Chapter 43: The Coming Price

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Translator: Soafp

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[Miyabi PoV]

I rubbed my swollen eyes, still teary, as I walked with Aoi. Even so, the morning sunlight was warm on my skin, and the breeze that passed by felt pleasant. I could feel my emotions, which had been so turbulent until yesterday, slowly beginning to calm down.

The bright voices of my classmates echoed along the school route, but we intentionally ignored them and walked quietly.

Both Aoi and I were walking through the usual morning scene, but our thoughts were elsewhere.

As we passed through the school gate, I felt the weight of others' gazes. Glancing sideways, I noticed a few students were watching us. But I tried not to think too much about it and simply kept walking.

Hajime glanced at us briefly and smiled gently.

“Don't push yourselves. I'll see you later.”

His kind words made me relax my shoulders a little.

“Yeah.”

Aoi also gave a small smile.

Both Aoi and I just wanted to calm down a bit, even if only for a short while. We exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

As we walked down the hallway, I could tell that students passing by were glancing at us. But I continued walking without paying them any mind.

Just as we were heading toward the restroom, two figures suddenly appeared in front of us.

It was Godai-senpai and Takamatsu-senpai, slowly approaching us.

Godai-senpai wore a light smile but directed a gaze toward us that seemed to hold some meaning. Takamatsu-senpai, without saying a word, stared at us, and his expression gave no clue as to what he was thinking.

“…Is there something you need?”

I instinctively stepped back, leaning a little closer to Aoi as I became more cautious.

Godai-senpai raised one corner of his mouth slightly.

“There's no need to be scared, is there?”

Despite his light tone, there was something testing in his gaze.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and deliberately paused before continuing.

“I just want to talk for a bit.”

“Talk?”

Aoi tensed up slightly, glaring at Godai-senpai with sharp eyes.

“It won't take long, right?”

Takamatsu-senpai shrugged his shoulders, making a gesture that seemed to show off his calm demeanor.

I exchanged glances with Aoi. A bad feeling ran down my spine.

But if we refused now, things might only get worse.

“…If it's just a little, then fine.”

Reluctantly, I nodded slightly.

“We'll come back as soon as the talk is over.”

Aoi also spoke in a low voice to emphasize her point.

“Of course.”

Godai-senpai grinned and slowly moved his hand. There was an air of calm confidence in his movements, as though he were testing us.

“Alright then, come with us.”

We were led by the two of them toward the rooftop.

Once we stepped onto the rooftop, a refreshing breeze blew through. The spacious sky had a calming effect.

“So, what's this talk about?”

I asked, still on guard.

Godai-senpai slowly pulled a book out of his bag and dropped it at my feet.

“…!”

I instinctively picked it up. The moment my fingers touched the cover, my heart jumped.

As soon as I saw the title, I froze.

“Two People and One”—Hajime's novel.

A chill ran down my spine. This was the book that had been stolen from the classroom a few days ago, the one I had borrowed from Aoi.

“Why… is this… here?”

I felt my voice tremble as I looked up.

Godai-senpai, as if enjoying my reaction, curled his lips into a smirk.

“You didn't think I'd be the kind of person to do something like this, did you?”

Aoi stepped forward.

“…This is the lowest. Why are you doing something like this?”

She glared at Godai-senpai with sharp eyes. But he just shrugged and smiled lightly.

“Who knows? But stealing the book wasn't the point.”

“Then what's the point?”

Aoi, with a stern expression, pressed him further.

Godai-senpai stared at me and, slowly getting closer, whispered in a low voice.

“Hey… what did you think of the novel I wrote?”

I gasped. For a moment, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

“…It was a wonderful work. But seeing you now, I don't think you're the same person I thought was amazing before.”

I said firmly.

“Rather… I despise you.”

Godai-senpai squinted his eyes, but then quickly grinned again.

“I see. But hey, didn't you remember anything while reading my novel?”

“Remember…?”

I was confused as I tried to recall the contents of the novel.

As I read it, there was definitely something that felt familiar, something that stuck with me.

I couldn't pinpoint exactly what, but the atmosphere of the story and the interactions between the characters seemed strangely familiar.

The little words, the trivial exchanges, and the relationships depicted—all of them felt as if they were fragments of the days I had spent with Hajime and Aoi, overlapping with my own past.

I couldn't clearly recall anything. But it felt like the conversations and promises I made as a child were somehow lingering in the story.

“Could it be…?”

Memories began to resurface one after another.

Seeing my reaction, Godai-senpai smiled in satisfaction and slowly spoke.

“It looks like you've figured it out.”

“The novel I wrote for Miyabi and the others—yeah, that's right, I wrote it by copying Hajime's ‘Two People and One.'”

“What?!”

I froze.

I had praised Godai-senpai's novel and admired it.

Had I known that it was Hajime's work, I would have—!

“It's a lie…”

I muttered in a trembling voice.

In that instant, an icy laugh echoed through the air.

Godai-senpai and Takamatsu-senpai were laughing, genuinely enjoying themselves.

“Yeah, yeah. Finally figured it out, huh?”

Their laughter echoed cruelly.

“In the afterword of that novel, it said something like this…”

Godai-senpai continued, his voice dripping with satisfaction.

“It said that the story was based on his real-life experiences. And, just to be polite, it even said this at the end.”

He paused for a moment, grinning as he seemed to enjoy our expressions.

“It said it was dedicated to his beloved childhood friends… can you believe that?”

The moment I heard those words, a sharp pain twisted in my chest.

Aoi gasped, and I tried to retort, but my throat closed up and I couldn't speak.

“Man, what a tearjerker, huh?”

Godai-senpai shrugged with a mocking smile, while Takamatsu-senpai faintly smiled as well.

The enormity of it all caused the world in front of me to blur. My legs wobbled.

Without realizing it, I had hurt Hajime.

I never even thought about something like this.

“Miyabi!”

Aoi quickly steadied me as I staggered. Her touch was the only thing pulling me back to reality.

“…You're the lowest…”

Aoi's trembling voice echoed in the quiet rooftop. She glared at Godai-senpai with intense eyes.

“How could you do something like this?!”

But Godai-senpai didn't lose his smug grin.

“You can't exactly judge me, can you?”

It was Takamatsu-senpai who suddenly spoke, his mouth twisted into a mocking smile.

“…What do you mean?”

“You were the one who harshly blamed Hajime for a crime that didn't even exist, right?”

Takamatsu-senpai spoke casually, but his eyes held a dark glint.

It was as if he was enjoying the moment of exposing something that had been kept silent for so long. The expression on his face filled me with dread.

Aoi stiffened for a moment, her eyes dropping. In that moment, she seemed so unlike her usual strong self, as if her fragility had been laid bare.

She opened her mouth in a trembling voice, but her words were cut off and vanished.

She clenched her fists tightly, her gaze averted as her shoulders trembled.

Takamatsu-senpai took another step forward and, with a voice that feigned tenderness, continued.

“You get it, don't you? How awful you were to Hajime. How your words must have hurt him. Could you really not see that at the time?”

Aoi's face slowly paled.

“That's right…! Hajime… he never did anything to Konatsu, did he?!”

The words Aoi finally spat out were filled with a mixture of anger and regret.

“…!”

I looked at Aoi, and I felt like my whole body was going to collapse. Her lips were trembling.

Aoi's voice was filled with anger and regret.

Godai-senpai and Takamatsu-senpai watched us, genuinely enjoying the scene.