Chapter 324
Chapter 324: Only Sister Can Help Iroha
2,766 words
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14 min read
Even though the cake was originally meant for Kotomi, Aimi didn’t even know how it happened—somehow, she ended up eating it all herself, bite by bite, as Kotomi fed her with the fork.
By the time she realized what had happened, the Cupid cake was completely gone.
I clearly wanted my sister to eat it... Aimi thought with a sense of regret.
But when she recalled that the last time Kotomi had fed her cake was half a year ago, all her disappointment instantly vanished. Instead, she felt that the 5,101 yen she had spent was totally worth it!
If her allowance wasn’t so tight, Aimi might have even regretted not buying two cakes last night when she placed the order!
"When I was feeding you earlier, I also had a few bites myself. The cake tasted pretty good, but it was so intricately decorated that I almost felt bad eating it," Kotomi said, placing the used plastic fork back into the cake box, planning to throw it away later when she went downstairs.
Hearing that Kotomi had eaten a few bites of the Cupid cake, Aimi’s eyes lit up with excitement, and she eagerly asked, "Did it have any effect?"
"What effect? It was just a delicious cake, nothing special," Kotomi replied, puzzled. "Don’t tell me you think this little Cupid cake has some kind of magical powers?"
Maybe eating it turns you into an angel?
𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
But even angels couldn’t surpass her beauty—Kotomi once again indulged in a bit of self-admiration.
Aimi sighed internally, a bit disappointed. As expected, relying on a cake with a Cupid design to advance their relationship was nothing but wishful thinking.
When it came to love, it was all just superstition.
Just like those who listen to "Good Luck" songs while drawing gacha pulls, only to end up with nothing but low-tier characters.
As Kotomi changed out of her school uniform and into her pajamas, she casually asked, "By the way, did Iroha go to school today?"
"She did. I thought she might take a day off, but when I walked into the classroom, she was already sitting in her seat, smiling and greeting me like usual. Hmm... but I’m still a little worried. I really hope she can come out of the shadow of what happened."
Talking about her best friend, Iroha Isshiki, Aimi couldn’t help but feel concerned, even though everything had seemingly settled down.
After all, finding out that her own mother was one of the serial killers behind those gruesome murders—and worse, that she had been one of her mother’s intended targets—must have been incredibly painful.
No matter how cheerful Iroha appeared on the surface, just thinking about it must make her feel uneasy, and it wasn’t something she could get over in a short period of time.
However, Aimi didn’t overdo her concern. She still treated Iroha the same way as always, just as Kotomi had advised. She understood that too much concern or care might not actually help Iroha; instead, it could make things worse.
If things weren’t handled properly, their friendship—once so natural—might end up with a tragic rift between them.
"There’s no need to worry too much, and you shouldn’t constantly think about what you can do for Iroha," Kotomi said gently, noticing the concern on Aimi’s face.
"Just keep being her friend like always. You’re already doing great."
Kotomi continued, her voice filled with warmth:
"Friendship is like a blank sheet of paper. Every word spoken or action taken—no matter how well-intentioned—could end up crumpling that paper into a ball.
Even if both sides later reconcile and try their best to smooth it out, the creases will always remain."
Aimi nodded, then hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to tell her sister what she had accidentally discovered at school today:
"Onee-chan, did the police hold a press conference today?"
"Yeah, why?" Kotomi asked casually.
"Did the police really change Iroha’s name to an alias?" Aimi looked at Kotomi with confusion.
Hearing this, Kotomi’s eyebrows furrowed instantly, and a bad premonition crept into her heart. "What do you mean by that?"
"During lunch break, I went to the girls’ restroom and overheard a group of girls talking by the sinks. They were discussing whether the girl who was almost murdered in the news this morning was actually Iroha.
Some of them even said that the killer was Iroha’s mom. Because of this, a lot of students at school have started avoiding her or intentionally talking about the serial murder case in front of her.
In private, they even gave her a nickname... ’The Murderer’s Daughter.’"
Hearing Aimi’s report, Kotomi subconsciously clenched her fists, an anger gradually igniting within her. She clicked her tongue in irritation.
The police had gone to such lengths to change the names of both Tetsunosuke Isshiki and IrohaI sshiki, making them unrecognizable to the general public.
So why were people at school still able to figure it out?!
"Is this for real?" Kotomi asked, still in disbelief.
"Of course it’s real!" Aimi exclaimed, her eyes full of concern for Iroha.
"Today, even two girls who used to be on good terms with Iroha started deliberately distancing themselves from her.
They even pulled me aside and warned me to stay away from her too.
