"Is that why you didn't tell anyone about it?" Ichihara Midori asked disapprovingly.
"That's right," Ara answered straightforwardly. "I hope you keep it to yourself as well. Don't give her a chance to accuse you of slandering her."
"What do you mean? You yourself heard her that night."
"It's not a proof of her guilt," Ara told her. "I heard her – yes. But there was no proof. I did not record it. I may use it to cut ties with her, but not to discredit her to others. If I tell people about it, who would believe me?"
"But your car was sabotaged. If – "
"Her uncle is the chief of police," Ara interrupted blandly. "That time at the hospital, I told everyone who visited me that my car got tampered with. It would only take a call from her for her uncle to erase any trace of that incident."
"But that's unfair!" Ichihara looked more stricken than she was, that Ara couldn't help but give her a pat.
