Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 46: The Villain Who Never Gives Up

Thud! Thud thud!

The iron door that the Novelist had been leaning against kept rattling… It must have been Class Rep desperately trying to stop them.

The Novelist opened his phone and saw the signal flickering unstably. Probably because they had come outside the mansion, after a few attempts, the message finally sent.

“Thank you,” Miki Yu said in a low voice.

He frowned and put the phone back in his pocket.

“No need. You heard what I said earlier, right? I don’t intend to help you.”

“No, just those words made me realize what I need to do next, so that’s already…”

The other man responded with a bitter smile.

Being able to confront Niwa-kun alone right now was his only chance.

“Is that so? Well, it has nothing to do with me.”

An extremely cold reply.

“Nothing to do with you… Then why did you come here?”

Miki Yu’s expression turned serious.

“To save Niwa-kun, of course. That’s what I said before.”

The Novelist answered frankly.

“…Eh?”

This response was clearly unexpected to him.

“…But, even in the past, didn’t you really dislike him?”

“I did really dislike him. However, back then it wasn’t to the point of wanting him to die. If I knew an accident was going to happen and still let this guy get killed by someone who popped out of nowhere… I would be very displeased.”

The Novelist stared at him.

“I have you to thank for this. If I didn’t know about Haruko-san, trying to persuade some murderer to put down the knife would have been dozens of times harder.”

“…I see.”

Miki Yu relaxed, almost wanting to laugh but holding it back, just nodding slightly.

This was what they called being tsundere, right?

“But in the end, you still came here. Why is that?”

The Novelist didn’t answer, seemingly ignoring his question completely.

The iron door he was leaning against kept shaking. Miki Yu gazed at the closed door behind him as if having a sudden realization.

“I see. Before it was to save Niwa, and now that purpose is gone… This time, it’s for the girl behind the door?”

“…!”

The boy’s face showed a slightly flustered expression from being caught off guard.

“…How unexpected. You noticed, huh? Could it be that Miki Yu is really smart?”

“Ahahaha, just a coincidence.”

Miki Yu shook his head with a wry smile.

In the end, if he had been truly smart enough, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

The sound of police sirens could be faintly heard in the distance.

“Time’s almost up,” the Novelist quietly reminded him, ignoring Niwa’s words.

“Yeah, I know.”

Miki Yu exhaled heavily, as if expelling all the gloom, worries, resentment, fears, and yearning from his body.

“Miki Yu, don’t let your guard down just because you’re holding a weapon. That guy is the soccer club’s ace, very athletic.”

“Mm. It’s fine.”

The young elder brother smiled.

“I’m prepared.”

“…Is that so.”

The Novelist looked at him deeply.

“Then that’s good.”

……

……

After a few breaths.

Or perhaps a long time had passed.

An abnormally dull sound came from downstairs.

The rooftop was sprinkled with fresh bloodstains, trailing all the way to the edge.

And then–

That voice, sounding especially heavy from bearing the weight of two lives, kept echoing by his ears.

Pulsing at the same frequency as his heartbeat.

The Novelist sat down on the ground, putting all his weight against the iron door behind him. His hand unconsciously clenched the phone tightly. Then slowly loosened.

‘Get out of here.’

‘Leave now.’

‘If you stay here any longer, it might be troublesome if the police question you as a witness.’

Similar thoughts kept swirling in his mind. But his body didn’t move an inch.

He just quietly gazed at the horizon nearing dawn. The dim sky was gradually tinged by the glow of daybreak.

Past the rooftop, past the lofty mountains, past the sky above.

That void-like distance held nothing at all.

…

On the other side of the iron door, Itou Maho sat on the steps in the exact same position as the Novelist, her cheek pressed against the cold steel, silent.

Class 2-1’s students and Niwa Takahito’s friends gradually came up the spiral staircase from various directions. The mansion welcomed a new day.

—

…

Afterwards, the Novelist learned from Miyagi-san that Niwa Takahito wasn’t the only one who had an “accident” that night.

His grandfather Niwa Daizo became paralyzed from serious injuries in a car crash and still hadn’t escaped the danger to his life.

However, that was already three days after returning from the mansion.