But there’s no way I’d ever listen to them!"
Deliberately isolating her already?
Things were worse than Kotomi had imagined.
Even though Iroha was in her third year of middle school and would be graduating soon, there were still about six months left until the entrance exams.
Would she have to endure this isolation for the rest of the year?
It would definitely affect her studies and possibly her exam results.
Even if Iroha successfully entered Sobu High School after the exams, could they guarantee that no other classmates from middle school would get in too?
If one of them let slip about Iroha’s mother being a murderer, her high school life could be ruined too.
Being isolated in high school for three years...
Never underestimate how damaging isolation can be.
To Kotomi, social ostracization was like an invisible but deadly knife.
After thinking about it for a moment, Kotomi asked, "Does Iroha know about this?"
"She heard it too," Aimi sighed.
"After all, a lot of the girls who used to be friendly with her were avoiding her today. She’s not stupid—of course, she noticed something was off.
But she kept pretending like nothing was wrong, smiling as if she didn’t care.
After school, she even told me not to tell you about it... because she didn’t want you to worry."
Aimi revealed everything, feeling guilty for having kept it to herself even for a short while.
She couldn’t bear to see Iroha suffer alone, pretending everything was fine.
There’s no way anyone could be completely unaffected by such isolation.
Aimi had chosen to tell her sister because of a strong gut feeling—she believed that Kotomi was the only one who could truly help Iroha.
Under normal circumstances, Aimi might have been jealous of this thought.
But right now, all she wanted was to help her best friend.
Aimi was willing to trust her intuition.
Maybe... just maybe, her sister really could help Iroha!
"I’ll go ask Officer Hidori. She should know something."
Kotomi rubbed Aimi’s little head, her reliable tone naturally evoking a sense of dependence on her at this moment.
If Kotomi had added her signature line, "Leave it to your big sister!", Aimi would probably have melted right into Kotomi’s embrace on the spot.
Kotomi dialed the phone number Hidori had left before leaving. After waiting for a few minutes, however, the call went unanswered.
After quite some time without a response, the call ended automatically with a polite, "The user you are trying to reach is currently busy. Please try again later."
Staring at her phone, Kotomi muttered to herself, "Could it be because she’s busy with work?"
That seemed like one of the most reasonable guesses. After all, as an assistant inspector in the First Investigation Division, Hidori undoubtedly had an overwhelming workload to manage every day.
There was no choice but to try calling again later.
Just then, Izumi Akina called them downstairs for dinner. Kotomi casually placed her phone on her desk and went downstairs with Aimi to eat.
Tonight, Akina had prepared a dish she had learned from a TV show: Mapo Tofu.
This happened to be Kotomi’s favorite dish from her previous life, a comforting and flavorful meal she had always loved. The combination of Mapo Tofu and white rice filled her heart with wonder—how could something taste this good?
Furthermore, it was the first time she had tried Mapo Tofu in her past life that had helped her overcome her aversion to spicy foods and develop a deep appreciation for bold and spicy flavors.
Accompanied by the Mapo Tofu, Kotomi devoured ten whole bowls of rice tonight, leaving the rice cooker impeccably empty—without a single grain left behind.
For most girls, eating ten bowls of rice at dinner would be unthinkable.
After all, eating such a large amount at night is notorious for contributing to weight gain.
Especially during adolescence, a time when young girls are most conscious about their figures, even eating a single piece of bread at night might cause regret to linger until the next morning, worrying that it could lead to extra pounds.
But Kotomi never had such concerns. She ate a lot, but her body required plenty of nutrition, and thanks to her natural gifts—those frustratingly enviable genetic advantages—no matter how much she ate, her figure always remained in peak form.
Whether male or female, anyone who knew about this couldn’t help but envy her.
After dinner, Kotomi engaged in her usual post-meal activity. Leaning close to Phoenix’s ear, she sang an emotionally charged rendition of "All the Way North" for the little cat.
Originally in high spirits and ready to transform into a mischievous whirlwind of energy, Phoenix, after being subjected to Kotomi’s performance of "All the Way North," ended up retreating to its cat bed with a contemplative look, as if deeply pondering its life as a feline.
However... there seemed to be something off about the direction of Phoenix’s recent introspection.
Kotomi noticed that Phoenix’s gaze toward Dragon had grown increasingly peculiar lately.
Every time Dragon strutted leisurely around the house, Phoenix would inexplicably and stealthily appear right behind her, startling Dragon so much that she would leap into the air as if equipped with springs in her feet.
"I really don’t understand what goes through a cat’s mind all day," Kotomi mused with a sigh.
