NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chiaki Ran is, in truth, an exceptionally talented person.
Firstly, her personal abilities are impressive. She’s intelligent enough to get straight into a highly competitive national university, and she’s also very attractive.
Moreover, her father is an executive at a well-known company, and her mother comes from a historically distinguished family. They live in a prime location within an upscale residential area, making her, by title alone, a true “ojousama”—a young lady of high status.
On top of that, the music career she began as a hobby has now reached the point where record labels are showing interest. Of course, the success of our band also owes a lot to the efforts of the other members. But even without that, Ran has a natural talent for music.
In other words, Ran is not just a metaphorical “superhuman”—she’s the real deal. She’s a superwoman with beauty, pedigree, and talent.
She lives in a world entirely different from the rest of us, and honestly, I’ve often wondered, “Why is this girl even here?”
—
“──So, basically, I saw Haruto-kun leave his key in the door when he went inside. And in a moment of weakness, I took it. Since then, I’ve broken into his apartment multiple times. The underwear in the Ziplock bag was from those times…”
“How many times do you need to ‘have a moment of weakness’ to be satisfied?”
──Well, every time I ask myself that, I remind myself, ‘She’s just a smart fool,’ and sigh with resignation.
—
“But, seriously, what’s with him? Who leaves their key in the door like that?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Maybe he was drunk?”
“I can’t say he was. I was stalking him, and he was definitely sober.”
“That’s not something to proudly announce, you idiot!”
“Ouch!?”
Since she wasn’t showing any signs of remorse, I dropped another knuckle strike on Ran’s head while she was sitting in a formal position. That makes five strikes now.
But, in any case, the fact remains that one of our members has committed a crime.
So, what do we do now? We all rack our brains, only to quickly realize that there’s nothing we can do. And then we rack our brains some more.
—
“Sigh… This isn’t a joke anymore, is it? Ran’s going to get arrested, and the band will lose our contract.”
“Yeah, that seems inevitable… Ran-chan, why couldn’t you just stop yourself?”
“I never imagined Ran could be this stupid… Her parents must be devastated. Their only daughter’s a criminal.”
“Auuu…”
Tears welled up in Ran’s eyes as she began to tremble. …But honestly, we’re the ones who want to cry here.
Sure, our band started on a whim, right? We didn’t have any grand dream of making it big. But as we continued to play, we grew more passionate about it, and when we finally signed with a label, I was secretly screaming with joy inside.
And now this. Being betrayed by a member in such a way—it’s just too much. We’ve teased Ran for being dumb countless times, but I never thought she was this dumb.
Frankly, I can’t believe we’re still calmly listening to her. Normally, we’d be cursing her out and cutting ties altogether. Who knew we were such pushovers…
—
“Ahhh! What the hell are we supposed to do now!? Should we just turn her in ourselves!? I mean, civilians can make a citizen’s arrest, right!?”
“Meg-chan, calm down. We can’t arrest her here, and at least let’s give her a chance to turn herself in…”
“How do we know she’ll even turn herself in!? I can’t trust her to do the right thing at this point!”
“Meg is being so mean…”
“Ran, you brought this on yourself.”
“Auuu…”
Stop with the “Auuu…” already! The moment you started breaking the law, my trust in you hit rock bottom, okay!?
—
“Do you realize that we’re showing you a lot of mercy right now!?”
“I do! I do! Honestly, I thought Meg would beat me until my face changed shape!”
“What do you even think of me!?”
Do you want me to actually slap you so hard your face swells up!? Our already strained friendship is about to hit zero!
—
“Just wait! Please listen to me!!”
“What could you possibly have to say after this full house of crimes!? There’s no excuse!!”
“It’s not an excuse! But… I know I did something I shouldn’t have, but the police won’t be involved!!”
“Haaaaaaa!?”
Where in the world is there a “no problem” factor!? This is clearly illegal!! And did she just admit she has no intention of turning herself in!? What!?
—
“…Ran. You’re part of this band, and I consider you a friend. That’s why I feel it’s my duty to knock some sense into you. Brace yourself.”
“That’s why, wait!? Don’t ball up your fist!? And that’s a straight punch, not a knuckle strike, right!? Please just hear me out!!”
“Meg. Hold up.”
“I get that you’re angry, but let’s at least hear her out first?”
“…Tch.”
Kaho and Fuyuka managed to stop me, so I clicked my tongue and unclenched my fist. Well, I guess I can dish out punishment after hearing everything. That seems fairer… But really, there’s nothing “fair” about this when you’ve admitted to committing crimes.
—
“So, Ran-chan, why do you think the police won’t get involved?”
“Well──”
“Before you start, let me just say this: if your reason is ‘because I haven’t been caught yet,’ I’m going to lose all respect for you.”
I cut her off before she could speak, making it clear where the line was.
Of course, I don’t think that’s the case. Despite her crimes, I still consider Ran a friend because of our history together.
Ran is stupid. That much is abundantly clear from all this. My trust in her has plummeted. But I still have some baseline faith in her.
Ran is an idiot, but she’s not a complete scumbag. I can rationalize her actions as stemming from twisted love… Though, honestly, I shouldn’t.
But I can still tolerate it. If I think of it as her acting out of love, I can at least roll my eyes and sigh it off.
But if she’s going to say that it’s not a crime if she doesn’t get caught, that’s different. That’s the thought process of a real scumbag. I could never trust someone who thinks like that.
Because that mindset would apply to anyone, even us. It would mean she thinks it’s okay to do whatever she wants to us as long as she doesn’t get caught.
I don’t want to be around someone like that. If she’s really going to say that, then friend or not, I’ll cut ties with her. I don’t want anything to do with someone like that ever again.
—
“Keep that in mind, Ran, and talk.”
“I will. It’s okay, Meg. That’s not what I’m saying… Also, I mean, I was breaking into his place and doing housework while he was there. I’m sure he noticed me ages ago.”
“What the hell were you doing…?”
Why would someone who’s trespassing insist on being noticed!? And not just once—she’s clearly been going there repeatedly, based on what she’s saying!
—
“Wait, is that what you’re saying? That you think it’s okay because he probably reported you to the police already, so there’s no point in turning yourself in?”
“Ran-chan? You know, in general, turning yourself in is better than getting arrested—it usually leads to a lighter sentence.”
“No, that’s not what I mean!? Even I’m not that stupid!?”
“Breaking in, stalking, and stealing underwear already makes you the lowest of the low.”
“Ugh.”
Don’t “ugh” me. Stop it.
—
“That’s not it! I’m telling you, there’s no need for the police to get involved!”
“But this is definitely a police matter.”
“It is, but! But! ──He lets me into his place even when he’s home! He doesn’t say anything when I’m doing housework right in front of him! Sometimes, we even cuddle!!”
“「「「…Huh?」」」”