Without refusing, and to show that she really didn't have much of a connection with Tomoya Aki, Megumi Kato quickly explained how they had met.
How should one put it... it was just... it was just ridiculous.
That was the first reaction that came to Ren's mind.
On a slope, Megumi's beret was blown away by the wind, landing exactly in Tomoya Aki's hands. Tomoya looked up and saw Megumi standing at the top of the slope, looking at the beret in his hand.
Whoa, this must be a meeting arranged by fate.
A beautiful girl's beret blows into my hands, and that beautiful girl is looking at me. As a severe galgame addict, Tomoya Aki naturally treated this coincidental experience as a fated encounter straight out of a game. What Tomoya needed to do next was to "conquer" Megumi Kato and achieve the final ending of this game.
Truly... light novels still need to follow some logic, but reality doesn't require any logic at all.
"Katsuragi-kun, are you thinking about something bad?"
Noticing the pity in Ren's eyes, Megumi asked with confusion.
"Megumi, you've had it rough."
Ren felt far too much sympathy for Megumi. Just because her beret was blown away by the wind, she was harassed by Tomoya Aki, who even claimed he wanted to make her the heroine of his game. It would have been one thing if they discussed it privately, but he actually shouted it at the classroom door.
Did Tomoya Aki simply have no one else he knew in this world?
"Was the reason you joined the club because Tomoya Aki said he could turn you into a galgame heroine to increase your popularity and solve the problem of your low presence?"
After comforting Megumi with a couple of sentences, Ren went straight to the heart of the matter. Sometimes one really had to admire Tomoya Aki's brain; he actually came up with something like this.
Turning his "imagined" fated girlfriend into a galgame heroine, and then selling it to increase Megumi's fame...
Take ten thousand steps back—even if Tomoya Aki eventually succeeded, actually dated Megumi, and the galgame became a hit, what about Megumi's family? Megumi was a beautiful girl, after all. Using Megumi's original image in a galgame, and it becoming popular...
After she truly became famous, if Megumi went out to buy groceries, a little boy dragging his mother along might point at Megumi as she picked out vegetables and say to his mother: "Mama, that older girl is my girlfriend. I've dated her and successfully conquered her."
For a child, it's fine; adults would pass it off as childish nonsense. But what about an adult? What if a stalking pervert appeared, like in that incident with Airi?
One must understand there are many people who truly treat galgame heroines as their real-life wives. Furthermore, putting your "fated girlfriend" into a game and letting strangers date her through the game...
Good grief, he was actively letting others "cuck" him.
"Mhm, that was my previous thought."
Megumi emphasized the word "previous," clearly not wanting Ren to misunderstand anything.
"Megumi, your thinking was a bit flawed. If you want to increase your popularity, you shouldn't use this method."
"The target audience for galgames... how should I put this? Megumi, have you ever seen anyone in class openly discussing galgames with their friends?"
ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) culture is fine; at least it covers a wide range, and those who love it can gather and chat normally. Galgames are different. Who would dare talk about that in a classroom? Without a doubt, they would be shunned by most of the class.
Combined with Tomoya Aki's embarrassing scene on the first day, it had made things even worse for the culture. The backbone of the local otaku community, which had finally started to straighten up a bit, was stepped on and broken by Ren because Tomoya interrupted his speech. Now, many "veteran otakus" at Sobu High were gnashing their teeth at Tomoya Aki.
Their reputation had finally improved slightly, and now it was ruined again. They had turned back into rats in the gutter.
"Ugh... I really didn't think about that at the time..."
Megumi lowered her eyes in shame, not daring to look at Ren's. At the time, she was only focused on the "grand dream" Tomoya had sold her. She hadn't thought about this at all; she had been blinded by the idea of increasing her visibility.
After figuring it out later, seeing that Tomoya Aki's club was about to dissolve anyway, she had planned to just run away when it happened. She didn't expect to actively deliver herself into Ren's hands today.
"Megumi, there are many ways to increase popularity. You can choose to improve yourself, find something you like, and work hard for it."
"As long as you achieve something, your popularity will naturally rise. It doesn't rely on so-called galgames."
