Chapter 43: Truth (Part One)

"But unfortunately, that is a lie."

Shigu's voice echoed through the locked bookstore. It was as calm as ever, yet carried a sharpness that cut through the veil.

Mio Ito gazed at him, her face showing no sign of shock, only a slight tilt of her head. Yet within her heart, thoughts stirred chaotically like gentle rain.

…He truly knows.
…He has truly seen through the deepest part of her, the things she never wished to speak.
…This was only their second meeting, and yet this young man seemed to have become the person who understood her best in the world.
…Perhaps even better than her own father.

She should have felt panic, as if struck suddenly in front of a Buddha, lost and bewildered. Yet, strangely, she felt a faint sense of peace.

Unconsciously, Mio Ito smiled.

"…Why do you say that?" she asked softly, her tone laced with an almost imperceptible hope. As if she hoped Shigu's answer would reach the innermost corners of her soul.

Shigu did not explain directly. He pondered, then spoke quietly, "Humans are creatures accustomed to lying… Whether to others or themselves, they are used to covering things up with falsehoods. But no matter what kind of lie it is, there will always be flaws—if not in words, then in the liar’s physical responses.

"Lies manifest in changes in blood pressure, pulse, breathing, and skin resistance, and are also reflected in brain activity and hormone secretion. If one observes carefully enough, the truth behind the lies becomes apparent.

"So… may I ask, Miss Mio, when you recounted your experience of being bullied and cruelly abused at school, why did your hormones and bioelectric signals reveal not panic… but a faint joy?"

Bioelectric changes and hormone secretion?

Mio Ito’s eyes widened slightly, showing for the first time a more obvious emotional reaction. Could anyone truly observe such minute details?

Yet that doubt lingered only briefly in her mind. Somehow, in the tightly locked bookstore, with its peculiar, shadowy atmosphere, Mio Ito felt that nothing happening here would seem out of place.

Seeing that Mio Ito did not answer his question, Shigu spoke again.

"…Let’s begin with the start of your story, Miss Mio—earlier you said that in elementary school, there was an incident where a classmate cruelly killed the classroom rabbit. But in the end, with your father Hiroshi Ito’s investigation and clarification, the true culprit was found.

"So I’d like to ask—actually… who was the real killer of that rabbit?"

Shigu fixed his clear gaze on Mio Ito.

In his eyes, there was neither kindness nor malice. His eyes were like frozen stars, looking upon everything with equal indifference. For a moment, Mio Ito felt as if behind this man stood a towering tree reaching into the clouds, its roots deep in the earth, its crown alongside the sun and moon, like a supreme deity, ignoring human laws and worldly rules, listening to her secrets with eternal detachment—or perhaps her confession.

…That was… greatness beyond all else.

Suddenly, Mio Ito began to understand what sort of existence Shigu truly was.

Her gaze grew distant. The small bookstore room seemed to open up, vast as the cosmos, filled with a sense of emptiness.

And so, in that emptiness, Mio Ito quietly spoke the truth:

"…The culprit… was myself."

"So, you shifted the identity of the 'culprit' onto another classmate?"

"Yes."

"Who was that person?"

"She was… Mia Mineyama."

…

Mana Mizuhara still lay on the cold concrete floor.

As time passed, most of the pain in her body faded, but Mana Mizuhara paid no heed to her physical state. Her mind was immersed in the story Mia Mineyama told in a voice dripping with malice; goosebumps prickled her skin.

"…Back then, I was in second grade, in the same class as that Mio Ito. Yet the difference between us was enormous—unlike now, I was the prettiest girl in class, the center of the group, always proud, head held high, but would blush if a boy handed me plasticine. Ha…"

"But Mio Ito was different. She was just an outsider, neither bullied nor welcomed, always buried in a book at the back of the classroom. Then came the 'rabbit death incident.' Everyone agreed it was her, but fortunately her idiot police officer dad stepped in and made a passionate speech, so no one believed she was the real culprit.

"Everyone thought it was over. But one day, when I came to school, I noticed something in my desk had been moved—I thought it was just my imagination.

"But a few days later, that cop suddenly claimed to have caught the culprit. He dug up a bloodstained pair of scissors from the soil behind the school, the 'murder weapon,' and based on footprints and mud traces from the shoe locker, he determined the shoes belonged to me.

"I believe the cop wasn’t trying to frame me, because after discovering I was the 'culprit,' he came to find me, as if he thought I was setting up his daughter, but only wanted to lecture me, not reveal the real culprit.

"But my pride couldn’t bear such humiliation. So I made a scene, exposed everything, but no one believed me. With the cop’s endorsement, everyone thought I was the true culprit, trying to frame the class’s outsider, Mio Ito. The cop behaved incredibly tolerant, but the more tolerant he was, the more suspicion I faced. Those who disliked me fanned the flames, and in a few days, my status plunged from the heights into the depths, like sinking into an abyss—everywhere I went, there were only scornful glances and slander. With everyone saying so, even I began to feel like a 'criminal.' In the end, my father transferred jobs and moved me to another city, finally calming the storm.

"But how could I ever forget that pain?

"In the years that followed, I lived with the confusion of being a 'criminal' and the frustration of having done nothing wrong. Gradually, these emotions intertwined, and I could no longer endure the normal school life—I became infamous as a delinquent. Luckily, my father’s career soared and he became a businessman, so I never sank to the lowest level of gang girls."

Mia Mineyama’s voice was icy and bitter.

"Through all those years, I kept collecting stories about Mio Ito—her idiot cop father died; her mother fell for a strange religion; she herself was constantly bullied… Ha, poetic justice! Her misfortune was the source of my happiness, gradually healing my wounds and allowing me to look down on her from high above. When I graduated junior high, I stopped waiting, asked my father for a transfer, and enrolled at Shingtai Academy—the high school where Mio Ito studied—so I could experience the thrill of crushing her status up close. It was because of her… that I became who I am today. But even so, I’m still far better than her."

Mana Mizuhara listened, unable to believe what she was hearing.

She wanted to argue back, but her throat felt powerless—perhaps because, deep down, she already believed everything this delinquent girl said was true.

…She had no reason to lie, nor any motive to deceive.

Yet…

Even so, Mana Mizuhara searched desperately for flaws in Mia Mineyama’s story.

"…Even if… you were framed in elementary school… it doesn’t prove Mio was the one who did it…"

"…Ha." Mia Mineyama let out a cold laugh. "…You think I wouldn’t have doubts? In fact, right before I transferred, I confronted Mio Ito and asked her for the truth."

"Mio…?"

"—She admitted it. She said it was all her doing."

"…"

Mana Mizuhara listened helplessly, as if hearing some tale from another world.

No…

I can’t just give up…

I still have to believe in Mio…

"But… even so… after coming to Shingtai Academy, why do you torment her so much? Didn’t you say you just wanted to 'enjoy the thrill of crushing her status'?"

Faced with Mana Mizuhara’s question, Mia Mineyama fell silent for a moment. After a pause, her voice sounded again, thick with resentment and bitterness.

"Of course, I came to Shingtai Academy precisely to witness Mio Ito being bullied and tormented up close—at first, I just wanted to harass her a little, like dumping a bucket of cold water over her head or punching her in the stomach.

"But soon, I stopped those petty tricks.

"Because, I discovered… that birthmark girl… that person, she has never really felt pain. No matter what harm or torment she suffers, she actually enjoys it!"