4: The Conclusion of the Chase
Ryugo went up to the second floor and ran towards the stairs on the west side.
The students in the hallway watched him with curious eyes.
However, it’s not that unusual to see a student running through the school building. Their interest quickly shifted to something else nearby.
They would never guess that I’m running for my life.
Suddenly, his eyes caught a poster on the wall.
“Do Not Run in the Hallways”
Along with the text, there was a drawing of two children running into each other, done in a somewhat skillful crayon style. They were both head-on, and it was easy to imagine what would happen next.
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Could running in the hallway also be considered a crime?
He checked the app, but his level was still 1.
If running in the hallway was a crime, his level wouldn’t have gone any lower than this.
He ran up the west stairs and headed for the first-year classrooms on the fourth floor. Era should still be there.
But before that, he had to level up.
Hypnosis is useless on ‘friends’. That haughty princess Era would never listen to orders from a friend. She might just listen if he were her ‘boyfriend’.
He just needs to be careful.
Is anyone doing something bad?
Anything.
Some good-for-nothing doing something good-for-nothing.
They have to be around here somewhere.
“…No, there is!”
Before leaving the classroom, he noticed his Japanese textbook was missing. Era must have done it. If that’s the case, all he needs to do is find her and the conditions will be met.
If Misato was the culprit, he’d just ignore her. If that happened, it would be game over. Thinking about it would only make him lose his nerve.
Anxiety wells up inside him, but he lies to himself to overcome it.
“I’m amazing! I’m smart! I’m not wrong!”
It’s not exactly quick-witted, but he’s betting on it. The immediate problem is finding Era.
Please, let her be in the classroom.
He was already at his physical limit. His legs had turned to lead, and his chest was throbbing with pain.
He had been sprinting at full speed, climbing and descending four flights of stairs. Even a member of a sports club would be out of breath.
The only time Ryugo had ever seriously trained was when he was in elementary school, taking judo lessons. Other than that, he had always been in the Kokabebu (Kukabebu -Kukabe club – club for students who go home right after school).
The difference in stamina between him and Makoto was obvious.
No matter how deeply he breathes, the feeling of constriction in his internal organs doesn’t ease up. It feels like there’s no oxygen in the air.
But he desperately squeezes out every ounce of energy he has. He gathers what little strength he has left and desperately stretches and contracts the springs in his legs.
He screams and whips his exhausted body.
Just a little further.
Just as the ‘Year 1, Class A’ classroom he was looking for came into view,
“Hm?”
Era happened to be coming out of the classroom.
A stroke of luck!
If there is a god, he feels like banging his head in gratitude for the perfect timing.
Ryugo’s shoulders heave as he calls out in a hoarse voice.
“Hah hah… whoa… whoa hey! Era!”
“Ugh…”
Era grimaced, looking thoroughly disgusted.
“Gross… it’s not even Markun, it’s the tanuki back from the dead.”
“You… you! Hah… you did something with my textbook, didn’t you!?”
With about a dozen meters to go, he puts the brakes on his run.
He doesn’t want to be punished when he’s accumulated good karma points.
As he tried to approach her, Era made a disgusted face and quickly backed away.
“What’s the matter? Was it so bad to throw it away? Or rather, it’s your own fault for talking back to Era in the first place.”
“Throwing away someone else’s things without permission is… bad!!”
“Gross. It’s just a textbook, right? It’s nothing.”
“There’s a Neko Mimi Dazai Osamu that I worked really hard to draw in it during class…!!”
“I didn’t think it would be that worthless.”
I immediately checked the app.
Ira was still yelling something, but I shut it out of my mind.
What if the penalty-based level downs were being added somewhere that wasn’t displayed? If that was how it worked, I’d stay at level 1 even if I did good deeds.
In that case, I wouldn’t be able to hypnotize Ira into being my “lover.”
Death awaited me.
My hands are trembled.
The pounding of my heart reached my ears.
The sound of Bl00d flowing through my veins drowned out even Ira’s voice.
Please.
‘Level 2’
It had gone up.
“Phew…”
I almost collapsed with relief, but I still had things to do. This wasn’t a victory yet.
There was one more hurdle I had to overcome. The only thing was, I had no idea how to do it.
“TANUKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!”
Makoto came charging up the stairs like a demon.
He was already within arm’s reach.
I had to hurry.
“Ira!”
Ryugo tapped ‘Attitude’ and ‘Lover’ on his smartphone.
The target was the horrible woman right before his eyes.
“Wha!?”
Her movements stopped–for just a second.
The hypnotized Ira’s fierce expression from before vanished, replaced by an emotionless one, and then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
To make such a curt face in front of the person she supposedly liked. Was it because he’d only hypnotized her attitude, or was it because she was Ira?
Oh well.
If the hypnosis had worked, I’d make use of it.
Ryugo whispered “Help me” into her ear as he walked briskly past Ira, taking care not to commit any evil acts.
