Bizarre Love Triangle - Chapter 4.1
Chapter 4 : Abandoned mirror in the awn
It was in the morning of the next day that I felt a sense of discomfort.
It was the break time after the first period ended.
I have a slight doubt looking at Akiha who was reading a paperback sitting three seats in front of me.
[…….why is it that Akiha is out right now?]
Even though Haruka’s pretense of Akiha had improved, I could still vaguely tell which of the two personalities was outside.
Of course, to most people, they just see her as [Minase Akiha].
However, I can tell the difference between Akiha and Haruka by their facial habits, small gestures, and tone of voice. I was quite confident in my accuracy.
And currently, it should be Haruka’s personality time.
Just around fifty minutes ago, right before the class, she had left for the restroom and had just come back when she had changed to Haruka.
She still has enough time before changing to Akiha.
[Am I misunderstanding?]
Could it be that my perception to recognize the difference between them has become dull?
It is also possible that after the incident in Odaiba, Haruka’s impersonation has become more advanced than expected.
[Well, it can’t be helped in this case]
————I’m sure I will mess up the whole thing.
I still couldn’t understand the meaning behind the words of Akiha who said it last night.
What does she mean my it will become a mess? Why will it become a mess?
In the first place, it’s still incomprehensible to me why she asked [Did you also kiss?].
Though saying that, there’s no way I can go to Akiha and ask “what does that mean?” after all that.
So I wanted to talk to Haruka about it today…..
[But I still have a chance…]
I looked up at my wristwatch and thought back.
I have almost six hours left before I have to leave for school.
There will be plenty of chances to talk with Haruka before that.
Letting out a breath, I plunged my hands into my desk and began to prepare for my second period class.
However, after looking at her situation for a while, my doubt turned into conviction.
[Are they going to switch now?]
During the fourth period class, Haruka secretly switched places with Akiha while keeping her face down.
After all, no matter how I think about it, the timing was strange.
While Akiha’s personality lasted for almost two hours as before, only Haruka’s personality seems to have switched in less than an hour.
[……..hey]
[……hmm? What?]
The lunch break has passed and the fifth period is over.
In a corner of the corridor, I was finally able to catch Haruka on her way back from the bathroom.
Although there weren’t any people around, Haruka continued to play as Akiha just in case.
But I was too frustrated to go to the club room now, so I asked her straightforwardly.
[Haruka, isn’t the time of your personality being outside kind of short…..?]
[Ah]
Haruka’s eyebrows knit in annoyance.
[Ahaha, you noticed?]
Saying that, she laughed in a small voice.
[Yeah, somehow it has been like that since last night….]
[Seriously, are you all right? That]
It was the first time it has happened since I have met them.
Although the time to change their personality did change, the timing for both personalities to be outside was equal.
It was the first time since I met them that I had seen such a difference, I felt an unpleasant premonition.
[Probably, I wonder if it’s really all right…..?]
However, Haruka’s face lacks any sense of crisis.
[Up until now, the time of change has changed quite a bit…]
[Was there also a difference between the time both personalities are out?]
[Yes. I feel like there was]
[I see]
In the end, the question was growing in me.
For some reason, Haruka seems to be unnaturally calm.
Perhaps, is she trying to hide something from me?
In truth she has perceived the changes happening to her body…?
However, before I could say it,
[Ah, sorry. It’s about time for the next period to start]
Says Haruka, confirming the time in her wrist watch.
[Shall we go to class? We will be late]
[Y-yes]
I nodded and started walking alongside Haruka.
And then—-I soon realized that the uneasiness I was feeling at that moment was not a misunderstanding.
*
[——-So, when reading the novels of this era, it might be interesting to keep in mind the “Modernistic ego.”]
Despite the fact that it was afternoon class, there were no students dozing off in the classroom.
Rather than saying it’s because students of this class are hardworking, it might be better to say that’s because of the ability of the modern literature teacher, Chiyoda sensei, who was speaking on stage.
[If you look at it with today’s sensibilities, you might think that he is the worst kind of dishonest man. When I was in high school, I read The Dancing Girl and was very angry with it. But after I learned the concept of modern ego, no, it’s still not good. Still, I couldn’t help but dislike Toyotaro.]
(T/N : dancing girl is a short Japanese novel written in 1890. In short, the story is about a Japanese man who had to choose between his Carrier or the girl he had fallen in love with, a German dancing girl. He chose the carrier leaving behind the girl who was pregnant with his child, sending the girl into a nervous breakdown. Toyotaro is the name of protagonist)
A small laugh went up from the students.
Chiyoda-sensei, who has been my homeroom teacher since last year, is now twenty-seven years old.
From a student’s point of view, her impression is that of a “petite, mysterious ex-literary girl.”
However, she is not difficult to get to know, and with her easy to understand lessons and student-friendly personality, she is basically treated as a beautiful teacher who understands what she is talking about.
Rumour has it that she is about to get married to her boyfriend she has been dating for many years.
There was even an incident where one part of male students were so shocked to hear this that they took a day off from school.
[Then, let’s begin the reading of the next paragraph. Students from there, please start reading from next paragraph in succession]
With that, Chiyoda Sensei points to the row beside the hallway—–the row that has been assigned to Me, Akiha and Haruka.
At that time, she glanced at Akiha……… that must be my imagination.
Chiyoda-sensei seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Akiha, the transferred student.
I often saw her talking to her in between homerooms and before and after class, and sometimes she would also ask me, Sudo and Shuji how she was doing.
So maybe there was some kind of intention behind her to do like this.
The first student stood up and began to read in a stuttering voice.
I raised my face and looked towards Akiha’s seat, it seems like it’s currently Haruka from her expression.
She seemed to have just changed back when I talked to her in the corridor…… so there’s still time before she get replaced by Akiha.
Even when it was soon Haruka’s turn to read aloud, there wasn’t any sign of impatience in her face.
After a certain length of the reading, Chiyoda-sensei instructed the students behind her to take their roles.
In the story, Toyotaro wanders around the city in a state of exhaustion.
Then,
[Well that’s it. Please continue from here Minase-san]
[Yes]
The turn came to Haruka.
[Since it was a night in early January, the pubs and teahouses of Unter den Linden would have been crowded with people coming and going, without thinking—-]
A voice that sounded like the rolling of bells echoed in the classroom.
Chiyoda Sensei was looking at Haruka with a happy face. Just a little while ago, Haruka had stuttered and stammered many times in this situation.
I don’t even know how many times she had practiced her reading in the club room.
However, her tone of voice was not stagnant.
To a passerby, it would be impossible for them to distinguish her from Akiha.
[The only thing that fills the brain is that I’m a sinner who cannot be spared—–]
I looked down at my textbook, feeling somewhat comfortable with Haruka’s voice.
Eventually, it would be my turn to do the reading. I had like to confirm what part I am going to read while I’m at it.
However,
[In the Attic of the fourth floor, Eris was still awake, unable to slee—]
After reading that much, Haruka suddenly stopped reading.
An unnatural silence suddenly descended on the classroom.
I reflexively looked up and stretched out from my chair to look at Haruka, and I was shocked to see her expression.
Her expression was gone.
Her expression was like that of a badly made doll, so much that I wasn’t even able to read any of her feelings.