I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 33

“Um—”

“It’s not a coincidence. Otherwise, there’s no way I’d come all the way out to a gloomy place like this.”

I had just opened my mouth to say something when she cut me off.

And she wasn’t wrong. Nobody would come all the way out here just to use the bathroom.

Which meant her reason for being here could only be one thing.

“You need something from me…?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

It couldn’t be anything good. I braced myself, letting every ounce of caution show, yet Kisara only nodded.

She was always suspicious, but right now she looked downright shady. What exactly was she after?

“I just wanted to have a little chat. You know… as rivals in love.”

She stepped forward as she spoke, and I instinctively took a step back. My gut told me nothing good would come from this, and I made sure my body language said as much.

For a second, she frowned. But then that usual sly smile crept back onto her face, and she kept going in her typical singsong tone.

“Well, even if you don’t feel like talking, I’ll just talk on my own. Though I’d like you to answer me here and there.”

With that warning, she began.

Her words were grating, her gestures exaggerated to the point of being obnoxious, but still, something about the air told me I couldn’t just tune her out.

“You and Rio-chan sure are close? Close enough to honestly make me jealous.”

That opening was sharp and pointed.

Sure, there was no one around, no Tatsuki or even a passerby, but did she really need to sound this hostile?

“Actually, Rio-chan and I go way back. We’ve been classmates since elementary school. You’ve heard about that, right? How we went to that fancy girls’ school?”

She suddenly dropped a bombshell. So she’d known Tatsuki since grade school?

I had noticed she clung to Rio more than most, but if they were childhood friends… that tracked.

But if that’s the case, why bring it up now? What’s the point?

“Back then, she was already shy. I was always the one starting conversations. But you know… in all that time, I never once saw the kind of expressions she shows you.”

So basically, she’d been ignored all along. That sounded pretty tragic, but… I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for her.

Her shady aura and her long-winded speech was just irritating. And though I doubt she even noticed, my patience was wearing thin.

“Now that I think about it… she never did a single thing for me of her own accord.”

That smug smile of hers finally faltered, giving way to a shadow across her face.

“Whether it was going out to play or just grabbing a meal, I was always the one who had to invite her. I thought maybe I’d spoiled her by making it too routine, so I tried waiting instead… and what happened? She ended up drifting toward you.”

Her laugh was bitter, her usually low voice dropping even further. That sharp and heavy sound was sliding into my ears like the edge of a knife.

But that was nothing more than self-pity. I didn’t know why Rio liked me, and I didn’t know why she didn’t like Kisara. If she couldn’t figure that out herself, then trying to force affection was just arrogant.

“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been the one standing… under that umbrella with her.”

I almost snapped back with, “That’s got nothing to do with me. But—”

…

…Wait?

“…Did Tatsuki, san tell you about that?”

She had just brought up the umbrella incident, so I asked outright.

I was pretty sure nobody had seen us. It was exam season, so there weren’t many club activities. It was late, pouring rain, and the streets had been practically empty.

So if she knew about it, she must have heard it from someone.

“Hm? Oh, no. Not at all.”

Her eyes widened briefly at my sudden question, but she quickly slipped back into her usual composure, her voice casual and smooth.

“She’s not the kind of person who attracts attention for nothing. I’m sure you’ve realized how much influence she has on the people around her. And if that’s the case… You should already know what that means for you.”

…Then how the hell does she know?

My throat tightened. Words get stuck halfway up and refuse to come out. And before I could force anything out, Kisara pressed on.

“That’s why it shocked me so much that Rio-chan still chose to be with you. I never thought… she’d actually ask someone out on a date herself.”

…What?

No, hold on a second.

Her words hit me so hard my mind went blank, as if scrubbed clean.

“She must really like you, huh? I mean, Rio-chan never seemed interested in boys at all before this…”

A clammy sweat prickled across my forehead.

I tried to speak, but my throat was so dry it stuck shut, not a single sound coming out.

“Or maybe… that night she stayed over at your place…? Did you hypnotize her or something?”

And Kisara didn’t stop dropping bombshells.

My pupils trembled from the strain, fear, and panic twisting my vision until Kisara herself looked monstrous.

Why? How?

How the hell does she know that?

“Wh… why.”

I wanted to lunge at her, demand an answer right then and there. But my body refused to move. In the end, the only thing I managed to squeeze out was a broken whisper.

“Oh, right… that did happen?”

She pressed a hand to her forehead with an exaggerated oops expression. But to me, she looked nothing like a classmate anymore. She looks more like some capricious devil.

“Truth is… I’ve been watching the whole time.”

She gave a mocking little smile, curled her fingers into a ring over her eye, and peered at me with that cruel glint in her gaze.

…And at that moment, I remembered what the landlady had said and what was written in that letter.

“The pursuers are on their way. Time unknown. Arrival unknown. Some have abilities. Infiltration is possible.”

An ability.

Like my telepathy, something beyond human.

Could it be? Could it really be?

Kisara Meri… you—

“Well, don’t worry. I don’t plan on doing anything to you… not yet, anyway.”

It was not reassuring at all.

If anything, that only made things worse.

Whether she understood what I was feeling… or deliberately ignored it. Kisara kept on smiling as she spoke.

“…All I want is for Rio-chan to be happy. That’s all that matters to me.”

Clack, clack. Her footsteps echoed as she closed the distance between us.

But I couldn’t step back. I couldn’t even move. Like a frog frozen under the gaze of a snake, all I could do was shake where I stood.

“But after watching Rio-chan, watching you… I can’t help but feel you’re not worthy of her.”

She was right in front of me now, so close I could feel her breath.

Her eyes ran over me, heavy and sinister, like a predator sizing up its prey, already thinking about the best way to bring me down.

“Hey, Itsumi-kun. This is a crossroads. About where you’ll go from here.”

A crossroads.

Of what?

It didn’t matter. She was right, it was one.

Depending on what happened here, I might not even make it out alive.

If she really was one of them.

“Oh, and don’t even think about going to the police, alright? I don’t want the hassle. And besides—”

I couldn’t hear the rest.

A roar of static filled my head, like sandstorm noise rattling inside my skull, until it felt like my hearing had broken entirely.

“——”

Her lips moved, but no sound reached me. I could only watch as her figure blurred, doubled, tripled, and finally faded as she walked away.

Footsteps and static echoed together in my brain.

I clutched my head as I was overwhelmed by the swirl of thoughts and emotions, with no idea how long I stayed that way.