Chapter 15: Deception.

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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[Matsuyama’s POV.]

I woke up.

“Where am I…?”

“Oh. You’re back.”

I sat up and looked around, realizing I had been out cold in the infirmary. My eyes then landed on Saki, who sat near my bed while reading a book.

“Saki, what happened to me?”

“You suddenly became delirious and collapsed. And now?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“I see.”

That must’ve been all a bad dream then. In that horrible nightmare, Saki kept hurling terrible insults at me, though I couldn’t see a sign of that now. Rather, it seems like she’s worried about me.

“In that case, let’s go back to your classroom,” she motioned.

“Yeah, thanks, Saki. Sorry for worrying you.”

“It’s alright. It would’ve been troublesome if you went out cold for good.”

“Saki…” Ah, so all that really was a dream.

“You can’t grovel at Akito’s feet if you’re collapsed like this…” She muttered something just out of my earshot.

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

She and I kept walking to the classroom together. Looking out the window, I saw the beautiful burnt golden sun setting down. I must’ve slept for quite a while.

“Ugh, I had the worst nightmare.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah,” I sighed as the contours of my face drooped to bitter. In that hellscape, Saki often hurled horrible words at me, and I was to face harsh punishment for failing the bet. There were many other things too, yet she kept listening to all I had to say without saying much. “—Something like that.”

“Oh, yeah, what a horrible nightmare. My sympathies.”

She was quite empathetic towards me. Seeing her act like that, I was truly convinced these bad experiences weren’t even real in the slightest. Soon, we both arrived at my classroom door. However, as she reached for the door handle, she shot me a sidelong glance.

“By the way, stepbrother,” she began.

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’ll apologize in advance.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

At that moment, her caring smile contorted into something horrid, a cacodemonic crooked crescent grin. It was foul enough to make me take a step back.

“Sorry. It was all real.”

“What?”

She opened the door to my classroom, where all my classmates were gathered. Their eyes all lay on me at once, all sympathetic and pitiful. And he stood at the center of it all.

“Katayama-kun…”
“Katayama…”

“Well then, as promised, kneel down and apologize. Scum,” Saki said with a wide sneer.

And at that moment, all strength was sapped from my body.

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[Iwaki’s POV.]

Saki brought Katayama with her.

“I’ll keep an eye on Katayama-kun, so you guys wait here, okay?”

As soon as school had ended, Saki had come to our classroom and said that as soon as she stepped in. Implicitly, she conveyed to every one of our classmates that escape was not an option. And then, she declared she’d personally capture and bring him in. The rest of us, left behind, did nothing but wait. Nevertheless,

She had such a joyful smirk on her face…

I swore in my heart that I had to seriously correct Saki’s personality. Then, she returned and headed toward me. She looked like a puppy wagging its tail, seeking praise. Of course, there was no visible change in her appearance, but I understood through eye contact alone.

“Ah, guh,” Katayama looked at me and froze. Judging from his behavior, Saki must have done something. He had a face that seemed completely unable to accept reality.

“Well then, I’ll have you properly kneel down and apologize to Iwaki-kun. Oh, and make sure to add some sweet words of apology,” I couldn’t tell if Katayama was listening to Saki’s words. He was trembling and looking down, completely submitting.

“Co…” He stuttered.

“Hm?” I couldn’t hear the voice Katayama squeezed out, so I asked again. Then, his expression changed from the vacant one a moment ago to a smile.

“Come on, Saki. It’s obviously just a joke, right?”

“Huh?”

“Even if I had won, I had no intention of making Iwaki kneel, you know?”

Katayama blatantly lied. Saki and I were both stunned, not expecting such a method to be used.

“Congratulations, Iwaki. It’s amazing how much you’ve improved your grades in such a short period of time,” Katayama praised me while clapping. He was trying to divert the conversation, pretending like nothing happened at all.

Have I really been intimidated by someone like him all this time? I felt pathetic to my core.

Then, Saki spoke up. “Are you trying to play dumb? What about our bet?”

Saki asked in a flat tone, to which Katayama shrugged his shoulders as if it were the most casual thing in the world. That irritated both Saki and me as if he’d just said “Whatever” in the most punchable way ever.

“Play dumb? Not at all. And what bet are you talking about…?”

“Oh, really? Are you trying to act like it never happened? We made a promise in front of a lot of witnesses.”

“Huh? Hey, everyone, did Saki and I make some kind of bet?”

Katayama had a smile on his face. However, there was pressure behind it. All our classmates shook their heads, indicating they didn’t know. Seeing their reactions, Katayama nodded in agreement.

“Sigh, seems like competing with this dimwit will become an embarrassing memory in the future…” Saki pressed her temples.

“Same here…” I nodded with a sigh of my own.

Katayama’s veins started to bulge. However, he couldn’t dig his own grave here, so he clenched his fist and endured it. Saki didn’t hide her annoyance and asked again.

“So, you really intend to play dumb?”

“I don’t remember anything because I didn’t do anything.”

“I see.”

Saki took out her smartphone. She opened an app, and I could hear voices coming from it. Familiar voices were playing from the phone. It was a recording of our bet. Katayama’s face turned pale, then I could see him quiver to his base.

“T-That’s…”

“I understand your true nature very well. That’s why I recorded it. Oh, how strange. I can hear your voice sooo clearly,” she put a hand on her mouth and tilted her head. Her acting seemed so forced, it felt like she was provoking him. Katayama hesitated for a moment but quickly regained his composure.

“Hahaha, you’re such a dummy, Saki. If I just take that smartphone from you, there won’t be any evidence, right?”

Approaching Saki, Katayama had a triumphant expression smeared all over his disgusting face.

I won’t let him lay a hand on Saki! Before I could step forward to protect Saki, she gestured with her hand, indicating that it wasn’t necessary.

“Besides, even if someone listens to the voice recording on that phone, there’s no one who would willingly act as a judge, right?”

That point, I agreed with Katayama. I mean, this was only a verbal bet, to begin with. However, it seemed like Saki had anticipated something like this.

“Well, that’s why I asked the perfect person for the job.”

“The perfect person? Don’t tell me you asked the teacher for help?”

Katayama scoffed at Saki.

“No, no, it was me.”

“—!”

A voice from the direction of the door reached our ears. It was completely out of place in this situation, and wholly surprising to all of us. Everyone turned their faces towards the entrance. There stood Ayaka Midou, the student council president of this school.

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