Published at 26th of March 2019 12:07 am

Volume 5, Part 6

◆◆◆ Daiya Oomine - 09/11 FRI 20:01 ◆◆◆

Just to be clear: my target is Maria Otonashi.

If Kazu is under the impression that I were still hung up on Kiri, and thinks that I would go for her first before Maria, then it will be a breeze to defeat him.

That doesn't mean that I can relax now, though.

"—U...ghk!" I groan at the entrance.

Watching "60 Feet and 6 Inches Apart" in the 'Wish-Crushing Cinema' has without a doubt worn me out.

...I never knew.

I never thought for a single second that Haruaki had a romantic interest in Kiri. I always thought that he sacrificed his baseball career in order to attend our high school because he couldn't ignore what had happened to Kiri. I didn't know that love was involved.

Yeah. I didn't just mess up Kiri's life, I also screwed up Haruaki's. I'm boldly enjoying my life even though I have ruined others'.

"......Stop that."

—Stop thinking like that, me!

If I blame myself, I will once again be attacked by the "Shadows of Sin" within me. They lie in eternal wait for an opportunity to turn the tables on me. One unguarded moment and they'll pounce.

"Ugh!"

I get a sudden and fierce fit of nausea. ...I have to resist. If I give in to the urge to vomit, I feel as if I'll throw up my soul.

I have to swallow it.

I have to swallow everything.

"How cruel," Yanagi says while rubbing my back. "If you had given up on Kirino-san and left her to Usui-san, things wouldn't have ended like that."

"......Hah?"

"I often visit your classroom to see Kazuki-san, and Kirino-san and Usui-san are always cheerful. But they were just pretending to be happy for your sake, no? They have to act cheerful because they just can't relax anymore, right?"

With a soft smile, she rubs my back and continues.

"It's all for your sake, isn't it?"

I can grasp the meaning... of that sentence.

—THEY HAVE BECOME LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF YOU!

Exactly. Exactlyexactlyexactly...exactly.

Discomfort crawls through my skull like a bug and makes my eyes sting. The mocking smile of the girl before me irritates me. I don't care if she's right or not, her smile pisses me off.

The moment I think that—

I started strangling her.

"———Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

I can't recognize what I'm screaming.

My body, my arms, my throat are all moving on their own, almost as if something has taken control of me. I am moving automatically. But I know that I'm the one who has taken over...I have been overtaken by myself.

"Agha!"

Upon hearing Yanagi's groan as it leaks out and seeing her ashen face, I finally regain control of myself.

I hurriedly remove my hands from her neck.

Yanagi collapses to the ground and falls into a coughing fit.

"Uh, gh—"

I look closely at my hands.

What the fuck...? What is wrong with me? Readily strangling a girl... that's just insane. Had I regained control a few moments later, this would have ended horribly.

All too well do I realize that—only by the tiniest of margins have I avoided making a grave mistake.

I touch the piercing in my right ear.

Ah, fuck, stop obsessing over pointless things. I can't turn back anymore. I have no time to panic over some stray thoughts.

I have to return to my old self. I have to return to being cool and calculating.

"Yanagi," I say while feigning composure.

She scowls at me with tears in her eyes.

"Do you seriously think that I haven't realized?"

After coughing a few times, she asks, "...What, are you talking about?"

"What you said just now was intended to make me suffer for Kazu's sake."

She freezes for a split second.

"...? What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about."

She immediately plays the innocent and puts on a puzzled face, as if she really didn't know what I meant.

I'm more amazed than angered. What a cunning girl. If I hadn't been aware of her true nature, I would have been completely fooled.

"Kazu sent you here to give me a hard time, didn't he?"

"......," she stays silent for long enough for me to notice that she's studying my face. "I have no idea what you mean. I was forced to come here because of your [order], Oomine-san. How would Kazuki-san have any influence over that?"

Hmph, I guess I'll go with that.

"I've been expecting you all along."

This time she can't help but widen her eyes.

"W-Why? It's much more likely that someone else finds out something first! After all, there are almost a thousand other [servants] besides me!"

"It's Kazu we're talking about; I bet he has begun observing you as soon as you became a [servant]. After getting noticed, you told him what [order] I gave you, and made him realize that my [orders] can't be stopped. Now, what would he do? It's dead-easy to imagine: he would deliberately give you information to prevent my [orders] from escalating. On top of that, he would want to hurt me by sending someone who's on his side. You're ideally suited for that role. For one thing, you're cunning, and above all, you've got a crush on him and are easy to control," I sneer and continue. "How's that? Am I right?"

Yanagi doesn't answer.

"Well, even if you don't want to reply, you will if I [order] you to. But there's no need for that. Your attitude alone speaks volumes."

"Uh..."

"I admit that Kazu's uniquely capable. But when it comes to tactics he stands no chance against me. In the end, he's just dancing to my tune."

He sent Yanagi to me as a spy in order to defend himself and attack me.

But he doesn't understand yet that using others is risky. As the possessor of the 'Shadow of Sin and Punishment', I now understand the dark currents of people's hearts better than anyone else.

That's why Kazu will lose this battle.

"Yanagi, you like Kazu, right?"

"...S-So what?"

"If possible, you want him to reciprocate your feelings, right?"

"Well... I suppose so..."

It looks like she doesn't understand why I've brought up that topic.

"I have a plan that will make him care for you."

"......"

Crafty as she is, Yanagi seems to have realized what I'm getting at.

"Kazu and Otonashi's relationship is extremely strong. Normally, it would be impossible to destroy it. That won't change even if you help him out. You know that, right?"

"...What are you trying to say?" she asks, even though she knows the answer already.

