Unmotivated Detective Work Mukiryoku Tantei

By Kusutani Tasuku

Cover Illustration by Wakamatsu Kaori

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Case 1: No Matter the Era, Dying Messages Are Always Y 4

Case 2: A Vase Exchange that doesn’t Quite Fit 47

Case 3: A Kidnapping Endlessly Close to Meaningless 105

Case 4: A Somewhat Reckless Howdunnit 162

Case 5: Kirishima Chizuru’s Cold Case 224

Postscript 299

Author Profile 302

Translator Disclaimer: As this work has been converted into English, there are some instances where a portion of the tricks have been altered. This book relies Japanese culture and wordplay, thereby making it necessary to change some phrases to make sense in English. Also, please don’t sue me. Pretty please. I don’t actually have a defense of this one. I’d usually post a raw link, but all I can say here is buy the book. Ah, even though this is a light novel, it does not contain any pretty pictures.

1

Prologue

The two faced one another in a living room stained by the setting sun.

“Could you… say that again?”

Chizuru called out to the man’s back. But the man simply gazed out the window, offering no response to his voice.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Chizuru could feel his own voice growing thin.

“Weren’t you going to arrest that bastard?”

“Chizuru.”

The man opened his mouth. His tone was cold to the touch.

“It’s just as I’ve told you. Midori’s death is being treated as a suicide. There is nothing more for me to add to that. The investigation is closed.”

“That can’t be!”

Chizuru cried in terror.

“You’re the one who said he killed mother! Why the sudden change of heart?”

“… The circumstances are complicated.”

The man painstakingly spat out the words. He turned his head to pin his eyes on Chizuru.

“Listen, just forget about it, Chizuru. Forget about Midori’s case.”

A silence flowed through the next while. Chizuru turned his face down, the man silently watching over him.

“… I see how it is.”

2

Eventually, Chizuru spoke up. Like a receding tide, little by little, his voice was losing its emotions.

“You folded to the power of the state, did you, officer? … When your own family was murdered, you’re so afraid of the pressure from up top, you can’t even lift a finger.” “A kid like you shouldn’t talk like he knows how the world works. An organization isn’t the sort of thing that moves on emotion. It requires evidence.” “I’m certain I logically proved his guilt.” “Nothing of the sort. All you proved is that a trick to breach a locked room- one we have no evidence of whether it was used or not- was ‘possible’. You can’t possibly hope to establish culpability with that… don’t act so conceited.”

The man threw the words over his shoulder in anguish as he made for the living room door.

“… I’m disappointed in you.” “Then do you want to leave?”

The man spoke as if to forsake him.

“Why not pack your bags and go to your aunt’s? If you’re going to keep taking that attitude, why stay? Truth be told, she made the proposition herself. Since I’m busy with work, she said she wouldn’t mind looking after you in my place.” “… That’s a welcome idea. And I think I’ll be doing just that.”

Chizuru answered the man half-way through the door. By that moment, not a single shred of emotion was left in his voice.

“I can’t trust the likes of you policemen anymore. I’m going to live without relying on you.” “… Do what you will.”

Leaving those flat words, the man shuts the door. Chizuru stands stock-still, narrowing his eyes towards the setting sun as he raises his face. He quietly murmurs.

3

“Farewell, father.”

4

Case 1: No Matter the Era,

Dying Messages are Always Y

(TL: For translation convenience, the Y has been changed to an X in story. Please forgive me, I really can’t think of another way to get it to work. Future cases will still reference back to this case as the Y Incident… I’m sorry if this makes the case feel stupid, but my philosophy is that the charm of a detective novel is that it gives enough information for the reader to solve the mystery. I could do the Phoenix Wright thing and just change all names and places to match, but… if you really want me to, please leave a comment.)

5

1

If the main character of a story is a male high school student, their seat must always be by the window. By the window, around second from the back. A certain student of the private Yumoto Academy’s high school division, Kirishima Chizuru just happened to sit by the window, two seats from the back. He had only just entered his second year in the high school division, and at present, the light tree-filtered sunlight of spring was pouring into the classroom, and Chizuru was taking an afternoon nap. To the surprise of none, this could also be called part of the standard formula.

“Hey, Chizuru!”

Chizuru awoke to a scolding, followed by the pain of a textbook’s impact.

“Ow.” “To be sound asleep from first period… what’s more, your homeroom teacher’s course! You’ve got some guts.”

As Chizuru turned up, he found his English teacher at the end of her youth… Towada’s lip twitching. Around, his classmates watched over the two in intrigue. In the next seat over, Beppu Ageha was hiding her mouth with her textbook, but her back was shaking. How heartless it was.

Chizuru cursed Ageha a bit before preparing some backtalk for his homeroom teacher.

“Um, good morning, Towada-sensei.” “Don’t good morning me. Do you really understand what sort of place this classroom is?”

Towada coolly brushed her chestnut sideburns behind an ear.

“It goes without saying, but our Yumoto Academy is the most prestigious prep school in the prefecture. What’s more, this is the special class! If you daze off like that, you’re going to be left behind.” “That so…”

6

Chizuru gave a vague reply as he brushed away the hoodie hood sticking to his head.

“Don’t give me, ‘That so’. Let me hear an ‘Understood’.”

With her almond-slit eyes, Towada glared at Chizuru.

“And if you’re going to sleep, then get some proper sleep at home! Early to bed, early to rise, you should put that to heart.” “Eh? Even if you tell me that, teach. Didn’t you sleep-in this morning?”

When Chizuru nonchalantly said that, Towada dropped her textbook.

“Wha…! H-how do you know that?” “I mean…”

Without showing any particular interest, Chizuru pointed at her thighs.

“There’s a beige powder on your black pants. That fell when you were putting on foundation, right? That means you’d have to be sitting, likely doing your makeup with a hand-mirror. If you used a washbasin or dresser, then when you’re leaning forward, the powder would naturally fall onto the surface. My guess is that you slept in, and hurriedly did your makeup in your car after arriving at school.”

While Towada was clearly flustered, she kept her glare on Chizuru.

“That’s all…? Sounds a bit weak as a basis.” “No, there’s something else. I’ve been getting some vague glimpses at it since class started.”

Chizuru made some light gestures at the nape of his own neck. Towada blankly lifted up her waved, chestnut hair.

“Your dry-cleaning tag. You must have been in quite the rush.”

The classroom was enveloped in laughter. Towada retrieved her dropped textbook, before lowering the binding onto Chizuru’s head once more.

7

“You really went and did it, Chizuru.”

When break time came around, Ageha from the next seat over teased him. Chizuru scratched his head. “Did I do something bad?” He mumbled. You’ve done nothing but bad things, Ageha said, a sarcastic smile mixed in. She pulled out her smartphone, using the camera feature as a mirror to correct the position of her hairpin. It was a pin modelled in the shape of a butterfly, and Chizuru thought it was perfect for her.

“Even so, I’m glad I got to witness your detective forte after so long.” “… I’m not a detective.”

Chizuru lay his face against his desk. He had known Ageha since middle school, and even after he entered high school, they were stuck together in the same class. So she knew Chizuru was the owner of just a bit of deductive prowess. That being the case, Chizuru himself didn’t have any particular interest in playing detective or solving puzzles.

“I just thought I could distract her from the point at hand with some reasoning. To think it would make her even more angry.” “… Ah, that so.”

Ageha sounded bored. It seems she had grown tired of meddling with Chizuru, as she pulled out a volume of manga. From the tidy book cover placed over it, and her slackening expression, it was sure to be a work pertaining to the romantic affairs between two men. Why was she reading it at school? Chizuru pressed his face into the pleasantly-cool desk. He closed his eyes. Right. Chizuru had no interest in playing detective or solving puzzles… He had already grown fed up with that sort of thing.

8

2

After Chizuru uninvestedly overcame every period, afterschool finally came

around.

Chizuru and Ageha left the school gate together, leisurely reaching their road

home. Chizuru was in the go-home club, but Ageha was affiliated with the

newspaper club. That Friday, the club just happened to be off.

It was mid-April, the passed-five sky was still light, and the air was lukewarm.

“Aaah, the day’s finally over. I’m tired.”

Chizuru walked, making a cracking sound as he rolled his shoulders. He had a

habit of stooping over. Ageha laughed to his side, “When you didn’t do a single

tiresome thing?” she said in a tired voice.

Ageha definitely had a point. Chizuru conceded it with silence.

Fellow students of Yumoto Academy scarcely dotted the space around them. At

the edge of the footpath were scattered the cherry blossom petals that had

been trod to pieces. The roadside evergreens received the setting sun, dropping

their smooth-solid shadows onto the ground.

“Spring is coming to an end.”

Ageha spoke in earnest. Quietly, “According to the calendar, it’s already over,”

Chizuru bluntly pointed out.

Even if it was a suburban city, this was the evening before the weekend, and

Yumoto City was growing rowdy, here and there. For Yumoto Academy as well,

the path that ran near their train stop Yumoto station was relatively congested.

The pair exchanged some scraps of conversation as they walked down the main

road called Yumoto Boulevard.

“What happened this morning jogged my memory, but Chizuru, you really do

have some aptitude for deductive reasoning.”

Under the twilight-dying sky, Ageha spoke up quite suddenly.

9

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“No, I was just thinking about it. Wondering what the best occupation to make

use of your brains would be.”

“… Hah?”

Chizuru slowly blinked his eyes.

“An occupation? Now that’s a bolt from the blue.”

“I mean, we’re already second years. It’s about time we started thinking about

our futures. With a head as good as yours… maybe a doctor?”

“Eh? No way… a job that deals with peoples’ lives is way too heavy.”

“Then a college professor.”

“The responsibility of teaching others is heavy too.”

“Politician.”

“On top of heavy responsibility of the highest degree, I don’t want to be abused

by the mass media.”

“Then what will you be?”

“Thinking about it.”

Chizuru let out a long breath.

“Yeah, I’m aware I have a good head on my shoulders.”

“R-right… when the person in question says it himself, I get this sort of

indescribable irritation.”

“That’s why I… a job where I don’t have to put in any effort at all, and can just

use my mind for a high pay, that’s the sort of job I want.”

“What’s that, your ideals are way too high. Does a job like that exist?”

“I haven’t found one yet, so I’m still searching.”

Chizuru slowly scratched his head.

“You know anything?”

“There’s no way there’s a job as convenient as that. If you’re smart, and you’re

good at solving puzzles, just become a detective. You like deducing things, don’t

you?”

“I don’t like it any more than anything else. If I had to say, I’m just doing the

deductions because I can’t help it.”

10

“Really? But even if you say you, ‘can’t help it,’ in the past, you really looked like

you enjoyed puzzle solving quite a bit. You were quite something back in middle

school. See, remember that serial bike seat theft incident! You deduced the

culprit’s behavioral pattern, and splendidly caught them in a trap. And that case,

where that mystery circle was drawn in the schoolyard. Your guess at who the

culprit was ended up true.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“… Well, I can’t say I blame you. With this and that happening. I won’t pretend

to know everything, but… how many years has it been? Three?”

“Yeah.”

Chizuru closed his eyes a bit, giving a short answer.

“I see… if my mother passed like that, I’m sure I’d grow fed up with detective-

novel-ish puzzle solving games too. But you see, as things stand, you’ve got a

good head, so don’t you think you should make use of it to benefit the public?”

“Public benefit, eh… look here, Ageha. The deductions of an amateur detective

are never seen as any more than a single faulty compass needle. Even if they

point to the truth without any room for doubt.”

“Compass?”

“Right. To summarize, it’s the police who decide everything… when you think of

it like that, you really can’t get yourself fired up for the job, right?”

“Is that really how it works?”

Ageha tilted her head, taking a slight glance at Chizuru. She couldn’t see through

to the eye covered by his long bangs.

“That’s just how it works.”

Chizuru softly muttered. The two of them talked as they strayed into a side

road. The path was dark, and not the most popular to walk down.

“If I was returning alone, I doubt I’d walk this way.”

Ageha muttered. That small path with the sun cut off by the thick evergreen

trees, perhaps it really was dangerous. But Chizuru had never commuted down

any other. The reason being, this was the shortest possible route.

11

A deserted shrine, and the park attached to it came into sight. It goes without

saying that was uninhabited as well. There were few private houses in the area,

making it a lonely sight at all times.

The path had the breadth for cars to pass, but Chizuru had barely ever seen a

car go down it.

However, that day, the path left a bit of a different taste.

The moment they passed by a vacant lot, Ageha let out a short, “Ah.”

What’s wrong, Chizuru asked; she pointed at the thicket. “Someone’s sleeping

over there,” she said in a low voice.

Looking closely, there definitely was someone lying down. Distanced from the

path, the grass stalks were considerably high, so the most they could do was

catch a glance of his clothes and head.

“Let’s not linger.”

“Wait.”

Chizuru’s voice sharpened. A serious light took residence in his eyes.

“… It looks like he’s bleeding.”

Sending a backwards glance to Ageha as she opened her eyes wide, Chizuru

forced his way into the thicket. At the very back of the plot that was around

twenty meters in each direction, it lay.

The body face-down on the ground didn’t move a twitch. A little more than a

hundred and sixty centimeters, a middle-aged man of a slight build. A puddle of

blood had formed under his body. It looked as if he was stabbed in the

abdomen. Chizuru touched a finger to the man’s outward extended wrist, trying

to take a pulse.

“H-how is it? Chizuru?”

To Ageha who had come up to just a little behind him, watching over the scene

nervously, Chizuru shook his head.

The man was stone dead.

Lightly lifting the body, he found the blood loss to be from the lower abdomen.

A single wound.

12

“Chizuru! What are you doing? Stop that at once.”

“… Yeah.”

He abruptly lay the body back down and stood. From there, he noticed the

traces at Ageha’s feet. The grasses cleared up just a bit, giving way to a loose

soil.

“Ageha, make sure you don’t step there. Those might be the culprit’s

footprints.”

“Eh!”

“… I have to make sure those don’t disappear.”

Chizuru took out his smartphone and photographed the prints.

While he was at it, he tried to report it as well when, “Ah,” Ageha called out and

pointed at something. Just as she had when she spotted the corpse a moment

ago.

What she pointed at was a sign.

Posted a little low on a concrete fence, was a real estate agency’s signboard- the

sort that made one doubt whether it would really affect publicity or not. On that

sign, a blackening scarlet smear was clinging fast. The smear was in the shape of

a finger, an undoubtable trace the victim- or perpetrator- had touched it.

What was written on it was the company name ‘XIAO-CHEN REALTY’, and the

blood seemed to arc over a single letter. As if he had started to circle it, but run

out of strength.

“X…”

Chizuru gave a low murmur.

13

3

The time was around six, the outside of the window was stained in dusk.

“How much longer will we have to wait?”

Ageha seemed quite haggard as she spoke. Chizuru was the same, but he was so

perfectly worn out, he hadn’t the leisure for words.

The two of them were in the interrogation room of the Yumoto Police

Department. They had finished explaining to the office officials the situation

behind their finding of the body, but it seemed they would have to give the very

same explanation to some officers of the prefecture, so they were left waiting

for their arrival.

“Well, someone did wind up dead, so if they tell us to wait, I’ll wait, but…”

Ageha seemed bored out of mind as she restlessly began touching her butterfly-

shaped hairpin. In contrast to her, Chizuru quietly closed his eyes. Ageha

abruptly made a look of amazement.

“Hey, hey Chizuru. Are you really going to sleep in a situation like this?”

“No.”

His eyes still closed, “I’m just thinking,” he said. After a momentary blank stare,

Ageha broke into a warm smile.

“Not bad, Chizuru. But did you really get something from that glance at the

crime scene? About the culprit?”

“More or less. Something like… this.”

Chizuru produced his beloved white smartphone from his jacket pocket. Nimbly

operating it, he pulled up an image form the gallery. It was a photo of the scene.

“Look, the bloodspot is only interrupted where the footprints are… which

means, these have got to be the footprints from when the culprit stabbed the

victim and pulled out the knife.”

14

Ageha furrowed her brow and tilted her head.

“I don’t really get it. Will that really lead to anything? I’m sure the police can

probably identify the sort of shoe from the prints, but… rather, that’s not

something I’d like to look at for too long.”

Chizuru turned off the screen and returned the phone to his pocket.

“From these small, simple clues, the truth is, there’s something you can tell. For

example…”

At that moment, the door to the investigation room opened. The one who made

a ruckus as he entered was a young man in a plain-colored suit. He had a

sociable face, not looking much like a detective. The man hastily took a seat

before he began his ramble.

“Hey there, we’ve kept you waiting. Now then, let’s get right to ow.”

Hitting his shin against one of the chair legs, his face grimaced as he groaned.

“… Are you alright?”

Ageha asked in an expression mingled with concern and anxiety. The young

officer continued to grimace as he held up a hand.

“I-I’m fine. Erk… fuu… now then. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say.”

“Is it really alright for you to be here on your own?”

Chizuru couldn’t help but ask. When it came to police questioning, there were

generally supposed to be multiple officers present.

“It’s fine. You’ve already talked to the people of the precinct, right? For now,

let’s just go and meet the first discoverers of the body, it’s that sort of

procedural thing from the prefecture’s side.”

He abruptly cleared his throat and got his suit’s collar in order.

“I’ve said too much. I’m Atami of the Prefectural Police, let’s all get along.”

“I’m Beppu Ageha. This is Kirishima Chizuru.”

15

“Pleasure.”

“Likewise. Then let’s begin.”

Chizuru and Ageha explained the events that led that led up to, and the

circumstances surrounding their discovery of the body. They were simply

repeating what they had told the officers of the police station, so the

conversation went by truly smoothly.

There wasn’t much to say to begin with, it didn’t take more than five minutes in

total. Once the two of them finished speaking, Atami gave a big nod. A full smile

on his face.

“Okay, and that’s that. You can go home now. I really am sorry for making you

wait so long. I hope your parents aren’t too worried. Do you need a lift?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. Our houses are close enough… hmm?

What’s wrong, Chizuru?”

Chizuru was staring intently at the officer before his eyes. His pupils were tinted

in a peculiar color.

“W-what’s wrong Umm, Kirishima-kun.”

“Officer Atami… you’re in quite high spirits.”

“Yeah, I won’t deny it. The truth is, it looks like we’re going to resolve this case

reasonably easily.”

He rubbed under his nose. And he drew his face closer to the two high school

students across the table.

“The truth is, we’ve already identified a prime suspect. My superior’s in the

process of interrogating them as we speak. This is still off the record, but it’ll be

all over the news before long. You kids saw it, didn’t you? The blood traces the

victim left on the real estate company’s sign.”

“Yeah, as I recall, it was around the X.”

When Ageha said that, “Precisely!” Atami pointed at her.

“It’s one of those so-called dying messages. So the victim was a teacher at a

middle school… from a certain lead, we were able to conclude the culprit was

one of the victim’s coworkers. And we found one, a teacher with an X in their

16

name. Of course, that’s not all. He had a clear motive. So wouldn’t you say

we’ve already got our culprit?”

“Should you really be telling us all this?”

Ageha looked at the young officer with ample suspicion as she spoke. It’s fine,

it’s fine, Atami laughed.

“There’s no further room for doubt. The suspect’s a hard-built man, easily

exceeding one eighty centimeters, and considerably larger than the victim. I’m

sure that guy could easily take down the victim.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Chizuru spoke. As if to measure out the meaning behind those words, “Pardon,”

Atami tilted his head.

“I’m trying to say, that X-Teacher can’t be the culprit in this incident. He’s

innocent, guiltless. Pure white. Do you get it?”

Atami stared hard enough to open a hole in the boy before him. Meanwhile, as

if hoping for something, Ageha was looking between Chizuru and the officer.

“W-what basis do you have for…”

“First off, Officer Atami. The victim was stabbed in a single point, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah… the lower abdomen. But what does that…”

Chizuru ignored Atami as he went on.

“The victim was a little over a hundred sixty. And if that X-Teacher easily

exceeds one eighty, then if he stabbed the victim standing straight, the wound

should have been much higher than the lower abdomen.”

“What? I don’t get what you’re trying to say. That simply means he stabbed

from a lower posture. Try standing for a second. I’ll demonstrate.”

“Eh? I don’t want to. That’s a pain. Ageha, you do it.”

“No, Chizuru, I want to see you and Officer Atami all tangled up.”

“That’s right, Kirishima-kun. If I enact it on a high school girl, my standing will be

in danger.”

17

Receiving Ageha’s mysterious request, and Atami’s unexpected complaint,

Chizuru had no choice but to stand. Atami gripped a pen in both hands, lowering

his hips before pressing the pen to Chizuru’s abdomen.

“This is what I mean. He lowered his body, and stabbed as if lunging at him.

More so, he’d be able to put in more power this way, so it’s more natural for

him to do so rather than stand straight… if you picture it like that, it isn’t strange

for an individual taller than the victim to be the culprit, right?”

“No way, Officer Atami. Just take a look your feet.”

Chizuru pointed at the floor Atami was standing on. The left foot out front, and

the right stretched back, it was almost as if he was standing on tiptoes.

“The footprints that look like they belonged to the culprit were practically level,

and blood was spattered over them. Meaning when the culprit stabbed the

victim and pulled out the knife, their feet were roughly together the whole

time.”

“Ah!”

Atami almost dropped his pen. And unable to maintain his bizarre stance, he fell

to one knee.

“B-but wait, Chizuru.”

Ageha held out both hands, making a ‘stop’ pose.

“Wouldn’t it be possible for him to keep a level stance, still lowering his body to

stab the victim?”

“Listen here, Ageha, The difference in height was a whole twenty centimeters. If

he wanted to lower his body to stab the lower abdomen, he’d almost have to be

air-sitting. To add to that, it takes a considerably amount of power to fell

someone in a single blow. The culprit’s elbow was likely folded. Taking all that

into account, the difference in height between the culprit and victim can’t be

more than five centimeters. This places them roughly between a hundred and

sixty to a hundred and seventy centimeters.”

See? He gave a slight laugh.

18

“There is something you can tell from just the footprints.”

“You’re right…”

“And also, Officer Atami.”

Chizuru opened his mouth towards the shaking officer, whose two hands were

planted on the ground.

“I also have to question whether the dying message really was X. I don’t know

the sequence that led to your narrowing of the suspects, but while it’s rare to

have an X in your name, there are plenty of things an X may point to, right? On

the brink of death, without any way of knowing who he would cast suspicion on,

would the victim really leave such an ambiguous message?”

“E-even if you tell me that! The culprit honest to goodness marked out an X!”

Atami slammed the floor tiles like a child. His eyes were downcast.

“No, don’t look at me… then let’s see. Perhaps to the victim himself, it was an

exceedingly clear and direct message.”

On Chizuru’s ambiguous words, Atami’s expression turned to despair as he held

his head.

“Ah, that’s enough, fine. Let’s put the dying message aside for now! Putting that

aside, what are we going to do? If your reasoning is correct, that would mean

Alexander isn’t the culprit!”

“Hey, it would be troublesome if you snapped at me, and you just divulged the

name of the suspect…”

Atami was taken aback, “How about you didn’t hear that?” he pleaded. The

officer of the prefecture was losing quite a bit of face. Chizuru direct eyes as if to

console him.

“And wait, you don’t have to be so panicked. Can’t you just admit your mistake

and search for a different suspect? What I’ve just told you here and now, I’m

pretty sure they’ve already realized it, and if they haven’t, they’ll find out

sooner or later.”

“Don’t make it sound so easy.”

19

Atami spoke in a frail voice.

“There’s this thing called Kandori, where you out possible suspects from the

victim’s associates and such, and the one in charge of it was me. If it gets out

that I mistook the prime suspect, my superior’s going to get angry at me again…

and because of that blasted burglar… ”

“Burglar?”

To Ageha who parroted the word, Atami stared back with sullen eyes.

