Chapter 12 – Is it a Lie or the Truth?

Chapter 12 – Is it a Lie or the Truth?

“You went through all this trouble just to ask me to help your boyfriend? You’re sure a devoted girlfriend.” (Keisuke)

“Leo is not my boyfriend. He is my big brother.” (Rio)

“You’re siblings? You don’t look alike, though.” (Keisuke)

“Of course, it is because we have a different father.” (Rio)

‘I guess her household is quite complex,’ I thought.

“I still can’t believe his fallen teeth are growing back. Anyways, it’s a good thing , so leave it be. Just keep him at home for the time being, well then… ” (Keisuke)

“No, it’s not about teeth… Since they are steadily growing back; I’m not too concerned about it.” (Rio)

“Then, what is it?” (Keisuke)

I asked with a little irritation.

“You’re strong. Moreover, you were able to use a power that I couldn’t understand. Could it be you aren’t even a human? But that doesn’t matter now, because it seems to be impossible unless I ask your help. I’ve been looking for you for that reason… “ (Rio)

“Let’s change locations… “ (Keisuke)

I wouldn’t be able to stay calm and talk about my super human abilities in public.

Unlike the day before, this time, I personally led Rio to the back of game center.

It was an unmanned zone that was hidden from the hustle and bustle of people, and where I trampled down her friends.

Only bad boys and stray cats would enter such a place. However, one of them had been disinfected by my hands.

(There’s no other visitor, right?)

I felt a little uneasy, but I didn’t find a single human shadow on the way to that place.

It was the perfect spot for a secret story.

I faced Rio while leaving my back to the wire mesh.

Her glossy black hair fluttered in the wind. Her hand was stuffed into her uniform pocket. This view described a modern high school girl student, perfectly.

Looking closely from the front, I re-confirmed how good her style was.

She was a little shorter than me. I am exactly 175cm tall, so she should be around 165cm.

She had small face that resembled a model’s.

“I… ” (Rio)

Almost as soon as Rio opened her mouth, my eyes were pulled to the black spot spreading around her feet.

“It should be around that place. Isn’t that yours?” (Keisuke)

“Whoaaaaaaaaaaa… ” (Rio)

With an unsightly expression, Rio started to kick the ground with a furious momentum.

The dust rose as she covered the watermark with sand and gravel.

She turned around to face me after she was done with the ground.

Her expression was now clear and refreshing, and her face glittered with beads of sweat. She could pass for a young actress from a soft drink commercial.

After sprinting with full force, a girl, in her uniform, drinks something from a PET bottle, and then tells the product name to the audience —that kind of feeling.

Every trace of the girl, who had just finished stomping her own puddle of piss, had disappeared from her face.

Rio retained her neutral expression, and spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Can we get back on the subject? Leo might be in big trouble now.” (Rio)

“That leg strength is amazing.” (Keisuke)

“Can we get back on the subject?” (Rio)

“You don’t have to be ashamed; it was only a physiological phenomenon.” (Keisuke)

“Can we get back on the subject?” (Rio)

“Your face has turned red; you must be suck at Old Maid games.” (Keisuke)

“CAN WE GET BACK ON THE SUBJECT?” (Rio)

My eyes caught her shoulder quivering, so I stopped teasing her.

“So, what’s wrong with that Lion-kun?” (Keisuke)

Rio responded while brushing her disheveled hair with her hand.

“He had a fight with my mother’s boyfriend.” (Rio)

Her mother’s boyfriend? This phrase alone, caused me to imagine a host of chaotic family circumstances.

Of course, her mother is free to love someone.

If she’s single because of divorce, or because her husband died, then it wasn’t that strange for her to find a new lover.

But the information regarding her family’s circumstances was too little. Her mother, her big brother with the gaudy name, and her mother’s boyfriend… This could pass for crime suspense rather than a warm home drama.

“Is your mother divorced? Did she introduce her boyfriend, as a father candidate? Did Lion-kun go on to disapprove, or something like that?” (Keisuke)

I asked the questions while trying to be as considerate as possible. However, the answer she returned was:

“That’s almost right. But the problem is, this father candidate has a big tattoo on his back, and he also doesn’t have a little finger on his left hand. He may be the worst father candidate she ever brought.” (Rio)

It was an extremely unreserved reply.

Rather than a crime suspense, isn’t this a yakuza story?

“My mother’s crotch is loose. She changed male partners once every four years. Does she think it’s an Olympic Game? How retarded.” (Rio)

“It’s getting rather difficult to listen to this.” (Keisuke)

“Furthermore, since I was a junior high school student, the men she brought always ogled at me with their filthy eyes.” (Rio)

“Please stop it already!” (Keisuke)

I already had a bad feeling about it.

“But, because Leo was there… ” (Rio)

“That guy?” (Keisuke)

“Each time my mother’s boyfriend tried to do something, Leo came jumping to help me and kicked their asses. I can’t imagine what would have happened to me if Leo hadn’t been there. He also fought Mister for me but was badly beaten instead… Because Leo worked hard, I’ve never been hurt.” (Rio)

“That’s unexpected. I thought he was just some bad kid, but it turned out that he was just doing his job as big brother, properly.” (Keisuke)

“He isn’t good at studying and his name is a bit funny, but for me, he is a great big brother.” (Rio)

The beautiful little sister who was easily targeted by men… Her brother easily picked fights because he cared about her safety.

