Chapter 16: Physically defying online slander part 2

Translator: Soafp

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Nanaka Notake is the owner of “Maka”, a bakery specializing in baked goods. She currently resides in a residential space behind the store, but her parents’ house is located about 30 minutes from here. Wakaba’s house and Nanaka’s parents’ house are probably in the neighborhood.

Sousuke and the others were taken to a room that looked like a living room. There was a TV, a carpet on the wooden floor, and a low table in the middle of the room.

　The conversation continued when Nanaka returned from making tea in the kitchen next door.

“Nanaka, start from the beginning.”

　She nodded and looked at Sousuke, Shion and Masaki.

“About a month ago, there were some strange comments on the store’s blog.”

　The blog has been in operation since right after the opening of the store, and it seems that they advertise seasonal sweets.

“The comment was, ‘You shouldn’t use expired flour,’ and I didn’t understand what it said. I had no idea what he was talking about, but there were a lot of people who took him seriously, and in no time at all the comment section was a complete mess.”

“That’s what you call a flame war”

When Sousuke said this, Nanaka nodded.

“It was my first time, so I was a bit confused, but I made a new blog post to make sure people knew that wasn’t true.”

　Nanaka operated her phone without effort and handed it to Sousuke. The three of them peeked in from the side.

What appears on the screen is a blog, the comment section of an article titled [Regarding the comment the other day].

　The comments were filled with invective.

[Don’t lie to me. Don’t open a restaurant if you can’t keep expiration dates.]

[You b*tch. Do you care about anything as long as you can make money?]

[I fed it to my kids the other day.　What are you going to do if they get sick?]

[You should turn yourself in to the police.]

　And so on, it was terrible. Perhaps he is not alone.

　Sousuke raised his gaze.

“Just to confirm, these facts really don’t exist, right?”

“W-what a thing for you to say.”

　Despite Wakaba’s impatience, Nanaka nodded calmly.

“I swear to God, there is absolutely no such thing. I have never once cut corners in the management of this place.”

Nanaka’s eyes seemed to glow with the strength of her will.

“So the person who typed the comment that caused the problem thought it was a lighthearted way to harass her……”

　Shion tilted her head.

“Did they have a grudge against Notake-san?”

“I wonder about that.”

“I mean, if I had a grudge against Notake-san, I would have written criticism directly to her. Isn’t he a random commenter troll?”

　Masaki’s opinion is spot on.

The good and bad thing is that in the end one can write anonymously, although pseudonyms are displayed.

“Unfortunately, the readers were caught in the act, and Notake-san was made to look bad.”

It seems that the man who just came in threw some disturbing words at her. Either way, it was insane.

“I always check the expiration date, and if it’s expired, I dispose of it on the spot. There’s no way …… that’s possible.”

And yet, one comment can drive a person to this level. It’s called the fear of the Internet.

Even though the person in question is explaining herself. Too many people think that they can do anything they want if it’s anonymous.

“Do you get a lot of calls like that?”

“Lately it’s been frequent, sometimes more than ten times a day.”

　Apparently, the phone call was the cause of his exhaustion. It would have been unbearable to be bombarded with such language every time she answered the phone.

“The truth is, Nanaka’s name and face are all over the Internet. Someone went to the trouble of creating a chat room and is berating Nanaka there.”

　Wakaba says, biting her lip. It’s what’s called an anti-threat.

She showed him some of them, but they were terrible. Some of them were proudly saying that they had called in criticism.

“Hey, they’re making Notake-san look bad and having fun with it, aren’t they?”

“Let’s all beat him to a pulp!　Or something like that.”

“That’s right. I don’t know anything about Nanaka, but I’m getting excited like this. I really want to do something about it.”

　The phone number of the store was also posted on the website.

　Sousuke thought for a moment and

“I think the best thing to do would be to consult a lawyer.　As for the phone call earlier, you could sue or arrest him for that.”

　Nanaka shook her head.

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. Either way, it’s going to damage the reputation of the restaurant.”

Whether or not her reputation will be damaged, he does not know, but she should take action to resolve the problem. But she doesn’t have the energy to do so now.

“..Then, I’ll just deal with the criticism calls for now.”

“Oh, Sou-chan, how about your specialty, recording?　Keep the voices as evidence.”

“Well, I’ll do that too.”

　That’s the most basic of all.

“If you don’t want to get calls, why don’t you register your number and block the calls?　Block the blocked numbers, too.”

“Shio and Harigaya have the most valid points, but if we refuse, they will come at us in that way, so we have to cut them off at the source.”

　And then the phone started ringing again.

“!”

　Nanaka’s face turns frightened. Thinking that she had endured this for a month, he felt sorry for her.

“For now, I’ll get it.”

“Sugaya, anyway, tell them to stop calling me with whatever they’re doing!”

“I understand. I’ll make sure I don’t get taunted.”

　Sousuke went out of the living room and picked up the phone.

[Is this Nanaka Notake from “Maka?”]

It sounds like an older woman. This time, it did not start with death. Sousuke presses a button on the speaker so that everyone can hear.

[Do you know what the expiration date means?　You must be out of your mind to sell sweets past their expiration date.]

Glancing over, he saw Nanaka’s eyes shaking as he peeked down the hallway. If she made this call knowing that on her blog, she was properly denying it, it was absolutely unforgivable. The person on the phone has no idea what kind of person Nanaka Notake is.

[Are you listening to me?　Perhaps you have a head disorder?]

“Tell me your name.”

[….Ha?]

“Tell me your name, who are you? What are you preaching anonymously, you’re the one who’s crazy, Maka or Nanaka Notake, what number are you confusing me with?! I will come for you, just tell me your name.”

　He snapped.

　Sousuke put down the receiver and took a breath.

“She didn’t talk back, what the hell?”

Looking at them, all four of their faces were drawn together.

“What’s wrong?”

　Sousuke tilted his head. It was Wakaba who told him to at least say it.

Wakaba hugged her shoulder.

“W-Why did I fight with this guy?　I was an idiot last week.”

“H-Hashirama-san, let’s calm down, okay?”

“Well, what the hell. Good job, Sugaya.”

　Masaki nodded and gave a thumbs up.

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