Changing targets

Once I had gotten far enough away from the dojo, I stopped running.

As I stood there, I was panting to catch my breath after running with everything that I had.

But I had no choice, I had to get out of there as soon as possible.

Now you might be thinking that I was an idiot for not noticing what was happening, but you'd be wrong. Even if I was stupid, of course I could tell what they were trying to do.

I wasn't a dense main character, I was the ultimate best friend character who knew everything.

So I already knew how they felt, even before all of this happened.

I knew that Kyoko and Veronica had been holding back from telling me because they were worried about getting me caught up in this mess. The only reason that they were being so aggressive now was because I had discovered their secret.

Since I knew their secret, it meant that they could act on their feelings since they could now openly protect me.

The feelings that had been suppressed had now been released.

The only one that I was surprised about was Yan Huang…No, Yan Ling.

The fact that she was a woman was something that I didn't know and had seriously surprised me when I found out.

After all, how was I supposed to know that when she hid her gender for so long?

Even her gender at school was registered as male, so I never had any reason to suspect her…

Though that did explain why she was always late for gym class and changed apart from everyone else.

The most surprising thing was…how she had hidden that chest the entire time.

That soft feeling…I could still remember it now…

I shook my head to focus on my mind and gather my thoughts before planning out my next move.

Right, noticing their feelings…Of course I had noticed their feelings, but I had relied on the fact that they couldn't tell me to ignore them.

Even now, when I ran away, that was just me trying to avoid dealing with these feelings.

That was because I didn't want to become their lover!

One might think that I was crazy for thinking something like this, but that was just how it was.

It was all because of my pride as a best friend character!

You're probably wondering how this was related to that, well I'll tell you.

It was because the moment that I became the lover to one of them, that would mean that I would have a completely different role in their story. I would go from the best friend character to the male lead character role and that was the last thing that I wanted.

I wasn't suited for a lead role, I was suited best for a supporting role.

In fact, my dream was to one day die in the final battle and inspire the main character to unlock some kind of hidden power that would allow them to defeat the final boss. That was the apex of the best friend character role that I aspired to reach.

I would not let something like becoming the lover of the main character spoil that.

So on my pride as a professional best friend character, I would never let myself become the lover of the main character, no matter how they tempted me!

Though, I had to admit that Yan Ling's temptation really was powerful…

I couldn't help it, I was also a young man in my spring of youth, I had these desires.

But on my pride as the best friend character, I would suppress them and do what I could to remain the best friend character.

"The problem is if I spend too much time with them, they'll eventually force the issue." I couldn't help muttering to myself.

Putting their scent on me, putting tracking talismans on me, seducing me with that body…

It was only a matter of time before they took things too far and forced me into the lover role.

So to stop them, I had to find a way to block them.

I had to figure out a way to cock block myself!

But how was I supposed to stop three main characters who were going to only get stronger and stronger…

"Ah!"

I suddenly thought of something as I slammed a fist in the palm of my other hand.

"Why didn't I think of this before?"

I couldn't help revealing a smile that could be considered evil.

If one was looking at me from afar, they definitely would have been creeped out by the smile that was on my face.

"I just have to use them as shields against them. If I have them, then there's nothing that they could do to me."

The evil smile on my face grew wider and wider as I said this.

Who was 'them' that I was talking about?

Naturally it was the other side characters.

No, it was the companions for the main characters.

As long as I got close to them, then they would be able to help me block the main characters.

After all, it would be hard for those three main characters to act if there were others around.

As long as I could raise my friendship with the other side characters and keep them close, it would cut off all paths for the main characters to turn me into a lover.

That would allow me to remain in the best friend character position!

I really felt like patting myself on the back after realizing this.

It was a good thing that I had already been keeping these companions of the main characters close. I didn't get too close to them since I didn't want to overstep my bounds, but now it was time to use the foundation that I had laid to build our relationship as fellow side characters.

It was time for me to change targets!

I wouldn't let myself be turned into a main character, I will remain as a side character!