NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
After Fuyuka offered Ran some assistance and we heard the details, we all settled down to consider the possibility Fuyuka had brought up. Meanwhile, Ran remained in her seated position, still burdened by the weight atop her legs.
“Just to confirm, the store clerk is working today, right?”
“Yeah, I know Haruto-kun’s shift. He should be there until nine tonight.”
After some discussion, time had passed, and it was now just before eight in the evening. If we headed to the store and ordered something light, we could time it perfectly for his shift’s end. But before that…
“Why do *you* even know the clerk’s shift…?”
“Well, it’d be inconvenient not to.”
“Inconvenient for what? That’s total stalker logic… wait, you really *are* a stalker, huh?”
I found myself holding my head in disbelief at Ran’s carefree response.
I mean, I understood her point. If you’re stalking someone, not knowing their schedule would definitely be an issue.
Especially with Ran’s history of breaking and entering. Even now, she barges in boldly when he’s home, but before, she must’ve been extremely cautious to avoid running into him. For that, knowing the person’s detailed schedule would be essential.
So of course, she’d have researched it, and if it also fulfilled her desires in the process… well, it’s a nasty two birds with one stone, but at least it’s logical.
“Well, if he’s there, that’s good enough. Then we can test Fuyuka’s theory too.”
“Yeah. The theory that the store clerk hasn’t realized Ran’s stalking him.”
Fuyuka’s theory was that the store clerk might not have equated Ran with the stalker at all.
When I first heard it, I thought, “No way!” But after hearing the explanation, it was disturbingly convincing.
“Could that really be true?”
“It’s possible. Even after the store clerk realized Ran was stalking him, we still kept going to Marine Snow without knowing anything. And the clerk kept serving us like normal.”
“Now that I think about it… yeah, that’s true. Every time, it felt completely ordinary. He didn’t act at all like someone who’d been victimized by someone in our group.”
If someone from a stalker’s group came into a store, you’d expect the victim to react in some way.
They might lodge a complaint, show signs of disgust, or be on guard. Those are easy to imagine. Even if not those, they’d at least show some reaction.
But the store clerk didn’t. He acted completely normal. Fuyuka found that strange after hearing about Ran’s stalking.
“In Ran’s case especially, she has quite a difference in her usual appearance. It wouldn’t be surprising if a store clerk who doesn’t interact with her much can’t recognize her.”
“I kinda get that. Ran-chan’s look changes drastically depending on her plans for the day.”
For band-related stuff, she goes punk to mentally switch gears. On the other hand, for other things, she tends to dress more subdued.
Since most of her visits to Marine Snow are on band-related days, it’s possible the clerk has mentally fixed Ran’s appearance from those times.
“But isn’t it possible the clerk is the kind of person who keeps their work and personal life completely separate? Maybe they noticed but acted like they didn’t to avoid trouble?”
“That’s possible too. But even then, if he were aware, his facial expressions would still probably give something away. So first, we’ll bring up the story about how he saved Ran from being hit on.”
“Why would you try to trick Haruto-kun?”
“If he knew, we’ll follow the original plan. But if he didn’t, then there’s something we need to do first.”
“Something we need to do?”
“Introduce her.”
Fuyuka spoke simply, yet directly, looking Ran straight in the eyes.
“If the store clerk hasn’t realized yet, the main reason he’s wary of Ran is probably that her identity is unclear. Anyone would be scared of an unknown person. That’s why he’s ignoring her, avoiding any contact.”
This is where Fuyuka shines. As the drummer who observes everything from the back, she’s frighteningly good at seeing things from a bird’s-eye view.
This is the girl who, until Ran made her move today, held the “dangerous one” slot in Avant-Garde. She calmly assesses the situation and delivers her words with deadly precision.
“I think Ran believes that because she knows the clerk, the clerk knows her too. But that’s wrong. Thinking everything revolves around you is what leads to foolish things like stalking.”
“Ugh…”
“To build trust, you need to start with the basics. Asking someone to trust a person whose name they don’t even know is ridiculous. Neglecting that foundation is just taking advantage of them—no, you’re only causing them trouble. It’s miles away from mutual understanding, which is the essence of human relationships.”
“Urgh…”
Fuyuka’s relentless critiques bombarded Ran. Yeah, this must be tough. When you’re stabbed with blunt, undeniable truths, all you can do is take it if you’re self-aware.
“That’s why you need to introduce yourself. ‘I’m ○○, nice to meet you,’ and then you can finally build a proper relationship.”
“Ugh, that’s so true. Ran, I think you lost this one. Also, regardless of whether the clerk knows, you should introduce yourself anyway, right?”
“Agreed.”
An introduction. It was definitely a blind spot. A stalker probably doesn’t complete the simple task of formally introducing themselves. Whether or not you reveal your identity directly affects trust, and willingly doing so is a sign of sincerity.
More importantly, there’s no downside for Ran—or us. Considering the current situation, where the police could be called, and she’d be arrested within the week, there’s no reason to keep her identity hidden.
So, it makes more sense to openly reveal herself and use that as a basis to build trust.
“I get that, but… Fuyuka-chan, how did you come to the conclusion that Ran-chan still has a chance? It doesn’t seem like the situation has changed all that much.”
“It’s not as bad as you think. The clerk’s already accepted the fact that Ran’s a stalker. That either means they’re very tolerant, or their criteria for judgment are just unique. Which means, there’s a chance that ‘stalker’ doesn’t count as a demerit.”
“That… makes sense.”
In my opinion, the store clerk is probably letting Ran’s housekeeping services slide, turning a blind eye to the stalking and other behavior for the sake of convenience.
In other words, they may have weighed “stalker” against “free robot vacuum” and decided the latter wins.
“So if she apologizes honestly, she might still recover. If she promises to continue helping with household chores, she could even level up from stalker to official housekeeper.”
“I-I see…!”
Oh, wow… If you ignore how wrong that sounds from a normal perspective, it does make sense.
With this, it seems like there’s a path to becoming his girlfriend without going through the undesirable friends-with-benefits route.
Hmm. I really dropped the ball here. I stopped my analysis at how the store clerk might see Ran, and almost pushed my friend down a difficult path.
“That’s great, Ran-chan! You still have a chance!”
“…”
Why the silence?
“Ran-chan?”
“S-sorry! I was just thinking.”
“Thinking?”
At this moment? The stalker, who should be the most eager for this straight path to a relationship, is thinking?
“…You’re not still hung up on the friends-with-benefits route, are you?”
“Umm, tehepero.”
“Fuyuka, Kaho. Let’s find some more weights to add.”
““Got it.””
“Wait, nooo!”