Crossover: After deciding to give up, i became popular

"Hayasaka... sob sob... the President... the President saw me! Sob sob sob..."

Inside the resting room, Shinomiya Kaguya sobbed uncontrollably as she poured out her anguish to Ai Hayasaka, her ever-present and dutiful maid.

"Yes, yes, it's fine, milady. Honestly, your figure isn't anything special, so Master Natsukawa probably didn't care and might even forget about it in the next second," Hayasaka replied with a deadpan expression.

Given her understanding of her young mistress, Hayasaka knew that comforting her directly would be futile. Diverting her attention to something Kaguya truly cared about, such as her insecurities about her figure, was far more effective.

"Not... anything special...?" Kaguya muttered to herself, her thoughts immediately turning to her best friend, Fujiwara Chika.

She vividly remembered that one sleepover when she'd almost been smothered to death by Chika's assets.

They were about the same height, but Chika weighed significantly more—definitely because of all that excess fat in her chest and hips. It was utterly useless bulk!

"Uwaaahhh!!!"

The thought left her even more despondent, wishing that large breasts would just vanish from existence.

"..." Hayasaka pressed her fingers to her temple, trying a new tactic to console her young mistress.

"If you keep making such a fuss, Master Natsukawa might overhear as he passes by and mistake you for some melancholic noblewoman pining for love. He might even want to come in and check on you..."

"That must never happen!" Kaguya responded immediately.

Having a private photo exposed was bad enough, but if the President saw her crying like this... he'd definitely think she was hopelessly in love with him!

— "She can't even handle me seeing her in pajamas? Could it be Shinomiya-san cares deeply about my opinion of her? How adorable~~"

Absolutely not! She couldn't let the President think that!

"Hayasaka, do you know if there's a device that can make someone forget their memories?"

"...Miss Kaguya, I'm just a regular maid, not a certain blue robotic cat who's afraid of mice. Please stop asking the impossible," Hayasaka said, feeling her patience wearing thin.

"To be blunt, milady, it was just a photo of you in pajamas, not a compromising moment in real life. There's no need to overreact. Besides, it was only Master Natsukawa who saw it, and it might even stir his imagination about you."

After all, the photo had been carefully selected to highlight Kaguya's charm without revealing too much—perfection in every sense.

Though her tone sounded teasing, Hayasaka carefully observed her mistress. Kaguya's face was flushed with embarrassment, but there was no true anger, only shame from being caught in such a vulnerable moment by someone she secretly adored.

That was a relief. Hayasaka wouldn't have to feel guilty about crafting this plan to nudge her mistress closer to her happiness.

"It's easy for you to say! It wasn't your picture he saw!"

"If it were me, I wouldn't even hesitate for a moment!" Hayasaka shot back.

After all, she wasn't... as interested in Master Natsukawa as Kaguya was. What did it matter if he saw her picture?

Unlike her young mistress, she wouldn't make such a pathetic fuss about it!

"...!" Kaguya pouted, unconvinced.

Hayasaka was always saying such things, but last time, when she'd promised to help Kaguya get closer to the President, nothing had come of it. In fact, Hayasaka had even taken a few days off afterward, leaving Kaguya lost and unsure how to approach him!

Hayasaka was the worst!

Still, despite her teasing and occasional blunders, Hayasaka genuinely cared about her and had managed to help her calm down this time. Now the only concern was the fallout from this incident.

"Hayasaka, do you think the President will see me as one of those frivolous girls who... who coquettishly flaunt themselves to others?"

"Don't worry, milady. Master Natsukawa most likely thinks of you as a fool who can't even operate a smartphone," Hayasaka deadpanned.

In truth, Kaguya's ineptitude with technology was well-known. The only reason she had switched from a flip phone to a smartphone was so she could add Natsukawa to her LINE contacts. Even earlier, all her actions had been guided by Hayasaka, who had explicitly warned her not to touch anything else.

Thanks to this, Hayasaka had been able to predict every reaction the two would have to the incident and carefully orchestrate the scenario.

If she didn't intervene, with her mistress's lack of initiative, these two might graduate high school without ever establishing a real connection.

She had always suspected as much, but her determination had solidified on the day she realized Master Natsukawa's feelings were directed at her, not Kaguya.

