Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094101424177/episodes/16818622176144200067
I have never been ignored by anyone since I was born.
I am used to walking the path of loneliness, but fortunately, I am aware of my existence.
What happened to Orimoto?
After a few days, there was no doubt that Orimoto, a female student, was in a peculiar situation.
It was not only her perspective as the subject, but I, who was watching from the sidelines, had the same impression.
“…No roll call today, either.”
This morning during homeroom.
The homeroom teacher glanced at us and then proceeded to deliver the usual announcements as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
(…Her complexion is terrible.)
Orimoto’s face was marked with dark circles. Still, she could be classified as a tragic beauty, likely due to her naturally striking features.
Oriben’s seat was empty. But for the past few days, she had been visiting the class for a short time, looking as if she wanted something, then turning around and leaving.
By the time homeroom ended, Orimoto was nowhere to be seen. The wall clock was naturally still ticking.
I wondered if it was a dream.
I pinched my cheek. It hurt.
It was undeniably real.
Her seat was empty.
Her existence was ignored.
She was looking more and more haggard every day.
Even though we have no connection, seeing her face every day, which looks like that of a dead person, makes me aware of her existence whether I like it or not. I can’t help but be interested in her.
“Hey.”
I couldn’t help but ask.
After homeroom, I asked a male student with whom I am not close but occasionally exchange greetings, another awkward relationship, if he knew a female student named Orimoto.
However, if I asked the wrong way, he might attack me with something like, “Of course I know her, are you crazy?” So I came up with what I thought was a good question: “What do you think of Orimoto?”
The result confirmed that this was an unusual situation.
Something was off. There was no reason or basis for it, but it was just off.
“Orimoto? Who’s that?”
This was the answer from someone I didn’t know well. He seemed to be genuinely curious.
There was no hint of him being threatened or ignoring her out of dislike. He simply didn’t know who Orimoto was.
In my social circle, asking him was the limit, and I couldn’t get any other cases.
However, it was enough to make me think there was something going on.
──One day.
As if to confirm the incident, Orimoto took action. Grandly.
─────
During class. It was an ordinary class.
Some students were sleeping. Some were taking notes seriously. Some were secretly playing with their smartphones. It was a typical classroom, with students doing whatever they wanted. Incidentally, I was the type of person who fought sleepiness, secretly played with my smartphone, and occasionally took notes.
It had been a few days since the heroine, Orimoto Ryoka, had started being ignored.
──It was at that moment. Orimoto appeared in the classroom and stood at the front of the class with a determined expression.
“I can’t take it anymore ! I’ll do it !”
Her impulsive voice, unlike the boring math class, echoed off the walls.
Her chestnut-colored hair swayed gently.
Her eyes were distant, unsettling, hypnotic—like the old her, yet not quite the same.
(What is she doing?)
What is she trying to do?
What is she going to do?
It was class time, and though there was some faint chatter, the room was mostly quiet.
Her actions were completely out of place, and I stopped moving the pencil I was holding.
—I’ve never resented Orimoto.
I don’t resent people who are naturally superior, nor do I want to exclude them and destroy them.
“Look ! Everyone, look ! I don’t think you can ignore this, what do you think?”
It started with that one word.
The rough breathing was Orimoto’s.
“I’m here. Right here.”
Her hair swayed even more. Her voice trembled, and if you looked closely, her fingertips were trembling too.
Orimoto seemed possessed.
On the blackboard, the words written by Orimoto, who had snatched the chalk, were written in large letters. They filled the board covered in mathematical formulas. The handwriting was so elegant that it caught the eye, but the content was shocking.
The teacher didn’t notice that the mathematical formulas were illegible. The students followed the teacher’s lead.
“Can’t you really see me? I don’t understand why I’m being bullied. Why?”
Instead, the students continued to copy the board as if they could see the equations and answers, and the casual conversation mixed with sighs continued as before. The long hand of the clock intruded into his field of vision, making him feel irritated and uncomfortable.
[I am here.]
Three words. Just three words occupied the blackboard. Three words filled the green board.
Orimoto’s rampage continued.
She stepped down from the podium and stood in front of a certain student. Then she lifted the notebook. That student was said to be Orimoto’s close friend. Though her true feelings were unknown, that was the rumor circulating among the others. Orimoto swung the notebook she had taken.
Logically, the student should either demand the notebook back or respond angrily.
However, she showed neither of those reactions.
“Hey, where’s my notebook?”
The girl began to check inside her desk and bag in confusion. She didn’t notice the notebook swaying above her head. Orimoto smiled sadly.
“It’s gone, isn’t it? I knew it.”
Orimoto let go of the notebook. Immediately, the girl began to write on the blackboard again, her expression unclear.
Orimoto wandered around the classroom again.
Her steady footsteps seemed to indicate that he was normal, but her behavior was reckless, and I was afraid to watch.
Next, Orimoto grabbed another student’s arm.
The student flinched and winced slightly, but when Orimoto let go, she responded as if Orimoto wasn’t there, saying, “It suddenly hurt…”
“……….I knew it. Everything.”
Orimoto circled the classroom again and scratched his cheek.
In a melancholy tone, she muttered, “I see.”
Coincidentally, her smile resembled the one he had when Sera rejected her. However, this time she seemed to be lamenting more tragically than the previous incident. Perhaps she had transcended resignation and was actually in a state of despair.
I see. I see, I see.
I see. This is the bottom line.
(No way.)
I had indulged in the ridiculous fantasy that “there’s no way they can’t see her” but now it had become a reality, and it was even possible that it could be classified as a paranormal phenomenon.
The fact that the supplies in the folder suddenly disappeared.
The lack of evidence to suggest it was bullying.
The fact that she wasn’t the type to be bullied.
I knew I should do something. But what could I do for a beautiful girl who was a stranger and lived in a different world? I didn’t know.
And if it was bullying, it was even worse. If I got involved, I might become the target.
(But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she was just…)
What should I do?
Only I could see it.
Probably, that was the truth. The reasons, evidence, and proof were unclear, and there was nothing but uncertainty, but probably, maybe. Maybe.
(I don’t understand…what is this?)
Just an ordinary person. And a background character at that.
What could I, who loved peace and hated turmoil, do? Why me? Why not Sera? Or some other handsome guy?
The question remained a question, repeating itself over and over. —But, however.
“…..Kasugai kun?”
The day when I would be found by the girl named Orimoto Ryoka was, in fact, already upon me.
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