Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 12

Helping others? It’s a way to relieve stress~

This is a scene that we often hear in dramas, movies, and news. Along with the sound of gunshots, the audience screams. Some of the viewers desperately try to escape and reach for the open windows.

“Don’t make a fuss!! Stay still!!”

With more gunshots and angry shouts from the criminal, the screams and resistance of the customers diminish to some extent. The girl sitting across from me, Rio, trembles in fear, seeming unsure of what to say. In contrast, Amano Mio, sitting next to me, appears to have a faint smile on her face.

“Hey, where’s the manager?”

“Um…well…”

The gun is pointed at her again. The voice of the waitress, now a hostage, trembles and becomes incoherent.

Normally, in a situation like this, it wouldn’t be strange for an ordinary person to scream.

“The manager went out shopping…so it’s just us part-time staff here right now…”

But the waitress, despite the circumstances, desperately tries to convey information. Whether the manager is really absent or not is uncertain, but it’s clear to anyone that the criminal is not in a sound state of mind. It’s best not to provoke him.

“Well, do you at least know the manager’s phone number? Hurry up and let me use the phone.”

“Y-Yes…it’s in the kitchen.”

“Tch…let’s go already. You guys better not think about trying to escape! If you dare to inform the police, do you know what will happen to this girl—do you understand?”

With a crazed smile, the man enters the kitchen with the waitress as his hostage. Including Rio and the other customers in the store, everyone remains frozen in place. I take a sip of my coffee and quietly speak to Amano Mio, who is sitting next to me.

“This has turned into quite a situation. Is it true that the manager is absent?”

“I haven’t asked for details, but most likely. However, I’ve seen his face in the news online. He’s a wanted criminal who recently escaped from prison after taking a gun from a police officer.”

Amano Mio gazes towards the kitchen. The criminal is armed with a gun, while the waitress of this restaurant is being held hostage.

It’s easy to guess what the man’s demands are, but if we, as amateurs, were to confront him directly, the situation would only escalate.

It’s safe to say that our judgment is being tested, just like in the detective dramas we’ve seen countless times.

If we prioritize saving lives, it’s best to comply with the criminal’s demands without resistance. But…

“Listen up! If you want the hostage to be released safely, prepare 100 million and a car right now! You have one hour! If you’re late—”

The angry voice of the criminal in the kitchen is clearly audible from where we are. His demands are apparently for money and an escape vehicle.

Although I have never seen the manager of this store, a decent person would undoubtedly prioritize human life over money. While it’s not certain, if the store manager here were to comply with the demands, our chances of safely returning are quite high.

However, the waitress who is currently being held hostage doesn’t have the luxury of such certainty. If the hostage disappears, the restaurant will undoubtedly contact the police.

Unless the criminal is incredibly foolish, he would keep the waitress present as a trump card to silence her. Either way, we’re in a difficult situation.

But we are different. Even without doing anything, we will be saved. We will simply return to that chaotic everyday life…

“Onii-san?”

“Hey, Amano. Do you know when he escaped from prison?”

“Well, if my memory serves me right, it hasn’t been more than a week.”

“I see…”

I forcefully finish the remaining coffee and stand up.

While it may seem cool to talk about helping people, in the end… it’s just a way to relieve stress.

“Unbelievable…”

“Are you going, Kurogane-kun?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back in 10 minutes if nothing happens.”

“Hey! Nii—!?”

Rio desperately tries to stop me from leaving, but Mio quickly covers her mouth.

It seems like she understood my intentions. She nods with a meaningful smile.

She’s still an annoying girl, constantly unreadable, but if she’s on our side, there’s no one else we can rely on.

I head towards the kitchen in the store as if nothing had happened, and in front of me is a door with a sign that says “No entry except for staff.”

I ignore it and grab the doorknob, opening the door.

“Hii!”

“What?! Where did you come from?”

I’ve arrived in a kitchen space of about 12 tatami mats. As expected, the criminal continues to hold the waitress at gunpoint.

I quickly raise both hands and slowly turn my body so that the criminal can see me clearly.

Of course, I don’t expect this action to lower his guard, but it’s always better to minimize the risk.

Well, to be honest, the real solution is a risk in itself.

“As you can see, I’m unarmed. I have no intention of doing anything reckless. I just want to have a little negotiation with you.”

“Negotiation?”

The criminal furrows his brow. He showed signs of caution towards me for a while…

“Alright, I’ll consider it. But it seems like you’re just an adolescent trying to play mind games. Am I right?”

