10. The Villainess Is Already Unbeatable—Why Borrow the Bones of a Good Woman?

Toshima Ward, Senkawa Town, an apartment building.

Shio Shigeeda didn’t go to her part-time job during the day today. Instead, she went home first, took a shower, washing herself clean and fresh, then carried her dark blue commuter bag, pacing up and down the stairs. Occasionally, she would lean over the railing in the hallway, peering outside. Not seeing anyone, she’d go down a floor and slowly come back up, preparing for a chance encounter with Tsukasa Harano.

Why the chance encounter? It was quite simple—Shio’s emotions were tangled.

She felt both guilt and fear.

If it had just been the first meeting the day before yesterday, where she accidentally cursed right at the person’s face, yet he didn’t say anything and even helped her, she wouldn’t have skipped work for two days in a row, lingering around to engineer a meeting.

But she had uncovered Harano’s secret.

After the incident two days ago, feeling awkward and embarrassed, Shio sneaked out late at night and noticed the dirty water that Harano had thrown on the door hadn’t been cleaned up. She intended to help tidy it.

The mop that had been kicked and broken was taken away, but the dirty water stains on the apartment door remained. When Shio found a cloth to wring out and wipe the stains late at night, she noticed something suspicious.

The smell of the dirty water was very strange.

And oddly familiar.

She pinched a bit with her fingers and sniffed it carefully. After pondering for a long time, a sudden flash of insight struck her, and her eyes widened.

It was the smell of charcoal fire.

She could identify this because she grew up in a small, underdeveloped village in the Urakawa District of Hokkaido. Traveling from the village to the city took an hour and a half by bus. There was no heating, and power outages were frequent. During the harsh winters, her family kept warm by burning charcoal or firewood.

She hadn’t recognized the smell earlier because she had been living in Tokyo for university with her mother for nearly three or four years and hadn’t returned home since. The days of burning charcoal and chopping wood were almost a distant childhood memory.

Once she confirmed repeatedly that it was indeed the smell of charcoal fire, Shio’s mind jumped to the most common suicide methods in Tokyo: lying on the tracks, jumping into the sea, and charcoal burning.

She couldn’t help but overthink.

After all, it was now the rainy season, strictly speaking already summer, with hot and humid weather.

How could anyone choose to burn charcoal to keep warm in such weather? Moreover, thinking back to the mop cloth that Harano had kicked and broken, soaked with black ash and dust, she was even more certain.

Even if it was a misunderstanding on her part, patching up the neighborly relationship alone would require her effort.

She had originally moved from Adachi to Toshima because of poor neighbor relations. If she moved again now, the penalty alone would be a heavy financial blow.

If her guess was right, Harano was undoubtedly an emotionally unstable person contemplating suicide. She couldn’t afford to offend him. But if she was wrong—considering his attitude and behavior the last time—she might have been a bit too harsh. It wasn’t unreasonable for her to try to probe him carefully to avoid any extreme outcomes.

After all, living in constant anxiety wasn’t a solution. That guy might just be a decent person who, like her former self, had encountered some hardship and lost hope temporarily.

In short, she’d first try to have a chance meeting, then attempt to draw him out. If he went to work, maybe they could take the train together in the morning to have more topics to talk about.

Judging by his appearance, he didn’t seem difficult to communicate with. Shio was confident that with her sharp mind, she could figure things out in three to five days. If nothing was wrong, everyone would be happy. If there was, she could offer comforting words and maybe buy some candy or something. That way, even if he wanted to lash out at society, he wouldn’t want to implicate her.

Perfect. The plan was flawless. She really was impressive!

Lost in thought, Shio paced the stairs up and down for quite a while, sweating profusely. Just as she began to wonder if Harano would come home late again like last night, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure downstairs—Harano, carrying a convenience store bag, strolling leisurely.

She quickly tidied her clothes, took small hurried steps, and went downstairs. On the second floor, she saw Harano enter, then walked back upstairs slowly. On the third floor around the corner, she coincidentally met Harano coming down. Surprised, she greeted, “Good afternoon, Mr. Harano.”

Harano looked up at the voice, recognized her as the new neighbor, and smiled, “What a coincidence, Miss Shigeeda.”

“Yes, I just got back from work, only a step ahead of you. Mr. Harano, did you just get off work?”

“Today’s the weekend. No work.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

“Are you still in school, Miss Shigeeda?”

“Yes, almost graduated. You don’t have to call me Miss. Just Shigeeda or Shigeeda-san is fine.”

“Okay.”

Both lived on the third floor. Shio deliberately fell a few steps behind him. After exchanging greetings, they walked side by side down the hallway, maintaining a polite distance, casually chatting. Harano didn’t mind and pulled out his keys to open the door. But just as he inserted the key, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that this pure-looking girl next to him didn’t intend to open her door.

Instead, she stood hesitating, not even pulling out her key, occasionally glancing at him.

