Volume 5 - CH 18

Tanikawa Sakuya Takes it upon herself

“Are you really okay with this……..?”

“It’s okay. Besides, I love this shop. I don’t want to leave…….”

When I told my father that I met the two demons at school today, he immediately asked me [Do you want us to move? You can attend another school you know?].

But I know that our house doesn’t have that kind of money.

If we abandon this shop then we probably can start a new life.

But making my father throw away his life’s work is not an option.

I just need to endure it for three years.

That was what I tell myself every day.

“…………….”

One day, when I was about to go home, a woman called out to me.

“Hey, can I talk to you?”

“Y, Y, ……..Yes!?”

Our eyes just happened to meet and she suddenly called out.

A beautiful woman with big breasts and lilac-colored hair.

If I’m as pretty as her, will I be more confident in myself? I can’t help but wonder.

Still, she must be a kind person to start a conversation with someone like me.

“Hello.”

“……hello.”

“Do y-…….”

She was with Juumonji-san and Tsugaru-san from my class.

As I thought, she must be a normie like them.

Then I spotted another woman in their group.

—–!?

The woman was staring at me with no emotion in her eyes.

The demon who smashed the window of my father’s car.

Afraid, I immediately ran out of the classroom.

“I’m sorry, I have to go.”

Leaving behind words of rejection, I hurriedly left.

Please, I was not trying to interfere with your business.

While crying inside, I left the school.

“…………..”

With just a simple stare from her, it was so unbearable that I felt like I had to escape from that place as soon as possible.

“Almost 38 degrees huh.”

The weekend after that encounter, I was down with a 38 degrees fever.

My body broke down and I caught a cold.

My father’s tucking me into my bed.

“Otou-san……., just go to work.”

“There’s no way I can right……..Be a proper child. Listen to what I say and rest.”

My father closed the shop on Sunday to take care of me.

I can’t help but feel sorry since I would be fine alone.

“Uu….., sorry, it’s because I don’t have any friends……….”

“No, even if you have any, it’s not like I’m going to let just anyone take care of you right. Just go to sleep.”

“If I die, put my grave on a hill with a field of flowers where I can see coffee oka~~y.”

“You’re going into the Tanikawa family’s grave like the rest of us okay. Rather, don’t say something like that, it’s bad luck.”

2 days after that, my fever subsided, and I was able to go to school.

But the school was boring.

Let alone my classmates, even the teacher didn’t care about how I was absent because of a cold.

My presence was that vague.

Thinking that I would just bother everyone else in the classroom, I often wander aimlessly in the hallway.

The usual place I hang around during lunch break is the school library.

When I decided to try reading a cookbook today, I spotted them again.

Them and one more person.

The beautiful woman who called out to me the other day.

“For the time being, please tell us about your father.”

“I understand.”

I hid and listened in on the circumstances of the Birdcage girl.

It seems her life is being dictated by her father.

Hearing her describe her father, I can’t help but think that there are all kinds of fathers in this world.

Then, the demon shamelessly told her that he was also abused by his uncle.

I will have to confirm that with my father later.

But it’s not like the man is being sympathetic to the Birdcage girl. From a third-person point of view, it’s clear that he’s only feeling joy because he’s got himself a new toy to play with.

Ahh, now I’m sure that the Birdcage girl is his next target.

……….I shouldn’t have come to the library.

No, even if she does as the two beasts say, the future that she desires will not be within her grasp.

Since I don’t want to kill my own father, I can not warn her directly either.

Still, I might be able to relay it to her indirectly.

Usually, I would lazily wander around before going home but today I decided to leave the class early to catch the Birdcage girl who has to hurry home to make her curfew.

Immediately after the homeroom was over, I headed to the school gate at full speed.

I wasn’t sure if she left already but I had to wait.

Then, after around 5 minutes of waiting, the Birdcage girl left the school building in a hurry. I feel bad for stopping her when she’s in such a hurry but I want to try making her see the truth.

“Pl, please be careful……”

“Eh?”

Nervous, I couldn’t choose my words.

I’m not used to talking to people so I don’t really know how to talk in this kind of situation.

Akechi Hideyori and Sasaki Emi are not as good of a person as you think.

I can’t help but want to tell her that they are demons in human skin.

But I can’t say too much…….

If I make a mistake here, the curse that will make me kill my father will activate.

Because of that, I carefully choose my words.

“A,……….At the library…..I overheard you……I’m sorry……”

“Ah, Ahh……, you heard about that! Sorry, I made you hear something weird about my family……”

The Birdcage girl shyly smiles at me.

I feel sorry for her since she has to act strong in front of me despite what she’s going through.

“U, Uhh……please be careful…… your father……….”

“Ahh, yes! I will be fine! I will definitely fix my problem with my father!”

“…….your father, please treasure him.”

“Of course! He can be a little noisy but I do treasure my father! See you later okay! I have to get home soon.”

It’s no good.

I couldn’t relay anything to her at all.

Since the two demons listened to her story, a trust was forged between them.

But she could only act like an honor student and return such a bland reply in front of an introvert like me.

It was my fault for neglecting to develop my interpersonal relationship.

In a time like this, rather than correctness, being convincing is more important.

Such a dry exchange made me feel how alone I am.

“Please be careful……, those two are fiends……… Rather than the fiends that are pretending to be your friends……treasure your father instead…….. ……………I pray that you don’t have to experience such bloodshed…….”

After the Birdcage girl left, I prayed for her.

Please, let her find salvation in the end.

May she grasp a good future for herself.

“……I hope Gifts can just disappear from this world.”

After finishing my prayer, I turned back and headed back home.

Then, I felt my right shoulder being grabbed from behind.

“Hello, Sakuya-chan.”

“!?”

Unpleasant sweat instantly poured out from every pore on my body.

When I turned to face the voice that chilled me to the bone, I found a smiling woman standing behind me.

Her darkness seems as though it’s emanating from the mole under her eye.

It was the arrival of Sasaki Emi.