Chapter 41 – If Condoms Were Made of Oblate

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“…Well, anyway.”

Mom clapped her hands together with a sharp pan and pulled the conversation back to the main point.               

“Honestly—if she keeps going like this, her future's pretty much doomed.”

Chihiro-san let out a long sigh.

“Yeah. There is not even a scrap of anything that could lead to happiness for her right now.”

Her tone sounded calm, but the conclusion was brutal. It was not like any of us needed to hear it from the adults to figure that out. Just looking at Naegi-san and her useless boyfriend was enough to tell where that road led.

Still, saying there was not a single bit of a chance meant it was flat-out zero, right?

Next to me on the sofa, Mahiro tilted her head, pretending she was seriously thinking.

“That girl's living with her boyfriend, right? You think he'll magically change if she gets pregnant or something?”

What a cute little fantasy.

Mahiro, please, I'm begging you—stop giving that clown credit he'll never earn. The guy treats DV like it's part of his personality trait.

“That's the same level as dudes who try to shove themselves into yuri—yeah, not happening.”

Both moms and, for some reason, even Temari shot her down in perfect sync.

Why the hell was the analogy the same for all three of them? Was “the guy who gets between the yuri” really that hated as a concept?

A tiny, pointless thought popped up in my head.

…Am I being treated as the nuisance getting in the way of Temari and Mahiro?

…………….

Well, whatever.

I had already been dumped; I had no right to butt into their lives anymore.

Even so, I did not want Naegi-san to forget the time when we first met, back when the three of us were just plain idiots who got along together.

That part, at least, I hoped she could remember.

―・―・―・―・―・―・―

About a week after the whole mess, on a dull evening when I was rotting in my room, a message from Temari suddenly popped up on my phone.

Temari: Just now, at the drugstore, I saw that Naegi-san from before. She was buying a pregnancy test.

Me: What did you just say.

The content was ridiculous enough to knock the air out of me.

I slumped back in my chair and thought, ah, so it finally happened, huh, with a half-resigned, half-irritated feeling. I was about to ask for more details when another thought hit me.

…If Naegi-san actually had syphilis or some other STD, wouldn't that have messed up the baby too?

My fingers started moving again.

Temari: Yuuya, have you seen Naegi-san at university since then?

Me: Those two still haven't shown up on campus. Did Naegi-san look like she had more bruises or anything like that?

Temari: According to Mahiro, she looked fine. I didn't see her myself; Mahiro was the one who spotted her.

Me: You were with Mahiro?

Temari: Yeah. Mamichi said she wanted to apologize to Mahiro, so we met up with her.

That part caught me off guard.

So even this Mami girl, that purple succubus, had finally woken up. Maybe that was the one useful thing the STDs had done.

If the reality of the test result had smashed straight into her face while she was still floating around in the dreamland of host clubs, no wonder her brain cooled off. If I did something dirty in a dream and then some real woman got pregnant over it, I would be furious too.

…………….

If Naegi-san had also picked up some nasty infection, would that idiot boyfriend of hers be able to pull his head out of his a*s?

Would he remember at least a little that Naegi-san was, bare minimum, a person who mattered?

The more I thought about it, the more curious—and pissed off—I felt.

How the hell are they even living now?

I considered going alone to quietly scout out the apartment like some stalker, but then another thought intruded.

If the room was still a love nest, that would just be annoying.

But if it had turned into a nest of nothing but regret and sorrow, walking into that alone felt heavier than I wanted to deal with.

―・―・―・―・―・―・―

In the end, I used the flimsy excuse that I “wasn't exactly a stranger” and roped Temari and Mahiro into coming with me to Naegi-san's apartment.

“…Sorry for dragging you into this.”

We stood in front of the worn-down building, the sky already turning a dull orange. Even if it had just been the natural flow of events, I had still basically made them come for free, so I bowed my head a little and thanked them.

Temari shoved her hands into her pockets.

“It's fine. I was a little worried too.”

Mahiro gave a tiny nod.

“…Yeah.”

“Thanks. Temari, you've got exams to study for, right? My bad.”

“Seriously, it's fine. If my studying doesn't go well, I'll just make you teach me later.”

Mahiro tugged on her sleeve.

“Ah, same here, Yuya…”

“We'll talk about that later. First we see how bad it is. If that a*****e's also dealing with an STD, maybe he'll finally regret it enough to actually reflect…”

I trailed off as we raised our heads and looked up at the apartment together.

Don't f**k with me!!

CRASSSH!

A shout, full of raw rage, ripped through the air, followed by the kind of loud crashing noise you only heard in dramas when someone was about to eat a fist.

It screamed “DV” so loudly it might as well have been a sound effect caption.

Temari and Mahiro froze, then turned slowly toward me at the exact same time.

“…Hey, Yuya, this is bad, right?”

“I think so too. We're going.”

Our feet moved at once.

We did not need to say “hurry” out loud. The urgency was already chewing at all three of us. I broke into a run toward Naegi-san's room, and they followed right behind me.

Just like last time, I put my hand on the doorknob.

And, just like last time, it turned without resistance.

Unlocked.

Too convenient.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Nishida-saaan, are you home—?”

Mahiro grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing, asking that when every second counts!?”

“It's just basic manners.”

I twisted the knob with a clack and pushed the door open.

The stale air of the room washed over us along with the scene inside.

A stunned Nishida stared at the entrance with wide eyes.

Naegi-san lay collapsed on the floor, curled around her stomach.

Another direct hit.

The DV event, round two.

…………….

You have got to be kidding me.

Naegi-san was still clutching her belly, her face twisted in pain. I did not know if he had punched her or kicked her, but that b*****d had definitely aimed at her stomach.

At the very place that might be carrying a new life.

Even if it was a pregnancy she had not planned.

Even if it was a future she was terrified of.

“Eep…”

Mahiro gulped and shrank back a step.

Temari, on the other hand, raised her voice without hesitation.

“Hey, Naegi-san!? Are you okay!?”

She rushed over and knelt at her side. Naegi-san only moaned, “Uuuh…” and kept holding her stomach.

My body moved on its own.

I planted my feet, stuck one hand in my pocket, and took a half-a*s JoJo pose without even thinking.

“…Ah-ah. If you were just some debt-ridden pachinko addict, there might have been a sliver of hope left. But you finally crossed the line into being a murderer, huh, Nishida.”

The words came out flat and quiet.

I felt oddly calm.

Apparently, when anger boiled past a certain temperature, your brain stopped sputtering and went ice-cold instead.