Returning to her room, she picked up her phone to play Azur Lane, only to notice a missed call notification from 15 minutes ago.
The caller was none other than Hidori, whose call she had tried to reach earlier but failed.
Unlocking her phone, Kotomi dialed back. After waiting for a few minutes, Hidori finally answered.
"Kotomi, calling at night—did something happen?"
Ever since the serial murder case had concluded, as Hidori reviewed the sequence of events, she realized that Kotomi’s presence was a recurring element in every pivotal moment of the investigation. The more she thought about it, the more uncanny it seemed, and she had mentally classified Kotomi as someone akin to a "goddess of death."
When Kotomi saw that Hidori had called her back, her heart subconsciously skipped a beat, thinking something big might have happened again.
"I just wanted to talk about Iroha. Is now a good time?" Kotomi asked.
On the other end of the call, Officer Hidori raised her elegant eyebrows slightly, recalling what Iroha had said while hugging Kotomi’s arm at the hospital not long ago.
"Oh~? Are you two finally getting married?"
"Well... it’s a bit early, but I believe the city office allows marriage applications starting at sixteen. Your ages aren’t that far apart, so you could definitely hold the wedding first and file the paperwork later.
When are you planning to have the wedding? I’ll try to make time to attend, though I’ve been busy with various meetings lately and might not be able to make it out to Chiba City.
Of course, whether or not I can attend, I’ll still give you two a red envelope. After all, I’m a witness to your love story."
Officer Hidori spoke in a serious tone and was already planning to buy a wedding gift and red envelope after work.
Hearing this, Kotomi, who had been drinking water, nearly choked. She coughed a few times before helplessly laughing.
"How could it possibly be about getting married? Besides, Iroha was just joking that time. We’re just ordinary friends."
"Alright, back to the point, Officer Hidori. I wanted to ask about the police press conference this morning. Did they really use pseudonyms for everyone?"
Kotomi explained Iroha’s situation in detail. If pseudonyms had indeed been used, why had Iroha’s classmates suspected—or even concluded—that her mother was a murderer?
After hearing Kotomi’s explanation, Officer Hidori sighed. "I didn’t expect the information to spread so quickly."
"What do you mean?"
"To be honest, the reason I didn’t answer your call earlier was that I was in the interrogation room. I was questioning a reporter who attended the press conference this morning. She’s the one responsible for all of this."
"A reporter?" Kotomi was puzzled.
"Yes. Even though reporters attending police press conferences are screened by the Metropolitan Police Department, just like there are rotten apples within the police, some reporters from various news outlets are willing to take risks for money.
Today, a reporter from a media company turned out to be an undercover agent. I’m not very familiar with corporate rivalries, but here’s the gist:
Media Company A has been upset with Media Company B for repeatedly stealing their headlines. So, they sent a female reporter undercover to Media Company B to find opportunities to smear them.
This female reporter successfully completed several news stories, earning the trust of Media Company B’s management. They even allowed her to attend this police press conference.
This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. Using Chiba City’s information network, she discovered the real names behind the pseudonyms used in the press conference, including Tetsunosuke, Iroha’s father, and Iroha herself. By exposing these real names, she could tarnish Media Company B’s reputation, making them appear unprofessional."
After hearing Officer Hidori’s explanation, Kotomi understood the situation.
"So, the real names of Yuuha, Mr. Isshiki, and Iroha were all exposed by this undercover reporter sent by Media Company A?"
"Yes. After the press conference, she quickly wrote a short report where none of the names were pseudonyms. She published it online under the guise of a Media Company B reporter. The Metropolitan Police Department discovered it soon after and had it forcibly taken down. They also arrested the reporter. But in the less than ten minutes it was online, people had already seen it."
Officer Hidori sighed again. It was hard to guard against such treachery. Who would’ve thought that a seemingly righteous reporter would directly expose real names like this?
The entire Media Company B must be in an uproar now. Not only had their rival sent an undercover agent, but they had also resorted to such underhanded tactics.
But no one seemed to care about how the individuals whose real names had been exposed felt.
"Was my name also exposed by that reporter?" Kotomi asked, her head beginning to ache.
"No, it wasn’t. The reporter’s information network had many gaps, and fortunately, one of those gaps prevented her from learning your name."
Officer Hidori’s words allowed Kotomi to breathe a small sigh of relief. She had feared her real name would be exposed too.
But beyond relief, she was mostly angry.
The reporter had included Iroha’s real name in her story, which led to Iroha’s classmates learning about her mother’s criminal history.
Some envious or mean-spirited students had formed cliques to gradually isolate Iroha.
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— End of Chapter 324 —