The Heroines I Corrupted Regressed With Me

"Since you seem to be feeling better, Gilmon, you do the dishes, okay?"

"Yes, of course."

I felt more at ease when she asked me to handle ordinary tasks.

In the previous playthrough the heroines whose favorability had reached the maximum never let me lift a finger, even when I simply wanted to eat.

"Haaam..."

Phonia rubbed her eyes and sat down, looking still a little disheveled. Out of habit she reached up to adjust the eyepatch on her right side, then widened both eyes when she realized it was no longer there.

"Ah, that’s right. Messiah healed my eyes... Thank you, Messiah."

Watching Phonia bow politely made me feel good as well. Still, I did not forget to watch carefully for any change in her attitude.

"Oh, Messiah, your eyebrow..."

Phonia, who had been staring at my face, stretched out her hand.

"Ah!"

"..."

Thud!

I shoved the chair backward and jumped in pure startlement.

"...Messiah? I was only going to pluck the loose hair from your eyebrow..."

"Ah, ahaha... Right. Sorry. I just didn’t expect Phonia to touch me."

"..."

Phonia usually kept a blank expression, yet this time she clearly looked upset. I realized my own face must have shown something strange and felt embarrassed.

"Gilmon. You’re going too far. Even if you don’t think of Phonia as a woman, there’s no need to panic just because she touched you a little. Are you saying Phonia is some kind of germ?"

Sophie spoke with a stern expression.

"No, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry."

[The heroine’s favorability decreases.]

[The heroine’s favorability decreases.]

"I just wanted to see Gilmon’s face more clearly now that I can see well. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad."

Phonia looked dejected.

"Ah, no. Phonia, I’m the one who’s sorry. I was lost in thought and got surprised. By the way, how are your eyes? If you can see my eyebrow clearly, your eyesight must have improved a lot."

I quickly changed the subject and stroked Phonia’s hair. It was difficult for her to wash her own hair properly, so the strands under my palm felt a little greasy.

Looking closely I could even see a bit of dandruff, yet I could never speak harshly to someone who still lived with physical limitations.

Phonia’s favorability had dropped by two points.

Aside from the guilt, this pattern might actually be acceptable.

I was already used to playing the villain.

Favorability carried a kind of inertia. The closer it climbed toward one hundred, the harder it became to bring the number down again.

Keeping the current level steady might be the best outcome for me.

The rate of decrease was ridiculously slow compared with how quickly the number rose.

Both sisters had already gained more than ten points in a short time.

At this pace they would reach one hundred within three months.

It was wiser to keep a careful distance from the beginning than to try fixing the barn after the cow had already escaped.

"By the way, it’s Sunday. Why don’t you two go for a walk?"

"A walk?"

"I’m tired and need to rest, but Phonia’s eyes are better now. Wouldn’t it be nice for her to go outside and look at something pretty?"

Sophie spoke while munching on potato chips.

Come to think of it, Phonia had lived with only one working eye until now. Seeing the bright world on a day like this would not be a bad idea.

"That’s a good idea. Phonia, shall we go out?"

"Yes, Gilmon!"

A little later we walked through the park under a clear, sunny blue sky. Trees trimmed into neat triangular shapes lined the sidewalk.

From time to time we passed families, couples, and groups of young men hanging out together.

Phonia had come out wearing her school uniform once again. She wore it so often that it was bound to get dirty.

Looking at the uniform brought back uneasy memories of the day before.

If anything serious had gone wrong, I would not be enjoying such a leisurely weekend. Now that things had reached this point, I decided to let myself relax.

Walking while feeling the cool breeze felt pleasant, yet something that had bothered me since yesterday still lingered in my mind.

"Phonia, shall we go shopping for clothes?"

We headed downtown and visited several stores, picking out pieces that suited her.

Money was not a real concern, and I knew little about fashion, so I simply looked for well-known brands.

"Gilmon, look, this is pretty!"

Phonia, who had been hesitant at first, grew excited and pointed at one item while bouncing lightly on her feet.

It was only a plain zip-up hoodie, but if she liked it, that was enough.

"Comme... Comme des Garçons."

The brand logo showed a large heart-shaped face with wide, empty pupils. To be honest I had never liked that brand.

The dislike had nothing to do with the design of the clothes themselves.

Those blank pupils simply reminded me of the expressions the heroines wore in the previous playthrough once their favorability passed one hundred.

They often stared at me with exactly that empty look even while standing right in front of me.

The memory was unpleasant, yet I still bought the hoodie because the person receiving the gift said it was pretty.

I finished paying at the counter and stepped outside. Seeing Phonia’s lighter steps after she changed into the new clothes made me happy.

"Phonia, shall we buy new shoes too?"

The ones she currently wore were dirty sneakers with slightly peeled heels. They must have been white originally, but Sophie could not always take care of them, and Phonia had been unable to wash them herself.

She had simply worn them for a long time. Somewhere along the way she had grown used to giving up on herself like that.

The thought left a bitter taste.

I took her to a shoe store and bought a pair of pretty black Mary Janes along with new sneakers. Every time I helped her try them on to check the fit, Phonia’s cheeks flushed a little. The sight was quite cute.

Ah, if I kept doing this I was going to grow greedy. I had no intention of pushing her toward full makeup the way the Academy girls wore it, yet a simple lip gloss would not hurt.

Phonia’s lips were dry and pale, so a little care would do them good.

"Phonia, then let’s stop by a road shop and..."

"Messiah, isn’t that Sierra?"

Goosebumps rose at Phonia’s words. I quickly followed the direction she pointed.

Sierra Solers sat on a bench, her long black hair and sharply cut bangs moving in the breeze.

She was playing with the small children gathered around her and smiling brightly.

If the person had not been Sierra, the pure and gentle appearance would have been enough to make anyone fall in love at first sight.

Her long eyes and the black skirt that reached her ankles reflected the partial Asian blood she carried.

From time to time she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shyly covered her mouth while she smiled, then looked our way as if by chance.

She blushed lightly when her eyes met mine and Phonia’s.

She crouched down to match the eye level of the children surrounding her, offering a cute eye smile that suited her long eyes perfectly.

The children soon ran off in different directions.

Sierra, wearing neat black flat loafers, walked slowly toward us with both hands hidden behind her back.

Her voice reached us soft as a breeze. There was no hostility in it.

"Gilmon? And..."

"I’m Phonia Hazelnut."

Phonia, still in a bright mood thanks to the clothes and shoes, answered first. Sierra smiled at her, then turned her attention fully to me.

"I was so sorry to hear that you dropped out. Everyone must have been possessed by something. Women sometimes do foolish things, don’t they? Gilmon, you understand, right?"

Her skirt caught the wind and clung to her thighs, outlining their shape. Long white socks showed above the enamel loafers.

"I’ll apologize on their behalf. I should have stopped them."

Sierra’s expression turned sad in an instant as she held out her hand toward me.

How could a person be so shameless?

"You’ll accept my apology, right? But please blame me instead of the other women. Gilmon is a generous man, right? Yes?"

She spoke as though she cared about the other heroines, yet if one listened carefully she had completely removed herself from any real responsibility.

Whatever the original fault might have been, she was carefully separating herself from it.

The pure and mysterious image she had just presented was clearly tailored to match what she thought I would like.

"...Shut the fuck up. You’re the one who created that damn group chat. You bitch."

Before I realized it, my true feelings had slipped out.

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