The Reality Behind the Lies

"Why was that the first thing you said when you saw me?"

"Wasn't it because of what happened? Let me think... I've already heard all about it from Kanzaki, and I personally handed the surveillance footage over to Horikita."

"Mhm." Ichinose smiled with her lips pressed together and nodded, making me realize I still hadn't gotten to the heart of the matter.

"...Sorry, I can't think of anything else. So what is it you wanted to ask me, Ichinose?"

"I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you so sure I came to ask you a question, Raku?"

Because that was what you kept doing. Still, if it were just some trivial question, Ichinose wouldn't have needed to come all the way here to talk to me in private.

Had I been chosen by the government for some top-secret mission?!

"I just wanted to chat with you for a bit, Raku."

"Chat... We could've done that over the phone, couldn't we? Was it really necessary to come all the way down here?"

"Talking online and talking face-to-face feel completely different. And it's not like I came all this way just for you. I was coming back from outside, so I thought I'd stop by your room while I was passing by... What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?"

"It's not exactly inconvenient..."

"If it's going to be a bother, then forget it. You don't have to force yourself."

A man and a woman alone in a room together—and the woman was a sweet-looking, gentle, gorgeous girl. How could a beast like me pass up such a good opportunity?

"It's no bother. I wasn't doing anything else. Since you want to chat, you might as well come in."

"Then I'll impose on you for a bit."

"I don't have much to offer you here. I have tea and coffee, though. Would you like some, Ichinose?"

"Just warm water is fine. Tea or coffee at night can affect your sleep."

Ichinose strode past the excuse for an entryway and settled onto the sofa as casually as if she were at home. After pouring two glasses of warm water, I sat down beside her.

"Did you want to talk about what happened at the hearing today, Ichinose?"

"A little bit of everything, really... But mostly the dispute. Even though the whole thing's over, there's still so much hidden beneath the surface."

"Were the recordings and the threats involving points real? They sounded so unbelievable to me."

"They were real. I was there at the time, too. When I heard Ryuen reveal that he had a recording, I got goosebumps. He'd managed to plant someone in Class C in such a short time, and even got hold of such an important recording... No matter how I looked at it, it was terrifying."

"Kanzaki told me a student from Class D did it. Is that right?"

"I'm not sure. At least, that's what Ryuen said. He said there couldn't possibly be someone like that in our class..."

He'd completely underestimated us.

"The class placements must be more complicated than the teachers let on. Leaving aside that mysterious person, even the strength of Horikita's Class D is nothing to scoff at. We'll have to be careful from now on... By the way, Raku, do you know anyone in Class C?"

"As if that were possible. Class C has caused us so much trouble. Dealing with a venomous snake isn't exactly a good idea."

"They were only doing it because Ryuen threatened them. That man is just awful!"

"Maybe."

I wasn't going to judge who was a bad person.

"But isn't your social circle a little too small, Raku? You don't know anyone in Class A or Class C, and only a few people in Class D. Even in your own class, you're only close to a handful of people... I'm not wrong, am I?"

"Not at all."

"Hmm. Your room, too. It's practically the same as it was when school started. It doesn't even feel like anyone lives here."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"But it's true, isn't it? Haven't you ever wanted to buy some decorations? Like a potted plant or a picture?"

"I've never had that habit. If I bought that stuff, I probably wouldn't pay any attention to it. Besides, it'd make cleaning easier this way."

"You mean it's neat and tidy? I suppose it is... But don't you ever feel lonely, Raku?"

"Lonely..."

Did I really feel lonely?

I glanced around the empty room. Other than a few novels on the corner of the table, there wasn't anything that could even generously be called a decoration. I guess my room really was pretty bare.

Though calling those books decorations was a stretch, too.

It was true that I'd gotten used to everything, no matter what.

Rousseau, an intellectual forerunner of the French Revolution in the eighteenth century and one of the leading figures of the Enlightenment.

His theories had a profound impact on later generations. They helped lay the foundations of the bourgeois tradition of liberal democracy, and his striking democratic ideals influenced many writers. His ideas also directly gave rise to the Romantic movement in nineteenth-century European literature. Great figures like Goethe and Hugo even called themselves his disciples.

His immense influence had left a deep impression on me. There was one thing he'd said that I still remembered to this day.

—There are two kinds of lies, one is about the past, the other is about the future.

In other words, there were two kinds of lies: lies about facts in the past, and lies about possibilities in the future.

What was this nonsense about white lies?

Being kind to others? Hiding the truth from everyone?

In the end, it all served one's own interests. That was the essence of why lies came into existence. That was the kind of society where everything came down to self-interest. Lies were a kind of original sin added to society's foundations ahead of time, and life became a never-ending drama of telling lies and seeing through them.

By now, lying had become a refined art.

From the first lie, humanity had been caught in a sweet poison that offered no peace. The rot of reality had to be plugged up with layer after layer of slime. For one lie to succeed, ten truths had to be buried. And the shame of a lie being exposed would be multiplied a hundredfold.

Lying was a refined art. A successful fraudster knew how to make the greatest impact with the fewest lies. The most successful fraudsters lived their lies from beginning to end. By then, they had become reality themselves.

