The person who likes me is a yandere.

"........."

I was no exception; I stared at her, dumbfounded.

"...Why isn't Qianyu speaking? My name...call me and see."

"...Yuki."

"Please stop calling me by my surname so cautiously, that's not how you address me when we're dating."

"So, may I ask how I addressed you?"

"..." The pufferfish face revived once again.

"Please... what did I call you?"

The love letter I wrote when I was in fourth grade had "Asuna" in it, so I guess that's what my name is.

"...You call me Sweet Asuna."

Huh?

Would I really call her that in such a cheerful way?

No, but couples who are in a red-and-white relationship might also call each other "Xiao Bai" and "A Hong." So-called couples might be surprisingly open to using such embarrassing terms of address.

I made up my mind, stared straight at Asuna-san, and called out:

"...Asuna."

Asuna's face suddenly flushed red.

"Say it again, again, and again. Wait a minute, I'm getting my phone out!"

"I would never call you Asuna, and please don't try to record this."

Even when I tried to call her name, it felt as awkward as pronouncing a newly memorized English word; no emotion welled up inside me.

But she didn't seem to resist me calling her Asuna at all. Asuna smiled happily.

"Qianyu called my name again... Okay, let's get back to the main topic."

"The main topic?"

"...There's something I've always thought about what I'd say first if I ever met Qianyu."

what is it?

It can't be something like asking me to return the comics I borrowed from her when we were dating.

Asuna stared intently into my eyes with an extremely serious expression.

"...If this continues, Qianyu will become increasingly unlucky...and eventually lose her life."

"Huh... what do you mean by that?"

The slogan representing me, "Actually, it's the extremely unlucky Qianyu," has become widely circulated throughout the school. Was she just worried that I was too unlucky?

"...You're still letting Qiong absorb your luck, right?"

—Huh?

"You're still letting Sora absorb your luck, right? Huh? Asuna, what did you just say?"

“You repeated it very honestly... I know. Miss Qiong has a constitution that makes her unable to live without absorbing other people’s luck... Qianyu let her absorb luck without Miss Qiong finding out, right?”

"...".

I was terrified.

I should be the only one who knows about Qiong's special constitution.

Chapter Seventeen: Qianyu is a very gentle person

I should be the only one who knows about Qiong's special constitution.

"How did you know... Ah, did I tell Asuna when we were dating?"

A shadow, as if the sun had been suddenly obscured by clouds, swept across Asuna's face. A look of sadness crossed her face.

"...No, you didn't tell me."

"Then why?"

Asuna crossed her arms below her chest, striking a pose that emphasized her ample bosom. Her previous sorrowful expression vanished completely, replaced by a sudden, radiant brightness.

"Have you forgotten? I'm a detective!"

I can't forget this even if I want to.

Her mediocre reasoning in Chapter 1 of the "Detective Asuna's Case Files": "The Disappearance of the Plaster Hand Case" has already been etched into the history of our class. Even after Benimaru confessed in art class, she still asked, "Where is the mastermind?" attempting to complicate the case further.

"I remember, Asuna is a mystery detective (author's note: the Japanese pronunciation of 'mystery' and 'name' is the same)."

"That's right, I'm a famous detective."

"..."

"You seem to have something to say?"

"No, it's nothing. Misunderstandings are different from tangled shoelaces; they can't be untied haphazardly, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"No, more importantly, tell me quickly. How do you know about Sora's constitution? Um, has Asuna ever met Sora?"

“You can’t ask two things at once. Asking questions is a basic skill in investigation. I’ve never met Qiong, so Qiong shouldn’t know anything about me. When Qianyu was dating me, she didn’t mention me to Qiong, did she… Sorry, you don’t remember, right?”

"No, don't apologize. I'm the one who should apologize. I've completely forgotten my ex-lover. I'm such a terrible person."

Forgetting someone you don't want to forget is a sad thing. But to this day, not being able to recall that you've forgotten someone you didn't want to forget is even sadder. It's almost terrifying.

"...I know the reason for Miss Qiong's constitution. To explain this, I may have to start from where I broke up with Qianyu."

I'd like to know that too. Why I broke up with such a beautiful girl back then is truly a mystery.

