Restarting My Life After Failing to Protect Girls in My Class – The Day I Was Called the "Demon God of Dragon Slaying" - Episode 12

“What are you doing for summer vacation, Togo-kun?”

The desk creaked, and a sweet scent wafted through the air. I knew who it was before I even heard the voice.

The last seat in the center of Class 2-5 at Nishifuchu City First High School—that’s my seat.

It was July 14th, after all the final exams had been handed back, and lunch break was halfway over. I was reviewing my math class, struggling with a difficult problem in my workbook.

Thanks to the centralized air conditioning that started running on July 1st, it was neither too hot nor too cold.

“Are you going on a family trip or something? You’re not going to cram school, right?”

When I looked up, I saw a short skirt and thighs perched on the edge of my desk—bright brown hair with soft waves, a kind-looking gal—Noma-san’s beauty met my eyes, and it was a feast for them.

Behind Noma-san was Aoki-san, a cool gal with short black hair, except for one strand near her right temple dyed pink. Today, like every day, she had the shortest skirt in the class.

“Summer vacation… nothing special, really. I’ll probably just read manga, watch anime, and take it easy.”

When we first met, I was stiff with excitement, joy, and nervousness. But after occasionally hanging out with them in my first year and being in the same class again in my second year, I could now interact with both of them calmly.

Now, no matter what these two gals said or did to me, I was just the “ordinary Togo Kizuki.”

“That’s such a typical otaku summer vacation. If you find any interesting anime, let me know.”

“Even if I told you, Noma-san, you wouldn’t watch it, right?”

“Ah, don’t be prejudiced. If it looks interesting, I’ll even watch late-night anime.”

“No, no. The stuff I usually watch is like, reincarnating in another world and becoming invincible, or high school girls transforming and fighting. That kind of thing doesn’t really interest you, does it?”

“Ah~. Hmm… well, maybe? That’s more Aoki’s thing.”

The conversation suddenly shifted, and Aoki-san let out a “Huh?” in response.

—Creak.

On the opposite edge of the desk, where Noma-san was sitting, another pair of thighs perched, almost revealing underwear… and as a result, I ended up studying with my textbooks and workbook sandwiched between the thighs of two stunningly beautiful girls.

“I read a lot of manga, but I hardly ever watch anime. Anime just keeps going, and you can’t really go at your own pace, right?”

“But Aoki, you like fighting stuff too, don’t you?”

“That’s just because my brother buys shonen manga. I’ll read anything, action or romance. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch anime. …Well, if Togo-kun really wanted me to watch something, I might consider it.”

“Hey, Togo-kun. Why don’t you name a few of your favorite anime? Maybe you can have an otaku talk with Aoki.”

There was no way I could study peacefully while sandwiched between such alluring thighs. I put down my mechanical pencil, leaned back in my chair, and crossed my arms.

I gave a light, wry smile.

“I’ll pass. You might figure out what kind of girls I like.”

Then, as if struck by an idea, Aoki-san leaned in close and whispered to me.

“If there’s a naughty scene, I might get excited thinking, ‘Did Togo-kun get off to this part?’ I might even send you a video of myself out of rivalry.”

Her cool beauty was perfectly matched with a sly glance. She stuck out her tongue slightly, a cute little lick.

The eroticism was so intense that even the seductive older sister characters from popular anime couldn’t compare. Noma-san, who was listening right next to us, couldn’t help but get excited.

“That’s a great idea! I want to do that too! I want to see Togo-kun squirm!”

She burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the entire classroom.

Both boys and girls turned to look at the three of us, but I just laughed it off with a relaxed “Give me a break.” Even under the curious gazes of my classmates, I didn’t flinch.

“But wouldn’t Noma-san be the one taking more damage? I’d just be a little embarrassed, but I’d get to have ‘Noma-san’s video,’ right? If anything, I’d be grateful.”

Even when dealing with these two gals who were on a roll, I managed to keep the conversation going, backed by my fifteen years of adult experience.

“Eh…? Togo-kun… are you saying you’d actually use my video…?”

“Who knows? I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

I handled the dirty jokes with ease. If I overreacted, I’d come off as a virgin, and if I got too into it, I’d be the one accused of sexual harassment. It’s best to keep things light and ambiguous.

“Well, my summer vacation will just be spent casually watching anime, reading manga, and light novels. What about you two, Noma-san and Aoki-san?”

“Us?”

“Do you already have plans for the summer?”

I forced a change of topic, and Noma-san and Aoki-san exchanged glances—Noma-san immediately grinned and flashed a peace sign with her right hand. Her slender, long fingers looked oddly alluring, showing just how much of a beauty she was.

“My schedule is packed like never before.”

“That’s quite something.”

