My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 45 – Mugshot

“A picture of me?”

“Yeah. But since you’re a convict, your face is already known, and you can’t get plastic surgery… Maybe you can use your special ability to change your appearance?”

“It’s not that convenient of a power. If it could do anything, I wouldn’t be in this situation. If it could… I would erase all memories of me from everyone but you and spend eternity with you. That’s what I truly wish for.”

While the time spent with the one you love is precious, would it remain so if it lasted forever?

On TV, there was a discussion about immortality, with celebrities and experts exchanging various opinions, such as ‘it’s theoretically possible’ and ‘it’s impossible’. But I don’t care about that. Please, give me some useful information.

‘How can I go on a date with her, a convict, without any problems?’ or ‘How can I prevent her from being found out as a convict?’. I know that TV doesn’t only provide beneficial information, but it’s still frustrating to be bombarded with useless facts. Viewer me seeks beneficial knowledge.

“Well, let’s put that aside for now. Once the investigation is dropped, everyone will forget about me. Then we can be together forever. It’s a shame we can’t get married, though.”

“You’re not putting it aside at all.”

“My apologies. Just imagining being with you without any worries makes me feel… hmm. Calm. Now, let’s really put it aside. It was about my photo, right? Why don’t you just take a picture of a random woman and send it to her?”

“Well, you see……”

I had already described Shizuku to my sister, including my subjective impressions. Even without my subjective opinion, she needed to be beautiful, well-endowed, and have an otherworldly charm. And while my subjective opinion of beauty may differ from hers, she must also be beautiful in the eyes of other women.

The most challenging requirement was the otherworldly charm. As for her chest, the worst-case scenario could be solved by putting something in the slender person’s chest area.

“……Do you want to protect me?”

“I thought that way, she wouldn’t be connected to you! Look, there are a lot of beautiful people in this world! It’s like saying there are a lot of people with the surname Yamada, and you can’t identify them just by the name!”

“Not as common as Yamada. If everyone in the world were beautiful, such a word wouldn’t exist. Well, but it’s fine. There are probably four or five beautiful people in your school, too.”

By the way, I haven’t paid any attention, so I can’t tell if they’re there or not. Before I met Shizuku, I didn’t have the mental leeway, as I was being bullied.

“Hmm… What should I do? If I showed myself, it wouldn’t be a lie, and it would be the easiest way. This is the first time I’ve felt inconvenienced by being a convict.”

“Please feel inconvenienced in other ways.”

A brilliant idea wasn’t going to pop into my head that easily. There must be a reason why I can’t show her photo when she’s asking for it. Ruri would also notice the unnaturalness, and if, by some mistake, Kusune found out, she might immediately figure out Shizuku’s true identity.

“Don’t you have any acquaintances with a similar vibe to me?”

Shizuku frowned and lay down, as if giving up.

“…………There’s not a single person like that. They’re all dead.”

――― Oh.

That’s right, I forgot. She had killed everyone in her village. Her casual way of speaking about it was concerning, but perhaps she was the type to not look back on the past. Still, it was a careless remark. It was a natural and obvious question, but she was a female convict.

“Don’t you have any acquaintances who look like me?”

Obviously not to Miharu. Kusune is out of the question. Ayako, we’re no longer friends… Maria is a foreigner.

……………….

…………

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re really thinking hard about this.”

“I thought it might not be good to immediately assume there’s no one.”

My narrow social circle was exposed, and I felt ashamed of myself. How could I have such a lack of connections? It’s not just about connections, but also about popularity. No matter how you phrase it, my social circle isn’t going to expand. I don’t have any hobbies, I’m not in a club, and there were no other bullied kids like me.

No, it’s too early to give up. If I narrow down the candidates based on information I haven’t told Ruri―――

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A scream that echoed throughout the house. Startled by the sudden loud voice, Shizuku covered her ears and narrowed her eyes. As someone from the family could have entered the room, I stood with my back to the door to block it, but no one came. While I felt relieved that it was just a false alarm, I also felt a bit annoyed at being confronted with the fact that I wasn’t valued.

“What’s with the sudden scream?”

“Blonde hair!”

“Blonde?”

“I didn’t tell my sister about her hair color!”

“Huh? Sorry. That doesn’t make any sense. Take a moment to calm down, and then explain, please.”

The trigger for the scream was Maria’s existence. The girl who sent back the kokkuri-san that wouldn’t leave after we lifted the curse on Miharu had blonde hair, too. She wore a red raincoat even though it wasn’t raining, so she fit the otherworldly charm requirement, and she was beautiful, so she met the conditions the closest.

And I had received her business card, hadn’t I? Where did I put that business card…

“Shizuku! When you took me home, did you see a business card anywhere on my body?”

“A business card?……I don’t remember.”

“Then I must have dropped it somewhere… Haa. That’s too bad.”

If I dropped it, it’s likely still in the old school building, but due to personal feelings, I don’t want to go to school during the vacation.

‘You can find out about me from that. If you still can’t figure it out, ask Maria. See you.’

……I’ll have to ask Maria.

The problem is that, as usual, my social circle is so narrow that I don’t know where she lives. Even Terunori doesn’t know, so there’s no way I would. If she were, for example, the school idol, there might be one or two people who have information about her, but since she’s only called ‘Madonna’ and isn’t particularly popular, probably no one knows.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be out for a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be thinking about the date and coming up with a solution at a relaxed pace. I’ll be back soon.”

In times like these, there’s only one person I can rely on. I went out with my phone in hand. Just like that death row inmate, she calls herself ‘my ally’—the hero of justice, Rinbara Kusune. As part of her investigation of Shizuku, she might have looked into her classmates.

“…………Hello?”

I took a piece of paper from my sleeve and smiled awkwardly.

―――Again, he’s caught the attention of strange people.

I’m not one to talk, but why do people like Kusune and that strange woman approach him? It’s also strange… It’s like the people from the village, and it makes me feel sick to my core.

I invited the mouse I had summoned into the room, fed it the business card, and sent it on its way. ‘The World’ seems to want to separate him from me at all costs. If he didn’t know anyone but me, he would never leave. Why do they give him knowledge?

Until he dominates me. Until he breaks me. Until he kills me.

I just want to be with him.