The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

Like a bird singing in an exquisite cage.

Just like Truman, who was deceived by a false reality for over twenty years.

She sensed something was amiss.

It was like a flash of inspiration; she tried her best to grasp it, but the thought slipped through her mind and vanished in an instant.

Before she could think it through, she was forcefully pushed to the ground and pinned down. At the same time, something was shoved into her mouth by the suddenly attacking [Oba Nana].

Judging from the taste, it must have been the popcorn the other person had been eating...

Or rather, it turned into popcorn, [The Radiance of Kita-Kirihara].

The taste was really bitter.

Almost the most nauseating, yet also the most stimulating, taste in the world burst forth abruptly on her tongue.

Countless malice, pain, struggle, and sorrow invaded her nerves, turning her mind into a complete mess.

Saki Koizumi was caught off guard and startled by the dazzling light, instinctively wanting to vomit up the awful taste.

But the other party did not allow it.

【Ooba Nana】Her warm, emerald-green pupils appeared deep and ruthless in the backlighting, and her face, which had previously worn a fake smile, was now too lazy to pretend.

The other person grabbed her chin and, with enough force to fill Koizumi Saki's mouth with blood, as if they were fighting her, forcefully shoved those strange things into her mouth.

It looked like a beating.

【Oba Nana】is taller than her, her hands are wider, her fingers are longer and stronger, and you can see the veins when she exerts force.

Miss Phantom seemed to be trying to cover something up, and her desperation almost killed her, nearly suffocating Koizumi Saki.

Saki Koizumi was not powerless to resist, but the confusion in her mind reduced her strength by 20%.

She was both shocked and angry, but she didn't focus all her energy on "breaking free from Nana Oba's grasp".

She frantically grabbed the other person's hand, trying to see what was behind them.

The scene was almost an act of violence, but the victim didn't seem to care at all.

Saki Koizumi sensed something, and Nana Oba needed to cover her eyes.

I can't watch any longer.

"Cough cough cough..." As more sparkling material was stuffed into her mouth, Koizumi Saki coughed violently. A lot of the residue was coughed into her respiratory tract, and quite a few were also sprayed out along with moist saliva. However, [Oba Nana] did not notice how messy the scene was at all.

She appeared expressionless, but only Kita Kirimoto and Oba Nana knew how urgent and slightly trembling her hands were as she gripped Koizumi Saki.

Kita Kirihara, who temporarily took over the account from Ooba Nana, simply lowered his eyes and looked down.

Looking down at Koizumi Saki, who was coughing awkwardly but still gazing into the distance.

Looking down at the other person, he frowned uncomfortably, showing a look of disgust, simply because he had tasted a little bit of Kita Kirihara's darkness.

“…Miss Kamina, you must savor this properly.” Controlling Nana Oba’s body, Kita Kirihara heard [Nana Oba] whisper, “This is [Kita Kirihara’s flavor], no doubt about it.”

At that moment, Kita Kirihara even thought that these were words spoken by Oba Nana.

But, dominated by this immense emotion... overwhelmed by this intense fear and despair...

...It was herself.

The person who nervously decided to give Saki a little hint before revealing everything was to her was himself.

Then, the one who cautiously probed was injured, and thus raised his own sharp spikes once more.

She could no longer tell whether those vulgar lines were her true feelings.

"Surprised? Someone who seems so kind usually has such disgusting things in their heart."

"Are you scared? You inadvertently glimpsed your lover's dark side. Isn't that terrifying? There's a poisonous snake sleeping next to you."

"...Are you disappointed?"

As she asked the question, Nana Oba stared intently into Saki Koizumi's eyes, and before she knew it, a smile had spread across her face.

As she coughed uncontrollably, tears welled up in Saki Koizumi's eyes.

"You're already crying?" [Nana Oba] asked, her expression turning bored and uninterested. "Is this all you can do?"

Saki Koizumi did not answer; her struggling movements gradually weakened.

"...?"

【Ooba Nana】noticed that Koizumi Saki had stopped struggling and even turned her head to the side, and inexplicably felt guilty and relaxed her grip.

Saki Koizumi broke free from her restraints, coughing as she crossed her forearms to protect her face.

The coughing gradually subsided, but she heard suppressed sobs.

Saki, this is...

"...Are you crying?" [Ooba Nana] instinctively reached out to grab Koizumi Saki's hand, wanting to see her face and see if Saki was really crying.