As I chuckled lightly, Aoki-san let out a small sigh and looked at me.

“It’s not ‘quite something.’ Miyuki just went ahead and filled up the schedule without thinking. Can you believe it? Over thirty days are already booked this summer. And every day, she’s hanging out with someone different.”

“Haha. Thirty days is impressive.”

Out of the forty days of summer vacation, over thirty were already filled with plans. I could only marvel at how sociable she was.

“What can I do? I get so many invitations!”

Noma-san made excuses, but Aoki-san quietly pointed out.

“Even so, seven summer festivals is just ridiculous. Are you planning to go to every festival in the city?”

Right after, Noma-san seemed at a loss for words, so I threw her a lifeline. “It’s still better than me, who doesn’t even have plans to go to the local summer festival.”

“Poor thing. If you’re free, maybe I’ll take you around?”

“I’ll respectfully decline. Your fan club might stab me.”

“Besides, there’s no way my schedule’s going to be free.”

At that exchange, Noma-san, Aoki-san, and I all laughed together—and I decided to throw in a little jab.

“People with lots of friends outside school must have it tough. I’m sure it’s not just people from our school, right?”

“Most of the plans are with people from this school.”

“’Most’ means not all, right? It’s fine to hang out with flashy people outside, but don’t go too wild.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just a little bit at the end of summer vacation.”

“…I see.”

‘Just a little bit at the end of summer vacation’—it was almost certain that Noma-san and Aoki-san would be brutally murdered at the end of August because of that ‘little bit.’ It was clear that someone outside the school was involved.

But I didn’t press further.

“I hope we all have a fun summer vacation.”

If my little actions changed the future and the major event of ‘encountering Noma-san and Aoki-san on the afternoon of August 29th’ disappeared, it would be a problem.

—People who could be saved might not be saved.

—If they got caught up in an incident and died somewhere I didn’t know about, it would be unbearable.

As I thought about this, I smiled.

“Togo, you lucky bastard! Don’t hog all the beauties for yourself!”

Sako-kun, the class clown of 2-5, barged in.

“Why are you even asking about Togo’s summer vacation!? Ask me about my plans too!”

“Ehh~. Sako, you’re just going to be stuck with soccer club, right? And didn’t you fail a bunch of tests this time? Maybe you should study a bit. I’m ranked 9th in the grade, by the way.”

“And Sako, you should really get a girlfriend. Stop being a member of my and Miyuki’s fan club.”

“If either of you would go out with me, I wouldn’t be in your fan club!”

“Ah-ha♪ No way, Sako. You’re just a classmate to me.”

“I agree with Miyuki.”

“Grrr… You’re too hard on me and too easy on Togo! I’m the ace of the soccer club! Togo’s just a big otaku! I should be the one getting special treatment!”

When Sako-kun shouted that, the classroom erupted in laughter.

Then another girl chimed in, “Togo-kun is harmless and easy to talk to! Sako-kun, on the other hand, is just too loud—” and Noma-san and Aoki-san’s attention shifted that way. As a result, I was left alone at my seat.

“Average at sports! Average at studies! Your only good point is being big! Actually, being that big is more of a disadvantage, right? And all the anime you like, Togo, are perverted anime!”

Sako-kun loudly mocked me to get the class’s attention. At the mention of ‘perverted anime,’ snickers erupted from around the classroom, and Sako-kun and a few other boys got excited.

“Togo definitely jerks off to anime characters! He probably can’t even get off to real people! He’s scared of them or something!”

“No way! With that size, it’d be creepy if he said that!”

“Sako, if you keep saying stuff like that, it’s going to turn into bullying!”

I calmly stayed seated. No matter how much Sako-kun, who had stepped into the center of the classroom to start his speech, mocked me as an anime otaku, no amount of ridicule could reach my heart.

I just thought—how nostalgic.

In my first life… during high school, I wasn’t severely bullied, but I was definitely at the bottom of the class hierarchy. I liked anime, games, and light novels, and I wasn’t particularly good at anything… looking back, I remember being used as a ‘joke’ for Sako-kun’s amusement a few times.

In my second life… being the biggest guy in school but still being made fun of by Sako-kun was proof of how unremarkable my high school life was, and how I was seen as just a big anime otaku with no other redeeming qualities. As long as I stayed quiet and kept a low profile at school, no one would realize just how incredible the muscles I had actually were.

“Sako… he’s getting too carried away.”

“Are you okay? If you’re feeling sad, I’ll watch anime with you.”

Aoki-san quietly expressed her irritation, and Noma-san showed concern, but for me, being underestimated as an otaku was more convenient. If my position in high school changed too much from my first life, it might affect the future—August 29, 2016.

So I just smiled and said, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. Just so you know, this isn’t me putting on a brave face or anything.”