「So who was it that caused the captain
to go through all of that?」
「All of them, almost all of them」
At the dinner table.
Shima-senpai frowned with a turkey
leg in her hand.
Shima-senpai and Takasago-senpai did
not return from the menagerie even at lunchtime. They seemed to have spent a
lot of time interrogating the pigs.
「The only one who didn't join the
beating was Shiratori」
「Shiratori-senpai......?」
It seemed very surprising to me.
I wonder if this is some kind of her
trick.
「Konparu always hated Hatsu-chan, so I
thought this girl must be doing it. And when I interrogated her, I just focused
on her toes, and she easily vomited the truth within five strikes. She said it
wasn't just her」
「But why is everyone...... doing
that~?」
At Yui-chan's question, Shima-senpai
held up two fingers.
「There are two reasons. The first one
is because Hatsu-chan defended Amemiya yesterday and everyone was penalized」
I think I can understand that.
After all, if I'm the one who's going
to get whipped, and I'm in a state of exhaustion, and then I have to take that
whipping again, I'm going to be angry.......
「The other thing is...... Hatsu-chan's
fall」
「What?」
「They're all broken. In just a few
days, they'll be like cattle. Shameless, vulgar pigs. And all they can think
about is how to get out of trouble. It would be annoying if there was only one
person who hadn't fallen to the same level as them......」
「Because of that!?」
Looking again at the track and field
club, it is hard to say that we all got along well. It's obvious if I look at
the relationship between Yui-chan and Amemiya-senpai.
But I couldn't imagine that everyone
beating up on one person. In addition, the one who was beaten up was Captain
Tashiro, who was respected by everyone.
Yui-chan narrowed her eyes at
Shima-senpai as she blew on her gratin.
「But isn't there a problem with you,
too? Shima-senpai~」
「What do you mean! I'd like to say
that...... but I think you're right. From their perspective, we're favoring
Hatsu-chan. That's how it is」
Shima-senpai then threw the turkey
leg bone on the plate and grabbed the roast beef.
「It's hard to treat, but for now, I and
Takasago have thoroughly beaten up anyone who messed with Hatsu-chan, so I
think she'll be fine......」
Is that really the case?
I have a bad feeling about this.
It's true that today, the captain
threw herself down to protect Saito-san from me. Probably they'll be penalized
again tonight.
Glancing at my downcast face,
Yui-chan cowered her shoulders.
「In the end, no one bothered to find
out who the four people were~......」
「Don't talk about this as if it were
someone else's problem. You didn't even try to find them in the first
place......」
「I think it's okay to stay like this
for a while longer~」
The atmosphere from then on was
somehow heavy. In spite of the luxuriousness of the meal, the conversation did
not lively.
The four of us..... but I’m not sure
about Takasago-senpai and Yui-chan. At least for Shima-senpai and I feel that
our minds have been worn out a lot.
◇ ◇ ◇
「Well then...... Lili, I'm counting on
you」
「I got it, Devi. Freesia is also
standing by」
After a long night, I was getting
ready to go to school.
I took out a new uniform from the
dressing room, and for the time being, I used Kyoko to make up for lost time.
It was just like yesterday. I
considered skipping a day of school, but I didn't want to raise suspicions.
However, the situation was too
unclear.
I'm sure that Rin Fukuda is involved
in some way, but I can't imagine why she would want to attack me if she were missing.
There's just something about her that
makes her think I'm the culprit. And I can't just leave it at that.
The first step is to identify the
attacker and find out who's behind it.
「Oh, yes, Fumi Fumi, keep your
schedule open tonight」
「Hmm? Why?」
「The track & field club is
progressing faster than I expected, Devi. Maybe Fumi Fumi will bring one of
them tonight, Devi」
「Heh...... that sounds exciting」
As I couldn't bear to worry my
mother, I summoned the door on my way to school and bandaged my head with
Masaki-chan's help.
While I'm in class, Lili and Freesia
are supposed to disappear to find the attacker and clean up the background.
It's hard to believe that they would
attack me so early in the morning, but I headed to school with a certain amount
of caution.
When I arrived at the classroom, I
was puzzled by the slightly different atmosphere from usual.
Everyone was glancing at me, perhaps
wondering about my bandage. I felt like I was attracting attention. I felt that
way. But I couldn't help but think that it was just a problem with the bandage.
I could hear a number of whispered voices.
（What's going on......?）
Once I got to my seat, I looked
around.
Fujiwara-san hadn't come to school
yet. I noticed a few people quickly turning away as soon as their eyes met
mine. I knew I was being watched.
While I was bracing myself with a
strange sense of tension, I saw a big man walking towards me alone.
「......Kijima, I have a question for
you」
It was Hiratsuka-kun, who spoke to me
in a low voice while looking down at me.
He was a big man, over 180cm tall,
and a member of the judo club.
I hadn't really talked to him before,
but that was simply because I hadn't had any contact with him. He's a quiet guy
and I'm a shy guy, so there's no way we could have had any contact.
「Are the rumors true?」
「Rumors?」
「Look around you. Everyone is looking
at you, right? It's rumored that you're the one who kidnapped the track &
field club」
Immediately, a chill went down my
spine.
I felt like I was a spectator, but
before I knew it, I was pulled out into the middle of the stage without any
preparation.
Hiratsuka-kun must have been dating
Tashiro-san from the track and field club. He was one of the victims, albeit
indirectly. So when he heard the rumor, he couldn't help himself.
When I looked up at Hiratsuka-kun, he
wasn't glaring at me, but he was staring right at me.
I let out a big breath and stared
into Hiratsuka-kun's eyes.
「Hiratsuka-kun, can you kidnap all the
girls in the track and field club?」
「I don't think so」
「That's what I'm telling you. If you
think I can do what Hiratsuka-kun can't, then everyone is out of their minds.
No, I think my test scores were higher than Hiratsuka-kun's, but if I can do it
based on my test scores, then I probably can」
「I see, that's a boring question」
Hiratsuka-kun gives a small chuckle
when he says that and he continues.
「I'm sorry. But you shouldn't talk
about it in such a cynical way. Honestly, it doesn't make a good impression」
I almost laughed.
This is the first time I've had a
real conversation with him, but I think Hiratsuka-kun might be a pretty nice
guy. That's why I feel a little guilty.
「I'll reflect on that. By the way,
Hiratsuka-kun, where did you hear that rumor?」
「I heard it on social media from a
junior」
「The judo clubs?」
「Yeah, that's right. The guy said he
heard it from a guy in the soccer club. He said his soccer teammate was
kidnapped and left a note saying you were the culprit......」
「Soccer team manager? Could it be this
Fukuda girl?」
I don't know anything about her to be
honest, but is she the manager of the soccer team?
「No, I don't even know her name」
At the mention of the soccer club, I
reflexively turn my attention to Kasuya-kun. He was looking at me for some
reason. I almost made eye contact with him, and I panicked and kept my eyes
down.
At that moment, I heard a crazy voice
at the entrance of the classroom.
「Fu-Fu-Fu~min!?」
It seems Fujiwara-san has arrived.
Behind her was Kurosawa-san, who must
have come to school with Fujiwara-san, covering her mouth with her hand with a
startled look on her face.
Hiratsuka-kun chuckled, raised his
hand lightly and went back to his seat. Then, Fujiwara-san came running towards
me with great speed.
「W-w-w-what's wrong with you? Are you
hurt!」
「Oh, no, I just fell down」
「Have you been to the hospital?」
「It's not that bad.......」
「No! I'm afraid it was a head injury!
Let's go to the hospital right now! We have our own doctor in Tokyo! It's only
a helicopter ride away!」
「Tokyo!? A helicopter!?」
The whole classroom did a
double-take. But Fujiwara-san didn't care about that and cried out.
「No, no, no! Fu~min is going to die!
Don't leave me here! Please don't turn me into a widow!」
The whispering in the classroom had
turned into a murmur, and thanks to Fujiwara-san, the topic of conversation had
completely shifted from the kidnapper of the track & field club
「Well, Fujiwara-san, let's look up the
meaning of widow in the dictionary first」
When I told her that, she looked
confused.
◇ ◇ ◇
While worrying about the fussing Mai,
I put my bag on the seat and walked over to Jun-kun.
「Jun-kun, Fumi...... Kimo-jima is
injured...」
「It's probably a first-year student at
our school. I'm surprised Kimo-jima is coming to school with an injury」
（Why is he coming......?）
Last night, I received a message from
a friend in another class saying that Kimo-jima was the culprit.
I've heard about it from Jun-kun, and
I've heard a few more things about it. Some of them even said that he was
blackmailing Mai.
At any rate, the kidnapping of the
track and field club was the biggest concern for the students. That's why
rumors circulate so fast.
「Jun-kun, you have to stop the
juniors, it's not about Kimo-jima, it's about Mai. It's hard for me to pretend
that I don't know something about.......」
When I complained, he shrugged his
shoulders and spoke.
「You're so kind, Misuzu. I understand.
I'll call my juniors and talk to them at lunchtime」
◇ ◇ ◇
「Hatsu-chan......?」
As I stepped into the menagerie for
my morning feeding, I heard Shima-senpai mutter something like that. There is
no doubt that it will happen.
Because right now, Captain's body was
limp, and her skin was pale.
She looked like she was suffocating.
She had clearly been beaten even more
severely.
Perhaps her consciousness was
clouded, but she only let out a moaning voice, and there was no response when
Shima-senpai called out to her.
「Hatsu-chan! Hatsuu-chan!」
However, when Shima-senpai tried to
rush over to her, a woman stood in front of her.
She pointed a huge machete at
Shima-senpai and pointed to a bucket of food.
She seemed to be trying to say, “Now
is the time for feeding”.
NEW SERIES!!!
There's a new work that I absolutely recommend immersing yourself in: 'Starting as a Male Idol in a World with a 1:99 Gender Ratio.' Follow Shirogane Aqua's captivating journey of stardom, where he overcomes challenges, encounter fascinating characters, and embrace his unwavering passion. For the new work: click here!