“It’s somewhat similar. We don’t have much time, so I’ll be straightforward. I want you to release the waitress right now.”

“Huh?”

I present him with the one and only request I have in mind. The criminal’s reaction is to be expected.

“Oh, I’m not asking for it for free. If you comply with my request, I’ll turn a blind eye if news about you spreads to the police or the store. Not a bad condition, right?”

“…”

The criminal froze, as if time had stopped, in response to my words.

No, it’s not just the criminal. The waitress, who is being held hostage, has the same expression.

“Pfft!? Hahaha! This is brilliant! I like it! You’re amusing! You came here to save her, right? If I kill her right in front of you, then I’ll kill you too! The crime of underestimating me will be repaid with your pathetic failure and your life!”

“Y-You…”

The criminal bursts into laughter. It seems that my one and only proposal struck a humorous chord with him.

It’s not surprising. By ordinary standards, this proposal offers the criminal no benefits. Releasing the hostage and not obtaining the desired money. It would be a complete failure of his attack.

But by normal standards… indeed.

“Are you sure about this? If I kill me right here, I’m pretty sure the customers in the store will panic and try to escape.”

“…”

In an instant, I notice a slight tremor in the hand holding the criminal’s gun.

“By the way, among the customers are my sister and classmates. If they hear gunshots, I’ve made sure they will immediately contact the police, no matter what happens. So, even if you kill me here, what will you do afterwards? Your face will be known to all the customers in the store, 10 or 20 people. Do you have the audacity to eliminate every single one of them?”

“You…!”

An expression of panic appears on the criminal’s face. At the same time, I am convinced by his agitation.

This man never intended to kill us from the beginning.

His top priority is money and escape for his own survival. If Mio’s information is correct…

“Now, what are you going to do? Are you going to kill me and spend your life trapped in a cage, or are you going to release the waitress and become a coward who runs away with your tail between your legs? Make your decision quickly.”

“Who the hell do you think is a coward!?”

“H-Hey, hold on a sec.”

It seems like I’ve touched a nerve with this guy’s complex.

Amidst the culprit’s rage, there was a voice of panic from the waitress who was being held hostage. Did she think that if I calmly persuaded him, she would be released peacefully?

Certainly, that wouldn’t be a wrong assumption.

In fact, it would be the best choice if one were to consider human life and their own safety. However, I deliberately continued to provoke the culprit’s nerves.

“Ah, my bad. Did I strike a nerve? But you know, if you’re robbing a place like this that only has a bunch of worthless things and a feisty woman and virgins, it’s no wonder you’d be seen as a coward. Well, being a loser who resorts to robbery at your age is already running away from society like a coward.”

“……!”

The culprit’s three-combo complex of being a loser dog. I could tell, even from a distance, that his body was trembling in response to my provocation.

At the same time, I could clearly see the culprit’s gun barrel wavering.

Honestly, it was difficult to hold back my laughter. If Rio were here, she would undoubtedly unleash a storm of reprimands, but I wanted her to give up on that.

“I take back what I said. I’ll admit that you have some talent as a fraud, even if it’s just a little. But it seems like you still don’t understand your position. Don’t get carried away, you brat!”

“Hiiee!”

The culprit, whose anger had completely consumed him, pointed his gun at the waitress, who was his hostage.

The waitress’s screams echoed through the kitchen and the entire restaurant.

“I don’t care about the money anymore! After killing her right here, I’ll kill you too! I’ll make you pay for mocking me with your pathetic failures and your life! And I’ll take everyone in this place down with me!”

“S-Stop! Help!”

The desperate culprit took action that could only be described as recklessness.

“(This guy really has no resistance to provocation…)”

However, it seems that our time for enjoyment is also coming to an end. I apologized to the waitress in my heart and began the final touch.

“So, you’re planning to kill her first, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s right! You came here to save her, right? Then I’ll kill her right in front of you! And after that, I’ll kill you too! You’ll pay for underestimating me with your worthless failures and your life!”

Well, I won’t point out how your worthless plan was completely ruined by that pathetic failure of yours…

“I see. Well, I guess there’s no helping it.”

“Huh?”

The first one to react to my words was not the culprit, but the waitress.

“Well, thinking about it, it might be for the best. If you kill her first, I can buy some time to make a report.”

As I said that, I took out my smartphone from my pocket.

In an instant, the expression on the waitress’s face transformed into despair.

Well, I’m truly sorry. Hang in there. Just a little longer.