I, Who Acquired the Ability to Read Memories, Am Being Swallowed by Darkness - While I Should Be Protecting Beautiful Girls, I Am Being Drawn into Darkness Each Time I Use My Power, Yet for Some Reason, My Harem of Beautiful Girls Keeps Growing - Chapter 37: Investigating Hinata-chan

Chapter 37: Investigating Hinata-chan

At the entrance of the Hayami residence, I pressed the intercom with a sense of tension unlike any other day.

“Oh, it’s Ryuuji-kun.”

Hayami Minak-sano, aged 33 but looking much younger, greeted us. Her graceful demeanor resembled Ryoko’s.

“Mom, today…”

Ryoko hesitated.

“Is it about Hinata?”

Hayami-san’s voice carried deep concern.

“Lately, she’s been acting strange.”

With elegant gestures, she led us to the living room, continuing,

“She’s not as passionate about her piano lessons anymore.”

“She’s been leaving food uneaten…”

“And she stays in bed late in the morning…”

Her beautiful profile, looking down worriedly, revealed a mother’s anguish.

“Today, she went to her lesson for the first time in a while.”

“When will she be back?”

“She should return around 6 PM…”

Hayami-san’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Ryuuji-kun… has something happened to her?”

“I’ll definitely find the cause…”

I couldn’t explain my ability, so I could only nod.

“Mom, can we go to Hinata’s room?”

Ryoko asked.

“Yes, of course.”

Hayami-san smiled gently.

Her trust in me, as if I were her own son, felt heavy now.

“Then…”

We climbed the stairs.

We needed to find clues in Hinata-chan’s room.

The room was adorably decorated in pink.

Chopin posters adorned the walls, and her textbooks were neatly arranged on the desk.

“Her behavior changed about two weeks ago…”

Ryoko’s voice made me nod.

“Can I borrow her school bag?”

The red school bag of a fifth-grader.

As I touched it, memories flooded in.

—

A sunny schoolyard.

Cheers rose from the soccer field.

“Go, Maeda-kun!”

Hinata-chan’s voice echoed like a gentle breeze.

On the field was Maeda Nobuhiro.

His footwork was impressive for a fifth-grader.

Dribbling, shooting—

Goal!

“Amazing!”

Cheers and applause erupted.

Girls’ voices of encouragement.

Hinata-chan’s smile.

Maeda-kun’s triumph.

Pure moments of support.

“Great job!”

Many girls offered sports drinks and towels to Maeda-kun.

Among them, Hinata-chan handed him a white towel.

“Thanks, Hayami-san.”

Maeda-kun’s refreshing smile.

“Thanks for always cheering me on.”

He wiped his sweat, looking slightly embarrassed.

A pure moment of elementary school life.

…But then.

The girls around them.

Their glaring stares.

(Something happened after this…)

The memory faded, and I returned to reality.

I touched Hinata-chan’s school bag again.

New memories flowed in.

Hinata-chan’s black twin tails swayed in the wind.

Her features, resembling Ryoko’s, were always adorable, brightening the classroom.

Her straight posture was a mark of a pianist.

Beside her was Nakinishi Aira-chan.

Her long black hair shone like silk.

Her large eyes held hidden intentions.

With a model-like figure, her fashion was perfect.

She exuded an aura of a model student, but occasionally showed a cold gaze.

Erica Ivanov-chan.

Her golden twin tails resembled a foreign doll.

Her blue eyes and half-foreign features were striking.

Her gal-style fashion made her stand out.

She was always on her smartphone, standing behind Aira.

Sasaki Mao-chan.

Her brown ponytail was tied carelessly.

Small in stature, her sharp eyes were intimidating.

Her sloppy, baggy clothes contrasted with her athletic demeanor.

In a corner of the classroom,

during the peaceful time before school ended,

four girls formed a circle.

“I’m so excited for the camp!”

Hinata-chan’s voice was cheerful.

Her smile was pure.

“Me too.”

Aira smiled elegantly.

“We should share a tent, just the four of us.”

“I agree!”

Erica swayed her golden hair.

“I want to take lots of Instagram-worthy photos.”

“Ugh, I hope there aren’t any bugs.”

