It had been two days since Kagurazaka-san disappeared. She hadn’t come to school during that time, and Kuzumi hadn’t shown up either.
TN: Kuzu means trash. Yeah, that’s his nickname for Hisazumi
Just now, I went to ask our homeroom teacher, Kurama-sensei (32 years old, single, no girlfriend, your average middle-aged man).
With that in mind… I tried asking in the party members’ chat group, but… no one had heard anything from her.
No, no, even Kuzumi wouldn’t go as far as disposing of a person, right…?
「I guess… I’ll have to ask her…」
I opened my messaging app and reached out to her.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
At lunchtime, I used magic to teleport to the front of the house. I slipped quickly through the entrance and rode the elevator up.
「That was quick.」
When I reached the entrance hall, the door to the house was already open, and there she was, fully in work mode.
「Sorry, Mary. I know this is a lot to ask.」
「Not at all. If it’s a request from you, Master.」
「Please stop calling me Master…」
「Then depend on me from the start. I’m your eyes and ears, aren’t I?」
She said that with a slightly lonely look.
「Sorry. I just wanted to keep you away from the messy stuff…」
「It can’t be helped. Your movements are too noticeable, Yuuki-san. Unlike me, you have no training in infiltration and such.」
「Yeah, that’s true, but still, emotionally…」
「Right person for the job. I owe you, and this is how I pay you back.」
「You’re always helping me though…」
「If you’re talking about the usual work, I’m being paid for that. I’m employed by Tsumugi-san’s household. This is different.」
「Ugh… when you put it like that…」
「Well, let’s set that aside for now. About the investigation, Kagurazaka-san, Rinka-san, is currently under house arrest.」
「House arrest…?」
「From the trash and other signs, Rinka-san is still alive, but we can’t determine much beyond that. Her parents are also alive. A public announcement was made that her starring drama has been suspended indefinitely.」
「Honestly, their operation was so sloppy, it was easy to trace.」
「Well… if that made them easier to track, maybe it’s not so bad…」
「In any case, I’ll act as the liaison. Security was full of holes.」
「No, I want to meet her. If security’s that loose, I could just fly over at night.」
「Understood. I’ll observe the night patrol patterns for the next two or three days. We’ll decide based on that.」
「Thanks.」
「It’s no problem. Now, please return to school.」
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Four nights later, I was on the roof of Kagurazaka-san’s house.
「I’ll go unlock the window first.」
With those words, Mary melted into the shadows and descended.
A few minutes later, she contacted me and said it was safe to come in.
「Alright, here we go.」
I landed on the balcony, took off my shoes, and stepped into the room, only to be met with a terrible sight.
The outlines of where a desk and bookshelves once stood were still visible from the sun-bleached marks on the floor, but now, the only piece of furniture in the room was a single bed.
She wore a pure white outfit, like something a hospital patient might wear. Her arms were covered in countless painful-looking cuts, likely from self-harm.
「Ah… Yuuki-san, is it…?」
Her voice was nothing like the usual gentle, warm tone I remembered. Her eyes were lifeless, distant.
「Kagurazaka-san…」
Her gaze was so hollow, I couldn’t even tell if she saw me.
「I’ll heal you with recovery magic, 」
「Don’t bother… I’m fine like this…」
「Like hell you are!」
「Yuuki-san, keep your voice down. They’ll notice.」
「Haha… You’re so kind… Always saving everyone with that kindness… It’s disgusting.」
「Kagurazaka-sa…n…」
「None of this would’ve happened if not for you! If you hadn’t shown up, I could’ve kept living happily! Mom and Dad would’ve still looked at me! But you, YOU ruined everything! You destroyed my family and my life! And now you want to save me? Don’t make me laugh! That power of yours, it’s all borrowed! Nothing but hand-me-downs from others! Don’t act like you’re some kind of hero! Get out! Get out of my sight! Get out of my head! Get out of my heart! GET OOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTT!!」
Her shouting stirred noise from downstairs, someone had noticed.
「We can’t stay! We need to leave, now!」
「But Kagurazaka-san…!」
「We can’t take her like this anyway! And if we’re caught now, they’ll move her somewhere else!」
「……」
Mary grabbed my hand and pulled me out. She carried me as we vanished into the night.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
◇Kagurazaka’s POV◇
(Haa… They finally left.)
When that maid from the Kaminagi house suddenly showed up with Yuuki-san, I was stunned.
I even blurted out “Yuuki-san” by accident… Ugh…
Looking back, though, I think even that slip just made my performance more convincing.
That bastard said.
「As long as you keep playing along, I won’t lay a finger on your agency members or your sisters. But betray me, and you know what’ll happen, right?」
The moment I heard that, I snapped, pretended to lose my mind. Ever since I acted like I was having a breakdown, he stopped coming close. The more I imitated self-harm, the more disgusted he became, and eventually, he stopped showing up altogether.
He must’ve let his guard down. One careless comment of his stuck in my ears:
「Damn it, if she’s in that state, I can’t use her to bring down Kaminagi… Guess I’ll move on to the next plan…」
(He was probably planning to use me as bait to trap Yuuki-kun. But if things are like this now… Yuuki-kun will stay away from me…)
If that’s the case, then I might as well just wither away like this. That way, I won’t have to suffer anymore…
With that thought, I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.
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