Chapter 37: Lightning and fried horse mackerel

Translator: Soafp

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The sound of chalk scratching against the blackboard echoed in the classroom. As the tests approached, everyone’s concentration seemed to increase. While everyone was preoccupied with the upcoming exams, I focused my thoughts on what was to come.

The bad ending that would befall Kikawa Moegi would occur during the mid-term tests. The tests spanned four days, but her worst ordeal would begin on the final day. By this point, two female students had already been killed on campus, creating a tense atmosphere. The story unfolds from the moment Kikawa Moegi, who was already burdened by the death of Hihara Karen, encounters the man who dumped her and her reunion with her father, adding a touch of ironic fate to the “if” story. It’s quite a dramatic turn of events.

First, there would be a reunion with the man she had dumped in middle school. Back then, she confessed her feelings to him, only to realize that he was a complete jerk, leading to a breakup within a week. He would come back with a group of friends, not to subject her to something overly cruel, but to mock her. Rumors had spread throughout the middle school about their one-week relationship, and this would be their retaliation. It wouldn’t involve anything direct, but it would weigh heavily on her heart.

Afterward, she would have a reunion with her father.

The deepest trauma in her past was the memory of the abuse she suffered from her father. She had faced various difficulties until entering high school, but the worst of them would be connected to the bad ending.

Their reunion would be a truly coincidental encounter. The jerk who was her father had been caught by the police, but he had since been released, making the possibility of meeting again not entirely impossible. Unfortunately, luck would be against her.

The fear she felt towards her father was depicted vividly. She would repeatedly scream in her heart, terrified, knowing that her mother, who had protected her in the past, was no longer there. She lived alone now, with only photographs and an altar to her deceased mother, praying every day.

She would be subjected to whatever he wanted out of sheer terror. If it were a matter of pure strength, she could easily overpower him, but because she couldn’t fully unleash her strength, she would suffer greatly.

As soon as she meets the other *sshole, he confirms that the fear is still there and pretends to leave her for a time. She goes home, relieved that nothing is going on. Later, she is violently attacked in an abandoned place. This brings back the trauma and she becomes like a puppet at his bidding.

　She is too scared to make a calm decision, so she lets the other man into her room. She gives him money and asks her to withdraw money from her bank book as well. She resists a little, but in the end she does as she is told. The man …… is the symbol of fear. The root of her fear is the man she is …… with, in her own room, in front of her mother’s altar …….

It doesn’t matter if they are related by blood or not. Her mind is tremendously unstable. She was scared, scared to death. She ends up hanging herself in her room at midnight that day. Her mind collapsed and she lost her head when the person she was afraid of did that to her.

The shitty father also holds deep-seated grudges from the past. He used to present himself as an elite, but his downfall has turned him into a resentful mess. It’s common to encounter such despicable individuals in a bad ending. This man harbors resentment towards his ex-wife, but since she is no longer around, he seeks to take revenge on his daughter in the most brutal way. He contemplates subjecting her to horrific experiences and even entertains the idea of killing her. As a result, she ends up taking her own life, achieving his twisted objective, and then he is apprehended by the police. However, Kikawa Moegi remains unsaved.

Therefore, I will deliberately provoke and redirect hate towards myself. He is a former elite. I know that if I mockingly express satisfaction at his downfall, it will trigger his anger and he will come after me. Then, I’ll beat him up and contact the police.

If I can throw him into a holding cell once, he will be released after a while, and I can confront him again. Once I obtain the “Magical Equipment,” I will become strong enough to kill him with a single finger. It doesn’t matter if there is fear. The power of the “Magical Equipment” is extraordinary.

If I consider the shitty man as “1,” the girl who can use the “Magical Equipment” is “10,000” levels above him. No matter how hard he tries, an ant cannot contend with a thunder god. If she can overcome this situation, everything will be safe. That’s why I want to be in a position like a guardian spirit, no matter what.

In the worst case, I’m even considering becoming a stalker. It’s fine even if it comes to that, but the best option is still to be in the position of a guardian spirit. In case something happens, I want to act as quickly as possible. In case of an emergency, I can even become a human shield. During the second day of Gindou Kohaku’s incident, there were delinquents present where they shouldn’t be. My involvement in the bad ending itself could cause irregularities. That’s why the position of a guardian spirit is crucial. To achieve that position, there is one thing that needs to be taken care of.

That is, it’s better to have some level of conversation or connection. There has been some interaction between the two of us so far. Gindou Kohaku is a classmate, we escaped together from delinquents, and even though she may be in a bad mood, we have had some conversations. As for Hihara Karen, it’s a two-dimensional connection. Although the option of immediately aiming for the position of a guardian spirit existed, from a girl’s perspective, having an unfamiliar man suddenly close by is nothing but scary. The same goes for Kikawa Moegi. No matter how strong she is, it would be frightening if a man suddenly appeared. That’s why I wanted to have a connection.

Even if she finds me annoying, if I can at least show that I’m harmless, she won’t feel fear from mere discomfort. If I have to give both fear and discomfort, I would prefer to have at least one of them. Ideally, I don’t want her to feel both, but I’m sorry to say that’s my limit.

Both Gindou Kohaku and Hihara Karen have been successful in me becoming their guardian spirit. I also intended to do the same this time, but… there’s that extremely low level of favorability. With such low favorability, it would immediately lead to a straight path to the police.

Kikawa Moegi dislikes men, and if I were in the position of a guardian spirit, she wouldn’t hide her discomfort.

She might even throw me with a judo throw or an ippon-i (single backstrap). If that’s all it takes, it’s not that big a deal.

