My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 34 – Mechanical Puppetry

Karakiri-san.

It’s a ghost story that has been passed down in Kidatsu City, and it gained some popularity after being unearthed on a paranormal feature program. By the way, ‘Karakiri-san’ is a colloquial name; no one knows the exact name. This is because in the ‘kara’ part of ‘Karakiri-san,’ only a square exists as a symbol, and there remains a trace where a name was undoubtedly once engraved.

Though there should have been a name, it’s now unknown. It’s hollow. Empty. Hence, Karakiri-san. By the way, the kanji for ‘Kiri’ means ‘limit.

The core of the story turns into a conviction. Seeing an expression that clearly hinted at something, my senior tactfully delved into it.

“Did you figure something out?”

“…………”

To be honest, I hate the supernatural, urban legends, and anything unscientific. Whether they exist or not aside, they always cause trouble to others. What did we do wrong, and why should we suffer like this?

If I tell my senior about Karakiri-san, it will become a hassle. I hate these kinds of stories. I neither want to be involved nor hear about them.

But…………

Although it’s hard to say that I can’t leave someone in trouble alone, abandoning someone who might be helped is a kind of murder, isn’t it? If left unattended and without any way to deal with them, they will die …… or rather go missing, just like the spirits of famous urban legends.

“I don’t mind telling you, but let me put one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I have a lot of problems I want to discuss… So if I help you, could you help me too? It sounds weird, but… I want you to be on my side.”

I want to believe that Shizuku is on my side. However, emotions and facts are different, and if I allow such arbitrary criteria, then Kusune might be on my side too, and there would be no enemies anywhere.

Shizuku said it. That Kusune would use any means necessary to catch her.

Kusune said it as well. That Shizuku intends to kill me soon.

It’s not a liar quiz, but if both are telling the truth, I can’t believe either. Especially Kusune. I shouldn’t believe in any benefits born through her hands… such as repairing my relationships with my classmates.

So, I’ll make my own allies.

I hate urban legends, but if it’s me, I can help her. I’ll show her that. If there’s someone I can trust from the bottom of my heart, things will be different.

Senpai gently held both of my hands and smiled as much as she could. It was probably her pride as an elder… trying to comfort me, who was mentally isolated.

“I understand. I’ll be on your side. I believe in you, Kouhai-kun.”

“Please believe in me. If you believe, things will surely work out.”

To say I’m not scared would be a lie. Most of the reason I hate urban legends was because they inevitably lead to danger. And that danger is scary. If I seem to be handling it calmly, it’s a sign that I’ve become skilled at bluffing. Scary things are scary. No matter how many times I’ve fantasized about suppressing terrorists at school, I’ll freeze when faced with a real gun. That’s for sure.

“Oh, sorry. By the way, may I ask your name, senpai?”

“Me? My name is Tsutsuki Miharu. You might have heard rumors about me, but I’m not that weird, so you can relax about that, okay?”

It seems she has some awareness of her own rumors. Certainly, she wasn’t that weird. Rather, she seemed honest and gentle, and in this situation surrounded by death row inmates and superhumans, she was like an angel. No, but cheating is not good even in my mind. I’m devoted to Shizuku. Whether I can trust her is another issue altogether.

“For now, let’s call it a day. Don’t worry, if my intuition is correct, it’s not something that will kill you right away.”

It might not be the desired outcome, but somehow I ended up meeting Tsutsuki Miharu. A third ally, independent of Shizuku and Kusune. For my own sake, I’ll step into the world of magic where physical laws don’t apply once again.

―――It’s okay. I’m not alone. Right?

I spoke in my mind to the illusionary ‘best friend’. We’re all scared. What’s important is the resolve to move forward despite that.

——————————

The next day.

I, who woke up earlier than usual, managed to escape from Shizuku’s unusually tight grasp and began rummaging through the drawers of the study desk. Anyone who saw me from here might mistake me for a novice burglar or something.

―――Where is it? Damn, I can’t find it anywhere. Who the hell stuffed everything in here like this?

I did it.

I sealed it away, not just because I would never use it again, but because I didn’t want to remember it. No one in my family dares to enter my room, and if they did, they’d surely be killed. It’s my own fault.

As if I cared whether Shizuku woke up or not. I intended to do this in the morning whether she was awake or not.

“……Found it!”

A blue notebook that could be bought at any stationery store around here. The title is “Kidatsu Hyakumonogatari”. The author, of course―――

“What are you doing?”

“Uwaaaah!”

Shizuku, who had peered over my shoulder without a sound, startled me. Even though she spoke to me from behind, for some reason, I ended up jerking back and hitting her face with the back of my head. Along with a solid impact, Shizuku’s voice, weakly gasping in pain, reached me.

“…Ouch…”

“Oh, sorry! I-I’m sorry, it was a reflex— I’m sorry!”

“Haha, no, don’t worry about it. I know it wasn’t intentional. But more importantly… Owie.”

Shizuku points at the notebook while holding her nose.

“You have an interesting notebook there. What is it?”

“Kidatsu Hyakumonogatari. It’s a collection of credible ghost stories and urban legends circulating in this city. The author is Amasaki Housuke. He’s an old friend.”

“Old friend…… That means you’re not friends anymore. Did you guys have a fight?”

Shizuku didn’t miss the sudden heaviness in my tone. She astutely realized it was a sensitive topic. Hastily retracting her own question, she deflected the conversation with a teasing tone.

“Ah, no, nevermind. Yeah, well, you know, things change, right? Yeah, yeah. So, why suddenly this kind of book? Did something happen last night?”

“I wouldn’t bring out a book like this if nothing happened. I hate occult stuff like this, you know.”

Since there’s no table of contents in this notebook, I’ll have to find the page for “Karakiri-san” myself. As I stood up to search, intending to enlist Shizuku’s help…

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”