The Case of My Unknown Childhood Friend Who Became My Girlfriend Without Me Even Knowing It - Chapter 9 - If You Lie...

Chapter 9 – If You Lie…

School lunch curry.

Sweets from a local candy shop whose name I don’t even know.

Mother’s lunch.

They all tasted like my memories.

I remember I used to look forward to my lunch break every day, especially because my mother always filled it with all the things I liked.

It was such a joy for me when I had a big appetite.

Maybe it was because I had lots of friends, was popular with the girls and had nothing to complain about that I took such pleasure in such trivial things.

But those memories were an illusion.

That taste was not my mother’s.

“What…do you mean?”

“I used to make your lunch every day and deliver it to you at night? Didn’t you know that?”

“D-Deliver…? Have you ever been to my house?”

“Yes, what are you talking about? We always used to watch TV together on the weekend.”

“TV… Where?”

“Where you say, Kanata-kun’s house only has one TV in the living room.”

“……”

That’s true, but…

How does this guy know that?

How does she know that every weekend I would monopolize the living room and watch TV, taking advantage of the fact that my dad went golfing and my mum went out to lunch with friends?

“You… No way.”

“Yes?”

“Were you there…all that time?”

“I don’t know when that time was, but I was always there. I was by Kanata-kun’s side.”

Sakatoki said.

Kuku, she chuckled as she put her fist to her mouth.

“Y-You, when did that start?”

“I don’t know. Because it’s all the time. But Kanata-kun would sometimes fall asleep on the sofa, and his sleeping face was so cute.”

“……”

I can’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat.

I did take naps in the sunny living room when the weather was nice.

In the meantime, I can’t believe she was acting in such an eccentric manner…

“That’s enough talk. Or do you miss your parents’ house?”

“N-No. I’d rather not go back…”

“Eh, your mom will be sad if you say that, okay? I said I’m coming home with you for Golden Week.”

“Ah, you’re right. That was my bad… Eh, what did you say?”

“Oh my, didn’t I tell you? I’ve informed your mom that you’re going home once this year for the holidays because it’s a long weekend, right?”

“With whom?”

“With me.”

“……”

So that’s what this is about.

This year I have no friends and I was thinking about what I would do during the holidays, but it seems that I don’t have to worry about that at all.

“I’ll call your mom again. Come on, let’s finish eating.”

“…I’m full.”

“Eh? Maybe it’s hard to eat like this? If so…”

“N-No, I’ll eat, I’ll eat! It’s okay.”

“Is that so?”

Sakatoki stopped as she was about to reach the ingredients in my lunch box with her chopsticks.

Maybe she dared to do a mouth-to-mouth in the classroom as well.

I felt a strange queasy feeling in my stomach, but I tried my best to bring the food in the lunch box to my mouth.

Eventually, when I finished eating, I felt nauseous.

“I’m going to the toilet.”

I wanted to be alone for a while.

And I wanted to spit out the taste of the memories I had forced myself to cram down my throat.

When I ran into the men’s restroom, the first thing I did was throw up into the toilet .

But nothing unexpectedly came up.

The food she made refuses to leave my body.

It’s as if her obsession has taken over and stayed with me.

“…What the hell is this?”

After that, I sat down on the toilet seat and exhaled a sigh.

I’m in too much of a mental shock today.

I never thought that the lunch I looked forward to every day would be made by a stalker, not my mom.

And the time I spent relaxing on holiday…

I can’t believe I’ve had a stalker by my side all these years.

Just thinking about it makes me crazy.

Knock, knock.

After sitting on the toilet for a while, someone knocked.

As I put on my pants because I thought it was bad, I heard a voice.

“Kanata-kun, are you okay?”

It was Sakatoki’s voice.

This is the men’s toilet, right?

“W-Why are you in here?”

“Because I was worried that you’re throwing up.”

“Ah, I’m fine. So just go outside.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Steadily, her footsteps took a few steps.

But it suddenly stopped.

“Hey, Kanata-kun.”

“W-What? I’m leaving now.”

“Did you really throw up?”

“Huh?”

“If you lie…”

Just then I opened the bathroom door.

Then, standing in front of the entrance to the men’s restroom, she turned her head backward and said, (T/N: The Senjougahara pose… Damn…)

“If you lie, you’ll die, okay?”

◇

I’ll never forget the look on Sakatoki’s face.

She had cloudy eyes that seemed to be unable to focus on anyone else, as if she were a symbol of horror in a horror film.

Her mouth was smiling.

Her eyes were dead.

It was said in a light voice, but they sounded heavy.

Sakatoki soon returned to a normal attitude afterwards, smiling rather a lot.

When talking to classmates, she seemed to enjoy chatting and laughing more than usual.

It’s just a feeling of mine.

I don’t know that much about her, so it’s just my subjective opinion.

But I feel like this is the calm before the storm.

Her smile struck me as eerie.

◇

“Let’s go home, Kanata-kun.”

After school. I would normally be looking forward to this…

However, I’m still feeling a bit heavy today.

Because Sakatoki is with me today as well.

“…I’ve got somewhere to go today. Go home first.”

“Then, can I come with you?”

“…Leave me alone once in a while.”

“Can I follow you?”

“You see, I…”

“I’ll follow you, okay?”

“……”

She doesn’t listen to people.

If she’s going to keep asking until I agree, then don’t ask in the first place.

No, this is better than not asking and following me.

I don’t even know what the right answer is anymore.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m going to a bookshop. I’m going to buy a novel.”

“You really like light novels, don’t you? But today’s not the day the new books go on sale, you know?”

“I’ve been bored since I started high school, so I’m going to see what’s new to pass the time. I don’t mind.”

“Hmm.”

She must know what books I’m reading and when I go out to buy them.

So it’s a hassle to explain and it’s risky to lie.

Really, some weirdo’s got her eye on me.

“Welcome.”

A bookshop a short distance from the school in the direction of my house.

This is one of the few places I found on my first day here.

The selection is good, and the university student-looking part-time woman on weekdays is very cute.

Last week, she finally said hello to me and I thought it was about time we got to know each other.

I was thinking about that, but she doesn’t seem to be here today.

“So, what are you looking for?”

Sakatoki asked, looking at the flat-packed books with a bored look.

Well, actually, I didn’t have a purpose, and I can’t say that I was thinking of going home with the store clerk as a feast for my eyes.

So, as I picked up a suitable novel to deceive her, Sakatoki’s face came close to my ear.

“Y-You’re too close.”

“Fufu, if you don’t have anything to do, we can leave, right?”

“W-What are you talking about? What about the books?”

“You lied, you told a lie.”

“…What?”

There was a sudden change in her tone of voice.

A chill ran through me and I turned around.

Sakatoki was looking straight at me.

“W-What do you mean, lie?”

“You lied. You didn’t come to see any books.”

“T-That’s…”

“Well, okay. Kanata-kun, I’ll tell you something good.”

Sakatoki chuckled.

Once again, she brought her face close to my ear and spoke in a hushed voice.

“If it’s that shopkeeper, she’s gone.”