Mao spoke dismissively.

Their smartphones recorded the moment.

On the surface, they were a close group of four.

But…

Aira’s gaze occasionally sharpens.

Erica’s tense smile.

Mao’s restless gestures.

“I’m a bit scared of the test of courage…”

Hinata-chan looks anxious.

“It’s okay.”

Aira’s voice hides something.

“We’ll take care of you.”

The weight of those words.

The darkness behind her smile.

“Thank you, everyone!”

Hinata-chan’s innocent joy.

(She doesn’t notice…)

(The heaviness in the air…)

Another memory surfaces, from a different day after school.

Behind the school building, in the melancholy light of dusk.

“Hayami-san!”

Maeda-kun’s voice trembles.

“I’ve always…”

The soccer team’s ace.

His uniform is wet with sweat.

His face is bright red with tension.

He holds out a trembling letter.

“I like you!”

Silence.

Hinata-chan’s surprised expression.

Maeda-kun’s desperate gaze.

Hinata-chan shakes her head gently.

“I’m sorry… I have someone I like…”

Maeda-kun’s expression crumbles.

“Why…?”

“Why not me?”

Tears fall.

The end of a boy’s first love.

Hinata-chan, unable to say more, runs away.

The smartphone records it all.

The painful confession.

The gentle rejection.

The boy’s heartbreak.

…And in the shadows of the cherry trees,

another figure.

Aira, her face contorted in anguish, as if poisoned.

“Maeda-kun…”

Her faint voice is carried away by the wind.

This scene marks the beginning of something.

The school bag in my hands continues to show memories.

These are scenes only I can see.

Ryoko watches with a prayerful gaze, trying to read my expression.

“…”

Ryoko desperately tries to interpret my reaction, her anxiety as a sister evident.

“Did you see something?”

She asks softly.

But I can’t answer yet.

I need to protect Hinata-chan’s privacy while deciding how much to reveal.

Memories from a few days later flow in.

The classroom from yesterday reappears.

“Good morning, Aira-chan!”

Hinata-chan’s cheerful voice.

But Aira doesn’t look up.

“…”

She passes by silently.

“Eh…?”

Hinata-chan’s smile fades.

Erica and Mao follow Aira, smirking.

“What’s…”

“Did I do something wrong…”

Her voice trembles.

At lunch, the usual group of four is now only three.

“Aira-chan, let’s eat together…”

“No, thanks.”

Aira’s cold voice.

“We want to eat just the three of us today.”

She leaves with Erica and Mao.

Hinata-chan’s expression is heartbreaking.

She eats lunch alone.

Tears fall onto her desk.

“Why…?”

“What did I do…”

Her pure heart is slowly being wounded.

The classroom’s atmosphere grows heavy and cold.

Aira’s behavior in class has clearly changed.

“Hey, Hinata-chan.”

Her tone is cold, her attitude intimidating.

Hinata-chan is confused.

“Want to come over to my place sometime?”

Aira suddenly invites her warmly.

Hinata-chan is delighted.

The next day after school.

In a luxury apartment, Aira’s room looks like a model home.

“Sit here.”

Aira’s voice is unusually gentle.

“Since we’re making up…”

Hinata-chan sits on the pink sofa, looking uneasy.

“Hinata.”

Aira holds out her smartphone.

“We’re best friends, right?”

The screen glows brightly.

“But… my parents…”

“They said no SNS…”

“So what?”

Aira smirks.

“If you don’t tell your parents, no one will know. We won’t even show your face.”

Aira grins.

“Let’s make a fun video, just the two of us, best friends.”

Hinata-chan’s heart wavers.

A promise with her best friend or a promise with her parents?

“Hinata.”

Aira’s voice turns cold.

“Don’t you want to be with me anymore?”

“No, of course not!”

Hinata-chan quickly denies it.

“Then.”

Aira thrusts the smartphone at her.

“Prove it.”

The cold attitude, the ignoring, the reason for it all was here.

A trap to lure her pure heart.

The smartphone tries to record everything.

“I… I’ll try…”

Hinata-chan’s voice trembles.

Aira’s eyes gleam dangerously.

“Good.”