The Boy Who Gave Up on Romantic Feelings ~I’m Done Because I Was Betrayed by The Girlfriends I Used to Date~ - Chapter 29-30

Chapter 29

Shinozaki Rio’s POV

“What the!? What do you mean!? Why is it getting worse!?”

Out of nowhere, a photo of me and Mikami started spreading, and my reputation took a massive hit, because of that, I avoid going to school for a while. Where did it come from? Perhaps, it was spread by Mikami’s ex-girlfriend, Karen. However, when she found out about Mikami’s affair with me she seemed really surprised…it really makes no sense!

Furthermore, Yasumoto contacted me a few days after I shut myself in my room, according to him my reputation worsens even more. In fact, on the contrary, the reputations of those two seems to have boosted because of that rumour. I don’t understand, how can all this happen?

Moreover, infuriated by this, I tell Yasumoto to give both Hanamoto and Shintani a little bit of a lesson…but…how could he mess it up!? Why can’t he handle a simple task like that…I just don’t get it!

He’s useless now, isn’t he? I can’t rely on him anymore.

I should just use him for one last time and end my relationship with him for good.

Having decided to do so, I contact him to continue gathering information.

If I go to school now, it’s only natural that I’d be looked at with disdainful looks.

There is no way I can endure that. Just thinking about it makes me so angry.

“Damn it!”

Frustrated, I storm out of my room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Protagonist’s POV

…I might have chosen the wrong high school. I should’ve done a bit more research before enrolling here. Well, regrets like that don’t matter anymore at this point.

There are seriously dangerous people at this school. The difference between the dangerous ones and the not dangerous ones is too extreme.

On top of that, the people in this school are too susceptible to rumours—to be honest they are all idiots. They trust rumours so easily, spread them quickly, and loves to make a big fuss about it.

Since most of the people who are sceptical about the rumours remain silent, there is no one to deny it.

I don’t know if it’s just my grade or what, but it’s just strange how they can trust rumours so easily.

“Hmm…”

Thinking about that, I ask my little sister Maho, a first-year student who is in the same high school as me. She said that there are quite a few decent people in her grade. At least there seems to be a lot of people who don’t blindly believe rumours. That means it’s just the students in my grade that’s messed up apparently.

I can’t help but to sigh.

It’s astonishing to think that my grade has such a low level of maturity. Are we really high school students? I often hear my classmates comment about other people during breaks that make me wonder.

It’s concerning…also the fact that the teachers seem off as well…

“Hey, Shintani.”

“Hmm?”

Lost in my thought, Kotaro called me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Kotaro. What’s up?”

“Well, you know what day it is today, right? Hope you haven’t forgotten.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“After all this is over…no, never mind.”

“Hmm? What are you trying to say?”

“…after all this is over, you should go to a psychiatrist.”

“…hah?”

“I can tell just by looking at you. You seem lack of emotions. I know you’ve been holding it back all this time. Now that you’ve lost your emotions, it’s like a dam has burst, you can’t think straight. That’s why, go to a psychiatrist to seek help after all this is over.”

“…okay.”

“Well, just remember, noticing these things is my speciality.”

“Yeah.”

I can’t believe Kotaro noticed it. He’s really sharp after all.

“Anyway, after school today…”

“Yeah, our plan is to follow Yasumoto, right? You and Karen are doing it.”

“Yeah. If they go to Shinozaki’s house, then it’s confirmed. From there…”

“I should go to the police and file a complaint, right? Is the evidence sufficient?”

“Just file it anyway. It’s worth a try. You didn’t delete the photos you took, did you?”

“Of course, I didn’t”

With that, after school, we begin our plan.

Chapter 30

Hanamoto’s POV

After school, I go to Momogaya-sensei’s office.

I come here today because Momogaya-sensei told me to come, also I want to know how things went at her end.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, you’re here. Please, take a seat.”

I take my seat as she told me so.

“I’ve filed the report for now. Given the situation, it definitely should be accepted.”

“Thank you for doing that for me.”

“No, I understand why you don’t want to go to the police station to file a report. It’s not something to be thanked for.”

“But, sensei, I have a question.”

“Hmm? What’s that?”

“Why did you initially oppose filing a police report?”

After posting the video online, I look up on how to file a police report. It said that with evidence, there’s a high chance it would be accepted.

“Oh, that. It’s simple. I just don’t trust the police.”

“Wha…!? Can I ask why?”

“I don’t mind. It doesn’t bother me anymore. Well…when I was about the same age as you, or even younger…I almost got raped.”

“…!?”

“I managed to escape and reported it to the police. But they just wouldn’t listen to me.”

“…eh?”

“They said the evidence was insufficient. I don’t know if it was just that particular police station that I reported to was awful or if things were just a lot more lenient back then, but my report wasn’t accepted at the time, and the culprit got away. I was depressed and couldn’t forgive him. That’s why, I stopped trusting the police.”

“T-That’s…”

“So, that’s why I initially against it…Sorry about that.”

“N-No, it’s understandable.”

Knowing Momogaya-sensei’s tragic past, I’m taken aback. However, I can’t help but to think she is still much luckier than me.

“Also, I wanted to deny the existence of the police, even if just a little.”

“Deny the police…?”

“I wanted more than just relying on the police to make an arrest and call it a day. More than anything else, I wanted an opportunity to instil a sense of guilt in the perpetrator. Through my own actions. Selfish, I know.”

Such a selfish reason indeed. But thanks to that selfish reason, I recently heard that Otsuki seems to be suffering so much that he has stopped going to school. Even if it turns out to be a lie, I can’t help but feel a little bit of satisfaction when I heard that. It’s awful to take joy in someone else’s misfortune, but still, I can’t suppress this joy. I’m truly grateful to Momogaya-sensei for this.

“No, I’m grateful, Momogaya-sensei. You gave me an opportunity when I couldn’t do anything—I’m happy with that. I’ll help Shintani-kun with my own strength from now on.”

“You’ve overcome that tragedy. Your resilience is something to be proud of. I really think you’re amazing. If anything happens, feel free to come to me for advice. I’ll definitely help you out.”

“Thank you very much.”

With Momogaya-sensei’s words, I feel a little rewarded. But it’s not over yet. The real reward will come when I save Shintani-kun.

With renewed determination, I begin to move forward.