I Saved the First Victim of the Horror Game (The Idol in My Class), and She Became the Ultimate Sweet Heroine Who Smiles Only at Me - 33-34

Chapter 33: A Confession During the Courage Test, and Then…

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Ahaha, don’t look at me with such a serious face. I just saw it on some online message board, that’s all. Oh, but I don’t remember the site’s URL anymore. Maybe it got taken down.”

Yamamoto’s smile looked strangely unnatural in the flickering light of the campfire. And now, the rumor that had served as the basis for all this couldn’t be found anywhere online. Maybe I was being overly suspicious, but I couldn’t help feeling something was off.

“Isn’t that just how urban legends are?”

“Yeah, I guess. Fwaaah… I’m going to bed.”

Nanase-san, apparently satisfied, returned to the girls’ tent. She’d brought it up herself, yet she dropped it so easily. If possible, I’d wanted her to press further.

“I guess I’ll head to bed soon too. Miocchi, wanna go together?”

Murase-san gently tapped Hoshino-san on the shoulder. Hoshino-san still looked as though she were afraid of something.

“I’m staying with Ueno-kun tonight.”

“That’s not allowed. A boy and a girl can’t spend the whole night together.”

“Even if it’s not allowed, I’m staying.”

With a sigh, Hoshino-san returned to the tent as well. If that line had been said in ordinary daily life, it probably would’ve been a massive bombshell.

“……”

Left at the scene were me, Murase-san, Yamamoto, and Sato-kun. I casually observed Yamamoto, who seemed somehow off.

Akira Yamamoto. A bright and easygoing guy. He was also the class’s resident mood-maker.

On the first loop, he’d been the one to abandon us and escape the abandoned village first. On the second loop, he’d been the first to run when Sato-kun transformed. Since I had no shared classroom memories with him, I didn’t have a very good impression of him. I even thought things might worsen because of him.

“Yamamoto, do you like horror?”

“What’s with that all of a sudden?”

I tried casually striking up a conversation.

“I’m just kind of curious.”

“I don’t like it. Especially not the jump-scare stuff. I hate the kind with blood splattering everywhere, too.”

“Then why’d you pick a place like this?”

It only made it stranger. If that were the case, he seemed like the type who would decline a courage test. As I puzzled over it, I thought I saw the corner of Yamamoto’s mouth twitch slightly.

“There’s no real reason. I just thought Hoshino’s seemed kind of down lately, so maybe some excitement would do her good. Just a little kindness, that’s all.”

Yamamoto gestured dramatically as he said that. I couldn’t help thinking what a selfish kind of “kindness” that was.

“…By the way, Air-chan, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Huh?”

Yamamoto suddenly addressed Murase-san.

“What is it?”

“There’s something I want to talk to Air-chan about.”

“……”

Yamamoto narrowed his eyes and glared at me. He didn’t need to say it out loud. He was clearly looking at me like I was an obstacle. My alert level shot up instantly.

“Yamamoto, Murase-san is—”

“Ueno, I’m seriously asking you! Just for a second.”

Yamamoto looked at me with unusually serious eyes as he said that.

“Ueno-kun, I’ll go for a moment.”

“Murase-san…”

“It’s okay. We’ll talk somewhere everyone can see. The event’s progressing properly, right?”

With that, Murase-san gave me a bold smile, as if shaking off her anxiety. I could feel her strong resolve. I absolutely had to stop her. Murase-san’s death event was drawing near. Letting her be alone with Yamamoto was nothing but dangerous.

“Ueno-kun, trust me.”

“But…”

“We’re just talking right over there. I want to clear it with you too, Ueno-kun.”

Murase-san smiled at me gently.

“…If anything happens, shout loudly right away.”

“Okay. I’ll sprint back.”

Reluctantly, I sat back down in front of the campfire. My palms were sweating from anxiety and tension. Even if Yamamoto were the culprit, he wouldn’t try to kill her with everyone around like this… right? If he did, it wouldn’t function as a game.

…Then what did Yamamoto want to talk to Murase-san about?

Yamamoto led Murase-san to the shadow of a tent still illuminated by the campfire’s light. I couldn’t hear their voices, but I could clearly see their silhouettes. I wanted to pay attention to their every move. If Murase-san showed even the slightest sign of distress, I’d rush over immediately. I leaned forward slightly and watched them carefully.

“Air-chan, so that’s how it is.”

“Y-yeah.”

It couldn’t have been more than two minutes. Murase-san soon returned to my side.

