(Chastity Reversed) The Legitimate Wife War: How I, a Harem-Hater, Ended Up Creating an Ultra-Eccentric Harem with a Villainess, a Sadistic Beauty Teacher, a Scheming Classmate... etc. - Chapter 129.2 - Misunderstandings and the Secret Woman

We both fell silent and looked down.

“Shall we get back in the bath? It’s getting a bit chilly.”

Come to think of it, we’d been talking on the beach chairs the whole time.

The water droplets on our skin had started to dry, and it was getting cold.

“Should we share what we each know? To prevent misunderstandings?”

“That sounds good.”

We talked through what we each knew and the inconsistencies we’d noticed.

“The mother’s situation is strange. You could say ‘went far away’ but… the nuance is different.”

“That’s right. I thought they got along well.”

“Actually, that’s not quite right. When Tachibana-san was in elementary school, the couple’s relationship wasn’t good. And apparently, the one who was most abused was the mother.”

“The mother was?”

She didn’t show any sign of that when I met her.

I remember her makeup being unusually heavy though… maybe to hide bruises?

“I have something that’s been bothering me too.”

“Yeah, what?”

“About what happened on the rooftop—I think it’s a bit strange.”

Yeah, I had vaguely thought something was off about the whole thing too.

But I couldn’t put it into words—it was frustrating.

“If she was going to show her wounds, wouldn’t there be no need to do it at school? She could have shown them at home… no, actually that would be more natural. Even though it was the rooftop, there was still a possibility someone might come, right? I actually did come. If Tachibana-san has been hiding her wounds from other people until now, then taking the risk of being seen at school where there are many unspecified people would be unnatural, wouldn’t it?”

Now that she mentioned it, that was true.

Since it was after Aoyama-san called me to the rooftop, I didn’t feel anything was off, but home would have been safer.

I definitely would have done it that way.

“And after that, when you were outside school, she said there were no wounds, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“That’s also strange. Suddenly saying there aren’t any. They say a woman’s heart is like autumn weather, but that’s way too fast. …Well, there’s a possibility that you stepped on Tachibana-san’s landmine during your conversation on the way home and made her angry, but that seems unlikely.”

I definitely don’t remember saying anything strange.

Which means, what we can think of is—

“—There was a reason it had to be on the rooftop? …But is there such a reason?”

Why would the rooftop be okay but a park not?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with anything.

“This might not be related, but when I went to the rooftop the next morning, there were traces of something being placed above the entrance to the rooftop.”

“Something like what?”

“Yeah, something small and square… I think it was a small camera or something.”

A camera?

Why would something like that be there?

“If it was a camera, why would there be a need to set it up?”

“I don’t know either… but there’s something going on, isn’t there?”

There must be a reason, surely.

I just don’t know what it is right now.

“Also, I don’t know if this is related, but… she sometimes sleeps in the nurse’s office, and during those times, she’s talked in her sleep saying ‘Don’t leave me behind, onee-chan’ while crying.”

Onee-chan?

“Wait, but Mizuri-san shouldn’t have any siblings—she’s an only child, right?”

“Yes, that’s what the family register showed too. At the time, I dismissed it as just a dream, but considering all the mysteries surrounding that family, there might be another way to look at it. There’s no end if you start thinking about it… but dreams are connected to a person’s subconscious.”

So Tachibana-san still has secrets—that’s what it comes down to.

“…Ayaka.”

“I understand. I’ll investigate a bit on my own.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it—you helped me recently.”

I was supposed to help Ayaka relax.

That’s why we came to this bath.

“If you’re going to investigate, I have one more request… there’s one person who’s most suspicious regarding the abuse.”

“Yes, I know. I think it’s the same person.”

It seemed Ayaka and I were thinking of the same person.

Unforgivable—why would they do such a thing?

I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t want to understand.

But if it was that person, I could understand why Tachibana-san wouldn’t easily talk about the abuse.

The name that came from both Ayaka and me was the same.

“Sigh… that’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it? For now, let’s relax for the investigation’s sake. The bath feels good.”

“That’s right.”

“But if that’s the case, this is going to be difficult.”

I forcibly stopped thinking seriously and let my body sink into the bath.

But unlike the bath, good ideas weren’t bubbling up easily yet.