My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 29

Chapter 29: Revenge Porn

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Why would Mahiru be with a guy like that?

That question filled my mind completely, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

I stood up and walked toward Mahiru. As I did, the man growled out a question.

“Huh? Who the hell are you?”

Hearing that intimidation actually brought me relief. Good. He didn’t seem like the type to argue with logic. I worked for a real estate company, so I was used to being yelled at.

Our president and department head were so abusive, you’d think they were stuck in the Showa era. Just the other day, the president grabbed me by the collar and threw a calculator at me. That man couldn’t be human. So this kind of thing didn’t scare me anymore. I’d built up an immunity to people like him.

When I got close, Mahiru rushed over. She stepped in front of the guy, as if she was trying to protect me.

“Inada-san. This is the guy I told you about. See? I wasn’t lying, right?”

This guy, Inada—what did he even want? Mahiru clearly hated him, regardless of whether I existed or not. It should be obvious he wouldn’t be able to get back with Mahiru.  Inada grinned and tried to get closer to her.

“Don’t be so formal. Come on, call me by my name again. Like before, ‘Nagi-kun,’ yeah?”

In that instant, Mahiru froze. Even though she was facing an enemy, she slowly, fearfully turned toward me. Her expression—there was no way to describe it except as the face of someone utterly crushed by despair.

“Nagi-kun… I’m sorry…”

A guy with the same name as me. So that’s it. The reason Mahiru let him in…

From what I’d heard from Honoka, this guy had been nice at first, but changed completely once he had her. There was no way I could stay calm. The thought of Mahiru calling him “Nagi-kun” made my insides twisting with various emotions. 

Jealousy. Anger. A whole storm of violent emotions churned inside me. But when I saw how much pain she was in, I just couldn’t bring myself to blame her. I kept my mouth closed and forced a calm expression to reassure her. Then I turned to Inada.

“Hey. Mind not laying a hand on my girlfriend?”

At that, Inada’s face twisted into a clear scowl.

“Hah? No way. She’s totally into me, you know?”

Is this guy an idiot who can’t accept reality? Or maybe a time traveler clinging to the past when they were together? Maybe that’s why he’s still saying she’s ‘head over heels’ for him—like it’s still the 2000s or something.

I was starting to get genuinely irritated with how dense he was.

“Fine. Whatever. Just don’t follow Mahiru around anymore.”

Inada gave a vulgar grin and leaned over me, trying to loom threateningly.

“Hah? I’ve got plenty of pictures, you know.”

Pictures? Is he threatening Mahiru with revenge porn? This guy is seriously trash.

Inada leaned in close to whisper to me. He was loud enough that Mahiru could hear him. He was clearly doing it on purpose.

“This girl makes such a dumb slutty face when she spreads her legs. Drools and everything. Want me to show you? Might ruin her for you, though. Haha.”

Mahiru.

I turned around. She was covering her mouth with both hands. Her eyes were lifeless. She looked like she might vanish at any moment. And in that moment… I felt something inside me snap. I wanted to kill the man in front of me.

Driven by rage, I grabbed Inada’s collar with my left hand, but as I drew back my right fist, Mahiru clung to me.

“Stop!! Nagi-kun. He’s not worth it. You don’t need to lower yourself for someone like him.”

Mahiru was crying. Damn it. Damn it all! What the hell was I doing? Hitting this guy wouldn’t bring the closure that Mahiru wanted.

I let out a deep breath. Then, channeling all my rage into a cold voice, I spoke. I leaned in close to Inada’s ear and dropped my voice as low as I could.

“…Don’t get cocky with me, you spoiled little shit.”

I tightened my grip on his collar. Then pressed him harder.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be smart, right? You ever hear of the law against filming sexual acts without consent? Wanna see your life go down the drain?”

I showed him my phone’s voice recorder screen. His face immediately changed color. Just to be sure, I added,

“…If Mahiru cooperates, this could even be filed as rape.”

I slung an arm around his shoulder and whispered in his ear,

“I’m not deleting this. Never talk to Mahiru again.”

Inada shrank back, flustered and rattled, but still had the nerve to mutter as he left.

“Bunch of trash from a third-rate university… Acting all high and mighty…”

Honestly, I didn’t care about the university or any of that. What mattered was Mahiru. Sure enough, she was crouched down, crying without even wiping away her tears.

When she saw me, she just kept whispering, “I’m sorry,” over and over.

That was just how she was—too sincere for her own good. She probably thought she was dirty or something. But Mahiru had done nothing wrong. So why did she have to apologize?

I helped her to her feet and pulled her into an embrace. I forgot all about the handkerchief and wiped her tears away with my hand. I couldn’t think of anything clever to say to comfort her. So I just said what was on my mind.

“You’re such an idiot. If you were in trouble, you should’ve told me sooner. I’ll protect you. No matter what.”

Mahiru nodded over and over, then pressed her tear-soaked face into my chest and hugged me tightly. After that… I didn’t remember much.

We said goodbye to Senpai and Honoka and headed home. I told Mahiru she should go to the after-party if there was one, but she insisted on staying with me. And now, I was lying in front of my tiny table, watching Mahiru cook.

Oh yeah, I need to thank Senpai.

It was thanks to his advice that I managed to record Inada’s threats. And apparently, he even made Inada delete all the photos after that.

As I was thinking that, Mahiru came trotting over to me. She rubbed against me like a cat and looked up at me with teasing eyes.

“Hey, Master. Do you want dinner? A bath? Or… Me?”

Back to calling me Master, huh… I could tell just how much she was still carrying the weight of what happened earlier. I scratched my head and replied.

“Then I’ll go with ‘you’ for today.”

Mahiru looked surprised for a second, but then her face lit up with a joy that was ten times stronger, and she threw herself into my arms. With a bashful smile, she whispered.

“Thank you for your first order.”

There were things that could only be conveyed through words—I knew that. But today, I wanted to express it differently.

That’s why, today… I choose “you.”

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