“Truth be told… the other day, me and my superior officer managed to

apprehend a burglar on the run, but… When we were taking a rest in a parking

area, he managed to push me away and flee. He was handcuffed so I let my

guard down, and the inspector had gone to the bathroom. Because of that, we

were chasing after that burglar for a good three hours. In the end, we caught

him, but because of that, the inspector really gave it to me.”

Chizuru looked at Atami’s hung head with cold eyes.

“I see. So in order to redeem yourself, you rushed through this time’s

identification of the suspect. Self-interest is taboo in investigation, you know.”

“Urrrrgh… what do I do, at this rate, she’s going to be twice as angry. In the

worst case, I’m going to get a pay cut…”

“Cheer up, officer! You’ve got a great detective on your side, you’ve got Chizuru

here.”

“Hmm…”

To Ageha’s overly optimistic words, Atami sent a halfhearted reply. But Ageha

went on.

“No, I mean, this guy’s the son of Chief Detective Kirishima of the prefectural

police!”

On those words, the color of Atami’s eyes changed, he suddenly took up

Chizuru’s hand.

“The son of the Chief Detective!? Come to think of it, your surnames are the

same, but is that true?”

20

Chizuru exhaled a troubled sigh.

“Agehaaa… you’re not supposed to say that.”

“Why? It’s nice and convenient.”

“Getting in with connections is the worst.”

“I’m begging you! Chizuru-kun. Could you talk it over with your father and do

something about this?”

“And you too, policeman…”

Chizuru brushed aside Atami, who was desperately lowering his head.

“Then let’s do this. Officer Atami, you tell me the details of this case. And I’ll

deduce the truth. I you catch the culprit, then the good inspector can’t

complain, right? A peaceful resolution.”

“Wait, Chizuru. Aren’t you talking yourself up a bit too high?”

“You think? But Officer Atami just said ‘the culprit is a colleague of the victim’,

didn’t he? If he know that much then it’s possible… perhaps?”

Atami blankly opened his house, staring fixatedly at Chizuru once more. He

spoke in a way that could be called timid.

“This feels really low, but… I can certainly accept that display of reasoning, and if

it’s you then… alright, why not. For now, let’s talk.”

Atami had reached the realm called desperation.

“… Yes. Let’s hear it.”

Chizuru left a little space before saying it. To those words, Ageha who was

listening to the side seemed a little surprised.

21

4

“Let me give you a quick summary of the case. The victim was Chikamatsu

Kouichi-san, 51. A resident of Izumi City next door, his residence was a five-

minute walk from Izumi Central Junior High… erk, this is hard to read… where he

was working as a social studies teacher.”

Atami flipped through his worn notepad as he spoke in a whisper. Even by

mistake, he couldn’t let the officers outside hear what he was saying.

By that time, the outside of the window was already completely colored in the

shades of night.

“You two found the body around five thirty, correct? The estimated time of

death is four thirty to five. The cause of death is, as you know. He was stabbed

to death with a sharp object. The murder weapon has yet to be identified.”

“From the footprints in question, were you able to determine the sort of shoe?”

When Chizuru asked, Atami’s lips bent into a frown.

“If it’s the shoes, we found them in a ditch near the scene. They were found

alongside a unisex raincoat, we presume was to protect against the blood

spatter. Commonplace sneakers. For argument’s sake, they were size 25, but

that didn’t really connect to identifying the culprit. The problematic Y-Teacher in

question had a shoe size of 26. Among the four suspects, the smallest-built

woman had a shoe size of 24 or 25. If it’s just one centimeter, then whether it’s

bigger or smaller, you’d be able to wear them without pushing it too much.”

“… Hmm. So you narrowed it down to four suspects?”

“That’s right.”

Now then, Atami folded his hands on the desk.

“From here on’s the main part. Let me tell you the process we used to narrow

down the suspects… the story starts when Chikamatsu-san returned home

around three thirty.”

“That’s quite early for a middle school teacher. I heard the job was a harsh one

22

with ample overtime.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s generally true. But today, classes at the school ended in the

morning, and there weren’t any students around, so it seems a majority of the

teachers finished up work early. The victim, Chikamatsu-san was the deputy

advisor of the wind instrument ensemble, but the club didn’t have any activities

today. Whatever the case, he returned at three thirty. We have a witness. His

apartment’s next-door neighbor was having a pleasant chat in the doorway and

ended up witnessing the victim, it seems. So this housewife gossip kept heating

up and heating up, and it continued on more than thirty minutes. Around four,

she witnessed him leaving again. At that time, the neighbor called out to the

victim. ‘Oh, Chikamatsu-sensei, going somewhere?’ she asked. In regards to

that, the victim’s response was, ‘Yeah, my colleague called me out’.”

I see, Ageha nodded.

“If that’s true, then the victim’s colleagues really are the most suspicious.”

“Pretty much. By the way, the victim’s room was on the second floor, and after

heading down, it seems the neighbor and her friend saw him walking in a

straight line towards New Izumi Central Station.”

Atami’s words cut off for a moment, as if to see if there were any questions. So

Chizuru posed one.

“That neighbor’s testimony seems overly precise.”

Chizuru expressionlessly pointed it out. With a tone to ask, ‘You think so?’ Atami

gave his response.

“She said her kid was watching anime in the living room. Apparently, the

opening and ending themes roughly overlapped with the time the victim came

and left his room.”

“Oh! What anime could that be? I’m curious. If it’s from three thirty to four,

then is it that? The Prince of Bask…”

“Ageha, calm down.”

23

The anime-loving girl who was so enthusiastically going to derail the

conversation was expressionlessly cut off by Chizuru. His eyes urged Atami to

continue on.

“Ahem. So the victim passed through the ticket gate at Yumoto Station around

four twenty. We were able to tell from the security camera footage. It’s around

twenty minutes from the station to the crime scene on foot, so the strict time of

death is estimated to be between four forty to five, I guess. The victim was able

to answer the phone call he got from his car company around four thirty, after

all.”

“… Car company?”

Right, Atami nodded at Chizuru.

“We haven’t been able to confirm it yet, but that was probably some sort of

sales call. Whatever the case, he was still living at the time.”

“… I see. By the way, how were you able to narrow the suspects down to four

people? We haven’t heard that part yet.”

“Ah, that. It’s quite simple. After looking into the victim’s phone records,

between three thirty and four, those four individuals were the ones who

established contact with him. If the victim’s words that he was called out by a

colleague were true, then those people would inevitably become suspects,

right?”

Ageha spoke doubtfully: “In a span of thirty minutes, he got called by four

colleagues? Was the late teacher really so popular?” She stuck in her mouth.

“No, you see, it seems there was a bit of trouble at the junior high the victim

worked… to put it bluntly, there was a case of bullying. In the class Chikamatsu-

san was charged with.”

Atami furrowed his brow and shook his head.

“With this and that, perhaps there were quite a few teachers who personally

felt the need to speak with him. The one with an X in his name, Alexander

Kyuutarou. He was head of the year, and he called the victim to set up a

meeting on Saturday, but the victim wouldn’t hear it… that was his answer.”

24

Chizuru’s expression clouded a bit.

“When you say that was his answer, you mean Chikamatsu-san’s way of dealing

with the bullying was…”

“Unfavorable.”

Atami traced his ear, speaking in an uncomfortable tone.

“Apparently, he was an old fashioned teacher. A man of the, ‘If the one being

bullied learns to hold a strong heart, the bullying will stop’ school of thought.

That’s the impression I got from the police interview with Alexander.”

“Ah, I kinda get that.”

Ageha furrowed her brow.

“I’m not too good with that type of teacher. No, of course, it’s unfortunate he

was murdered.”

“Anyways, that was his teaching policy, and it seems he often clashed with the

head of the year Alexander, so there’s motive aplenty…”

“I couldn’t care less about the motive.”

Chizuru spoke bluntly. As if to say, I’m getting tired of this, he had switched to

resting his chin on his hands.

“More importantly, could you give me the profiles of the four suspects? When it

comes to the dying message as well, I think that’s what’s more important.”

“Y-yeah…”

Even after saying so much, Atami was still hesitant. As expected, the exposure

of personal information was the place he had his brakes down the hardest.

Ageha leaned her body over the table and whispered.

“Atami-san, don’t worry. He’s the Chief Detective’s son.”

“O-oh right! Yeah!”

Weak to authority, the grunt detective energetically renewed his grip on his

notepad. Though having his father brought up again, Chizuru looked somewhat

troubled.

25

“Umm, Alexander Kyuutarou is… I already told you. Head of the year, and a

Japanese teacher. Right, then next. Satake Rokurou, deputy head of the Second

Year. A science teacher. Moving on, Hiiragi Tooru was in charge of Class 2-1, an

English teacher. The final suspect, Mine Nanako… the only woman… in charge of

Class 2-2, and a music teacher. Ah, I forgot to say, but the victim Chikamatsu-

sensei was in charge of class 2-3. The bullying in question was occurring in Class

3, and- as far as we know- there wasn’t any major trouble in classes 1 or 2.”

Atami showed Chizuru the page listing the suspects’ names. He stared at them

intently, “Hmm,” he said. And after closing his eyes while, he opened them.

“I see. After hearing those profiles, I do have one hypothesis when it comes to

the dying message.”

“Eh? Already!?”

Even Ageha seemed surprised, looking startled at Chizuru. As if to write it off as

a jest, Atami raised a dry laugh.

“H-hahaha, haha. You’ve got to be kidding me, Chizuru-kun. Ahaha, haha.”

His shaking voice came out in bits and pieces.

“That’s impossible. That’s absurd. I mean, dozens of officers looked over that

message! Why would you be able to understand it, when we still can’t grasp its

real meaning!?”

“Because you found a suspect you thought looked obvious, and conducted an

investigation entirely based on that presupposition.”

“Auu!”

Atami groaned from the mental damage, hitting his face into the table.

“Also, while it’s important to observe the subject, more than that, analysis is a

necessity.”

On those enigmatic words, Ageha and Atami exchanged a glance. Before this

‘Great Detective,’ they had begun reacting in the fashion of the stereotypical

Watson Role. With composure, Chizuru raised his index finger.

26

“Let me give you a lecture that’ll put you right to sleep. In detective novels, in

the times where you can’t decrypt the dying message, you can apparently

narrow it down to the following three.”

Leaning forward, “Oh, what’s that?” Atami seemed full of interest.

“I’m not sure what to think of a police officer showing such interest the moment

detective novels are brought up, but to summarize, it’s like this. Case one, the

victim runs out of strength part-way through, leaving the message only half-way

finished. Case two, even if it seems simple and clear to the victim, through a lack

of relevant knowledge, the side reading it is unable to decipher the message.

Case three, the culprit is still present, and the victim knows he’s going to die, so

he leaves an elaborate message the culprit won’t understand, but the

investigators might. Well, I think we can ignore number three. That one’s just a

variation the authors thought up to avoid readers writing in saying, ‘There’s no

way the victim would leave such a complicated message’.”

“That seems about right. By the way, Chizuru, what’s the source of this lecture?”

Chizuru shrugged his shoulders, “Oh my, it seems I’ve forgotten. It’s a pain to

recall, so just google it later,” he threw out an arbitrary response.

“Anyways,” said Atami, getting things back on track.

“From an analysis grounded in that classification, you say you’ve deduced the

culprit?”

“I plain terms, yes.”

“Then tell me, Chizuru-kun. What meaning did that dying message have?”

“I won’t tell you.”

Chizuru’s point-blank response caused Atami to raise a strange, “Vwahee!?”

sound.

“If I tell you my reasoning so easily, you’re going to jump to a hasty conclusion

again, and get yourself another set of false charges.”

“Hey, Chizuru. Choose your words.”

“Anyways, until we logically reach the culprit from a different approach, I won’t

say anything about the dying message.”

“Gnnn…”

27

The moment Atami groaned, a knocking sound came at the door. One of the

officials of Yumoto Police Station popped in their head.

“Assistant Inspector Atami. The three teaching faculty members from Izumi

Central Junior High have arrived.”

“Ah, yeah, I’m on my way.”

After answering, Atami thought abit.

“Alright, you two should come as well… Chizuru-kun. If you’re going to say that

much, then I’ll have you sit through the police questioning. We’re already here,

whatever will be, will be, I say. The ship’s already left port. In for a penny, in for

a pound. Whatever the case, if you’re going to help me out, then whatever

goes.”

The officer seemed haggard to the depths of his heart.

“This is getting to be a pain,” Chizuru muttered, patting his hips as he stood.

28

5

Yumoto Police Station, the first-floor lobby.

As Chizuru and the others climbed down the stairs, in a small waiting room

lightly partitioned off, three people awaited. Of course, they were the suspects

excluding Alexander.

They all looked to be between a hundred sixty and a hundred centimeters in

height. Atami had held a slight bit of hope, but going by height alone, it would

be impossible to pick out a culprit from among them.

“I’ve kept you waiting. I appreciate you all coming down here.”

On Atami’s commonplace greeting, the three just barely lowered their heads.

“I don’t think we need a preface, but,”

The one who lit the spark was a man sitting on the sofa in the very front. His

follicles were perfectly separated, a young man with black-rimmed glasses

nervously tapping a shoe against the floor.

“Could you tell us what led you to calling us here? If you don’t start with that,

we’ll barely be able to tell you what we know.”

“Calm down, Satake-sensei.”

An unshaven man with a natural perm chided the young man… Satake. Looking

to be the oldest among the three, his level of relaxedness stuck out like a sore

thumb.

“Rush through it, and you won’t get much out in the end. I’m actually more

curious about those two high schoolers over there.”

He sent a wink towards Chizuru and Ageha, who were watching from a little

behind Atami.

“By the uniform, you’re students of Yumoto Academy, I see. Haha, looks like

we’ve got a lord and lady among us.”

“These two were the first to discover Chikamatsu-san’s incident.”

29

Answered Atami.

“Umm…”

The woman who had kept silent to that point… likely Mine… timidly spoke up.

Giving off an intellectual air as her characteristic trait, she looked to be the

youngest of the three. She nervously adjusted the positioning of the cape she

wore as she opened her thin lips.

“So why were the three of us called for? Of course, I intend to answer all

questions. If Chikamatsu-sensei was killed, I want the culprit apprehended.”

“Hahaa, as I recall, Chikamatsu-sensei was your respected mentor. You have my

condolences. Though personally speaking, I couldn’t bring myself to like him.”

The man with the perm… the remaining name Hiiragi… said as such with a shrug

of his shoulders.

Atami repeated what was practically the same explanation he had given to

Chizuru. In short, you phoned the victim during the timeslot in question, so that

makes you suspects, he said.

“That can’t be… am I under suspicion as well?”

Student of the victim, Mine, furrowed her brow in surprise.

“Unfortunately so. Of course, that isn’t to say we have any particular suspicions

towards a specific one of you… so let’s not dawdle, and get this done in order.

First, Satake Rokurou-san, you called the victim at three thirty three. You made

a call from your cell phone. Could you tell us what business you had with him?”

“So I’m up?”

Satake let the sound of his shoes resound as he spoke in ill humor.

“I called Chikamatsu-sensei because… one of the student’s parents who said

they wanted to meet him made a call to the school. I simply informed him of it. I

didn’t have any personal business.”

He nervously realigned his glasses, shutting his mouth to ask, isn’t that enough?

30

“Why did you make that call? What’s more, from your cellphone?”

“It was because I just happened to be the one who answered the parent’s call.

Chikamatsu-sensei’s a fellow second year homeroom teacher, so I had his

number saved… that’s why I used my cellphone.”

“By the way, after finishing that call with Chikamatsu-sensei, you…”

“I went straight home. Is that not allowed?”

“No, I never said that. Umm, the distance from Izumi Central Junior High is…”

“By the map app, it’s around fifteen minutes by car. It’s much faster than taking

the train.”

The one who answered Atami’s mutter was Ageha, who had taken out her

smartphone. Satake’s face flushed as he stood to his feet.

“Oy, detective, what’s the meaning of this!? What’s with that high school girl

over there!?”

“Well now, well now, just calm down. It’s not like we’re suspecting you.”

Atami hurriedly soothed him. But there wasn’t a soul whose mood wouldn’t be

damaged by those words from Ageha, Chizuru made an internal retort.

“By the way, what was that parent’s request?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Even if Atami asked, Satake clung on obstinately. It was there that Hiiragi stuck

his mouth in once more.

“In any case, it’s that, isn’t it? The parents of the bullied student. He sure has it

hard, that Chikamatsu-sensei.”

“Hiiragi-sensei! The police are one thing, but saying that in front of unrelated

high schoolers…”

Satake said sharply, but with a resigned face. Hiiragi shrugged his shoulders

again.

“Even if you way that, in this era, the mass media’s never going to overlook it,

right? It’ll get into people’s mouths eventually.”

31

While Sayake still seemed troubled over it, he glared at Chizuru and Ageha,

“Don’t posts anything about this,” giving a warning that only held in the modern

era before going silent.

“O-okay then! Next is Mine Nanako-san’s call at two forty five, also from a cell

phone.”

“Yes, that’s me. As Hiiragi-sensei told you, I was under Chikamatsu-sensei’s care

in my own middle school days… really, why did it come to this? It truly is

unfortunate.”

She shook her head in a show of innermost drear.

“I called because I had a request to make for tomorrow’s Wind Instrument

Ensemble recital tomorrow. I am the advisor, and Chikamatsu-sensei was the

deputy advisor. I thought I’d ask him to move the timpani. The good teacher had

a splendid station wagon, and I don’t have a car of my own.”

“I see, that’s understandable… by the way, what was Chikamatsu-san’s reply?”

“Got it, see you tomorrow, was all he said… those were the final words I heard

from him.”

She hung her head. Atami scratched his face as he continued on.

“When you made the call, you were...”

“I was waiting at the bus stop, it’s right outside of the school. Classes ended

early today and we didn’t have any club activities.”

“I see, after that?”

“I arrived home around four and lounged around.”

“So no alibi…”

“W-what’s with that phrasing! You’re terrible!”

On Mine’s pathetic cry, Atami was put into a tempestuous panic.

“Ah, wait, I had no ill intent, none at all. Seriously, um, I’m sorry.”

Unable to watch silently, Chizuru consoled him on a whim.

32

“Officer Atami, don’t let it get you down. Let’s try the next one.”

“Uwah, Chizuru, those words of encouragement don’t suit you at all!”

“Oy, seriously, what is with these high schoolers!?”

Satake offered a retort in full to the two high school students’ exchange, but as

expected, “Is it really something to get so angry about,” Hiiragi said flippantly.

“They’re a layman’s perspective. Perhaps they’ll notice something more

interesting than the detective. Isn’t it fine to have a high school detective?

Anyways, it looks like it’s my turn.”

He fluidly shifted into his testimony.

“Hiiragi Tooru, I teach English. If my memory serves right, I called Chikamatsu-

sensei just a little before it turned four… somewhere around three fifty five. Is

that correct, detective?”

Overpowered by that affable way of speech, Atami assented.

“So what business did you call Chikamatsu-sensei for?”

“It wasn’t anything too important. I just wanted to ask if I could use the

projector first period, Monday morning.”

“The projector?”

“Right. He said he had to show maps in today’s lecture, and monopolized the

shared projector. ‘You won’t mind if I use it Monday, will you’, I said, and

thought he’d deny me. If he said it was no good, there was nothing I could do,

for argument’s sake, he was my senior. And if he said no, it’d affect the material

I had to prepare over the weekend, right? So I thought I’d call him before Friday

was up.”

I see, it really wasn’t anything too important. Atami took some memos as if he

didn’t care.

“But you hated the victim considerably, didn’t you?”

Hiiragi pursed his lips.

“Oh not at all. I didn’t hate him, just didn’t like him.”

33

Isn’t that the same thing? Chizuru couldn’t help but quietly retort to himself.

“We had a difference in teaching policy, is all. This time, there was a bullying

incident in his class, and do you call it peace at any price? There were some

inadequacies in his handling of the matter, and he wasn’t able to keep up. That’s

all there was to it. He had much more discord with Alexander-sensei than me,

and also…”

Hiiragi suddenly snapped his fingers together.

“That’s right. Alexander-sensei did say he intended to speak with Chikamatsu-

sensei on the phone. ‘I have to call him out and give him a piece of my mind,’ he

said. I didn’t think an indoor-type like Chikamatsu-sensei would come out on a

day off, but… so why didn’t you call Alexander-sensei here?”

“Ah, no, that’s umm… how should I put it.”

There was no way Atami could say his boss was examining him as the prime

suspect. Seeing an opportunity, Chizuru spoke up.

“To what extent is it?”

“I-is what? High school detective?”

Hiiragi scratched his beard and tilted his head.

“The victim’s penchant for the indoors. How bad is it?”

To that peculiar question, Satake and Mine exchanged a glance. Hiiragi raised a

slight laugh in the back of his throat.

“How wonderfully cryptic. Umm, let’s see. First of all, I think he said he never

left the house on Saturdays. His house is around five minutes to school on foot,

so the amount of exercise he did on a daily basis was close to zero, I would

think. Right, you two?”

Satake and Mine awkwardly affirmed it. Chizuru gave a sympathetic, “Thank

you,” before turning to face the detective.

“Officer Atami, a moment please.”

“Eh? What’s up,” Atami hesitated as Chizuru led him off by the sleeve.

34

“If you could all wait just a moment.”

Chizuru left the message as the two and Ageha made their way outside the

partitioned-off space. The three suspects absentmindedly saw off the detective

and high school student.

“Oy, what’s wrong, Chizuru-kun!?”

Chizuru lowered his voice, “There’s something I’d like you to confirm,” after

making that blunt statement, he whispered in Atami’s ear so the suspects across

the thin wall couldn’t hear. Ageha found herself neglected, but, “Hush hush

talks between men sure are nice,” she said in the most care-free way.

Atami tilted his head at Chizuru’s request.

“I can’t really say, Chizuru-kun. Why something like that?”

“In order to point out the contradictions in the culprit’s testimony. If my

reasoning is on point, it shouldn’t be where it’s supposed to be.”

“You sound as if you know who it is.”

“I do. I already told you, didn’t I?”

“No way!”

At Atami’s exclamation, the eyes of the policemen in the lobby gathered. Atami

stealthily hid himself between the two high schoolers, and while it was a bit too

late for that, he lowered his voice.

“W-when did you find out?”

“As I was saying, there’s an unnatural point in that person’s testimony… what’s

more, after hearing all their stories, I finally have some confidence that I know

the real meaning behind the dying message.”

“What are you talking about? Besides Alexander Kyuutarou-san in questioning,

no one here has any connection to X. Satake Rokurou, Mine Nanako , and Hiiragi

Tooru. If the victim wanted to specify someone to the police, the most

understandable way would be to point to a name. Where do you see an X?”

“That’s why it wasn’t a X. Hey, just look back on it, Officer Atami. You should

35

really look at the whole.”

“The whole…?”

“Well, just pretend you believe me and please carry out the check I asked for.

I’m sure you already have a subordinate there, right?”

Discouraged as he was, “Got it,” Atami said as he pulled out his cellphone.

36

6

About five minutes passed before Atami returned to the partitioned space

alone.

“Detective! How long do you intend to keep us waiting? Isn’t it about time

you…”

“It’s alright.”

He took a deep breath before he spoke.

“We’ve finished all the checks we need. The culprit has come to light. It’s alright

for everyone who didn’t commit murder to go home.”

“S-so who are you saying the culprit is?”

Satake said warily. Atami took out his notepad, plucking out a white page, and

scrawling down a large X.

… It will be effective if you show them the dying message, Chizuru had

suggested.

“And what’s that?”

Seeing the scrap paper placed on the center of the table, Mine furrowed her

brow.

“The victim rubbed his own blood against an advertisement at the scene… on

the X from ‘XIAO-CHEN REALTY’. Likely mustered up the last of his strength…

see.”

Hyuu, Hiirage blew a whistle.

“Now that’s interesting… but if that’s the case, then that just strengthens my

suspicions towards Alexander-sensei, who I brought up earlier. Among us, he’s

the only one with an X in his name.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. But look here, it’s not like the victim noted down

the X. On the X… to be more precise, above it, he left a mark.”

