āāNot good⦠I canāt sleep because my body is on fireā¦ā
I was going to roll over in bed and fall asleep, but when I closed my eyes I couldnāt sleep because I remembered the day.
Today I was able to defeat Aria, who had made my life a complete mess.
However, it was Kaito who saw through Ariaās schemes and devised a countermeasure.
I think Kaito is really amazing.
After all, he has surpassed the cunning and sly Aria.
The reason I joined this school was partly for the purpose of finding someone who could beat her.
But somewhere in my heart, I had given up on that.
She had so much more money and status than most people, and she was so smart that I thought ordinary students would be no match for her.
It was at this time that I met Kaito.
I thought that Kaito might be able to do it, but he really wonā¦
Moreover, because I took the liberty of getting into the game, the conditions were very favorable to Aria.
Kaito reached out to me on his own, despite the fact of what happened to Momoi.
I was in no position to complain about being abandonedā¦
When I said he was kind, Kaito denied it, but I still think he is.
And when I was troubled about Suzuka, he gently smiled at me.
Kaitoās smile at that time was very niceā¦
I used to like the scary Kaito, but I think I like the gentle Kaito who smiles at me moreā¦
But I have a feeling that he hasnāt forgiven me yet.
Because he refuses to let me inside his heart.
Iām pretty sure Kaito is KAI.
I knew that Kaito had great skills, and what Aria said about him was believable.
Besides, I know about the contract that Kaito signs when he gets a job, because it is well known.
I think the reason Alice didnāt answer Ariaās question was because Kaito was KAI, and if she answered, she would be violating the contract.
More than anything, the fact that Kaito himself was desperately trying to hide the fact that he knew the contents of Byodoin Systems is more proof than anything else.
But when I asked Kaito if he was KAI, he denied it.
In other words, he doesnāt want to tell me.
Thatās why I think Kaito is still rejecting me.
And even though Kaito said that I was the key to this game, I knew that he didnāt fully believe me when he took out the evidence of Ariaās insider trading.
Kaito was probably trying to corroborate whether Aria had bought the stock or not rather than getting that evidenceā¦
He didnāt trust me at allā¦
However, it was all my fault.
Iām not good enough to be trusted by Kaito, and Iām the one who did the worst thing to Momoi.
But⦠I know that I did something unforgivable to Momoi, but to be honest, itās hard to have the person you love forgive you for it.
This is the reason why I wanted to be a decent person who can stand next to Kaito.
If I had been paid by Aria for the bet, I would have become the same person as Aria, getting money by tricking people.
I didnāt want to do that, so I refused the reward.
Kaito was surprised, but I donāt regret missing the chance to get a lot of money.
Iām fine as long as I can be next to Kaito.
For that reason, I will continue to do what I have been doing.
One day, Kaito will recognize my power, and that is my goal from now on.
But at the same time, I want to make amends to Momoi.
But thereās one problem here.
Itās that I havenāt been able to do anything for Momoi since the day I promised Kaito.
In the first place, Momoi has never been in trouble.
She is one of the top students not only in her grade, but also in the whole country in terms of academics, and she is as good at sports as the boys.
Even if a boy came on to her, Momoi would shake him off on her own, and more importantly, with rumors circulating that she recently had a handsome boyfriend, there were no boys trying to woo her.
And from Momoiās vibe, it doesnāt seem like sheās particularly poorā¦
To be honest, I canāt imagine her being in trouble.
Even if she is in trouble, Kaito will probably solve it before I doā¦
Iām sure Momoi likes Kaito, rightā¦?
She even wanted to have fun with Kaito on her birthdayā¦
But Iāve never seen her talking to Kaito at school.
Maybe itās because Iām always around Kaitoā¦?
If thatās the case, even though I think I did a horrible thing⦠I donāt want to give Kaito away, no matter how much Momoi wants toā¦
The only one thing I would like you to forgive me for is making amends to Momoi by giving up Kaitoā¦
No, more importantly, when did Kaito have that kind of a relationship with Momoi in the first place?
Momoiās sisterā Iāve been calling her Sakura lately because weāre good friends, but even though we became friends through Sakura, we never talked at school in the first place, did we?
Itās true that Kaito himself was very shady before I started getting involved with him, but the person he was talking to, Momoi, was very prominent.
In fact, if Momoi talks to a boy for a little longer, that fact alone will be known to everyone.
Even though Kaito is inconspicuous, the gap between him and Momoi is enough to make everyone talk about him.
But other than the rumors with Sakura, I had never heard of any rumors about Kaito.
