RL Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – A Big Deal

Resonance 2, Part 8

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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“Before coming here, I accessed the police’s central database and read the investigative report from the officer in charge at the Midtown South Station, who concluded it was a suicide. According to that report, the estimated time of death was between midnight and 2 AM. The death scene was the bathroom of Aya’s apartment. Mizuki, who was overseas for a shoot, had tried calling multiple times from the night of the estimated date of death to the following morning but received no response, prompting her to ask the staff at ‘Chance Promotion’ to check on Aya. Aya had taken a leave of absence from her talent activities due to physical and mental distress and was living in an apartment rented by the production as a dormitory. With the manager present, the staff unlocked the door and found Aya in a state of cardiac arrest in the bathtub. The autopsy revealed that there were no solid materials in her stomach. The cause of death was determined to be drowning. Initially thought to be an accidental death, a trace of sleeping pills was later detected in her hair, raising the possibility of suicide. Additionally, during the autopsy, the water in her lungs was found to be foamy. If water had entered the lungs after death, it wouldn’t be foamy, suggesting a low likelihood that a third party submerged her in the bathtub after she died. There were no signs of a struggle on the body, and no fingerprints other than Aya’s were found in the bathroom. Furthermore, the residents of the apartments on either side testified that they did not hear any suspicious noises around the estimated time of death. The coroner concluded that she likely took sleeping pills before bathing, lost consciousness in the tub, and drowned as a result of water entering her lungs. Based on this diagnosis, the conclusion of suicide was reached.”

“There’s no indication of foul play, and she was pregnant with an unidentified child, struggling with mental instability and on leave from work—it’s a triple combo. It’s not an unreasonable conclusion to think she might have taken her own life. Were there any over-the-counter sleeping pills found among her belongings? Or was she seeing a psychiatrist and had prescriptions? Was there any mention of that?”

“There were no over-the-counter sleeping pills listed among her belongings. I’ll look into the possibility of prescription medications,” Kouki replied, jotting notes in his notebook.

Looking up, Kouki asked, “So, is it really murder?”

“Who knows? But at six months, she should be feeling the baby move, right? Her belly would be growing, and she’d start to feel more like a mother day by day. No matter how much she was struggling with pregnancy blues, would Aya, who was beginning to recognize herself as a mother, really choose to end her own life?”

“If it was murder… I can’t forgive the perpetrator.”

Amane glanced sideways at Kouki, who spoke in a low voice from deep in his throat and his expression strained. Amane shot him a look, saying, “Don’t let personal feelings interfere with the investigation.”

“Personal feelings cloud rational thought and judgement. They’re harmful without any benefit,” he emphasised, flicking the cigarette into the dashboard’s ashtray. It was a notorious example of that very phrase.

“Speaking of personal feelings… your ex-girlfriend, Mizuki Andou. You still have feelings for her, don’t you? She’s beautiful and her dog seems to adore you. Don’t you want to rekindle things?”

As Amane joked while fastening his seatbelt, Kouki’s expression shifted. He tightened his grip and spoke in a serious tone.

“Why would you say something like that?”

“Huh?”

“I love you.”

Kouki gazed at Amane with challenging eyes, his voice unwavering as he declared, “You are my ‘soulmate’.”

“……”

He spoke as if that was the most important matter in life.

It seemed to be significant to Kouki. But unfortunately, it wasn’t that high on Amane’s list of priorities.

Talk of ‘soulmates’, destiny, love, and all that nonsense—leave that to airheaded little girls. There are more important things in this world.

Amane let out a small smirk, raising the corner of his lips.

“…Is that really such a big deal?” He deliberately laced his tone with mockery.

“If you’re really that into Omegas because of your preferences, that’s your choice. Personal freedom, right? But seriously, why pick some random Stray Omega guy? At least with Mizuki Andou, you’ve got a top-tier actress, a universally acknowledged beauty. I don’t know if your families are a good match, but…”

“Honjou-san!”

The sudden shout, loud enough to make the windows tremble, made Amane wince as he stuck his fingers in his ears.

“Geez, calm down. Why are you getting all worked up? Oh, I get it—you’re hungry, huh? Alright, let’s grab some food somewhere. Come on, get the car moving.”

His attempt to brush off the situation seemed to only fan the flames.

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m serious? How many times until you finally believe me?!”

Kouki’s pent-up frustration exploded. And as if that wasn’t enough, he grabbed Amane’s arm in a fit of anger. In that instant, a jolt like electricity shot through the spot where they made contact.

“…!”

Both men flinched at the same time. Kouki quickly let go, staring at his hand in disbelief before looking at Amane’s face. His eyes were wide with shock.

“…Just now, what was…”

Amane clicked his tongue.

Despite all his warnings to ‘keep your hands to yourself’, this was what it came to.

(Damn, just like a stupid dog that can’t even follow a simple ‘stay’ command.)

Cursing silently to himself, Amane rubbed his arm, which still tingled from the aftershock. It was a close call. If Kouki had held on for even a few seconds longer—

“Honjou-san, what just happened?”

Kouki repeated his question. But Amane turned away, muttering under his breath.

“…It started this morning.”

“Started?”

Amane felt irritation at how dull he was this time and spat it out without turning to look at him.

“It’s my heat!”

Kouki exclaimed, “Ah!” Amane glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye. Kouki’s eyes, which had been wide open, gradually narrowed, and he furrowed his eyebrows as if trying to suppress something. His sharp Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

(Don’t make that lewd face, you damn brat!)

After cursing the man oozing with pheromones in his heart, Amane turned back to Kouki. He glared at his slightly flushed face, issuing a warning.

“Of course I’m on the pill. But as you know, it’s ineffective for you. For the next week, no matter what happens, you absolutely must not touch me. Got it?”

“……..”

“Kariya, answer me!”

After reprimanding him like a police academy instructor, Amane finally received a faint “…yes” in response.

He continued to cast heated glances Amane’s way for a while. But when Amane jerked his chin, Kouki turned to face forward and grasped the steering wheel. Perhaps to reset his feelings, Kouki exhaled deeply, lifting his gaze.

“I’ll start the car.”

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*Translator’s Note: Hehe Kariya-kun being thirsty is cute 🤣. -K

P/S: I haven’t been replying to comments lately. Sorry about that. I am actually quite pissed off at the moment. We recently found out that a site (f r e e n o v e l s . n e t) has been copying almost all of k n o x t’s translations while making the layout, coloring and everything about the site very similar to k n o x t. Some of my translations like ‘Resonance Heat’, ‘Ephemeral Light’, and so on had also been copied without permission. They even changed my note to read at k n o x t . s p a c e to their own site’s name. It was outrageous and unacceptable. For my translations of Chinese novels, I did use MTL to help me translate them, but I spent a long and hard time doing all that. As for these Japanese light novels, I translated them from physical copies. That was literally like translating them from scratch. They were all written in my own words and in my own understanding of the stories albeit the fact I did check the dictionary for some kanjis I didn’t know. To see them being copied so blatantly like this is really frustrating. Therefore, I would like to announce that there’s a possibility that I will stop translating for a while. This novel, however, will continue being posted since I’ve already scheduled them until the last chapter. But for new novels, I feel like it’s a joke when I put so much effort into it, but people could so easily ‘violate’ my effort like that. So, to my readers, I’m really sorry. Until that website is taken down or something is being done, I lost my motivation. See you when I see you. -K

Next update: 2025.01.23

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