"Qianyu dumped me three years ago, in the spring of her second year of junior high school. It happened so suddenly, without any warning. We started dating right after I received that love letter in fourth grade... so we dated for four years... Don't tell me it was just childish love or something like playing house. We were dating very seriously and sincerely."

"...Was it me who dumped Asuna? It just doesn't seem like it."

How could I have dumped such a beautiful girl? I really wish they had done a mental evaluation of me back then.

"I'm the kind of person who won't cry, whether it's my little toe bumping into something, a giant spider appearing in my room, or watching a movie that makes all of America cry. But when Qianyu broke up with me... I cried so hard... You're probably thinking that I cried during morning self-study, right? I don't know why, but I cry very easily whenever Qianyu is involved."

...Okay, let me get back to the main topic.

Even though I cried and begged not to break up, Qianyu insisted on it, and wouldn't listen to reason. I'd never seen Qianyu so stubborn before… Even though I was the one who suggested breaking up, Qianyu had a tearful expression on her face. Why was Qianyu making that face? I couldn't help but wonder.

"...I'm asking you, did I ever give a reason why I wanted to break up with Asuna? Or would someone like me dare to say something like 'I have someone else I like'?"

I can't imagine myself dating a beautiful girl. I can't imagine dating a beautiful girl, falling for another girl, and dumping her.

"No, Qianyu only mentioned one reason for the breakup."

"Being near me will bring bad luck."

I don't understand what you mean at all. I thought you were just saying these nonsensical things to make breaking up with me go smoothly. After explaining your reasons for breaking up, Qianyu said, "Please, break up with me." She even knelt down and bowed her head to me.

Are you so unwilling to date me that you'd even kneel down to me?

At that time, my emotions had already transcended sadness and reached a state of astonishment.

Before I agreed to break up, Qianyu refused to get up, and I didn't want her to keep kneeling like that. At that point, I realized it was impossible to change her mind...

So I accepted the breakup.

When I said "Let's break up," Qianyu looked relieved. Seeing that, I got so angry I slapped you. My slap hurt a lot, remember that.

"Okay, to avoid getting slapped by you, I'll be smarter."

I reflected on the reasons I had given for breaking up in the past.

—Being next to me will bring bad luck.

The word "bad luck" bothers me a lot.

The word "bad luck" is particularly striking.

As Jie Ai said, the reason for this breakup was simply inexplicable.

This is not ordinary. Does saying something so unusual mean that something unusual has happened to me?

If you were to ask what unusual things come to mind when you hear the word "bad luck"...

Have I been letting Sora absorb my luck ever since I started dating Asuna?

I was the one who dumped her, but I have absolutely no idea how I felt when I did. Losing my memory is truly awful.

"When Qianyu said 'being next to me will bring bad luck'... Now, I think I can understand. I feel like I've finally come to understand after all this time."

It's an incredible feeling to have others know about the feelings you've forgotten.

Whenever I hear my own forgotten stories, I begin to misunderstand myself.

The unease and terror felt when hearing about one's past self outweighed the joy of self-discovery.

Therefore, it is understandable that I spoke cautiously as I continued.

"...Tell me, why did I say such a thing?"

"The week before Asahi dumped me... we walked back to the station together from cram school two nights in a row. On the way home from cram school, we walked hand in hand. During our daytime date, Yoshitari was too shy to hold my hand, so the only time that was special was on the way home from cram school after sunset."

Oh, is that so? Did I ever hold hands with Knot?

Although I also felt lucky to be able to hold hands with such a beautiful girl on the way home from cram school...

On the other hand, I have absolutely no memory of ever holding hands with such a beautiful girl. It's like the unpleasant feeling I get when I hear someone say, "Our whole family traveled abroad once," before I was old enough to understand, because I have no memories of it. I'm very envious of my past self.

"...Then, a week before the breakup, on our way home from tutoring, we were holding hands as usual...but the manhole on the walkway was open, and Qianyu and I both happened to step into it...and because our feet went in at the same time, we didn't fall down."

What an amazing situation.

Are we all safe and sound?

"Both of them only had minor scrapes on their feet. As for me, I laughed because I almost fell down the manhole..."

But at that moment, Asahi roared with an extremely serious expression: "If things go wrong, even Asuna might fall under the manhole!"