“I don’t really get how that changed anything.”

37

Said Satake. Atami continued on with his borrowed logic.

“Perhaps it would be easier if I put it like this? I’m saying that the victim added a

line to the X. And the symbol he completed points to the culprit…”

Atami pushed out the red from his four-colored ballpoint pen, drawing an arc

above, intersecting the top of both lines.

“The victim was a social studies teacher, and all throughout the day, he was

showing his students maps on a projector… on the verge of death, what came to

his mind was a symbol that plainly spelled out the culprit.”

Atami thrust out the paper towards the culprit.

“Mine Nanako-san. The culprit is you, isn’t it?”

The nominated female teacher lost her expression, gazing at what had appeared

on the notepad… the map symbol for a mine.

“M-Mine-sensei did it!?”

Satake opened his eyes wide, his glasses sliding out of place. For Hiiragi as well,

the arrogant attitude he had taken up to a few seconds before retreated into

the shadows as he earnestly stared at Mine. He turned back to face Atami.

“Young detective. You’re not going to say that’s your only evidence, right? With

just this dying message, no matter how you look at it making her out to be the

culprit is a bit…”

“I do have a basis. Her testimony contained a lie.”

“W-what with that… I didn’t tell a…”

Mine vindicated herself in a shaking voice. Already knowing the fact of the

matter, that voice sounded horribly pitiful to Atami.

“You asked if the victim could drive out his car tomorrow, and said he gave

ready consent. Am I mistaken?”

“T-that’s right. Tomorrow is the wind ensemble recital, after all! I said it, didn’t

I? If you think that’s a lie, then just check the…”

“I’m sure that part’s true.”

38

Atami turned a bit harsh as he spoke.

“But it is impossible for the victim to have given ready consent. The reason

being, Chikamatsu-san’s beloved station wagon was sent in for repairs. I just had

my subordinate who was searching the victim’s residence do a quick check. The

victim’s car was neither in the apartment’s parking lot, or anywhere near the

scene, it seems.”

Mine was at a loss for words.

“That… can’t be…”

“This is the truth. It really was rotten luck. Of course, there was no way the

victim- whose car was in for repairs- would say yes. So Mine Nanako-san. Could

you please tell us the real business you called the victim for? My present

assumption is that you called him out to murder him… can you think of any

other reason? Or we could all wait until we investigate you, and some evidence

comes out… some more decisive evidence, like the blade used as a murder

weapon.”

A silence flowed between the four. A phone rang somewhere in the lobby. The

distant sound of footsteps also rang eerily loud. Mine only opened her mouth

once a considerable amount of time had gone by.

“… I really am out of luck.”

Somewhere in her voice, a slight loneliness, and yet, a tranquility lay.

“For it all to come to this… nothing ever goes how you want it. It truly was

something of an idiotic coincidence. That it had to be today of all days.”

Man oh man, she lowered her voice.

“In the first place, ending up in the same workplace as him… as Chikamatsu-

sensei was yet another idiotic coincidence. If we didn’t see each other again…

then I wouldn’t have to kill him.”

“What exactly happened, Mine-sensei?”

Hiiragi made a sincerely downhearted expression.

39

“Did something happen between you?”

“Peace at any price. That’s how you described Chikamatsu-sensei. It’s always

been like that… It was the same ten years ago, when I was in my third year of

middle school.”

Somewhere along the way, the tears had carved paths down her face.

“I had a childhood friend from kindergarten. She was a truly kind and delicate

soul… and perhaps it’s precisely because she was that sort of kid, she was on the

receiving end of bullying in middle school. When we became third years, I was in

the class next door… even when we walked to school together every day, I

wasn’t able to notice it. Not until she slit her wrist in her house’s bath… at that

time, her homeroom teacher was Chikamatsu-sensei.”

She grasped her cape, digging her nails into it with all her might.

“Of course, the ones at fault were the students who bullied her! At the time, I

was so obsessed with blaming myself, I didn’t even think to do anything about

those people. Even on the TV interview where he answered, ‘I never noticed a

thing,’ I couldn’t hate him… but oh well. It’s a fact that’s what pushed me down

a teacher’s path. I wanted to be a teacher that ran to help if there were any

students crying out in pain with voiceless screams.”

But… as she spoke, a hatred began mixing in.

“I never thought that opportunity would come the very year I began teaching at

Izumi Central. The source dragging on from the year before, a single student had

become the target of bullying. I was surprised when Alexander-sensei opened

up to me about it… but what surprised me even more was Chikamatsu-sensei’s

attitude…! In regards to the problems breaking out in his own class… I couldn’t

believe those words he declared in the faculty room! ‘If the bullied side puts up

resistance, this silly bullying will be over in no time’.”

Hiiragi spoke.

“I also remember it well. I thought at the time. There really are a fixed number

of people out there who don’t understand human pain, it felt all too lonesome…

but I never thought you were shouldering the past to such an extent.”

40

Mine gave a dejected nod. Little by little, the power in her body was draining

away.

“That’s why I turned a blade at him… ‘Can we meet, just the two of us?’ was all I

had to say, and he came lumbering all the way. I never actually thought he’d fall

for a seduction that equated to mere child’s play. Even when I was standing

right in front of him, he didn’t notice my intent until the moment I stabbed him!

He really was a lowbrow man.”

I see, Atami thought. It was precisely because she was a woman that the victim

was so unprepared. And why the victim could be stabbed from the front with

the culprit standing straight…

“But it was no good.”

She hung her head, speaking quietly.

“In the end, I could only use a weapon to show the ‘weak’s’ means of victory. In

the end, I didn’t save anyone… I couldn’t show my students an example of how

to properly get back on their feet without being defeated… I was also,

considerably weak. Perhaps I demanded to much of this position called teacher.

From myself and from others. Now and back then.”

Atami gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Could you accompany me to the second floor? We can here the continuation

there… Hiiragi-sensei, Satake-sensei, thank you for your cooperation. You can

take your leave for the day.”

The detective led the suspect out of the partition. The hollow expanse of the

night police station lobby. The form of two high school students was long gone.

41

7

“So it was pattern two.”

“Pardon?”

On Ageha’s sudden words, Chizuru tilted his head. The two tread down the way

back the sun had already set on. They were just about to cross a pedestrian

bridge.

“Remember, that dying message lecture? The receiving end lacks in information,

was the answer, right? Crossing both tops of an X is the mine map symbol… I

didn’t know that.”

After a large yawn, and a large groan, Chizuru spoke.

“We learned them all in middle school, didn’t we? Well, I guess it was a

deduction only a student could make. It’s embarrassing for me to say it, but… I

said analysis was the important part, right?”

“Sure enough. I missed the fact the victim was a social-studies teacher.”

The two of them kept a dubious distance as they climbed the steps to the

bridge. Chizuru first, Ageha following behind. The high school detective’s back

really was horribly hunched over.

“… Well, putting the dying message aside, you did a good job figuring out,

Chizuru. That the victim’s car was being repaired.”

“That one was simple. I mean, the victim lived a five-minute walk from Izumi

Central Junior High. And from that Izumi Central High to the crime scene, it’s

overwhelmingly quicker to go by car than train. For him to go out of his way to

pay for the train, I could only think he didn’t have a car on hand.”

“Eh~, isn’t that jumping to conclusions? He could be walking for his health or

something.”

Ageha precariously walked up the slope meant to lead up bikes as she spoke.

42

“According to Hiiragi-san, the victim had shut-in tendencies. To a level where he

didn’t go out on holidays.”

“Then how about that? He was out of gas, so he couldn’t move his car.”

“No way, no way. In order to notice he was out of gas, the victim would have to

first stop by the parking lot. But based on the neighbor’s testimony, the victim

made a straight line for the station… of course, if he knew he was out of gas to

begin with, then he had all the more reason to drive it out to fill up for the

recital. On the contrary, if it was anything more serious than an empty tank,

there was no way he’d say OK to Mine-san’s request. No matter which way you

roll it, she told a lie.”

In order to cinch it, Chizuru held up his index finger.

“You also shouldn’t forget that call from the car manufacturer. Many makers

can be tasked with repairs as well. I’m sure that was a call to say his repairs had

been completed.”

“Hmm, then didn’t the victim say OK after he received that call?”

“The call came after Mine-san’s… and that’s all she wrote.”

Chizuru bothersomely raised both hands. The two of them looked over the

nightscape of Yumoto City from atop the bride. Countless cars passed by. Here

and there, the lights of offices on overtime. The lives of the people who didn’t

collapse when covered in darkness, it was somewhat uncanny, Chizuru thought.

“But hey, Chizuru. Today… why did you step in so assertively?”

“Yes?”

On Ageha’s question, Chizuru tilted his head.

“It’s rare to see you so heated. I was surprised.”

“You’re… right. I guess I just wanted to see the police working a little harder.”

“Wow, how condescending.”

Chizuru rest his chin on the handrail, concentrating his eyes onto the poor

lighting.

“True. I think so too. But…”

“But?”

43

But what? Chizuru couldn’t find what came after that either. He shook his head.

Quietly. To shake something off.

“Ah, that’s enough. I’m too tired today. People really shouldn’t do what they’re

not used to.”

Saying that, Chizuru gave a quiet laugh.

At that moment, his smartphone shook. It was an unknown number. When he

answered, the voice he heard came from Assistant Inspector Atami.

‘Is this Chizuru-kun?’

“Huh? Where did you get this number?”

‘I asked you when we were filling out protocol, right? That aside, why did you

leave without a word?’

“What? I mean, I got the culprit right, didn’t I?”

“You did! You did, but… good grief, fine. Thanks for today. Though I grew

desperate partway through, I was right to depend on you. Ahaha.”

It wasn’t anything to laugh at.

“… Well, I doubt we’ll meet again, but best of luck in your investigations, Officer

Atami. Don’t go jumping to conclusions again.”

‘Eh, you sound like you know it all, high school detective.’

“Pretty much.”

Chizuru turned his back to the night view he was watching. The other side didn’t

seem too different.

“I had a bit of a bitter experience with it myself. More importantly, I assume

you’ve already freed poor Alexander-sensei from the false charges you put on

him, right?”

‘Y-yeah! Of course. Though my superior got a little angry at me for pushing the

wrong person as the prime suspect. Well, we got the real culprit, so it all evens

own. All’s well that ends well.’

From Alexander’s point of view, nothing ended well.

44

“… Then farewell. I’m going to sleep.”

‘Wah, wait, wait, Chizuru-kun! One final thing!’

Atami’s voice was desperate.

‘If. Just an if, in the million to one chance… if the police and I meet up with a

troublesome case we can’t contend with… could I possibly ask for your

assistance?’

Silence.

A night-bus raised a loud exhaust sound as it passed. Looking up at the sky,

Chizuru saw the red flashed of planes.

“… I wonder.”

Chizuru gave a vague answer. For some reason, he couldn’t pick yes or no. He

didn’t want to.

‘What’s with that, that vagueness… oh right, gotta go! Mine-sensei’s

questioning is about to start. I’m secretly calling you from the smoking room

right now, but… see you next time, Chizuru-kun!’

The call was arbitrarily cut off.

“Next time…”

Chizuru unintentionally gave a bitter laugh. Having presumably been

eavesdropping the entire time, the nearby Ageha pat him on the shoulder.

“Now isn’t that nice? You’ve found a place you can use your talent.”

“… I wonder.”

Chizuru parted from the handrail and began walking. He leisurely began his

descent down the bridge.

“I don’t want to do it again, something so troublesome.”

“Oh you, you really are a tsundere, you know that.”

Saying some incomprehensible things, Ageha gave chase.

“All I can say for sure is,”

45

Chizuru spoke as if to evade the topic.

“I’ve talked more today than I have in my life. There are a few other things, but

I’m tired, so I want to go home quickly. If I understand that much, it’s more than

enough. Today’s mysteries should be solved today, but tomorrow… can just be

thought about tomorrow, after all.”

46

(TL: Okay, so in the original text, Mine Nanako’s name was Kuwabata

Nanako. As you can see by the Case name, the original letter was a Y

instead of an X. The dying message was that he was trying to write: ,

which is the Japanese map symbol for a mulberry field, literally

pronounced Kuwabata. Alexander’s name was Yanagisawa. I do apologize

if this translation has made the case seem dumber than the original. I

sincerely apologize for randomly throwing in a foreigner. Really. BTW, the

symbol for a mine is )

47

Case 2: A Vase Exchange

that Doesn’t Quite Fit

48

1

“Even so, I’m glad I got to witness your famed reasoning skills last week.”

Beppu Ageha said heartily. Kirishima Chizuru munched on gomadofu as he

listened to her words.

The highest ranked prep school in the prefecture, Yumoto Academy’s high

school division. The stiff air of classes had gone off somewhere, leaving the

lunch break of the second-year special class at peace.

“Haven’t seen it since middle school. It was quite a rare sight to behold.”

“And it was considerably tiring, so I really don’t want to.”

“There you go again. You know you enjoyed it.”

Ageha prodded Chizuru in the knee as she teased him. From there, she stared

intently at his hands.

“Why are you eating tofu? Does that really fill your stomach?”

“Somewhat. But I like how you can eat it without much chewing.”

“You’re not a senior citizen… well, you’d better finish eating soon. The requester

is about to come.”

Chizuru stopped the hand working his spoon.

“Eh? What’s that about?”

“Huh, I didn’t tell you? There’s a kid who wants to make a request for you to

investigate an incident.”

“… Hah?”

“You see, when I was talking about how you pinned down the culprit in that

case last week, there was a kid who bit onto it. So they promised they’d come

see you lunch break today…”

“Hey, wait,”

In his languid tone Chizuru tried to panic with all his might.

“I never heard about that. And wait, today’s lunch break is… right now!”

49

He swiftly jerked up his torso that had been curled over like an old man. From

the surrounding classmates, “Kirishima raised his voice!?” “Kirishima moved!”

many mouths were leaking words of surprise.

“An underclassman from back in the middle school dividion, b=when I was still

in the wind ensemble. Good kid.”

“No, no, whether they’re a good kid or not isn’t the problem.”

Chizuru held his head. And it was precisely at that moment, that that individual

entered the special classroom.

“Ah, Yuzu-chan, here! Over here!”

Ageha waved her hand at the one who had come in.

The student she called Yuzu-chan looked at her and smiled, wandering over

towards Chizuru. Small build, with a delicate impression. While wearing a dress

shirt, the area around Yuzu’s sleeves had some to spare. Those small arms and

legs somewhat gave off the impression of a small animal. Skin white as snow,

and black hair to engender a dangerous contrast. Hair a bit short for a girl’s, or

so Chizuru absentmindedly mused.

“Ageha-sanpai, I’m sorry! I’m late.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’re all good. Ah, this guy is Kirishima Chizuru.”

Chizuru was so flustered being called a this didn’t irritate him. The jersey the

supposed requestor wore was a blue that indicated a first-year student. With

the way they exchanged words with Ageha, it was clear this student was his

junior. What’s more, even to Chizuru who barely had any interested in women,

in regards to this junior, they had an appearance so cute his mind’s

ascertainment system automatically identified them as a, ‘beautiful girl’.

… This made it difficult to deny a request. So Chizuru was in terrible dismay.

“Yay! Pleasure to meet you, Chizuru-senpai.”

The junior Ageha called Yuzu-chan said that with a wave and a smile.

Why his first name, all of a sudden, Chizuru hesitated, but he realized he didn’t

quite hate it.

50

Chizuru carefully chose out his words. Without harming the other party, he was

trying to think up a means to avoid trouble. But that wasn’t going as he hoped,

and Chizuru had felt as if his own brain cells had been rendered useless.

“That’s right!” Yuzu-chan said, “I’m really troubled here… Ageha-senpai said she

had a great detective as a friend, so I couldn’t help but come over to consult. I’m

sorry for coming in unannounced.”

“Fine,” Chizuru spoke impatiently, “For now, could you introduce yourself?”

“Ah, I’m sorry! I’m Tsukioka Yuzuki! Though it’s embarrassing to have such a

girly name. Ah, Ageha-senpai was my senior in the wind ensemble back in

middle school.”

“I see. So, Tsukioka-san, what did you…”

Chizuru knit his brow.

“Wait a second, could you repeat that?”

“I’m Tsukioka Yuzuki.”

“No, a little further.”

“Ageha-senpai was my senior in the wind ensemble back in middle school.”

“One step back.”

“I-it’s embarrassing to have such a girly name, but… oh, Chizuru-senpai! Don’t

make me say it so many times!”

“… A girly name… is the ‘ly’ really neccessary…?”

“Yes, um…”

“Chizuru,” Ageha held her mouth to contain her laughter, “Yuzu-chan is a boy.”

Chizuru unintentionally kicked back his chair and stood. A second impact wave

ran through the classroom.

51

“U-um, Chizuru-senpai. Don’t worry about it. It’s quite often that I’m mistaken

for a girl.”

“… Yeah, I’m sure. But I’m sorry.”

“I appreciate your concern.”

As Yuzuki called out to console Chizuru, who lay dejectedly over his desk,

Chizuru sent over a glance.

“So, anyways… what was it again? Yuzuki-sa… kun’s problem?”

Even now that he knew his consultant was male, his instincts that made it hard

to refuse wouldn’t die down. That was likely a problem of Yuzuki’s looks that

had surpassed the wall of gender.

“To put it simply, it’s theft. I want you to track down the culprit.”

With that preface, Yuzuki started into it.

“Both my parents work with old pieces of art, so there are lots of pots and

hanging scrolls and other pieces of art in our house’s storage. The problem is

that one of them’s been stolen… it seems.”

“It seems?”

Chizuru tilted his head.

“Well you see… it all started half a year ago; my parents were placed overseas

for work. So me and my ten-year-older brother ended up living together with

our newly appointed housekeeper. Both me and my brother are at an age

where we can make it just the two of us, but my parents said, ‘With the size of

this house, cleaning it will be a hassle,’ so they had her come over. Looking after

the art pieces, however, has always been left to a specialist.”

Yuzuki took a deep breath and left a space of silence. From there he continued

with a somewhat nervous tone of voice.

“… The incident happened a week ago. That specialist who comes once per

month… apparently they’re called a conservator… they came, and were doing

the maintenance as usual, but there he suddenly shouted out.”

“That a piece was missing?”

52

Ageha, who’d yet to hear the details herself, asked away.

Yuzuki gave a hesitant groan.

“A little different… it wasn’t real, is what he said.”

“Meaning an art piece of value was swapped out with a cheap counterfeit by

someone’s hands. Is that what it is?”

On Chizuru’s words, Yuzuki nodded joyfully.

“Right, that’s it! Um, that conservator, well he’s called Kondou-san… according

to Kondou-san, a vase worth two million yen was switched out for something

worth forty thousand at most.”

“T-two million to forty thousand!? That’s bad.”

“Calm down, Ageha. Even so, is it really that easy to get one’s hands on a

counterfeit?”

“Umm, this is just what I’ve heard from Kondou-san, but… the base that was

switched out was a vase called the Shira Uo, and it’s a piece a famous person

made. So there are a lot of counterfeits circulating around the market. I think

it’s possible for even an amateur to get their hands on one.”

That makes sense. Chizuru gave a light nod.

“About how big is the vase?”

“About this big.”

From the gestures Yuzuki demonstrated it out with, it seemed to be about ten

centimeters in diameter, and ten centimeters vertically as well. A relatively

small piece. Two million for that? While Chizuru didn’t quite care, the way

Yuzuki used his small hands to desperately reproduce the vase’s shape in midair

was cute.

“Then it wouldn’t be too hard to take out… by the way, aren’t you a bit too calm

for all this, Yusuki-kun?”

“Well my brother and I aren’t knowledgeable at all on our parent’s collection.

Because of that, the crime came to light two weeks too late.”

“… Which means you know when the theft took place?”

“Yes. Kondou-san said the vase was definitely real in his maintenance a month

53

before the switch. The storage the pot was kept in was locked the whole time,

and there weren’t any signs of a break-in. In that one-month space, the storage

was only ever opened once, so the culprit must have used that time… ah, lunch

break is over. What should we do? I’m not done yet.”

“Then can’t you just come back after school?”

Ageha made a proposal.

“Ah, you’re right! Hmm, but is it really alright? Making a request to Chizuru-

senpai?”

Chizuru thought a moment. He tried weighing various things. How much of a

pain it would be, the weight of a robbery, the cuteness of his junior.

“… Did you bring it to the police?”

“We did inform them, but it’s the fact it was switched out that makes things

difficult. The only trace something was stolen is from Kondou-san’s words, so

the police can’t properly act. We are speaking with someone from an insurance

company, and they’re coming over today. There’s insurance on every item in

that storage, after all…”

After that, Yusuki put his hands together, looking at Chizuru with upturned eyes.

“I’m begging you, can you come over and resolve the issue…?”

“Got it. Fine, then after school it is.”

Chizuru reflexively nodded.

“Yay! Thank you, Chizuru-senpai! I’ll definitely make it up to you for this!”

Said Tsukioka Yuzuki, a full smile across his face.

54

2

The fifth period warning bell rang out, and with a promise to meet at the gate

after school, Yuzuki returned to his classroom.

Chizuru sent some resentful eyes towards Ageha in the seat beside him.

“Please don’t do something like that again. I’m not playing detective because I

like it.”

Ageha gave a grin.

“But you properly accepted this one, without even demanding any reward.”

“There was no way I could deny that one…”

Folding his arms behind his head, Chizuru sent her a sidelong glance.

“… But Ageha. I want to confirm something.”

“Yeah?”

“That kid… really is a boy, right?”

“That’s right! Isn’t Yuzu-chan cute?”

He had to admit it.

“Well, it looks like he trusts you, so do your best to resolve it. The theft incident

at his house.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

… Still, when Chizuru had been given an over-inflated title of great detective,

would Yuzuki really trust someone who mistook his gender? Chizuru was a little

anxious. When up to that point, he had rarely ever cared whether someone

trusted him or not.

It was probably because he’d barely ever been depended on by someone

younger.

As he thought over such things, Chizuru grew sleepy. The fifth period chime as

his lullaby, he fell into soft slumber.

55

“Chizuru-senpai!”

As Chizuru waited with Ageha by the school gates, Yuzuki raced over.

“Did I keep you waiting?”

To Yuzuki who broke a sweat as he came, Chizuru sent a light glance.

“Don’t worry, we’ve barely waited a minute and thirty seconds.”

“No, shouldn’t you normally say you just got here…”

Ageha fiddled with her smart phone as she threw in a reflexive retort. Stuffing

that entity of a jumbled mismatch dangling from the strap into her pocket, she

made for the school gate.

“Then I’ll be off.”

“You’re not coming along, Ageha-senpai?”

“I’ll go do some self-study at cram school. Unlike a certain someone, I’m an

average human being, so I have to put in some effort to keep up with classes.

While I do have an urge to see you two get to know one another better, it would

be more fun for you to deepen your bonds without me around. Well then, Bye-

bye.”

“Yes, take care.”

Leaving behind Yuzuki’s admirable response, and Chizuru’s feeble wave, Ageha

made off towards the station.

Once she had left, Chizuru looked at Yuzuki. White shirt and dress pants. If he

had been wearing that when they first met, then he would definitely have been

able to tell he was a boy, or so Chizuru cried sour grapes in his head. But distinct

male clothing contrarily increased his young impression, making him look like a

fresh middle school student.

“Let’s go, Chizuru-senpai. Also, it’s a pleasure to be working with you!”

“… Yeah.”

They walked all the way down Yumoto Boulevard. Sidewalks and roadways, with

a path cleanly cut off for bicycle use, that main street was quite wide in breadth.

The two walked alongside one another.

56

It was almost May, and a time where these parts would gradually grow hotter.

The days were stretching out, and in this time period before five, he still sweat a

little.

“It’s a bit hot today.”

Yuzuki faithfully undid the first button of his tucked-in dress shirt. Peeking at the

vague line of his sweaty white nape, Chizuru averted his eyes.

