Objectively speaking, Kyle Smith was quite handsome.
Though his shaggy hair and neglected styling somewhat concealed his looks.
Overall, he was large and sturdy, and his height of 182-3cm was hardly that of a pushover.
The reason he became Stella Academy's unofficial pushover and a target for bullies was all due to his personality.
An extremely timid loser.
With a complicated family history, Kyle's self-esteem had always been at rock bottom.
Kyle's handsome appearance had only garnered attention for a while; now, even that was just an accessory for the bullies who crushed him.
The vain thugs often tormented the handsome Kyle to make themselves stand out even more.
Hence, Kyle's nickname was Self-Esteem Vending Machine, and his relatively wealthy wallet for a student also made the lives of the bullies a little more comfortable.
"Kyle's here at school?"
Hearing the news that Kyle Smith had finally come to school after a long time, the balding Homeroom Teacher wore a delighted expression.
"Yes, sir."
Cynthia, who was facing him, nodded in the faculty room.
"That's a relief. I was worried Kyle might fail a grade. I guess it's greedy of me to even expect good grades; I hope you can help him come to school regularly in the second semester, Cynthia."
The Homeroom Teacher handed her some printouts, the class president, adding,
"Well, go to the classroom and hand these out to the kids and tell them to make sure they deliver them home. They can also see it on the school app, but many parents are still more comfortable with analog."
Soon after, Cynthia left the faculty room with the printouts in her arms.
"...."
The stack of printouts was thick enough to make her arms ache, but Cynthia had no time to think about that right now.
Buzzing.
The school hallway, about to have the morning assembly, was quite noisy, but she couldn't hear it.
'Kyle....'
Her head was filled with thoughts of Kyle.
It was always like this, but it was especially bad today.
It was all because of what happened this morning.
'Why did he suddenly do that...?'
She repeatedly pursed her dry lips inward and released them, wearing a confused expression.
Cynthia liked Kyle.
But having never had a proper relationship, she wasn't clear on the distinction between 'Like' and 'Love.'
'His cheek... must have hurt a lot, right? Was I too harsh?'
Cynthia, her face flushed, slowly headed towards the classroom.
Step.
And finally, the moment she crossed the threshold of the classroom.
"Huh?"
Her eyes widened involuntarily.
The students in the classroom were all looking at one place, as if they had agreed to it.
Following their gaze, Cynthia couldn't help but be shocked.
It was because of the sight of two men fighting: Kyle Smith and Rex Williams.
"Damn it, this loser...."
Rex Williams was sitting on the classroom floor, looking up at Kyle Smith.
His face was a mess, his mouth torn and bleeding, showing how much he had been beaten.
His bloodshot eyes were also swollen overall. She thought he would probably have bruises tomorrow.
On the other hand, Kyle Smith looked perfectly fine.
Anyone could clearly see who the victim and the perpetrator were.
However, Cynthia, not knowing the full story, couldn't escape her existing perceptions.
"Hey! Rex!"
She slammed the printouts down on the teacher's desk, her eyes blazing.
"Did you bully Kyle again?!"
She put her hands on her hips and strode towards them.
The Kyle Smith that Cynthia knew was always the victim, and the thugs, including Rex Williams, were always the perpetrators.
Thinking one-dimensionally, it might look like Rex Williams had been beaten, but she had already decided that Kyle Smith was the victim and was filled with concern for him.
If a thug who was always fighting was hurt this badly, how much more hurt must Kyle Smith be?
He might look fine on the outside, but Kyle's uniform was sure to be full of injuries underneath.
The so-called bullies were good at hitting without leaving obvious marks.
It wasn't unreasonable for Cynthia to misunderstand.
"Rex, seriously! I told you not to bully Kyle! I'm going to tell the teacher everything!"
"What the hell are you talking about? Can't you see?! I'm the one who got beat up this time! Damn it!"
Rex protested with the most wronged expression in the world, but it didn't work.
Because of his usual behavior and the karma he had built up himself.
Kyle, who had been watching them in bewilderment, quickly grasped the situation and smiled inwardly.
'Lucky me.'
* * *
Alternating between looking at Cynthia and Rex Williams, who were arguing, I nodded briefly.
'So, his name is Rex Williams.'
I remembered.
In the original work, he was just a minor character without even a single illustration, but depending on the route, he was a thug who would harass Cynthia.
'Should I have beat him up more?'
He was a friend of the Golden Haired Guy who was after Cynthia, or rather, not even a friend, but a friend of a friend.
"Look at this face! I got beat up, damn it! I'm going crazy! Why are you yelling at me?"
He raised his voice at Cynthia.
