Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 44

The Final Struggle

We left the training room and, led by Kanade, returned to the approximately 20-tatami-sized living room we first visited. Along the way, we passed several bodyguards and butlers, but not a single one cast a look of contempt or pity towards Kanade.

Asagami’s Father had tried to silence his daughter’s actions by taking our lives.

I had initially thought that the attitude of the bodyguards who greeted us meant that the other members of the Asagami Group were also informed, but knowing that man’s true nature now, it seemed nothing but a disadvantage.

If that was the case, then it would be inevitable that “that girl” I first met was also in on it.

The small girl in black clothes… Now that Asagami’s Father had fallen, I hoped nothing strange would happen… With that thought, we each took a seat on the sofa situated at the right end of the room. The first to speak was Asagami’s Mother.

“…Do you understand what you’ve done?”

The voice that reached us was trembling. The anger that Asagami’s Mother had never shown until now, after learning the true nature of her beloved husband.

However, Kanade calmly faced her mother and declared.

“That’s right, to Mother… I guess I’m sorry. But as I told Minato, I have no intention of making excuses, nor do I feel like apologizing. If I have any regrets, it would be that I misjudged Minato’s strength. As Akutsu-san said, if only I had kept him confined in a dungeon, everything would have gone well. Yeah, it was the mistake of a lifetime.”

“!”

Asagami’s Mother’s eyes were at the peak of anger, recognizable to anyone.

After causing such an uproar and even using her real father as a tool to gain power, the mother stands up impulsively at the sight of her unrepentant daughter, and just as her hand reaches out to her daughter…

“Besides, we always dealt with those who stood in our way by any means necessary, right? Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all this time? Isn’t that right, Mother?”

With those words, Asagami’s Mother’s hand stopped in its tracks. As if paralyzed, she couldn’t move, and both Rio and Hina were dumbfounded.

Looking at her expression, it was as if she was crushed by despair as much as, if not more than, when she had learned about her husband’s true nature. I immediately questioned Kanade.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just as I said. Nowadays, it’s known grandly as Asagami Group, but it originally started as a self-employed business founded by a single man. My grandfather, who was a hitman. Thanks to the funds he got from his dangerous work, the business itself seemed to be going well.”

Kanade revealed the shocking truth as if it were nothing, and I turned my gaze to Asagami’s Mother.

Without sitting down, she was looking down, her expression seemed to scream, “Why does my daughter know about this!?” I was quickly convinced. Kanade continued the story.

“If it’s a business, then you’ll have rivals to face, right? And if you’re a former hitman, there might be people who know your past self from the underworld. In fact, it seems there were several times when he was threatened by such people. But still, he didn’t give up. For the sake of his envisioned perfect business, my grandfather killed those who threatened him. That must have been the start. If there’s someone blocking your way, get rid of them. He discreetly eliminated the heads of rival companies in the business and acquired one company after another that had lost its leader, thus enlarging the existence of Asagami. Sometimes he blackmailed those who threatened him, and sometimes he continued to eliminate them with his own skill and stealth. I explained it roughly and simply, but that’s the true nature of Asagami that continues to this day.”

In the midst of the heavy atmosphere, Kanade smirked fearlessly. Asagami’s Mother clenched her fists, trembling, and Rio glared sharply at Kanade.

Anyone who interfered with their own self-interests was eliminated, regardless of who they were.

As Kanade said, the explanation just now was probably a very abbreviated version.

But…

“It’s ironic, isn’t it, Dad? Everything was exposed by the ‘survivor’ of your biggest experiment to date.”

“…? Survivor? What do you mean?”

“Nevermind, forget it.”

To Rio’s question, Kanade evasively shifted her gaze towards me.

Could it be that this trait, passed from parent to child, then from that child to their children, is inherited even down to the genes? Quite a troublesome story, indeed.

“I see… So, you used that story to manipulate your father, is that it?”

“You’re quick to catch on. It was quite a struggle to investigate concretely, but it didn’t feel hard when I thought of it as a trial to acquire Minato. But people’s hearts don’t go as planned, do they? I never expected Minato to take care of my uncles, and the fact that Hina had the evidence photo from that time still bothers me. Or maybe, was that punishment from the heavens?”

“Maybe… it is a punishment…”

Asagami’s Mother muttered the meaningful words, and fear towards the daughter sitting before her surfaced on her expression.

She tried to kill Rio for one single purpose, set up her father, and without laying a hand on her mother directly, plunged the name of Asagami into the depths of despair.

However, Kanade’s expression remained unchanged, still smiling, and she reached into the pocket of her pajamas. She pulled out a smartphone.

It was the one stolen from me when Kanade had me confined.

“Take a look at the draft email later. I’ve outlined the specific explanation and my own predictions for the future.”

“The future?”

“Yeah. So that Minato won’t be taken by another girl while I’m gone.”

I pocketed the smartphone handed to me. Apparently, the words I heard before were not a misunderstanding.

“You’ve finally resigned yourself, haven’t you, Kanade-chan?”

“Either way, in this situation, there’s no escape. But you know my personality, don’t you, Rio? It’s just a temporary retirement.”

“Really, not a trace of remorse. Then Rio has to hope for the punishment to be as long as possible.”

Even as Rio provoked her, Kanade’s expression did not change. After confessing the sins she had committed, it was unclear what punishment would be imposed on her.

She was still a minor and hadn’t actually committed murder, but it would be nearly impossible to maintain her previous lifestyle.

“…Is that okay with you, Kurogane-kun?”

Asagami’s Mother finally spoke, her heart seemingly elsewhere. At the same time, I let out a deep sigh.

There was nothing I could do about it.

I hadn’t imagined that the result of the little hope I had for Asagami couple’s hesitation would be tied to the incident with the uncle and aunt. Maybe I’m still too naive.

But I can’t just sit around and lament.

If there’s nothing I can do, I just have to do what can be done within the realm of impossibility.

I turned my gaze to Asagami’s Mother.

“If Kanade is set on that, I don’t have any means to stop her. But are you really okay with it? Now that you know your husband is involved, if Kanade confesses her crimes, Asagami Group won’t get off easily this time.”

“…I know. But that’s fine. As you might have guessed, Kurogane-kun, I chose him knowing all that. I think it’s probably the punishment for me, who kept silent until now.”

“Then, this is the last. Remember? When I stopped your husband, I said we’d have to listen to our requests to some extent.”

“Eh? Oh, yes… I remember. But…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not saying to let Kanade off the hook. Just… could you leave the room with these two for an hour… no, 30 minutes? I want to talk with Kanade alone.”

My request was met with astonished looks from everyone in the room.

Among them, it was Kanade who gave the most astounded look.

And perhaps, this was going to be my final struggle for Kanade’s sake.