Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e

Volume 9, Chapter 4: “Ichinose’s Secret, Kamuro’s Secret” Part 1

My room was located on the fourth floor of the dorms, Room 401.

As soon as I stepped into the elevator, Kamuro got on at the same time.

“Which floor?”

Even though I asked her this as I stood in front of the buttons, she didn’t give me an answer, so the elevator doors just closed in silence.

Shortly after a quiet ride, the elevator reached the fourth floor.

I got off the elevator. So did Kamuro. It was almost as if she was following me.

‘Just a mere coincidence’, ‘she only got off on this floor to meet up with some guy’, a reason like these didn’t seem very likely.

As soon as I reached the door to my room, which just happened to be right next to the elevator, I turned and asked:

“Is there something you want from me?”

“I want to talk.”

“If possible, I’d prefer that you’d have said something sooner.”

“What, do you have plans?”

“No. Do you have an issue with talking right here?”

“I’m sensitive to the cold. If it’s alright with you, could you invite me in?”

Even though she had asked me if I was alright with it, her request ended up coming across as more of a threat instead.

“That’s fine…”

I unlocked the door and we went inside my room.

Kamuro’s expression didn’t change at all. She looked around my room with a serious look on her face.

“What a dull room.”

“Is that really the first thing you’re going to say after forcing your way in?”

“When did I force you to do anything? You rightfully gave me permission.”

With that said, Kamuro sat down on my bed.

“The way you went about getting said permission… Nevermind. So now…?”

“Get me something to drink. We’ll be talking for a while.”

Really, what a shameless girl.

“Well, I’ll make some coffee or tea.”

“You don’t have hot chocolate?”

“…I do.”

“I’ll have hot chocolate then.”

I clearly presented her with two options, yet she unexpectedly demanded a third.

“So what is it that you wanted to talk about? If it was too cold in the hallway, we could’ve talked down in the lobby.”

Since the heater was running in the lobby, we should have been able to talk there without any problems.

While preparing the hot chocolate, I took control of our conversation.

“There isn’t anyone who can bother us here. Talking in your room was for the best.”

“What are you wanting to say?”

To be honest, I wasn’t interested and didn’t want to hear about it.

“Does my presence make you feel apprehensive?”

“It would be strange if it didn’t. A girl I have no intimate connections with, who also comes from the rival Class A, suddenly wants to come to my room?”

“Hmm, that sure is nothing like how Yamauchi reacted.”

She replied, looking straight at me as if daring me to do something.

“Curious?”

“Not at all.”

“Really. Then I won’t touch on that subject anymore. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

While it’s possible that she has someone eavesdropping over the phone or she’s concealing a tape recorder, Kamuro is in a somewhat special position. Since Sakayanagi already knows about me, it isn’t necessary for Kamuro to come here looking to catch me off guard.

If needed, Sakayanagi is in a position where she can wage war against me anytime she wants. At the moment, the only reason she doesn’t is because she doesn’t want me to stand out.

“That letter from earlier, about Ichinose. What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

ILLUSTRATION: https://imgur.com/a/jyrRx2w

“Exactly what I said. Do you believe that she’s a criminal?”

“I don’t know. I’m not interested either.”

“Even if you’re not interested you should still have an opinion about it. Do you think Ichinose is a good person or a bad person?”

“You can’t say that someone’s a bad person just because they’re a criminal. Just like how you can’t say that someone’s a good person just because they aren’t.”

In the first place, the definitions of good and bad are ambiguous and subjective. Depending on how you look at it, what’s considered good and what’s considered bad can change quickly.

“…”

Kamuro stared at me listlessly.

She had no intention of allowing me to move the conversation in this direction.

At this point, there was no way for me to continue avoiding the essence of the conversation.

“I think the letters are just like the rumors that somebody somewhere has been spreading.”

“Yes. I did hear that someone somewhere has been spreading rumors.”

“It’s conjecture, but I think some of those rumors are true or at least come close to the truth. Which is why Ichinose wouldn’t fight back against the rumors, or in this case, won’t fight back against the letters. If she did, the truth that she’s been trying to keep hidden would be revealed.”

“Her strategy is to continue to ignore it so that the rumors don’t end up as anything more than suspicion.”

“Yeah. However, that doesn’t solve the problem. If the person who’s spreading the rumors knows the truth, eventually more and more specific rumors will emerge until Ichinose admits to it. It’s highly probable that when that time comes, she won’t be able to simply gloss over it.”

The hot water began to boil so I poured it into a cup.

Then I put the cup of hot chocolate on the table. Kamuro didn’t reach for it.

“Not going to drink it?”

“I’m sensitive to hot liquid.”

I wonder just how true that really is.

“It’s just like you thought. Right now, Ichinose is being targeted by a student who knows the secret that she wants to keep hidden.”

“Why do you know something like that?”

“You know why. Sakayanagi said it in front of you, after all.”

Of course, I remember that.

However, Kamuro herself shouldn’t have any reason to tell me that.

Was this also one of Sakayanagi’s strategies?

“That said, Sakayanagi doesn’t know that I’m here right now talking with you about this. She’d probably be angry if she knew.”

“In other words, you’re saying you betrayed Sakayanagi?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“Sorry, I can’t believe that.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Therefore, I’ll tell you the secret that Ichinose has been hiding as well. After all, tomorrow or the day after, everyone else will have probably already heard about it.”

In which case, you can prove to me that the things you’re saying are true, huh?

“But before I tell you about that, I need to tell you about something else. About why I’ve been letting Sakayanagi push me around like she has been.”

“Your own personal story?”

“I know you’re not interested, but you’re going to hear me out.”

It didn’t matter if I was interested or not, I planned on listening and hearing her out anyway.

Because if I didn’t, she was never going to leave.

(Part 1 End)