“Thank goodness. That was a quicker return than I expected…”

“Umm…”

Murase-san wore an incredibly troubled expression. It was rare to see her look like that.

“So, what did he say?”

“It’s kind of hard to tell you, Ueno-kun. Or how should I put it…”

“Huh?”

Making sure Sato-kun nearby couldn’t hear, we spoke in hushed voices. Murase-san hesitated, but I couldn’t back down.

“Don’t say that! Tell me! It might be important.”

“Um…”

Murase-san timidly opened her mouth.

“Yamamoto-kun might have confessed to me…”

“…I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“Yamamoto-kun confessed to me.”

“Whaaaaaaaat!?”

Without thinking, I shot up to my feet.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 34: Final Chapter: What I Learned Because I Fell in Love

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Ueno, you’re loud.”

“S-sorry.”

After Sato-kun said that coldly, I shrank down and sat back in place. Sato-kun looked restless, picking up the tongs, then the small knife for cutting ingredients, seemingly unable to settle down.

“W-why!?”

“I don’t really understand either. But he said he wants to confess properly later, somewhere no one else is around. He said it’s so he can move forward.”

I nearly shouted again, so I quickly covered my mouth with both hands. 

What the hell is Yamamoto thinking!?

Wait, where did that Yamamoto even go!? Ah, his shoes were sitting at the entrance of the tent. That bastard! He said what he wanted and just went back like nothing happened! I never imagined that behind the horror scenario, there’d be a confession event happening!

“Listen, I don’t want you to worry, okay?”

“No, no, I am worried! I’ve got so many things to worry about I feel like I’m gonna throw up!”

“S-so you’re that worried about me.”

Murase-san watched me panic with an oddly calm expression. M-maybe she was more used to confessions than I thought. She herself didn’t seem shaken at all. She was incredibly composed.

“Really, you don’t need to worry about Yamamoto-kun.”

“…You’re going to reject him?”

“Mmm, it’s not that.”

Looking slightly hesitant, Murase-san slowly opened her mouth.

“I don’t think Yamamoto-kun actually likes me that much.”

…Huh?

I almost let out a strange noise because that made so little sense. She’d just been confessed to, and now she was saying something weird. 

If you don’t like someone, you don’t confess to them. I know that much, at least.

“What do you mean?”

“If he really had feelings for me, I don’t think he’d call me ‘Air-chan.’ And also…”

Murase-san smiled at me with an incredibly gentle expression. There was no front or back to that smile. No fear. No suspicion. It was simply a smile filled with wholehearted trust in me.

“I think if you like someone, you end up following them with your eyes.”

“Following them with your eyes?”

“It’s something I definitely wouldn’t have understood before. But Yamamoto-kun has someone he keeps watching. I think he must really love that person. I only just realized it this time.”

I couldn’t find any words. It was true. I’d started searching for Murase-san constantly. I’d been unconsciously keeping her within my field of vision.

“…By the way, can I ask who that is?”

“That would be—”

◇

3:00 a.m.

While the night was still deep and dark, Murase-san and I made our way to that torii gate.

(“Please! Can you slip away from the camp just for a moment? I want to settle my feelings. I’ll be waiting in front of that torii gate around three o’clock!”)

Apparently, Yamamoto had said that to Murase-san.

I see. Even though we were acting as a group, this might’ve been the only way to get her alone. Even if someone noticed one of us was missing, people tended to tactfully look the other way when it came to something between a boy and a girl.

“Murase-san, don’t let go.”

“I know.”

The grip of Murase-san’s hand tightened around mine. There was something I’d realized after falling in love with Murase-san, the “first victim.” No matter what it took, I absolutely wanted to save this girl. And I didn’t want the girl I loved to meet an unhappy fate. No matter what I had to do. Even if someone else had to be sacrificed….

Up until now, I hadn’t really cared that much about Hoshino-san, or Nanase-san, or Yamamoto, or Tanaka, or even Sato-kun. I’d been single-mindedly obsessed with saving Murase-san.

That’s why it’s not like I don’t understand how you feel, Yamamoto. You probably just want to protect the girl you love, too.

“…Why did you both come?”

The person standing before us said that.

It wasn’t Yamamoto. It wasn’t Tanaka. It wasn’t Hoshino-san. It wasn’t Nanase-san.

“It was… Sato-kun.”

Yuu Sato-kun was standing in front of us. Yamamoto had tried to sacrifice Murase-san in order to protect Hoshino-san. In the first loop, the one who transformed first had been Sato-kun.

The answer had been there from the very beginning, hadn’t it…?

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー