Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [58]

“What the hell? Did I get scammed with a fake item?”

After redeeming [Sword Mastery], Kitahara Takeru didn’t feel any kind of mind-opening surge of enlightenment.

His brain remained just as blank as ever—no sudden infusion of sword techniques, no grand epiphany.

His first thought? That this damn system had ripped off a hardworking part-timer’s points again.

But then he noticed the word “Passive” in front of the skill.

Meaning: it required certain conditions to activate.

What conditions? He had no clue.

But he still trusted System’s branding.
(System: Funny, that’s not what you called me five minutes ago.)

He closed the system panel and pulled up the [Pintus Training Plan] (v1.0).

A few thin sheets of paper materialized in front of him, the cover featuring a bald man with a terrifying stare, alongside the words:

“When the path narrows, the one who can still run wins.” — Antonio Pintus

Seeing that familiar shiny dome, Takeru’s alarm bells went off immediately.

He flipped to the first page.

“Feels like he wants to kill us every day.” — Karim Benzema

Realizing his hunch was correct, Takeru decisively tossed the training plan aside.

Nope.

He exercised to attract girls—not to see the grim reaper.

That plan was notorious for making even pro athletes cry. And he was a sixteen-year-old kid, not a Champions League forward.

If the system wanted him dead, it should just say so.

Feeling bored and unfulfilled, Takeru stood up in the bath, towel-dried himself, then threw on a pair of floral-print boxers and stepped out.

As he passed the full-length mirror in the living room, he caught a glimpse of his reflection.

No need to comment on the face—Tokyo heartthrob, no question.

But he was really checking out his body.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, a big-boned frame with defined muscle tone.

He didn’t hit the gym regularly—just on and off. Mostly push-ups at home and the occasional pull-up at school.

But he’d managed to train up a solid chest, better-looking than the average guy’s and—frankly—even bigger than Yukinoshita Yukino’s.

If I really followed the Pintus plan…

His mind replaced Ronaldo’s face with his own on a championship poster.

Takeru turned on his heel and dashed back to the bathroom to retrieve the training plan.

Luckily, it was only a little wet.

Back in bed, he gave it another glance and realized the intensity wasn’t quite as terrifying as he expected. It actually seemed designed for ordinary people like him.

No wonder it was labeled version 1.0.

As he flipped through the pages, his eyelids began to droop.

Accompanying women while shopping was unnatural to begin with.

Studies had shown: no known living organism could endure a full shopping trip with a woman.

Not even dogs.

Well, maybe simps.

And he’d accompanied two girls today.

“Goodnight, Tiny.”

He gave the dog a final glance, then drifted off to sleep.

---

Chiba, Sakura City — inside a luxury villa spanning 400+ square meters of land and 200+ square meters of construction.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, dressed in black silk pajamas, sat at her desk in front of a laptop.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard—she appeared to be writing.

But a closer look would reveal the truth: not a single sentence survived. Every line she typed was promptly deleted.

For half an hour, the screen remained blank. Not a word written by this "genius author" who had captured public attention from her debut.

During that same half hour, her eyes kept darting to her phone resting at the edge of her desk.

Each time it buzzed—whether a message or a call—she’d snatch it up like an overworked employee waiting for the boss’s order.

Only to see the name, scowl, and toss it back down.

“What the hell is he mad about?!”

Utaha yanked off her headband and flung it onto the bed. Then she snatched up her phone and opened Watanabe Takeru’s chat.

The last message in their thread had come from her:

[It was my fault today. I’ll make it up to you next time.]

What Takeru hadn’t realized was—when he sent [Senpai, you know it’s not about the money.], Utaha had replied almost immediately.

After that, she’d even sent a few more messages:

[I can clear my schedule for tomorrow.]
[Takeru, are you upset with me?]

...

But her messages had been buried under dozens of others.

Don’t ask why she wasn’t pinned.

She was!

It’s just—his pin list was a little bit long.

Nakano Yotsuba. Shijō Maki. Eriri. Hiratsuka-sensei. Kashiwagi Nagisa. Katō Megumi.

Including Utaha, that made eight.

And when everyone’s pinned… no one is.

Everyone’s got a different kind of “top chat.”

Your pinned: Her.
Takeru’s pinned: Them.

Not that Utaha knew any of this.

From her perspective, Takeru was just throwing a tantrum.

“You think I’m going to coax you?”

She glared at his profile picture, muttering.

“Heh. Dream on.”

“You’re nothing but his substitute.”

“You think I’ll coddle you the way I did him?”

“Get real. You’re the one who likes me, not the other way around!”

“Don’t think I’ll message you first!”

Utaha finished her one-woman show, hurled her phone onto the bed, flopped down, and pulled the blanket over herself.

She wanted to see how long Watanabe Takeru could last.

No way he could go days without reaching out.

Bet he gets over it tomorrow, she thought under the covers.

And when he does, I’m gonna give him the cold shoulder for sure.

Even if he showed up at her door tomorrow asking her out, she wouldn’t say yes easily.

---

11:59 PM

Takeru jolted upright from his sleep like he’d been electrocuted.

“Shit!”

I knew I forgot something.

Kashiwagi Nagisa hadn’t contacted him.

He scrambled around the bed, tossing blankets and sheets in a panic until he found his phone.

He fumbled through messages until he reached the contact Shijō Maki had sent him.

Kashiwagi Nagisa.

He hit dial.

“…Wait, why the hell am I calling her now?”

He slapped his own face lightly.

Seriously, you slept your brain loose or something?

What’s the difference between calling now or in the morning?

No way she’s even awake.

“Forget it. I’ll call tomorrow.”

He lay back down, resigning himself.

What’s done is done. Worrying won’t help.

Right now, sleep sounded better.

“Hello~?”

Just as he was drifting off again, the call connected.

On the other end, Kashiwagi Nagisa’s voice came through—husky and half-asleep.

“…Who is this?”

And then, another voice spoke up.

A voice he recognized.

Even through the haze of sleep, Takeru knew exactly who it was.

He blinked. “Is that… Maki next to you?”

“Yup,” Nagisa answered, her voice clearer now, tinged with amusement. “She’s staying at my place tonight. Didn’t you know?”

“…Then why did you tell me to call you?”

Takeru could only marvel at this woman’s audacity.

What, did you want Maki to hear my voice?!

“If you’re gonna chase thrills,” Nagisa said lazily, “you’ve gotta go all in.”

---

T/N: AHHHH SHES CRAZY SHES SO ME

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!