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“Uhm…where am I? Who are you? I don’t know what’s going on…”
Sou Hiyori approached her with those words and pleading eyes.
According to Kanna, he had tripped and hit his head again, and it resulted in amnesia again.
As soon as she said that, Reko forbid her from returning to Sou right away, grumbling about how much of a “piece of shit liar” he was. Kanna seemed a bit uncomfortable about that, but eventually stayed with Reko.
But then, with Kanna out of the picture, Sou was left alone and started wandering left and right with the expression of a kicked puppy.
He eventually spoke up, and to her of all people.
She was tired of his lies. He tried this same exact lie a few days ago. She didn’t believe him, but still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, she regretted doing even just that.
“Sou, what are you trying to pull this time?”
His expression turned surprised, and vaguely tense. He nervously looked around him before turning back towards her.
“W-what do you mean…? Sou…? You couldn’t mean…no, there’s no way. A-and…I’m not trying to pull anything…are you angry? Why?”
Sara let out a sigh.
She really didn’t have time for this. The Main Game was just a few hours away. She had no intention of getting caught up in obvious lies.
Especially not while she was holding that card.
“Did you forget your own name? Anyway, try thinking of the reason why on your own.”
She turned around and tried leaving, but he grabbed the hem of her jacket, in an attempt to stop her.
“Please…don’t leave…my name is not Sou…it’s Shin. Shin Tsukimi. I do know someone whose name is Sou but…that must be a coincidence.”
She tried to look at him another time. His face looked surprisingly troubled, and it seemed oddly…genuine.
However, that he was a fairly good actor was nothing new, so she couldn’t let down her guard with him.
But lying about his own name? What?
She couldn’t help but find that weird. When he faked amnesia before, he didn’t go to such lengths. Also, she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen it, but she felt like this wasn’t the first time she heard the name “Shin Tsukimi”.
Sou quietly continued
“I…can’t remember anything…I apologize if I’ve done anything bad…sorry…”
He seemed to almost be on the verge of tears.
She remembered what he did before. He tried to make her remember about…
Ugh…not now…
Even if he made that face, she knew it had to be fake. But she felt as if leaving him like that, wandering around, would come with its own dangers.
“Then tell me about yourself first.”
She refused to be led by the nose. He was likely lying, but on the off chance he was telling the truth, she wanted to get something from this too.
Sou Hiyori was too much of a mystery, and she was interested in uncovering it for the sake of the group.
He made cooperation hard.
But some part of her still refused to give up on him.
She wanted to escape with everyone, Shin included.
And it will have to be in a few hours if I want that…
“I’m Shin Tsukimi…I…I’m a high school student…where is this…?”
He seemed to be a little surprised, but he answered.
But Sara couldn’t really understand that answer.
Sou was a liar, but his lies were never this transparent.
She knew for a fact he wasn’t a high schooler, if the information given by the organization that held them captive was to be trusted.
Is he telling the truth…?
She still couldn’t be sure, but some part of her was starting to believe him.
She needed something more.
Something that would have cleared her doubts.
Then it hit her.
A way that might have convinced her.
“So…Shin. Do you have a tablet with you?”
She figured the real Sou would have never shown his role card to her. Not for nothing at least.
“Huh…?”
He seemed confused, but he searched his body and took out a tablet identical to Sara’s.
“You mean this…?”
“Yes. That’s it. Could you show me what’s on it? You have to use your fingerprint.”
Sara was seeking confirmation.
But at the same time…she realized.
“Uhm…there is some card design on it…Commoner? Is what’s written on it…do you know what it means? You…can take a look at it…I don’t really understand…”
As he handed the tablet to her, she realized.
That she was just taking advantage of the situation.
That trying to confirm if his amnesia was real was just an excuse to gain an advantage during the Main Game.
She had already realized that Sou probably wasn’t lying this time. Something was different compared to his other lies. Too many things were different.
She thought that at present, the current, confused Sou might have even given her some tokens if she asked.
He might have even traded his card with hers.
“Yeah…thank you…I will help you. Sorry for not trusting you at first.”
And? He keeps hurting me. Why should I feel bad? He would definitely do the same.
Yet the more she looked at screen the more guilty she felt.
She felt like a horrible woman who was taking advantage of someone’s distress to preserve her own survival.
“C…could you do a little something though? You…you just need to…go to one of those phone booths…and you need to put in…fifty tokens…they’re shaped like little coins with people’s faces on it…y…you should have some. Then you…just need to say my name…it’s…Sara Chidouin…”
And that’s exactly who she was.
Haha…
On the other hand, Sou’s tension seemed to ease up a little.
“Okay I’ll do that…thank you…you’re the only one who helped me.”
Please…stop…don’t say anything…
“Yeah…you don’t need to worry about anything. To be honest, we’re currently in a bad situation, but I’ll make sure we’ll all get out of this together…”
The man in front of her smiled a little bit.
“I still don’t really get it but…I’m in your care. Thank you…”
All she could muster was a bitter smile and a few words Sara herself didn’t really believe.
“Yeah…you can trust me.”