My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 13: Loyalty to justice is sometimes heavier than sin

“Until the death row prisoner is secured from your town, I will be enrolled in this high school. I am Kusune Rinbara. Nice to meet you.”

If you are wondering about what will be expected from me starting tomorrow, this is it. It wasn’t particularly interesting, but I couldn’t suppress my laughter. There were many points to nitpick, but for my classmates, it was just a trivial incident, and as soon as the break came, they surrounded her like a bunch of onlookers.

More like pure onlookers.

“Kusune-san, how did you catch the death row prisoner?”

“Um, this is my ID! Would you like to chat?”

“Kusune-san, are you interested in karaoke? Why don’t you come with us?”

It hasn’t been long since Yuuna’s death, but let’s forget about that for now. I envied these bystanders from the bottom of my heart. There may be a difference between being at the scene or not, but I won’t be able to forget for a while. Even though I was almost killed, corpses are still frightening.

I’m grateful they didn’t approach me, but don’t they have any sense of remorse? Don’t they think that their gawking attitude might have led to Yuuna’s death? Maybe they don’t think about it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have come to this.

Kusune opened her mouth in confusion, seemingly troubled by her own popularity. Compared to Shizuku, her expressions were limited, and I couldn’t imagine her smiling even on TV. She was expressionless when I met her yesterday. It’s not that her emotions are invisible; I could see a contemptuous expression when she apprehended the culprit. Maybe it’s just hard to see.

“…Um, well. I’m at a loss. Where should I start dealing with this?”

Not only did she contribute to Shizuku Nanagi’s arrest, but Kusune herself meets the criteria for being popular. Her well-toned style backed by her hobbies looks beautiful to men and cool to women, connecting seamlessly with her emotionless demeanor. And indeed, she’s cool. Helping the weak and subduing the strong. If it weren’t for special circumstances, I might have fallen for her yesterday.

Still, it seems she’s troubled by the overwhelming number of classmates surrounding her and hasn’t been able to handle it in ten seconds. Since physical abilities won’t help in this situation, it might be worth lending a hand. It feels like I’m adding insult to injury, but if she trusts me, then perhaps I won’t be doubted.

“…Ah! Kusune!”

Ever since I let out a dying scream, I’ve completely lost resistance to loud noises. Kusune responded as if clinging to a loud voice that drowned out all other noises.

“…Oh, Sakisaka-kun. Perfect timing. There’s something I want to talk to you about yesterday’s matter.”

“Oh, what a coincidence. Actually, there’s something I forgot to tell you too. It’s kind of crowded here, so let’s go to the corridor for a bit.”

The overwhelmingly casual language almost made me want to ask what happened to yesterday’s polite speech. If it were any other person, they’d surely question it, but Kusune didn’t seem to care. Escaping from the circle of onlookers, she bowed slightly inside the classroom. She found some freedom within the short break.

“Thank you. You helped me.”

It’s a strange feeling. Although her way of speaking was like a robot trying to eliminate emotions as much as possible, you could still sense genuine gratitude from the bottom of her heart. I didn’t know I had such insight into her. Not that there’s anything like that.

“Oh, you noticed? Sorry, that was a lie. Let’s talk later.”

“…Sakisaka-kun, your way of speaking is stiff, isn’t it? As long as I’m enrolled here, I’m your classmate. Please feel free to speak casually. This is just a habit of mine.”

“…Is it like my habit of lying?”

Trying to self-deprecate as a way to transition to casual language, Kusune tilted her head and stood in front of me.

“Sakisaka-kun, are you a liar?”

“Oh, no… it’s not like that.”

Explaining an undesired nickname from scratch is fruitless. However, leaving it as a question without answering also feels awkward. So, reluctantly, I explained my position in the class. I wouldn’t say I’ve never lied, but it’s not a habit, and above all, I have nothing to do with the recent incident.

That last part is an outright lie.

“I see. That makes sense. I now understand why they’ve been looking at you strangely in class. Don’t worry. This is really just my habit. It’s different from yours, Sakisaka-kun.”

“I see. I was just joking… seems like it didn’t come across. Sorry.”

It’s inevitable to feel uncomfortable because I’m groping in the dark. It’s hard to put it into words, but there’s a unique pace to the conversation with Kusune. Moreover, it seems jokes don’t really land well, so for a high schooler like me, who’s every move revolves around jokes, it’s almost like an impregnable fortress. I would pity anyone trying to court her.

