“Eh…?”

I was shaking. Of course I was shaking. I was shaking all over.

Kumagawa-kun, though as calm as ever, stopped for the time being with the corpse in front of him.

The corpse of a female student⁠—that corpse was seated on a chair at a desk in the center of the classroom. In one hand was a large revolver, with the muzzle of the gun pointing languidly at the floor⁠—more than half of the head had been blown away.

Half of the other side of the classroom had been dyed in red, surely due to the contents of her head having splattered across it⁠—it was probably impossible to deduce everything from this state of affairs, and this was just from an amateur’s viewpoint, but it was very clear what had happened.

She had placed the muzzle of the gun at her own temple and pulled the trigger⁠—we were at the scene of a firearm suicide.

But a firearm suicide?

In Japan?

When discussing the problems within a society with gun rights, then the high crime rate went without saying, but I’d heard that the suicide rate also drastically jumped, too⁠—but Japan was not one of those societies.

And a firearm suicide occurring at a school, inside a classroom? There had to be a limit to how unthinkable this combination was⁠—much like how there had to be a limit to how attractive a person’s gap could be.

「Saki-chan.」

Without recoiling even the slightest bit from the stench of blood that permeated the classroom, and actually even widening his smile, Kumagawa-kun pointed at the suicide victim.

「Is that actually Teppou-san?」

“Eh…?”

Even if you asked that.

Even if you asked me that, this was a firearm suicide⁠—a suicide that involved pointing the gun at the temple would perhaps leave it in a better condition than if she had put the barrel of the gun in her mouth, but even so, half the head had been blown away.

In addition to that, they say that living humans and dead humans have completely different facial expressions, so there was no way I’d be able to judge a student’s face when it was like that.

“I do know what Teppou-san’s face looks like… But in that state, it might be… a little hard for me. Really, it’s only a little…”

「It’s true that it might be hard to tell from this distance. Then, try coming a little closer.」

With that, Kumagawa-kun began to walk away⁠—no, no, I didn’t mean that I couldn’t tell because I was at a distance, but that I couldn’t tell because her head was blown off.

Following behind Kumagawa-kun, who apparently felt no physical disgust upon getting closer to a corpse, I soon reached the desk of that female student.

The stench felt less like the stench of blood and more like the stench of meat⁠—although, since I generally wore a mask at all times, the stench didn’t bother me that much.

What did bother me was the state of the corpse, which I could only describe as grotesque. It was an intense visual, as if it were trying to show off the contents of a person’s body⁠—although, if I said it like that, it could sound like I was disrespecting the dead.

But that was what I truly felt.

「So? Can you tell?」

“No, like I was about to say, the head is…. Ah, but…”

What had entered my line of sight was not her ruptured head, but the reason why that head had been splatted across the classroom⁠—the large-caliber pistol in her right hand.

More precisely, the wrist of that hand.

The right wrist.

Teppou-san always, as far as I was aware, wore a characteristic wristband on her right wrist⁠—I’d assumed it was some sort of charm as a Marksmanship Club member, like a jinx.

I didn’t know if I should say, contrary to my expectations, or, just as I expected.

The wristband that I remembered seeing⁠—was in fact being worn on the suicide victim’s right wrist. My level of information hadn’t been enough to know they were dog tags, but for now, it was enough to make a temporary judgment.

“Yeah.”

It was probably okay to say it now.

“It’s Teppou-san… I think.”

「Ah, is that so. She’s quite a cute girl, isn’t she? I just love a girl that can show me her brains as soon as we meet.」

And, saying that.

Kumagawa-kun put his right hand on her head⁠—or rather, he plunged it straight into her head. It almost seemed like he was just drawing lots to change seats in the classroom with how casually he touched the corpse.

However, I couldn’t tell if me being frightened of that grotesque corpse was more disrespectful, or if Kumagawa-kun not being disturbed in the least in front of the corpse was more disrespectful.

And while I was thinking about that.



「⁠—'All Fiction’.」



The corpse stopped being a corpse.

The head, which had had more than half of it blown off, no longer had even a hair out of place⁠—not a trace of the blood and flesh that had been scattered across the classroom remained.

Everything inside the classroom had “returned” to its original state.

“……!”

No matter how many times I saw it, it made me shudder.

This was Kumagawa-kun’s Skill.

A Minus that could make everything as if it never happened.

“All Fiction”.

It was with this inarguable Skill that allowed Kumagawa-kun to dethrone Jakago-san from the position of Student Council President, with Suisou Academy under her control.

「I made it so that this girl’s firearm suicide never happened⁠—and so, good afternoon, and nice to meet you, Teppou-san,」 said Kumagawa-kun, greeting what had just been a corpse with a wide smile. 「As I’m sure you’ve heard, I’ve come to see you.」


Good Loser Kumagawa Gaiden - Kumagawa Misogi's Bullet Loaded Present