Volume 5 - CH 23

Akechi Hideyori Talks about Himself

“A previous life huh……, Right, you are a middle schooler now aren’t you.”

“Whatever, I’m not in the mood anymore.”

That was his reaction when I asked him if he believes in a previous life.

Well, if not for [Breaking the Chain of Sadness] series, even I wouldn’t believe in such a thing.

“It’s fine isn’t it, just keep going. I like that kind of stuff too. So, what are you going to tell me?”

“You see, I have memories from my previous life.”

“……….Haa.”

Perhaps because it sounded so far-fetched, Master’s mouth just hung open in surprise.

It’s probably because a realist like me suddenly brought up such a fantasy-like topic too.

“Hahaha……, it seems I’m getting to hear something strange today huh.”

“In that world, there were no Gifts and I was a high school student. In the summer of my second year in high school, I was hit by a runaway truck……. I suffered an injury so I couldn’t raise my right arm above the shoulder. I probably died because I couldn’t break the fall back then…….”

“W, Wait a minute? Hideyori-kun…….?”

“Those memories flooded into my brain when my uncle beat me when I was five. He was kicking me in the stomach for fun at the time you see……..”

“Is, is it true? What you said…….?”

Although he seems to be taken aback, it seems Master has started to believe in my outrageous story.

To be fair, even I think that it’s hard to believe too.

“That was when I awakened to my Gift…….then, I saw my future self die in high school.”

“……..Haha. Uhh, what should I do now? I don’t know where I should begin to ask?”

“The man called Akechi Hideyori is a fiend.”

“Eh?”

“He would trap others within his scheme and do whatever he wants. He’s the kind of person that used his Gift to deceive, steal, and even murder. That’s the fiendish scumbag bastard he is.”

“…….wait, that sounds just like your father.”

“When I heard you talk about my father it clicked with me you know. His rotten blood truly flows inside my veins. It’s definitely hereditary. When you said all those things about him, you know what I was really thinking at the time……? My future self is way worse than him. That’s what I think.”

Master looks like he’s trying to overlap my father with my future self.

[No, you’re nothing like that]. But in the end, he only smiled and said that.

Still, when the topic of my father was brought up, his teasing tone immediately vanished.

After that, I tell him everything about myself.

About how this is a game’s world.

About how I am the scumbag antagonist of the said game. Someone that only exists to make others miserable.

About what happened in the game.

I left out a lot of things but he’s properly listening to my story.

“This world belongs in a Galge……..Moreover, there’s another kid who has the same memories from their previous life who knows about the game among Sakuya’s friends……? ……….this is too unbelievable you know.”

“But you can’t chalk it up as a lie too right.”

Master started thinking.

“…….I’ve been watching you since you were an elementary schooler but you did not grow up at all huh.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“That’s not it. It’s like you are already completed as a person from the very beginning. It’s normal for a child to grow but an adult is not like that right. I was surprised that a child like you also exists but if you have memories from your previous life then it certainly makes sense.”

“Mentally, I’m an out-of-touch old man just like you, Master. That’s why I think of Master as a brother instead of a father figure while Sakuya and my other classmates just feel like a younger sibling or a child to me.”

“Who are you calling an out of touch old man! (…….still, what a shame. So he doesn’t even see same-age girls as a woman. That must be why he’s so blind………..Sakuya sure fell in love with a troublesome guy huh.)”

Master retorted and mumbled something to himself in a small voice.

But I can see that he’s gradually believing my story.

“It must have been tough for you huh…….”

“You understand me, Master!?”

“Sakuya must have it tough too.”

“How!?”

He started to sympathize with Sakuya all of a sudden.

I don’t even know why he would think about Sakuya with the conversation we’re having.

“More importantly, your Gift, [Dominating Decree] was it………..? That thing is too dangerous isn’t it…….”

“Yeah. If I order Master to kill Sakuya, you wouldn’t be able to resist. It’s that dangerous. If you don’t believe me then I can demonstrate it now.”

