My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 7: True Murderous Intent

“Is Yuuna angry at me?”

“Yeah. Yuuna had been blaming everything on you since yesterday. She was determined to make you regret it. Ryuma, did you do something to Yuuna yesterday?”

“Huh? Weren’t you there yesterday?”

“I was. But if that’s the case, I think it’s us who Yuuna should resent. Holding a grudge against Ryuma for yesterday would be completely misplaced.”

I was unexpectedly spoken to with such sound reasoning. Although it was nothing special, I couldn’t help but let out an “Oh” and feel a bit shaken. Indeed, that was correct. Holding a grudge against me would be completely misplaced. After all, it was them who started it. While I did draw the attention of the onlookers, it was their reactions that actually caused the stress. Whom to resent, if not the perpetrator? There wasn’t even any justifiable reason for it.

“…Speaking of which, were you at that interrogation session?”

Maria shook her head as she opened her lunchbox. I just realized that she hadn’t even started eating yet. I gradually began to feel like a terribly impolite person for casually opening my lunchbox without considering her.

“…I thought about stopping it. Trying to find the culprit is impossible. We should just leave it to the police. But everyone seemed to be having fun, so I couldn’t spoil it.”

Today’s lunch is nori bento. But there are no side dishes, just seaweed, soy sauce, and rice. A genuine nori bento. It’s delicious, but I didn’t realize I had to eat such a shabby meal.

Maria’s lunch box looks much more appetizing. Is it because it’s a multi-tiered box, or because it contains side dishes?

The answer is both.

“Madonna, such a grandiose name, but I suppose that’s normal, isn’t it? I don’t blame you.”

“…Even though I think of you as a liar?”

“It’s too late for explanations at this point. In fact, I was lying back then too. Compared to someone who maliciously intervenes from the outside, it’s much better. Much better.”

The chopsticks wandered on top of the lunchbox for a while. No matter how many times they reached into the void, there were no side dishes. What’s not there isn’t there. It happens from time to time. It’s somewhat inevitable since Ruri is the favored one.

Not complaining about how delicious it is probably also stems from the lack of improvement.

“Anyway, Ryuma, I think you should go home right away today. I don’t know what Yuuna will do.”

“Thanks for the advice. But don’t you think you have no obligation to tell me? What’s with the sudden change?”

Maria placed her chopsticks beside the box and glanced several times in the direction of the day after tomorrow. It seems like she’s hesitating to say something. When I tried to prepare an escape route by saying I’m not forcing her to speak, she opened her mouth.

“I’ve seen the footage of Shizuku’s arrest. I can’t forget the look in her eyes from that time.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“The cruel eyes that didn’t regard others as human. The eyes Yuuna showed when she expressed her resentment towards you were very similar.”

I can understand feeling something special in Shizuku Nanagi’s eyes, but that must be just her imagination. I chuckled slightly teasingly to lighten the mood.

“Come on, it must be your imagination. Comparing a death row prisoner and an ordinary person? There’s just no way. It must be a mistake on your part. Nope, definitely not.”

When my eyes met Shizuku’s, I couldn’t look away. And the emotion I felt at that moment is somewhere between eros and fear. It’s because I see her with such eyes that I experience that emotion.

I never expected Maria to feel the same way, and there’s not the slightest hint of eroticism in Yuuna. Yuuna, who is cheerful and good-natured, is the opposite of Shizuku.

—By the way, when I said leaning towards good, it’s only about nature. From my standpoint, I’m pretty much a villain.

It’s not necessarily a compliment to be kind. Irony is a convenient application in this world.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am. Simply put, having eyes like a death row prisoner means having the intention to kill. Do you think she’s such a villain who would kill someone? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think so either. But…”

“Moreover, isn’t Shizuku Nanagi an unprecedented mass murderer in history? And it’s not an organization, but an individual. Having similar eyes to her is, in a way, an insult.”

People like that can’t be simply swayed by peer pressure, and they don’t do lukewarm things like interrogation. They either torture or kill right away. Shizuku would probably do the same.

“Yeah. That’s right. It must be my imagination. Thank you, Ryuma. I was about to speak ill of my friend.”

“I didn’t say anything worth thanking for. But well, if you’re really grateful, I’d be happy if you could share some of your side dishes with me.”

Maria’s gaze fell on my lunchbox. She smiled kindly and nodded.

Today is the longest day of the shortened classes. The members of the go-home club are complaining that they made us eat lunch, and I think so too.

But spending time with Maria made it all worth it. I’ve been reminded that there are people who dislike nosy onlookers. Most boys would have exchanged contact information with Maria in the midst of the excitement, and I would have done the same if I had no strings attached, but I held back to avoid giving Shizuku the wrong idea.

Maria doesn’t throw kisses, but Shizuku does. There are various reasons why I held back, but when you consider them all, this is the conclusion.

Following the letter that was stuffed in my shoe locker, I headed straight to the trash bin after homeroom ended. I even declined Terunori’s invitation to karaoke. They’re completely reckless, saying they’ll go out with just students when there is a death row inmate lurking around.

But for high schoolers in the prime of their playtime, there’s no one else like them. Sadly, students who understand the school’s concerns are a minority.

There were basically no people going to the garbage dumps. Although I arrived there the fastest, there was no one there.

“…?”

It’s unlikely to be a mere prank. There’s no evidence, but considering the recent situation, the possibility of it being just a prank is rather low. There might be some trouble preventing them from coming. I’m prepared to listen to whatever they have to say, no matter what it is. If it turns out to be a trivial matter, I might even get angry for being summoned unnecessarily.

I waited in place for thirty minutes, but no one came. My expectations were wrong, and the possibility of it being just a prank became stronger. I glanced at my phone to pass the time for another thirty minutes.

No one came.

Why am I not leaving? Because I can’t completely discard the possibility that the threat was true. Just as only a person who is willing to die can commit suicide, people keep the biggest drawbacks in mind when making decisions. In this case, if I leave, everything might be exposed.

That thought terrified me and paralyzed me. Even if everything went according to plan, I had to stay.

Two hours passed.

I’m starting to want to go home. Or rather, wouldn’t it be okay to go home? I don’t sense anyone on campus. It was just a prank. Or maybe there’s a hidden camera somewhere, testing how long I’ll wait.

Either way, it’s too much not to come. I should just go home.

“Die.”

As soon as I relaxed and turned around, I was knocked unconscious by someone.