I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine

21. Outfits

Until the weekend when school was closed, no events had occurred between me and the protagonist, Fusegawa Yorito.

I had been cautious about any contact with Mashiro, but Yorito was simply surrounded by his usual three heroines, living out a romantic comedy life without any particular changes in his behavior.

He was likely preparing for the next event, a beach outing. Even the protagonist seemed to have no room to cram in any more activities.

Reo truly considered me a friend; he continued to chat casually with me, and during gym class, he actively partnered up with me. His completely non-hostile, gentle expression was soothing to me as well.

I attended all classes seriously, with no tardiness or absences, and I had submitted all the assignments that had piled up. Since my reincarnation, I had been the model honor student, but… the cold stares from the surrounding mob characters hadn’t changed.

The teachers still didn’t miss an opportunity to harass me during class, and they summoned me to the student guidance office to interrogate me about my previous actions. They never treated me like a normal student.

Yet, despite that, my heart did not break.

If there truly is a god governing this world, I have come to understand that it is not a perfect being.

There are ways to avoid the impending disastrous conclusion. There remains ample opportunity to seize a future completely different from the original story and enjoy the best youth.

Above all, what supports my heart is Mashiro’s presence.

She thinks of me and has changed for my sake. She always stayed by my side with a kind, innocent smile. I cannot express how much I’ve been saved by her pure kindness.

Grateful that she is my childhood friend, I vowed never to let her be taken away by the protagonist during this high school life, remaining vigilant at all times.

When I return home, I study for classes, work out to build my body, and since yesterday, I’ve even started running. I’ve completely quit smoking and drinking, eat a balanced diet, and go to bed early and wake up early, always keeping my health in mind.

I cherish my family, engage in household chores, and do everything I can.

All of it is to spend the best youth together with Mashiro.

To achieve the best happy ending in this world, I will spare no effort.

And then came Saturday.

This weekend, the protagonist is traveling to a distant place for a beach outing event with the heroines. In other words, if the story unfolds as it originally did, the possibility of encountering the protagonist and the villain, which is me, is zero. For the first time since reincarnating into this world, I could stretch my wings freely.

With that in mind, I was facing a large mirror in my room to keep my promise to play with Mashiro.

“Now then… which one should I wear?”

A massive amount of casual clothes pulled out from the closet.

I used to be a typical delinquent, and every piece of casual clothing I wore when going out was intimidating.

Should I say my clothes were yankee-like?

A bomber jacket with a large dragon embroidered on the back, shirts and hoodies with big skull designs, and flashy matching tracksuits that screamed “ora ora.”

I wore chunky boots, gaudy all-black sunglasses, and flashy accessories like gold necklaces and bracelets.

There were even special attack uniforms with “Fight Ready” written in big letters, and I shudder at the thought of how I used to stroll through the streets wearing such things without a care.

Perhaps, having been assigned the role of a villain, the old me was unconsciously forced into a wardrobe that was unmistakably delinquent, like a symbol in the world of “Fusekoi.”

However, that constraint disappeared with my reincarnation. All the clothes I had from my delinquent days became unnecessary.

“But this is a problem… Since I’ve been reincarnated, I’ve only worn uniforms, so I completely forgot about casual clothes.”

I have nothing to wear outside.

I want to break free from the villain role.

I need to seal away all my past fashion choices.

What I seek is a clean and refreshing outfit; I definitely do not want anything yankee-like or ora ora-like.

The only options left are the neatly folded plain clothes. They seem nearly new, probably because I hadn’t worn them much, and now I appreciate that.

Fortunately, the man known as Ryusuke Shindo has a slim muscular build and a good style. He stands tall with a straight back and has a decent face.

He’s been given a certain appearance to complement the protagonist, and although he has a tough demeanor, I think it’s fair to say he’s handsome.

I’ll make use of this appearance to try out a simple and clean fashion.

With that in mind, I quickly put on some plain clothes.

The only options for the top are a plain T-shirt and a jacket, so that’s fixed. As for the bottoms, I still have various choices.

Baggy pants, holey distressed jeans, shorts… oh, what’s this?

I picked up a pair of black skinny jeans from the closet and quickly tried them on.

Thanks to the slim fit, the pants accentuated my long legs, making me look even cooler than I already am. Just pairing it with a plain short-sleeve shirt and a light jacket instantly gave me a more mature look.

“Not bad… right?”

I turned around in front of the mirror to check my appearance.

