After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 49

“I’m sorry. I kept you waiting, Shindou-kun.”

“R–Rei…”

“What’s wrong? You look scared.”

Rei smiled gently at me.

It was a soft smile I rarely saw from her.

Normally, whenever she allowed me to see that goddess-like smile, I would be mesmerized.

But right now, it looks frightening to me.

What I saw earlier… I still couldn’t believe it.

I didn’t even know what I was supposed to say.

The last name written at the end of the notebook was my own.

The owner of that notebook, the one who wrote such insane and obsessive love. She held a grudge against me for some reason.

Maybe she was going to do something to me.

If she glared at me again with those freezing eyes, that icy look… I felt like I would be trapped forever.

The thought alone made me shake.

If Rei also decided to abandon me… what then?

N-no. It would still be fine.

I still have my childhood friend, Mizuki…

Y-yeah, Yukina too… she wasn’t here.

Even though I had been rejected, I kept telling myself it was just my imagination.

It was just her being shy.

It was because she was brainwashed by Yuu.

I forced myself to believe that.

But now, with this notebook in my hands, maybe the truth was.

A seed of doubt opened inside me.

N-no. I couldn’t lose heart here.

It had to be a stupid prank. I had to check first.

“W-what is this, Rei!!!”

I shoved the notebook toward her with force.

“…Ah. Sh-Shindou-kun. Did you read it…?”

“…Huh?”

Her reaction when she saw the notebook wasn’t what I expected.

Rei looked shaken, like it was something that should never be seen.

This…?

When she called out to me earlier, I almost jumped out of my skin.

Yet the way she panicked so clearly now felt strange to me.

“Sh-Shindou-kun. Could you give that notebook back? It’s very important to me.”

“…Hehe.”

“Shindou-kun?”

It seemed that this notebook really should not have been seen.

I realized I had the upper hand now.

I had to chase this down completely.

If this were just a prank, I would punish her a little, then keep her as my girlfriend.

She would have to listen to everything I said; that was non-negotiable.

But if she truly planned to do what was written in the notebook… then I would crush her and make her beg for forgiveness.

The notebook was full of things about controlling me. So now I would control. No, dominate her.

Thinking like that, I grew confident and asked Rei again.

“Rei. What is this about?”

“W-what do you mean? More importantly, don’t look through it without permission. It’s my important notebook.”

She wouldn’t meet my eyes and tried to dodge the question.

She even reached out to take the notebook back, something so shameless that I couldn’t hide my anger anymore.

“Don’t play dumb!! This kind of sick joke!! How much of it is real!?”

“N-No, you’re wrong. I…”

“Were you lying to me!? Well!? Say it!!!”

“…I. I’m sorry…”

“Hah. Unbelievable. And I even made you my girlfriend.”

“T-That’s not it. Please, believe me… there’s a reason for this.”

“I don’t want to hear it!!”

“W-What can I do for you to listen?”

“…That’s right. You’ve lost a lot of my trust. So what you have to do is obvious. Then, you’re going to kneel… Bow to me.”

I knew Rei had a lot of pride.

That was why I decided to crush it quickly.

From the way she spoke, maybe she did have a reason, but I wanted to feel superior to my genius and beautiful girlfriend.

I wanted to make her obedient, to make her obey me.

I didn’t think she would actually do it.

She would beg me for forgiveness.

Then I’d act big and forgive her… in exchange for her doing whatever I said from now on.

“…Well, if you really want me to hear you out, then you can… R-Rei!?”

Then, my plan fell apart.

Rei silently dropped to her knees and pressed her head to the ground, not caring if she got dirty.

“I’m sorry.”

─Isn’t that Kuroe-san?

─Wait, is she bowing on the ground!?

─What happened?

─Did Shindou do something again?

─Making a girl kneel like that is pathetic.

─Seriously, in a place with this many people…

─Poor Kuroe-san…

Seeing Rei bow like that, I came back to my senses.

This was very bad.

All around us, students from their school were staring.

I was drawing attention again, attention I didn’t want.

Rei already stood out with her beautiful silver hair.

And now, I was the guy yelling at her, frightening her, and even making her kneel.

Everyone was looking at Rei with sympathy.

Maybe because they’d seen how I had been acting recently, it was easy for them to assume I was the villain.

Realizing this, I grabbed Rei’s wrist.

“Tch. Come with me!!”

“─Ouch.”

I forced the scared Rei to her feet while trying not to shout and pulled her toward a place without people.

Damn it. Now we’re even more of a spectacle.

This is all Rei’s fault.

I was angry that my plan failed, angry that Rei didn’t react the way I wanted.

Still silent and irritated, I dragged her away.

After I questioned her about the notebook again, I planned to make her apologize and make her obedient.

Then I’d force her to clear up the misunderstanding with our classmates.

That was my shallow plan.

Thinking only of that, I took her deep into the woods where no one was around.

Rei was brought to a spot with a small pond and a tiny shed.

A quiet place where even a loud voice would echo.

“Alright, explain yourself. Rei.”

“…”

The girl trembling in front of me looked weaker than I did.

Thinking that way made me feel confident again.

But then─

“Hehe.”

“?”

“Hehehe. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahah…haa.”

Her strange laugh echoed through the quiet forest. The scared girl from earlier was gone.

Standing there now was something else, something staring at me with shockingly cold eyes.

“Do I even need to explain. Shindou-kun?”

“W-What!?”

“Didn’t you see it?”

“W-what…”

“The notebook. Everything is written in it. That’s all there is to it.”

“!?”

I couldn’t believe it. No, I refused to believe it.

I had demanded an explanation because I was furious. Deep down, I had thought it must be some kind of awful joke.

But that hope fell apart.

“D-Don’t you like me…?”

“When did I ever say I liked you? Not even once did I say it to you.”

“T-That’s a lie! Then why…!!”

“Wasn’t it written right there? Everything, every single thing.”

“Why!? Why did you trick me!!!?”

“Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”

I stepped back.

I was terrified. I had never seen Rei change like this before.

She kept repeating the same word, smiling as if she were enjoying it. But her eyes were completely emotionless.

“Didn’t you think it was strange?”

“W-What─”

“You lived however you wanted, you were selfish every day, yet everything kept going your way. Didn’t you ever… wonder why?”

“…Ah.”

What was she talking about? What was she saying?

That’s… that’s ridiculous…

“Think carefully. Remember your whole life up to this moment. That pitiful, dirty, worm-like path you’ve walked so far.”

“…Um.”