“Chizuru-senpai, don’t you feel hot wearing a blazer and hoodie?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Well I’d have to say I do. But changing out is a pain, and

changing to something else for summer is also a pain, so I pretty much spend all

year in a hoodie.”

Yuzuki laughed, “What’s with that, you’re an interesting one, senpai,” he

seemed cheerful from his heart. Seeing him like that, Chizuru couldn’t help but

want to ask.

“Hey, Yuzuki-kun. Do you trust me at all?”

“Eh? Yes, of course I do.”

“… Even when I mistook you for a girl?”

Yuzuki gave a cheerful smile.

“That’s happens every day. And it’s my fault for having such a misleading

appearance.”

“… No, no. That’s going too far, isn’t it?”

“You sure are kind, Chizuru-senpai… by the way, I see you’re calling me by

name, but you don’t have to force a -kun on the end if you don’t want to.”

On those words, Chizuru hesitated a bit. Calling a junior, what’s more, a boy

who looked like a girl without honorifics, had a sort of awkwardness associated

with first experiences. But to Chizuru who primarily thought conversing with

people was a pain to begin with, even shortening something by the three letters

of –kun was something to be thankful for.

“I see, then Yuzuki.”

Yuzuki gave a full-face smile.

57

“Thank you! Chizuru-senpai!”

… He sure is cute. Though he’s a guy.

Chizuru felt an indescribably itchy sensation.

To what started as somewhat a pain, he had become so emotion attached. As

expected, he couldn’t decline… well I’ll solve the case in an instant, and it’s a

theft, so it’s not that important…

Chizuru thought as he enjoyed a conversation with his cute junior.

“Yes, here we are. This is my house.”

“I see… it’s huge.”

Yuzuki’s house, or rather the width of its outer wall made Chizuru leak a

reserved voice of wonder. Overreacting would expend energy so he held back,

but in all truth, he was relatively taken aback.

Varnished walls you might find in Kyoto. Such furnishings reached what looked

to be three meters in height. They extended quite a ways, giving one an idea of

just how vast the property inside must be. The tightly-shut gate of wood was

made in classical Japanese style, but it was likely furnished with sturdy

mechanical apparatus.

“The ones who had it built were my grandparents. They were fine art dealers

just like my parents, and quite rich in their own right.”

“But still, this is amazing. Our school’s a famous private school, so there are

quite a few celeb parents around, but it’s the first I’ve ever seen a property so

vast.”

“Even when I’m not the amazing one, you’re making me blush,”

Yuzuki’s naturally rosy cheeks turned even redder.

“But your house must be something too, right?

Chizuru made a dubious expression.

58

“Not at all. Yumoto Academy’s special class is exempt of paying tuition, and my

guardian hasn’t been getting any work lately.”

“Eh~, that sounds more amazing to me! When it really comes down to it, I’m

just going to school on my parent’s money. Respect. Huh? But isn’t your

guardian…”

“A novelist. Writes those so-called light novels. Though in these past few

months, they haven’t put out a single book.”

“Are you talking about your mother? I heard from Ageha-senpai that your father

worked with the police…”

Chizuru’s expression turned even more vague, “Well, how should I put it… my

real parents and my ‘guardian’ are separate,” is all he would say, and as if to

urge Yuzuki on, his pointed at the gate.

Noticing Chizuru wanted to avoid this topic, Yuzuki spoke, “Ah, right you are!

We don’t have much time to spare!” and hurriedly jumped at the intercom

button.

After the chime sounded out, ‘Yes?’ came the voice of a woman.

“It’s Yuzuki. I’m home.”

‘Welcome home. I’ll open it up.’

Was that voice from the housekeeper, thought Chizuru as the gate went and

opened on its own. It operated on electricity after all.

Inside the gate was a scene you might find in a sightseeing guidebook of Kyoto.

On the right side of the entrance was a large oriental mansion. On the left side,

a vast garden expanded out. With a pond and brook, there was even a small

bridge built to span it. On the mansion side, small stones were spread out in a

dry landscape garden, but across the brook was an area of green lawn. It was

dotted with various forms of vegetation.

And right now, pruning one of those plants was a man of small build.

“That’s Sazanami-san the gardener. We have him come every Thursday.”

Noticing Yuzuki call his name, Sazanami looked towards the two of them and

gave a curt bow. The hair that escaped the towel wrapped around his forehead

was blond, and his sharp eyes naturally gave off an impression as if he was

glaring.

59

“He’s a bit quiet and he looks scary, but he’s not a bad person.”

Yuzuki sensed the air, and provided some support. And there, he pointed to the

back of the garden.

“Ah, look over there.”

Where he pointed was a separated building. Looking as if made of solid plaster,

it was apparently the storage in question. It was connected to the main building

by a single passage. While that passage had a roof over it, it didn’t have any

walls. The floor was also connected to a veranda of the main house, and there

was an open space under the floorboards.

I see, even if they don’t let you into the main house, as long as you can get in

the yard, you can get close to the storage… Chizuru stored that tidbit in his

head.

Chizuru entered the parlor behind Yuzuki. From the house’s depths came a

woman possibly in her forties. With her hair tied into one strand and an apron

over her body, nothing would feel off if she proclaimed herself Yuzuki’s mother,

but this person was quite likely the housekeeper.

“Welcome back, Yuzuki-san… and you brought a friend with you?”

“I’m home. Yeah, a friend, or rather a senior at school.”

“Oh, is that how it is? Then I’ll prepare some iced tea.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Thank you, Wakamatsu-san.”

The housekeeper named Wakamatsu smiled in response before going off into

one of the doors.

It was a Japanese-styled home, with sliding screens lining the right side wall

from the entrance, but the left was nothing but practical-looking western wood

doors.

The door Wakamatsu entered was one on the left.

“Then for now, let’s go to the living room.”

Under Yuzuki’s urgings, Chizuru was led towards a room of western-styled

flooring. That room was an overly working-class living room, and across the

open kitchen, they could see Wakamatsu busy at work.

60

“Ah, have a seat.”

Wakamatsu pointed at the dining table, and after putting out tea, “I’ll go take

the laundry in,” she said and left.

As Yuzuki saw her off, he opened his mouth to say “Um…” but he was cut off

part way. Passing Wakamatsu by, a young man entered the room.

“Oh, Yuzuki! You’re back!” he called out.

Tall, with a robust body, extending out from his running vest were arms where

muscles flourished. A tanned face with shining white teeth. Who could it be, or

Chizuru had his doubts when Yuzuki let out quite an impactful statement.

“Yeah, I’m home nii-chan!”

Nii-chan!? Chizuru almost spit out his tea, but he narrowly endured it. He had

never imagined Yuzuki’s brother to be this gallant paragon of sportsmanship.

Like Yuzuki, he had imagined a man with at least some feminine features.

“Oh, and that young man is?”

“Yeah, he’s the great detective Kirishima Chizuru-senpai!”

“I see. Then you took up my little brother’s request? That’s great news. I’m

Yuzuki’s big brother, Tsukioka Kansuke. We’re in your care, Chizuru-kun.”

“Ah, thanks…”

Kansuke’s voice was grand, and it travelled well, somewhat giving the sense of a

P.E. teacher. A type Chizuru was relatively bad at dealing with. Even so…

“Yuzuki, you told your brother about me?”

“Yes. Oh, was I not supposed to? In that case, I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re fine.”

An innocent highschooler like Yuzuki was one thing, but to a working member of

society, a high school student investigating criminal activity was nothing to

laugh at… or so he thought to himself. But looking at the Kansuke in question,

he saw eyes of expectation showering down upon him, and some jovial nods… It

seems this big brother had an optimistic nature that even exceeded Yuzuki’s.

And Kansuke suddenly hit his hands together.

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“Ah, right, right. Kondou-san’s here right now…”

Kondou would be the conservator Yuzuki spoke of around noon.

“Kondou-san? Huh, didn’t he just come over a week ago?”

“Yeah, he did, but you see last week he found out the vase had been switched

out, right? So he was quite flurried, and there are still some pieces he hadn’t

properly performed maintenance on yet. So he said he’d come over on his own

time. That’s how it is, so Chizuru-kun can look at the storage a little later… for

now, wouldn’t it be better you gave him info on the case?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Then what are you going to do, nii-chan?”

“At five on the dot… so just a little later… someone from the insurance company

is supposed to come, so I’ll deal with them. Right, right, Ushijima-san promised

she’d come over at six, so if I’m not done talking to the insurance company

person at that time, could I leave her to you, Yuzuki?”

“Yeah, to return that vase from before, right? I’ve got it.”

“Thanks. Then it’s all yours, Yuzuki.”

With those words, Kansuke went off.

“Ushijima-san? You said something about a vase.”

“Ah, I haven’t told you yet. She’s curator of the Yumoto Modern Art Museum.

She, or rather the museum borrowed one of our vases… and that’s a bit relevant

to our current case. Should I get into the details?”

“Oh, before that… could I use your restroom?”

Following Yuzuki’s directions, Chizuru left the living room. The bathroom was in

a straight line from the entranceway. As he walked, he counted the people

who’d come out so far in his head. Tsukioka Yuzuki, his brother Kansuke, the

housekeeper Wakamatsu, The gardener Sazanami. As for those he had yet to

meet, the conservator Kondou, and the curator Ushijima. There was also an

investigator from the insurance company coming over. If he added himself to

the mix, that would mean eight people would be gathered at the house.

Now then, strictly how many were suspects? He had had to quickly hear the

story from Yuzuki and pin the culprit down…

On his return from the bathroom, in his walk down the corridor, he saw three

individuals stuck in conversation around the entrance. One was Tsukioka

62

Kansuke who’d he’d met not a moment ago. The other two were a man and

woman he’d never seen before. While both the man and woman wore glasses

and a suit, the displeased-looking man with his hair tightly slicked down gave off

a completely different impression from the confused woman with her hair in a

fluffy short bob-cut.

Kondou was supposedly at work in the storage right now, so by process of

elimination they would have to be the insurance investigator, and madam

Ushijima.

“What!? The promise was for six? I’m sorry! I was sure it was five!”

Covering her mouth, a confused Ushijima lowered her head alongside Kansuke

towards the other one. The insurance inspector’s brow narrowed in displeasure

as he pushed up the bridge of his silver-rimmed glasses.

“Mistaking an appointed time by a whole hour is unbecoming of any

businessperson.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Now, now,” Kansuke forced his way in.

“Just leave it at that, Kuragano-san. Um, then since you’re here and all,

Ushijima-san, could you look around the reference room or something? We

don’t have anything as valuable as in the storehouse, but there are quite a few

pieces of my father’s collection. Once I’m done talking with Kuragano-san, I’ll

come and get you.”

“I’m sorry for all this, Tsukioka-san.”

Ushijima seemed dispirited. “Now come in,” Kansuke urged the two of them to

step into the house.

That flow up to now was observed by Chizuru as he passed down the hall. To

him, both the new visitors lent a glance.

When he passed Ushijima by, their eyes met for a moment, and they exchanged

a nod. But Kuragano ignored him. And following Kansuke’s lead, he entered one

of the doors. From the glimpse of a sofa set he got of that space beside the

living room, it was probably a receptions room. After inviting Kuragano into

that room, he led Ushijima further into the depths of the house. The heavy-

63

looking duralumin case in Ushijima’s hands likely contained ‘that vase from

before’.

“I’ve kept you waiting, Yuzuki.”

“Welcome back… um, then to get right to it, should I tell you what happened?”

“If you would.”

“Last week, in the middle of his maintenance of the art pieces, Kondou-san

noticed the Shira Ou in the storage had been swapped out for a fake… That’s

about as far as we’d gotten, right?”

“Yeah.”

“In his handling of it a month before, he vouched that the vase was definitely

real. So in the month between his last appraisal and when the trickery was

uncovered, it would have to have been swapped out. My parents are currently

out overseas, and in their absence, my brother holds the only key to the storage

in existence. Our parents have heavily urged him to always keep it on his

person. Under normal circumstance, the only ones able to swap the vase out… I

don’t really want to say this sort of thing, but… it would either have to be my

brother with the key, or Kondou-san during his maintenance. Am I correct?”

“You’re not mistaken.”

“But I can’t bring myself to think one of those two are the culprit. To my

brother, the vase belongs to our house, so he wouldn’t have a reason to steal it.

Kondou-san’s a person who’s looked after the house’s artwork for close to thirty

years, and I can’t think he’d do anything that terrible. And more than anything,

if he didn’t say it, no one could have noticed that the vase was switched out, so

it would be downright bizarre if he was the one who took off with it.”

Yuzuki seemed quite pressed for words. And from there, he sternly raised his

head.

“But thinking back, in that space of a month, there was a chance for someone

besides the two. Just one chance to swap out the case. And the number of

people who could have done it… there are three.”

Like that, Yuzuki began talking about the incident.

64

3

“The chance to switch out the pot was on the day Ushijijma-san visited our

house.”

As he spoke, Yuzuki seemed nervous, and regardless of whether the air

conditioning was functional, his pale face dripped sweat. He flapped his white

shirt to send some air to his skin. Chizuru averted his eyes.

“Ushijima-san first called a month and a week ago.”

“That’s quite precise.”

“It just happened to be the day Kondou-san came for his maintenance. She

called because she wanted to, ‘Borrow one of our art pieces’. Apparently, she

had already got permission from our parents overseas. As I recall, she wanted it

for an exhibition on some potter at the Yumoto Modern Art Museum. Ah, by the

way, the vase she borrowed was not the Shira Ou. ”

“I see… the day Kondou-san came means that was the last day it was confirmed

there was nothing strange with the vase.”

“That’s correct. So three weeks later… that would be two weeks ago… Ushijima-

san came over. It was evening, a weekday. My brother used the key to unlock

the storage around twenty minutes before she came. We had to ventilate the

place. That day was partly-cloudy without any wind, so even if we left the door

open, it didn’t seem like it would have any bad effects on the art pieces.”

“I see. So for those twenty minutes, the storage was…”

“Unoccupied. Besides me and my brother, Wakamatsu-san was at the house. So

it would be possible for her to have committed the offense.”

“Right. Anyways, Ushijima-san came over.”

“Yes. The moment she arrived, she said ‘I heard that storehouse is filled with all

sorts of rare articles, so I’d like to see it by all means,’ so we guided her straight

through the yard to the storage. As you saw, you can get there from outside.

She was looking around on her own for around ten minutes. So as not to rush

her, my brother and I were waiting outside.”

“Meaning that moment was Ushijima’s chance. What happened next?”

65

“Then Ushijima-san entered the main house from the main entrance and had

some of Wakamatsu-san’s tea in the living room. It was around then that

Sazanami-san came. He doesn’t have a key, so he has to ring up the intercom.

He dropped by the living room for a moment and gave his greetings, before

going off for his regular work to prune the garden. Sazanami-san works at his

own pace. Around the time he came, Ushijima was enthusiastically going on

about how wonderful the items in the storage were, so he really didn’t have the

space to get in any words.”

“At that time, the storage was still…”

“It was still unlocked and open. Ah, but not to the outside. The security sensors

didn’t react, and while we looked into later, there weren’t any traces of an

infiltration.”

“When was the storage locked up?”

“Um, after a document was signed with Ushijima-san in the living room. After

that, my brother, Ushijima-san and I went over to the storage, we surrendered

the vase to her… I’ve said it a few times now, but it was a different vase than the

one that was swapped out… and with it in her hands, Ushijima-san went home.

At that time we were watching all the way, and our business ended in three

minutes, so it would be impossible to switch it out there.

By the way, after Ushijima-san saw the storehouse, Wakamatsu-san was with us

in the living room the whole time, so any further swaps would be impossible.”

Chizuru tried sorting out the information he’d just taken in.

“… Meaning the individuals capable of swapping it were Wakamatsu-san before

Ushijima-san arrived; Ushijima-san when she was looking around the

storehouse; and Sazanami-san who came afterwards. Those three choices.”

“That’s right!”

“By the way, in order to swap the vase out for a counterfeit, I think it would be

necessary to know the storage’s contents. Who had that knowledge?”

While Chizuru tried asking, Yuzuki made an unfortunate face.

“Ah, everyone knew about it. There’s a list of our storage’s stock, and Ushijima-

san received a copy of it from our parents beforehand. Everyone in our family’s

taken a look around the storage at least once. The stolen Shira Ou was a famous

66

item, so I think anyone could’ve prepared a counterfeit… erk, I’m sorry I’m not

being any help.”

As Yuzuki turned dispirited, Chizuru showed a smile.

“That’s fine. You’re not impeding the search for the culprit… then I’ll ask you six

questions.”

Chizuru opened his right hand, and tapped the index finger of his left against it.

He put tension onto Yuzuki’s girly face.

“Alright.”

“One. When Ushijima-san entered the storage, what sort of bag did she have?

Meaning, would she be able to conceal a vase?”

“Yes. From the start, she had come to borrow a different vase, so she had a

duralumin case for transport purposes. I think there was enough extra space to

stash another vase. I was there at the end when she got the vase she was

looking for, but I didn’t look inside her suitcase.”

“I see. Then two. The vases inside the storage, are they all locked up

individually?”

“No, they’re out in the open. Otherwise, no one would have been able to swap

them out.”

Good point. Chizuru nodded.

“Three. Did Ushijima-san know Kondou-san came over every month to maintain

the artwork?”

“Eh?” Yuzuki made a perplexed face as he assented.

“When she first called, she went as far as to ask permission from Kondou-san

who was on the site. The fact that ‘A specialist comes to look after the pottery

at regular intervals,’ is something Ushijima-san should know.”

“Then question number four. When are your parents scheduled to return from

overseas?”

“U-um… for now, I heard they won’t be returning at all in the next year. Their

official assignment will take another three years.”

67

I’m starting to see it. Chizuru went in for the finish.

“Question five. Who knew that fact?”

“Of course me and my brother. Also Wakamatsu-san and Sazanami-san.

Kondou-san knew as well.”

“… OK. Then final question. It’s a terrible question, but with this I’ll know

everything, so please forgive me. To put it bluntly, do you think there’s any

possibility your brother Tsukioka Kansuke-san is the culprit?”

Yuzuki’s feminine eyebrows drew closer in worry.

“… Hmm, I really don’t think so Nii-cha… My brother doesn’t have a motive. He’s

not troubled for money, and he hasn’t fought with my parents at all lately.”

“I see.”

After a long silence, Chizuru put his hands together.

“Thank you. I know the culprit.”

“Ah, is that so… what?”

Yuzuki’s wide eyes opened even wider as he looked at Chizuru’s face in shock.

“Eh? Eh? Y-you know the culprit… is that true?”

“Yeah. I told you I’d solve it in an instant, didn’t I? I didn’t even have to see the

scene.”

“No, but I mean… from just talking to me? Then who is the culprit?”

“That would be…”

At that moment, the living room door opened, and a single individual came in.

A face chizuru hadn’t seen before. Faint white hair, and round scholarly glasses,

an old man of stout build. Regardless of the day’s heat, he wore a deep green

sweater. From his age, he was likely the conservator Kondou.

“Oh, Yusuki. Is that person your friend?”

In a gentle voice that seemed overly good natured, the elder asked.

“Yes. Chizuru-senpai, this person is Kondou-san… Kondou-san, thank you for

your work. Are you done with the storehouse?”

68

“Just finished up. So I was looking around for Kansuke-san, but do you know

where he is?”

“Yeah, he’s talking with the person from the insurance company in the

receptions room. Do you need something?”

“Well the key to the storage, you see. It’s wide open right now. We’ve got to

lock it tight to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. But

Kansuke-san left with the key…”

“Ah, nii-chan can be an airhead when it comes to these sorts of things… then

should I go get him?”

“Yeah. Well, it’s just getting the key, so I doubt it will be any trouble to that

insurance company person.”

So Yuzuki followed Kondou, and Chizuru left the room as well. Yuzuki knocked at

the receptions room beside the living room. But there was no response.

“I’m coming in, nii-chan… huh?”

At the room’s sofa set, the form of Tsukioka Kansuke and Kuragano of the

insurance company were nowhere to be found.

“Where could they have gone.”

As if to overlap with Yuzuki’s mutter.

“UWAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

A scream resounded out. The three exchanged glances.

“T-that scream was…?”

Old Kondou shrunk his body in fear, looking around nervously.

“That sounded like a man’s voice, but… could it be nii-chan!? Hey, Chizuru-

senpai, what do we do?”

Yuzuki impatiently pulled at the sleeve of Chizuru’s hoodie. Chizuru was also

perturbed by the sudden occurrence.

“The voice echoed hard… couldn’t it have come from the storage?”

“Let’s go!!”

69

Yuzuki started pulling the sleeve more forcefully.

As they raced ahead, there were some signs the old man Kondou was frantically

trying to keep up. To be honest, Chizuru didn’t want to burst into a sprint, but

there was a time and place for that.

Following Yuzuki, he raced down the path that ran a straight line from the

entranceway. To where Chizuru had just used the restroom, they took a left and

ran some more. Behind, they could hear the sound of a doors opening.

Someone else had noticed the noise. At the end of their sprint was a sliding

door that led outside. Opening it, Chizuru found the passage he’d seen before

that connected to the storage. A distance of around thirty meters was quickly

closed by swift feet.

The plastered storage in question was considerably old, and looking at it closely,

reasonably large. The closed door of the storage was wide open. It wasn’t

locked.

“… Aaah!”

A pool of blood spread along the ground. The shattered fragments of a vase.

In its center, that collapsed small body belonged to Sazanami the gardener.

“S-Sazanami-san!

Yuzuki cried out and rushed over. Chizuru also kneeled by Sazanami’s side and

took his pulse.

“He has a pulse… looks like he hit his head. We have to call an ambulance. Do

you have a cellphone on you?”

“Y-y-yes.”

Yuzuki was flustered to a pitiable extent, tears building up in his eyes. His

shaking hands produced a smart phone from his pocket and operated it. But

from his panic, he ended up dropping it in the blood.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”

Lifting up Yuzuki’s phone from the blood, Chizuru opened the emergency dialer,

and inputted 119.

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“… Yes, it’s an emergency. The location is Yumoto City…”

With a backward glance at the teary Yuzuki watching over him, Chizuru followed

the emergency personnel’s orders to give Sazanami first aid to the greatest

extent possible.

By the time Chizuru ended the call, Kondou, Wakamatsu and Kansuke rushed in

from the connecting passage.

“Whose scream was that?”

“What happened?”

“Yuzuki! Chizuru-kun! What is going on!?”

Three mouths asked. Chizuru spoke faster than usual… than his usual… as he

answered.

“Sazanami-san the gardener is bleeding from the head, and has collapsed. I’ve

taken emergency measures, so we should watch over him until someone comes.

Also, Wakamatsu-san. Sazanami-san might vomit, so could you get a plastic bag

or something?”

When the dazed housekeeper’s name was called, immediately ran off with a

stiffened body.

“Um… what’s this ruckus?”

Passing Wakamatsu by, Ushijima the curator walked down the passage to the

storehouse. This time, Kansuke explained the situation.

“… That can’t be! In this storehouse?”

“Aah!” Kondou-san cried as he peered in. “A pot has been broken!? As I recall,

that one was made in nineteen fifty five by the great…”

Peering in, Ushijima opened her eyes wide as well.

“Eeh? No way!”

“Kondou-san, Ushijima-san! Right now, rather than some pot, isn’t

Sazanami’san’s condition more drastic!? We have to look over him.”

71

Yuzuki turned severe and reprimanded the two. Kansuke grabbed him by the

shoulder.

“… Yusuki, Chizuru-kun. You’re both covered in blood. Go change.”

“… Ah.”

Yuzuki and Chizuru looked at once another. As they kneeled to treat the

gardener and fiddled with the phone, they had gotten his blood all over

themselves.

“Now leave this place to us. Chizuru-kun, you can wear my clothes. Yuzuki

knows where they are.”

Pushing their backs, Kansuke sent them towards the bath. The bath was right at

the end of the passage, you could get there by walking along the veranda.

