Chapter 11 – The Star Performer Arrives Late

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“Sorry for barging into your tiny room like this,” the molester-cop said jokingly.

“Hey, can you not diss someone else’s apartment?”

I shot back, regretting letting them in, but it’s too late to change it now. That molester-cop—let’s call him Ichiya, like giving him a name would make him any less creepy.

“So, what’s it going to take to convince you that I had nothing to do with it?” I asked, feeling irritated.

“Ah, got it. First off, tell us about your relationship with Kurabayashi Mii-san.”

“I’m telling you, we’re total strangers.”

“That can’t be right. She was going on about you when she was out of it; there’s got to be something to it. That’s not a normal thing, you know; it’s like she’s losing it mentally.”
“…”

I fell silent for a moment, contemplating my next move.

Well, even if I keep quiet, they might piece together the truth if they dug deep enough. I didn’t want to be under suspicion the whole time. But hey, there is nothing I can do about it now. It’s time to spill the beans.

“She’s actually my ex from five years ago.”

“What?”

“We split up five years ago and haven’t talked since. Then we randomly ran into each other at the university. She apologized for stuff from the past.”

“Why’d she apologize for something so old? Breakups are usually mutual, right?” The molester-cop questioned, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of it all.

“Nah, it wasn’t mutual,” I replied, a tinge of bitterness seeping into my voice. “She cheated on me.”

“…”

Oh no! The trauma from the past is coming back to haunt me!

“We’re sorry to hear that,” the other cop chimed in unexpectedly.

“Whoa, you spoke!” I blurted out, taken aback by his sudden interruption.

This other cop, who’d been quiet this whole time, blurted that out, and I couldn’t help but snap back instantly.

“Oh..ah… sorry. You were being thoughtful,” I quickly added, realizing my mistake.

“No, I understand,” the silent cop responded, his voice barely above a whisper. “Getting cheated on feels like your heart’s being ripped out.”

“N-no way… Could it be that even a cop like you had something like that happen in the past?” I stammered, my mind racing with a newfound empathy.

Silent nod

That was all it took for our unspoken bond to form.

Bam!!

Right then, I link arms with the silent cop.

Bros, we’re bros! Is it possible this cop’s girlfriend got NTR-ed and it broke him, so he went mute and changed careers to this silent character!? What a tragedy!

“……I see. It must have been tough for the police officer, huh?

“Yeah, I never expected my girl to bring her lover home and start playing the forty-eight-moves challenge.”

“So, what’d you do about it?”

“I caught her cheating on the forty-seventh move, so I stopped the forty-eighth move challenge. That was punishment enough, I guess.”

“Man, that’s lame as hell!! That punishment’s totally lackluster! If you’re going to do it, make it fleshy!”

For some reason, us dumped dudes got oddly hyped up about chatting. So mysterious!

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the molester-cop…

…can’t even laugh.”

He looked beyond bored.

“Sorry for slipping there!! But you know, when a girl you like cheats on you, it messes with your head so much that even jokes slide off! Plus, not only in middle school but also in high school, my girlfriend cheated on me. I’m a seasoned pro at this heartbreak stuff, man!!”

“I-is that something to brag about…?”

I’ll just ignore the molester-cop already.

“Yeah, well, it turns out she’s at the same university as me too.”
Ding-dong 

I was about to show off my tales of misfortune in front of my kindred spirits when the doorbell interrupted me.

Hmm?

Hold on; let’s stay calm this time.

Who could possibly know that I live here?

“Oh, um, sorry for coming so late… It's Aki.”

She wasn’t invited, but speak of the devil; here comes the cheating woman!

Or rather, it’s normal for them to rush in as soon as they know the address!?

She’s showing up uninvited, making a grand entrance like she’s the cheating queen or something!!

Seriously, who just shows up at someone’s place knowing their address? Isn’t that weird!?

……

Ah.

Perfect timing. I’ll publicly shame her.

“Huh? Got a friend visiting?”

“No, not at all. Let me introduce her; she’s—”

After saying that much to the two cops, I got up from my seat and headed to the front door, opening it with a click.

“Ah, sorry for dropping by out of the blue but there’s something I need to talk to Yuuta about.”

A surprise visit at night—that’s some NTR-level drama!

That’s why I have to introduce her; it’s the duty of a player who’s paid for the content!

“Let me introduce you to the officers! This girl right here is my ex-girlfriend from high school who betrayed me and cheated on me!!”

“…Eh?”

“Even though she was dating me, she ended up comparing me to her stepbrother and dumped me in the end! That was the worst thing that ever happened to me!”

“Eh-eh-ehhhh…what… Ehhhh!?”

Cue imaginary fanfare in my head.

And there you have it, folks, introducing the cheating culprit.

The cops, both of them, were dumbfounded.

Kojima-san seemed flustered for some reason.

“W-w-wait, why are there cops at Yuuta’s apartment? Why? Are you here to arrest me? But I haven’t done anything arrest-worthy… Cheating? Cheating on what? Or is it about Ryuichi-niisan and all that crazy Twister shouting we did?!”

She went off the rails. Totally off. I mean, it’s like she was shouting like she was in a twist and shout game or something. Yeah.

“I'm sorryyyyyyyyyy~!”

I don’t know what she was expecting, but Kojima-san bolted out of there like a scared rabbit.

“What was that all about just now?”

“Who knows? Maybe she’s got some guilty conscience going on. If you spot her acting suspiciously in town, feel free to question her without hesitation.”

“Can we go back now?”

“I guess we’ve overstayed our welcome. It seems like there’s no real case here.”

The cops seemed to snap out of it at that point.

Well, whether sex with a stepbrother violates any laws is anyone’s guess, but if I act flustered every time I see a cop, I should be fine.

Hopefully, she won’t come barging into my apartment against my will anymore.

Phew, crisis averted…

I want to believe that nothing’s really been resolved. Yeah.