Volume 4 - CH 3.3

“Here you go. Thanks for waiting.”

I heard the refreshing sound of ice clinking behind me. Nanami set the condensing glasses on the table. The woman picked one up and took a sip. Smiling broadly, she let out a deep breath.

“Ah, nothing beats cold tea in the summer,” she said. “Thank you, Nanami-san. That was invigorating.”

“You’re welcome,” Nanami replied. “What’s wrong, Odagiri-san? Are you not feeling well?” she asked.

I looked at the glass. Drops of water were dripping down on the table. I quickly picked up the glass and chugged it down. The cold stung my throat. I could hear the ice clink against the glass. I tipped the glass all the way and downed its contents in one go.

“Thank you for the tea,” I said.

“I’ll go clean up, then,” Nanami said. “Let me know if you want a refill.”

She took my empty cup and returned to the kitchen. I glared at the woman again. She was grinning like a cat for some reason.

“Nice drinking,” she remarked.

She stretched, thrusting her chest forward. She then let her shoulders drop.

Her face was bright, but there was a cold gleam deep inside her eyes.

Eyes that observed people with disdain.

They looked familiar.

“You really don’t remember? I can’t believe it’s taking you so long.”

Her lips curved in an odd way. White flesh stirred. Pale skin, as though belonging to the dead, changed shape from the inside.

After a while, the stirring stopped. The woman smiled again. Her face had changed, if only a little. The shape of her eyes, the thickness of her lips, the sharpness of her cheeks—all had shifted a few millimeters. That was enough to change my impression of her drastically.

It felt like a fox had been deceiving me until now. I recognized her.

“It’s been a while, Odagiri-san.”

She smiled serenely.

Her gentle expression made me nauseous.

“…Shiraki Aya.”

“Bingo. Finally, you recognized me. You’re so slow.”

Shrugging, Aya pulled the container of snacks closer and started munching on the arare. Her mannerisms were nothing like the ones I saw back at the house. She seemed like a different person with the same face.

“What’s with that look?” she said. “There’s nothing odd, is there? I was only an imitation in the first place. What’s wrong with me changing into whatever I want?”

Red tongue stirred the ice in the glass. Like a mollusk, the tongue relentlessly chased after the cold drops. Her eyes were ice cold, but her lips were curved in delight.

The more I stared, the more my hands trembled.

She had the same face as Aya.

“I was a manifestation of that girl’s wish. A girl who is energetic, bright, animated, and unbeatable. Her ideal ‘friend’. That guiding principle remained the same even after she died. So, after her death, I forgot my definitive form and gradually changed into this. Predictable, wouldn’t you agree? I think men will be all over me.”

Aya leaned forward on the table and winked. A chill crawled down my spine. At the same time, my eyes burned with anger. Her smile made me nauseous. I was reminded of what happened back then.

A cabinet stuffed with a rotting corpse, curled up in a fetal position, its lips dry. Buried in the cabinet, Aya whispered to Aya.

“You’ll help me, won’t you?”

She made Aya hold a knife.

The price was two souls. One from the mother, and one from Aya. Aya then left, leaving the two bodies behind.

She ventured out of the coffin-like house, under the blue sky after the rain.

“You’ve got guts showing your face here,” I growled. “You… You killed Aya.”

“Oh, shut up, you piece of trash. It’s your fault for letting go of her.”

Ice crumbled. Aya’s face contorted into an ugly frown. She clicked her tongue and gave me a condescending look.

“As a matter of fact, it would’ve been better if you died instead of Aya,” she went on, her voice quavering with rage. “How am I supposed to live in this world without a house, without money? Then again, even if I stayed at Aya’s place as her friend, things wouldn’t have lasted long anyway. But still my current job makes me sick. A short game of make-believe with her would’ve been way better.”

Aya crushed the ice with her teeth. She was a creature that was not of this world. She wasn’t just dead flesh; she never existed in the first place. It would be difficult for her to live on her own. The real world was governed by law and order.

My eyes slowly widened.

On her own, it would be difficult.

“…Work?” I muttered, suppressing my burning rage.

My voice sounded hoarse, but I managed to keep my composure. Blinking languidly, Aya pulled the collar of her shirt.

“Yes, work. Watching over rows and rows of meat so that they don’t roll off the shelves. It’s so boring. And then I ended up here.”