Still, Hayasaka was a professional maid. Until Kaguya found her happiness, she wouldn't abandon her duty!

To her, Kaguya was more than just her mistress; she was like a younger sister. Hayasaka couldn't rest easy until Kaguya's happiness was secured.

Yet, every time she thought about how she was helping Kaguya pursue someone who had feelings for her instead, it made her stomach churn.

Honestly, she didn't know how long she could keep this up. Back when she didn't know the truth, it had been easier to wholeheartedly support her mistress. But now, no matter what she did, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was betraying Natsukawa.

But what choice did she have? Kaguya was her priority. Unless... unless her young mistress remained as timid and incapable as always, forcing Hayasaka to step in herself...

"..."

"Hayasaka? Are you listening?"

"Huh? Yes, of course, milady. Do you need something?"

"You seem a little off. Are you getting enough rest?" Kaguya asked with concern, before moving on to her next question.

"By the way, how did you even know what happened earlier? I don't remember telling you..."

"When I came in to assist you, I saw the screen on your phone and deduced the rest," Hayasaka replied with her usual poker face.

"Is that so...? And about that photo—how did it end up being sent?"

"It was due to your improper operation of the device."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm quite certain of it."

"..." Kaguya looked doubtful, wondering if she might truly have mishandled her phone—or if Hayasaka was just making up excuses.

But despite her doubts, Kaguya had absolute trust in Hayasaka. She was certain Hayasaka would never do anything to betray her.

Forget it! The most important thing now was to discard her cowardly emotions and press forward in her pursuit of the President!

One day, she would make him confess his love to her with an expression full of devotion! Absolutely!

Gufufufu…

Original Author's Note on Launch

let's address some issues related to the story.

From the very beginning, readers have been constantly criticizing the protagonist—his character design, his personality, and so on. The good news is that I, the newbie author, haven't taken much heat. All the scolding is directed at the protagonist.

The bad news is that my blood pressure rises whenever I read those comments. But this outcome was within my expectations since I didn't set out to write about a "Strong! Invincible! Supreme!" overpowered protagonist.

This isn't a story where: "You rejected my confession! Now you must pay the price! I will crush you utterly in this life!"

It's just a rejection, nothing earth-shattering. For most people, it's something you move on from after a period of sadness and find a new target. For those who take it more seriously, the sadness lasts longer, or maybe they never move on, and that's fine too.

After all, it's just a normal aspect of interpersonal relationships, which is the main focus of what I want to write.

The protagonist is an ordinary person, albeit with some slight quirks.

In his past life, he lived under high-pressure circumstances where his every moment was dedicated to studying. His parents deprived him of personal freedom and social interaction while constantly reinforcing negativity with remarks like:

"If you're not first, what's the point?""How can you sleep with those grades?""High school friends are pointless; if you have free time to hang out, you'd be better off doing more practice problems.""Play on your phone? What's there to play? I'll monitor group messages for you; you don't need it."

As a result, he yearned for friends, communication, recognition, and change.

In the other world, his previously incomplete life finally began to heal, even showing signs of improvement—at least, that's how it was supposed to be. But he chose to pursue highly challenging individuals like:

Shiina Mahiru (extremely starved for affection),Kasumigaoka Utaha (severe personality flaws, sharp-tongued and manipulative),Sawamura Spencer Eriri (emotionally contradictory and prone to unintentional verbal attacks),Yukinoshita Yukino (used to isolation, also bearing childhood trauma),Shinomiya Kaguya (a caged bird, deprived of freedom and love).

Was he attracted to their identities? Not entirely. What truly mattered was that he saw pieces of himself in them—flawed individuals he could empathize with, people who shared his desire for mutual understanding and comfort.

Thus, he didn't even consider pursuing someone like Kato Megumi or Fujiwara Chika.

They grew up free and unburdened, with healthy hearts and minds regardless of their backgrounds, family circumstances, or personalities. Whether they could recognize his true feelings or not, just being in a relationship with them could likely "heal" the protagonist, making him a healthier person.

But then, the story would end right there (laughs).

I've always believed that writing original stories using established frameworks and characters is the essence of fanfiction. Simply copying existing plots feels utterly pointless.