Chapter 4: Kurosawa Rina

‘I still have until tomorrow, after all.’

I calmly composed myself and began my investigation into ‘me.’

In one corner of the room was a graduation album, and on its cover were the gold-embossed words, ‘Hinamizuka Middle School Graduation Album.’

Hinamizuka Middle School… Just the name sounds impressive, but it was a school that never appeared in the novel.

That means it wasn’t a very important school.

I flipped through the graduation album, looking at the pictures, hoping something might come to mind.

But unfortunately, my expectations were easily betrayed.

‘Nothing comes to mind.’

However, I was able to find a clue.

In the group photo, I saw myself standing in the corner, seemingly trying to erase my presence.

And I couldn’t see any of the characters from the novel in this album either.

It’s probably that I’m the only one who went from Hinamizuka Middle School to Takamari.

‘A real mob character… There’s nothing special, I was probably just an ordinary middle school girl who lived quietly.’

Of course, I was the prettiest in that group photo… but that was it.

Even when I looked in the mirror again, I thought I looked like a squid compared to the overwhelmingly beautiful Mizuki or Aya.

Closing the album, I sighed.

“Sigh… there’s probably nothing more to find. I just want to live quietly.”

But a part of me still felt uneasy.

Tomorrow… it might be almost impossible, but wouldn’t it be better to try to keep some distance from those two?

While thinking that, as I calmed down and organized the jumbled thoughts I had while looking at the album, I remembered what I needed to do first.

“Ah, right! I need to write down the novel’s content.”

Human memory is not infinite.

It has limitations, so writing things down before forgetting them was a common and most important act for transmigrators.

To think I almost skipped this first day without doing that, I’m such an idiot…

To find something to write on, I went to the desk.

On the desk was a diary that Rina probably used often.

Putting the diary aside for now, I found a new notebook in the drawer and started writing down the main contents of the novel, starting with the ones I could remember.

‘Aya and Hiro’s first date… the scene where the protagonist saves Aya… Ah, when was the problem that occurred while preparing for the cultural festival in the club activities…?’

As I was writing, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘But, if the protagonist isn’t here, what happens to all these stories?’

I felt a sense of foreboding, but I also thought that things would somehow work out.

There were cases where Aya or Mizuki were in danger, but since the two were so high-spec, I judged that the threat wouldn’t be a big problem…

And there was no way that I, a mere mob character, could get involved in those incidents and accomplish the amazing things that the ‘protagonist’ Yamahashi Hiro did.

Defeating a wolf that suddenly appeared during a summer event like a mountain ghost experience, there’s no way a woman could do that… Just in case, I tested my grip strength, but I could only fold ten sheets of paper with one hand.

‘Yeah, no way.’

Kurosawa Rina is a perfect character for a mob!

After defining ‘me’ like that, I roughly finished writing the novel notes in the notebook and opened the diary.

And in the diary were entries about Kurosawa Rina’s middle school days.

Records of being a class representative, notes on participating in school events…

On one side of the diary, it was written:

‘Sports day next week… Practicing cheering alone is so embarrassing.’

Each time I turned a page, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia and guilt.

The diary contained Rina’s struggles to fill out her student record to enter the prestigious Takamari Academy.

‘Rina must have worked hard in her own way…’

Kurosawa Rina also lived very hard… Can I really take this life away?

Moreover, the last page of the diary said:

‘When I go to Takamari Academy, I’ll definitely join the drama club. I’ll create my own stage.’

I paused for a moment at that part.

Drama club…? It was a club that didn’t even appear in the novel.

Ah, maybe it briefly passed by during the cultural festival?

In the end, even if Rina lived according to her wishes, she was a character who couldn’t escape the fate of a mob character.

“Sigh… Wouldn’t the going-home club be the best?”

I closed the diary, organizing my complicated feelings.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t get attention at this academy as Rina wanted in middle school.

Rina also worked hard in her own way, but this academy was where the best and brightest gathered.

So, even if it were Rina instead of me, it would have been difficult to escape the fate of a mob.

After closing the diary and putting it back in the bookcase, a memo fell out.

It said:

‘When I go to Takamari Academy, will I be able to get along with everyone?’

I was momentarily stunned when I saw that sentence.

What was Rina’s goal?

To try to connect with people and get along better in her own way?

But now I was thinking and acting in the opposite way to Rina in middle school.

‘I vowed to live quietly……’

But the situation had already begun to flow as Rina in middle school wished.

It’s not just that Aya and Mizuki, two important figures, are approaching me, but I couldn’t think that only those two people were approaching me.

The two would join the student council, and as long as they continued to be interested in me, I would become more involved with several important figures.

…It’s going to be as Rina wishes.’

I put the memo between the pages of the diary, enveloped in a strange feeling.

Should I try to take the protagonist’s place as Rina wants?

I certainly had that thought, but there’s no way I can act like the protagonist who ‘is actually a branch of a noble family and can even operate a yacht.’

The Rina family seen in the diary was just a slightly well-off middle-class family.

“For now, let’s keep our distance from Aya and Mizuki tomorrow… That’s the best course of action.”

Well, I can probably make friends with other mob characters as Rina wishes.

But those two are absolutely out of the question.

Having come to that conclusion, I sprawled out on the bed.

***

The next morning.

I had a little trouble sleeping, but I wasn’t tired because I went to bed early.

This is a high school girl’s body, after all.

It’s not as exhausted as a college entrance exam repeater, so it’s healthy and energetic.

I woke up in a good mood and went to the bathroom to wash up… and paused for a moment.

‘Ah, how do girls wash?’

Having taken off all my clothes, I felt embarrassed and my face turned hot.

Honestly, when you look at it, we’re all Homo sapiens, so the structure is similar, so I wondered why I was worrying so much… but it was so unfamiliar.

And another embarrassing thing was that Kurosawa Rina, looking at me in the mirror, was excessively pretty by my standards, even though she was a mob.

And below that… ugh……

I closed my eyes tightly and turned on the shower.

‘It’s nothing, it’s nothing!’

…I thought so, but it seemed like it would take some time to get used to it.

After finishing the shower, I felt much lighter.

Even with short hair, a girl’s hair kept dripping water no matter how much I dried it with a towel, so I had to use a hairdryer.

As I dried my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror again.

‘A high school girl… really.’

Me in a high school girl’s uniform.

I felt awkward, but at least I was glad I could get ready for school looking neat.

I smiled and packed my bag.

The morning sunlight was streaming in through the window.

Come to think of it, should I go early or late to avoid running into Aya or Mizuki?

If I really took the protagonist’s place, I would run into them whether I went early or late.

Rather than worrying about that, it’s best not to be late.

If I’m late, I might meet the main characters who are also late.

“Oh, there’s no way…”

“Rina! Are you awake? If you get up now, you can make it just in time, so get up quickly.”

My voice, talking to myself, intersected with Rina’s mother’s voice.

Mom knocking on the door… Moms in this world are all similar.

Well, in the East, wouldn’t everyone try to wake you up in the morning?

“Yes~ I’m coming!”

As soon as I opened the door, my mom looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Oh my, you woke up early today?”

“Yes, it’s the first day of class!”

“I see… Don’t overdo it, and I hope you can go to school without feeling too tired.”

Mom said to me with concern and hugged me.

As a result of looking through the diary yesterday, I think Rina in middle school looked tired because she did everything she could to enter Takamari.

It’s not strange for Mom to worry like this.

“Yes, I understand!”

I said calmly, ate the breakfast Mom prepared, tied my shoelaces, and left the house.

Today… I made a vow to really avoid them.