33: Perpetrator and Victim
Ryugo took three deep breaths, then stood up abruptly and stretched his shoulders lightly.
He was tired, but his body still seemed to be moving.
He walked past Kouki, who was looking at him anxiously, and looked down at the Bunny Suit sitting on the stairs.
“Wha-“
BAM
He punched her in the face with all his might, carried away by anger.
Her head bounced off the corner of the stairs and made a sickening thud, but the bunny suit righted itself like a Daruma doll.
She showed no sign of pain. Her expression unchanged, she stroked the cheek that had been struck.
“That was sudden.”
“I wanted to punch you before you disappeared again. This is half your fault, after all. It’s the first time I’ve ever hit a girl, but I don’t feel bad about it at all.”
“I am not what you humans call a woman. This appearance is merely an imitation of your external characteristics and customs.”
Even so, a bunny suit is a bit much.
“…Well, double tricked me.”
I feel sorry for you.
“And Makoto’s finger. Give it back to him. He’s done a lot of terrible things, but losing a finger is going too far.”
“If he shows remorse, I will return it. However, if he continues to do evil, he will remain without a finger.
I don’t know what criteria you’re using to carry out this vigilante justice, but she probably won’t listen to anything else I have to say. She’s not even human, after all.
“It’s time for us to go. If you ever feel like hitting me again, just call me. I’ll let you hit me as much as you want until you’re no longer stressed. I’ll even give you advice on how to progress through the game.”
“Speaking of which, you tied up Haruyoshi…I mean, Double Suit, and took him away before, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you do that?”
“It’s not complicated. Any further game interference would have been a violation of the rules.”
“Was it because I was controlling him…? Well, thanks for your help.”
“Go home. It’s time to resume the experiments.”
When Ryugo and the others returned to their original world, they were met with the sweltering heat of summer.
“Ugh…I forgot about this…ughhh.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Whether it was because of the stale air inside the abandoned factory or the dustiness, it was a depressing heat.
The people who had collapsed were still lying there, but they weren’t badly injured. They’d wake up soon enough.
But more importantly,
“Tanuki.”
Aira was the problem.
She must have seen the moment she teleported to the alternate dimension. No, with that much light, she might not have been able to tell what happened.
Makoto, though, had seen Bunny Suit. He must have figured out what happened.
“Can you explain everything from the beginning?”
Aira, who wasn’t sweating a drop, sat down on the pipe chair where there had been a dead body just moments before. Her lack of ethics was bordering on psychopathy.
It was terrifying, but at least I had my trusty best friend by my side.
“Why is Koki, who transferred schools, here?”
Aira’s question was fair enough.
Ryugo now had three options.
Tell her the truth. Lie. Or remain silent.
No matter which one he chose, it seemed like a minefield.
If he told her the truth, Aira would be furious. If he lied and did a bad job of it, Aira would be furious. And if he remained silent, Aira would be furious.
In a work of fiction, this would normally be the part where he doesn’t explain, and then later on it causes trouble.
Ryugo also always thinks. If you talk properly, you won’t have any extra problems later, will you?
The differences due to not teaching are something that makes me angry when I see them.
However, the reason why he is reluctant to speak honestly is because the other person is Aira.
“Was that a bunny suit just now?”
Seiji asked with a frown.
He has a finger taken by the bunny suit. He will never forget the face of such a hateful opponent.
When I looked back, she had already disappeared from here.
Is it up to me now?
“What should we do, Koki?”
The bunny suit seems to be troubled by the fact that more people are getting to know about Experiments, but if it’s just a problem, it’s not a problem. Rather, I’ll make it a problem.
Several of Aira’s private soldiers are already out of action, but the remaining two seem to be able to fight. He looks at this strange situation with a puzzled look.
Now, what should I do?
“I’ll explain,”
Koki stepped forward.
“It’s hot here, so let’s go somewhere cool. Just the people concerned.”
“Okay. Is Maku-kun an insider?”