Yeah… I don’t think it looks bad. I’ll use the running shoes I bought yesterday as my footwear. I chose a pair that’s sneaker-like and in a subdued color, so it should match well.

As I wandered around the room, hoping to find something else to add, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

“Big brother~. I’m coming in~?”

I heard my sister Mai’s voice, and before I could respond, the door opened. As soon as she stepped into the room, she froze at the sight of me.

Huh, what’s with this reaction…?

Could it be that I don’t look good in this? But I shouldn’t look that weird.

Feeling anxious as I looked at Mai, she came running toward me with sparkling eyes.

Ignoring my confusion, Mai said excitedly.

“Big brother, you’re wearing totally different clothes than usual!! Wow! What’s that? It’s super cool!!”

“Uh, super cool… is it?”

“Yeah! You always dressed like a tough delinquent, but now you look like a refreshing, popular guy!”

“I-I see. If it looks that way from a girl’s perspective, I guess that’s a success to some extent…”

“You said you wanted to change your mindset, but you really have changed, huh? That’s amazing, big brother.”

“Well, yeah. I’ve been trying to put in effort to change who I was until now.”

“Hmm, at least from my point of view, I think you look cool, and I think other girls would feel the same way.”

“If you’re saying that much, I can at least feel a bit relieved.”

I looked at my entire reflection in the large mirror once more.

It would be best if I could make a few more adjustments, but I’ve done everything I can for now.

With this, I probably won’t be seen as a delinquent when I go outside. Plus, I received the evaluation of being a refreshing, popular guy from my sister. Maybe I can hold my head a little higher.

As I was checking my outfit in the mirror, Mai giggled and covered her mouth.

“I heard from Mashiro-san~. You’re going on a date today, right? I’m so happy to see you so motivated~!”

“D-Date? It’s just that I’m going out for some light shopping, nothing that could be called a date…”

“Eh~? But you’re going out alone with a girl, right? Isn’t that normally considered a date? Well, even if you think that way, Mashiro-san was really happy saying she’s going on a date with you~!”

“…!? Mashiro is… going on a date with me?”

“See, see~. Put in some effort today for Mashiro-san, okay? I’ll be cheering for you too.”

With that, my sister patted my back. She laughed mischievously as she headed back toward the door.

“Oh, and it’s not just me; Mom is cheering for you too. Lately, you’ve been working hard with the housework and studying, right? You go to school every day. So Mom said she’d give you a lot of pocket money today. Good for you, big brother!”

“Is Mom supporting my relationship with Mashiro too?”

“Of course! For us, Mashiro-san is our only support, or rather, she’s the one who can help reform you. She’s always been watching over you so you don’t do anything bad, right?”

“Watching over me… but I was just hanging out with her late at night.”

“No, no, that’s not it. Mashiro-san always called you over to her apartment late at night so you wouldn’t go to strange places, right? Because big brother, you ignore me and Mom when we tell you to come home.”

“So she was trying to keep me from going to strange places at night…”

“Exactly. She would warn you not to drink or smoke. The updates you give me about your recent activities, it’s because Mashiro-san is worried about you. She always consulted me about how to help you reform.”

I see… so that was it.

That’s why my sister Mai and Mashiro were in contact every day. Indeed, the man named Shindo Ryusuke, before I reincarnated, was so degenerate that it embarrassed me.

The reason Mashiro was hanging out with someone like me late at night was to watch over me so I wouldn’t go further down the wrong path.

Talking about my recent activities with my sister, consulting about my reform, trying to get me to quit drinking and smoking—now that I think about it, my bad friends Kogane and Obayashi also said that Mashiro got really angry when I tried to drive my parents’ car without a license.

I had no idea what Masahiro was doing behind the scenes. Now, I’ve come to understand the true intention behind her actions.

“So! You’ve always been a bother to Masahiro, right? Today, you should express your gratitude to her! Big brother, you’re cooking dinner for her, aren’t you? She was really looking forward to it, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I can’t thank Masahiro enough. I hope I can repay her in some small way. I’ll do my best.”

“Yup, that’s the spirit! Go for it, big brother!”

With that, Mai cheerfully left the room.

My little sister is counting on me.

She’s cheering me on as I step away from being the villain and walk the right path.

I want to respond to her expectations. I want my mother to be happy that I’ve become a respectable person.

And above all— I want to convey my gratitude to Masahiro, who has always been there for me.

With renewed determination, I grabbed my bag and left the room.