“…Sakisaka-kun, would you like to walk home with me today?”

I was speechless at the sudden offer.

“Huh? Why— Oh, um, it’s fine. It’s not necessary to thank me, I just helped you out because you seemed troubled.”

“That’s not it. Sakisaka-kun, don’t you realize?”

“What?”

“You… are marked by Shizuku Nanagi.”

Even though I had deliberately avoided the topic, it was brought up anyway. Usually, if you stumble over your words, people get suspicious, but in this case, it’s inevitable. It’s as if it was brought up out of nowhere from my perspective. It’s akin to suddenly dredging up a few years’ old embarrassing history.

Why now…

“Eh, eh. Shizuku Nanagi!? The Shizuku!?”

“Yes, that Shizuku Nanagi. When she takes a liking to someone… well, she marks them as a target for murder with her own blood scent. I can faintly smell that scent from you. Have you met her somewhere?”

“W-well? If I had… I would have reported it, right? There’s no benefit in hiding a death row prisoner, haha!”

It felt like I had gone beyond overacting and had instead skipped acting altogether. I tried to respond based on common sense, but my behavior seemed too suspicious. I felt it myself, and it probably looked way too suspicious to others. Trying to cover up what I had done would only have highlighted that “mistake” even more, making it even more suspicious. So, maybe it was better to just keep going as I was.

“Even if you have such a strong scent, wouldn’t others notice? It must be just your imagination!”

“The scent she gives off is unique. Only I can detect it… Yes, it’s really strong. Like she’s right next to me…”

I wonder if she would be surprised if I told her that I always fall asleep in her arms, not just next to her. What is needed for a good sleep is mental calmness, and I use her for that purpose, but even so, a woman’s — no, Shizuku Nanagi’s — breasts are soft and ……

I might make a vulgar evaluation typical of high schoolers. I should stop here.

“…W-what?”

Kusune’s face had suddenly come close. Our breaths were almost touching, and her face filled my vision. My consciousness was drawn to her left eye, devoid of light. Normally, when you look into a person’s eyes, you see reflections of the surroundings, but there was none in Kusune’s left eye. Literally, there was no light.

“Sakisaka-kun. I’ve become interested in you.”

“Eh?”

“I know several people marked by Shizuku Nanagi. But I’ve never smelled someone as strongly marked as you. If you have no idea, what could be attracting her?”

“W-what are you trying to say?”

“Sakisaka-kun, I’ll protect you. Let’s go home together today after all. I’ll escort you home.”

——————————

My classmates …… no, all the boys complained about the fact that she left with me instead of any good looking guy in the grade. So instead of Kusune being called out for her bad taste in men, it’s likely that I’d be blamed for my own actions.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, so I grabbed her arm and left the class.

“Then, let’s go. Kusune.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

I hear (or think I hear) the gnashing of teeth from the boys with their desires exposed from behind. Is it just my imagination that I also hear it from the women? It’s true that if you dressed her up in men’s clothes, she’d probably look absurdly good, but that’s not what …… is about, is it? It’s a bad habit of mine to put everything in the context of love. I tend to do it because it’s easier to deal with things in a simplified way if they are polarized.

I’m sure they’re jealous of me, so there’s nothing better than to leave early. I’ll show off our relationship in a snide way. At this moment, I’m sure that if my classmates were provided with guns, I would be turned into a beehive. The actual “I’m not sure what you’re talking about” attitude is a bit of an annoyance, so I tried to take my hand away as soon as I left the school gate, but Kusune didn’t change her expression at all and kept her fingers intertwined with mine.

“Ah, that’s enough.”

“I can protect you better if we stay in close contact. Let’s stay like this until we get home.”

With that said, I couldn’t retort. Refusing would be evidence of guilt. I had no choice but to continue this act obediently.

Indulging in schemes. What was supposed to be a little prank ended up with me as the victim. What a turn of events.

…Her fingers were smooth.

For now, let’s stop thinking about Shizuku. As Kusune says, she has a super sense of smell to detect Shizuku. There’s even a possibility she could read my thoughts.

I don’t know Shizuku, I don’t know Shizuku, I don’t know Shizuku, I don’t know Shizuku, I don’t know Shizuku.

I’m just a high school student, Sakisaka Ryuma.