Volume 1
Chapter 3 Part
2
Translator : PolterGlast
"This should be
the place."
I knew that Honda Airi
lived in an apartment complex near the school. I knew this because when she
started skipping school, the girls in my class had rumored that "she lives
in an apartment complex," and I had seen boys playing doorbell
ring-and-run on their way home.
I remembered it was on
the first floor, but I couldn't remember the exact location of the room.
Wondering what to do since there was no nameplate, I finally mustered up the
courage to say what I had been thinking about all this time.
"Then, why don't
you wait for me at a nearby cafe, Hikaru?"
Hearing my words,
Hikaru looked completely puzzled and said, "Eh? Why?"
"I'll go with
you."
"No, it's okay. I
can do it by myself."
"But you've never
killed anyone, have you? I'm worried so I'll go with you."
"Don't worry. I'll
figure it out."
"But have you
even decided how you're going to kill her?"
"I'll... decide
that once I meet her," I replied vaguely.
To be honest, I don't
think I can actually kill someone.
It's true that I
decided to go with Hikaru last night, but honestly, I was worried about whether
I could actually carry out the murder when I was actually facing my target.
After all, I can't imagine a future where I kill someone.
So I thought I would
meet Honda Airi first, and if I decided I couldn't kill her, I would just
leave. I could just lie to Hikaru and say I killed her. I'm not confident in my
acting skills, but I think I can fool Hikaru alone.
As I was wondering
what to do about Hikaru's attempt to follow me, I felt someone's presence
behind me. When I turned around, my eyes met those of a high school-aged girl.
"Natsuki-san?"
the girl said.
Natsuki was my
mother's maiden name and my surname before we moved away from this town. My
parents remarried and now my surname is Yorunagi.
"Um..."
"I'm Hasegawa. We
were in the same class in second-year middle school."
"Right..."
I remember that she
used to be with Honda Airi. I don't remember her face at all, but I vaguely
remember her high-pitched voice.
Since she was glancing
at Hikaru, I introduced him as a "high school classmate."
Technically, we were not classmates since we were no longer in the same year,
but there was no need to explain that to her.
Thinking it was just
in time, I asked her, "Honda-san whom we went to the same middle school
with, live in this housing complex, right? Do you know what room she lived in?
"
Since she was close
with Honda Airi, she would at least know her address.
I had considered the
risk of being suspected if Honda's body was found because of asking this, but I
was optimistic that I could somehow manage until August 31st when this game was
over.
However, it seems that
such thinking was unnecessary.
"Airi passed away
last year," Hasegawa said in a voice that sounded like buzzing mosquitoes.
"She was taken to the hospital after an overdose and never woke up."
According to Hasegawa,
Honda Airi had lost consciousness after taking an excessive amount of sleeping
pills in her second year of high school and had passed away at the hospital she
was taken to. She didn't know what had happened to her before that.
"Was there
something you needed?" Hasegawa asked, and I replied, "Well, I just
happened to pass by the apartment complex, and I was curious."
Troubled, I looked at
Hikaru. Hikaru didn't join the conversation and quietly observed the situation.
As I was about to call
his name, oblivious to my gaze, Hasegawa
opened her mouth.
"Natsuki-san, did
you hate Airi?"
Surprised by the
sudden question, I was speechless. Then, Hasegawa opened her mouth again.
"It's okay, I
hated her too."
Her voice, mixed with
mockery, made me realize something. Honda Airi was never the queen of the
class.
Just as I hated her,
everyone else in the class did not think well of her, either, for being
condescending, irreverent, and selfish. The girls she often hung out with were
no exception.
Honda Ai was aware of
that.
Then, like a chain of
chemical reactions, memories of my middle school days came back to mind.
"She had
a small chest. And, you know, her pubic hair..."
On the first day of
the middle school's overnight trip in the second year, she had been shunned and
abandoned by the girls' group and had started hanging out with the boys. There,
she provided them with whatever interesting topics they craved, and mocked the
people around her.
