Chapter 17

I brought the smartphone close to my ear.

“—Hello.”

“Ah, hello, Onitsuka-kun? It’s me, Hosotani. I’m sorry for calling you this late at night.”

“Ah, no, it’s totally fine, but did something happen?”

This was the first time Hosotani-san had ever called me since the time the three of us—Hosotani-san, Saeki, and I—went out for drinks after work, and we exchanged phone numbers in the heat of the alcohol buzz.

“Umm, the chocolate I gave you… you haven’t eaten it yet, right?”

“Ah, yes. Not yet, but…”

“Well, you see, I forgot to taste-test it while making it, so I’m not confident if it turned out well.”

“Ah, is that so.”

Hosotani-san was surprisingly scatterbrained, it seemed. That was kind of cute, too.

“So you don’t have to force yourself to eat it. If worst comes to worst, you can just throw it away, you know.”

“No way, I’d never do something so sacrilegious.”

It was homemade chocolate from Hosotani-san. Who on earth would throw that away?

“If you want, should I take a bite right now?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Then I’ll dig in right away.”

So that Hosotani-san could hear as well, I snapped the chocolate in half and brought it to my mouth.

Then, I chewed on it gratefully.

Munch, chew-munch…

“Did you try eating it, Onitsuka-kun? How is it?”

Hmm… it’s a little bitter.

Honestly, it had a rather subtle taste, but there was no way I could say that, so—

“I ate it. It’s super delicious.”

Flattery slipped straight out of my mouth.

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. Really, it’s super—ugh…!?”

“…What’s wrong?”

“N-No, suddenly… my stomach, my chest, it’s getting s-so painful…”

It happened all of a sudden.

I was assaulted by a strong wave of nausea, a headache, and a tightness in my chest unlike anything I had ever felt before.

What is this.

It hurts.

I can’t breathe.

“S-Suioe… a-an ambulance… p-please—”

“Hey. Onitsuka-kun, you see. You’re a killer, aren’t you?”

“…!?”

W-What did she just say?

What did Hosotani-san just say?!

“That poison has a fatality rate of one hundred percent, so you’re not going to survive anymore. Well then, bye-bye, Onitsuka-kun.”

“Wait…!”

What is the meaning of this?!

Hosotani-san gave me poison…?!

No way… no way!

“Gof…!”

I collapsed onto the carpet and vomited blood.

My heart ached fiercely, as if it were being squeezed in a tight grip.

Was I not going to make it?

Was I just going to await death like this without even understanding why?

Amidst my fading consciousness—no, wait a minute!

She said poison. Hosotani-san definitely said poison.

“…Gahaf… Kudoge…!”

Risking my life, I spat out the antidote spell.

The instant I did, my body felt light as a feather.

Furthermore,

“Kufuika…!”

I chanted the healing spell right after.

Because I was panicking, my voice ended up being loud, but it couldn’t be helped.

I could just apologize to Shimizu-san and her daughter later for knowing my circumstances.

“…Haa, haa, haa. That was close.”

More importantly, a top-priority task had just been handed to me.

“…Kazumi Hosotani.”

She was a killer.