Aya pouted her lips mischievously. The sight made me certain about one thing.

Mayuzumi’s intuition was right on the money, most likely.

This must be the key.

“Sorry, Nanami-san,” Aya said. “I’ve got some things to talk about with him. Would you mind giving us a bit of time?”

“Sure,” Nanami replied. “I’ll see you later, Odagiri-san.”

With a smile on her face, Nanami put on her sandals and left. To think that she would grant Aya’s request. They must have hit it off really well. Once Nanami was gone, Aya relaxed her body and lay down. Stretching her legs, she looked up at the ceiling.

Then suddenly she shifted her gaze to me.

Her moist eyes were scrutinizing.

“Not that effective, huh? Okay, then,” she mumbled.

Straightening herself, she sat upright and breathed in.

A face similar to Aya‘s regarded me somewhat seriously.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” she said. “Would you betray Mayuzumi?”

“…What?”

The sudden question left me unable to utter a single word. Familiar words replayed in my head.

“How about a compromise?” the young Haruhiro asked with a broken smile.

That if I couldn’t sacrifice myself, then I should kill Mayuzumi Azaka.

“The Lord has prepared a special trap for you. But I just can’t sit around and wait for it, you know. To be honest, I’m just tired of having to look after the sacrifices. Herding sheep isn’t my thing, and I don’t want to be managing the meat. If you would just kill Mayuzumi, then it’ll all be over. End of story.”

Ice shattered. She gulped down the last piece of melting ice and smiled.

Kill Mayuzumi Azaka.

A ridiculous suggestion.

“If you kill her, the Lord will lose a considerable amount of interest. There’s even a chance of you returning to a normal life. You may have some stomach problems, though, but still. If you want, I can talk to the Lord about it. If you kill Mayuzumi, the Lord won’t leave you wandering around. He’ll gladly welcome Judas. Without Mayuzumi around, you’ll be happy.”

What Aya just told me was so stupid that I almost started laughing. There was no way it would be that easy. Obtaining happiness by killing someone was nothing more than an absurd lie.

Aya put on a pitying frown. “Your face says you don’t believe me. But think about it. You’ve always wanted to help people. Why is Mayuzumi among them? Do you really think she deserves to be treated like a human being?”

Mayuzumi Azaka laughs at others’ misfortunes and rejoices in tragedies. She uses her supernatural powers to connect to the spirit world. Revered as a god, she hailed from a clan that in the past ate a demon—a human.

“Can you even call such a thing a human being?” Aya said with serious eyes.

My vision tumbled.

I saw cherry trees lining the street, and she was standing alone under the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Twirling her red parasol, she was as lovely as a demon. Her otherworldly beauty seemed to reflect her inner self.

That day, I took her hand.

It was warm and soft.

She was a monster. What she found entertaining was contrary to human morals.

But still…

“Monsters are not human,” I muttered.

But she was, without a doubt, a human being.

At least, to me.

I didn’t respond to Aya’s soft whisper. I couldn’t agree to such a suggestion. I don’t want to kill Mayuzumi, just like I don’t want to be killed by Mayuzumi.

I would never do it. Over my dead body.

But I swallowed back my answer. Aya was staring at me with a smirk, her gaze as though watching a scale balancing precariously.

She probably believed that Odagiri Tsutomu would betray Mayuzumi Azaka.

I didn’t know how I came to that conclusion. What I needed to do now was to make the best of the situation. No need to deny it right away. I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

“Can you give me some time to think about it?” I said. “I need to smoke.”

Aya looked a little surprised. I thought she saw through the ruse. Then with a playful gesture, she gave me a wink.

“Sure. I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

She waved her hand as I headed outside. I quickly closed the door and took out a cigarette. I lit it with a lighter, took a long drag, and exhaled. My head was spinning fast. The cigarette was rapidly getting shorter.

Should I just say yes? She said she came here against Asato’s plans. If that’s the case, agreeing would be meaningless. She would tell me to go kill Mayuzumi first.

What should I do then?

I racked my brain hard until I managed to come up with something.

To gather information, we must first be at a favorable position.

But that would require the cooperation of the apartments’ owner, Nanami.

Where did she go?

As I looked around, I heard a thunderous shout from above.

“I told you to get out, you roach!”

“Who are you calling a roach?!”

It sounded like things were being thrown.

Apparently, Nanami was in my apartment unit.