"There are no lies in me, because I am reality."

0

Seeing that I hadn't answered her question directly, Ichinose changed her approach.

"Did you just take a shower? Your hair's still wet."

"I washed up about ten minutes ago."

"Don't you have a hair dryer?"

"No. When I was shopping at the convenience store, I thought I was staying in a hotel, where the bathroom would have a hair dryer. So I forgot about it. Later, I realized I didn't really need one, so I just didn't get it."

"But what if your hair isn't dry by the time you want to go to sleep? Sleeping with wet hair for a long time can make you sick."

"That won't happen. Besides, I always make sure my hair dries properly."

"It'd be better to buy one, since points are meant to be spent. You should work on that laziness of yours, too—"

"By the way, what happened when Ayanokoji suddenly ran out of the Special Building this afternoon?" I really didn't want to keep talking about such painfully awkward everyday stuff, so I cut Ichinose off and forced the conversation in another direction.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. It had to do with another witness from Class D. Do you know her, Raku?"

"I wouldn't say I know her, but I think her name's Sakura Airi, right?"

"Yep. I'll tell you something—she's actually an idol."

"A celebrity?"

"An online idol. Raku, can I borrow your phone?"

I didn't think much of it. I unlocked my phone and handed it to Ichinose. After a few taps, she let out a small, puzzled sound.

"Do you usually follow online idols, Raku? There's something in your browsing history that I was looking for."

"...Did I search for that?"

"Yeah. This online idol called 'Shizuku' is Sakura Airi. Look, there are pictures here, too." As she spoke, Ichinose leaned over, and we looked at the images together.

I pretended to study each photo with great concentration.

"...I guess boys are all interested in girls like her."

"..."

"Is this the kind of girl you like, Raku?"

"I don't think so. At least, I don't even know what kind of girl I like." Once I understood what she meant, I immediately denied it.

"If that's the case, why did you search for her?"

"The guys in my class chat mentioned her. I didn't know who she was, so I looked her up."

"The boys' class chat..."

For some reason, that sounded a little scary. Was it just me?

"Um, what does this have to do with her?"

"It does have to do with her. Sakura's an entertainer, but she's naturally shy and easily frightened. That's why she hesitated to testify for her classmate."

"But today, she decided to put an end to something. Ayanokoji remembered that Kushida had mentioned someone leaving some really awful comments under Sakura's posts. And since Raku was carrying the surveillance equipment, Ayanokoji thought Sakura was going to deal with the problem on her own."

"After that, we followed the location service built into the phone's browser."

"As it turned out, Ayanokoji was right. That girl was planning to deal with a perverted fan by herself today. But she wasn't good at fighting back, so she nearly got into an accident."

"So you got there and saved her?"

"No," Ichinose said, shaking her head. "It was already over by the time we arrived. The police had already arrested that man."

"Did Sakura call the police?"

"No, she didn't have time to call."

"Then—"

"We don't know who called. Afterward, Sakura wanted to thank the person who'd called the police in person, but even the police couldn't trace the number."

"Doing a good deed without taking credit... That sort of thing happens pretty often."

"That may be true, but Sakura still really wants to find that person. She's been through a lot. Her fans would find out she isn't as lively as she is online, so she's had to put up with this almost every day. Being an idol really isn't easy."

"That's not necessarily true. If Ichinose wanted to become an idol, it'd be easy for you. You might even become a national sweetheart."

"Please don't say that about me. Being an idol isn't as easy as just deciding to become one."

"You've definitely got what it takes, Ichinose."

"Please stop saying things like that!"

"Sorry, my bad." Ichinose was starting to blush with embarrassment, so I quickly apologized.

Whether you looked at her face, her figure, or even her personality, she was flawless.

She really was close to the perfect woman.

"Anyway, what kind of person do you think the one who called the police but didn't want anyone to know is, Raku?" Ichinose leaned closer. For an instant, I caught a whiff of her fragrance.

"I couldn't say what kind of person they are... Maybe they're similar to the person who resolved the hearing."

"Are you talking about the person hiding in Class D, Raku?"

"Maybe... At the very least, they're the kind of people who don't like trouble, just like me... No, if it were me, I might've just pretended I didn't see anything."

Ichinose froze for a moment when I finished speaking. I thought I'd said something wrong, but then she suddenly burst out laughing.

"Haha, Raku, don't you realize how funny you made yourself sound?"

"I don't see what's so funny..."

Watching the girl laugh in front of me, I didn't feel even the slightest sympathy.

I guess I do have a strange sense of humor.

"I'll ask one last time. Which one of you leaked the information to Class D?"

Ryuen pressed his hand down hard on Ishizaki's shoulder. Judging by the grimace on Ishizaki's face and the veins bulging on Ryuen's arm, Ishizaki was undoubtedly enduring tremendous pain.

Komiya and Kondo were trembling on their knees nearby. In the heat of summer, beads of water—whether sweat or cold sweat, no one could tell—kept dripping from their foreheads.

"I-it really wasn't me."

"Me neither."

People reacted to violence in different ways, but without exception, their eyes all held the same fear.