Did I bully them too much?

He had seemed so confident just moments before, but now he appeared nervous and flustered.

When Koizumi Saki started crying, she began to lose her composure.

...I went too far and made Saki cry.

Kita Kirihara was frantically repenting in his heart, racking his brains for a way to deal with this mess, when he heard Koizumi Saki's direct question, her voice trembling with tears:

“...I...didn't realize...Ah Yuan's pain.”

PS: Nana Ooba, who watched from an outsider's perspective as Kita Kirihara almost used his body to rape Saki Koizumi: "..."

Kitakihara: "..."

Nana Ohba: "...I'm a little scared, Director."

153. Can I hug you?

“...I...didn't realize...Ah Yuan's pain.”

I received an unexpected answer from Saki Koizumi.

Kita Kirihara's heart was struck by this straight punch. His defenses, which had begun to waver because of Koizumi Saki's tears, were now completely breached.

She felt like her heart was being pounded by a meat tenderizer.

...Ugh... It's already softened; the once firm flesh has started to loosen.

"...Is this why you ran away in such a panic, Director?" Nana Oba and Kita Kirihara sat together at the top of the tower. She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with helplessness. "That wasn't like you at all just now."

Kita Kirihara, who had prepared himself mentally for a disappointing answer from Koizumi Saki, was completely overwhelmed by Koizumi Saki's words of complete trust.

In the end, she frantically manipulated the theater and sent Saki Koizumi out.

Kita Kirihara turned his head to the side, his ears turning so red they were almost bleeding.

This was the first time Nana Oba had seen such an expression on Kita Kirihara's face. She tried her best to suppress the curve of her lips, but she could still sense the director's pleasure.

The invisible tail behind it was wagging frantically, then, realizing what was happening, it gradually slowed down.

"...If I lied to her like that, she would definitely hate me."

Kita Kirihara was very self-aware; she sighed softly.

She wanted Nana Ohba to play the role in "The Truman Show" where she was the first to reveal the truth of the world to the protagonist, Truman.

That's why the decision to hold this revue was made on short notice, and that song was chosen, with Nana Ohba playing the role of the Phantom.

Using the lyrics as a clue, and other obvious hints, Saki begins to be wary of her bedmate, thus naturally discovering the existence of this director and completing the "Truman" scenario.

Although it's true that being feared by Saki makes her very sad, Kita Kirihara also knows that he is doing something shameful that is deceiving Koizumi Saki.

She is simply using the guise of love to hurt the people she cares about, and she is prepared to accept any backlash she may suffer.

But what I didn't expect was—

—Saki Koizumi trusted her so much.

Kita Kirihara could accept the malice from Koizumi Saki.

In fact, she can accept anyone's malice.

But... "love" is different.

“…I’m a despicable and vile person, banana.” Kita Kirihara sighed softly.

She and Nana Oba sat at the top of the theater prop tower, the latter swinging her legs idly, only glancing over when she heard this.

Nana Oba didn't offer any words of comfort. She simply looked at the director's expression, which showed a great deal of unease because of a simple sentence, and said coldly, "That's just the kind of person you are. Your self-assessment is quite accurate, Director."

"Say something nice..." Kita Kirihara said helplessly.

She buried her face in her scarf; the dark, empty theater was neither windy nor cold.

But Kita Kirihara felt very cold, so she hugged her knees.

Nana Oba said, "...To be honest, I was a little startled just now."

"why?"

"You really look like you want to kill Miss Kamina."

"How could that be?"

"But the emotion I feel, it can't be fake, can it?"

"what?"

"You want to just die like this, don't you?" the character card says.

The character card belonging to Kita Kirihara turned its face towards her, its warm eyes staring at her with a serious expression, looking straight into Kita Kirihara's heart.

“You can’t deny it, Director. At one point, you had the thought, ‘Why don’t we all just die together?’ You even wanted to kill the destined female lead, reveal the truth ahead of time, and end it all.” Nana Ohba pressed her hand to her heart, lowered her eyes, and her golden eyelashes fluttered gently. “...But you controlled yourself.”

“Yes… I know I can’t do that, and everyone in the Silver Garden is trying to stop me,” Kita Kirihara said.

Having other consciousnesses in one's head is, in Kita Kirito's opinion, also a safety valve for controlling oneself.

“…No, Ahara.” Nana Oba shook her head, refuting Kita Kirihara’s statement.