Chapter 33

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Translator: Soafp

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To expose Yokomizo's true nature, I visited the student council room again today.

“Good afternoon, President. Thanks for your hard work today.”

“Ah, Shizuno-chan. Good work to you too.”

I gave a small bow to Yokomizo, who had arrived before me, and sat down on a nearby folding chair.

As always, his outward appearance was flawless.

But I could tell.

That unmistakable stench unique to evil people practically radiated from him.

Behind that mask, the devil who destroyed my sister had to be smirking.

Yet Yokomizo was cautious.

He refused to show his tail easily.

I had even joined the student council and approached him while using myself as bait, yet I still hadn't obtained any decisive proof.

Without evidence, I obviously couldn't accuse him of anything.

But it's fine.

It's only a matter of time now.

I've gradually begun to understand how Yokomizo operates.

He most likely has accomplices—the delinquents at this academy.

He manipulates them skillfully to further strengthen his own position.

He deliberately lets problems happen, then swoops in to solve them himself, earning the trust and admiration of everyone around him.

The recent decline in public order at Shirosaki Academy is probably his doing.

Seriously… what a disgusting fraud.

But his mask is starting to crack.

All I have to do now is stay vigilant and wait for him to slip up decisively.

“By the way, Shizuno-chan. I heard you were dealing with delinquent students again today. You shouldn't push yourself too hard, you know?”

“Yes. Sorry for worrying you.”

“The school's gotten rather unsafe lately. You should be careful.”

…Says the man responsible.

He's probably orchestrating all of it just to gain favor with me.

Whenever I'm dealing with delinquents, Yokomizo always appears dramatically to “save” me.

When the same thing keeps happening over and over, there's no way it's just coincidence.

The fact that he's targeting the younger sister of the girl he destroyed is honestly revolting.

But for now, I have to keep my head low and make sure he never realizes I'm investigating him.

The worst outcome would be him covering his tracks completely.

Without definitive proof, there'd be nothing I could do.

“Oh right. Speaking of the school's bad atmosphere, I've noticed you talking a lot lately with that boy Kawakami. What exactly is your relationship with him?”

The moment Reita's name came up, my chest tightened.

“He's… just an old childhood friend.”

“I see. Then I'd recommend cutting ties with him sooner rather than later. You'll gain nothing from associating with someone like that.”

“…You're right.”

Saying something I didn't mean hurt more than I expected.

Sorry, Reita.

Not only did I break our promise… now I'm saying things like this too…

“And another thing. I heard your test scores weren't very good this time. What happened?”

“I just… wasn't doing very well lately.”

This round of exams had been a disaster.

Probably because of stress—I'd been so sleep deprived that I couldn't focus on studying at all.

It's honestly pathetic.

Everyone sees me as some capable girl, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

“Then how about I tutor you? Believe it or not, I've ranked first among the third years every year.”

“Yes, please.”

Maintaining my smile was becoming increasingly painful.

I wanted to bring this hypocrite to justice right here and now.

Calm down, me…

Don't let your guard down.

He's bound to make a fatal mistake soon enough—

“By the way, Shizuno-chan.”

“What is it?”

“How's your sister doing? You know… the one I broke.”

“…………”

—!?

It came completely out of nowhere.

Yokomizo suddenly grinned wickedly, catching me completely off guard.

The abruptness of it made my eyes widen in shock.

“That expression… so you really did come here to avenge your sister.”

“—!”

He knew…?

Since when…?

At the very least, he hadn't shown any signs of noticing yesterday.

“Man, that was close. If that guy hadn't warned me, you might've stabbed me.”

“That guy…?”

“Oops… that's my business.”

Someone tipped him off?

But who…?

I never let my guard down.

More importantly, I hadn't even told my childhood friends about this.

They might suspect something, but there's no way anyone could know for certain.

…Still.

Now that things have come to this, there's no point hesitating.

If anything, the fact that he's finally shown his true face works in my favor.

It's time to settle this.

“So it really was you who did that to my sister…”

“Heh heh… that's right. I did it.”

Yokomizo laughed jokingly, without the slightest hint of remorse.

My nails dug into my palms from anger.

…Calm down.

No matter what happens, stay composed.

“You can't deny it anymore.”

“Deny it? Heh… do you really think I'd confess without preparing for the consequences? If exposure is inevitable, the smart thing is to prepare beforehand.”

“What are you planning…?”

…I had a bad feeling.

A terrible sense of panic, like I'd already fallen one move behind.

“Do you know what happened to your sister back then?”

“What did you do to her…?”

I never actually learned what happened to my sister.

Ever since that day, we've barely been able to speak properly.

I asked around, but nobody knew anything.

“You see, she trusted me completely. And then I betrayed her… and left her in quite the disgraceful state—”

“—! Shut up! You disgusting pig…!”

I couldn't bear listening anymore and shouted at him.

“Ooh, scary scary. I wish you'd behave with a bit more modesty like your sister did. After all, you're supposed to become my girlfriend soon.”

“…Stop making disgusting jokes. I'm reporting you to the school immediately.”

I was done entertaining this monster.

I'd started recording midway through the conversation, so I just needed to report him as quickly as possible.

Suppressing my fury, I immediately moved to leave the student council room.

But—

“Heh heh… are you sure that's a good idea? Because if you do, those embarrassing photos of your sister are going nationwide.”

“—! Don't tell me you…!?”

Yokomizo held up his smartphone with a grotesque grin.

Displayed on the screen was my beloved sister in a humiliating state.

I couldn't even bear to look at it and instinctively turned my eyes away.

“I've already set it up so they can be spread anytime. If you want to protect your sister's reputation… then you understand, right?”

“…!”

I'd been outplayed…

He'd taken a hostage.

A classic tactic, but one of the most effective ways to crush justice.

I could feel despair slowly wrapping itself around my legs.

“But don't worry, Shizuno-chan. It's not like I want to hurt you. I just want you to stay by my side as my girlfriend.”

“As if I'd ever become your girlfriend…!”

“Oh? Are you sure you want to keep talking like that? I might leak the photos, you know?”

“—!”

My insides burned with rage.

Listening to this monster's demands was the greatest humiliation imaginable.

Impossible.

There's no way I can submit to someone like him.

But…

My sister is already carrying deep emotional scars.

If anything else happens to her now, she might truly break for good.

At worst—

…I don't even want to imagine that future.

“You really think you can get away with this…?”

“Unfortunately, if nobody finds out, a crime isn't really a crime.”

“You filthy monster…!”

I wanted to slap him right then and there.

But with my sister's safety resting on my every action, I couldn't afford to act recklessly.

“Oh, and just so you know—if anything happens to me, I've already instructed my friends to spread those photos. So I'd avoid doing anything stupid.”

If only I had realized sooner…

Maybe I could've prevented this.

…Powerless.

Why am I always so powerless?

At this point, the only way to stop him would be to take him down together with myself.

But while I could risk my own life, I can't gamble with my sister's reputation—

or her life.

A completely hopeless situation.

What am I supposed to do?

How can I stop this man…?