Chapter 32

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Translator: Soafp

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[Shizuno Pov]

After school, I stopped by a convenience store to buy dinner before heading home.

When our parents are going to be home late from work, my older sister, Yuri Soragaoka, and I usually eat dinner together.

Sometimes we go out to eat, sometimes we cook together, and other times—like today—we just buy convenience store meals.

It's been a habit since we were kids.

…Though, for the past few years, it's been nothing but convenience store meals.

“Onee-san. I bought dinner.”

I called out from outside her door without going into her room.

—No response.

It's not like she's out. She's definitely inside.

The lights are on, and I can sense her presence.

But no matter how long I wait, she doesn't reply.

“I left your food in the living room.”

After a while, I said that and headed to my own room without ever seeing her face.

Then I dropped my bag beside my desk and collapsed onto my bed.

“…Haa.”

Letting out a deep breath, I stared into the void.

The soft mattress slowly absorbed my physical exhaustion.

But it did nothing for the fatigue in my heart.

“…Onee-san…”

I muttered quietly in the empty room, wondering how things had ended up like this.

About two years ago, my sister Yuri stopped making eye contact with me.

It wasn't because we fought.

If anything, we were incredibly close—so close we never even argued once.

Like I said before, when our parents weren't home, we cooked together, went shopping on our days off, and even competed over who could get more perfect scores on school tests.

We respected each other and shared a deep bond of trust.

I truly loved my sister from the bottom of my heart.

But one day, everything changed.

No… she didn't just break.

She was broken.

By someone.

She fell into distrust of others.

She shut herself away from people, retreating into her shell.

Thankfully, she managed to graduate middle school and now attends a correspondence high school, but aside from the days she has to go, she mostly stays locked inside the house, barely speaking even to family.

She's gone through counseling many times, but her wounds haven't healed at all.

Even now, she continues to sink deeper and deeper into darkness.

My sister used to be admired by everyone—a model student.

Unlike me, she was kind even to bad people, yet still had the strength to guide others.

I remember people calling her something like a “goddess who embraces everything with kindness.”

She had qualities I didn't, and I even envied her a little.

But that kindness… was taken advantage of.

The evil she couldn't correct ended up consuming her.

I still vividly remember the look on her face back then.

Eyes filled with despair, as if she doubted everything in the world, trembling in the corner of her room.

And I… couldn't save her from that trauma.

No matter how many times I reached out, she would recoil from me in fear.

Once again, I was forced to face my own helplessness.

I should have been the one closest to her heart.

Her only sister.

So why… couldn't I do anything for her?

That's why, at the very least…

I decided to punish the one who broke her, even while continuing to live as if nothing had happened.

I knew it might end up like what happened with Reita.

I knew it wasn't what my sister would want.

But if I didn't do something, I couldn't move on.

I had a suspect.

The man who was closest to my sister—

Taiki Yokomizo, the current student council president at Shirosaki Academy, the school I now attend.

He had been in a close relationship with my sister.

And yet, even after she broke, he continued living his life at school as if nothing had happened.

I've always had a sharp instinct when it comes to people like that.

I knew right away.

But my sister is the way she is now.

She never came forward as a victim, never told anyone what happened.

The truth remains buried in darkness.

And I never witnessed anything directly either.

I had no concrete proof.

On the surface, Yokomizo is a well-liked student council president.

Even if I confronted him directly, he would obviously deny everything.

So instead, I decided to investigate him without raising suspicion.

But before I could find any decisive evidence, he graduated.

With no other choice…

I followed him and enrolled in Shirosaki Academy.

Honestly, I questioned whether I needed to go that far.

But when I learned that my childhood friends would also be attending the same school, my hesitation disappeared.

And so, I made my decision.

Even if it meant bending my own life—

I would make sure that man answers for his sins.