Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 39

The Feared Reality

“Ah, Minato-senpai !”

In the 20-tatami medical room of the living area, Hina, one of the victims of the incident caused by Kanade, waved at me in a friendly manner from the sofa.

I had been informed beforehand that she would be here, so it was within my expectations. Of course, I was also aware that persuading her would be no easy task.

But there was another issue at hand that couldn’t be dismissed as mere overthinking.

“Hey, Rio is here too, huh? How are both of you feeling?”

Maintaining a casual demeanor, I asked Hina and my sister who were in front of me.

“Rio has been fine from the start, I guess. As for Hina-chan, you can see for yourself.”

“Ahaha… Just like you said, it looks like I’ll be living with a cane for a month. What about you, Minato-senpai ?”

“Yeah. Well, I’ll have to see a specialist for the actual treatment, though.”

While engaging in light banter, I directed my gaze towards the bandage wrapped around Hina’s right ankle.

Sure enough, it must have been the result of being thrown away by that man with sunglasses, as she had said. Crutches were even placed outside the sofa.

Looking further, I finally made eye contact with the other woman seated on the sofa.

“It’s been a while, Kurogane-kun. I’m Asagami Sachiko, that girl’s mother. I really don’t know how to apologize enough to you all… Please, I insist that you also receive treatment at our facility. It may not be legal and might be inferior to a regular hospital’s equipment, but if you need proper medical attention, we will cover the medical expenses.”

Kanade’s mother, who appeared to be around the same age as the man who had let me in earlier, was dressed and looked every bit the part of the Asagami household’s mistress. Yet her demeanor was unmistakably filled with hesitation and anxiety, apparent to anyone.

Asagami’s father quietly placed his hand on the shoulder of Kanade’s mother from outside the sofa.

“We’ve heard all the details from Saotome-san. Kurogane-kun, and you too, Rio-san. Please allow us to apologize once more. We are truly sorry. It was our mistake that led to such a situation.”

“I’m really sorry…!”

The Asagami couple bowed deeply to the young men and women who had yet to reach adulthood. The father did so silently while the mother continued to bow with trembling shoulders.

The blissful ignorance of the parents who had raised their daughter without any hardships could only be imagined when they first learned of the two tragedies she had caused…

I accepted the Asagami couple’s apologies with the resolve to carry on the conversation.

“As I said earlier, apologies are not necessary. I didn’t come here to blame you guys from the start. I just have a few questions.”

“I will never forgive what Kanade-chan has done. However, I will take your apologies to heart. Like my brother, I have no intention of blaming you.”

With Rio’s words, I asked the Asagami couple to please raise their heads.

The couple showed their faces as told, and the word ‘regret’ was clearly written all over them. Perhaps it was their duty as parents to settle matters when their daughter was the cause of such harm…

But to me, their apologies were insignificant from the start.

It’s not that I would never forgive them.

No matter how much they apologized, what was lost would not return. In the end, neither Rio nor Hina had lost their lives.

That was enough for me at the moment.

“That’s how it is. Now answer my question. How much have you heard from Hina here?”

“Of course, everything. How that girl used Akutsu and Kawada to try to kill your parents and have Rio-san murdered, which led to you having to kill your parents. How she confined you and caused Hina-san’s fracture. It’s a terrible story just saying it out loud.”

Rio trembled at the words of Asagami’s father. Among those present, only Rio did not know the concrete truth about the incident Kanade had caused. Her reaction was natural, to say the least.

“So that’s how it was, huh… Nii-san?”

“Don’t glare at me like that; I’ll listen to your complaints later.”

Without looking at the visibly upset Rio, I directed the conversation back to the Asagami couple.

“I’ll ask you directly. What do you intend to do with Kanade? It was Rio who put her in that state. We’re prepared to take some responsibility, too.”

“Don’t worry about that. Fortunately, she’s not in any life-threatening condition. According to the medical team, it’s only a matter of time before she regains consciousness. However, it’ll be difficult for her to act together with you in the future.”

Asagami’s father’s resolute words made me clench my fists unconsciously.

“That child used Akutsu, blinded by money, to kill your parents and tried to have Rio-san killed, too. As soon as she regains consciousness, I intend to make her atone for her sins.”

It was, in a way, a promise that had been made.

This was indeed the worst-case scenario I had anticipated.

◆

Meanwhile, a lone girl was watching the imposing wall from the bushes.

The girl was enveloped in a leather coat, an attire clearly out of season, and the small girl wearing black-lensed sunglasses would undoubtedly appear suspicious to any onlooker.

The girl herself had no idea how many minutes she had been standing there.

Before her, the name Asagami was welcomed by the wall extending several meters.

“Are you that concerned about him?”

“He’s a my dear little brother, after all.”

The voice suddenly came from behind her. The girl replied without turning around.

“Oh my, you won’t even look at me. Didn’t your parents teach you that it’s polite to look into someone’s eyes when talking to them?”

Finally, the girl turned towards the direction of the voice.

And at the same time, she took off her sunglasses.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a face-to-face conversation like this since the incident. Do you remember me? Hey──Kurogane Sumire-san?”

Smiling yet with a sharp gaze, was Amano Mio.

Contrastingly, the girl──Kurogane Minato’s biological sister who should be called so──had an expression devoid of anything.