I Don't Want An Ordinary Life

Chapter 39: I Don't Even Know What's the Point of You Being Alive

"Ugh…"

Ogino felt a heavy weight on his eyelids as he struggled to open his eyes.

It was pitch black all around, except for a faint light coming from above. When he glanced up, he saw two men wearing sunglasses and masks, shoveling dirt down onto him.

"Mmm! Mmmmmm!"

He wanted to shout, but his mouth was gagged. His hands and feet were tied, rendering him immobile. Even a small movement in his right leg sent a sharp, searing pain through it.

That's when he realized, to his horror, that he was lying in a pit, and the two men above were trying to bury him alive.

"Well, well, you're awake."

"…"

Suddenly, Ronan appeared in his line of sight, standing at the edge of the pit. He looked down at him, smiling faintly.

Ogino remembered now—earlier, Ishigami had beaten him up. Ronan had been watching the whole time, but for some reason, he'd suddenly knocked him out as well.

"Mmmmmm!!!"

Click.

Standing at the top of the pit, one man continued to shovel dirt while Ronan leisurely opened a can of beer.

"Ogino, I've always felt that the only reason someone like you managed to survive this long is because society's been far too forgiving. But I'm not nearly as tolerant. You threatened one of my brothers right in front of me, then played the victim afterwards, trying to shift the blame. Luckily, I acted quickly and knocked you out—otherwise, things could've gotten messy."

"Mmm!!!"

"Don't bother screaming. We've rented out this entire area for miles around. Even if I take off your gag, no one's going to come save you."

Watching Ogino struggle like a worm in the pit, Ronan took a calm sip from his beer.

"If you suddenly disappear, I bet your parents would be frantic. They might hire someone or even call the cops to look for you, and that would complicate things. So I made a call to make them disappear as well. No choice, really—the more people involved, the greater the risk."

"..."

Ogino looked into Ronan's eyes, and the fear was written all over his face. Ronan chuckled.

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do anything to them. I just pulled a few strings and sent them off to Africa, where there's plenty of opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, you won't be so lucky…"

Ronan smiled as he motioned toward the man who had been shoveling dirt onto Ogino. The man stopped digging, nodded, and reached into his pocket to pull out a pistol, handing it to Ronan.

Ronan took the gun and immediately aimed it at Ogino, his grin becoming something far more chilling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Mmm! Mmmmm!!!"

Three shots rang out, each hitting Ogino's body, but there were no sprays of blood. Instead, there was only the sharp, searing pain.

"Relax. Just blanks. You're not gonna die from that."

Even though it was only a cruel joke, Ogino was already trembling, tears streaming down his face, mixing with the mucus from his nose. His pants were soaked.

"What's this? You pissed yourself already? Kids these days are so fragile."

Ronan jumped down into the pit, reached out, and ripped away the cloth gag covering Ogino's mouth.

"R-Ronan… please spare me!!" Ogino sobbed and begged, tears and snot running down his face. "I swear I won't go after Kyoko Otomo! I'll confess everything I've done! Just don't kill me!"

"Oh, now look at that. I'm not some demon, you know," Ronan said with a grin, though that smile sent chills down Ogino's spine.

"See? If you'd just said that earlier, we wouldn't have to go through all this. But you had to act tough—was it really worth it?"

"Please… I'm sorry! I'll apologize to Ishigami the moment I get back! I'll cut all ties with Kyoko Otomo! I swear! Just… please don't kill me…"

Ogino was utterly terrified now.

"Good boy! That's the kind of sincere apology I like to hear."

Ronan gave a faint smile. Grabbing the front of Ogino's shirt, he exerted just enough force to toss him out of the pit entirely.

Now outside, Ogino could finally take in his surroundings.

They were in a vast open field, completely encircled by a seamless complex of interconnected buildings.

"This is the organization's research department," Ronan said, standing beside him. "No normal person can get in here. Consider yourself lucky. If we didn't have a use for you right now, you'd already be lying on an operating table as a test subject. Then, after your body rotted away, we'd bury you right back in that pit you just crawled out of."

"…"

Ogino shivered, every hair on his body standing on end after hearing Ronan's grim words.

"So… what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Well… I have no idea," Ronan said with a grin. "Aunt Kaname didn't say what we were supposed to do with you once we pulled you out."

"…"

"Well, maybe we'll just put you on that operating table after all. No point wasting good resources."

"NOOOOOOO!"

...

"Did you hear about what happened with the first-years?"

"Yeah, I heard a fight broke out. A transfer student sent one of his drama club classmates to the hospital."

"Apparently it was some guy named Ronan. He used to be on the disciplinary committee and was always giving couples at school a hard time."

"That's scary~"

"Are the transfer students always this brazen?"

A full day had passed since the incident, and word about Ronan had already spread through the entire high school division. Even second-year students knew what had gone down.

A few girls stood in the hallway after class, chatting about it.

"I don't think it's as simple as that~"

"Hm?"

The girls turned around to see a familiar blonde girl with manicured nails.

"Hayasaka? Do you know more about what happened with the first-years?"

"I wouldn't say I know all the details, but~" Ai Hayasaka said cheerfully, "You've heard about Ronan, haven't you? Every couple he's ever gone after turned out to have one side cheating."

"Oh, I have heard that."

"Yeah, yeah. I think someone from the class next door even went to the public moral committee office to report something."

"So, in that case…"

"Maybe the guy cheated, Ronan caught him, and things escalated into a fight," Hayasaka said with a smile. "Not that I'm condoning violence, of course~"

"Is that so…"

"Well, if the guy cheated, he kind of had it coming."

"Still, violence isn't exactly the right answer…"

Today marked Ronan's first day of suspension. The negative buzz around him continued to spread through the school, but even under such circumstances, it seemed like someone was working behind the scenes to steer the conversation in a different direction.

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