Volume 5 - CH 49

The True [Birdcage Girl]

Taking the train to the pool, we are shaking in one of its bogies.

Since it’s summer vacation, the train isn’t crowded with students.

“Yawnnn…….”

“You look sleepy, Emi.”

“I was so excited I couldn’t sleep……”

“Are you a kid?”

“I’m still a middle schooler after all……”

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The prim and proper Emi couldn’t sleep last night and is having a hard time staying awake.

Moreover, she doesn’t wear her trademark pigtail today and completely lets her hair down.

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“If not for that mole, I might not recognize it’s you.”

“Sorry about tha~~~t yawwnnnn.”

“Hideyori always remembers people by their hairstyle, you know! He told me he only remembers me because of my hair tie before.”

“I was obviously messing with you…….”

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The hair tie she referred to was her coffee cup one.

To think that Sakuya still remembers the joke I made when we first enrolled in middle school.

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“Ahaha…..it’s okay! There’s nothing to worry about……I just had a bad dream, that’s all…….”

“……..alright.”

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Emi seems to have a lot of nightmares after all.

She probably had one last night.

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“……why, why only me……”

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Just hearing her muttering that to herself made me wonder how mentally exhausting it must have been for her.

I hope that it really was nothing………

(TLN: You thought it was a pool trip chapter? It’s me, game’s Sasaki Emi)

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“This is a little annoying.”

“!?”

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I tightened my grip on the throat of the Tanikawa Sakuya girl whom I just met with my right hand.

The girl flails around to resist.

It was annoying.

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“I need you to shut up a little, okay.”

“Gah…….!?”

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I aimed at the girl’s cheek and drove my left fist into it.

With that single blow, blood spilled from her nose and she started to cry.

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“Sorry okay, this is Hideyori-kun’s request after all.”

“Help me…., Master……”

“Aha.”

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It was an endless hell where I had to follow Hideyori-kun’s every order.

Even though I’m alive, I can’t resist or turn against him.

It was like I was living in a birdcage.

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I kept hitting the girl over and over again with my fist.

I beat her bloody until the message [Do as you’re told and I won’t kill you] was clear to her.

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After that, I dragged her inside Hideyori-kun’s house.

And sure enough, Tanikawa Sakuya’s father, the person who’s been threatening Hideyori-kun’s everyday life, was being used as his toy.

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“Ah, Hideyori-kun, hi.”

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for you Emi.”

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As usual, I obey Hideyori-kun’s orders.

For I have no other way to live.

Even if I have to go through hell, I was forced to do as he says.

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“Haa……, Not having anybody to treasure me is kinda lonely huh………..”

“It’s okay, Hideyori-kun has me after all.”

“Yeah………”

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I have no choice but to flirt with Hideyori-kun so that his mood doesn’t sour.

I have no other option but to become a convenient woman for him.

For that, I kiss his cheek.

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There was no feeling.

In my brain, I can’t help but think that the romantic dramas I liked as a child, ones that were filled with emotions, love, and dramatic gestures were just empty exaggerations…….

There’s just nothing to think about…….

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“I like you, Hideyori-kun……”

“Yeah, I like you too.”

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My words were empty.

Just what liking someone feels like I wonder?

Is it different from the feeling I have toward my parents?

…….I don’t get it.

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“Ara, you look so good in your uniform, Emi!”

“Is that so?”

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My mother praised me when I first put on my middle school uniform.

Hmm……., it feels just like when Hideyori-kun praised me.

——I don’t feel anything at all.

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“Emi, the meat is a little too bland you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Add some more seasoning will you.”

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Hideyori-kun complained about my cooking.

But even if it’s something I cook myself, I just can’t tell the difference in its taste.

I mean, I think it tastes good but I still can’t tell.

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The reason I can’t feel anything is probably because my will was completely absent anyway.

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“You are so cute when you’re scared like this, Sakuya-chan. Ufufu, it’s so wonderful to see you trying to warn her and even challenge me. I do like a girl like you, you know. Do you want to be friends with me?”

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I had another chance to talk with the Tanikawa Sakuya girl I tortured.

I don’t think that she’s cute.

I don’t think that she was wonderful for what she did.

I don’t like her.

I don’t even care about making friends.

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Perhaps because my mind was truly broken, one meaningless lie came out of my mouth one after another…….

I don’t even have a sliver of hope that this hell will someday end.

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“………..!?”

Tanikawa Sakuya shook me off and ran away.

How nice, if only I can escape just like her.

I was jealous of her that she still can tell her legs to run away.

When she gets scared of me or Hideyori-kun, she can just take off and escape.

Why? Why is that option never available to me…….?

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How enviable.

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“It’s okay. Just a little bit more. You need to endure this for only a few more days.”

“Emi……, thank you…….. Thank you.”

“You should thank me after it’s all over you know.”

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I comforted the birdcage girl.

Just a few more days and your birdcage will be no more.

I envy her.

I was jealous.

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“Alright, Emi let’s do this.”

“Yes.”

“Go find out what time her father will be home this week.”

“Understood.”

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How long will my life continue to be a birdcage?

When? When will this nightmare end?

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“Emi, you will be with me forever……”

“Of course…….”

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——–the one who’s truly trapped inside a birdcage is me.

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[[……….]]

[[Gah!? Towa!?……! Ugh, Guh!?]]

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Miyamura Towa was covered in the blood that had gushed out from the wound in her father’s stomach.

She did not mind that the blood splashed on her beautiful face as she focused herself on gouging at her father’s heart.

Did he die of blood loss or did he die the instant his heart was stabbed?

The person himself probably doesn’t know either.

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“……..”

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I bear witness to Miyamura Towa’s crime.

I was jealous of her.

I was truly jealous that she could destroy her birdcage with all her might.

I was jealous of you, the tragic heroine who was called the birdcage girl.

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Even I want to gouge out Akechi Hideyori’s guts.

Perhaps because of the strain on her mind, Miyamura Towa fainted right after her crime was completed.

Ahh, now you have freed yourself from your birdcage……

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“No…., it’s a lie, it’s a lie…..right? What is this? A prank…..? A bad dream…….?”

“It’s the reality.”

“……Emi?”

“You can’t avert your eyes from the truth you know. It was Towa who murdered your father after all.”

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Miyamura Towa regained consciousness and started crying. I couldn’t believe how much she cried.

And I was terribly irritated by that.

I hate her so much that I just want to burn her to ash with the flame of jealousy.

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Don’t you dare look away.

You managed to destroy your birdcage.

Now rejoice, be happy, CELEBRATE IT!!”

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After you went and broke your damnable birdcage with your hands, why are you crying now!

If you hate that then trade places with me!

Why do I have to endure this alone.

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Why avert your eyes away from what you did like you’re some tragic heroine!

Accept it, Take it in, WELCOME IT!!

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YOU DAMN FAKE BIRDCAGE GIRL!!

(TLN: One more chapter of good old Emi’s suffering……….)