“Yeah, he is.”
Inwardly, I was relieved.
It is said that a bad idea is like taking a break, but there is certainly no need to make Air an enemy here and cause unnecessary trouble.
Besides, there won’t be a big problem even if the existence of the hypnosis app is revealed.
Even if it is taken away, they cannot use the app. Only those recognized as the owner can use the app.
When it looks like it’s going to be destroyed… Before that, if Ryugo blames everything he did on Enka, he might be saved.
The four of them walked side by side on the road where the sunlight was still strong during the day. The downtown area was less crowded because it was a weekday.
The private soldiers were disbanded on the spot.
He must have been treated pretty badly, but he’s too honest. Is it just that profitable to be involved with Aira, or is it a massacre?
“…How far are you going to talk, Koki?”
When Ryugo whispered to him, he answered flatly.
“All of it.”
“Do you know what I did to Aira at school?”
“I understand. Used it to stop Seiji. Then, I went with her to her house.”
“If she finds out that I was being manipulated, I’ll be killed.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you out with a half-kill.”
“Why!?”
Ryugo and the others, who had reached a nearby coffee shop, sat down at a four-seater table in the corner while enjoying the coolness of the air conditioner.
I won’t have to worry about anyone else hearing our conversation here.
Just in case, I sit on the lower seat on the exit side so that I can escape.
Aira, who is sitting opposite, has a sullen face. Seiji, next to her, was shrinking his shoulders awkwardly.
It’s like a lie that he was angry with Aira before.
“Can I ask you something?”
When I asked, Aira said while sipping water.
“Aira’s on a low-carb diet, so she’s just drinking water.”
“I see. What about Kouki?”
“I’m gonna eat something. I’m hungry.”
“Wee. I’ll have something too. Waiter!”
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.”
Makoto interrupted, leaning over the table.
“Hey Raccoon, ask me too!”
“Can you even eat with your fingers broken on one hand and missing on the other?”
“My broken fingers are healed, you idiot.”
“When did you even break your fingers? What a loser.”
“It’s your fault, damnit!”
Makoto was about to start a fight, but Aira stopped him with a single word: “Be quiet.” He slunk away, looking absolutely pitiful.
The cake we ordered arrived, and we started eating.
Even then, Aira’s gaze was slightly frightening. I was afraid she might get jealous that only Ryugo and the others were eating and start a fight.
It’s funny how the two guys here were secretly degraded of one girl. Kouki was the only one who remained indifferent.
“So, I’ll explain… but can you please save your questions until after I’m done?”
Aira and the others nodded at Ryugo’s words.
He connected the past and present, including what he had heard in that strange space.
As he spoke of their sins in front of the criminals, cold sweat poured down our faces, no doubt due to fear.
“――So, as it stands, Enka, Misato, and Haruyoshi, also known as Double Suit, are our enemies. They’re the masterminds behind it all.”
It’s not certain about Misato yet.
She was a childhood friend, so I can’t believe she’d become our enemy of her own free will.
Besides, when she attacked Ryugo.
She was crying.
I couldn’t have been mistaken.
Misato was crying with a pained expression, full of guilt.
“I see.”
Aira nodded repeatedly, looking smug.
“It all makes sense now. Haah, that’s a relief.”
“I’m glad to hear that…”
At least she didn’t start a fight right then and there.
Makoto, on the other hand, looked very conflicted.
“Ah… so… so… we were being used by Enka?”
“Yeah. The day I knocked you out with the chair, she asked me to get my smartphone.”
That’s right, it was the day I got the app.
I hit Makoto with a chair to get away from him when he approached me suspiciously.
“No, I don’t remember… But I wouldn’t have wanted to see Raccoon’s smartphone of my own free will…”
He’s had his memories erased, Ryugo and Kouki exchanged glances.
Seriously, they’re using that effect so casually, even though it must consume a lot of levels. Maybe they had too many levels saved up, so they didn’t care about wasting them.