Without returning to the inside of the main building, by following the deck to

the left side of the sliding door, they certainly did find themselves at the bath.

Standing in front of the bathroom, Chizuru looked back in the direction of the

storehouse. But it wasn’t visible from where they stood.

They entered the building through the glass door.

Once they were alone in the dressing room, Yuzuki lowered his head to Chizuru.

“Thank you for back there. Since I was so flustered you had to follow through for

me.”

Chizuru waved his hand as if it were nothing, but he knew if Yuzuki wasn’t there,

he wouldn’t have been able to act so calmly.

“Ah, Even so, that was scary. My heart is still racing. Right, Chizuru-senpai, the

clothes are in that drawer.”

After pointing to a dresser in the corner of the dressing room, as if to brush off

his fear, Yuzuki discarded his blood-stained blazer. Chizuru was troubled over

where to look as he took of his own bloodied blazer. Why are you so flustered?

Yuzuki is a boy, Yuzuki is a boy, he reminded himself.

… It was a good thing Ageha wasn’t there. In various ways.

That thought in his heart, Chizuru threw off his hoodie.

72

4

Receiving notice from the Yumoto Police Station, two detectives of the

prefectural police dropped by the Tsukioka Estate. Assistant Inspector Atami

Itaru followed behind the woman gallantly walking ahead… Police Inspector

Ibusuki as he quickly explained the outline of the case. The two of them walked

down the long passageway to the side of the vast yard.

The moment they entered the storehouse that had become the crimescene,

Ibusuki abruptly opened her mouth.

“How’s the victim’s condition?”

Assistant Inspector Atami hastily flipped through his notebook.

“Still unconscious. He suffered terrible laceration on his head.”

“Looks about right… oy, Atami!”

“Y-yes!”

“Your feet! You’re stepping on pottery fragments.”

“Uwah! You’re right, I’m sorry.”

Inspector Ibusuki’s sculpture-like face grimaced, “Good grief, just how many

times do you plan on doing this…” she leaked a small voice. She scratched her

short hair as she looked around the storage.

Upon stepping onto the scene, the first things to confuse them were the pottery

fragments scattered around, and looking around the storehouse as a whole, the

large loads of ancient artworks to fill the space took them by surprise. According

to the house’s resident who guided them there- Tsukioka Kansuke- his parents

who owned the house worked with old pieces of art, but this was more than

they expected.

“Ibusuki-san, could I gather up these pottery fragments already? We’ve already

finished photographing the area.”

The forensics member with her hair in braids… Shirahama Yayoi called over to

Ibusuki. Ibusuki gave a light nod.

73

“Yes, your right. That will make it much easier for us to move. I’ll leave it to you.

In that timeframe, we’ll hear out the suspects.”

Or so she swiftly turned back. As Atami continued loitering around, the

reprimand flew.

“… Oy, quit spacing out, Atami. We’re going.”

“Y-yes.”

Atami went forth almost as if tumbling over. Able to gallantly pull off a suit and

trousers, Ibusuki’s almond eyes looked as if they could intimidate anyone with a

glance. While a young woman, if mishandled, she could be several times scarier

than any middle-aged male boss around. No, she was already plenty scary, and

Atami spat out a sigh in his heart.

The detectives left the forensics team behind and exited the storage. Passing

across the outdoor passage on the way back inside, Ibusuki and Atami were

stopped in their tracks by a single voice.

“… You’re not going to investigate that passageway?”

They stiffened. Atami felt a bad premonition at that familiar voice as he turned

to see a familiar face.

Long bangs to lightly cover his right eye, and the drowsy double-eyelid that

peeked out from beneath. That eye that watched the two detectives belonged

to Kirishima Chizuru.

“C-Chizuru-kun!?”

Atami let out a befuddled cry. And with unsteady steps back, he collided into

Ibusuki. Ibusuki irritatedly moved him to one side, leaning his body against one

of the roof support pillars on the walkway’s edge before wandering over to

Chizuru. She was the one of higher stature, so it ended up as her looking down

over him.

With an over-sized hoodie slovenly leapt open in the front, he sent the female

detective a faint smile. Ibusuki looked at him, a wrinkle gracing her brow.

74

“Who are you? The district police were supposed to gather all relevant

personnel in the living room.”

Without waiting for Chizuru’s response, she turned to Atami.

“And you’re an acquaintance of his?”

“Eek! Ah, no, um, well, rather than an acquaintance, how should I put it. He was

the one who happened upon the body in that teacher murder incident the other

day, and I questioned him.”

“Seriously? From last week’s incident…”

“Pleasure. I’m Kirishima Chizuru.”

Interrupting whatever flustered words were about to come out of Atami,

Chizuru said it nonchalantly. Ibusuki lightly furrowed her brow. She thought a bit

before leaking a surprised voice.

“Kirishima… Chizuru… so you’re Head Detective Kirishima’s son.”

“That’s right, but I’m surprised you could tell.”

“I was on the investigation of that case three years ago.”

An irritated expression floated on Ibusuki’s face.

“… Hmm. Well, that’s fine and all. But just because you’re the head detectives

son, I can’t give you any special treatment. Now hurry on to the living room.”

“Understood. But are you sure you’re not going to investigate this passageway?

You might overlook an important lead.”

Ibusuki frowned and shook her head.

“You didn’t have to tell me that. I intended to investigate it later.”

Irritated, she returned to the main building alone, making loud steps as she left.

“… Chizuru-kun, you shouldn’t anger Ibusuki-san too much. It will come around

to bite me.”

Atami tiredly scratched his head.

“What sort of person is she?”

“Police Inspector Ibusuki Akira. A capable detective of the prefectural police.

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She’s that boss I told you about last week. Not five years older than me, but

she’s got an aura to her, right?”

“You’re right. Average her out with you, and you might get someone decent.”

As he said that, Chizuru gave a defenseless yawn.

“More importantly, shouldn’t you get going?”

“You’re quite the rude one… anyways, Chizuru-kun. Please don’t do anything

unnecessary.”

“I won’t. And there’s no point in doing it anyways. I know the culprit.”

While he was his way back to the main building, Atami lost his footing and

tumbled off of the walkway.

“… Are you okay?”

“Owww, no, I’m fine… but more importantly! Isn’t that too fast, Chizuru-kun!?

Just a wee bit too fast!?”

“Well, before the incident with Sazanami-san occurred, I was here investigating

a theft. I had the advantage.”

Chizuru said it without hesitation, turning away without offering a decent

explanation. Atami pat himself off, hurriedly standing. The underside of the

veranda was ston-paved with large-grained gravel, and while his clothes didn’t

get dirty, it hurt just that much more.

The boy detective continued as if talking to himself.

“… But even if I say I know the culprit, I don’t have anything decisive yet. Some

absolute evidence that could silence their excuses. For that sake, I really must

hear out what everyone has to say.”

Atami walked towards him and informed him.

“That’s the territory of the police.”

76

5

Inspector Ibusuki first called Tsukioka Kansuke to the parlor to hear out the

details of the theft. She entered the living room with that background

knowledge. There, those related to the case were already well and gathered.

Everyone surrounded the dining table, making fretful faces.

Excluding Officer Atami and Kirishima Chizuru, she was meeting these five for

the first time. From Kansuke’s descriptions of their ages, she had a general idea

of who was who.

The apron-wearing woman in her forties was the housekeeper Wakamatsu

Megumi.

The older man in the deep-green sweater was the conservator Kondou Bunji.

The young woman with the round glasses and fluffy hair was the curator of the

Yumoto Museum of Modern Art, Ushijima Miho.

And the middle-aged man with silver-rimmed glasses was likely the insurance

investigator Kuragano Ryou.

Ibusuki took a seat when suddenly, “Huh?” her eyebrows twitched.

“Where’s Tsukioka Yuzuki-kun? And who are you?”

Ibusuki exclaimed after seeing Yuzuki in a white hoodie and three-quarter pants.

He reservedly raised a hand.

“I’m Yuzuki…”

“Oh? But I heard Tsukioka Yuzuki-san was Kansuke’s little brother…”

And you are a girl, the moment Ibusuki was about to point that out, Kansuke

weighed in from behind.

“That kid is Yuzuki, Inspector Ibusuki. My honest to goodness little brother. He’s

cute, so it can’t really be helped if you get it wrong!”

Ibusuki was taken aback as she compared Yuzuki and Kansuke’s faces. Yuzuki

gave a bashful nod. Is this really a first year high school boy? And why did

Kansuke look so happy?

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“You’re a boy? Is that true? You shouldn’t tease the adults.”

Kuragano pushed up his glasses, taking Yuzuki in from top to bottom. “It’s

true…” Yuzuki made a weak-willed assertion.

“For now, should we get things rolling?”

The one who interrupted the farcical concern over gender was Kirishima

Chizuru, resting his chin on the table.

“Finish early, go home early. A work life balance is important.”

“… You don’t have to tell me that.”

Ibuzuki couldn’t help but grow a bit irritated.

“Umm, officer.”

The next voice that called over belonged to Kondou. He was huddled to make

his small, aged body even smaller, anxiously tampering with the sleeves of his

clothing.

“How’s Sazanami-san’s condition?”

“I can’t say anything at this point… for now, we must do whatever we’re capable

of. Meaning whatever we can do to lead this case to its resolution.”

With those words, Ibusuki folded her hands over the table.

“First let’s put in order the events of this incident. It all started with the

swapping of a vase in this house. The situation is one where I can only think the

culprit is among those gathered here.”

“I’d ask you keep the records a bit more precise,”

Kuragano refuted.

“I only moved once the vase had already been taken from the storehouse. The

only reason I came here today was from my position as a single investigator. So

shouldn’t I be omitted from that?”

Irritated by his overbearing tone, Ibusuki continued on.

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“Well anyways, just hear me out. So the culprit is among us… let’s just proceed

the story under that assumption. This time’s attack of the gardener Sazanami

Tarou was clearly related to the swapping of the vase. There are two reasons I

can say this… the broken vase strewn across the storehouse floor. And on the

warehouse desk, the other vase placed away from where it would usually be on

display…”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ushijima asked.

“What’s important is whether our two experts were able to get a good look at

the ceramic fragments scattered around the scene… is what I wanted to know.”

“I don’t get the point of your question. Just what are you trying to suggest?”

Kuragano spoke as if he had grown longing of the sound of his own voice.

“To speak from conclusions, either the broken vase at the scene, or the one

moved from its place is thought to be fake… meaning another switching of

pieces was about to take place.”

Everyone in the living room raised a stir. To be more precise, Chizuru alone kept

nodding along as if he already knew.

“A-a switching?”

“That’s right, Ushijima-san. I heard that in this house, two weeks ago, an

expensive vase called the Shira Ou was switched out for a cheap imposter by

somebody’s hand.”

“Two weeks ago? You mean when I came by!? I’m not the culprit.”

“Calm down for now… anyways, another swapping of vases was to take place

today. That’s how it is. Meaning…”

“Meaning what you want to say,”

Kuragano swiped up her words,

“Is that the criminal made a second appearance, and snuck into the storehouse.

And they tried to replace one of the vases. But the gardener Sazanami noticed

them, so the bandit silenced his mouth… is that what this is?”

“That’s how it is. Possibly… so Kondou-san and Ushijima-san, with your positions

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as conservator and curator, I thought you would be knowledgeable on vases to

an extent. If either of you had looked upon the scene, I thought you’d be able to

say which one was real.”

The experienced appraiser Kondou vexingly scratched his light white hair.

“No, I did take a glimpse at the scene, but I only saw the broken vase… it was

dark and I’m nearsighted, and more than anything, it was broken. It would be

difficult to call it a vase at all. Unless I looked at it as a whole, I don’t think I’d be

able to tell it apart.”

Ushijima-san nodded agreement at Kondou’s words.

“… I see. Then I’ll have the forensics team bring the vase and fragments in, so

let’s have you see which one is real.”

Sending Atami running, she had him bring Shirahama the forensics investigaror

back with him.

“I’m sorry, Shirahama-san. When you still have things to investigate.”

“Oh, don’t mind it, just a little to go before we finish up.”

“Ah!” Kondou looked at the vase in Shirahama’s hands and cried out. “T-that

vase! Put it on the table a moment and let me get a better look.”

“O-okay”

Kondou and Ushijima leaned in towards the table, staring intently at the vase. It

was a piece with a black luster, but the addition of light caused indigo blue lines

to surface here and there. A peculiar spectacle.

“… It’s real. This is one of the five most valuable pieces of the Tsukioka House

Collection, the Kurage!”

“That it is. And a wonderful piece at that.”

The two experts nodded amongst themselves. Ibusuki shook her chin towards

Shirahama, having her place the plastic bag of fragments on the table.

“… This is…”

After staring it a while, Kondou’s drive was gone. Locking eyes with Ushijima.

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“… This is a sham. A fake Kurage.”

“… Okay, that’s one matter resolved.”

Ibusuki put her hands together.

“The broken one is a counterfeit, and the real one was safe…”

“But if he was smacked with this vase, there doesn’t seem to be much blood on

it.”

Yumoto looked at the vase fragments in wonder.

“No, this wasn’t what got him. The victim Sazanami-san’s head was smacked

hard against a corner of the display case. There was a bloodstain found on it. I’m

sure he got into a tussle with the culprit. The small bits of blood on the vase

must have come after he collapsed and his blood was flowing.”

Following in from Atami’s remark, “… Anyways!” Ibusuki declared.

“As this house has a contract with a security company and all the proper

equipment installed, the probability of infiltration from the outside is low. So

the culprit is likely in this room.”

“… T-that can’t be…”

Ushijima looked as if she would cry, but Ibusuki went on regardless.

“Let us imagine the sequence of events like this. While he was pruning the

vegetation in the yard, Sazanami-san witnessed a suspicious individual in the

storage. For better or worse, Sazanami-san was hidden in the plants, and the

culprit couldn’t spot him. Suspicious, he tried to approach, and seeing the

culprit about to switch the vases, he ended up in a scuffle…”

At that moment, Ibusuki didn’t overlook that the ends of Chizuru’s mouth

spread into a smile. She purposely didn’t linger on it, but it stuck to her heart.

She continued on as if to shake that off.

“According to Tsukioka Kansuke, when the incident took place and he heard a

scream, leaving a few out, a majority of you were moving independently… so we

must make clear everyone’s movements at the time of the crime. Please

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cooperate with police questioning. It might be a good idea to question everyone

here at once.

It didn’t seem anyone present had any objections. Ibusuki had Shirahama leave

the room before starting with a slight laugh.

“Let’s get the flow of this case in order.”

Officer Ibusuki looked Tsukioka Kansuke in the eye as she spoke. Perhaps

nervous, sweat flowed down his muscular body. And the glance he sent over

remained wary of both Ibusuki and Atami.

“Sazanami-san the gardener was attacked by someone, and raised a scream.

Hearing that, your younger brother Yuzuki-kun, and his senior at school

Kirishima Chizuru discovered Sazanami-san in critical condition. That’s how it is.”

“… Yes, that’s right.”

“Then let me ask. When you heard Sazanami-san’s scream, where exactly were

you?”

“At that time, the insurance inspector Kuragano-san went to use the restroom,

so I was left alone.”

“But nii-chan, you weren’t in the receptions room either.”

Yuzuki asked anxiously. The macho brother’s eyes narrowed.

“I went to find Ushijima-san. Kuragano-san’s enquiry seemed it was going to

take quite a while, so I went to tell her to wait a while longer.”

“Did you meet her?”

“No, I entered the reference room, but I didn’t see here. Besides some pieces of

art, the reference room also has a few bookshelves, and it’s considerably large…

so when I was searching around, the scream came. I went out to the hall right in

time to see Chizuru and Yuzuki running off… also, Kondou-san was following

behind them.”

“Where did you go?”

Ibusuki’s eyes shifted next to the cowering curator. Ushijima anxiously fixed the

positioning of her round glasses.

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“The bathroom.”

“Bathroom? That should have been in use by the Insurance Agent Kuragano-

san.”

“This house has a separate men’s and woman’s room.”

Hearing that conversation, Chizuru couldn’t help but ask Yuzuki.

“The bathroom’s gender-separated?”

“Yeah. Wait, didn’t you use the restroom too?”

“I did, but… I just went exactly where you told me to.”

“Oh, right. The ladies room is a little closer to the outdoor passage.”

“I see.”

“Hey, you high schoolers! Cut the chit chat.”

Without a moment’s delay, Ibusuki thrust her finger out. Chizuru shrugged his

shoulders, while Yuzuki slumped his.

“Alright, returning to the main topic. Ushijima-san, what was the purpose of

your visit here today?”

“I came to return a vase. I borrowed it two weeks ago to display in an

exhibition… ah, it’s a different vase than the Shira Ou and Kurage that became a

problem in this incident.”

“I see. And where is that vase right now?”

“I left it in the reference room. When I heard the scream I raced over, so it

stayed where it was. The reference room really was amazing! Willed with

Tsukioka-san’s rare collection. It was quite a worthwhile time spent.”

The curator with sparkling eyes, at that very moment, was truly a maiden. At

that, Ibusuki felt her own lips slackening, but hmhmm, she cleared her throat

and shifted her spear towards Kuragano.

“Kuragano Ryou-san. For what reason did you pay a visit to this house?”

“For business. I had to investigate the vase that was swapped out. Whether if

fell under insurance coverage or not… we had a need to determine it.”

The high-strung insurance agent of silver-rimmed glasses tapped his finger

against the table as he spoke.

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“So I had to hear out the son of the owner- Tsukioka Kansuke- and find out what

happened. At first I thought it was some malicious scam, but taking today’s

incident into account, it does seem there really was a theft.”

Treated as a scam artist, Kansuke’s lips wilted a bit, but Kuragano had no intent

to mince words.

“That does seem to be the case… now then, all testimony points to you being in

the restroom, but when you heard the scream, what did you do?”

“I’d like you to forgive me for saying something dirty, but when I heard the

sound, I was in the middle of business. So I looked out the window towards the

storage. That boy called Kirishima and the girl called Yuzuki were running down

the passage… oh, my apologies. You’re a boy as well. Dear me, your looks are

simply too feminine.”

Pulling off a posh tone as simple as breathing, Kuragano apologized. Yuzuki was

already tired of responding, returning an arbitrary grunt.

“Yuzuki-cha… kun is a person of the house, right? For a person of the insurance

company contracted by the Tsukioka house, it seems you aren’t very

knowledgeable about the place.”

To Ibusuki’s question, Kuragano gave a sullen nod.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been to this house. And I’m here on business, so I’ve

no need to dig into my client’s private matters.”

Ibusuki showed a satisfied nod, switching over to the conservator beside him.

“Now then, Kondou-san. You went to the storehouse to look after the art pieces

you failed to work on a week ago… is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

An enervated expression floated across Kondou Bunji’s aged face. In fear, he

watched Ibusuki with upturned eyes.

“After the maintenance was over, I went looking for Kansuke-san so he could

lock up… I never thought a bandit would use that instant to sneak in.”

“When you heard the scream, where were you?”

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“In the living room with young Yuzuki. I met that Chizuru kid, and we all went to

the receptions room to get Kansuke-san. He wasn’t there, though.”

“I see. Meaning when you heard the scream, you were with the two high school

students?”

“That’s right. So I’m irrelevant to this case!”

“… That’s something we’ll be deciding.”

With that curt response, Ibusuki turned to the final person… she focused her

eyes on the housekeeper, Wakamatsu Megumi.

“Wakamatsu-san. When you heard the scream, where were you?”

Wakamatsu answered without much a change in expression.

“Yes. At the time, I had finished taking in the laundry, and I was in the middle of

folding it. In the Japanese room.”

“Japanese room? Where is that?”

“At a corner of the corridor that leads to the passage. I heard the scream, and

when I was in a daze over what it could be, I heard the sound of people running,

so I gave chase as well. When I got to the detached storage, I saw Sazanami-san

in such a state…”

Finally, Ibusuki sent a fleeting glance towards Chizuru and Yuzuki, but without

anything particular to ask them, she shook her head.

“Come to think of it, why is that boy in the hoodie here anyways?”

Kuragano said, looking ove Chizuru suspiciously.

“Well you see…”

His eyes sparkling, Yuzuki was about to tell a tale when Ibusuki cut in.

“I have heard the details in full from Kansuke. You do not have to be so

concerned about that boy.”

The Chizuru in question showed no reaction to Ibusuki, simply lounging about in

boredom. The moment a thought different from irritation or confusion graced

Ibusuki, a voice called out.

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“Ibusuki-san, we’ve finished up.”

A little groggy, Shirahama Yayoi appeared. Ibusuki thanked her for her work and

asked for a report.

“Umm, the only thing you’ve yet to hear is probably that we found Sazanami-

san’s backpack at the side of the storehouse that became the crime scene.”

“Hmm. Anything strange about it?”

“No, it was leaned against the veranda, but… perhaps the culprit kicked it over,

as its contents were scattered. A towel and a cellphone. Well, perhaps that’s

evidence that the culprit was in a considerable rush.”

“Hmm.. I’m not quite sure what this evidence is pointing to, but… whatever the

case, thank you for the report, Shirahama-san.”

Welcome, she said in a tired voice before the young forensics investigator took

her leave. The room with all the relevant personnel gathered suddenly went

quiet again.

“So? When are we going to be released?”

Kuragano tapped his finger on the table as he spoke.

“It’s almost time for dinner. Is it alright if I began preparing?”

Wakamatsu offered a reserved request.

Ibusuki made a grim face, “Could you wait for--” she was about to say.

But at that moment, “Isn’t that enough?” a voice informed her. The voice

belonged to Kirishima Chizuru.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean what I say, Police Inspector Ibusuki. The investigation is already over.

The culprit has been identified, and we should all be on our way home.”

“Eh!? Chizuru-senpai, you already know the culprit?”

“Yeah. The truth is, I was able to see the truth… thanks to you, Yuzuki.”

86

6

“R-really?”

Ushijima gave a wide-eyes murmur. She talked polite even to Chizuru. Kansuke

was making a dazed expression, but he soon hit his hands together.

“As expected of the high school detective Yuzuki placed his trust in! Yep. Now

let’s get right to hearing out your reasoning.”

“Please don’t go proceeding talks on your own!”

Ibusuki said flatly, glaring at Chizuru.

“Oy, Kirishima Chizuru. You shouldn’t say anything so irresponsible. Just where

in that conversation was there something to identify the culprit? Don’t tell me

you’re concealing any special piece of evidence or something.”

“I wouldn’t do something like that… with all the data you’ve gained just now,

you can understand it perfectly. It’s simple process of elimination.”

He gave a mysterious smile. Ibusuki seemed to be thinking of some way to keep

him quiet, but Atami gave a spur-of-the-moment proposal.

“Um, Inspector Ibusuki. I don’t think you’ll lose anything listening to what he has

to say. I said it before at the storage, but I met him in last week’s incident… at

the time, he gave a truly excellent show of reasoning.”

Ibusuki’s expression turned even grimmer. She suddenly flew into a rage.

“I knew it. Atami, I knew the culprit was caught too quickly for it to be you. I

knew something smelled fishy.”

“Guhah!”

Atami’s face slammed into the table from the mental damage, but Ibusuki

ignored him and turned back to Chizuru.

“Very well, Kirishima Chizuru. In that case, try explaining it… in exchange, if any

half-baked reasoning wounds the honor of anyone involved… you’d best

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prepare yourself.”

“Of course.”

“Please tell me, Kirishima-kun. Just who could’ve switched out the vases?”

Kondou drew close to him. And then as if to correct himself, “No of course

Sazanami-san’s injuries are also important,” he added on.

“Well, let’s go at it in order. ‘Keep calm, slow down, be certain’ is my motto. A

week ago, during the regular maintenance conducted in the storage, Kondou-

san noticed the vase had been switched out. Meaning, the valuable vase

contained within… Shira Ou, was it… was switched out with a cheap

counterfeit.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Kondou spoke in a withered voice. “To add to that, the

Kurage that was about to be swapped today was also an exceedingly valuable

vase, with plenty of counterfeits circulating around.”

