The next thing I knew, I was lying on a park bench. It was already dark, and there were no lights around the park, perhaps because the lights were broken, so I could not see much.
As I recall, when I tried to stop Karen from going somewhere, I suddenly felt a shock in my body that I had never experienced before, and from that point on I had no memory of it. Ah, right, Karen! Where is Karen now……?
「Ah, are you awake, Senpai?」
In the silence, not a single sound, a familiar voice calls out to me. I looked around to see where she was, but I couldn’t see her.
「I’m behind you.」
「Uwaah!?」
As if to tease me for scurrying around the front, Karen pokes me in the cheek from behind, startling me. What a heartbreaking thing to do… I didn’t want to be surprised any more, but I was.
「That’s a cute response, Senpai.」
Coming from the back to the front, apparently cackling, Karen seemed to be smiling.
「Ahh, you know… if you were there, tell me soon.」
「Sorry about that, Senpai. The sleeping Senpai was so cute that I couldn’t help but admire you.」
「Bullshit, I swear you were just teasing me… Uhh, you know, Karen. Where were you just now?」
Fearfully, I ask Karen where she was going. At that moment, Karen seemed determined to do something. So I can’t help but ask because I had a hunch that she heard me and went to the two of them.
「Where is where?」
Karen does not answer honestly.
「Oh, you were going somewhere before I passed out for some reason!? I’m not thinking you did so, but you… I thought maybe you went to the two of them.」
「If I had gone there, would Senpai have to hate me from doing so?」
The way she spoke didn’t deny my hunch. In the darkness, I did not know what kind of expression Karen had on her face, but her voice, as she spoke quietly, was terribly cold.
「Senpai, will you forgive me then? How about those two?」
「T–That’s…」
「I will not forgive them. Those who made Senpai cry like that should be punished accordingly!」
Unlike Karen, who is always calm, objective, and more mature than I am, her emotional words leave me no room to even argue with her. No, maybe I just agree with that opinion. But still, it’s not humanly permissible to punish them…
「But, Senpai. You can rest assured now.」
「Eh…!?」
The broken lights out in the park suddenly start working and the area becomes brighter. There I saw the face of Karen, which I had been unable to see because of the darkness, and I could not hide my surprise at it.
Both cheeks and neck of Karen, who has a beautiful face that attracts all who see her, were splattered with bright red blood. The sight was so shocking that I choked on my words. What the hell does that mean… wait, Karen, what in the world have you done!?
「Oops, I forgot to wipe the blood back up. I’m sorry, senpai, I guess I scared you a little.」
Despite the sight of the returned blood, Karen did not seem to be in any hurry at all, but rather was smiling and laughing. It’s a cute smile that Karen sometimes shows. It is shown in the state of returned blood, which is… scary, to be honest.
「K–Karen… W–What the hell is that?」
I finally open my mouth and ask about that of Karen. Frankly, I could somewhat guess who the blood belonged to. But if that was really the case, then Karen had committed a crime for me. I wanted to be prepared to accept that.
「I was just taking the place of a kind Senpai who couldn’t.」
「I knew it, y–you…」
When I was about to question her about it, the siren of a noisy police car rang out in the area.
「Oops, have they arrived? Senpai, let’s talk about this again tomorrow.」
「K–Karen!」
The moment I heard that, Karen went away. I tried to follow her, but when I realized I had lost sight of Karen, there was nothing I could do about it. Karen’s seriously… No, don’t tell me… but. Yes, I asked myself over and over again in my head, but there was no way I could know the answer. I had no choice but to go home.
On the way there, I saw many onlookers who had been summoned by the siren of a police car. The gossip I hear, even if I don’t want to hear it, makes my premonition more and more certain.
「Hey, have you heard, I heard there was an incident in the neighborhood.」
「I heard that a couple were stabbed.」
「I heard the guy got its thing cut off.」
「The women seem to be pretty bad too.」
Not wanting to hear it, I ran to the station. I couldn’t help but wonder how good it would be if today was all a dream, and when this nightmare would wake up.