The Gal Game Heroines Who Were Supposed to Die Somehow Learned My Secret ～By the Way, Where Did My [Diary] Go?～ - Chapter 22: What Are You Looking For?

Chapter 22: What Are You Looking For?

“I’ve been wondering why the creator of this world made LoD in the first place. The heroines who don’t end up with the ‘protagonist’ are destined to die. What’s the reason behind that concept?”

The warm spring breeze gently brushed against my skin. The high school gate, standing solid as always, bore rust marks that hadn’t been there last year. The old name of the school was etched into the gatepost, evoking a sense of nostalgia. The clock’s hands were about to tick past midnight.

Satsuki stood with her back to me, gazing at the school.

“I think it’s about love and hate for the girls you can’t have. Like, ‘If she won’t be mine, then she might as well die. But if she does, I’ll forgive her.’ So, what do you think Satoshi Iriya represents?”

I couldn’t care less. That was all I could think.

“He was destined to share the same fate as us. But isn’t it strange? LoD is a dating sim, right? Why did an ordinary background character need to die? And why was he spared in the harem ending?”

She turned to face me, her gaze filled with genuine curiosity. But behind her eyes, I saw a faint, dark shadow flickering. I didn’t fully understand what she was saying, but a chill ran down my spine as the wind passed between us.

Satsuki let out a sigh as she looked at me.

“Ha. You really don’t know anything, do you? Well, whatever━it’s been a year. How’ve you been?”

Satsuki’s tone carried a mix of indifference and mockery. A year had passed since she’d graduated from high school, and her demeanor now exuded a maturity that felt both foreign and unsettling.

“‘How’ve you been?’ Seriously? Do you have any idea what it took for me to come here?”

My voice naturally carried irritation. Her casual question grated against every nerve in my body.

Satsuki sighed again, her gaze laced with disdain and disbelief as she looked at me.

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t make it a habit to care about a stalker’s feelings. And that bag━what’s with it? It’s mine, isn’t it?”

“Stalker, huh? That’s a pretty nasty thing to call someone. You’re the one who went through all this trouble just to call me out here, aren’t you?”

I tossed the bag toward her without much care. Earlier today, I’d spotted her with him━that guy I hated more than anything. I’d seen her drop the bag and, against my better judgment, picked it up.

When I opened it, I’d found her phone. The home screen had a single message displayed: ‘Meet me at that place at midnight.’

So that’s how it was━she’d gone to such roundabout lengths to summon me here. And when I’d read “that place,” I’d known exactly where to go.

And now, standing here━my hunch had been dead-on.

“So, Satsuki. If you want to patch things up with me, shouldn’t you be showing a little sincerity?”

So, she chose me over Iriya. All those times I picked up and returned Satsuki’s lost items finally paid off. She must’ve recognized my sincerity. Still, if we’re going to be together, she’ll at least need to apologize properly. A heartfelt apology—maybe even groveling—seems fitting as penance for becoming my girlfriend.

“Ha… Your delusions never fail to amaze me, do they?”

Her sharp glare pierced through me.

“After learning the truth, do you really think I—or any of us—could ever love someone like you? Don’t make me laugh. If you want to spout nonsense, save it for the afterlife, you trash.”

“Wha—?!”

Her brutal words cut deep, leaving me stunned. I couldn’t summon a response, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of her anger. And then, as quickly as the fury had surged, her expression became eerily calm, devoid of emotion.

“I’m here for one reason: to confirm something. How was this past year for you?”

Her words made no sense.

“Don’t bother pretending you don’t know. We know exactly what you’ve been up to.“

Suddenly, the sound of measured footsteps echoed from the left, slicing through the stillness. A figure emerged, her silver hair shimmering even in the darkness. It wasn’t swallowed by the shadows—it stood out, radiating a commanding presence.

I stared at her, disbelief gripping my chest.

“Reine…?”

“Don’t call me by name. It’s revolting.”

Reine emptied the contents of the bag she held onto the ground with a clatter. Scattered across the ground were the very listening devices and surveillance cameras I had set up.

Without a word, she began stomping on them mercilessly, the sound of crushing plastic filling the air.

“Y-You knew?”

“Of course we knew. We let you continue for this very moment.”

I glanced between Satsuki’s cold smirk and Reine’s emotionless destruction of my equipment, and my heart froze.

And then—

“You all loved me, didn’t you?! Your bodies, your hearts, even your destinies—they all belong to me! You were born to fall in love with me! So why?! Why are you abandoning me for him and chasing happiness with that useless Santa Claus?!”

My voice, filled with rage and desperation, echoed in the stillness. My chest heaved, my breaths shallow and erratic.

“If you won’t be mine, then just die already—!”

Satsuki remained silent, her gaze fixed on me, calm and unwavering. When she finally spoke, her voice was steady, almost soft.

“Our revenge… was to make you experience the same agony that the nameless hero, Satoshi Iriya, endured.”

“W-What?”

“You seem to understand hatred well enough now. So, tell me—

How did it feel to know the woman you loved was held by another man?

How did it feel to know the truth yet remain powerless to act?

How did it feel to have everything stolen from you, piece by piece?

━━━Well? Tell me. How did it feel?”