More than anything, why is it that Sakura calls Kaito āOnii-chanā?
I didnāt pay attention to it because it was so common, but when Sakura first came to call Kaito, she called him āKanzaki-senpaiā, right?
In the first place, itās strange of her to call him āOnii-chanā when theyāre not even siblingsā¦
Thenā¦why is it like thatā¦?
I have a very bad feeling about thisā¦
At any rate, Iām sorry Kaito, but Iām going to have to look into itā¦
I felt like there was something I should have noticed earlier, and decided to take action the next dayā.
Part 2
(**Kaitoās POV**)
The next day after settling with Ariaā I was waiting in the living room of my house for Alice-san to come over.
ā¦Still though, why did she insist on coming all the way over to my houseā¦?
I had been informed a few days beforehand that there was something I wanted to talk to her about the day after we settled and that I wanted to see her again.
But I thought we were going to meet at the place where we made the deal, but yesterday she suddenly said she would come to my house.
My dad and Kanae-san have been on a week-long honeymoon trip abroad since yesterday, and SakiHime has a three-day, two-night student council training camp starting tomorrow, so she went to school early this morning for the meeting.
Howeverā Sakura-chan was still at home.
If I let a half-blonde girl into my house, Sakura-chan might look at me with suspicion.
I still hadnāt figured out that girlās landmines, so I wanted to refuse to let her come to my house.
When I told Alice-san that, āI donāt mind. It seems rather interesting,ā she replied.
ā¦Even if you donāt mind, I still do!
Also, what do you mean by āinterestingā!?
Sheās really enjoying my annoyance, isnāt she!?
*Ding-dongā!
As I was trying to figure out how to get through the day, it seemed that Alice-san had arrived.
āIs it a delivery guy?ā
Sakura-chan, who was watching TV beside me, was about to head for the door.
āOh, Sakura-chan, Iāll get it! I donāt want you to get in danger if itās something heavy!ā
When I stopped Sakura-chan, she looked at me for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
āāYes?ā
āHello⦠Iām hereā¦ā
When I opened the front door, I saw Alice-san standing there with a languid air.
Behind her, I could see a limousine parked.
I knew it, of course rich people would come in with limousinesā¦
āLet me in.ā
As I was looking at the limousine, Alice-san tugged on the sleeve of my clothes and urged me to do so.
āEh, youāre going in alone?ā
I couldnāt see the kind-looking woman who had been by Alice-sanās side for the past few days.
I thought she was also going to be in the house.
If sheās in the driverās seat of the limousine I can see right now, she can just pull into the nearest parking lotā¦
āSmiling venomous tongue is⦠dealing with Aria right nowā¦ā
āEh?ā
āBecause of a certain someone⦠Aria is going wild right now⦠Sheās wearing self-defense⦠and the only person who can hold Aria intact is⦠smiling venomous tongue⦠Thatās why I left⦠her behindā¦ā
Alice-san told me what I wanted to know, and at the same time, she told me what I didnāt want to know.
ā¦Donāt teach self-defense or anything similar to a violent woman like thatā¦
There are a lot of victims in any caseā¦
So, isnāt the reason why Aria is going wild right now because I made her pass out from indigestion rather than because of meā¦
I mean, itās Alice-sanās fault, isnāt itā¦?
I looked at Alice-san with that thought, and she smiled.
ā¦Maybeā¦
āYou, this is what you wanted all alongā¦?ā
I felt uncomfortable that Alice-san, who asked me to crush Aria for a change of heart, didnāt really care that Aria was going wild, so I came up with a hypothesis and asked Alice-san.
āWhat are you talking aboutā¦?ā
Alice-san tilted her head deliberately in response to my question.
From the look of her, I had a feeling that my hypothesis was correct.
So, Iām going to tell her my hypothesis.
āEven if I smashed Aria, thereās no way sheād change her mind that easily, so Iām guessing that by focusing her anger on me, you prevented her from causing damage to other peopleā¦?ā
āI was hoping to get Aria to change her mind⦠but it didnāt seem possible for Kai to do that⦠Weāll talk about that properly tooā¦ā
I hold my head in my hands at Alice-sanās words.
Just how far ahead of time did this person think she was when she made the deal with meā¦
āOnii-chan, sheās a visitor, right?ā
As I was holding my head in my hands, I suddenly heard a voice from right behind me.
I turned around slowly at the words.
There stood Sakura-chan with a smiling face and with a menacing atmosphere around her.