“No need!”

“In the game, there was a scene where Oji-san and Oba-san were murdered and it was disguised as a suicide. That event happened even before I started middle school you know.”

“………, yeah. Thank gods that you remembered your previous life.”

Master was dumbfounded and replied with a bitter smile.

He then poured himself a cup of water and gulped it all down.

“Phew.” he let out a sigh.

“So, the protagonist of the game…….he’s one of Sakuya’s friends right.”

“Yeah, my best friend, Juumonji Takeru. He has an ability called [Anti-Gift] that can counteract all Gifts’ effects.”

“Woah, that sure does sound like an ability a protagonist would have.”

“Right? Arguably, my Gift only exists to harass the protagonist. The story gave the antagonist a cheat ability only for him to get messed up by the protagonist, something like that.”

Takeru himself is still not aware that he possesses a Gift though.

“Also, since he’s a Galge protagonist, he’s popular too.”

“How enviable. Well……my condolence………”

Master tried to sugar coat it but he miserably failed.

Even I want to be reborn as Takeru you know.

“Don’t say that……..anyway, it seems that Sakuya is having a crush on that Takeru you know.”

“Ha…….?”

“Amazing isn’t it. They barely met but Sakuya’s already seeing him like that. Being her father, there might be a day where Takeru calls you [Father(in-law)] you know.”

“Amazing.”

“Yeah, Takeru is amazing isn’t he.”

“No, you are.”

“Eh?”

For a while now, it seems like Master and I are not exactly on the same page.

It seems there’s a discrepancy between his adult point of view and my own.

“By the way, Sakuya is one of the heroines of the game right?”

“No way…….Sakuya and Master didn’t even appear in the game you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That’s why Master and Sakuya should be unaffected by the influence of the game. The reason I thought I could talk to you was that you are not a character from the game in the first place. There’s no way I can talk to the characters from the game like this.”

They are the two people that were promised happiness.

Personally, I think that their role is to run this coffee shop in peace.

“Master……., I don’t want to die young again. If I have to die then I want it to be after I grow up properly………that’s why I want you as my adviser……… I want your help.”

“………..”

“At the end of the day, I’m only joking around usually because I’m not that confident I can survive……..to be honest, I’m living in fear every day. Who knows what I will get myself into when I enter high school.”

“I understand. You can consult me about anything. It’s my cute little brother’s request after all. If it’s just advice then I will give you however much you want.”

At first, Master was like [The heck is he saying?] but it seems I managed to convince him in the end.

In that sense, it will be that much easier for me to get along with Master from now on.

“Also, you can’t tell others about this okay.”

“There’s no way I would do that right. Still, I want you to keep taking care of Sakuya from now on as well. If you can promise me that then you can consult me about whatever you want.”

“It’s a deal then. I will take care of Sakuya and Master will take care of me.”

“………I want you to keep getting along with Sakuya even without that kind of condition attached though.”

I’ve told him a lot of things today and Master probably needs time to sort out his head too.

Thinking that it’s time to leave, I stand up.

“Thanks Master. This made me feel a lot better.”

“Yeah, yeah, see you again soon.”

“Thanks for believing my story!”

I didn’t expect that I would reveal everything to Master but it would actually come to that anyway since he’s already guessed that I have a Gift.

Just like that, I left the coffee shop and headed home.

“I heard rumors that girls these days prefer dating someone older but I guess that’s true huh……. Well, I would be shocked if Sakuya suddenly dates a guy 10 or 20 years older but if it’s only mentally then………I guess it’s permissible huh.”

Master was pondering to himself alone in his empty shop.

“How will I get him to marry my daughter though……that would be difficult when he only sees her as a sister or a daughter after all.”

Thus began Master’s plan to marry Sakuya to Hideyori.

TLN: Well, in a world with super powered people walking around, remembering their previous life isn’t that hard to believe huh.