Confinement King

Chapter 261: Before Nightmare

On the day I arrived back from the uninhabited island, I ended up staying in Rin’s room for the night.

She clung to me tightly and wouldn’t let me go. It’s good that she’s so devoted to me, but I don’t think I’ll be able to leave anytime soon. So, in the morning, while she was still sleeping, I opened the door and escaped. I activated and arrived at the shopping district in front of the station.The reason I didn’t go straight home was so that I could buy the latest issue of “An AV Star Turns into a Giant”, which I had been looking forward to.（I have to do something about Rin… I have a feeling she’s going to become a stalker…） As I think about this, I look down at my phone and see that it’s 9:00 in the morning. No bookstore is open yet. So, I decided to have breakfast, and turned my head toward the fast food restaurant next to the bookstore. But–

「Eek!?」 I choked out in the back of my throat. There is a person whose cheek was distorted and flat against the glass window. The person was looking at me from inside the store. If it was a house in the countryside, a gecko might be sticking to the window, just like that. But I recognized the person.「Kei-chan… what are you doing?」I’m shocked. And when I saw the person behind her, I let out another “Eek!?”. She looks like she’s in a foul mood. There she is, Shiratori-san, her eyes narrowed as if she were looking at filth.She squints her chin as if to say, “Come here”.I shook my head as if to say, “No, no, please spare me” but she glared at me with a fierce look.（This girl… she’s kind of scary, really） She’s supposed to be a member of my harem, and I’ve heard from Lili that she’s been doing a lot of work for me, but still… As I reluctantly stepped into the fast food restaurant, Kei-chan came running up from the table and took my hand.「Kan-chan, come here」「W-Wait, Kei-chan」 She took my hand and led me to a seat for four. There were two girls there, besides Shiratori-san, who was still not smiling.「Sit down」 Shiratori-san pounds on the seat next to her.I knew that if I resisted, I’d get another glare, so I replied, “Yes” and sat down. Of course, Kei-chan sat down on my lap as if it was natural for her to do so.「Um… Kei-chan?」

「What?」「It’s a little heavy」「It’s fine」 Well, I knew it was useless to resist. I looked up with a wry smile and saw two girls sitting across from me. One of them is a short-cut, tan girl who looks very lively. The other is a quiet-looking girl with her hair in twin tails. They were different in type, but both were petite and both were small and flat-chested.（Well, it’s inevitable that boys first look at breasts, isn’t it?） They were looking at me with puzzled looks on their faces. Then, a twin-tailed girl asked Shiratori-san in a hesitant manner.「Um… who is he?」

「The keeper of rare animals」「Kan-chan!」 When Shiratori-san spat it out in a boring manner, Kei-chan said so as if to cover it up… but with zero information. I had no choice but to say my name with a wry smile.「I’m Kijima… a third-year student」 Then the short cut tilted her head and the twin-tailed gasped as if she was surprised.（Huh? What? What’s with that reaction?）「If you’re Kan-chan, does that mean your name is… Kankichi(勘吉)?」 The short-cut one asks, tilting her head.「No, it’s not」 I denied with a straight face. Then Shiratori-san turns her head toward me and opens her mouth.「These girls… the one with short hair is Sato, a junior in the track and field club. The one with twin tails is Kizuna, Sato’s classmate」「Ah, yes… nice to meet you」 As I bowed lightly, Sato-san asked me with a curious look.「Kan-chan-san, are you Takasago-senpai’s boyfriend, by any chance?」「Eh, well… I’m not her boyfriend, but…」（I’m not her boyfriend… but we do have a physical relationship… what should I call it? Saffle? I mean, there’s no way I can say that） As I pondering, Shiratori-san replied for me.

「A relationship between a rare animal and its keeper」「…I see, I understand. It’s a tough job」 Sato-san seems to be convinced, but is that okay? Is that how it’s supposed to be?「Kizuna, you know him, right? You know this guy, right?」 Shiratori-san asked, and Kizuna nodded in confusion.「Yes, he’s in the same class as my Onii-chan…」「Same class?」「My last name is Tachioka. Kizuna Tachioka」「Tachioka-kun’s… sister(Imouto)?」 My eyes widen, and I hear Shiratori-san chuckle next to me.（Eh? Did she laugh? Did she just laugh?）

I hurriedly turn my head to look at her, but Shiratori-san still looks unhappy, and on the other hand, Kizuna-san is looking at me with extremely cautious eyes.（…What’s with this atmosphere?） I was puzzled, but Kei-chan tugged at my shirt and let out a grumbling voice.「Kan-chan, can I have some apple pie…? Aaaaa」「Oh, yes, yes, wait a minute」 I pick up the apple pie from the table and bring it to Kei-chan’s mouth.「It’s delicious…」She takes a bite. As Kei-chan munched happily, Sato-san let out an impressed, “Heh~”.「Well… you must be a very nice person if Takasago-senpai is so fond of you. Both of you may look a little different. I mean, if anything… you look like Beauty and the beast, and it’s really cool」 Okay… she’s pretty rude. This Sato girl.「By the way, why did you call me here…」「Because you’re interesting」「Hmm…?」 Shiratori-san… I don’t understand. Anyway, I’m quite curious about the way Kizuna-san looks at me. She must not know that I’ve made Tachioka-kun become one-third female, but I could feel her gaze, almost hostile, on me. Staring at me, Kizuna-san opens her mouth.「Um… Senpai, this guy…」「Don’t worry. The other day’s broadcast should have cleared his suspicions. The culprits are Kasuya-senpai and Teruya-senpai」

「But, Shiratori-senpai… you said you remembered it, right? That this man… confined you…」「Maybe they planted false memories in me. The devil is real, so it’s not impossible. And this ugly guy was framed. I just assumed it because he was looking like a criminal」「Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but can you please stop disrespecting me like you’re breathing?」 I pouted, and Sato-san tilted her head with a puzzled expression.「What were you talking about?」「Sato wasn’t uninvolved, either. You were confined too, weren’t you?」「Ah… yeah, they showed it on TV the other day. Kasuya-senpai was the culprit. But I wish Kasuya-senpai hadn’t erased my memory… Being kidnapped by a handsome guy is super hot, isn’t it?」 At Sato-san’s comment, Kizuna-san frowned.「But you know… Onii-chan says it’s definitely a lie… and since he doesn’t believe it, neither do I…」 The mood became somewhat heavy, and we were silent for a while. Then, when they finished eating, we quickly left the restaurant. In the end, I missed breakfast, and they said they were going to watch a movie and go shopping.（What was that all about, really?） As I let out an involuntary sigh, Shiratori-san whispered in my ear.「You’d better remember Kizuna. She’s a bit of a brat. She’s so dangerous that she’ll go beyond morals and laws for her brother(Aniki)… This is a service, Confinement King-sama」

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Now, the next one is a new volume