I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 40

I was probably the most exhausted person in the world right now.

Every ounce of strength I had was gone.

Telepathy, psychokinesis, psychometry, clairvoyance, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, everything. Every ability that made me who I was, I had used up completely. For someone not exactly used to going all out, I thought I’d done pretty well.

All around me, the rubble and debris from the warehouse lay scattered and were blown apart by the blast. The building itself hadn’t completely collapsed, but it was a miracle it was still standing at all. Well, considering I had let loose everything I had, it would’ve been strange if it hadn’t taken this much damage.

I glanced around through the lingering dust and smoke.

What about her? What about Tatsuki?

I had tried my best not to drag her into the crossfire, but if she’d been caught up in it anyway, it would be a disaster. If the worst had happened, I needed to be ready to deal with it right away.

Forcing my battered body to keep moving, I pushed forward through the haze when I suddenly spotted a figure.

“…Itsumi… kun?”

There she was. Tatsuki sat on the floor as she looked lost and shaken. The explosion and dust had left her beautiful hair a little messy, but aside from that, she seemed unharmed.

Still, her heart was another matter. With uncertainty clouding her eyes, she called out my false name.

“Tatsuki.”

I answered simply, saying her name.

At once, her face crumpled. Tears welled up until they overflowed, and then she leapt forward, throwing herself into my arms.

“Whoa…”

I staggered and nearly lost my balance. My body was wrecked, and I hadn’t been ready for it, but somehow I managed to stay upright.

She pressed her face against my chest while sobbing as though trying to choke back the sound.

“Why… did you…”

Even without telepathy, I could understand the weight behind her words.

So I gave her the only reply I could, heavy with all the meaning I carried.

“…I’m sorry.”

I held her close while gently stroking her head. If this was to be the end, then at least I wanted to give her that much.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, listening to each other’s heartbeats, sharing each other’s warmth.

Eventually, Tatsuki pulled back. Her eyes were still swollen and red, but she seemed calmer now. I loosened my arms and let her go.

“…Please, tell me everything.”

She quietly said after a long silence. It was a short sentence, but she was right to ask.

“…Yeah. You’re right. There’s a lot I need to tell you.”

After all the chaos I had just caused, there was no longer any need to worry about eavesdroppers. Choosing my words carefully, I began to speak the truth about myself.

“First… hmm… I’m a telepath… no, an esper. I’ve had a complicated situation since I was little… Actually, maybe I should tell you about that, too.”

My explanation came out a bit clumsy, but she listened carefully as her expression was serious.

“That’s why I can do things like this.”

I demonstrated by pulling the rubble nearby toward me. Then I clenched my fist, and the debris shattered into almost nothing.

“Well, I never know when I’ll hear telepathy… and with telekinesis, I can’t control the force, and with clairvoyance, I can’t adjust it, so I can’t adjust how far I see. That said, it’s not like I can completely control them.”

I waved my hands and shook my head as if to apologize, but Tatsuki still looked utterly confused, like she hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

Honestly, most people wouldn’t just say, “I’m a superpowered person,” and expect others to respond with, “Oh, that makes sense.”

“…So you actually could read minds… like, really?”

“Yeah… that’s right. I’m sorry if I kind of ruined your image of me.”

I knew she had thought I was exceptionally perceptive and had even admired me for it. So in a sense, I had broken her expectations and maybe her respect, too.

“…No, it’s fine. That’s part of you, after all. It doesn’t matter. Besides───”

“Just knowing that you understood my thoughts makes me truly happy.”

She smiled, genuinely and brightly. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t help feeling a little flustered. I’d used this ability for all kinds of messy situations, but right now, it feels kind of nice.

I wasn’t ready to admit it, but.

“…Wait… if you can read minds───”

She trailed off, her eyes widening. I had a pretty good idea what she was thinking about.

“…Well… yeah… I guess… so.”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak plainly. I ended up avoiding the words.

But sometimes, avoiding the truth is almost the same as saying it.

“~~~~~~~!!!??!”

There were a few moments when her face was on fire. She crouched down, hiding her face, letting out sounds that weren’t even words, twisting in embarrassment.

“That’s not fair…”

“No…I just didn’t want to talk about my telepathy too much…”

Well, considering she had just heard all those embarrassing thoughts in my head, her reaction was understandable. Still, I couldn’t exactly explain my abilities so easily.

