Chapter 5 : Chapter 5
Chapter 05: Evil, Drop Dead! Drop Dead, Drop Dead, Drop Dead!
The warden—an absolute idiot—was, beyond any doubt, exactly that.
Even though Chang Rong had been in this prison for less than twenty-four hours, he could already make that judgment with a perfectly clear conscience.
And the reason for that conclusion was very simple—
Chang Rong stole a glance at the girl sitting diagonally across from him in the cramped room, the one named Nikaido Hiro.
From appearances alone, Hiro looked utterly disheveled. Her long black-and-red uniform dress was stained beyond recognition with white paint and red blood, and her once-silken hair had become split and tangled after everything that had happened earlier.
Even so, the girl still glared with those blood-red eyes, looking proud and aloof.
...In Chang Rong’s eyes, that was nothing more than a prettified way of saying she looked like a murderer who had not yet had her fill of killing.
Nikaido Hiro had already been unsettling enough to begin with, and against the backdrop of this “disciplinary chamber,” she looked even more terrifying.
Apparently, this prison did not even have a room specifically meant for holding suspects. Chang Rong truly did not want to think too hard about this temporary confinement room, which was filled with all sorts of horrifying torture devices he had only ever seen in films, and what its “original purpose” might have been.
The biggest problem at the moment was Nikaido Hiro. If she suddenly gave up on everything and decided to drag someone down with her before she went, then would he not immediately become victim number two?
Locking him in a tiny dark room with the prime suspect in a murder case without so much as a second thought—had the warden’s brain been caught in a door?
Worse still, for some reason, Nikaido Hiro did not seem to have a very high initial opinion of him, a complete stranger.
Was it because of the different treatment they had received when that 【Guard】 had brought them here?
After the warden gave the order, both he and Hiro had been taken to this disciplinary chamber by that inhuman guard. Neither of them had resisted, as if they had both accepted their fate—but when the guard carried Hiro, it had looked like someone casually taking out a bag of trash, whereas with him, it had almost been a princess carry, gentle and careful from beginning to end.
...No matter what, he had to try to get on her good side first and drag her favorability into positive territory.
His phone had also been confiscated when he was locked in here. At the exact moment he actually needed that idiotic romance system to give him some advice, he had no way to use it.
His luck was truly abysmal.
“Classmate Nikaido?”
“Oh? Are you planning to mock the way I look right now? Or are you going to stand on the moral high ground and sanctimoniously accuse me of murder? You’re wrong. I’m not evil—”
“I’m not thinking that at all! I’m sure you’re a victim too!”
She looked graceful and refined at a glance, the very picture of a proper Yamato Nadeshiko, so how had she turned into a hissing, explosive mess the moment he so much as probed the subject?
Seeing the not-quite-confirmed murderer visibly heating up, Chang Rong hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, trying to say, “【False Testimony】I believe you, Hiro.”
“There is no need for your grand-sounding words. I know perfectly well that everyone has already decided I am the criminal. Hah. They talk about unity and helping one another, but in the end, the only person one can trust is oneself. Everyone else is an enemy.”
Hiro spoke through gritted teeth, but rather than saying it for Chang Rong’s benefit, it sounded more like she was trying to comfort herself.
—Hmm... Although my first impression was that she was an unstable, quick-tempered person, if she really were the murderer, then she would have no reason to bristle so much at being “voted into the little black room” with me.
It was precisely because being locked inside the disciplinary chamber was unjust that she was so angry about it.
As Chang Rong watched the black-haired girl sit there gritting her teeth and cursing everyone as unworthy of trust, he gradually began to think the odds of her being the killer were much lower than he had first assumed.
—I should keep trying to get closer to her. Who knows how long we’ll be locked in here? Maybe this is actually a good chance to gather information.
He had already managed to improve his relationship with Noah through a few casual moves.
Dealing with everyone else ought to be just as easy.
His confidence swelling like a balloon, Chang Rong made up his mind. He looked at Nikaido Hiro, came up with what he thought was a brilliant opening topic, and took the initiative to speak.
“Come to think of it, Classmate Sakura seemed really worried about you. You two must be good friends, right?”
“—”
No response. But that was fine. She had probably already sensed the goodwill radiating from him. He just needed to keep pushing.
“Classmate Nikaido, don’t be too angry. I don’t really know the full story, but everyone else probably misunderstood you. It can’t be helped. Nobody is right forever, are they? People are bound to make mistakes.”
“—”
Still no response. Looks like Nikaido is seriously thinking over what I said. Good. Time to strike while the iron is hot.
“By the way, Classmate Nikaido, do you know Noah? She really is an incredible girl. I can’t imagine anyone putting on a sour face in front of someone that strange and adorable, right?”
“—”
Damn, it looked like Nikaido and Noah were not very close after all. Better change the subject quickly.
“To be honest, I don’t understand the current situation at all. If you weren’t here with me, Classmate Nikaido, I might be so lost that I’d just want to kill myself and restart, haha... Hmm?”
Chang Rong made a self-deprecating joke meant to liven the mood, then saw Hiro—who had been sitting in the corner the whole time—suddenly stand up and sweep her gaze across the disciplinary chamber’s many frightening torture tools.
“What are you doing, Classmate Nikaido?”
“Looking for a suitable tool,” Nikaido Hiro replied flatly.
“A tool? I don’t know what you need it for, but do you want my help?”
“No need. I’ve already found one—you really are the true mastermind behind all this!”
“Gwah!?”
Nikaido Hiro exploded into motion, snatched up a straight ruler, spun around, and unleashed an Ashina Ichimonji: Double straight at Chang Rong. In panic, he bent backward and ducked, then caught the ruler between his palms in an empty-hand blade catch.
“Evil, drop dead! Drop dead, drop dead!!!”
“Wh-why are you suddenly going crazy!? Are you really the killer!?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the evil one. Evil deserves to be corrected and punished by me!”
—What in the world is she talking about?
Chang Rong was beginning to suspect that he and Hiro did not, in fact, speak the same language. This long black-haired girl with the crimson highlights really could go from calm to full-blown hysteria at the press of a button, with not the slightest warning beforehand.
All he had done was try to chat with the suspected murderer and build some rapport, yet he had nearly gotten both his legs smashed in for it.
Clack!
The sound of the metal lock being opened suddenly came from the disciplinary chamber door, followed by two sets of footsteps entering one after the other.
“So we can finally come in. Are you two all right—whoa!”
The first person to enter the disciplinary chamber was the “Prince.” She immediately took in the fierce combat scene between Chang Rong and Nikaido at a glance.
Hearing someone come in, Chang Rong hurriedly grabbed at this lifeline and prepared to call for help.
“Help—”
“Looks like I underestimated the two of you! Hiro, Chang Rong, I never would have thought that, even under these circumstances, you would still pass the time and relieve stress by rehearsing a sword-fight drama. Ha ha! Although, Chang Rong, your movements are a little off. Would you like me to coach you? Don’t be discouraged. Not everyone can grasp the core of a role as quickly as I can.”
The blond “Prince” clapped as she spoke, sighing in admiration.
—What on earth is she talking about??
This was obviously not a film set. It was an active murder scene.
Before he could even complain, the owner of the second set of footsteps also entered the disciplinary chamber. The sight of that familiar pink-and-white hair instantly made Chang Rong feel much safer.
“Classmate Sakura! Listen to me, Nikaido suddenly had some kind of episode—”
“Chang Rong-kun really became close with Hiro-chan so quickly. How nice... It is only natural, since she is Hiro-chan. And you too, Chang Rong-kun. In the end, I’m the only one who can’t make up with Hiro-chan again... I’m the one nobody needs...”
—What on earth is she talking about???
And why did it look as though a mass of white skeletal wings was vaguely drifting behind this pink-haired girl? Was that just his imagination?
Emma Sakura only took one glance at Hiro trying to kill Chang Rong, and then dark lines crossed her face as she began releasing a pitch-black gravity factor all on her own.
So the originally deathly silent disciplinary chamber turned into this:
“Evil, drop dead!” — Nikaido Hiro kept mindlessly repeating herself while hacking downward.
“No, no, Chang Rong-kun. A proper rival in a sword-fighting film would never make a pitiful hit sound like ‘Gwah!’” — The Prince stood to the side with her hands on her hips, wagging a finger as she offered sharp criticism.
“I’m so jealous of you, Chang Rong-kun...” — The pink-haired girl, Emma Sakura, stood to the side smiling with a darkened face.
It seemed that now was not the time to investigate the dead. What he really needed to think about was how to deal with this pack of lunatics.
There was not a single normal human being here!