On the other hand, there was her mother’s boyfriend who was a gang member with shitty morals.

Doesn’t it seem like this combination has the highest mortality rate? Needless to say, her biggest concern is her big brother.

“Leo may be killed.” (Rio)

Her voice was trembling.

“My mother is currently dating a yakuza member… a man called Gondo; he took Leo away. He came to the house today and tried to assault me.” (Rio)

According to Rio, it began about a week ago when Gondo started dating her mother.

“Gondo always put his fatherly face on the front, but when I was about to change clothes, he would always try to peek at me. Occasionally, he rubbed my shoulder without meaning. He even goes as far as taking pictures of my underwear with his smartphone ? many times. I feel scared whenever I heard that camera shutter sound from inside the house. I feel like I’ll go crazy if this keeps up.”

(Oh, so that’s how it is.)

I had now found the reason of her behaviors, yesterday.

Coincidentally, yesterday, I happened to be taking a screenshot with my smartphone when she was around.

The camera shutter sound was quite traumatic for her. She fell into panic when she heard it and she saw me ? close to her ? holding a smartphone.

An overreaction, from her delinquent big brother who only wanted to protect his little sister, followed. Eventually, in the end, the situation developed into violence.

Well, I understand their reason now, but if I had just been a weak uncle; right now, I would be sleeping in a hospital, just because of some misunderstanding.

In the first place, he should have checked my smartphone to see whether I was really a voyeur or not. If only he had checked the saved image list, even for a moment…

As for me used a violence, too ? it seems I haven’t gotten used to living in Japan again.

“So, your big brother fought with that yakuza guy, Gondo, was it?” (Keisuke)

“That guy was trying to touch me again… Leo saw that and it turned into a fistfight. The usual Leo wouldn’t lose but he had already been badly beaten by you. He was still weak, thus, he collapsed in one punch. That was the first time I saw Leo in such miserable condition.” (Rio)

“Is that my fault? I was going to be lynched because of some misunderstanding. That was just a self-defense.” (Keisuke)

“But it’s your fault.” (Rio)

If it was the usual Leo, he wouldn’t lose. She kept saying that as tears accumulated on the in her eyes.

“Then, what do you want me to do? Okay, I got it. I’m going to take Lion-kun back.” (Keisuke)

Rio, who had covered her eyes with both hands, shook her negatively.

I heard the sound of a sniffling nose.

“Bring…. me…. ” (Rio)

“To where?” (Keisuke)

“His office….” (RIo)

Gondo had beaten Lion-kun up around noon. As soon as he confirmed that the other party had stopped moving; he packed Lion-kun into a car and left. Most likely to his office.

“Maybe he’s dead.” (Keisuke)

“He’s not!!” (Rio)

She refuted while looking at my face with red eyes. Her beautify was in a mess; there were tears in her eyes, and her nose was runny.

“I understood the situation. But, why don’t you report it to the police?” (Rio)

“I’ve done that already. But when I gave Gondo’s name to the policeman, he said, “Say hello to you step-father,” then he hung up the phone. It seems the police are on good terms with Gondo’s group. Akin to a give-and-take for good sake.” (Rio)

The police had been corrupted.

I felt a bit dizzy.

What had happened to this country while I was fighting monsters as a hero in another world? Or, had it always been like this?

“In other words, you want someone super strong who can use a mysterious power, to save your big brother?” (Keisuke)

“Yeah. Go to the yakuza office and beat them all, that’s the gist of it.” (Rio)

“No thanks.” (Keisuke)

I promptly replied with an obvious answer.

“What merit is there for me? There’s no meaning in antagonizing that kind of outlaw group. You siblings have only brought me trouble since yesterday. I have no obligation to help.” (Keisuke)

“That…. I really…. am sorry… ” (Rio)

“In the first place, I still don’t know whether this story is true or not. There’s a possibility you want to settle the score from yesterday and made up a story. You are plotting to make me clash with that unrelated gangster group. Yeah, that makes a sense. Because you couldn’t win, you have to make someone else beat me instead.” (Keisuke)

“That’s not true!” (Rio)

“What should I do to make you believe me?” Rio murmured weakly while crying.

I’d like to believe her if I could. However, I was badly betrayed in another world, so I couldn’t trust people that easily.

“I don’t really like that kind of thing, but… let’s be clear on which is black and which is white.” (Keisuke)

I looked her straight in the eye and murmured, “Status Open.”

I didn’t care about her ability value, but there were cases where a person’s real character is written in the remarks column. I would judge whether she was lying or not.

The contents displayed were:

- Name : Saitou Rio

- Level : 1

- Class : High School Student Girl

- HP : 80

- MP : 120

- Attack : 70

- Defense : 65

- Dexterity : 70

- Magic : 100

- Magic Defense : 100

- Skill : Fathercon (asylum)

- Remark : The girl who had bewitched a member of gangster’s eyes. Her brother is always protecting her, but sometimes also scolding her. Longing for a strong and a tough father figure, she doesn’t realize it herself, but she’s conscious of Keisuke as a love interest. Keisuke appeared in her dream last night and did xxxxx and xxxxx to her. “Sorry for being such a bad girl” she shouted in ecstasy. For her, it was a lascivious dream.

Somehow, an unexpected appraisal result came out.

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