A Reincarnation Romantic Comedy Of A Hero And A Witch - V1 Epilogue
Epilogue – Shiraishi Godou and Shiina Mai
Last day of the exam.
This time, I didn’t know whether I did well in the subjects for the day or not.
I knew that I wouldn’t get any red marks, but at the same time, it was doubtful that I’d get the average mark.
“How did it go?”
As I was holding my head in my hands, Shiina called out to me.
“If it wasn’t for yesterday, I would’ve been able to do more…”
“Pulling an all-nighters wouldn’t help you by much anyway.”
“I guess… What about you? Everything’s fine? It’s your first exam, so the scope of the exam should be different from your previous school. Did you have it hard?”
“Are you mocking me? All I’ve been doing at home is reading and studying, you know?”
“Don’t say that so smugly like that.”
It was hard to react to her self-deprecating jokes. Actually, knowing her, she probably didn’t mean it as a joke. That was just how her daily life had been, so she just said it like it was nothing.
“…Well, if you ever have to retake the exam, I’ll help you to study for it. It was partly my responsibility that you had a hard time today and besides… W-we’re f-friends…”
She turned her face away after she said that.
Now, I got embarrassed too, thanks to her. Seriously, if saying something corny made her embarrassed, she shouldn’t be saying it in the first place.
“I-I guess so… W-We’re friends, aren’t we?…”
“Y-Yeah… E-Even if we didn’t want it to happen, w-we became friends anyway…”
“…”
“…”
We both fell to silence. What was with this awkward atmosphere? Could I leave now?
I said too many cringy lines yesterday, I didn’t want to remember any of it. I hope I can erase my memory of it. This morning I rolled around my room the moment I woke up. Seriously, what the hell did I do yesterday?!
What exclusive hero? What are you, an idiot? How could you say something cheesy like that?!
Also, how could that girl listen to those words earnestly like that? Was she an idiot?!
“W-Well, don’t worry about me, I-I doubt I’ll have to retake it.”
“I-Is that so? G-Glad to hear that. Y-You aren’t that stupid, I see.”
“Stop calling me an idiot!”
When I yelled at her to deny her words, Shiina pouted her lips.
“I-Is this not how you normally talk to your friend? U-Um…”
She asked, looking unsure.
“No, you’re right…”
They say it is because you are close that you can freely throw insults at each other.
“?”
Shiina tilted her head, confused.
Well, she didn’t really know how friendships worked in the first place, so I guess it was a given that she’d be puzzled about it.
Because all the people she met in her previous life were hostile to her, she became used to throwing out cold words. That was why she developed that honor student persona of hers, so she wouldn’t unilaterally spit out poison at random people. She acted suspiciously at times because she didn’t know what to say aside from those harsh words.
“…I don’t understand. Friends… How am I supposed to act around them?”
Personally, I don’t care if she acts normal around me.
Friends are just people you are comfortable with.
But this clumsy girl wouldn’t listen to me if I were to tell her that.
That was why…
“Alright, now that the exam is over, it’s time to have fun.”
“H-Have fun?”
“Yeah. I’ll teach you how to have fun with your friends.”
“What exactly should I do?”
“Anything, really. Shopping, karaoke, bowling… Hell, just going out together counts. Anything fun so we can forget about the exam works.”
“…We don’t have to do those things together, do we?”
“Oi.”
The point of it was that we would be doing it together.
“The more the merrier. If it’s someone you don’t know, then it’s acceptable if you feel awkward, but with friends, you shouldn’t be. Friends are the people you’re comfortable with, after all.”
…Wait, I just said those embarrassing lines with a straight face…
Just earlier, I swore at myself for doing it yesterday and now I did it again. It was too late to regret it.
My black history kept accumulating.
“…Let’s go… Together…”
Well, we were high school students. I should just dismiss my black history as the folly of youth and move on.
“O-Okay…”
Shiina let out a wide smile, the smile she had never shown before.
“I’ll leave myself in your care.”
* * *
And so, we decided to do karaoke.
“U-Um… Godou?”
“Yeah? …Well, you don’t need to talk, I know what you are going to say.”
Shiina was frozen stiff.
Reason being…
“Woohoo! It’s been a while since I last came here!’
“You always come here every time an exam is over…”
“I mean, it’s a good distraction. Now, let’s sing to our hearts content!”
Hina, Shinji and Yuuka were all here.
After our conversation, Shiina and I decided to do karaoke, but along the way we ran into Shinji and Yuuka. After that, Yuuka invited Hina to join us.
“…Do you feel uncomfortable?”
“N-No, I don’t, it’s just…”
Well, I knew that she’d act like this, that was why I was hesitant when those three decided to join in.
“…You know, those three were worried about you too. They noticed that you hadn’t been feeling well.”
When I told her this, she froze.
“…Really?”
“Mhm. That’s why you should show them that you’re doing well. You might think of them as strangers, but they thought of you as their friends.”
“E-Eh? I-Is it that easy to make friends?”
“You’re the only one in this room who’d think that it’s hard…”
I flicked her forehead.
When Shinji saw me talking with Shiina, he poked me in the shoulder.
“You guys are getting along well.”
“More like we’re getting along better…”
“Hm?”
When I told him that, he smirked before letting out a hearty laugh.
I felt like I would be bombarded by a barrage of questions, so I quickly grabbed the microphone. No one would ask me anything if I were to sing now, a perfect countermeasure. I didn’t have much confidence in my singing voice, but I knew that I wasn’t horrible at it at least.
“Did you do well on the exam, Mai-chan?”