I'll make it cut and dried for her.

"Betray him."

Yanagi keeps a straight face.

"I've been planning to tear their relationship apart anyway in order to shatter Kazu's goal. You and I have the same interests."

Yanagi keeps silent for a while, but then she scowls at me.

"What are you talking about? I don't care about interests and the like. Why would I side with a person who killed me in that game and strangled me just now? Do you seriously think that I would betray the one I love for you?"

"...Do you think that Kazu's current situation is in his best interests?"

"Don't change the subject, please. I know you're good at twisting things around."

"You don't think so, do you? His bending his own ideals to obtain a 'box' and having 'O' constantly hover nearby can't be good for him."

"Don't ignore me."

"Who's to blame? Who made him like that?"

"...Listen to,"

"Maria Otonashi."

Yanagi swallows her objection upon hearing that name.

I continue after closely examining her reaction.

"He's fighting me right now because of Otonashi. Because he's obsessed with her, he chose to meddle with a 'box' and get in my way. Let me make this clear: I don't care about Kazu. I don't have the slightest intent to kill him, nor do I want to defeat him. In fact, I would like for him to become happy. I mean, I have nothing against him, right?"

"......"

"If Otonashi disappears, he won't have a reason to oppose me anymore, and he will be released from the 'boxes'. Right: his current actions won't ultimately lead to his true happiness. For the sake of his happiness, it doesn't even matter if he beats me or not. So how can you remedy the situation in his favor?"

I get to the point.

"Otonashi has to be distanced from Kazu. Once that happens, he will be able to live his own life."

"......"

"He will be able to become happy."

"......But Kazuki-san doesn't wish for that."

Yanagi has replied to my words at last.

I'm rejoicing internally, but of course I conceal my glee from Yanagi.

"His wishes are not necessarily in his own best interest. Otonashi doesn't believe in what he's doing either, but Kazu is convinced that his actions are for her benefit. ...Yes, you are 'helping Kazu to work for Otonashi,' so to speak."

I chose that wording because I guessed that she's not too fond of Otonashi.

"Do you agree with Kazu?"

"That's..."

"Now let me repeat myself: we have the same interests. Well... you probably dislike me, so I won't demand that you actually side with me. But whatever you do, my actions won't change. I will smash Kazu's goal. And to do that—"

I touch one of my piercings.

"I will part them for good."

"......U..uh..."

Yanagi, who would never normally think about siding with me, starts to waver.

I guess she's having emotional issues when thinking of cooperating with me or opposing Kazu's will. Yanagi has started considering it anyway, because she thinks that she might be able to make Kazu happy by disregarding those emotions.

".........Really?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Do you really have no intention of harming Kazuki-san?"

...And that's why she asks such a question.

She's essentially looking for a reason to cooperate with me. She wants me to give her a push.

"I won't harm him... I guess I can say that. However, I'll separate Otonashi from him, which means that he's going to suffer."

"I... see."

Most likely, she has already decided in her heart to betray him.

She'll suppress her emotions and obey me. Even if it means suffering pangs of remorse from betraying Kazu, she will believe that she's ultimately doing it for his sake.

What a beautiful love.

—Well.

Everything I told her was a lie, though.

I've been expecting you. That's the first lie.

I didn't expect Yanagi in particular, and I didn't consider that Kazu might send someone until after she actually arrived.

I only realized this because Yanagi's arrival felt suspicious. That Yanagi, out of all 998 of my [servants], was the first to arrive - it's too strange to be a coincidence.

It follows naturally that Kazu orchestrated her arrival.

Well, maybe my lie was more of a bluff, but it keeps Yanagi from getting any dangerous ideas and made her reconsider whose side she really wants to be on.

That Kazu won't oppose me anymore once Otonashi is gone is also a lie.

Kazu is opposed to the very existence of 'boxes'. He opposes me simply because I am an 'owner'. That's his nature.

Finally, it's also a lie that he will be happy once he's separated from Otonashi.

I do consider Otonashi to be a cancer growing inside Kazu, that's no lie. But it's impossible to remove something that has entrenched itself so deeply inside his body. Because they have spent a lifetime together, there is an unbreakable bond between them. Forcibly rooting out something that has insinuated itself into every part of his body is just as impossible as removing a cancer that has metastasized everywhere without killing the patient. That's also why I stopped trying to get Kazu and Kiri together.

Let's pretend Otonashi breaks up with Kazu: even if that happens, he'll still never forget about her. He might even obsess about her even more as the one who got away.

Tight bonds can also be curses. He can never be released from such strong bonds.

Therefore, I have no plans to bring Kazu and Yanagi together.

It's all a lie.

Yanagi will only earn his enmity by helping me.

But it's not so easy to see through my lies.

People tend to engage in wishful thinking. Yanagi is especially vulnerable. She wants to believe that she can make Kazu happy and also become his lover.

This is why she makes the choice that she does.

"What do you want me to do?"

Yuuri Yanagi chooses—betrayal.

"What can I do?"

She contorts her face in humiliation.

Stifling her feelings and resisting her remorse, Yuuri Yanagi offers to help me trick Kazuki Hoshino even though she hates me.

Without even realizing that this will only lead to his ruin.

—Hahaha, aren't you a poor, gullible thing. Once it's all over, I'll give you a lollipop!

Hiding my amusement, I say:

"Before long, Otonashi will come here. Once she gets here, you just have to use your glib tongue as always and control the conversation. That's how you can help me."

"...How will you get her here?"

"Soon, she will send Otonashi here."

"She?"

I utter the name of the only other person who can use my power:

"Iroha Shindou."

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