However, with the current level of favorability, she might report me to the police. Considering the fourth person as well, I want to avoid that.

Seriously, I beg you, please spare me from involving the police. They are probably keeping an eye on me, and currently, I’m the most suspicious person in this town. If I get reported once, it will delay me from reaching the fourth person. After Kikawa Moegi is done, I plan to go to the fourth person immediately. I have the mindset that being reported to the police is not a big deal if it helps avoid a bad ending, but at this moment, I sincerely request to be spared from that.

From her perspective, it won’t change the fact that it’s unpleasant, and I apologize for that. I had considered avoiding it and not getting involved anymore, but in the current situation, there seems to be no option other than reporting.

Generally, she maintains a non-interference policy towards men. She dislikes them but rarely takes any action herself. That’s why I was quite surprised by the extent of her verbal abuse towards me. There must be a reason behind it, and I need to find it and resolve it in some way for the future.

With the current level of dislike, if I continue to harass her, she will immediately report it. My current goal is to raise the favorability level to at least a level where I have some connection.

Hmm, what could it be? Am I being disliked? Is it the gaze?

“Kuroda-kun… try solving the problem here.”

No, is it okay to be that simplistic? Hmm, but I can’t think of anything else.

“Kuroda-kun, are you listening?”

What should I do? I still don’t have a clue. Yeah… but come to think of it, the behavior of other students besides her was a bit strange too… Maybe it’s just my imagination. The Fried horse mackerel incident, suspicions of infidelity, and various rumors have drawn attention to me in a weird way. However, recently, I feel like the attitudes of some people around me have changed a bit.

“Kuroda?! Are you listening!?”

“Shut up!!!! I’m thinking about the world here!!”

I unintentionally raised my voice and immediately regretted it. The piercing gazes from the people around me were unbearable.

“It’s math now.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

I apologized excessively afterward.

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Until the final day of the exams, there is about two weeks of time. However, I can’t afford to let my guard down. I should ask around here. Why did she react so strongly? That’s about it. Just asking shouldn’t lead to being reported to the police or getting thrown away. Alright, I’ll use the lunch break to go and ask.

That’s all I can do for now. Well, if that’s all, then I have to do it.

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[Natsuke Pov]

My name is Noguchi Natsuko. I’m just an ordinary high school girl. Currently, I’m watching from a distance as my friend, Gindou-san, who is also my friend, tries to invite Kuroda-kun out for a meal, her crush. She has become much bolder compared to before.

I also feel like Kuroda-kun talks to me more sincerely than before. The topics of conversation have expanded, and recently we even talked about light novels…

[Huh? Gindou-san, what are you reading?]

[This? It’s a romance light novel that I recently started reading. It’s called ‘How about an Overly Yandere Girlfriend?’]

[Ah, I think I’ve heard of that. The heroine is quite eccentric, right?]

[Is she? Hmm, I didn’t get that impression. There are some parts where I can relate, though, so I didn’t see it that way.]

[What specifically can you relate to?]

[Kidnapping… I mean, the feeling of wanting someone I’m interested in to try my homemade cooking.]

I didn’t miss the fact that she mentioned “kidnapping” earlier.

[Wait, did you just say ‘kidnapping’? Eh?]

[Hahaha, just kidding. I can’t really relate to that.]

[Of course, right!! It’s probably good that you can’t, seriously.]

[Yes, it only lasted for a moment, and even then, it was more like, ‘Hmm, interesting,’ and nothing more.]

[Oh, that’s good… Wait, what?]

[What’s wrong?]

[You only thought that for a moment?]

[Yes, just for a moment. But then I realized it would get me arrested. Considering how advanced the police are these days, I thought it was just a fanciful story and stopped relating to it. Besides, if I got caught by the police, I wouldn’t be able to see the people I care about.]

[Aah, I see. Well, that’s a relief. By the way, what did you think about adding blood to the food?]

[I couldn’t relate to that at all. It’s unhygienic. I thought it should be perfectly calorie-calculated and that I should make sure the person chews each bite thirty times.]

[Oh, that’s more in line with a general perspective.]

From there, we engaged in some casual girl talk. Sometimes her thoughts take an unexpectedly strange turn, but ultimately, her cute side stands out. I couldn’t help but wonder about that brief moment relating to the act of kidnapping, but even so, she’s adorable.

The reason she reads light novels is also cute: she wants to have more topics to talk about.

Even inviting him out for a meal is an attempt to catch his attention, even just a little. Yes, even now.

“Um, would you like to go to the cafeteria together?”

“Sorry, I have somewhere I need to go. Maybe another time…”

“Oh, I see…”

Dreadful, she looks really disappointed. Her shoulders droop in dejection.

If someone treated me like that, I would think it’s the same as saying they don’t like me. But I suppose it means that Kuroda-kun doesn’t see Gindou-san as someone special.

Normally, if a guy were treated like that by Gindou-san, he would immediately start dating her… Kuroda-kun is quite different. I’ve thought that before.

“He has some plans for today…”

“Nice try. Everyone has days like that.”

“Yes, but what are his plans?”

“Who knows? It’s probably pointless to think about it.”

“It’s intriguing, though…”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll follow him for a bit.”

“No, no, no, that’s going a bit too far…”

“Izayoi-kun used to follow me around a lot, so it’s fine.”

“R-Really?”

“Absolutely. He shouldn’t have any complaints. I’ll be right back.”

“Ah, okay.”

I guess I’ll follow her too. If she goes off the rails or something, I’ll need to intervene. I stood up from my seat and started following Gindou-san, who was following Kuroda-kun.