“So, what are you guys gonna do now that you know?”
It was Koki’s turn to ask a question now.
He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and waited for them to speak.
“I…”
“Aira, you see,”
Aira snatched the lead in the conversation from Makoto, who was trying to answer.
“I hate being taken advantage of. Enka must have been using Aira all along, right? That really pisses me off. And what’s more, she used Misato to beat me up? I’m not a saint enough to let that pass.”
It was really scary to see a woman who had probably never been a saint in her life smiling so gently.
“So, I’m not going to be satisfied until I get back at her a hundredfold.”
“What are you going to do, you bastard?”
When Ryugo expressed his doubts, Aira laughed like a child in front of a new toy.
“The people who have been Aira’s slaves need a reward, don’t they? If you give them such a beautiful girl, they’ll have fun for a while. Oh, I’ll let Tanuki go first. You want her, don ‘t you? That girl’s pr――”
–Smack
Ryugo couldn’t hold back any longer and slapped Aira across the face, grabbing her by the collar.
The table shook with a loud bang, and a glass of water tipped over. Fortunately, it was empty.
However, Ryugo didn’t care about that in the slightest at the moment.
He felt a heat deep in his eyes, and his Bl00d was boiling with anger.
“…Are you serious?”
“…What? Are you mad? Tanuki was also made fun of by that damn woman, wasn’t she? Or do you like her like that? Do you want to keep her all to yourself because you don’t want other men to dirty her? Fine. If you win Experiments and hypnotize that woman, it’ll be fine. Even if the others find it strange, Aira will take care of it.”
“I don’t need anything.”
“Huh?”
“But I don’t like your rotten ways. You’re scum through and through. This is the first time I’ve ever felt such dark hatred towards anyone.”
Aira’s eyes went wide.
“Wha… W-what’s wrong? You said you’d help me get revenge, so why are you getting mad at Aira?”
“Because your sense of ethics is sh*t. I’m going to kill you.”
“But Aira is also a victim! I was punched so hard I had to be hospitalized!”
“You reap what you sow.”
Ryugo let go of Aira and quickly ate the rest of his cake. He tried to calm his anger with sugar for now.
Despite his explanation, Aira glared at him, still not convinced.
Then, Koki joined the conversation.
“Think about it logically. No matter how much you hate someone, a normal person would definitely spit on a proposal to ‘assault them.’ It’s an act that would generate more intense disgust than mere violence, both ethically and emotionally.”
He also finished the last bite of his cake.
“If you want to get back at her, the same amount of pain should be enough. Aira, your proposal is inhuman.”
“Shame on you. Shame on you.”
After spitting those harsh words, Ryugo and the others stood up.
They had thought of Aira as scum before, but they had never imagined she was this much of a piece of garbage.
She couldn’t seem to find the words and moved her mouth like a fish.
“Makoto, if you have anything to say, say it now.”
When Ryugo said that, Makoto looked up with a “Huh?”
“You were about to say something earlier.”
“Ah, yeah… Right… Yeah…”
He stood up abruptly, his brow furrowed.
“Aira…”
“What now?”
Seito tried to face her bravely, but Aira noticed the bad vibes and looked away.
The few remaining customers in the shop seemed to have noticed the situation and were glancing in their direction.
It was no wonder, since they had been shouting at each other at the top of their lungs.
“I… don’t want to follow you anymore. Let’s break up.”
Seito uttered the words with determination, and Aira seemed to lose her voice.
A myriad of emotions must have been swirling within her. Tears welled up in the corners of Seito’s eyes.
Ryugo patted him on the shoulder.
“You said it, man.”
“Yeah…”
“Come on. I’ll buy you some fried chicken on the way back.”
“Huh? You’re still hungry?”
As the three men were about to leave the shop, they heard Aira shouting behind them.
“Hey, wait a minute! Wait… Wait up! Don’t you dare leave without paying! You guys owe me moneyyyyyyy――――――!!!!”
Of course, they ignored her.