When I Was Presumed Dead, They Became Unhinged Unknowingly - Chapter 21

It has been about two weeks since I met Sakura-san. 

Although it had not been that long since I had met her, I gradually began to understand her. She is unusually wary of others, or rather, she is insecure. She won’t talk to anyone about her true feelings. I am an exception to the rule because I happened to hear her; she wears a mask at all times. That made her extremely anxious, frustrated, and stressed.

I guess that’s what that venting is for. I suppose it was inevitable that a girl one year younger than me, who has not yet grown up, was burdened with so many negative emotions, such as show business, family circumstances, and behavior at school, that her small body couldn’t bear it.

I don’t know many masks she wears: one at school, one at the entertainment business, one at home. Maybe she’s wearing a mask even though I can see her true nature. 

“……. again, Are you thinking of something else?”

“No, I was just wondering what to have for dinner tonight.”

“Is that what you’re thinking? Normally no one would think about such things in front of their Oshi. It’s weird.”

Today I was on the roof again listening to her complain. 

I’m sure she knows I am not a fan of hers, but she is just saying that to keep the conversation going. She also knows, somehow, that I would never expose her true nature to anyone. 

If so, I’m sure she just ………………. she just wanted someone to listen to her. Venting her problems. One’s heart becomes lighter by sharing one’s problems. 

Well recently, my relationship with her has become a bit strange since yesterday. At random moments, I get the feeling that she’s thinking about something, or that she becomes downcast. But I’m sure she wouldn’t answer if I asked her normally.

“Enough about me, what have you been up to lately? Something you don’t like, something you’re having trouble with?”

“…Not really. Besides, I would have vented to Senpai if something did happen, right? 

“You’re right.”

I knew she was hiding something. Her eyes flickered, albeit only for a moment. Small agitations and unease that normally people don’t notice. She may be an amazing voice actor, but I have been observing people for a long time. 

Now, how should I get her to tell me what happened? Since It was not something she could talk about as a complaint, it must be some kind of a big problem. I am sure that once that problem explodes, she will be at worst completely worn out and unable to do anything about it.

Shall I follow her as far as we can? But she only comes to school 3 days a week. I could try to do as much as I can, but there are limits.

I wonder what happened. If I knew what the problem was, I could deal with it, but I don’t know. There’s no way that girl will be honest about it and that’s troubling. It would have been easier to ask if it was Karen or Mizusu.

And solving that problem doesn’t address her fundamental problem. I need to create a relationship where she feels comfortable confiding in me. The closest people would be her parents, but I have no way of contacting them, and I don’t know her address so I can’t forcefully meet them.

“Well, I should probably get going. See you again, Senpai.”

“Yeah, see you again.”

Reading the room, she said this in a cheerful voice before getting up and opening the door to leave.

After a few minutes of gazing absentmindedly at the sky, I went out from the rooftop to take my shoes out of the shoe box, thinking about how to solve her problem, and a piece of paper fell out.

I picked it up and read it, and as luck would have it, a solution had found its way to me from the problem side.

I put it in my bag and a few minutes after leaving the school, someone called out to me.

“May I have a word with you?”

“….who are you?”

“I apologize for not introducing myself. Here”

Looking at the business card the woman in the suit gave me, I had a rough idea of who this person was. I hadn’t expected two problems to come from the other side. I didn’t know if it was good or bad, but in this case, maybe I could call it good luck.

“You’re related to Sakura-san, right?”

“Yes. I’m her manager. I’d like to ask you something.”

“I understand. Good timing, because I wanted to ask something too.”

“Is that so? Then let’s change locations.”

We rode the car to a café high school students wouldn’t visit, as it was far away from school. 

The manager offered to treat me, and I honestly accepted her offer, and ordered a cafe au lait. As I sipped my coffee, the conversation began.

“I want to ask about Sakura-san. Lately, she started going to school, and so I looked into it, and found that you were involved.” 

“Well, regarding my relationship with her… It’s sort of like… friends, I guess.”

“…Friends?”

The manager looked surprised.

“Sakura doesn’t show her true self to anyone, so I thought it would be difficult to have a deep relationship, if you understand by what I mean.”

“I see. It was just a coincidence.”

It really was just a coincidence, so there was no other way to put it. Besides, revealing her true self here wouldn’t be good, as it might reset our relationship to zero if word got out.

“I see. May I ask you some other questions?”

“Yes.”

“Have there been any recent events around Sakura?”

This time, I was surprised. I never expected someone to notice that she, who never shows any vulnerability, might be in trouble.

“Why do you think so?”

“I apologize for the personal nature of this, but I’m actually a fervent fan of Sakura. Since becoming her manager and seeing her work and hearing her voice, I’ve been drawn to her.”

“I see.”

“While watching Sakura in the rearview mirror while driving, there was a moment when she seemed uneasy. I thought it was unusual for Sakura, who usually has an impenetrable defense, to look like that. So, I wondered if something might have happened.”

Although the manager explained this a bit faster than before, I couldn’t help but be impressed by her observational skills, even though I was a little taken aback.

 I decided to talk on the condition that she wouldn’t tell Sakura-san. And in exchange, I asked to inquire about her.