“…But, I guess this is where we say our farewell.”

“Huh?”

Tatsuki looked completely stunned. I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze as her expression changed.

“What do you mean?”

“…I’m running away. I’m… a kind of modified human. I was born and raised in a research facility like that.”

I recalled my past while trying to answer her reasonable questions.

“I don’t even fully understand my own origins. I don’t know who my real parents are. I’m not even sure if I’m fully human. And this name… ‘Itsumi Rei’ is just a fake name, taken from the Identification Number 530 I was given back then.

…Even saying it out loud sounded strange. But it was true. I had been treated like a lab rat.

“That place ignored human rights completely, though I guess anyone experimenting on humans probably doesn’t care about ethics at all.”

“There was no privacy. Every movement and every gesture, they were watching… Until one day, something happened.”

I glanced at her face.

Her pupils were small, her eyes filled with confusion. Everything she felt was written plainly in her gaze.

“I can’t go into all the details, but… it was basically like a terrorist-style explosion. Me and the landlady of the apartment I live in now and we took that chance to escape.”

I remember that day clearly. Back then, I just followed orders, living without thinking. When the emergency came, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. But she’s the only one who still has any sense of ethics and helped me run away.

…She’s always been taking care of me, both in the past and now. If we hadn’t escaped that day, I wouldn’t be here. At least, that’s a positive outcome.

“But… isn’t this like in fiction? The people in the research facility decided to hunt down anyone who escaped.”

I tilted my head back to the sky. I knew their satellites were scanning up there.

Still, they couldn’t find us. That meant we were doing something right.

“I’ve been moving from place to place ever since. Whenever their hands nearly reached me, I’d just go somewhere else.”

“And… it looks like that time has come again.”

“…W-wha—”

Her voice shook. I could feel her sadness and shock through telepathy, hitting me like a physical weight.

“You knew… from the beginning…?”

“…Well, yeah. I didn’t expect it to happen this soon, though.”

Tears filled Tatsuki’s eyes. I felt awful for making her cry again like this. I really was hopeless sometimes.

“I’ve dragged you around and caused you so much trouble… I’m really sorry.”

…That’s why, at least this once, I had to take responsibility properly.

“From now on… I’m going to erase your memories. That’s also my ability. I’m going to use it.”

I felt sorry that it had to be this way, but there was no other choice. The only way was to wipe everything clean.

“Erase… my memories…!?”

“Yeah. I’ll erase your memories… of me, of our class, the school, this city… everything. Basically, it’ll be like I was never here.”

In other words, I would restore things to the way they were before I ever came to this town.

Of course, everyone’s memories of me would vanish completely. They’d never remember me again. It was… painfully sad, but necessary.

“That’s… not allowed! Because… Itsumi-san is my… my first real friend… no, wait, I mean…”

She tried to stop me decisively, but her words faltered halfway. I could guess what she really wanted to say.

“I know.”

I spoke before she could finish.

“Like I said before, I’m a telepath. I know everything Tatsuki feels. That’s why I knew I had to push you away.”

…That’s right. I shouldn’t be with her.

No, I shouldn’t be involved with normal people at all.

I had suspected it before, but this incident made it crystal clear.

“…Well, I guess I ended up dragging you around anyway.”

So, I decided to stop all of this now.

“I’m truly sorry. And… I was happy.”

As a small reply, I said it. I couldn’t respond properly, so I avoided looking her in the eye and didn’t specify what I was thanking her for.

“If that’s how you feel… then let me say it properly…”

“…I’m sorry. But I think there’s someone better suited for you than me.”

Yes. There’s someone she should care about more than me. That’s who should hear those words.

“…Then,”

I unclenched my fist, opening my hand.

Suddenly, an intense flash of light shot out from my palm, engulfing the world around us.

Even though it was night, the light was brighter than midday and dominated everything.

To completely erase the record of Itsumi Rei.

“Itsumi-san…! I───”

Before the light could turn everything white, I saw her tears in my vision. She reached out toward me, but she couldn’t reach me.

Still, the words she said at that moment were precious. So precious that it almost felt wasteful for them to be directed at me. But… that’s exactly why I decided to respond with a smile, at least in spirit.

“I felt the same way.”

I don’t know what expression she made in my words.

And in that instant, the existence of Itsumi Rei vanished completely from this city.