That's the kind of
person Honda Airi was. She always mocked others and revealed things that people
didn't want to be touched upon, just for her own amusement. She'd put others
down, calling them 'losers' or 'lame', while trying to elevate herself as the
'popular kid' or the 'cool one'.
She was a person who
could only climb higher by putting others down. Even if she climbed, it was
only over her forty classmates. Yet, she acted as if she was a strong person,
hurting others for fun. I thought she would probably continue living that way.
Ah, so that's why her
name came to mind.
Recalling my forgotten
memories, I was convinced when I thought about the person I was going to kill,
and the name of my middle school classmate, whose details are still vague in my
memory, came to mind. ―I hated her immensely.
I might have been a
little similar to "that girl" in the way I judge others based on
their positions and appearances. Such an irrelevant thought came to my mind.
Honda Airi stopped
coming to school after the second year of middle school. And a year ago, she
died of an overdose. I had always thought that she skipped school because she
was fed up with going to school, but perhaps I was wrong.
It was something I
should have realized.
I imagine. She must
have realized that no one liked her. In her depression, she must have
habitually engaged in self-harming behaviors such as wrist cutting and
overdosing. She was just at an age where she might start to think of such acts
as her identity.
But I felt no pity for
her.
When I thought that, I
realized that I, who had hesitated so much about killing someone, was a little
disappointed that I couldn't kill her.
"Sorry, it was a
wasted trip."
After parting with
Hasegawa, we headed straight for the nearest station. Hikaru suggested that I
should walk around my hometown for the first time in a while, but
unfortunately, I have no attachment to this town.
I would leave it to
Hikaru to decide what to do next. Whether we get a hotel, go to an internet
cafe, or stay up all night at a karaoke place. I was in that kind of mood.
"It can't be
helped, you didn't know," Hikaru said kindly. "Besides, my target for
tomorrow is here too."
"Really?"
"It's about an
hour by train and walking from here. Should we do it today? If we have to go
back tomorrow, I think we'll be pretty short on time."
Do it? I've gotten
used to the way Hikaru takes life so lightly.
"Who are you
going to kill?"
When I asked that, a
salaryman walking from the other side of the street looked at us with a
startled look on his face. I thought I had made a mistake, but of course, he
soon lost interest in us, thinking it was a conversation about a manga or
something.
"My father. The
real one."
I stared straight at
Hikaru. At the same time, the setting sun pierced my eyes, making them ache.
---
We took a train and
headed towards the eastern part of Tokyo's metropolitan area. After walking for
a few minutes from the station, we began to see many tall buildings, but at
some point, we started to see many magnificent houses lining the streets. It
was the so-called high-class residential area.
The house where his
real father lived was a magnificent Japanese-style residence. A gate with a
tiled roof stood in the center, and a white wall like a castle wall lined the
house. The name “Sayama” was engraved on the nameplate.
"Whoa, what a big
house. Does your family live here?"
"No, my father
and grandparents live here. If they're still alive, that is."
From the way he spoke,
I guessed that he and his family had not seen each other for many years.
We went around to the
back of the mansion (it would be more appropriate to call it that). Peeking
over, I could see the garden. The back door was locked, but I could probably
climb over if I hooked my foot on a crack in the nearby wall. After that, I
could easily sneak into the house by hiding in the garden plants.
I was a little worried
about security because it was a high-class residence, but Hikaru said that his
father didn't like that kind of thing very much. Even so, it had been more than
ten years since Hikaru had been to this house. Things could have changed.
When I expressed my
concern about that, Hikaru smiled and said, "It's okay." If anything
happened, we could just run away before we got caught. Even if there were
surveillance cameras and this got found out someday, it wouldn't matter as long
as it was after August 31st.
I agreed.
"So, like I said
earlier, Rin, please keep an eye on the outside for anyone to come"
"Okay. Good
luck."
"Yeah."
I ran to the corner of
the wall and, after confirming that no one was coming, I raised my right hand
as a signal. Hikaru nodded and climbed over the wall. I watched him intently,
holding my breath.
The security didn't
seem to be as tight as I had feared, and the alarm didn't go off the moment he
stepped inside. There were probably just surveillance cameras at most.
