"After all of that shit you did, you still came to my house... How ironic, Aoi? Don't you think... AOI?"
Ren's voice was deep and cold as he spoke the sarcastic words, which only made Aoi's expression twist further
"..."
No words.
Silence blanketed the room. Aoi's eyes darted from place to place, as if she were completely unable to meet his gaze.
"Confused, are you, Aoi...?"
Ren leaned back against the sofa, staring up at the ceiling and returning to the exact posture he had been in before she arrived. He waited for a few seconds, and when he noticed no interruption, he continued:
"...You're probably asking yourself something like... 'Why? Why did I come here...?'"
Aoi's chest finally heaved with a sharp exhale as she looked directly at Ren, her eyes narrowing slightly. If Ren were to see her expression right now, he might have slipped into another fit of hysterical laughter.
"D-Don't make things up! I... It's not like I came here for... whatever reason you might think..."
Aoi firmly denied whatever idea Ren was suggesting, trying her best to sound composed and cold, though it wasn't convincing in the least.
"Hah. Is that so? Then what are you here for, AOI?"
Every time Ren dropped her name, Aoi felt as though he were casting some sort of curse on her.
"I'm here to... Ah, yes. I'm here to inform you that I reported you to the police, and from now on, you... you don't have anything on me!"
Ren closed his eyes as he listened to Aoi's excuse. It was weak and pathetic. What was the logic in going straight to your blackmailer to declare you'd reported them to the police?
'She's clearly desperate to make something up—anything, even if it defies all logic. It's just a fragile coping mechanism for her own peace of mind, but...'
Ren wasn't ready to sit through an hour-long shouting match and debate with her about why she was really here, tempting as it was to tease her about it. After all, Ren already knew the simple answer: Aoi was bound to the deal.
Back when he was stressing over how to handle this crisis, a simple thought had crossed his mind What if Aoi—the person who reported she was being blackmailed—came to his house at night? To the very person she reported? To the man she described as a manipulative scum, a monster? Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
'Contradiction.'
That was a massive flaw in her narrative, and the police were bound to investigate it. And the best part? It wouldn't just be tonight—she had five more mandatory nights ahead of her.
'How ironic. Relying on the System is what got me into this mess in the first place, but now, it's my ultimate counterattack.'
"Aoi..." Ren called out softly as he lowered his head and locked eyes with her.
Aoi's shoulders shook for a second—not just from being addressed, but because his expression had returned to normal that same small, relaxed, entirely unbothered smile.
"...You know, I'm genuinely impressed. You really pulled it off. Framing me for stealing the money and claiming I blackmailed you into having sex with you... That was some serious legwork. And the recording? Absolutely amazing. It was all executed in such a flawless manner. Can you believe I never once doubted you? Heh, funny right?"
Aoi swallowed hard once before speaking up. "That's what you get for what you did. You're going to jail soon."
"Hah, that might be true. But listen, Aoi—I don't want to go back and forth with you...."
Ren paused for a second before continuing in a much more serious, grounded tone:
"Aoi... when I thought about what you did, I was a bit confused myself. How could a girl who seemed like such a pushover—someone who accepted my deal with just weak intimidation—be able to pull something like that off? No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't reach any conclusion other than that you must have been malicious from the beginning."
Aoi froze, not showing much of a reaction outwardly.
"That's right. You accepted my deal because you were interested, and not only that, you saw it as a way to get out of the problem you were facing. Heh, am I right?"
"NO."
Ren's reasoning was simple: Aoi had a 70% corruption potential, meaning she was already somewhat compromised. She had accepted the deal out of personal interest, looking to use him as a guinea pig to get what she wanted.
'From her tone, I think my guess hit the mark.'
"Aoi, it doesn't matter what you say, because I know the truth—just like I found out about the embezzlement of the event funds. So don't waste my time with your whiny little talk, and let's get things started."
"Wh... No... Why..." Aoi's voice broke down as anger and a whirlwind of other emotions overwhelmed her. "I told you, I'm not here for that! Stop making things..."
"Aoi, you came here by your own free will. I didn't even open the door for you—you did."
Ren knows exactly why Aoi came back. He understands that the System is compelling her to attend but Aoi doesn't know that and his words didn't just make here stop talking they plunged her into a deep, suffocating silence. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
"Aoi, I don't mind you reporting me after all. You're right."(Aoi, I am going to make you pay for that.)
"Aoi, you came back because some part of you wanted to and still believes in our deal."(I will break you into pieces.)
"Aoi, I'll still help you erase your mistakes, since your little attempt will unfortunately end in failure."(I'll make sure you can never stand on your own without clinging to me.)
"Aoi, I'm actually enjoying this. I don't mind a little fight back."(I am really enjoying this.)
Aoi stood there, hanging onto his every word. Each sentence fell upon her ears like a drop of poison, striking somewhere deep inside her psyche.
Aoi took a deep breath before speaking, her voice cracking and pitiful. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's simple. I'm saying that I'll take this time easy, because the police are going to drop this case soon. Do you know why?"
Aoi's face grew deathly pale. "I don't believe you."
"Because you're here, Aoi. Because you're right here." Ren's words echoed in her ears as she watched his small, calm smile—an expression that didn't match the situation whatsoever.
Inside her head, Aoi processed his words for a fraction of a second, her pale face suddenly morphing into sheer horror. "You..."
Aoi finally realized what he meant.
"No, no, I—"
"Aoi, I believe you now understand your position. You tried to break our deal by using me as a guinea pig, but that will fail. And believe me, it's not just tonight—mark my words, for all five remaining nights, you're going to come back because YOU WANT IT."
"No... I... It's not..."
"Aoi, stop whining. I forgive you, so let's move on. You said it before, right? I'm a pervert, right? All I care about is sex, right? Just think like that. Let's not waste any more time and get into our lovely night."
Ren tapped the sofa cushion with his hand, gesturing for her to sit beside him.