Eh, How long has this girl been standing behind me�
āThatās the girl⦠was looking⦠at me from the door of what looked like the living room when Kai opened the door, rightā¦? She came behind Kai⦠just nowā¦ā
As I was breaking out in cold sweat, Alice-san replied with a tilt of her head.
Eh⦠that means sheās been watching us from the beginningā¦
She didnāt hear what we were saying, did sheā¦?
No, more importantly, did she know that I was going to lie to her about picking up Alice-san�
When I looked at the face of Sakura-chan to think about it, Sakura-chan smiled and laughed.
āSakura told Onii-chan that she hates people who lie to her, so why did he lie to her? Do you have some kind of guilty feelings?ā
Sakura-chan looked at me with a smile on her face, and I was puzzled over how to answer.
It is really scary when this Sakura-chan descendsā¦
The usual angelic Sakura-chan is nowhere to be seenā¦
āItās not like I donāt have any guilty feelings about it, okay?ā
āā¦ā
When I replied with a cold sweat, Sakura-chan gazed at my face.
After about ten seconds, Sakura-chan smiled bitterly at me.
āLying is the beginning of thievery, so you canāt do that again, okay?ā
āY-yeahā¦ā
I replied honestly, and Sakura-chan smiled at me.
She seemed to have forgiven me.
But this time, she began to stare at Alice-sanās face as if she was on guard.
ā¦Speaking of which, isnāt this girl extremely shyā¦?
Sakura-chan looks like a wary little animal, which reminds me that she is always running away from the other students at school.
Nowadays, she seems to have become more familiar with Kirara, perhaps because theyāve always spent lunch together recentlyā¦
However, Sakura-chanās vigilance was short-lived.
āNice to meet you, Iām Sakura, Onii-chanās little sister.ā
Sakura-chan greeted Alice-san with a smile and a polite greeting, and then bowed her head.
ā¦Wha?
She immediately smiled again�
Well, Alice-san has a languid appearance, but she does not look gentle.
ā¦Sheās always expressionlessā¦
Seeing Sakura-chan in such a series of events, Alice-san smiles with an amused expression.
āāHeeāyouāve got a good eye⦠Alice Byodoin⦠and your brother are friends⦠I guessā¦? Well⦠nice to meet you tooā¦ā
Alice-san also bowed her head, as did Sakura-chan.
What does she mean by good eyes�
āAh, Sakura-chanās eyes are very pretty, thatās probably what she meansā¦
Iād like to ask why the friend part was questionable.
At this point, Iām still not sure if weāre friends or notā¦?
When I looked at Alice-san with this in mind, she patted Sakura-chanās head and brought her face close to Sakura-chanās ear.
āThis society is full of⦠dirty people and itās hard, isnāt itā¦?ā
I couldnāt hear what Alice-san had said in her ear, but Sakura-chan looked at Alice with a surprised expression.
Just what could she have said to her�
Perhaps, you didnāt talk bad about me to Sakura-chan, rightā¦?
I was worried that Alice-san might have told Sakura-chan something strange, since she knows a lot about my painful past.
Butā With the next word from Sakura-chan, I knew that what Alice-san had told her had nothing to do with me.
āCould it beā Onee-san is alsoā¦?ā
When Sakura-chan asks Alice-san that, she just smiles and doesnāt answer anything.
ā¦Whatās up with themā¦?
āKai⦠let me in the roomā¦ā
I couldnāt understand what Alice-san and Sakura-chan were talking about, so I observed them, but then Alice-san suggested that we go to my room.
The reason why weāre heading to my room is because itās something Sakura-chan canāt hear.
While I was showing Alice-san to my room, I decided to ask her something that had been bothering me for a while.
āWhat on earth did you say to Sakura-chan?ā
āSheās not⦠what she seems to be, but sheās⦠having a very hard time. If you donāt take care of her⦠youāll never⦠be able to get her back⦠you knowā¦?ā
Itās not the same as my question, but itās also something Iām curious about.
āWhat do you meanā¦? What on earth could possibly be irreversibleā¦?ā
When it comes to Sakura-chan, this is not a story that can be easily swept under the rug.
If sheās in trouble, I want to help her.
āIf the little angel⦠isnāt telling you anything⦠then, Alice will not say anything either⦠Still though⦠itās amazing⦠that she can be so kind⦠Truly⦠an angelic childā¦ā
Alice-san muttered and didnāt answer me any more.
I couldnāt figure out what the hell was going on with Sakura-chan, and with a bewildered feeling in my chest, we headed for my room and I didnāt know what to doā.