Ren had been anticipating some kind of testimony a statement a student or someone else had given but not in his wildest dreams did he expect this.
'She was recording... DAMN... When could it have been? In the student council room, right? No... wait. She wasn't expecting me to come over... so it was that night. But she left her phone and purse in the living room, same as her dress... could it be...?'
For the first time, Ren's facial expression twisted in a strange way that caught the two detectives completely off guard, along with Principal Daigo and Vice Principal Daichi.
'...The jeans...' The only thing that had made its way into the bedroom.
Ren remembered the moment Aoi returned to the room and grabbed her jeans with aggressive urgency, and the bad feeling he had brushed aside so easily. There was no escaping it now. An immense wave of regret and rage crashed over him toward himself.
'FUCK! DAMN IT! You stupid, arrogant bastard! What was I thinking, getting attached to the dominant role? I acted like an idiot! Of course she would fight back and find a way to throw me down! Now that I think about it, she accepted the whole deal way too fast... Didn't she accept it intentionally?! Fuck this! That's why she was 70% potential FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!'
"Ren?"
A voice broke through, pulling him back to reality out of his spiral of rage. It was Akihiko's voice.
"Huh?" Ren looked around. They were all staring at him.
'What? Why are they looking at me like that?' Ren's eyes fell briefly on the window glass, catching his own reflection.
'Ah, I see. No wonder they're making that kind of face... Huh... fuck it.' Ren put his hand over his face and exhaled deeply.
"Ren, are you with us? Is everything alright?" Eiko asked.
'Screw it. I'm not dealing with these any more.'
Ren dropped his hand and looked at Eiko, then leaned forward. His expression was now calm, but cold. There was something unreadable in his eyes. You are reading on novelping . com, the official source.
"Yes, Detective. Let me correct myself the answer to your previous question is yes. I met with Aoi last night at my house."
Ren tilted his head slightly and continued, "And yes, I lied. I was also not honest most of the time, and that's all for a reason. So let me explain."
The way Ren spoke was smooth, a stark contrast to his usual school persona. As he kept talking, no one interrupted him because why interrupt when he was finally about to spill whatever lies or truths he had prepared? because in end every word carries something.
"All you need to know is that me and Aoi were having an affair. Yes, she and Takeshi are a thing, but it is what it is. And yes, I know about the missing funds, and no, it's not me. The real culprit is Takeshi. Aoi was mad that I found out about it by overhearing."
As Ren continued talking, everyone in the room had a different reaction to his words. Akihiko was fully immersed, listening carefully to everything Ren said. Eiko was showing disgust and anger, fighting hard to keep her professional line and react to what he was saying. Principal Daigo was only half-listening as he seemed lost in thought, while Vice Principal Daichi didn't care much about Ren's words at all, choosing instead to look through some papers in his hands.
"It was yesterday things were getting south, as Aoi was continuing to avoid me, so I had to stay late and confront her. She lashed at me..."
"And you blackmailed her," Eiko finally interrupted, letting him carry away his narrative without a question wasn't a good idea, so she pressed on the most critical part.
"No, why would I blackmail her when I wasn't getting anything from her? We were already having sex all I said was it had been a while, let's meet up tonight. She was emotional, but surprisingly she accepted, and she met me, and now here we are—accused of fraud I didn't commit and blackmailed over a non-existent matter."
The room went silent for a moment as Ren finished his words. Eiko and Akihiko looked at each other, and the one who spoke next was Eiko.
"Ren, there's something I want to know. You said there was no blackmail involved. Care to hear this?"
As soon as she finished, Akihiko already pulled out a recorder and played the audio file.
((
"Hey, so you came after all. I thought you would run away, but it seems like you..."
"I'm not here for chit-chat, Ren. Let's just get this over with."
"Why are you in such a hurry to start?"
"But remember, Aoi, this is my time, not yours, and I can use it however I want. If that much isn't clear, we can't proceed with this deal. Do you understand?"
"You want to get this over with soon, right? Come on and sit on my lap."
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to do it?"
"I... will,"
))
Akihiko stopped the recorder and looked at Ren.
"Ren, do you recognize that voice? From the tone of it, it seems like there's something more going on than just the two of you having an affair, right?"
Then, Akihiko started tapping his pen on the desk.
"This recording was provided by Aoi. It's hours long. Basically, from the way it sounds and its tone, it doesn't seem like a regular affair, don't you think? And—"
"Sorry about that, but that's all I'm going to say. I won't answer any more questions. It's pretty obvious from the way you're pressing me that you've already decided I'm a criminal and that I have to prove my innocence."
Ren interrupted before Akihiko could finish his thought, shocking the two detectives with his sudden aggression and tone.
"Regardless of that, I will not provide any further information. If that proof you have right there is enough, use it to put me in jail and don't waste time on me over some angry, sensitive girl's lash-out."
With that said, Ren grabbed his bag, glanced at the principal, and when he saw that no one was stopping him, he continued walking toward the door.
'This wasn't an official interrogation it was framed as a simple "cooperate with us" session. If they were convinced the proof and evidence were solid, I'd already be behind bars right now. Which means there are still loose ends, and they're waiting to see how I react. Let me keep playing along with their investigation and see the outcome—the case is still fresh, since she only reported it last night.'