I Was Falsely Confessed to and Exposed in Front of Everyone, so I Jumped off the Roof - Chapter 18

Kagiroi-san was excited when it was announced that her favorite work was becoming a 2.5D stage play.

“It’s an exciting fantasy! A girl in a blazer with a Japanese sword fights off monsters one after another! And guess what, the hero is actually the prince of Enma, the king of the underworld!”

“You’re giving away spoilers.”

“Oh. But it’s fun!”

“Then shall we go see it?”

“Yeah! But there’s something strange.”

“What is it?”

“The actress playing the main character, Ria, hasn’t been announced.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Not really. Normally, the hero’s actor, Satsukui-san, is promoted everywhere. But maybe it’s because the girls are really harsh about who plays the female lead.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s not as bad for anime, but when people disagree about how a character is portrayed, or about scenes with the hero, there’s jealousy and stuff.”

It seemed like the world of girls could be tough, too. Well, it would be my first time watching a play. I was looking forward to it.

♢ ♢ ♢

I got a 2.5D stage play job. Apparently, Manwa-san had pushed my name in.

“My Ria-chan interpretation is mine! Ruika will be the best Ria ever!”

What does interpretation even mean? I still didn’t understand, but I went to the meeting anyway.

“I’ll be directing.”

“Not the director?”

“In theater, the director is called the director, or rather direction. I was ready to fight on set if you were forced in, but with Ruika, it’s actually perfect.”

So… I was somewhat welcomed. Then the scripts were handed out, and the original author and director explained things. I was busy writing everything down in my notebook and script. The script only had lines. No directions, no emotions. There’s nothing. It was harder than any language test I’d ever taken.

“Nice to meet you, Ruika-chan! I’m Satsukui!”

“Nice to meet you.”

During the break, the actor playing the hero, Junior, Satsukui-san, talked to me. He was handsome, but not as pretty-faced as Jose.

“You’re tense. Relax, relax, relax! Haha!”

“Of course.”

I wasn’t really interested in him, so I just answered casually. I realized later that it probably wasn’t a good idea.

“What’s the matter? Are you acting all high and mighty?”

“Not really.”

The more I tried to hide, the more nervous I felt.

“You pushed a classmate to suicide, right? I know.”

Hearing that, I felt my whole body go cold. At the same moment…

“If you want to stay quiet, maybe your attitude should match? I heard you don’t get along with Sazanka-chan. Don’t you respect your seniors?”

Ah… so it was that person. Yeah. Just my luck.

“I can’t stop. Please! I’m begging you! Don’t tell anyone!”

Satsukui laughed. It was the same kind of smile. The same as the others. A smile of someone who can crush people without a thought. My vision wobbled. Shaky and unsteady.

“Then show me some sincerity. Otherwise, I’ll sell the evidence to a tabloid.”

“What should I do? Please. Just keep it a secret!”

“You know, we’re supposed to act like we’re in a relationship, right? Don’t you want it to feel real?”

“That means…”

“Come on, let’s be close! On stage and off.”

He went back to his room. I swayed. Wobbled. Back and forth.

“Perfect! Your fight choreography is flawless!”

The director praised my fighting scenes. But I still wobbled.

“Ria’s sense of the extraordinary! That unsteady feeling, like she’s not grounded! This is going to be an amazing stage!”

“Wonderful! I was worried about having an idol in the lead, but I can trust you with this! It’s perfect!”

The original author also praised me. But the sound of that day echoed in my mind. The ground felt soft and wobbly, the air sharp, and at the corner of my vision… that smile was swaying.

“I’m coming to your room today.”

“Oh! You get it!”

“This is practice. That’s why. That’s why…”

“I get it, I get it. I’ll focus on practice too! I’m good, so just wait! Haha!”

Yes… It’s fine. Let it wobble. The moment has come. All of it. I stared at the wooden sword in my hand. The pattern on the blade shimmered and wavered.

“You’re the one who should waver.”

♢ ♢ ♢

I was in a great mood. Satsukui had messaged me saying he’d quieted Ruika down. I went to her room and gave her all the attention she wanted. We were just rolling around on the bed together.

“How was she? Like a dead fish? Haha!”

“…She was shaking.”

“What do you mean? Her chest?”

I got a thrill thinking about what Satsukui had done to Ruika. I even wanted to see it on video if possible.

“Don’t you have a recording or something?”

“…No. Of course not!”

“Aw, come on. I wanted to see it.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Did you invite someone? I don’t want multiple people here, my jaw gets tired.”

Satsukui ignored me and got off the bed, heading to the door.

“Huh?”

When I saw who he had brought, my vision wobbled.

“Ahaha ♥ Good evening~☆”

It was Ruika. She was wearing her school-uniform-style outfit from the last regular performance. She made a peace sign right in front of my eyes, like she was showing off.

“What’s going on?”

“This is what’s going on☆”

Then Ruika started taking pictures of me with her phone. She fiddled with the screen and put it away.

“What are you taking pictures of?!”

“Secret nude of an idol~☆ Don’t tell anyone♡”

The way she winked at me was so annoying.

“Satsukui! What is this! Did she trick you?!”

“No! No! I’m the victim here, too!”

“Ooooh~~♡ If you don’t want all the elephants to spread, keep your mouth shut★”

While saying that, Ruika pulled something out of her pocket and pressed it against Satsukui’s chest.

“Ughhh!!”

He screamed and fell over. A stun gun?!

“What did you do?! What the hell?!”

“Hmmm? I just disciplined Monkey-san♡”

“I mean!!”

“What do you mean? You got in my way, so I made you shake a little. It was useless anyway. You guys were just dumber than me. My past can’t be used to threaten anyone.”

“You did something terrible! I’ll tell the tabloids!!”

“You can’t. Article 61 says that for a juvenile under family court supervision, or anyone prosecuted for a crime committed as a minor, newspapers and other publications cannot publish anything that might identify them. Name, age, job, address, appearance… anything. I fit all those conditions. I haven’t even been prosecuted yet. They’re desperately trying to stop it. It’s all vague. But because it could break the law, the tabloids can’t touch my past. Rotten law? The bad guys get away.”

Ruika’s face was expressionless, like a mask, showing neither light nor shadow.

“You thought you won the moment you brought me into your room, didn’t you? Fool. You started taking your clothes off so I could punish you. Then I took tons of naked photos, hehe… even some practical joke stuff with cucumbers and uploaded it to the cloud.”

I couldn’t understand. What is she? A normal, no, how can a girl even do that?

“You shook. A lot. That’s why you slipped. Thank you. I was going to take more time, but now I can finally make you my tool.”

Ruika moved closer to me. I tried to get away, but she quickly cornered me against the wall.

“Sazanka-san. You’ll handle my new idol unit’s backing.”

“No way!”

“I said to do it!! Don’t make me yell!!”

“Eek!!”

I held my head and crouched down.

“Hey, monkey-san. You’re going to lend me your agency’s power.”

“Okay! Okay, just stop hurting me!!”

So he’s the same. This woman’s darkness is eating him alive. We’ve lost. No, maybe we were doomed from the start. It wasn’t even a real fight.

Everything shook. My vision filled with Ruika, and then I lost consciousness.

♢ ♢ ♢

The day of the play had arrived. We had premium seats for opening night. Kagiroi-san’s luck was incredible.

“Even the fan goods don’t show Ria.”

“This poster only shows her back, too.”

All the actors were striking cool poses, but the main character was shown only from behind. She held a sword in her right hand; that image stuck with me.

But why did that back feel so familiar?

We took our seats, and the play began.