Chapter 33
“…I see . ”
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I’ve roughly understood the situation .
If she’s facing that sort of situation, it’s no wonder she’s feeling so shaken emotionally .
I also wouldn’t say that I don’t understand why she wants to jump in front of a running train .
But there were no evidence to her claim .
I felt bad for doubting her, but I have to make sure .
“What’s the other Ayako-chan doing right now?”
“She should be at school right now…we didn’t want anything to happen, so we agreed that she live normally . ”
Ayako-chan is weakened, but the other Ayako-chan is level-headed .
Humans are truly a strange creature .
“…Um…”
“Hm?”
“You must’ve thought that the other me is a terrible person…right? I understand you . I hate myself the most, so that’s why I can be so cold to myself . ”
Please don’t hate the other me, Nakamoto-san . She’s not a bad person, she said, justifying herself to the very end .
The two of the same persons are competing against each other, yet the victim is covering for the aggressor .
Of course she would . The aggressor is also herself after all .
I got more confused the more I listen to her .
“Can I ask for your phone number? Your other self has your phone, right?”
“Ah, yes . ”
With this, if I can call out to the other Ayako-chan, I can confirm the fact that she did get cloned .
Modern tools are truly convenient . When I had gotten good at using it, I can even identify that “whisper voice” or something .
“…but probably she won’t answer . ”
“Ah . ”
Would a girl in her second year of high school answer a sudden call from a number she doesn’t know?
Moreover, a girl with a shy personality like her?
“Not possible, huh . ”
Then what should I do? I can just go and check her up at her school, but it was such a pain in the ass .
“Hm…oh, right . ”
Suddenly, Rio’s face floats on my mind .
If I’m not mistaken, judging by the uniform she’s wearing, she should be going to the same school as Ayako-chan .
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Her uniform had some differences with Rio’s brother the King Leo, so perhaps Ayako-chan and the siblings had quite a difference in their academic ability .
…Just by having entered the high school, even the elder brother had a higher academic achievement than me .
“Can you tell me which class you are in?”
“It’s Class 2-1”
I started the SNS application and moved my fingers to write a message to Rio .
I have a request, is that okay with you? I asked as if begging, and then I stopped my hand .
This won’t do . If I ask her like this, her response would be unfavorable .
Because she had been raised by a mother who had a bad interest in men, she have had various father figures since she was small .
Furthermore, she was a beauty to boot, so her foster fathers had even flirted with her .
After middle school, she attracted even more people with ulterior motives .
Because of this background of hers, she said that she abhors old men that tried to curry her favor .
She wouldn’t have obeyed anything if it’s not from a resolute, stubborn, and strong father figure .
Which means, the appropriate message I should send is—
“Go to the toilet and send me an embarrassing picture of you there . Now . You have two minutes . ”
Fuu .
Now that’s done .
Even though there are some people within a hundred meter radius around me, but what a mad lad I am .
By the way, this is only a form of greeting . It’s not like I want any indecent selfies or anything .
With this exchange, her attitude would soften .
That was it .
I’ll erase whatever she sends later anyways .
Or rather, she kept sending me those things selfishly every day anyways .
Feeling satisfied after a job well done, I leaned back on the sofa .
Two minutes are short .
I stretched a bit and took a short break . In a daze, my mind drifts into nothingness .
Perhaps getting swallowed by my relaxed attitude, Ayako-chan finally started drinking .
And then, in the midst of the comfortable mood, there was a ring; “you’ve got mail!”
I silently tapped on it .
“Nakamoto-san, you’re amazing . How did you know what I wanted to do?”
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With the message filled with heart emojis, it seems like the message is well accepted .
If I follow the link she sent after the message, it leads to the selfie of her sticking out her middle finger towards a written mundane rule .
She’s giving the impression of Eh? You’re going to go that far just with your necktie? I mean, she only had two minutes to be creative, so a high school girl is truly a force to be reckoned with .
“Go to class 2-1 and confirm if a student named Ootsuki Ayako is present . It’ll be great if you can attach a picture . ”
I concisely delivered my instructions .
“What is she to you?”
What a reply . It’s too quick that it’s scary .
“She’s a child of an acquaintance . ”
“Hmm . Did she pretend to go to school but turns out she went somewhere? Are you asking me to keep watch of her?”
“Something like that . ”
The fact that she can naturally think of such behavior pattern makes me think that she’s a bit of a delinquent herself, and so I saw her in a new light .
She had black hair, yeah, but her heart is like a gyaru…or rather, a Sukeban would fit her better . Perhaps this too is already a dead language though .
“But getting to an upperclassman’s class is hard . And it’s the folks of Class 1 who’s on a university entrance course . If I go it’ll be a riot . ”
“Do something about it . ”
“I can have some compensation later, right? Go somewhere with me . Can’t you?”
“Do it quickly . Are you not going to listen to me?”
“…I love that…”
“Do it . ”
“Yes . ”
I’m actually a type of person who like to be sat on by girls though…and so it ended up with that unspeakable feeling .
I took a deep breath and turned back toward Ayako-chan .
This bookstore’s lone (or maybe not anymore?) daughter who had single-handedly messed up my schedule is slurping down her drink with the straw .
For a moment, our eyes met .
But she immediately averted hers, and her cheeks slightly turned red .
Now that I see her like this, she’s no more than a bashful girl .
One that couldn’t even look at me in the eye .
Perhaps she’s truly a very cute girl . If I can just turn a blind eye on her weirdness and her disposition…
Can I describe her as cute if I ignore those two facts? I got a feeling that she could be considered a honey trap .
“…It’s embarrassing if you look at me like that…”
Regardless, as far as I know, Ayako-chan hasn’t stained her hands with crime .
In the end, she was only thinking of such dangerous thoughts to herself, so she was no different than an ordinary person trying to live her normal life .
If a harmless person is in need of help, then you should help them .
It’s not because I was a hero or anything . I was just lashing out in that world and in this world because I couldn’t save enough people .
You won’t be able to lend a hand to everyone, so in return, I want to save as many people as possible .
And with that, I felt like I was soaking in the memories of the past .
Long story short, it was only for my self-satisfaction .
“Nakamoto-san, you…”
“Hm?”
“Recently you have been working as a magician, haven’t you?”
“Aah, true . ”
“I was surprised . ”
Well, I understand that people would get surprised if they suddenly see a familiar face in the television .
I know I would .
“…I’m watching you every day . ”
“Thanks . ”
“You appeared in three channels for a total of forty two minutes and nineteen seconds, right?”
“T-Thanks . ”
Ayako-chan put her straw in her mouth and slurped loudly .
“Nakamoto-san, are you the type that would be interested in your reputation in the internet?”
“I made sure not to see it . They’re probably just trolling anyways . ”
“……It’s okay . If I see anyone trolling you on the anonymous online forum, I’ll send them a link full of virus……”
What happened, she talks quite a lot today .
Usually Ayako-chan feign innocence in front of me, but right now for some reason her way of talking is in tatters .
“U-Um…”
“What is it?”
I feigned composure, but I really don’t want to hear anything scary, and that was my true feeling .
“……I love you . ”
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s favorability point increased by 9999】
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s emotion of “Obsession” and “Desire to Collect” toward Nakamoto Keisuke has been changed to “Love” and “Desire to Collect“】
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s favorability point has reached a point where Sexual Relations or Marriage is possible】
【Will you name Ootsuki Ayako as your spouse?】
Hey, System Message-san…or rather, hey, Elza .
Are you seriously trying to put this girl in the position of a second wife?
First of all, that Desire to collect doesn’t make any sense .
What do you mean, collecting me? Nakamoto Collection? What a repulsive phrase that is .
“What kind of “love” do you mean?”
“…I love you as a man . ”
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s favorability point increased by 9999】
Is it seriously 9999? Is it rising by 9999 every time? It’s too high, it’s scary!
“Haha . What do you mean?”
“…today…you were so kind to me…”
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s favorability point increased by 9999】
“…Even though I’m like this…I thought…I would like to continue living…”
“T-Then that’s great . ”
【Party Member: Ootsuki Ayako‘s favorability point increased by 9999】
My phone displayed an incoming message
It was Rio .
As I tapped it, a short phrase saying “she’s there” was displayed .
Attached to it was the picture of the stiff-faced Ayako-chan whose arm was being held by Rio .
It couldn’t look like anything else but a delinquent girl shaking down an honor student, but it was a very good evidence .
“Well done . “
I sent a short reply and looked up to the ceiling .
There is the Ayako-chan drinking right in front of me and there’s Ayako-chan that Rio just captured .
Two Ayako-chans exist right now .
The cloning was a reality .
“But why?”
I couldn’t figure out why it happened to these victims .
The first two cases happened to well-known geniuses, but why does it suddenly happen to an ordinary high school girl?
The mystery is just getting deeper and deeper .