“Thank you for the explanation… Then when was that vase switched out? In the

appraisal just a month before, the Shira Ou was definitely real. In that case,

there were only two with an opportunity to swap it. Either Tsukioka Kansuke-

san who always kept the key with him, or the one who proclaimed it had been

swapped in the first place, Kondou-san. You can add another three suspects

onto that. Ushijima who dropped by the storage to borrow a face, and

Wakamatsu-san and Sazanami-san who had the opportunity to slip in.”

Unable to conceal her irritation, “Why are you so knowledgeable on the

matter?” She posed the question.

“I heard it all from Yuzuki,” he so casually threw out.

To Chizuru’s words, Kuragano cleared his throat. The insurance investigator

neurotically tapped the table as he spoke.

“Isn’t this too long of an introduction? Meaning there are five suspects, that’s all

you’re trying to say, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s something everyone already knows. Just get to your reasoning already.”

Ibusuki prodded him with words. ‘But until a moment ago, you didn’t even want

me to speak,’ Chizuru mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders.

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“P-please tell us. Chizuru-senpai. How did you get to the culprit?”

With eyes mingled with fear and expectations, Yuzuki gazed at the high school

detective.

“What I noticed is ‘risk of the swap being noticed’.”

To those words, Yuzuki gave a blank look.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The swapped-out vase was noticed by Kondou-san. In his maintenance he

carried out every month. If you think about it normally, that makes for two

suspects. Because of Ushijima-san’s visit two weeks ago, that inflated the

number to five.”

“That’s true.”

Yuzuki answered Chizuru, touching a finger to his lips in thought.

“Both you and Kansuke know next to nothing when it comes to ancient art. The

owner- your parents- are out of the country right now. In that case, the only one

who could have noticed was Kondou-san. Telling a counterfeit from a genuine

article is beyond the distinction of an amateur.”

“Yes.”

“… But there, another specialist comes on the scene. The curator of the Yumoto

Museum of Modern Art, Ushijima Miho-san.”

Chizuru sent a slight glance at the curator in question.

“Let’s say the culprit who switched out the vases was Kondou-san. And the swap

had already taken place in his maintenance the month before…?”

“Ah, then Ushijima would have noticed the fake when she came in later and

looked around. She’s a specialist, after all.”

“Right. Kondou-san knew Ushijima-san was coming beforehand, so I doubt he

would swap it out with such a danger of being found out.”

The two specialists exchanged a glance.

89

“… But what if it was after Ushijima-san came? Meaning he himself switched the

vase the day he said ‘This vase is a fake’? No, not that I’m doubting his words.

I’m looking at it as a possibility.”

Gazing in intrigue as Yuzuki apologetically waved his hands, Chizuru continued

on.

“… But if you think about it, that would be strange. I mean, at that point he was

the only one left who could have noticed the change. Your parents aren’t

coming back for another year. The culprit would probably sell off the stolen

vase, but in that case, they’d want some time to pass from when it was stolen.

In order to contain the risk of anything pointing to them. So even if Kondou-san

would profess his own crime, he had no reason to choose the exact moment of

the act.”

“Couldn’t it have been to frame Ushijima-san, who just happened to drop by?””

“He wasn’t there on the day Ushijima-san came to this house. He had no way of

knowing if she had a chance to swap the Shira Ou out or not. If on that day, the

storage’s key stayed in Kansuke’s possession, and there weren’t any with a

chance to steal it, the suspects would still be Kondou-san and Kansuke-san in

the end.”

“I see. Then Kondou-san isn’t the culprit.”

“Right. For the same reason, Ushijima-san isn’t the culprit either.”

“Why’s that?”

Yuzuki stared blankly. Ushijima herself was making a similar expression.

“She knew a specialist like Kondou-san came to look after the pieces at regular

intervals.”

“T-that’s right. She knew when she made the call.”

“Which means there was no way she would be able to swap it. I mean, she knew

Kondou-san would come someday soon and notice the crime had taken place.”

“Y-yeah, that’s true… But even if the switch was noticed, there’s no guarantee

Ushijima-san would be the only suspect.”

“That’s right. But when it comes to the others who were capable of doing it,

they’re all limited to those involved with the Tsukioka House. For both

Wakamatsu-san and Sazanami-san, while their days in service to your house

90

may not have been long, they’re technically people of the inside. If listed beside

them, an outsider knowledgeable on the vase’s value wouldn’t be able to

escape the forefront of suspicion. And she had no way of knowing when the

swap would be noticed. Is there really anyone who would commit theft under

such a high risk?”

“That’s quite a convenient interpretation. But you can’t call it decisive.”

Ibusuki wasn’t pleased yet. Chizuru thought a bit before adding on.

“Then let me present another basis. In this incident, the vase wasn’t carried off,

it was swapped out. Meaning the culprit would have to prepare a fake vase

beforehand. As Ushijima-san didn’t have a grasp on the house’s situation,

having her show such deliberate action to bring in a fake is much too unrealistic.

She was able to see the storehouse on Yuzuki and his brother’s good will. But

what if she was told she couldn’t look around the storehouse? What if they

didn’t let her stay there alone? Such a case wouldn’t be rare by any means. You

could even call it rare you left her alone in a storehouse with nothing but

valuables for a whole ten minutes.”

“I see, you have a point… then looks like Ushijima-san isn’t it either.”

“Yeah. Now then, next is Yuzuki’s big brother, let’s think about Tsukioka

Kansuke-san. He has the key to the storehouse, so he could have swapped vases

all he wanted… but if you call him the culprit, the motive for the crime

disappears entirely. Because he is a member of the house that faced a loss. It

seems his relationship with the owners- your parents- was favorable enough.

Kuragano-san said something about fraud, but to be blunt, that’s impossible.”

“W-why do you say that? I do believe in my brother, but I don’t think you’ve

given any clear evidence to rule him out.”

“O-oy, Yuzuki! You don’t believe in your brother!?”

Receiving a suspicious look from the little brother he doted on, Kansuke was in

clear dismay. No perhaps not, as Yuzuki somewhat gloomily soothed him. But

Chizuru gave a wry smile as he spoke.

“If he wanted to commit insurance fraud, he wouldn’t go out of his way to leave

a fake behind. Normally, he’d just have to make it look like a theft. In the first

place, it’s because of that fake vase that an insurance agent had to come over to

91

see, ‘if a theft even took place at all’. Someone attempting insurance fraud

would never let that become a problem.”

“Ah, sure enough. He could simply make it look like a thief broke in.”

“Something like that. And going back to the basic premise, the ones taking the

insurance payout would be your parents, not Kansuke-san.”

“Ahaha, that’s right… huh, but wait.”

Yuzuki’s vibrant expression stiffened.

“It isn’t Kondou-san. It isn’t Ushijima-san. And my brother’s out too… doesn’t

that mean…”

Yuzuki opened his eyes wide.Atami also cried out, turning his face towards that

individual.

“So you were the thief who switched out the vase!?”

Kuragano cried, pointing at Wakamatsu Megumi sitting beside him. The woman

who hadn’t said a word to that point was flustered by the eyes suddenly

gathering on her.

“I-I’m not. I haven’t swapped out any vases.”

“Don’t lie. Now that Kirishima kid has ruled out all the other suspects, you’re the

only one who could be the culprit!”

With his finger still directed at her, Kuragano pushed up the bridge of his glasses

with his other hand.

Ibusuki likemindedly posed a question.

“When the storage was left open for ventilation, in the twenty minute space

before Ushijima-san’s arrival, you could have snuck in and committed the

crime… it’s thinkable. Wakamatsu-san, does it hold up?”

“You’re wrong.”

Wakamatsu remained obstinate.

“Right, it isn’t her.”

Chizuru continued on. Everyone abruptly returned their eyes to him.

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“Are you listening? We’ve used the basis of, ‘the risk of the crime being found

out’, to narrow down our suspects thus far. And if we take it further,

Wakamatsu-san is excluded as well… first off, she knew Ushijima-san was

coming to the house.”

“And what of it?”

Ushijima asked in wonder.

“From then on, a specialist was coming to borrow an art piece from the

storehouse. Would she really swap a part right before that? If she was found

out, the suspicion would definitely be cast on her. Because besides Kansuke-san

and Yuzuki-kun, she was the only one in the house at the time.”

“… I see.” Ibusuki nodded. She too had been pulled into Chizuru’s logic.

“If she feared the risk of Ushijima-san noticing the switch, she would have to

swap it out after she had gone to the storehouse… but after Ushijima-san came

to the house, Wakamatsu-san didn’t have a chance to swap it out. Meaning she

isn’t the culprit. But in that case, who is the culprit?”

“Right.”

Kondou, who had been exempted at the start, calmly pressed Chizuru further.

“We don’t have any other suspects, do we.”

“… Has everyone forgotten? After Ushijima-san dropped by the house and saw

the storehouse, the other individual who came by the Tsukioka House. And

when they entered the living room, they heard Ushijima-san enthusiastically go

on over how amazing the articles in the storage room were, so they surely

thought Ushijima-san had already looked around the storehouse… He knew

Ushijima-san would come by, and he knew the storehouse would be unlocked.

With his position, he could loiter around the yard without arising suspicions, and

when no one was around, he could easily choose at his own discretion when to

approach the storehouse.”

“Y-you couldn’t mean.” Kansuke half-stood to his feet as he looked at Atami.

“That’s right. The culprit who swiped the vase from the storehouse was the

gardener, Sazanami Tarou-san.”

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7

“S-Sazanami-san is the culprit who swapped out the vase!?”

Yuzuki’s wide eyes opened to the limit.

“No way, I mean he was the one attacked today, wasn’t he? By the culprit who

swapped out the vase.”

“No, truth is Sazanami-san was going to swap out another vase today.”

Chizuru looked Yuzuki in the eye as he went on.

“The decisive piece was that forensic lady’s report. Sazanami-san’s bag was

kicked over by the culprit… she said the contents were scattered.”

“… And what about it?”

Ibusuki asked warily.

“Why had such a thing fallen? Meaning the problem I’m raising is, ‘Why was

Sazanami-san’s bag open?’ You catch my drift?”

“Ah!” Atami cried out.

“… That’s true. Be it zipper or something else, for the contents of a bag to fall

out, the bag has to be open.”

“On top of that, why wasn’t his bag on him? Why was it left on the floor? The

conclusion that leads to is that Sazanami-san had placed his bag down, and was

either trying to put in or take something out of it.”

“… Right. Meaning he was trying to change out the vase for a fake.”

“Exactly. But there he was questioned by a third party who entered the room. In

his panic, Sazanami-san tried to silence whoever came in and attacked them. Or

perhaps he tried to run but was blocked. Anyways, it devolved to a quarrel, and

in the end, Sazanami-san was the one who lost the fight. Unluckily, he hit his

head against a corner of the table.”

“… Meaning this was an accident?”

“That’s how it looks.”

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The living room went quiet. Everyone present scrutinized Chizuru’s logic to that

point with severe looks on their faces.

“I still have my questions.”

Kuragano’s face was half-in-doubt. He swung his finger towards Chizuru.

“In the first place, has it been confirmed that gardener Sazanami was the

culprit?”

“What might you mean by that?”

Chizuru returned Kuragano’s stare.

“It’s true Sazanami may be the only individual who could have swapped the vase

out after Madam Ushijima looked around the storage. But you can’t forget

Ushijima went back to the storage after that to borrow the vase she came for.

She couldn’t have noticed it then?”

“Ah, come to think of it, that’s right.”

The lady in question spoke up.

“… Well then, Ushijima-san. After returning to the storage, did you carefully look

at any of the other art pieces?”

“No, I didn’t do that. When I visited the storage a second time, my only goal was

to borrow the vase.”

“I see.”

Chizuru locked eyes with everyone present, fluidly putting his reasoning to

mouth.

“These vases, unless you carefully pay attention to every part of them, they’re

hard to tell apart… Kondou-san demonstrated that not a moment ago.”

“Y-yes.”

Kondou gave a firm nod.

“Unless you look knowing what you’re looking for, a piece’s authenticity isn’t

distinct. To rephrase that, making a piece that one would think of as the real

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thing at first glance is the reason counterfeits exist.”

“Well you may be right about that.”

Kuragano still hung onto the point.

“Whether Ushijima-san would actually notice or not, what becomes a problem

here is the, ‘risk that Ushijima-san would notice’… quite a subjective thing

indeed. Yet it’s this point we’ve used to narrow down the suspects.”

“But if you at it subjectively, you can’t deny Sazanami-san is the most

suspicious.”

Chizuru spoke paradoxically.

“When he entered the living room that day, Ushijima-san was giving her opinion

on the items in the storage. It wouldn’t even be strange if he misunderstood she

had already completed her business in the storehouse.”

“That’s true… but if he thought Madam Ushijima had finished her business in

the storehouse, wouldn’t he think the storehouse would be closed and give up

on the crime?”

“He had been watching vigilantly for his opportunity to commit it for half a year.

To him, it wouldn’t be strange if he bet on the possibility of the storehouse

being unlocked, approaching the place to check it out. From the start, Kansuke-

san was a person who’d often forget to lock up, after all.”

“That’s right.”

The one to answer wasn’t Kansuke himself, but Kondou.

“Today too, when I was working on the pieces in the storehouse, it’s because

Kansuke-kun walked off with the key that we ended up with time where the

place was left wide open.”

“I must apologize for that.”

Kansuke scratched his short hair.

“By the way, Kuragano-san.”

Chizuru narrowed his eyes at the insurance inspector.

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“Why don’t you want to make Sazanami-san out as the culprit?”

“… Hah?”

“If Sazanami-san is the culprit behind the theft, then the logic that the thief

attacked him would no longer stand. In that case, since you were removed for

being the only one who couldn’t commit the theft, you would become a suspect

in Sazanami-san’s injury… isn’t that why?”

“W-what are you talking about,Kirishima!? Oy, that’s just plain rude! You’re

making it sound as if I’m the culprit here.”

“That’s right. The one who spotted Sazanami-san when he was swapping out a

vase in the storage, and injured him in the ensuing quarrel… Kuragano Ryou-san,

it was you, wasn’t it?”

Everyone raised a ruckus.

Kansuke cried out, “Really!?” Detective Ibusuki raised a high, “Haaah?”

Wakamatsu sitting beside Kuragano pulled her body back.

“O-oy, quit joking around!”

Kuragano kicked his chair back as he stood.

“I’m not joking. During your meeting with Kansuke-san, you went to the

restroom. I have reason to assume you probably were actually in the bathroom,

but after that you headed for the storehouse. Even if it was your first time in the

house, that storehouse was visible from the moment you stepped on the

premise, so I think you knew the general direction. Your goal in checking out the

storehouse was to conduct a simple investigation, right? A moment ago, you

said you suspected insurance fraud.”

“You’re imagining things!”

“And right after entering the storage, you witnessed Sazanami-san trying to

swap out a vase, and got into a tussle with him. When you pushed him away, he

hit his head on a corner. At that moment, the vase dropped and shattered…

perhaps the scream raised at the scream wasn’t Sazanami-san’s, but yours.”

“Quit it with your accusations. That’s all nothing but conjecture! I kinda get how

you got to Sazanami as the thief. But in regards to this incident, even if it wasn’t

me, everyone here is a suspect. That’s right. Don’t treat someone as a culprit

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without any evidence.”

“He’s got a point, Kirishima Chizuru. Do you have anything definite?”

Ibuzuki furrowed her brow.

“Yes, I do. The fact that me and Yuzuki rushed to the scene at once.”

“… And what of it?”

Kuragano glared at Chizuru.

“That passage from the main building is thirty meters. The moment it goes

outside, the path runs in a straight line… after the culprit heard the scream,

where did he run? Whatever the case, he couldn’t come back the way he came.

Meaning he would have to lurk in the shadows somewhere.”

“And how does that tie in to me?”

“You’re the only one who didn’t show his face when everyone gathered in the

storehouse, weren’t you?”

The first ones to race over were Chizuru and Yuzuki. Then following behind were

Kansuke, Kondou, Wakamatsu. And as Wakamatsu went back to get the

necessary treatment tools, she passed by Ushijima-san coming from the main

house…

“Sure enough, Kuragano-san alone wasn’t there.”

Kansuke gave a large nod.

“Don’t screw with me. I said I was in the bathroom. And I saw those young boys,

Chizuru and Yuzuki running down the passage. I’m sure I said that.”

“Right, well, since you knew the passage was visible from the bathroom, I think

it’s true you went. But that was before Sazanami-san was injured.”

“Stop interpreting things however’s convenient for you!”

“No, this is a fact. I mean, you never saw me and Yuzuki run up to the

storehouse.”

“Don’t be stupid. If I didn’t see, then how did I guess it right?”

“… After you wounded Sazanami-san, you heard the footsteps racing over. The

lone storehouse in a vast yard. The only place you had to hide was under the

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walkway.”

“… Under?”

Ibusuki parroted the words.

“Yes, under. Did you notice when we entered the premise? The passage

connects to one of the verandas, with space underneath. So Kuragano-san

heard the footsteps when the me and Yuzuki ran over. With their steps and

voices he was able to guess right that they were the first to rush to the scene.”

“That’s a terrible accusation as always. If I was hidden under the passage, what

did I do after that?”

“The passage merges with the veranda of the main house. You crept all the way

down, so the people above wouldn’t see you. Around the bathing area, you

climbed up to the veranda, and mixed in with the rest.”

“I see, that is a possibility. So what’s your evidence?”

“A moment ago, when Inspector Ibusuki entered the living room… you mistook

Yuzuki for a girl.”

“What basis is that!? You can objectively see that young boy’s looks are overly

feminine and misleading, can’t you? I do feel sorry to him for misunderstanding,

but that does not a culprit make.”

Yuzuki puffed up his cheeks in protest.

“You’re right. The truth of the matter is that I mistook his gender the first time I

met him as well. But that’s because he was wearing a sport’s jersey. Also,

Inspector Ibusuki also mistook his gender. But that was because he was wearing

a hoodie and three-quarter pants.”

“… I don’t see where this is going.”

“Ah!” Kansuke let out a loud voice.

“That’s right, that’s exactly right. If Kuragano-san saw Yuzuki running down the

passage, he’d definitely not mistake his gender!”

“… Eh?”

Kuragano’s face stiffened.

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“C-certainly!”

“That’s right.”

“Ah… now that you mention it.”

Kondou, Ushijima and Wakamatsu signaled their agreement. Kuragano turned

his face nervously.

“What are you all talking about?”

Kansuke glared sternly at Kuragano.

“You told a lie. The reason being at the time, Yuzuki was wearing his school

uniform. A blazer and dress pants. What’s more, someone wearing the exact

same uniform… someone you could tell as a boy at a glance… Chizuru-kun was

right there beside him. So that would mean you didn’t see Yuzuki at the time.

You were only listening to the sounds after all.”

“B-but he’s wearing a hoodie right now…”

“That’s because he got blood on him nursing Sazanami-san. He was told to go

change with Chizuru-kun.”

Receiving Kansuke’s explanation, Chizuru supplemented it.

“… Of course, if Kuragano-san had mistaken Yuzuki’s gender, then he’d think it

strange for the two of us to head for the bath together. But if Kuragano-san was

still hidden under the veranda at that point, there’s no helping the outsider who

didn’t know what was where in the house to not feel anything off.”

“…”

Instantly bathed in everyone’s eyes, Kuragano unsteadily drew back and ran into

the wall. Crestfallen, he fell to his knees, and covered his face with both hands.

“… I didn’t intend to injure him… but he leapt at me, so I suddenly… when I

thought of the payment our company would have to put out, it irritated me so

much, that perhaps I couldn’t hold back…”

Ibusuki mercilessly hoisted up Kuragano’s apologizing arm.

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“Is it legitimate self-defense, excessive force, or an accident… I don’t know the

charge, but first we’ll be hearing out your story at the station. I won’t handcuff

you. Just come with us.”

Ibusuki looked at Chizuru before awkwardly averting her eyes. The dazed

onlooker Atami, under Ibusuki’s glare, ran over to Kuragano. It was that

moment that a call came to his phone.

“Yes, this is Atami. Yes… yes. I see. Thank you.”

Taking his phone from his ear, he turned to Kuragano and Ibusuki.

“Sazanami-san’s life isn’t in any danger.”

“I see. I feel sorry for doing this to him just after he was injured, but we have to

stick an officer on him… giver the order.”

“Yes ma’am.”

And finishing his call, Atami helped Ibusuki to support Kuragano up as they

made their exit.

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8

“Did it calm down a bit after that?”

Thursday the next week, Chizuru tried asking Yuzuki. Having come to the second

year special class of his own accord that lunch break, Yuzuki gave a full smile.

“It’s all gotten nice and peaceful! Thank you, Chizuru-senpai.”

“No, that’s alright, Yuzuki.”

“Hmhmm.”

In the next seat over, Ageha gazed over them with intrigue.

“Looks like you’ve gotten closer to one another. Dropping honorifics when I

wasn’t looking.”

Chizuru blatantly ignored Ageha’s statement.

“So did Sazanami confess?”

“Yes. It seems he racked up a considerable debt gambling… when the demon

possessed him to swap out the Shira Ou, he didn’t think that anyone noticed,

so… though it really was found out… it seems his presumption led to a second

offense.”

“Hmm, possessed by a demon, eh. When he went as far as to prepare a

counterfeit, I don’t think he came make his lies anymore brazen.”

“Whatever the case, thank you! Chizuru-senpai! Let’s meet up again!”

Yuzuki lightly made off like a small bird.

“Even so, that’s rate, Chizuru.”

Eventually, Ageha spoke.

“You went and solved this case quite proactively. I heard from Yuzuki over the

phone. You even put on a deduction show… don’t you think you still have a

future in detective work?”

“No way.”

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Chizuru pressed his face against his desk, entering his sleeping posture.

“I just wanted to return home ASAP. Detectives, you know… there’s nothing left

for them to do, I tell you.”

＊

“Umm, so what was the incident three years ago?”

The prefectural police first investigative division floor.

Atami tried asking Ibusuki as they processed paperwork in the early afternoon.

She raised a displeased face.

“What’s this about?”

“See, you said something about it in last week’s Tsukioka House case.

Something about Chizuru-kun.”

“Ah, that.”

Ibusuki narrowed her eyes, turning her face away with a hmph.

“A certain defense attorney fell to their death. At the time, it was strongly

looked upon as a suicide, but later investigations strengthened the possibility of

murder. The truth is, we were this close to arresting the culprit, but… the one

who put it all to waste was that Kirishima Chizuru. Though even if I say that, it

looks like he didn’t know me.”

“Eh!? W-what do you mean by that?”

That Chizuru obstructed the culprit’s arrest?

But before Atami could ask the specifics, “I’ve said too much,” Ibusuki scowled.

“… Look here, Atami. Just forget about it. Whatever you do, don’t mention that

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incident within the prefectural police department. Also, it seems you have some

connection to that boy, but you’d better not mention it to him either.”

Atami couldn’t help but ask.

“Why… is that?”

“Why? I mean…”

Ibusuki’s voice was bitingly cold.

“The victim of that incident, Kirishima Midori… was his mother.”

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(TL: That case was barely altered in any way, shape or form. Besides JP to EN)

105

Case 3: A Kidnapping

Endlessly Close to Meaningless

106

1

Waking up in his bed, Kirishima Chizuru looked at the radio clock next to his

pillow to find it was right around midday.

The wind raised a ferocious roar as it rattled the glass of the windows.

“Are you awake?”

In the doorway of the door opened without a sound, Chizuru’s guardian stood.

His mother’s little sister, making her Chizuru’s aunt, Meimon Hibari. She wore

casual clothes consisting of a knit top that exposed her shoulders and jeans,

keeping one of her hands on the doorknob. From the backlight of the hall, she

had a somewhat sublime impression to her. While Chizuru raised the top half of

his body, she set foot into the room. As she closed in, her chestnut hair that

hung to the tips of her shoulders, and thin frameless glasses came into clearer

focus.