Seeing that Megumi was much more sober than Eriri and Utaha, Ren spoke his thoughts directly. Relying on others is never as good as relying on oneself; only working hard to improve oneself is real.
"Look at it another way: even if you did gain popularity through a galgame, every game has a time when it leaves the stage, right?"
"When the galgame with your image is gone and your popularity drops, what will you do then? Make another galgame using your image as the heroine?"
Tomoya Aki took things too much for granted, thinking entirely for his own game rather than for others. Everything he did and the companions he sought were all serving his so-called "Best Galgame in the World." Others were merely tools on his path to making the game.
"Ugh... Katsuragi-kun, please don't say anymore."
Megumi's face was flushed red—not from shyness, but pure embarrassment. She had completely realized how foolish her original idea had been.
To be able to talk the easy-going and composed Megumi Kato into a "red-hot" state, one had to admit that Ren's talent in certain areas was truly unique.
"Katsuragi-kun, please don't stare at me like that. I can get angry too."
Feeling Ren's curious gaze, Megumi puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"Do you have any hobbies, Megumi? We can start from there to increase your popularity." Ren looked at her with amusement.
Megumi, who was usually expressionless, looked very interesting when she occasionally showed small expressions.
"I haven't thought of any." Megumi shook her head.
Megumi found that she seemed really ordinary. She had no particular favorite things or special hobbies. Perhaps after she graduated, she would just find someone to marry and become a housewife. A very flat and ordinary life; if the person she married was someone she liked, it would be very warm.
It would be even better if that person didn't ignore her existence...
Glance~
It could be said that Ren really had a "special damage bonus" against Megumi Kato; his "uniqueness" to her was too important.
"Is that so? There's no need to hurry. Just take it slow. When you think of something, if you need help, you can come to me."
"Can I?" Megumi wanted to confirm the answer again.
"Of course. We are friends."
Ren gave a definitive reply.
Just... friends?
Quickly pulling her thoughts back, Megumi watched Ren sitting beside her, reaching out with his hand to catch a falling cherry blossom petal in mid-air.
"Katsuragi-kun, what do you think 'liking' is?"
Ren, having caught a petal, was stunned. He hadn't expected Megumi to ask this question.
"What do you think 'liking' is, Megumi?"
"Katsuragi-kun, I asked you first."
Megumi didn't follow Ren's lead like before, but pushed the topic back.
"What is liking..."
Ren fell into thought, looking at the petal in his palm. Megumi wasn't in a hurry either, sitting quietly beside him, waiting for the boy to give the answer he believed in. This peaceful time was a treat in Megumi's eyes.
"Liking is a moment. In that single instant, someone crashes into you without warning or buffer. It's direct, yet gentle, melting all my defenses."
"It allows me to bypass all sense of novelty and love you in an endless loop."
After a moment of thought, Ren gave his answer.
"Liking is a moment? Do you mean love at first sight, Katsuragi-kun?" Megumi placed a finger on her cherry lips, deep in thought.
Ren denied her thought.
"It's not love at first sight. Feelings require interaction, and 'liking' is a specific moment during that interaction."
"It only takes that one moment to realize that you have already fallen for her."
"Then if..." Megumi didn't finish her sentence. Ren caught Megumi's wrist and placed the girl's fingertip back in front of her lips.
A girl doesn't ask a boy about "liking" for no reason.
Ren looked at Megumi and shook his head with a smile. Until he fully repaired Mahiru Shiina's psychological trauma, Ren wouldn't establish a definite romantic relationship with any girl.
Mahiru Shiina was Ren's fiancée, and her priority in his heart was very high. He had just pulled Mahiru out of the abyss a little bit; if he turned around and established a relationship with another girl, Mahiru would lose her mind.
That's not how you build a harem.
Ren was indeed a "scumbag" (fickle), but that was on the premise of ensuring he wouldn't hurt others. Many things, once spoken, really leave no room for turning back.
Ren interrupted Megumi's thought of continuing, which was also a subtle way of telling her.
He might not be able to accept the girl's confession just yet.