a mob character, I thought.



Looking at this room from a bird’s eye view, I can clearly see that I have no personality.



The only furniture in the room is a bed, a study desk, a closet, and a shelf.



The room was equipped with a set of study tools, a change of clothes, bedding, a few things for later use, and no entertainment items.



I don’t think a plain room is an appropriate place for Shimotsuki to be.



Somehow, I wanted to leave the room. I felt that it was not appropriate for a nice girl like Shimotsuki to be in such a place.



However, Shimotsuki laughed at me for being so sneaky.



“Mmm, I see. …… I’m sorry, but I cannot make any promises. I was looking forward to it, but it can’t be helped. Nakayama-kun is a very strange boy, not having any hobbies. I’m getting more and more curious and excited.”



In front of me, Shimotsuki never lets her expression fade.



She affirmed the parts of me that I thought were bad, as if they were part of my charm.



She was like an angel.



“Then I’ll teach you lots of ‘fun’. I’ll be your hobby teacher……. Wow, that’s great. I’ve been playing by myself for so long that I’m starving for a friend to play with, and I think it’s a win-win for both of us!”



Teaching your hobbies ……, doesn’t that mean you just want to play together?



For a moment, I thought so, but I was very grateful for the offer.



I wondered if even a colorless mob character like me could be colored.



If I, a mob character, could have a personality, …… I thought, that would be a very, very good thing.



If I could establish my own existence and stand on the stage of the story in a position where I am not a mob character.



Maybe then I’ll be able to look at …… Shimotsuki in a much different light.



To be honest, I’m afraid to be in the position of being her friend right now.



I wish I could be brave enough to say “I like you” to her more as an equal, for example……