Chapter 1

“…Huh?”

That day, he remembered.
Right after a sudden, sharp headache struck him, he remembered as if the hidden memories deep within his brain were being violently pried open.

“…Man, I’m a real piece of work, aren’t I?”

He muttered those words under his breath. If anyone had been around, they would have looked at him like he was losing his mind.
Fortunately, he was all alone inside the apartment room where he lived. The trash bags scattered all over the place made it obvious just how filthy the room was.

“…Hmph.”

Sitting all alone in the middle of that room with his arms crossed, he was deep in thought, wondering how on earth things had ended up this way.

“Strangely enough, I can’t remember the title… but I’m the guy who steals the childhood friend from the protagonist, right?”

What on earth is this guy even talking about…? Anyone would think that. But the event that had occurred to him was by no means something he could just laugh off as a joke.
Because right now, he had remembered.
His past memories, memories from before he came to live in this world.

“…Shishido Ryuichi, huh?”

Shishido Ryuichi. That was his name. Well, it was his name, yet it was also a different name. The name was different from the one he had when he lived in his former world, but it was a name he had grown accustomed to and lived with for many years on this side as well. Even though his dormant memories had been awakened, he had no intention of fussing over his name at this late stage.

“…Well, remembering it doesn’t change a damn thing, does it?”

The memories he had recalled were that his current self was a character appearing in a certain manga. It was an adult manga, and the genre was netorare—to put it bluntly, he was the guy who stole the girl the protagonist was in love with.

“…Ah, dammit, what a pain in the ass.”

His verbal habits were being pulled along by his physical body, coming out rough and crude.
He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. He was tall, had blonde hair, wore earrings, and his body was muscular. To top it off, his masculine endowment was huge, making up all the elements that practically screamed “antagonist/stud for hire.”

“Still, I’m genuinely good-looking, aren’t I?”

The person reflected in the mirror was indeed handsome.
His appearance was totally flashy and delinquent, but his features were well-proportioned, and his body—to say it twice—was well-built. His solid physique gave off a sense of raw power, making him large enough to easily pin down an ordinary woman.

If you closed your eyes to the delinquent look, he really was a good-looking guy. Well, that was probably why he had the setting of playing around with women… If someone said he looked frivolous enough to be popular if he just acted normal and sweet-talked women into things, that made total sense too.

“…Sigh.”

A massive sigh slipped out.
What was bothering him now wasn’t just the fact that he had remembered, but also looking back at his actions before he remembered. It wasn’t like he had committed heinous acts that clearly screamed “he’s a bad guy,” but… he had maintained quite a few relationships with women.

Fortunately, it seemed there were no relationships in his memories with women who already had boyfriends, but… he couldn’t help holding his head in his hands, wondering what on earth he had been doing.

“It’s fine for now, but… I’m supposed to fall head over heels for the heroine and steal her away, right? And the heroine, for her part, holds a lot of disgust toward the frivolous Ryuichi, but ended up in a physical relationship with him dragged along by the convenient developments typical of adult manga… or something like that, wasn’t it?”

His body hadn’t changed, and his past hadn’t changed either. However, with just a shift in mindset, he could almost be called someone who was Ryuichi and yet not Ryuichi at all. In other words, with a normal train of thought awakened within him, he had zero interest in the hobby of stealing someone else’s woman.

“…Man, Ryuichi’s family situation is a total mess.”

He felt a little sympathy for the chilly relationship with his family tucked away in his memories—the behind-the-scenes circumstances that hadn’t been depicted in the manga—but that didn’t justify his subsequent bad behavior. Figuring that thinking about it too much would just bring his mood down, Ryuichi stopped pondering matters related to his family for the time being.

“Shishido Ryuichi… Sounds like a name for a guy who definitely gets around.”

It was certainly not the name of a mere background character.
Both his family name and given name were striking, possessing an overwhelmingly memorable ring to it. Well, if he ever had to take tests, writing that name down every single time probably would have been a pain, though.

“Well, whatever. Remembering it doesn’t change anything. Shall I head outside?”

Having stood up, Ryuichi headed straight for the entryway, but on the way, he stepped on a canned drink and took a magnificent tumble. The sight of a solidly built guy clumsily wiping out was pretty pathetic. I’ll clean up a bit when I get back, Ryuichi resolved in his heart.

