V5 Epilogue: The Wriggler/The Evader

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Translator: Soafp

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“Why do I have to do something like that!?”

In the dimly lit underpass beneath the elevated railway, Akari vents her frustration at the man's words.

“If you want to do it, do it yourself! I have nothing to do with it.”

With that, she leaves the scene. He doesn't understand. He doesn't grasp the weight of the risks involved.

If she is found out about sending the letter to Erika Tojo and lying about cheating, it will be over.

It's not the same as elementary school harassment. Given the man’s current position, there’s a high possibility of severe punishment. He has many allies. He's not someone to antagonize. He doesn't understand that.

The pent-up frustration she once felt has dissipated. All she wants now is to lead a peaceful school life. If she were to get suspended or, worse, expelled for foolish behavior, it would be unbearable.

She didn't want to cause trouble for her family. She didn't want to give up the happiness she had finally attained.

She was rescued from nearly drowning during a beach outing. Annoying as it may be, he is a benefactor.

She can't view him as an enemy. He is different from that man. There is still a chance to turn back.

She blocks his contact information. She won't be involved in this path to ruin any further.

Pretending to know nothing, pretending to be unrelated, and graduating from high school as an outsider.

—That was, above all, the most important goal for Akari Toki.

End of Volume 5

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[TL: If you forgot who she is (like me) read the story below. This is from V3Ch6 Part 5]

[Akari PoV]

In this way, swaying gently with the waves, my own thoughts begin to seem terribly insignificant.

Lately, nothing seems to go well. Maybe I’ve been abandoned by luck.

I tried plotting together with them, but it’s hard to say we’ve succeeded. Rather than being trapped, they’re becoming more confident. No matter how much I curse them, reality doesn’t change.

Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved. This is so frustrating. And that person they pushed onto me, too.

Are they planning to ruin my life again? This feeling of nothing going well is something I haven’t felt in a while.

An uncomfortable feeling, just like back in elementary school… I remembered something unpleasant.

Even though we came to enjoy a family beach outing, it’s all ruined. I strike the water’s surface in frustration.

I doubt anyone realizes it’s me. It’s alright. I’ll convince myself of that, but the unease doesn’t dissipate. Why do I have to take such risks?

I’m stuck in the same loop without an answer again. Maybe I should just lay it all out…

Impossible. That man doesn’t forgive his enemies. He crushed me that way. Both him and me.

I didn’t realize that keeping a secret could be so mentally exhausting.

Constantly worried about getting caught, I can’t even enjoy my school life properly.

Being just an incompetent who follows orders, I don’t understand his scariness. If I’m in the same school, it will become clear. He’s truly untouchable. Unwanted topics keep reaching my ears daily.

There’s no way I can directly attack him. I have no allies. Even if I asked the upperclassmen for help, I doubt anyone would cooperate.

Rather, if a student approached with such a topic, there’s a high chance they’d report it to him.

For some reason, that guy isn’t alone. Annoyingly enough, he’s well-liked by many.

Teachers and upperclassmen don’t matter. Everyone is concerned about his movements, protecting him.

If I were to oppose him, it’s me who would be isolated. Especially if my elder sister, who values him highly, were to find out, I don’t know what would happen. Unlike him, she’d be serious about removing me.

Truly a dead end. A miserable situation. And all of this was my own doing.

“I shouldn’t have reunited with Kazu…”

Regret is never-ending. The gears started to grind out of place after I reconnected with him in the new school.

Thinking it’s just fellow locals, I got close to him in delight, and that marked the beginning of my mistake.

Even though I transferred and should have distanced myself in high school, I became a target of his attention due to him standing out. While I’m suffering this much, people around him are always smiling. There’s always someone beside him, laughing.

Why is he always having fun while I’m all alone?! I can’t suppress my frustration.

Nervous and careful, I maintained surface-level relationships, and now I’m all alone.

If I hold dissatisfaction and turn hostile, he senses it keenly, and people distance themselves further, creating a vicious cycle.

“Eh…?”

I snap back to reality. The shoreline looks quite far away. I try to turn back, but unexpectedly, the waves are strong, and I can’t move forward as much as I’d like. A deep fear bubbles up from within me. I quickly adjust my posture. However, contrary to my intentions, my body doesn’t respond.

“No way… This can’t be happening! It’s dangerous! Someone, help—gobo-gobo.”

As I try to shout without concern for my dignity, seawater enters my mouth. Coughing, my left leg cramps.

(Why… Why is it just me ending up like this? Am I going to die? In a place like this… I still have so much I want to do!)

If this is the punishment for belittling others, then there’s undoubtedly a higher power.

Thinking such things belatedly, tears overflow. Looking back, I’ve only resented people. Hated them. Letting my hatred for him fester, blaming everything on him. And, I committed a sin.

(No… It wasn’t me at first… It was him. It’s because I met him—!)

At first, I understood it. That I was at fault. But as we started exchanging bad words, my thoughts gradually twisted, changed. I drowned in malice.

I’ve never even been in love. Never liked someone, let alone anything beyond that.

Perhaps my intense yearning for beautiful things stems from my own overwhelming ugliness.

“Damn it… Help me, please! I’ll apologize… I’ll change, please, someone—”

My voice doesn’t reach anyone. Because I’m alone. Different from him.

I should have just ignored that guy and lived properly. I should have spent my youth.

The beautiful surface of the sea seems like the maw of a demon, waiting to swallow me. It’s mouth is open, lying in wait for its prey. How deep is it? I can’t see through the pitch-black ocean floor.

How small and fragile humans are. We can die so easily. All the time we’ve accumulated disappears effortlessly. I have no more will to resist.

“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry—”

“I never expected to be facing a situation like this all of a sudden… It’s okay now. First, grab onto this kickboard. Since there’s a chance you might sink if you panic and struggle, relax all your muscles.”

Is this an illusion? A devil in all black may have come to pick me up from the bottom of the ocean.

“…I’m beaten. Seems like I’m in quite a pinch. Let’s see, in times like this… Got it! The other day, I tried to lower the favorability rating of the Unmoving Wisdom King sister without learning my lesson, and I acted all high and mighty, giving orders and stuff, and she seemed really delighted and carried them out. Is that some new form of harassment? When I met her, she was suddenly wearing just suspenders. I thought to myself, the internet can’t be trusted. What am I supposed to do with her!”

The demon is talking about something that’s hard to understand. Perhaps it’s a curse that leads to death.

Unmoving Wisdom King sister?… What is this person talking about? Person… a person!? Not a demon!

“H… help—”

“We’re getting closer to the shore, so you don’t need to be scared anymore. Look, it’s shallow, shallow.”

“Takai takai?” (lifting (a child) high up in the air)

My awareness gradually becomes clearer. It’s not a demon, just a person. He behaved brightly to reassure me.

… Did I make it? I’m enveloped in a sudden feeling of relief.

My tears have made it difficult to see their faces, which are blurred. I abandon my jumbled emotions. My eyelids are heavy, and I feel like I want to sleep like this.

I’m pulled up onto the shore and laid down. Feeling the land against my back is more comforting than anything.

A supple hand touches my left leg, and my body twitches. I remember the pain I had almost forgotten.

“It’s cramping. I’m going to stretch it like this.”

My left leg is lifted up, and it’s bent in a stretching-like movement, then pulled to straighten it. After a few repetitions, the cramp subsides, and I can move freely again.

“Phew. Are you feeling better now?”

The demon steps away swiftly. No, this person isn’t a demon. He is the person who helped me.

I have to thank them… at least, I want to see them just once—!

“—Akari!”

I sense my familiar mother’s voice approaching, and my consciousness falls into a deep darkness.