“Um… good morning.”

For now, he gave his greetings, but Hibari glared intently at him as she cynically

said, “It’s not morning anymore, but good morning.”

“What’s wrong, Hibari-san? Are you in a bad mood?”

“When I have a sloth who I have to go wake up at midday living under the same

roof, of course it would put me in a bad mood.”

“Eh… I was just sleeping, and I wasn’t causing you any trouble, was I?”

“It’s the sleep part that’s the problem!”

She flew into a rage, climbing onto Chizuru’s bed, and forcefully pulled open the

curtains on the other side.

“… You’re blinding me.”

Chizuru swept his bangs to cover his eyes, but seeing that, Hibari only seemed

increasingly fed up.

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“Your bangs are getting too long, it’s bad for your eyes… why not get it cut?”

“No need, seems like a pain.”

“I saw that coming.”

“In the first place, Hibari-san. We’re in the middle of golden week. It’s May

fourth. Greenery day. It’s a day to be commemorated. Who would ever go

outside on such a wonderful day?”

“You kinda throwing logic out the window there, when you’re supposed to be a

detective.”

“I’m not a detective.”

Chizuru sprawled himself out again, turning towards the wall.

“But I hard from Ageha-chan you solved another incident the other day. What

was it again? Something about a vase in Yumoto City?”

“Ah, yeah… that happened.”

“Looks like you’re not Midori-neesan and Kankurou-san’s kid for nothing.”

Hibari took a seat on the side of Chizuru’s bed.

“… Did you tell Kankurou-san? That you resolved a case?”

“I won’t. I’m not obligated to.”

“… Hah. Quit moping around, and go have a proper heart to heart with your

father. It’s already been three years since my sister left.”

“I don’t want to. Good night.”

Chizuru pulled up the blanket, covering all the way over his head. Hibari

abruptly tore the cover away.

“Ah, got! Just get up already!”

The cover was completely eliminated from the equation. Chizuru groaned,

curling himself up like a fetus.

“Urrgh, it’s cold. Let me sleep five more minutes.”

“That’s a line that promises it won’t end with five minutes.”

“G-give the… cover… back… please.”

“No. I’m going to air it out.”

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“I-in this wind?”

“It’s going to die down soon.”

Whether kind or heartless, Midori carried the blanked off. The moment when

Chizuru was about to go into further negotiations, his phone suddenly began to

wring.

It vibrated over the stack of books piled over the study desk he barely ever used.

“Hibari-san, get it.”

“Walk there yourself.”

With a grumble Hibari tossed the smart phone over to Chizuru. Chizuru slowly

caught it and looked at the screen. It was a call from an unknown number.

He answered the call, placed it on speaker and set it down on his pillow. And he

lay himself down.

“Is that how you answer the phone…” a tired voice came from Hibari, but at that

moment.

‘Chizuru-kun, please save me!’

The voice they heard from the receiver came from a young officer of the

prefectural police’s first investigative division, Atami’s tense voice.

“Officer Atami, what’s wrong?”

Chizuru turned his face towards the phone.

‘There’s been a kidnapping. My little sister was kidnapped… at this rate, she’s

going to be killed!’

Taken by surprise, Chizuru was hard-pressed for words. Hibari was also startled,

dropping the cover in her hands.

“My cover…”

‘Hmm? What was that?’

“No, nothing.”

‘Anyways, I want you to come quickly… the one who was taken was my cousin,

her name’s Sorachi Aoi. The location’s Izumi city…’

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“Please wait a moment… your little cousin was kidnapped, and her life is in peril.

You really have it hard, truly. But why are you calling me?”

‘T-that’s…’

He faltered before resolving himself and continuing on.

‘I don’t really get it either. I just thought… but whatever the case, Aoi was

kidnapped, I don’t know where she is, and at this rate, she might be killed. So I

want you to deduce the location. Did you get all of that!?’

“Around thirty percent. But in that case, shouldn’t you seek help from your

colleagues?”

‘That’s no good! The truth is, my slipup aggravated the culprit… because of that,

we’re in a state where the police can’t move. I have no choice vut to rely on

your deductions! I’m begging you!’

While Chizuru hesitated, a hand reached in fron the side. Hibari lifted up the

smart phone and spoke into it.

“I’ll send him there at once. Tell me the location.”

‘Eh? Ah, yes. Thank you.’

Flustered at the sudden woman’s voice, Atami gave directions from the station

to the proper address. After his final cry of, ‘I’m counting on you, Chizuru-kun!’

the line was cut.

Chizuru breathed out a sigh, “Don’t go arbitrarily accepting requests,” he

grumbled.

But Hibari spoke steadfast.

“What are you talking about? I don’t know who that was, but it sounds like

someone’s life is on the line! What’s more, it’s a direct request from an officer,

right? Some intellectual labor’s just right for a slacker like you to be useful to

society.”

“Got it…”

Chizuru groaned as he got out of bed.

110

2

Hibari kicked Chizuru out of the house without dinner. By that time, the wind

making a horrible clamor up to a moment ago had died down.

Atami had requested he take the train from Yumoto Station three stops down to

Izumi. In the near-empty compartment, Chizuru thought over various things.

A kidnapping. Was if financially incentivized? Or was there some other reason?

Honestly, the information on his hands was close to zero, and at that point, he

wasn’t able to deduce a single thing. As expected, he would have to hear the

story.

Chizuru bit down on the breakfast he bought while waiting for the train. It was

made of some grain or another, a product marketed as healthy.

“It’s hard…”

He had really wanted something closer to jelly, but they wasn’t anything in

stock.

Whatever the case, Chizuru spun his thoughts.

No matter the motive or goal, a kidnapping case held quite the malicious ring to

it. Gaining control over another. It was the form of crime Chizuru hated most.

He was well aware of why he thought so. In that incident three years ago, he

had been forced to fold under the pressure of authority…

He chewed the nutritious food item to bits.

The next stop is New Izumi Central Station, New Izumi Central Station. The

announcement flowed by, and Chizuru stood from his seat.

As Atami had instructed, he left the station and walked into the tidy residential

district. He was able to reach his destination within ten minutes. A two-story

house of modern construction, if you wanted to call it ordinary, it was an

ordinary residence. In the front yard, flowers of various colors were planted.

Chizuru climbed up the porch, ringing the doorbell as he confirmed that the

nameplate read ‘Sorachi’.

The one to answer was Atami.

After a relieved look spread across his face, he remembered the gravity of his

111

situation, hurriedly dragging Chizuru into the building. And he locked the door

behind him.

“Calm down, Atami-san. I don’t think the culprit is actually watching.”

“There’s no way of telling! Do you have any evidence for that?”

“More or less.”

Chizuru gave a nonchalant response as he looked over the house’s interior. The

only impression he got from it was a standard house you could find anywhere.

“Regardless,” said Atami as he pulled Chizuru into the door to the side of the

entranceway. It seemed to be a living room.

There were three people already occupying it. They sat around a sofa arranged

for meeting purposes. A white-streaked middle-aged man in a crumpled polo

shirt. To his side, a middle-aged woman was crying her eyes out. There were

likely the parents of Atami’s kidnapped cousin.

The other one… sitting across from the Sorachi couple, in a suit with her hair

packed tightly in a bun, a woman with a well-featured face who was an

unknown existence to Chizuru. She looked a few times younger than than the

Sorachi couple.

“You’re… the crime-solving pro?”

The lady of the Sorachi House said timidly as she looked seriously into Chizuru’s

face.

“I heard you were young but… this is more than I imagined?”

“I’m a high schooler.”

Chizuru said. There was no use in lying. The expressions of those involved

abruptly turned to doubt.

“But his crime-solving history alone speaks for itself, and it’s because of his

appearance that we called him in the first place. If he was an adult, the culprit

on lookout would suspect something.”

With his eyes, Atami urged Chizuru to speak.

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“I’m Kirishima Chizuru. In the case where a teacher of Izumi Central Junior High

was murdered, and when a theft and incident resulting in injury occurred in

Yumoto City, I successfully resolved the incidents.”

He thought emphasizing his achievements would make matters fast. While he

felt a bit lacking with only two, when Atami said, “There’s no doubt about it,”

the looks of those gathered softened somewhat.

“Is that so, then it’s a pleasure to work with you. I apologize for the late

introduction, but I’m the father of the kidnapped Aoi, Sorachi Kisuke.”

The man spoke in a masculine bass.

“Truly, when I think of how Aoi is still with the criminal as we speak… I don’t

know what I’ll do.”

“I’ll help with whatever I can.”

As Chizuru said that, he looked between the faces of the two woman.

“This is the mother of the kidnapped Aoi… Akari-san.”

After Atami stepped forward to introduce her, the bob cut woman raised her

head. She seemed to be in considerable dismay, and the voice that said, “Please

working with you,” shook so much it was almost incomprehensible.

“And this is Momota Ai-san.”

Atami waved his hand at the woman in a suit.

“She stopped by the house after we got a call from the culprit. She’s Akari-san’s

younger sister, meaning, from Aoi’s point of view, she’s her aunt.”

“I’m Momota. I’m a lecturer at Yumoto Music College that Aoi attended. I

happened to come to this house by chance, only to hear of Aoi’s incident.”

“I couldn’t keep silent on it.”

Kisuke offered a supplementary explanation.

“Ai-san said she met with Aoi yesterday, so to get as many leads as possible, I

stopped her and told her about the case.”

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“I see. Then can you give me a short explanation of the case… it doesn’t seem

we have much time.”

Chizuru said in a tone more hurried than usual.

“Got it. I’ll explain things in order. First off, around nine in the morning, I got a

call from Kisuke-san.”

Atami started up. Watched over by the other three of the Aoi Household, he

quickly explained the contents of the case.

“I was surprised when I heard it was a kidnapping. I was quite close to Aoi and- I

don’t mean this in a bad way- the Sorachi House is an extremely normal house. I

still can’t believe such a dangerous tale befell it.”

“By the way, how old is Sorachi Aoi-san…”

“She’s twenty one.”

Chizuru was surprised. From the word kidnapping, hs had assumed a younger,

littler girl had been taken off.

“While she went to school as usual, she didn’t come home that evening. But as a

college student, there would surely be times when she’d come home late, the

Sorachi couple thought, so they went to sleep without waiting for her return…

to their surprise, Aoi still hadn’t returned the next morning. When they looked

in the mailbox, it seems a letter had come.”

“Right here.”

Kisuke help out the letter. Chizuru took a glance at it. ‘I have your daughter

Sorachi Aoi. If you want her back, prepare ten million yen in cash. Have Sorachi

Kisuke’s nephew carry out the delivery. If you contact the police, Sorachi Aoi’s

life is forfeit. I’ll contact you again midday.’

What’s this? Chizuru thought.

“What’s this supposed to mean? Sorachi Kisuke’s nephew would mean Atami,

right? And yet, right after requesting Atami-san, they said don’t contact the

police…”

“About that… there’s a reason.”

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Atami made a sullen face. Continuing on from his words, Kisuke spoke.

“Besides Itaru-kun, I have another nephew.”

While he really didn’t care, that was the first time Chizuru learned Atami’s first

name.

“He’s named Sorachi Takurou, and he works for a security company. It’s likely

the culprit intended for Takurou-kun to be the one handing the ransom over.

But as luck would have it, he’s currently on a vacation overseas. At the end of

my mulling, I decided to have Itaru-kun come over.”

“Even when I had a grasp on the situation, my uncle begged me not to call in my

fellow officers.”

Atami took over the explanation.

“We didn’t want to aggravate the kidnapper. Uncle Kisuke-san managed to

successfully gather ten million yen by midday. We prayed as we waited for a call

from the culprit. Precisely at noon, a call came through. Uncle Kisuke answered

the phone. He didn’t have caller ID, so at the very least, we wanted a recording,

so we put the phone on speaker and I recorded it on my smart phone. After my

uncle exchanged a few words with the culprit, they let us hear Aoi’s voice.

There’s no doubt Aoi was alive at noon.”

There, Atami’s expression clouded.

“But then the culprit asked for, ‘The ransom handler’ to switch over. Of course,

at that point, there was no choice but for me to answer the phone. When I

picked up, the culprit suddenly flew into a rage. Who are you, he asked. So I

said, ‘I’m Kisuke’s nephew Atami Itaru.’ I gave an honest answer. When I did,

the culprit screamed, ‘Quit joking around, Atami is a detective. I did my

research,’ and cut the line.”

Chizuru grimaced.

“Our kidnapper has quite the short temper.”

“Yeah. Well, they did something as outrageous as kidnapping, so there’s no way

they could be anyone decent. Anyways, that’s the situation. If we don’t hurry

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and pin down Aoi’s location, we don’t know what the culprit might do to her in a

frenzy…”

“Then why won’t you call the police?”

“Erk… you’re quite right. But Akari-san…”

Atami lent a glance to Sorachi Akari. She put her hands together as if to pray.

“Yes, I told them not to… I know, we really do have to contact the police. But if

the other party has some way of finding out, then Aoi is…”

Momota Ai sympathetically pat her elder sister on the shoulder. Akari let oud a

deep sigh, burying her face in both hands. At present, the clock read twelve fifty

five.

“This is bad… it’s been almost an hour since the kidnapper called.”

“Right. That’s why I have to hear it from all of you.”

Chizuru looked around the faces of those gathered.

“First, where and when was the last time Sorachi Aoi-san’s location was

confirmed”

“I can answer that one.”

Ai raised a hand.

“I was probably the last one who saw her. It was around eight last night, at the

university… as I said before, I’m a lecturer at Yumoyo Music College.”

Ai tapped her finger against the sofa’s armrest as she tried to recall.

“She was a vocal major, so as an instrumentalist, I didn’t teach her, but… I ran

into her in the corridor by chance. We’re aunt and niece and we get along fine.

She said she was going to go home. That was at eight.”

“I see,” Chizuru gave a light nod

“So she left Yumoto Music College at eight. From there, it’s around ten minutes

to Yumoto Station on foot, and it’s three stations from Yumoto to New Izumi

Central. The walk from Central Station to this house would be around five to ten

minutes. As long as she didn’t take any detours, from the college to Yumoto

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Station, and from Izumi Station to her house, she would have to have been

abducted on one of those routes.”

“Would that really be a lead pinning down Aoi’s location?”

Speaking as if there wasn’t a second to waste, Sorachi Akari spoke rubbing her

hands together.

“I mean, isn’t that right? If she was taken off by car, there’s no way of knowing

where she’d be.”

“Of course, that’s true. But we don’t know what information will prove useful

to…”

Chizuru was more impatient than usual as he turned the gears of his mind.

But all his effort was rendered meaningless before a single call.

A ringing suddenly sounded out. Everyone stopped their movement at once to

look at the phone. Atami exchanged a glance with Kisuke, and once the officer

nodded, Kisuke reached a hand for the receiver.

“Hello?”

Holding the receiver in his shaking hand, Kisuke let out the same deep and calm

voice as before.

‘HEY THERE. IS THAT VOICE SORACHI KISUKE-SAN, PERHAPS?’

Were they using a voice changer? It was a high and shrill, repulsing voice…

without any explanation, it was evident the call was from the kidnapper.

“That’s right.”

‘SORACHI AOI IS DEAD.’

Those words came so suddenly, everyone was left speechless. A moment passed

where it seemed as if time had stopped.

“What… was that?”

Kisuke finally let out his voice, but the culprit carried on in a cold tone.

‘THIS IS YOUR PENALTY FOR CALLING OUT A POLICE OFFICER LIKE ATAMI TO

MAKE A FOOL OR ME. HER BODY IS BEHIND YUMOTO MUSIC COLLEGE, IN THE

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COPSE. GOOD BYE.’

“Hey… oy! Wait! Oy!”

The phone line was cut. Booop, booop, once an intermittent dial tone began to

sound out, Akari covered her face.

“Nooooo! This can’t be! It can’t… Aoiiiii!!”

“Akari, calm down!”

“Noooo, Waaaaah.”

As Akari began thrashing out, Momota Ai held her down.

“Kisuke-san!”

Called out by Ai, the paralyzed Kisuke lent his power to hold Akari down.

“I-it can’t… Aoi is?”

Atami was in dismay, holding his mouth as he opened his eyes wide.

“No, that can’t… because of me…”

“Atami-san, calm down.”

Chizuru composedly placed a hand on the detective’s shoulder.

“Now that it’s come to this, the you’d better call in backup… do you have

Inspector Ibusuki’s number?”

And twenty minutes from then.

Under the orders of the prefectural police, the Yumoto City Police conducted a

search on the copse behind Yumoto Music College. In an isolate prefabricated

hut, an unconscious Sorachi Aoi was found.

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3

Above the emergency operating room, the ‘operation in progress’ light was lit.

The members gathered at Yumoto General Hospital were all making dark

expressions.

Aoi’s mother Akari, who had been a mess, was now quietly sobbing to herself.

Her husband Kisuke sat beside her on the couch in the hall, patting her back. He

was there in body, but not in spirit, as he stared at the empty wall. Akari’s sister,

Aoi’s aunt Momota Ai sat on the sofa next to theirs, holding her hands together

in prayer.

According to the doctor, she had been force-fed a large dose of sleeping pills.

Since she was found fast enough, and she had unconsciously spit some of it up,

her life wasn’t in any major danger.

Atami Itaru sat in a place separate from the other three. It was too painful to

meet eyes with his relatives, and even when he didn’t smoke, he had fled to the

smoking room. Because of the partition, he could stay without having to look at

them.

“… Officer Atami.”

As he hung his head and sat, Chizuru’s voice came from overhead. With hair

long enough to cover most of his right eye, it was generally difficult to read his

expression. Both his hands were shoved unenergetically into his hoodie.

“… What is it?”

Honestly, Atami didn’t want to converse with anyone right now. The fact that a

detective such as he had stepped forward to act as the ransom handler had

called down the kidnapper’s imperial wrath.

“Let’s talk a bit. We’re away from the other’s eyes here.”

He sat himself down beside Atami, talking without waiting for a reply.

“How is the investigation going?”

“It’s in progress. But as I was off duty to begin with, and I’m someone

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concerned, I was taken off the investigation. What’s more, because I didn’t

contact the police at an earlier stage, Ibusuki-san glared at me… no, more

importantly.”

Atami dug his nails into his two crossed arms.

“I really did something bad to Aoi. Just how much of a fool was I? The culprit’s

letter said, ‘Don’t contact the police’ quite clearly. And yet why did I have to go

answer the phone? There should have been other ways to go about it… ah,

because of me, Aoi…”

“About that, but can I say something? Think over it again.”

Chizuru turned his upper body towards Atami, peering into his eyes. Atami

almost felt as if he was being sucked into his black pupils.

“Why did the culprit keep specifying the ransom handler as, ‘Sorachi Kisuke’s

nephew’? He knew you were a detective, didn’t he?”

“That’s because… Uncle Kisuke has another nephew. I said it, right?”

“Then he could have just specified Sorachi Takurou by name. He knew there

were two nephews, and one of them was a police detective. Knowing that,

would he really give such a vague order?”

“… He wrote not to contact the police, so there’s no way I would be called.

Perhaps he tied together the two notions?”

“But that’s no reason to purposely make the orders so vague. First off, why

would someone who investigated the circumstances of the Sorachi House to

such an extent not know Sorachi Takurou’s name, or the fact he was off

overseas?”

Chizuru’s languid tone grew stronger for the first time.

“T-that’s… I wonder why.”

“There are still more peculiar points. Even before that comes into question,

there’s the very fact the culprit specified someone from the outside to hand

over the ransom. For a kidnapper who wanted to finish things in secret, keeping

fewer people concerned would lower the risk.”

“… I thought perhaps he planned to make the delivery man do something only a

young man could so. You often see it in movies, don’t you? Saying they have to

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evade the police, the kidnapper gives all sorts of unreasonable demands. That

sort of development.”

“You’re right. And in those, the culprit often ends up being someone surprisingly

close to the main character.”

Atami opened his eyes wide.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Preparing ten million yen at once is amazing. Normally, there’s a limit to how

much money one can withdraw in one transaction. And it’s golden week right

now, so the manned bank tellers aren’t open. In such a situation, I’m surprised

they could prepare such a fortune in under half a day.”

“My uncle’s the manager of a small factory. In the bank, he has his money

spread across multiple accounts.”

“No matter how meticulous the culprit may be, would he be able to learn that

much?”

Chizuru gave a bitter smile.

“There’s another thing that’s bothering me. Why didn’t the culprit use her

phone last night to send the Sorachi Family a message?”

“The culprit send a message? Was there really a need for that?”

“I mean, the Sorachi couple slept without waiting for their daughter’s return so

all was well and good, but what if they chose to wait? Worrying for the daughter

who never came home, they might have reached for the police. The kidnapper

should’ve pretended to be Aoi-san, and sent a mail that she would be home late

in order to avoid that risk.”

“The phone was probably locked, so they couldn’t open it.”

“I see, that’s one way of looking at it. To look at another possibility… from the

start, the culprit knew the Sorachis would retire without waiting for their

daughter, perhaps? That’s something no outsider would know.”

Atami grew irritated at Chizuru, reflexively standing from his seat.

“Hey, so what is it you want to say? You want to say the culprit is within our

family?”

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Chizuru looked Atami straight in the eye and agreed.

“Exactly.”

“… What!?”

“In the first place, I can’t feel an intent to steal money from the culprit in this

case. They angrily cut the line the moment you answered the phone, and from

there they waited forty five minutes before calling again, going out of their way

to tell us Aoi-san’s location. That isn’t quite normal.”

“A person with a decent head wouldn’t conduct a kidnapping to begin with. As a

detective, I’ll assure you.”

“You’re not in a decent state right now either. I know you’re shaken. But are you

listening? Try thinking about this calmly. The bizarre orders for the ransom

handler inevitably called out a police officer, and taking advantage of that, they

used a skillful lead to make sure negotiations had broken down.”

“T-that’s…”

“From the start, their objective was Sorachi Aoi’s murder. Though luckily that

ended at an attempt.”

“That’s not possible!”

After Atami cried out, he remembered he was in a hospital, and lowered his

voice.

“… Aoi was treasured by her both parents and her aunt Ai. There’s no way they

would kill her.”

“So it’s impossible? Murder for an insurance payment isn’t too rare of a story.”

Atami flared up, grasping the chest of Chizuru’s hoodie, and speaking in a vice of

contained anger.

“Oy, quite screwing around. Where in the world would you find parents who’d

kill their college daughter for money?”

“I didn’t say the Sorachi couple were the culpr… Atami-san, you’re strangling

me.”

“In the first place, the Sorachi family doesn’t have any need to get their hands

on a large… sum of… money…”

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Atami blankly released his hands.

couching as he held his neck tight, “So they do,” Chizuru carelessly responded.

“… At Uncle Kisuke’s factory, three months ago there was a problem where

foreign material was mixed into their product. The claim was spread on a

message board, and it became quite a big deal. The mixing was the blunder of a

newbie, it seems, but the world isn’t so kind. On top of paying all sorts of

reparations, the orders from their main contractor have dropped close to zero,

and their sales figures are plummeting. They’re tearfully laying off their long-

time comrades, and they even have some debt. Aoi’s continued attendance of

an expensive technical school honestly put the family in some financial straits.

But…”

Atami’s words cut of there. The more words he added on, the more it seemed

to prove Chizuru’s point, so he was afraid to say any more. Atami turned his

back to the boy.

“I still think the culprit is an irrelevant outsider.”

“Is that so.”

Chizuru spoke as if he didn’t care what Atami’s opinion was at all.

“But… I definitely do think there’s something stinks behind this case. The culprit

hasn’t been caught yet, and… more than anything, I’m the one who dragged you

into this mess. Investigate until your satisfied.”

“No, I won’t be investigating. Shat are you talking about? That sounds like a

pain.”