That was a relief, but
I still couldn't let my guard down.
My heart was pounding.
Tension ran through my body, and my back straightened. My brain was spinning so
fast, overwhelmed by the tension of a murder about to take place and the
excitement of being involved in it.
I took a deep breath
to regulate my shallow breathing and looked around, moving only my eyes.
While waiting for
Hikaru to return, there were a few passersby on the street in front of the back
door. The elegant people living in the upper-class residential area would give
me a small nod when they saw me and then walk away. To avoid suspicion, I
pretended to be waiting for someone, fiddling with my smartphone and
occasionally looking over the wall.
I waited for Hikaru to
come back, thinking, "Hurry up and come back."
It was getting dark. I
still couldn't hear any screams or groans.
"Good
evening."
My shoulders shook at
the sudden voice.
When I looked in the
direction of the voice, an elderly woman was peeking out from the back door.
"May I help
you?"
"Uh,
well..."
This is bad.
I gulped quietly.
She was probably
Hikaru's grandmother. I had been so focused on observing the street that I had
forgotten to be wary of the people inside.
Hikaru's grandmother
stared at me intently. She was completely suspicious of me.
As if to catch up with
my silence, Hikaru's grandmother spoke up.
"Why have you
been standing here for so long if you have no business here?"
It seemed she had
noticed me a while ago. I had been checking the other side of the wall from
time to time, but the trees in the garden were in the way. I wondered if she
was not taking care of them.
I needed to come up
with a good excuse quickly, but my mind was completely blank. Any words I could
think of would only increase my suspicion.
I opened my mouth,
thinking I had come up with a good idea, but then I just breathed out. All the
while, Hikaru's grandmother was looking at me suspiciously. I had to say
something quickly.
No, isn't this
actually an advantage?
While Hikaru was
killing his father, I could keep his grandmother distracted―
As I was racking my
brain, I heard a sound like sand being stepped on behind me.
"What's wrong?"
I heard Hikaru's
voice. I turned around in surprise, and Hikaru passed by me slowly and
approached his grandmother.
I followed his path
with my eyes. He probably came from the front gate. Had he already killed his
father?
"...Could it be,
Hikaru?"
"Yes. It's been a
while."
"Oh my. ...You've
grown so much. You look just like your father."
Hikaru's grandmother
said in an excited voice. Hikaru smiled gently.
I watched their
exchange silently, still tense.
"What are you
doing here all of a sudden? Is there something you need at our house?"
"Yeah, I thought
I'd come see you after a long time."
Hikaru said casually.
"Oh, my goodness!
So, is this girl your girlfriend? Oh dear, I thought you were suspicious...
Please pardon me."
"Oh, no. It's
okay."
I didn't correct her
about the girlfriend part. It would be more convenient if she had come to her
own conclusion.
I moved closer to
Hikaru and whispered, "Are you done?" He shook his head slightly and
murmured, "He's not home."
"I'm glad to see
you too."
This seemed to be
their first reunion in about eleven years. I was impressed that she could
recognize her grandson's face even though his appearance had probably changed.
I haven't seen my grandparents in a long time either, and I'm sure they've
forgotten what I look like. They might even have forgotten that they had
grandchildren. That's what family was like for me.
Still, I was amazed by
Hikaru's mental strength. Even though he was planning to kill this person's
son, he could smile and interact with her so calmly. Maybe he was a
natural-born killer.
"Where's
father?"
Hikaru asked in an
unchanged voice, as if he should be home from work by now.
Suddenly, Hikaru's
grandmother's face clouded over.
"Right, I guess
they didn't tell you."
I thought as much.
Apparently, my hunch was right.
"Your father
passed away two years ago. A stroke. He was still young."
What a coincidence.
Two targets in a row
have died. It's as if someone is getting there before us. I know it's just a
coincidence, but I am horrified at the impossible odds I have run into.
While I was in shock,
Hikaru calmly surveyed the scene with quiet eyes.
---
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
Aiden Elliott
MaxKne
Swagaraga
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
[Silver]
blue shooting
CoolmanMTD
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Gtsfan321
Pristia
Anton Lim
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