“Ah… I-I should be fine… I think…”
Meanwhile, Shiina was dealing with the girls.
Was she aware that she was cutting their conversation short with that kind of answer? Well, to be fair, it wasn’t exactly a conversation that should be prolonged to begin with. No one liked talking too much about exams.
Anyway, it wasn’t like she could fix her shyness overnight. She had to steadily cure her fear of people and lack of self-esteem by constantly talking with other people like this.
When I was thinking about that, I finished singing my song. Almost immediately, Hina picked up the mic in high spirits. The screen displayed a rather popular idol song.
“Let’s sing together, Yuuka!”
“Sure! I can only sing the chorus though.”
I went to the drink bar to get some drinks for myself.
I returned to our room with a melon soda in hand.
“Oi, what are you doing?”
Shiina was frozen stiff while holding the tablet.
When I called out to her, she answered me in a whisper.
“W-What should I do?”
“What do you mean? You’re at karaoke, just sing.”
“I don’t know how to…”
“Why the hell did you choose karaoke then?”
Out of the many options I offered her, she was the one who picked karaoke.
“Because it’s better than bowling or any other activities that involve me moving my body around!”
“…I see. I assume that you don’t normally listen to popular songs, then?”
“I only listen to classic pieces…”
“I don’t think you can sing those songs here.”
“Also… I don’t know how to use this machine…”
“Wow… You know how to use your phone, right? It’s similar to your phone, you should be able to get the hang of it quickly.”
I taught her how to use the tablet.
She was smart to begin with, so she got the hang of it quicker than I thought.
“…So, what are you going to sing?”
“…Um… Anything that I usually hear on TV, I guess?”
She said as she pointed to a list of really old songs.
“Alright, go with that one. It’s old, but everyone should know about it.”
“…Are you sure I should go with this? You aren’t making fun of me, are you?”
“I’m not. Karaoke is about singing the song you want to sing, no matter how outdated or bad it is.”
Well, some groups would force you to sing the songs that everyone knew, but it wasn’t the case with our group. Everyone knew that Shiina was bad at socializing and they wouldn’t force her to do anything.
“Oi, you over there! Listen to my singing properly!”
“I’m listening, so just do your thing, jeez.”
“Y-Yes, M-Me too! You’re an amazing singer, Kirishima-san…”
“Huh, you think so? Thank you!”
Hina beamed happily. I shrugged my shoulders after seeing her like that.
“Shiina, flattery can hurt people, you know?”
“Don’t say unnecessary things!”
“E-Eh? I-I didn’t mean to…”
Shina looked flustered and made eye contact with Hina, who was giggling at her. I handed the tablet to Hina.
“Oi Hina, I picked a song, you go sing with her.”
“Eh? Okay okay! I didn’t expect you to listen to this kind of song, Shiina-san.”
“Ahaha… I-I don’t remember the lyrics well though…”
“Don’t worry, me neither because it’s a really old song.”
The exchange was clumsy, but Shiina managed to talk more comfortably now.
As I was feeling at ease after seeing her growth, Shinji, who had just come back from getting a drink, sat down beside me.
“Good for her.”
I knew what he meant.
“I don’t know what happened, but it seems like she’s getting better.”
His eyes were on Shiina, who was holding the mic with both her hands while looking flustered.
It was obvious that she wasn’t used to being in this kind of situation and I couldn’t help but laugh at her. Her pitch when singing was a little off, but at least she looked like she was having fun.
“So, why are you trying to talk to me?”
“Eh, I just feel like it.”
He shrugged his shoulders. His gaze looked as if he had seen through me.
I might be a hero back in my previous life, but the current me was merely a high school student. I wasn’t omnipotent enough to read the thoughts of everyone.
“Summer vacation is almost here.”
Yuuka, who sat next to Shinji, said that in a cheerful tone.
“If you want to, we can go out and hang out together. Can you bring Shiina-san with you?”
“Ask the person yourself.”
When I pointed at Shiina, who was engrossing herself in her singing, Yuuka blinked her eyes and laughed. I mean, I wasn’t Shiina’s guardian or anything, there was no need to go through me for every single thing that involved her.
After that, only Shiina’s and Hina’s singing voices echoed through the room.
It was hard to say that they nailed the song, but Hina was vibing while Shiina did her best to sing.
And she said that a witch wasn’t allowed to be happy.
What a full load of cr*p. I wanted her to say that again after looking at her current state in the mirror.
She was having fun playing with everyone.
“…You wanna go somewhere?”
“Yes! Let’s go to the beach later!”
Now, that was a bad suggestion. Shiina couldn’t swim, so I could imagine her drowning in the sea.
I sensed trouble coming in the near future.
“H-How was it? I-I didn’t mess up, right?”
“Hm? Well, if you want my honest opinion, you suck.”
“R-Really?! I really shouldn’t be allowed to sing…”
“You know…”
I sighed at Shiina, who acted all depressed after hearing my words.
Seriously, this girl just couldn’t take a joke.
Talking with her always brought me headaches. Nevertheless, she was my friend.
Unfortunately, I was stuck with her since I promised to make her happy.
So, despite what she said, I had to protect that smile of hers from now on.
I could sense trouble in the near future. An enjoyable one, though.
* * *
Once upon a time, in a distant land, a witch asked,
“If we met under different circumstances, would we be able to be friends?”
Once upon a time, in a distant land, a hero answered,
“Nothing will change between us. Unless we’re reborn in another world.”
TL: Iyo
ED: Dodo
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nekonano
That was a satisfying volume, thank you for all the hard work! お疲れさまでした!