Her words struck me like daggers, each question twisting deeper into my chest. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

All that remained within me was an empty void—a sense of resignation.

“…Enough.”

If they weren’t going to be mine, then none of it mattered anymore. The obsessive grip I had on the Four Beauties crumbled away like a collapsing tower. I decided to leave. There were new things I needed to do, a new path to take—

“Oh, we’re not done yet, you know?”

The drawn-out voice slithered into my ears just as I felt a dull thud—a sickening sensation of flesh tearing apart.

“…Huh?”

I turned instinctively, confusion muddling my senses. Shuna had appeared from the right-hand path, her cheerful smile unsettlingly bright under the dim light. I had been so distracted by Reine and Satsuki that I hadn’t noticed her approach.

Before my mind could process what had happened, a searing pain exploded from my right arm. The burning sensation spread like wildfire.

“…Gah… What the hell are you doing?!”

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I looked up at Shuna. Her lips were curled into a smile, but her eyes… they were cold, lifeless.

“Didn’t Satsuki-chan say it already? That we’d make you experience what Satoshi-kun went through? ━How does it feel to lose the use of your right arm?”

“Gahh!“

The pain was unbearable, each word she spoke twisting deeper into my psyche. I staggered, clutching my arm as blood spilled freely, staining the concrete beneath my feet.

“I finally have something I need to do…!”

I glanced back briefly and saw the three of them steadily walking toward me. Satsuki bent down to pick up her bag, pulled out her phone, and stared at me with an unnerving, blank expression.

Her lips moved slightly, forming the word: “Five.”

I whipped my head forward and broke into a sprint. A suffocating certainty filled my chest—something was coming, something that would catch me if I hesitated.

“Four.”

The sound of their footsteps echoed behind me. Even though I couldn’t hear Satsuki’s voice, it seemed to reverberate directly inside my head, each number she counted tightening the grip of fear on my heart.

“Three.”

They were still walking. I was running with everything I had. Yet, it felt as if they were closing the distance effortlessly, an invisible force pulling them closer. I didn’t dare look back. If I did, I was sure everything would end right there. Sweat dripped down my back, and my vision began to blur.

“Two.”

“Help me! Santa Claus! This is your job, isn’t it?!”

My desperate screams cracked under the weight of my own terror. My legs pounded the pavement, but the burning pain radiating from my right arm sapped my strength. Then, something snagged my foot.

I crashed face-first onto the ground, the impact scraping my skin against the rough concrete, leaving a streak of fresh blood behind.

“One.”

Every fiber of my body screamed in agony. My mind went blank for a moment, but I couldn’t stay down. Crawling, clawing at the ground, I forced myself back onto my feet.

Through the darkness that threatened to swallow me whole, a faint green light emerged in the distance.

The crosswalk signal—it was shining blue.

If I could just make it past that…!

“Zero.

━Do it, Shino.”

“Huh?”

In the distance, the rumble of a car’s engine reached my ears. The low growl grew louder, shaking the ground beneath me as it approached. The piercing headlights flooded my vision, freezing my body in place.

The next moment, a weightless sensation took over as if I were flying. The dark night sky seemed to draw closer, only to pull away rapidly.

Then, with a sickening thud, the back of my head slammed into the ground.

I couldn’t move. The feeling in my limbs was fading, disappearing entirely, as if the connection to my body had been severed.

A loud creak echoed in the air—the sound of a door being thrown open. Footsteps followed, slow and deliberate, drawing nearer until the figure of a woman entered my line of sight.

“Shi…no?”

Her name slipped from my lips in a faint whisper, but there was no response. She simply stood there, staring down at me, and then, in a cold, detached voice, she spoke.

“‘A high school student hit by a car after running a red light: BAD END.’

It’s a shame we couldn’t perfectly recreate it. After all, we’re ‘college students’ now.

So, tell me—how does it feel to face the despair of accepting a fate of inevitable death?”

No. No. No! Help me!

I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Desperate, I thought of moving my arms or legs, but they refused to obey. My body was paralyzed.

All I could do was plead silently with my eyes, hoping for mercy.

But as I looked up, what met me were four pairs of eyes as cold and unfeeling as frozen steel. There was not even a flicker of compassion in their gazes.

At that moment, something inside me broke. My heart, once pounding in panic, became eerily still. A chilling clarity settled over me as I realized there was no escape.

If this was truly the end, then there was only one thing left for me to do…

◇

“━What were you searching for with that useless right arm?”

My voice cut through the chilling silence as I addressed the lifeless body before me. Naturally, there was no answer.

I tilted my head slightly, disappointment seeping into my tone.

I had hoped you’d die fully consumed by the despair of your inevitable end. That part was… underwhelming.

Still, a faint smile crept across my lips as I sighed, brushing the thought aside.

“Well, no matter.”

I turned to the others, giving a slight nod.

“Let’s clean this up quickly and head back to Satoshi-kun, shall we?”

Finally… we can be happy.

━━━

Thank you so much for reading up to this point!

Just one chapter left. Everything will finally be wrapped up.

If you enjoyed this, please consider heading back to the main page and leaving a review! I’d also appreciate it if you could press the ‘★’ three times for encouragement.