Chapter 7: False accusation revealed

Today is Sunday.

Mai invited me to go shopping. I try to buy her various things, but she always turns me down.

But I think she’s cute even when she’s reserved. There can’t be a cuter girl in the world than Mai.

I stopped by a family restaurant, and the way she struggled to eat the hot doria was cute, and the way she hid my eyes when a beautiful woman passed by was too much …… to love, even though I have no interest in anyone other than Mai.

I’ve never had a bad experience with her.

Above all, she has a good personality, this girl.

First of all, she never talks about other people behind their backs,…… and if she does, it’s only when she’s praising them.

And she knows me very well.

She knows what kind of movies I like, what foods I like, where I like to go…… and everything about me.

I know it sounds like too much, but I’m really happy that Mai knows who I am.

I can’t believe that before the false accusation, I thought of Mai as nothing more than a good childhood friend,……I can’t believe that was a year ago.

[Mai is one of the prettier girls in the class, right?]

That was my assessment of Mai, but… Why am I doubting it! She’s the cutest thing in the …… universe!

I think now.

I guess I really didn’t have a good eye for people.

My older sister, my younger sister, the student council president and Kirishima.

I thought these people were cute.

What would have happened to me if Mai had not been there for me?

Not only Mai.

My mom, Mai’s parents, ……, and my best friend from another school who was the only male friend who believed in me.

I will never forget the favor I received from these five.

When they are in trouble or in despair, I will do whatever I can to help them. Even if it means sacrificing myself.

After enjoying my date with Mai, I headed home.

I was thirsty — Sh*t, I forgot to buy a drink at the convenience store, huh? It seems that I had really enjoyed my date with Mai.

I had no choice but to head to the living room.

I opened the refrigerator and drank some orange juice.

After I finished the glass of juice, I was about to go back to my room when—-

“Y-You’re kidding me. …… falsely accused?”

“S-such….fraud…..”

My damn sisters were standing around and gnawing on the TV.

They were oblivious to my presence.

The only thing they seem to see is what’s on the TV.

And the look on their faces like they’ve seen the end of the world …… might be as pale as I was when I was falsely accused.

It was obviously an unusual situation —- but I really didn’t care.

It’s not like the world is really going to end, and it’s probably just some trivial news about some idol they like getting married, right?

I went back to my room without paying any attention to the TV.

………

……I’ve been having trouble lately.

When I see my sisters, Kirishima and the others, I can’t help but feel the urge to kill them. If I’m not careful, they end up in my hand someday if I don’t watch out.

~Kaede’s Point of View~.

A familiar face was shown on the TV.

I turned on the TV casually, but now I’m staring at it.

I heard the refrigerator open, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to anything else.

[At around 9:00 a.m. this morning, Kohei Matsuda, 22, a company employee living in XX City, and four male and female high school students were arrested on suspicion of fraud.]

The announcer’s voice pierced my ears as she read from a script.

The information on the four high school boys and girls was withheld because they were minors, but the company employee’s face and name were listed.

“Ah, aah …… eh? This person …… Eh? Eh?”

My sister next to me seems to be the same.

The sweat was pouring heavily from her forehead, her expression had disappeared from her face, and her language had gone haywire.

When I looked at my own face reflected in the balcony window, I saw a similar expression to that of my sister.

[According to our investigations, these five suspects have committed the same crimes multiple times in the past, and we are continuing to question them about the other crimes they have committed.]

“…… I-it can’t be”

Kohei Matsuda —- the brother of the female victim who was attacked by Ryosuke.

“Eh, eh? …That means, huh? In other words…..?”

It was horrible.

I’m afraid to watch the news any longer,……, but the announcer continued to talk indifferently.

[The way they do it is to falsely accuse a man of assaulting a woman when he visits an out-of-the-way place and demand a settlement.]

“………ah……ah……”

Same! It’s the same thing!

It’s the same situation as with Ryosuke!

There is no doubt that those five were in on it.

Because the number of people are exactly the same.

There were a total of five people caught in the news this time.

There was one female victim, three people who helped her ……, and the victim’s brother who showed up later and aggressively offered to settle the case.

So does that mean ……Ryosuke is falsely accused?

No, wait! No, stop! I-If Ryosuke is really innocent here, what about all the pain my dad, sister and I have caused him?

I’ve been throwing harsh words at him all this time because I wanted him to change his mind and apologize to the victims. ……!

Even if it turns out to be different, there’s no going back for us now. There is no way we can take it back. There is no way we can ever be forgiven.

—-Purururu

At that moment, the phone rang.

The high-pitched mechanical sound made me tremble for a moment, but I calmed down and decided to pick up the phone.

“Yes ……Yamamoto speaking here.”

[This is the XXX police station.]

“……… Eh?”

At that moment, my mind went blank.

That was because the call was about a woman whom I thought was a victim but admitted that she was lying about what she said at the time.