Suddenly, Cynthia, who had been glaring at Rex Williams, reached out and hugged my face tightly, as if protecting me.
It was a careful and precious touch, as if she were enshrining a sacred object.
'Good smell....'
The fragrant scent of Cynthia, along with the soft fabric and the sensation of her chest, stimulated my instincts.
Buried in her voluminous chest, I entrusted myself to her and naturally closed my eyes.
I felt like I had hit the jackpot.
I hadn't expected it at all.
"You're yelling, so you must be fine! Rex, if you keep bullying Kyle, I won't stand by!"
Cynthia scolded Rex Williams in a shrill voice and continued to defend me.
I hoped she would say vulgar things in that voice later.
'I want to touch them, but I should probably hold back this time, given the atmosphere.'
Just as I barely suppressed my sexual urges.
Thwack!
A rough sound echoed.
Peeking out from Cynthia's chest, I saw the Homeroom Teacher slamming the attendance book down.
"What the hell is it now?!"
"It's me, you punk."
Rex turned his head sharply and was surprised to find the teacher behind him.
"No, I, that...."
"Rex Williams. 'Again,' is it you?"
"That's not it...."
"Fighting all the time, and what was that earlier? Cursing? Don't you even care about the teacher anymore?"
The middle-aged teacher scolded Rex Williams, repeating Cynthia's earlier actions.
Thanks to Rex Williams' very bad reputation.
"...I'm sorry."
"Sit down or go to the nurse's office."
"Yes...."
The guy, with his head bowed, went back to his seat.
"What are you looking at? Huh? Turn your eyes away?"
Taking out his anger on the surrounding students.
* * *
The morning assembly was over, and the boring first and second period classes were all over.
All that was left was cleaning and the closing ceremony.
"Rex, if you went to the nurse's office, don't slack off and clean properly. I'm watching you."
"Ah...."
"Ah?"
"I, I understand. I'll do it properly."
Leaving Rex Williams, who had been caught red-handed by the Homeroom Teacher, I silently wiped the classroom windows.
The surrounding students spoke to me once in a while, but most of it was just formality.
Even if I beat up Rex at school, where I had come after a long time, a self-proclaimed loser couldn't suddenly become a hero.
The only person I could comfortably talk to in this unfamiliar space was still Cynthia.
"Cynthia. This cleaner is all used up, where...."
But.
Swish!
Cynthia crushed my expectations and turned her head away.
She had been like this since earlier.
As soon as our eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze as if she had seen something she shouldn't have.
"...."
For some reason, she seemed colder than she had been this morning.
'Did I make another mistake?'
When I was hugged by her, I definitely didn't touch her.
Rather, Cynthia touched me, and I swear to God I didn't do anything wrong.
"Could it be, is she embarrassed?"
As I muttered to myself, Cynthia flinched from afar.
I guess that was the answer.
She was pretending to be indifferent, but she was clearly listening to my side and was definitely concerned about me.
To be exact, she was conscious of me.
'Maybe the kiss from this morning is the cause.'
She must be swimming in a common cliché where a childhood friend she had always thought of as a younger brother realized that he was a man for the first time.
'Cute.'
Cynthia, holding the mop tightly with both hands, her ears red to the tips.
Her appearance was so cute that I wanted to bite her to death, no, I wanted to bite her.
Wouldn't she make even cuter sounds if I lifted her academy uniform skirt and spanked her?
...Or not.
'Anyway, I need to gradually raise her favorability like this.'
Unfortunately, I couldn't rashly execute my fantasies.
If I carelessly touched Cynthia, there was a high probability that it would backfire like this morning.
I regretfully brainwashed Cynthia only in my imagination, and walked past the real her and headed to the bathroom.
Thump.
I wanted to start by fucking her, but wouldn't everything have an order and a stage?
The revenge against the heroines of this world started with steadily gaining their favor.
'There are some heroines who respond well to being forced, but Cynthia is very sensitive to the situation.'
As I wrung out the mop, I recalled a famous quote often cited by famous soccer players.
Don't think the world has abandoned you.
The world has never had you.
...It was also what one of the NTR guys in this world muttered to me while publicly humiliating me.
"Don't think she abandoned you. She never had you in the first place."
Damn it, thinking about it again makes me angry.
'Yeah, I need to make her have me first.'
Just as I was wringing out the mop with all my might.
"...Um, Kyle."
Cynthia, who was peeking out from outside the men's bathroom, called me cautiously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well―."
"Whether there is or isn't, tell me quickly. Someone might see. Or just come in and lock the door."
She looked startled at my blunt words.
But that didn't last long.
She squeezed her eyes shut and came into the bathroom, showing a truly bold side.
Hmm, is this my chance?