My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 37 – 『　』Limit

I was late for class.

If I had to write a reflection paper every time it happened, I’d probably die of stress within a week. The teachers are always looking for something to nitpick, and if you submit it the first time, they’ll make you redo it. If you make the corrections they ask for, they’ll give you completely opposite instructions and make you submit it again. In the end, the number of reflection papers I had to write easily exceeded one hundred.

The minimum length for a reflection is ten pages, but what’s there to reflect on for ten pages just because I was a little late for class? I’d have to stretch the content as thinly as possible, slightly change the wording, and then repeat the process to barely reach the page count. It’s all a charade. What’s the point of it all?

Don’t assume that writing will improve your vocabulary. This school doesn’t understand the futility of continually referring to content that doesn’t exist. The only things worth reflecting on for ten pages are cheating or acts of violence.

I’ve ranted enough, but I’ve managed to avoid the reflection hell. Maria claimed that she had a (non-existent) errand for me and said that she would write the reflection paper in my stead if necessary. I don’t know why she did that. It’s not like I’m confident enough to think that she’s fallen for me. I used to be bullied, after all.

Before I hurry to tell Kusune that I’ve reconsidered our conversation this morning, I should thank Maria first. When the teacher turned away, I wrote ‘Why did you help me?’ on a scrap of paper from my notebook and threw it at Maria. It was blasphemous to throw garbage at her, a girl called the ‘Madonna,’ but there weren’t any extremists in this class.

The reply came back immediately, in the form of a paper airplane.

‘Ryuma, you’re cursed.’

My heart skipped a beat at her comment, which was all too accurate for my situation. So, you understand that sort of thing, Maria? Is that the kind of person she is?

I was speechless. So I was cursed after all. Should I buy an expensive vase for good luck? I know I’m joking around when I shouldn’t be. I can’t help but be flustered. Even though she’s not a god, it would still be disrespectful to throw more garbage at her, so I’ll stop.

If Maria were an expert, there would be no need to involve Kusune. For an ordinary person, Kusune, the defender of justice, would be trustworthy, but for me, someone hiding a convict on death row, she’s simply not.

No, if I were to truly use any means necessary, I should involve them both… and although it’s a petty thing to say, I wouldn’t feel like I was the one helping them. It’s like a detective declaring he’ll solve a case and then leaving it entirely to the police…

You might think that with my life on the line, I shouldn’t be concerned about such trivial matters of positioning, but I can’t help but think about it. As I’ve said many times, I want to make allies with my own hands. Objectively, I want people I can absolutely trust. To do that, I need to earn their trust.

If I don’t, I’ll be at a loss for what to do next. I might be killed by Shizuku, or tortured and killed by Kusune.

“Well then. Sense has something to do after this, so anyone who finishes copying these notes can take a break. Class is over. You don’t have to bow.”

My world history teacher is quite careless, but this time he was helpful. Copying meant subjective evaluation, and he was implicitly saying, ‘You can stop whenever you think it’s good enough.’ I closed my notebook, which was completely blank (as I hadn’t been able to concentrate at all), and spoke to Maria, who was in the middle of copying the notes.

“Maria, I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, but can it wait until I’m done with this?”

Maria, unlike me, was enthusiastic about the lesson. At a glance, she had organized the points from the lecture in a way that was easy to understand. I now understood why her notebook was passed around the class right before tests. After a while, she closed her notebook and looked up at me.

“What can I help you with?“

“…… It’s a bit difficult to say here, so let’s walk and talk.”

“Alright. I think I know what you want to talk about, Ryuma-kun.”

Maria stood up and walked into the hallway, matching my movements. It was not a bad idea to walk and talk, as it would be more likely that someone would overhear us if we talked in a corner. They might think we were just gossiping, which would keep the busybodies away.

“Maria, are you… you know, one of those people in the class who has a sixth sense?”

“Haha, no. But I can tell you’re cursed. I don’t have any spiritual powers, but I know a lot about curses.”

“Hmm? What do you mean you know a lot about curses? Are you a curse expert or something?”

“That’s not it either. Hmm… Ryuma-kun, are you free today?”

“Ah, I don’t need a detailed explanation, it’s kind of scary… Hey, you do know about curses, right?”

“Yes, I know about curses. I can tell you anything about them… but I won’t teach you how to do them. It’s dangerous.”

“I don’t want to do them either. It’s just that if you know about them… for example, do you know about ‘Karakiri-san’?”

Housuke had said that ‘Karakiri-san’ was like a curse that resided in the letter itself. It wasn’t a curse, just similar to one, so it was understandable if she didn’t know about it, but it was worth taking a chance.

“Karakiri… is it where there’s nothing written before ‘kiri’?”

“Wow, you understood that really well. I thought there was no way to explain it with words… so you know about it!?”

“Of course.”

I had won the bet. The payout was probably information about Karakiri-san. The way she brushed off the question without any reaction suggested that it was probably famous. At least, as a curse.

Maria pulled my hand, bringing her body closer to mine, and whispered in my ear with her breathy voice.

“It’s a type of curse called ‘Limit*’ It’s obvious that there’s nothing before ‘kiri’ because the caster creates that part themselves.”

(tl/n: 限 : read as kiri)

“…… ‘Limit*’?”

“It’s hard to explain with words, and I don’t think you’ll understand, so I can’t say any more. Ryuma-kun, are you free today?”

If I had to say whether I was free or not, I wasn’t. My life was on the line, even with the extension. I couldn’t afford to waste time. For example, if someone invited me to their house to play…… I absolutely couldn’t go.

　―――What the hell is up with that Kounai broadcast?

“It depends on what you want to do. What do you have in mind?”

“I’ll show you in practice at a nearby vacant lot. Isn’t it better to see once than to hear a hundred times?”

She wasn’t inviting me to her house, perhaps specifically avoiding the Kounai broadcast… No, maybe I’m overthinking it. Anyway, that Kounai broadcast was only heard by Miharu-senpai, and no one else (that was clear from the reactions of those around me), so I didn’t understand its purpose in the first place.

I wondered if that broadcast was also some kind of curse targeting me.

“…… If that’s what you want to do, I’ll go along with it. But before we part, there’s one last thing I want to ask. Is there a curse that uses the school… hmm, how should I put it? A curse that uses everyone’s words?”

Maria’s reaction wasn’t great. I knew it was a long shot, but so it’s not a curse, huh? So, it was just Miharu-senpai who associated the Kounai broadcast with ‘Karakiri-san,’ and they were separate things.

Why am I being targeted? Why can only Miharu-senpai hear it? Why did I suddenly start hearing it that night? What does it mean to be invited to someone’s house?

There were a lot of things I didn’t understand, but it was a relief to know they were separate. I could think about the Kounai broadcast separately, so my thoughts wouldn’t get too tangled. However, excessive neglect could seriously damage Miharu-senpai’s mental state, so it was taboo. I should get involved again after solving ‘Karakiri-san.’

“Okay, got it. See you later.”

“Wait, Ryuma-kun. I also have one last thing to say to you.”

“Kusune is not on your side. No matter what happens, never trust her.”