When he stepped outside, a cool breeze greeted him.
It was April, just after he had advanced to the second year of the high school he currently attended. His class had changed this year, and the protagonist and heroine of the manga were in the same class as him. Because he had caused quite a bit of ruckus back in his first year, the serious folks in class kept their distance from him on a daily basis.

“…Yawn.”

A huge yawn escaped him.
Ryuichi didn’t even bother to cover his mouth with his hand. It was proof of how out of it he was, partly due to the lingering confusion of failing to fully accept his current situation.

“…Well, I get why people feel that way, though.”

Just as he himself felt, Ryuichi’s appearance was totally that of a delinquent. That was precisely why many of the people passing him on the street turned their gazes toward him and moved out of the way to keep their distance. He felt a slight pang of shock at that, but since it had always been like this, there was no point in caring.

It was while Ryuichi was wandering aimlessly through the town like that when it happened.

“L-Let go of me!”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Huh? I won’t make you have a bad time, you know?”
“Stop it!!”
“If you thrash around too much, I’m gonna have to shut you up… What do you say, little lady?”
“Eek!?”

Right in front of him, there was a man boldly trying to drag a girl away.
From his flashy appearance, he looked a bit like Ryuichi, but it was clear he was older than Ryuichi. The passersby turned a blind eye and did nothing to help her.

Sweet-talking women was fine, and one-night stands were totally welcome—that was the kind of lifestyle he had lived, but the present him was different from before. In other words, he decided to help her.

“…Hey, someone!”
“Heh, come on, give up?”

The man turned his gaze toward the approaching Ryuichi.
Drawn in by it, the girl looked toward Ryuichi as well… and at that sight, her eyes widened in shock. Ryuichi was equally stunned when he saw her face—because the girl was not someone unfamiliar to him.

Long, silky black hair that cascaded down to her back, sharp and beautiful eyes, a large bust that emphasized the clothes designed to entice a man’s lust, and dazzling legs peeking out from beneath her skirt—all of these traits maximized her charm to the absolute limit.

Yes, her name was Rindo Shizuna… She was none other than the heroine Ryuichi was scheduled to steal away.

“…Shishido-kun?”
“…What the hell are you doing?”

Shizuna wore a look as if her hopes had been shattered, while the man was trembling in terror at Ryuichi’s appearance. Ryuichi let out a dry laugh at the two of them. He never expected both of them to react to him like this… well, he could have guessed a little.

When he took a step forward, the man stepped back.
Walking up slowly, Ryuichi looked down at the man from his tall height and spoke.

“Get lost.”
“Y-Yeeeeeep!”

With a burst of speed, the man bolted away in a massive hurry.
Ryuichi was dumbfounded by what a gutless bastard he was, but then turned his attention to Shizuna, who had been harassed. She flinched and averted her gaze, but Ryuichi nodded, figuring that was only natural.

“Sorry for scaring you. That asshole probably won’t come back, so make sure you get home safely.”
“…Ah.”

Saying just that, Ryuichi walked past Shizuna.
Ultimately, she didn’t even offer a single word of thanks as he passed her, but Ryuichi didn’t mind. However, once he had walked a certain distance away, a voice reached him from behind.

“A-Ah, thank you, Shishido-kun!”
“…!?”

“Thank you”—come to think of it, he hadn’t really been told that very often.
That was because, given his past misdeeds, he rarely did anything that warranted gratitude. At best, the women he met in that scene would just fawn over him… Struck by Shizuna’s pure words, a long-forgotten warmth of happiness at being thanked welled up in his chest.

“…Osh!”

That was why Ryuichi merely turned his head back and gave that brief reply to Shizuna.
Without a doubt, the expression on his face at that moment was a smile like that of an innocent child—a clean, beautiful smile no matter who saw it.

“…!?”

Seeing Shizuna quickly avert her face, Ryuichi fell into despair, wondering if his smile had really looked that creepy.

Thus begins the story of a man suddenly thrust into the world of a manga he once knew.
Let’s keep watch over what kind of days he will spend and what kind of bonds he will weave now that he has strayed from the originally predetermined route.