Harano withdrew the key from the brass lock and turned around, smiling gently. “Shigeeda-san, is there something you want to say? If so, please feel free to speak.”

“Huh? Something? No… no…”

“Then what is this…”

“Uh… about the other day when I just moved in—I was impolite when speaking. It was a moment of heat, and I didn’t think it through. I’m really sorry...” When it came to the critical moment, her mind went blank. Shio completely forgot her prepared words and instinctively lowered her head like an ostrich under Harano’s gaze.

Harano pondered. Seeing her so nervous puzzled him but then he thought it was normal.

She seemed to live alone.

Neighbor relations in Japan are very important. They are either completely estranged or closely connected, exchanging New Year's money for kids. The relationships are tight-knit.

Although neighbor relations in Tokyo, especially among overworked office workers, have become thin, Shio, as a girl with a single male neighbor of normal behavior, wanted to maintain good relations—either for personal safety or to have someone to help if needed—which was understandable.

“It’s all right. It was my responsibility for not cleaning up properly. I should be the one apologizing. You don’t need to worry about it, Shigeeda-san.” Harano thought this girl was fairly easy to get along with and that her previous ill intent was mild.

“You’re too kind.” Shio quickly waved her hand upon hearing that.

During the conversation, Harano summoned his list of ill thoughts and checked her.

[Ill Intent Target: Shio Shigeeda]

[Ill Intent List as follows]

[1. May Amaterasu, God, and Buddha protect me. I hope my neighbor is a positive, cheerful person and not really suicidal (White)]

[2. I hope the neighbor can personally promise not to harm me. I’m so afraid he might suddenly lash out at society (White)]

[3. I want to eat eel rice bowl, and also beef bowl, but today’s expenses are already way over budget. Damn, my mouth is uncontrollable (White)]

Harano was stunned.

How did this girl know he had attempted suicide before, and seemed so certain about it?

Moreover, these three ill thoughts were so unusual.

Not because they were extreme—after all, the list was marked white (innocent)—but because they were too mild.

Just wanting to eat eel rice was enough to make it onto the ill thought list? This girl must be incredibly innocent.

The first two items—hoping he wasn’t truly suicidal and wanting to ensure her own safety—counted as ill thoughts. Honestly, this completely defied Harano’s expectations.

Even if the original self had suicidal intentions, this only confirmed that the girl before him had a kind heart.

All three ill thoughts were easy to fulfill.

In fact, especially easy.

Compared to the fierce struggle with the icy female boss in the office yesterday, which had greater rewards and some extra slack time but much higher risk, this was incomparable.

He hadn’t contacted Sayaka Suzumiya yet.

He was waiting for a result.

After what happened yesterday, no woman with normal values could accept it.

Even with the ability to see ill thoughts, Harano couldn’t guarantee that Sayaka’s mindset wouldn’t turn hostile, leading to a police report or planting seeds of hatred for revenge.

Human hearts are the hardest to predict.

And extremely fickle.

Looking at the innocent girl before him, Harano had a fleeting, mischievous thought of tying her up to squeeze out remaining value, to mine this treasure trove.

But he dismissed the idea.

The path of the villainess is invincible!

Why borrow a virtuous woman’s bones?

The grand plan to become a gold-digging lady was about keeping his thoughts and soul uncorrupted, free from psychological burden. If he used coercion, temptation, or torture to wring this girl dry, he’d become a mere tool of desire.

“Mr. Harano?” Shio noticed he had been staring blankly at her for a while and felt a bit uneasy, softly prompting him.

“Sorry, I was distracted just now.”

Harano came back to himself.

Looking at the light blue screen displaying ill thoughts, he pondered a moment. He decided not to forcibly fulfill the first and third items. Both were too forced; telling her directly he wouldn’t commit suicide would be abrupt, and inviting her to eat didn’t seem appropriate.

He wouldn’t be a slave to the ill thought list.

He would act according to the situation and his ability.

After gathering his words, Harano slowly said, “I’ve lived here for almost two years. If you encounter any trouble, Shigeeda-san, feel free to come to me. Although it might sound like I’m trying to gain your trust, I work at the ward office, and the apartment manager, Mr. Takagi, knows me. I’m probably trustworthy enough. Don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed.”

“Oh, you’re a civil servant…” Hearing this, Shio’s doubts melted away. The earlier sense of being watched almost vanished.

Being a civil servant was indeed useful.

After all, government employees usually abide by the law strictly.

Harano smiled and teased the girl in front of him, “We’re both just overworked part-timers after all.”

Then he added, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”

A smile bloomed on Shio’s fair face from being teased. She almost felt her original suspicion was wrong and her mood brightened. Her slender hands rested obediently on the hem of her dark green pleated skirt as she nodded and said, “Okay, goodbye.”

It seemed Mr. Harano was a good person.

And he didn’t intend to kill himself.

That was very good news for her. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about moving again.