Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 14

Words of Gratitude

“Listen, I’m grateful for your brave actions, and I have no intention of blaming you. But from now on, please refrain from acting on your own accord.”

This was the kitchen room of the Pleasure Restaurant, where just moments ago, a confrontation with the criminal had taken place. Several minutes after apprehending the criminal, Amano Mio had contacted the police. As a result, the waitress—who was the victim—and I were being interrogated like this.

Initially, the waitress was so traumatized by the fear of being taken hostage that she couldn’t even hold a proper conversation. But now, she had recovered enough to engage in a somewhat normal conversation..

As for me, I was subjected to a continuous series of inquiries and lectures.

There was no shortage of words of gratitude for rescuing the hostage, but I was also repeatedly reminded that things had just happened to work out, and that my reckless behavior could have easily endangered both my own life and that of the hostage.

“Inspector.”

“Hmm. Kurogane-kun, would you mind stepping out for a moment?”

“As you wish.”

“I apologize, Momose-san. Please wait here; I’ll be back shortly.”

With those words, the two officers left the kitchen room.

“(Well, this was to be expected…)”

I couldn’t help but feel frustrated with my own foolish choices.

I had told Rio to wait outside the restaurant, but what about Amano Mio?

When she first met my younger sister early this morning, She casually brushed off Rio’s murderous intent without even trying to fight back.

Of course, I could assume that this was because I was there as an obstacle, but I couldn’t understand her motives, especially considering the timing of our reunion this morning and her accompanying me to the Pleasure Restaurant.

“…Thank you.”

The silence that descended in the kitchen room after the officers left was broken by the waitress’s words of gratitude.

“Um… it’s a bit late for this, but let me introduce myself properly. I’m Momose Yukari. I guess I ended up showing you a pretty uncool side of myself…”

The waitress gave a dry laugh.

Was she reflecting on her own mishaps after the traumatic shock inflicted by the violent criminal?

“Don’t worry about it. Anyone would react that way if they thought they were being abandoned by the person who supposedly came to rescue them. I am—”

“I know, Kurogane Minato-kun. You’re the guy from the same class as Mio-chan, right? I’ve heard the rumors at school.”

“School?”

I observed the woman in front of me. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she was indeed a woman of considerable beauty, on par with Amano Mio, which befits someone working at the Pleasure Restaurant.

Her hair was styled in a semi-long cut. Her mature features suited words like “cute” and “beautiful,” and she had sharp eyes.

Honestly, I thought there was about a year’s difference in age…

“You’re a Hoshimiya?”

“Eh? Eh? Didn’t you realize? Well, I may not look the part, but I’m actually the student council president of Hoshimiya School.”

The waitress—no, the student council president, Momose Yukari—said this with a touch of astonishment, as if it were the most natural thing. It might be incredibly rude from her perspective, but I couldn’t recall her face at all; in fact, it would be more accurate to say I had no memory of her whatsoever.

“No, my apologies. Is the topic of discussion at the student council about killing one’s parents?”

“…You’re just going to say it outright, huh? It’s quite the rumor these days. But that’s only half right. You’re an excellent student, aren’t you? The school itself isn’t that high in terms of deviation value, so if you can cover for the lack of attendance days with good grades, there’s not much else to say.”

She laughed as if bemused. I had the image of a student council, especially the president, as being rather uptight, but she seemed quite different from my expectations. Or perhaps, she was the exception.

“The other half must be about the incident you caused, right? I heard from the teachers that it was self-defense, but I had my doubts. No matter how much you were trying to protect your sister, I thought there must be something else behind it…”

“Well, that figures.”

Rumors are just that; as they spread from person to person, they tend to grow tails and fins. Even if I were to tell the truth, it would be dismissed as desperation or excuses.

That’s to be expected.

To those who are unaware, it’s entertaining to mock a child who has made a mistake.

“Um… sorry about all this. After you went through the trouble of saving me.”

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to push yourself, either.”

“No, it’s cool! Standing up to a man with a gun to save a girl—that’s pretty brave. From now on, I’ll trust you. Is that okay?”

With that, she showed a full-faced smile.

For now, I nodded. Whatever her true intentions, there was no need to make enemies unnecessarily.

“Still, with that athletic ability and confident demeanor, you kind of remind me of Mio-chan.”

“You know a lot about Amano?”

I couldn’t help but be interested in her words. From the way she called her with “chan,” they must be quite close.

“Know a lot, huh? Aren’t you the one? The childhood friend Mio-chan said she was reunited with?”

“Huh?”

“Was it around last April? The day she started working part-time here. She was unusually high-spirited from the first day, so I asked her out of curiosity. And guess what she said?”

The words released by her in the next moment made me feel a slight advantage due to the difference between her and me.

◆

The scene changes to the back entrance of the Pleasure Restaurant. It’s a narrow alleyway with no foot traffic.

Two girls stand in the spot where Kurogane Minato and Amano Mio once confronted each other—one of them with a sharp gaze.

“Fufu… Please don’t be so tense. I just want to have a little chat with you, Kurogane Rio-san.”

The other girl, as usual, spoke calmly, with a creepy smile that could chill anyone to the bone.

If one were to describe it, it was the look of a predator who had caught its prey.

Kurogane Rio and Amano Mio were facing each other, as people who understood the same beloved person.