The Story of A Beautiful Girl I Rescued From An Attacker Who Became My Seatmate. - Chapter 20

Kirishima, who sat down on the sofa, was still trembling.

Having a conversation in such a situation must have been extremely difficult for her.

“Well, the thing is, that person is my step brother.”

Upon hearing this revelation from Kirishima, I couldn’t find the words to respond.

“My dad remarried around March this year. Did I mention it before? My dad used to love my mom, or so I thought.”

“Um, what happened to your mother, Kirishima?”

“She passed away about ten years ago. She was always frail. Around the time I was in elementary school, she had to be hospitalized for an extended period.”

So, this is about the pain of not having a mother… That expression on Kirishima’s face back then was filled with despair. It must have been the result of the overwhelming grief from losing her mother.

“And so, ever since my dad remarried, he stopped coming home, and my stepmother seems to despise me for some reason. …Did I do something wrong?”

“But why did you end up being attacked? It’s not like you did anything wrong, right, Kirishima?”

Even if the stepmother didn’t like her stepdaughter, I couldn’t understand why she would go as far as to have Kirishima attacked, even involving her son. Alternatively, was the stepbrother acting alone?

“I don’t know either. We hardly ever spoke to each other. Well, to be honest, I was bullied in various ways.”

“That…sounds like abuse.”

“In the eyes of society, maybe.”

As Kirishima said that, she suddenly burst into tears.

“I couldn’t protect my mom or our home… I ran away from what was happening right in front of me.”

Listening to Kirishima’s harrowing past, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy. And so, the action I took was…

“Thank you… You’re really kind, Kurata-kun.”

Without interfering in what Kirishima said, I quietly embraced her. I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do for Kirishima, but it was something I had done for my younger sister in the past.

As Kirishima clung to my chest and cried, I reached for my cell phone.

The person I called was the detective I had interacted with last month. That man should have already left, and besides, he was a repeat offender. Even if he was from Kirishima’s family, I didn’t want any harm to come to me.

As a result of the call, the detective said he would come to my house for questioning. It was already around 5 p.m., and I should have been preparing dinner, but there was no other choice. For both my sake and Kirishima’s, we needed to prevent a recurrence.

“For now, I’ll prepare dinner. Please wait.”

The detective finished the questioning around 8 p.m. I hadn’t prepared dinner, so I checked the contents of the refrigerator for dishes that could be made quickly.

By the way, I couldn’t ask the detective why that man was able to walk around the town. No matter how many times I asked, his response was always the same.

“I can’t answer that due to confidentiality obligations.”

It was infuriating. Despite the fact that I had almost died from being stabbed with a knife, this was the response I received. I felt like my patience with the incompetence of the police was about to snap. Moreover, I didn’t even know if the man had been apprehended again. If that were the case, I didn’t know when he might attack again. There was even a possibility that he would seek revenge.

I needed to come up with a plan. He might bring his accomplices next time or use even deadlier weapons.

According to the detective, they would arrange for patrols around this area as a precaution. However, this was a small residential area, and it remained dangerous with few people passing by. Particularly for someone like Kirishima, being a girl made her even more vulnerable.

“Kirishima, it’s ready!”

My representative quick and easy dish was fried rice. This dish, which could be made in just 10 minutes, held a similar position in the Chinese cuisine world as the “delicious, cheap, and fast” gyudon. Or so I’ve heard.

However, Kirishima seemed quite down today. Well, it’s understandable.

“Let’s eat.”

There was no usual “It’s delicious!” and the living room fell silent. It was a somewhat poignant scene.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

Kirishima gave a clearly not okay response. It’s normal to try to encourage her, but I couldn’t think of the right words to say. Her grades in social studies should be fine.

While feeling frustrated with my own lack of communication skills, I silently continued eating.

After completing various household chores, I diligently studied in the living room. I was currently memorizing geography. Social studies subjects were primarily based on memorization, so I made it a point to steadily work on them. I wanted to focus on studying subjects like math closer to the test, so I needed to study these memorization-based subjects regularly and only review them minimally before the test.

“Kurata-kun.”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Kirishima called out to me. When I turned around, she was already in her pajamas. Her long hair, straightened after a bath, appeared more radiant than usual.

“Um, would you sleep with me tonight?”

“It’s not a problem… Wait, what?!”

Kirishima’s invitation was too stimulating for a high school boy to handle.