RL Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Aya’s Untimely Death

Resonance 1, Part 10

Novel Title: 共鳴劣情 オメガバース (Resonance Lust: Omegaverse)

Author：岩本薫 (Iwamoto Kaoru)

Illustrator: 蓮川愛 (Hasukawa Ai)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 本浄天音 (Honjou Amane) & 苅谷煌騎 (Kariya Kouki) / 首藤煌騎 (Shutou Kouki)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of suicide, drugs abuse and sexual assault. Readers’ discretion is advised.

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“‘They’re ruling it as a suicide?’”

“I don’t believe it. There’s no way she would have committed suicide.”

“What’s your basis for saying that?”

“Because that girl… she was pregnant…”

Kouki gasped at her sobbing, fragmented confession.

“She was pregnant… Who was the father of the child?”

“I don’t know.”

According to Mizuki’s explanation, Aya had been assaulted with date rape drugs six months ago.

“Date rape drugs…”

Date rape drugs refer to the despicable practice of secretly mixing a sedative into a woman’s drink, taking advantage of her when she becomes unconscious. It’s said that many habitual offenders continue this heinous act after having tasted success.

On the day in question, Aya had been invited to a drinking party where she drank with three men she had just met. At some point, her consciousness abruptly faded. When she regained awareness, it was already morning and she found herself alone in a hotel bed with signs of having been assaulted.

She immediately took the morning-after pill. But unfortunately, it seemed like it didn’t work. A few months later, she discovered she was pregnant. At the time, she had no boyfriend and no other reason to suspect how she had gotten pregnant.

Aya had tried to find the father on her own but was unable to identify the three men who had been at the drinking party.

“She didn’t want to worry me, so she kept quiet about the date rape and the pregnancy. But then her health started to deteriorate… Looking back now, it was probably morning sickness… She couldn’t continue her work in gravure and she became increasingly unstable mentally… I was worried. But she insisted she didn’t want to go to a psychiatrist, so I couldn’t force her. After that, I got incredibly busy with filming a drama and a stage play, and we were only able to communicate through messages… When I finally saw Aya again after several months, her baby bump was visible… I was shocked. When I pressed her about it… she finally told me everything.”

Mizuki’s voice broke with sobs as she recounted the details.

“Didn’t… didn’t Aya consider the option of terminating the pregnancy?”

After hesitating for a moment, Kouki finally spoke up.

This wasn’t a desired pregnancy. She didn’t even know whose child it was.

If the child was born, it could shatter her dreams of becoming a leading actress.

Kouki couldn’t help but wonder what he would do if he was in Aya’s situation and had to give up his dream of becoming a detective.

“…It seems she thought about that too. But when she actually got to the hospital, she froze and couldn’t move. She said she just couldn’t bring herself to make the decision to take away a life she had been blessed with…”

“I see.”

“It wasn’t a child she wanted. But Aya was still trying to give birth to the baby. There’s no way she would take her own life along with her child. —Hey, please. Help me find out the truth.”

Kouki couldn’t respond immediately to Mizuki’s plea.

There are territorial boundaries for police stations. And there are rules against getting involved in cases outside of their assigned areas. Doing so would constitute a violation of those boundaries.

Moreover, Aya’s case had already been ruled a suicide. Digging up an old case would not only undermine the integrity of the Station but could also escalate into conflicts between Stations.

If that happened, it would be more than just a personal issue for him.

“…”

As he unconsciously gripped his phone tighter, caught in inner turmoil, Mizuki’s voice suddenly became sharp with irritation.

“Aren’t you a detective?!”

Her annoyance was evident as she reacted to his silence.

“We broke up so you could become a detective. I liked you and didn’t want to break up. But when I saw how serious you were when you said, ‘I really want to be a detective,’ I had no choice but to let you go. I cried so much… During the filming of a movie, it was a struggle to hide my puffy eyes with makeup.”

“Mizuki…”

Kouki was taken aback by her unexpected confession. She had never shown tears in front of him and he had thought she was just dealing with the sting of being rejected, perhaps feeling hurt in her pride as an actress.

Knowing that for Mizuki, it had been a serious relationship made Kouki’s heart ache. But there was nothing he could do about it now. His ‘soulmate’ was already in his heart.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise!”

Mizuki shouted, clearly frustrated.

“What I want now isn’t just empty words. I want you to atone as a detective. It’s just so unfair for Aya… I…-”

As her voice broke again, Kouki replied, “…I understand.”

He wasn’t sure if this would truly serve as atonement. He didn’t know if it would bring justice to the deceased Aya either.

But if he chose to ignore Mizuki’s heartfelt plea just to protect himself, then it would render meaningless the decision he had made to become a detective, despite his parents’ opposition and the trouble he had caused his brother.

Even if Aya’s death was ultimately ruled a suicide as the Station claimed, if he could catch the perpetrator behind the date-rape drugs, he might prevent another victim from suffering the same fate. That would surely be a form of tribute to her.

“I can’t conduct an official investigation since it’s outside my jurisdiction. But I’ll look into it personally.”

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*Translator’s Note: I should tell you guys earlier on that in this volume, there will be sexual assaults. You have been warned. I’m uncomfortable with this rape drug shit but I still need to finish translating all four volumes, right? So I’ll just have to steel my resolve. We’re entering chapter 2 of the novel in the next chapter and we’ll be transported back to the time when Honjou-san first met Kariya-kun. The author wanted to make this volume as a standalone novel so that if someone missed reading the first volume they would still be able to comprehend what’s happening. With that, there’ll be a lot of flashbacks. Just giving you guys a heads up. -K

*GLOSSARY:

• The morning-after pill, also known as the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP), is a type of birth control that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if contraception fails.

Next update: 2025.01.15

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