That should be enough to get the message across.
“…Sure. Okay.”
I felt a sense of accomplishment when I saw her nod.
“Hold it! You bastard, hold it right there!!”
Who waits when they’re told to wait?
Ryugo hid in the shadows of the east stairs in the back and glanced out to observe the situation.
If this didn’t work, I’d be finished.
C’mon, horrible woman, do something about this situation.
“Wait.”
Ira spread her arms out to stop Makoto and shrugged her shoulders in exasperation.
“It’s fine now, Ma-kun. I got hit with a chair, but I’m not badly hurt. How far are you going to chase him?”
“What!? I’m going to chase him until I kill him! Get out of my way!!”
“…“Move aside”? Did you say that to Aira?”
A voice as cold and piercing as a spear.
Even though I wasn’t the one being targeted, a chill ran down my spine.
I couldn’t see Aira’s face from where I was standing.
However, I could see Makoto’s face, which had been flushed red with anger, gradually turning pale. It was the expression of a weakening whose life and death were in the hands of another, like someone with a knife to their throat. His raised shoulders slowly slumped.
“Ah…y-yeah…”
Cold sweat poured down Makoto’s face.
He cowered like a slave who had defied his master.
Makoto frantically shook his hands and head in response to Aira’s terrifying interrogation.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then what? What did you mean when you said that to Aira? Hey. What did you mean? Hey. Answer me.”
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I was totally in the wrong just now!”
“If you’re really sorry, then bow down and apologize.”
“Wha-what!?”
“Do I have to tell Aira to say it again?”
Makoto looked around, his face turning even paler.
Students from the other classrooms were coming out to see what the commotion was about. Of course they would, after all that yelling.
Some of them were holding up their phones, looking for a chance to take a picture.
“W-wait, everyone’s watching…”
Aira closed in on Makoto, who was whimpering like a puppy. She tilted her head, but her eyes were fixed on him.
“So? Hey? So? Listen, the reason everyone’s watching is so you can do it. Otherwise, it won’t be much of a punishment. Do it. Hey. Who do you think lets you be in the band? Do it .”
Makoto eventually gave in to Aira’s authoritative voice, which was as sweet as a lily but as sharp as a knife.
“I… I understand… I get it…”
“Then hurry up! Come on!”
“Y-yes…”
Makoto grimaced in humiliation as he slowly lowered himself to the ground.
He looked up at Aira, his eyes pleading for forgiveness, but even without words, her face told him everything he needed to know. He looked down, defeated.
The man who had been chasing after Ryugo like a madman, trying to kill him, was now groveling on the floor.
It was a strange sight.
The other students around us watched the public execution from a distance, chuckling. It was an eerie laughter, as innocent as if they were watching a show to pass the time.
“I’m sorry for being so rude…”
Makoto’s pathetic figure, kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.
I know I’m a terrible person for thinking this, but I felt a sense of satisfaction deep down, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I wanted to shout, “Serves you right!”
This is what our classmates had to go through.
If they had been in the same situation, they would have realized how foolish they had been.
I wanted to gloat out loud, but that would have made me look like a loser.
If I had been a better person, I might have felt sorry for Makoto.
But when I thought about everything he had done to us, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Aira smiled and spoke in her usual sweet voice.
“Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean we’re equals. Don’t talk to Aira for the rest of the day. Actually, don’t even come near me. Don’t come looking for me no matter where I go. Can you do that? Or rather, if you can’t, you’ll never be able to touch a guitar again.”
“Y-yes, I understand…”
“Speak up. Do you really get it?”
“I UN-DER-STAND!!”
Makoto was practically in tears.
He was sobbing with his face buried in the floor, as if trying to hide it.
He had completely lost all sense of shame.
“I see,”
Aira returned to her usual high-pitched, cutesy voice.
“Mako-kun, you’re amazing. You always listen to Aira so well. But today, you were just being a little rebellious, right?”
And with a smile that radiated like an idol’s, she brought her face close to Makoto’s head and whispered,
“…Right?”
It was a low voice that seemed to come from the depths of the earth.
It was terrifying. She was an expert at crushing spirits. I wondered if she had ever intimidated other people like this.
When it came to Ryugo, Makoto was usually the one doing the yelling. Aira would just laugh hysterically in the background.
In terms of their roles, they were like a knight and a princess.
But now, they seemed more like a yakuza boss scolding his underling.
She was crushing him with her words, not giving him a chance to say anything.
The difference in their positions wasn’t about mutual respect, but about domination.
Still, I was relieved that the effects of the hypnosis hadn’t overwritten his ‘attitude’ alone. Judging by their current behavior, Aira and Makoto were still dating. If their perceptions had changed, it would have been obvious.
As things stood, it would seem to anyone that Makoto had simply angry Aira by leaving her behind.
This way, no one would suspect a thing.