Karen and I went to the same high school. So rumors about her reached my ears whether I wanted them to or not.
“Ozenji-san, I have something to ask about your little sister...”
A few days after Karen had thrown hot cocoa on me. I was about to eat lunch on a courtyard bench with Nao when an unfamiliar female student spoke to us.
“What is it? If it’s about Ozenji Karen, telling Miharu won’t do any good. She’s not her guardian, you know.”
Nao cut in preemptively to put her off. I tensed up. The stories brought to me about Karen were rarely pleasant. Usually people wanted me to smooth things over between them and the oni’s bride, or they complained that Karen’s behavior had gone too far.
The female student frowned as if troubled. She looked sincere. Her uniform was neat, her hair jet-black, her nails short and natural. From the color of her ribbon I could tell she was in the same year as us.
“I know that… but I’m having trouble because of Ozenji Karen.”
I sighed. It was the latter, then.
“I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to fix that girl’s behavior. Even if you come to me, I can’t help.”
“But… but you’re Karen’s older sister, right?”
I couldn’t help but give a bitter little laugh. Me? Karen’s older sister? What meaning did that title even hold for me?
“Karen is an oni's bride before she is my little sister. If you want that little princess to reflect on herself, you’d have to do something about the oni. If I could, I would have done it myself long ago.” I spat those words out.
The female student’s eyes went wide.
“…What? Uh, erm, sorry, that kind of surprised me...”
“Surprised you?”
She nodded.
“Usually families of oni brides get arrogant. Being chosen as a bride is an honor, and the family that raised her is respected, right? So it’s kind of shocking to hear someone speak ill of onis or the bride…”
The female student’s eyes were round with astonishment. I shrugged.
“Onis are creatures that rule over humans. Why be proud of being chosen by something like that? And it’s not like you’re picked for being some outstanding human, that proposal is more like a farce.”
“That’s too harsh. Onis have great abilities and contribute to society.”
“That just means that particular oni was admirable. Not all onis are exprisonent. And brides, even less so. Look, we’ve already read about this in our morals lessons, haven’t we? Don’t make me lecture you now.”
I threw the words at her; she fell silent, visibly uncomfortable. Maybe I’d gone too far. But I couldn’t forgive it—those blind praises of onis, the way people fawned over brides.
To break the silence, Nao intervened.
“So, what exactly did Karen do this time?”
Right, the female student hasn't told us that part. When I looked at the girl, she fidgeted awkwardly and intertwined her fingers.
“It’s just… it looks like she slept with my boyfriend.”
“What?!”
Nao let out a loud voice. I glanced around instinctively. Fortunately there was no one nearby—only the leafless trees shivering in the cold wind. Perhaps because it was still chilly, nobody wanted to come outside.
“You mean she’s cheating?”
The girl nodded slightly at Nao’s hushed question.
“Well, it’s not just my boyfriend… she seems to be seeing other guys too…”
“Ugh, gross.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Nao’s blunt reaction. I agreed.
“It’d be fine if it were boys who didn’t have girlfriends, but I don’t want her to go after someone else’s boyfriend.”
“That’s fair. Miharu, what do you think?”
They turned the question to me. I thought for a moment and formed my reply.
“That kind of thing only counts if both parties consent. What did the guys say?”
“Um… they said they wanted to establish connections with the oni’s bride… that maybe she could get them favors or something.”
“I think that’s wishful thinking. What did Karen say?”
“She said that when everyone asks her out she agrees with them. So she blamed the boys for asking her out.”
That sounded exactly like something Karen would say. I could even picture her expression. Nao cracked her knuckles audibly, but I deliberately avoided mentioning it.
“It’s like she’s doing charity work, isn’t it? How benevolent. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there’s nothing I can do.”
“I see…”
The female student’s shoulders slumped. I asked casually,
“But how did you find out she was cheating?”
“Oh, I have a photo.”
“…A rather explicit one?”
“There’s that too, but I’m not going to show it here, you know!? Ehem, this is the photo.”
She took her phone from her pocket and turned the screen toward Nao and me. On it was a purikura-style photo of Karen arm-in-arm with a boy none of us recognized.
“I see.”
“I found it in my boyfriend’s room and we had a huge fight.”
“Could you send that to me too? And, if possible, her with other guys as well.”
“Eh!? Sure… but what would you use them for? Bad purposes?”
The girl looked suspicious. I gave her a pretty smile.
“Of course I’d use them for a good purpose.”