Atami slipped and hit his head on the wall.

“What’s wit that!? If you’re not interested, then don’t make it sound like it!”

“No, no, all I did was level-headedly point out some facts. I couldn’t help but

grow anxious as I watched over you. I thought I’d you a push in the right

direction.”

“B-bastard… how far will you go to make a fool of me.”

Atami’s fist was trembling, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel any hatred

towards Chizuru.

123

“Fine, got it… I’ll keep what you said in mind.”

At that moment, the smart phone in Atami’s breast pocket began to ring. When

he immediately took it out, “This is a hospital,” Chizuru cautioned him. You can

make a call on that terrace over there, he added on.

Going out to the terrace, Atami answered the phone at once. It was from his

superior, Police Inspector Ibusuki.

“It’s Atami.”

‘Took you long enough!’

Ibusuki, despite being a woman had a low voice that pierced through Atami’s

ear.

‘Good grief, you’re properly staying on standby at the hospital, right?’

“Of course I am.”

‘I see… I hope you understand the weight of responsibility that lies with what

you did, or rather what you didn’t do.’

“I understand it fully. If I had properly contacted the police the moment I knew a

kidnapping had taken place…”

‘Looks like you’ve got it, good grief. Otherwise, we might not have a death on

our hands.’

“… What was that?”

‘But so be it. Get over to the crime scene. At this very moment, in the copse you

found Sorachi Aoi’s body, the remains of a young man were discovered… they

do seem to belong to the one who kidnapped Aoi.’

Atami dropped his smart phone.

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4

Atami loaded Chizuru into his car, and hurried to the scene.

“My house is right inside Yumoto City, so if you could just drop me somewhere

along the way to the Music College.”

Was what Chizuru had to say. Since Atami couldn’t quite take him to the scene,

he had no objections. Anyways, he needed to cover up the fact he got Chizuru

involved in the case. He also insisted to his uncle Sorachi Kisuke not to tell the

police anything about the existence of a high school detective suddenly thrown

into the case.

“… Hey, Chizuru-kun. Do you still suspect the people of the Sorachi Household?”

In his car, Atami struck up a conversation with Chizuru. He had already informed

him of the contents of the call with Ibusuki.

“Yes.”

“You don’t know when to give up. They found a culprit who committed suicide.”

“There’s no guarantee they’re the culprit.”

Atami breathed out a sigh.

“I’ve tried thinking over it for a while now, but the culprit being inside Aoi’s

family is becoming increasingly implausible. You say the kidnapping was in order

to kill Aoi, but that’s impossible. Physically impossible, I mean.”

“And how’s that?”

“I mean, isn’t it true? I was there both times the Sorachi couple received a call

from the kidnapper. On the second time, you were there too. There’s no way

one of them could have been the caller.”

“I was definitely there to hear the second call. But the culprit spoke quite one-

sidedly before cutting the line. Someone could have called with a cellphone in

their pocket, and played a recorded message… or something like that, you see it

occasionally in cop dramas.”

“That’s out of the question.”

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As they turned onto Yumoto Boulevard, a red light turned to block their way.

Atami slowly applied pressure to the brakes.

“On the first call, in order to prove to us Aoi was still alive, they let her speak

into the receiver. And we were able to carry out a conversation more or less.”

“… Could I have a listen to it? You recorded the call, didn’t you?”

“Very well.”

Atami handed his smart phone to Chizuru. Starting up the voice memo app, he

opened up the data in question. It started at Kisuke’s voice as he answered the

phone.

‘Hello?’

‘… HEY THERE. YOU’RE SORACHI KISUKE-SAN, RIGHT? THE ONE WHO ABDUCTED

SORACHI AOI WAS ME.’

A voice like a frog croaking its lungs out. Chizuru could tell it was the same one

he heard in the second call.

‘S-so you’re…’ Sorachi Kisuke’s thick voice was shaking in rage.

‘DON’T WORRY, DON’T WORRY. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I DO HOPE YOU

PROPERLY CALLED YOUR NEPHEW OVER.’

‘Y-yeah… but wait a second. Let me hear Aoi’s voice, I’m begging you!’

‘… WELL, WELL, WELL, NOW THERE’S A GOOD PARENT. WHY NOT.’

Zzhkkh, there was a little bit of noise mixed in, and after a while, the voice of a

young woman leaked through.

‘D-daddy…?’

As all fell to dead silence, that thin voice alone flowed in.

‘Aoi!’

‘That’s you, right daddy… daddy, I’m sorry. I was…’

‘You don’t have to apologize, Aoi! More importantly, are you hurt? I’ll bring the

money over at once.’

‘I’m sorr…’

126

Khh, zsh, some more noise. Sorachi Aoi’s voice was cut off, and the frog spoke

once more.

‘ISN’T THAT ENOUGH? ANYWAYS, THE MONEY. I’LL GIVE MY ORDERS TO THE

ONE WHO’LL HAND THE MONEY OVER, SO GET YOUR NEPHEW ON THE LINE!’

‘Y-yes…’

This time it was Atami’s voice at the receiver.

‘H-hello. I’m Sorachi Kisuke’s nephew Atami.’

‘… ATAMI?’

The frog suddenly grew displeased.

‘QUIT JOKING AROUND!’ The frog roared. “ATAMI ITARU IS A DETECTIVE. WHO

DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? I PROPERLY DID MY RESEARCH! I DIDN’T MEAN THAT

NEPHEW! THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT TO MAKING FUN OF SOMEONE!”

And click, the phone was slammed down. As if waiting for that moment, the

light turned green, and Atami accelerated his car

“… Is how it went.”

“I understand well. I see, that was quite interesting.”

Chizuru gazed out the window in thought.

“Not only Uncle Kisuke-san, I also held a conversation with the culprit. It

definitely couldn’t have been a recording. Or are you going to make me out as

an accomplice?”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

Said Chizuru in a voice that could either be joking or serious.

“Well, even if I didn’t lend thought to such a thing, if there was a culprit apart

from the Sorachis, that would make matters much easier.”

“It couldn’t be you suspect Momota Ai-san as well?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because when it comes to people involved in this incident, she’s the only other

one. But she’s innocent. It’s true she wasn’t at the Sorachi house during the first

127

call… but she was properly there the second time. And more than anything, she

doesn’t have a motive. She’s not a person of the house, so even if her older

sister Akari came into some insurance money, it would be irrelevant to her.”

“Well, there’s no guarantee that insurance money is the motive, but… more

importantly, Atami-san. The crime scene was a prefab hut, right? Behind

Yumoto Music College.”

“Yes, that’s right… is that an important fact?”

But without answering, Chizuru pointed at an apartment complex approaching

them from the front.

“Ah, there. Right over there.”

Chizuru motioned for him to pull over. Atami stopped the car, gazing blankly at

the apartment complex Chizuru pointed out.

“… Something wrong?”

As Chizuru got down from the car, he stared fixatedly at Atami.

“N-no… I was just musing that the chief detective lived in quite a plebian place.”

“I don’t get what you’re saying.”

“I mean Chizuru-kun, you’re the son of the head of the criminal affairs

department, Kirishima Kankurou, aren’t you?”

“I am, but I never said a word about living with him. In the first place, I’ve

severed ties.”

“Hah? What does that…”

“Thank you for dropping me off.”

The passenger seat door was sealed by Chizuru’s sluggish motions. It wasn’t

closed properly.

128

“You’re late, Atami.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Glared at by his superior Ibusuki, Atami scratched his head. She was so scary he

averted his eyes, but Ibusuki clicked her tongue and ordered him to look over.

“You’ll get your lecture later. More importantly, have a look at the body.”

The copse behind Yumoto Music College. Even further in than the prefabricated

house where Aoi was, a blue light motor vehicle was parked. If you entered the

trees head-on, a car wouldn’t make it this far. The individual who rode it

probably came in from the other side.

Thinking over such a thing, Atami looked into the car.

The body of a young man still in his early twenties sat quietly in the driver’s

seat.

Brown-dyed hair, and flashy piercings. An open black jacket, perhaps they were

called ripped jeans, but there were holes in his pants. A youth whose

appearance made one think he was living a rambunctious lifestyle… it was a face

Atami didn’t know. His eyes turned to the passenger seat. There was a charcoal

brazier with its coals burnt out. Come to think of it, the inside of the car was still

smoky. In the cup holder on the driver’s side was a bottle of mineral water, and

at his feet was a spilled-over bottle of what was presumably sleeping pills.

“Oy.”

Ibusuki grabbed the nape of Atami’s jacket, pulling him out of the car.

“All I wanted was for you to look at the victim’s face. The face is enough. So

does he look familiar?”

“N-no… not at all.”

“I see. Well, I thought as much. The truth is, after I called you up, we found the

man’s wallet among the things in his trunk… Shirahama-san.”

“Yes.”

At Ibusuki’s call, the forensics investigator Shirahama Yayoi let her braided hair

sway as she ran over. On Ibusuki’s orders, she took out the wallet in question. It

129

was a leather one, too expensive-looking for a youth to carry around. Yayoi

probed through it and took out a single card.

“This is… a student ID for Yumoto Music College!?”

“That’s how it is. Meaning this kidnapper… Murasaki Kinichirou’s his name, it

seems… he was a student in the same class as Sorachi Aoi. And…”

As Ibusuki jerked her chin, Yayoi immediately dived into the wallet’s inner

pocket, and showed it to Atami.

“T-this is…”

What came out of the wallet was a number of pictures containing Sorachi Aoi.

Aoi sipping a drink at what looked like a café terrace. Aoi walking around

campus. Aoi playing with her phone at the train platform…

“From how the subject is depicted, it can be assumed she was not aware these

photos were being taken.”

“T-then this guy was stalking Aoi?”

Ibusuki openly showed her disdain.

“I can only presume. If he was a malignant stalker, it wouldn’t be strange for

him to look into her house situation and area of activity to set up some vile

scheme. We’ve found a few more pieces of evidence pointing to his offense.”

“Evidence?”

As Atami repeated, Ibusuki casually nodded and explained.

“First, from Murasaki’s car, we found a cell phone. Looking at its call record, it

made calls to the Sorachi residence at the problematic times in question. To add

onto that, there was a voice changer in the back seat. That might prove

conclusive.”

“I see… a kidnapper’s tools of the trade.”

As Atami nodded, Atami pat the knees of her suit and stood.

“Atami, let’s go.”

“Eh? Aren’t we investigating the crime scene?”

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“We’ve almost finished the investigation, and if any of the remaining members

find anything important, I’ll be informed. For now, that’s right. Let’s go to

Yumoto Hospital and check up on the victim’s state as we hear out those

involved. Now let’s get to it. We’re using my car, I brought it here.”

I also came by car… he was felt with the urge to object, but the current Atami

wasn’t in a state where he could go against Ibusuki. By his delayed contact of his

coworkers in a kidnapping incident, his standing within the prefectural police

had fallen to the absolute worst. If the matter with Chizuru also came to light,

he would be disciplined for letting a civilian intervene in a criminal case, and

disclosing information.

Ibusuki took the passengers’ seat. Atami was left the drivers’ seat. While he was

taken off the investigation, it seemed he still had to drive.

Enduring a sigh, Atami left his own car in the grove as he started up Ibusuki’s.

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5

Having just come in the opposite direction from the hospital, Atami was

beginning to wonder if he ever had to go to the scene at all. But looking at his

superior crossing her arms in blatant displeasure over in the passenger seat, he

wasn’t quite able to say it aloud.

Perhaps by the aid of Golden Week, Yumoto Boulevard was more crowded than

ever before. As he waited for the line of cars to advance, Atami could no longer

bear the silence, and opened his mouth.

“Was it really suicide that did him in?”

“judging by that scene, I can’t see it any other way.”

“But that culprit… Murasaki Kinichirou, was it? Why would he commit suicide?”

“It’s as clear as day, isn’t it?” Ibusuki said in a crabby voice. “On top of

kidnapping, he ended up committing murder. It was his feeling of guilt. Of

course, Sorachi Aoi didn’t die, but the culprit misunderstood and led himself on

a guilty conscience.”

“That’s right. But even so, there are a number of strange points about…”

“Atami.”

Ibusuki turned her face towards the driver’s seat, lording over her subordinate.

“You need to cut it out already. After taking so much arbitrary action, don’t stick

your mouth into our investigation. Have some awareness that you’ve been

taken off this case.”

It really was as she said, so without any room for debate, Atami closed his

mouth. Right, that he was accompanying her to the hospital wasn’t as an

investigator, it was just as a person related to the case.

Once the two detectives reached the fourth floor of Yumoto General Hospital-

the floor with the emergency surgery room- Momota Ai noticed them and ran

over.

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“Ah, Itaru-kun! Come over, it looks like they’ve finished pumping Aoi’s

stomach.”

Ai called him by his first name, and pulled his hand. Ibusuki and Atami

exchanged a glance and ran forward.

In front of the operating room, Akari cried tears of joy while Kisuke pat her on

the back. Kisuke’s eyes were a little red as well, as he incessantly offered his

thanks to the doctor standing nearby.

“I’m Ibusuki of the police force… are you her attending doctor?”

Presenting her badge and police notebook, Ibusuki said it briskly. Knowing Aoi

was related to an incident, the doctor’s face tensed up. Ibusuki asked about

Aoi’s condition. He tensed his lip and nodded.

“She’s fine now. I think she’ll soon be in a state where she can talk, but she’s

still delirious, so I’ll have to observe her condition before I can tell you if a

meeting is possible or not.”

“Thank you… well, I can understand she’s received a psychological shock as well.

There’s no need to rush it.”

At Ibusuki’s words, the doctor gave a large nod, leaving after a bow.

“… Now then, while we wait for her recovery… there are some things I’d like to

talk with you all about.”

Ibusuki looked at the Sorachi couple and Ai. They all accepted with stiff faces.

Borrowing a meeting room of the hospital, the five crowded around a table.

Having gotten the crux of it all from Atami, Ibusuki wanted to get further details

from those involved.

“To summarize, Momota Ai-san. You only visited the Sorachi House by chance…

is that how it is?”

“Yes,”Ai agreed.

“I made a promise with Aoi-chan yesterday. That’s I drop by her house today to

return the CD she lent me… I never thought it would come to this.”

“I see… by the way, Kisuke-san, I heard that their was a contamination incident

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at the factory you manage, and… if you’ll excuse me, despite being in such a

harsh situation, you were able to prepare the ransom money?”

“Yes, just barely. That ten million yen was meant to be payed as reparations for

the contamination incident… but it goes without saying that my daughter’s life is

more important.”

Kisuki gave a haggard answer.

Atami couldn’t think that Kisuke’s words were a lie. Even if they didn’t have

alibis, it really was hard to believe the notion the culprit was among them.

“… Now then, let’s get onto the main topic.”

Ibusuki hit her hands together.

“Do you know of a young man called Murasaki Kinichirou?”

The expressions of all those involved besides Atami turned stiff.

“Why… do you know about him?”

Sorachi Kisuke asked the contrary. “So you do know about him?” Ibusuki asked

obstinately. “I know him,” Kisuke hastily answered.

“Is it alright for me to assume all three of you know him?”

Kisuke, Akari, and Ai exchanged a glance as they nodded.

“Then I must ask how you came to know about him.”

“Around a month ago, Aoi came to consult with me. She said she was troubled

about someone following her around.”

Akari spat the words out.

“So he’s one of those so-called stalkers?”

“… That sounds about right. It seems our daughter turned him down when he

confessed. After that, he’d strike up conversation all throughout the college,

calling her persistently, it seems. Aoi was truly troubled, and even if she rejected

him, he wouldn’t listen. It was the first time she ever consulted with me.”

“And I heard of the matter from my wife.”

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Said Kisuke. Ai carried on from there.

“My sister consulted with me on the matter. If as a lecturer, there was anything

I could do about it. But honestly, I didn’t have anything to do with him. We were

both in instruments, my specialty was flute, while he was on the strings… that’s

how it is, so there wasn’t much I could do. Or rather.”

A wrinkle graced Ai’s brow as she went on irritantly.

“I wasn’t in a position where I could say any more against that Murasaki

Kinichirou.”

“Did Murasaki hold authority on campus?”

To Ibusuki’s question, Ai stiffened her thin lips and gave a nod.

“He’s the son of Board Chairman Murasaki. The man’s also president of Violette

Music Japan… one of the leading record companies. And Kinichirou’s an

outrageous slacker, you see. Everyone’s whispering that he only got in with

connections… I really feel sorry for Aoi. Being followed around by a guy like

that.”

For Ai to spill so much toxicity from a lecturer’s position, Murasaki must’ve been

considerably notorious. A single question came to Atami’s mind.

“As I recall, Aoi was in vocals, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, she was in the same circle as him. The theater circle. But he was just too

persistent, so around three weeks ago, Aoi ended up quitting the circle.”

“… I see. Whatever the case he held ambivalent emotions towards Aoi-san.”

As a sign of her understanding, Ibusuki hit her finger against the desk.

Ai’s eyebrows narrowed in confusion, “Um,” she started out.

“What does this mean? Why is he becoming a problem now? Hey, it couldn’t

be…”

“It very well could. He is thought to be the culprit who Aoi-san.”

“Eeeh!?”

Akari cried out. Beside her, Kisuke was staring in wonder.

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“Was that a surprise? But you see, the culprit was strangely knowledgeable on

the affairs of the Sorachi House. We’re dealing with a stalker here. Or could it be

you have any other close person who might have plotted a kidnapping?”

“Quit it, we don’t have anyone like that.”

Akari let out a pitiful groan. Really? Ibusuki’s eyes sought confirmation. As a

dubious air descended on everyone gathered, “Maybe…” Ai came out.

“Sure enough, if it’s Murasaki… maybe his grudge led him to do such a terrible

thing.”

“I don’t really get it, but the fact the police suspect that… Murasaki-kun means

you must have some evidence, right?”

Kisuke spoke with prudence. Ibusuki lent a big nod to his perceptiveness.

“In the trees a little away from where Aoi-san was found, he was discovered as a

corpse.”

While he had drawn closer, Kisuke’s face was colored in surprise.

“Seems he made his car airtight, and suffocated himself in it. In the car, we

found a phone and a voice changer. The phone had a call log to the Sorachi

House. At the problematic times the kidnapper called…”

Everyone in the room exchanged looks.

“How could this be. Then there’s no doubt he’s the culprit, right?”

Kisuke’s voice was more severe than usual.

“But for him to die and flee to the other world… how cowardly.”

Akari was enraged.

“Well, whatever the case, the culprit is gone. While there’s still much to think

about, all that’s left is to pray for Aoi’s recovery.”

Aoi let out a relieved breath. The moment she said that, as if measuring the

timing, a knock came at the door. Aoi’s presiding physician entered the room.

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“Aoi-san regained consciousness around ten minutes ago, and she’s under

careful examination. It seems she’ll soon be in a state where she can speak.

You’ll probably be able to meet her in about an hour.”

On the doctor’s words, those concerned raised cries of joy.

Atami was relieved to the depths of his heart, but he couldn’t stop observing

the behavior of the people before his eyes. The ‘criminal in the family theory’

Chizuru had spoken of was stuck in his head, and if hadn’t left.

Even when their alibies were perfect.

Even when to them, Aoi was surely a treasured existence.

Atami couldn’t bear it anymore as he stood. Going out to the terrace where

phones were allowed, Atami gave Chizuru an update.

Of course, he had no obligation, but all information that had come out worked

in favor of Murasaki Kinichirou’s guilt, and he wanted to hear Chizuru himself

say he’d given up on the criminal in the family theory. Or perhaps because he’d

involved him himself this time around, he at least had an obligation to reduce

the stress of the boy in a position where he couldn’t gain any information, so he

decided on his own.

“… That’s how it is, so in all probability, the culprit is Murasaki Kinichorou.”

One-sidedly finishing his talk, Atami made a silence to wait for a rebuttal.

Across the phone, he had a feeling Chizuru was smiling.

‘I see, so that’s how it is. I think I’ve got the gist of it.’

Atami felt like screaming out.

“W-wait a second! Are you trying to say there’s a separate culprit?”

‘That’s right. For argument’s sake, I have a hunch. But I don’t have any evidence,

you see. If you tell me about your talk with Aoi-san, I’m sure some evidence will

come out.’

“I can’t believe it. But I’m sure she’s seen the culprit, so even if Murasaki is

innocent, there’s no room for you to work your reasoning.”

As he said it cynically, Chizuru let out a strange laugh.

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“Oy, what was that?”

‘No, well anyways, listen to what Aoi-san has to say. She’ll probably say she

doesn’t know the culprit. Aoi-san hasn’t once seen the culprit’s face.’

And why do you know that, he wanted to say, but Chizuru arbitrarily said, ‘Then

please call me again,’ and hung up.

“Dammit, why…”

Atami didn’t know what was going on, breaking into a squat on the spot.

The winds that had calmed around noon were starting to blow again.

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6

Atami went back inside, heading to the bathroom before returning to the

meeting room.

All the while, his thoughts raced over the case, but he couldn’t reach any answer

that seemed to fit the bill.

“As I thought, it’s because everyone had an alibi…”

Right, on top of their being no plausible suspects apart from the Sorachi couple

and Momota Ai, the problem was the perfection of their alibis. There wasn’t any

room for doubt.

“But Chizuru-kun’s never been wrong before…”

Atami agonized over it.no matter who he made out as the culprit, it never

ended well. He felt as if he was challenging an abstruse puzzle.

As he groaned and left the bathroom, he saw Ibusuki return from the terrace.

She had passed right by him as he went in to use her phone.

“Ah… looks like you’re working hard.”

Meeting eyes with his superior, he ended up giving an absent-minded greeting.

Ibusuki silently stared back at him. Things were growing awkward, and just as

Atami was about to head for the meeting rrom, “Wait,” Ibusuki stopped him.

“Do you think Murasaki Kenichirou is the culprit?”

On the sudden question, Atami hesitated. And knowing the investigation team’s

findings pointed towards Murasaki as the culprit, he flattered the notion by

saying, “That does seem to be the case”

But Ibusuki scoffed.

“Spare me the lies. From your tone all the way to this hospital, you have

suspicions there’s something lying beneath this incident.”

“Erk…”

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So she noticed after all. Well to tell the truth, the one with suspicions wasn’t

Atami but Chizuru, but he couldn’t quite be upfront about it, so Atami stayed

silent.

“Of course, I noticed some strange points about this case as well.”

Ibusuki put a hand to her hip, standing as if to emphasize her long legs as she

spoke.

“How unreasonable the culprit’s demands were, and how we were intentionally

led to the scene of Aoi’s injury. Among various other things.”

“That’s right! It’s downright bizarre.”

When he didn’t even suspect it himself, he agreed in Chizuru’s stead.

“However Murasaki was undoubtedly the culprit behind this case.”

Ibusuki said flatly.

“W-why can you say that?”

“The follow-up report on the investigation just came in. First, Murasaki’s time of

death. It was sometime from twelve thirty to one… meaning, right after he

called to report Aoi’s murder, Murasaki died himself. At the time, all those

concerned with the case were gathered at the Sorachi House. There wasn’t any

time for anyone to drug Aoi or kill Murasaki.”

“W-why do you thing I’m suspecting those involved?”

Atami asked in surprise. But Ibusuki looked at him with cold eyes, “I can tell

something like that from your attitude. Back at the meeting room, you were

observing them the whole time,” she said. It seems he couldn’t fool her eyes.

“Second, they analyzed the culprit’s letter delivered to the Sorachi House. By

looking into any place with a plausible connection to Murasaki, they were able

to tell which printer it was printed from.”

“So… what printer was it?”

“Yumoto Music College’s study room printer. Of course, it was a free space

within the college, so it’s not like an outside couldn’t sneak in, but the risk of

infiltrating would be way too high. I don’t think we’re mistaken to assume the

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culprit had relations to the university… and of course, as a student, Murasaki

has those relations.”

After thinking a bit, “However,” Atami refuted.

“Let’s say Murasaki is the culprit. That doesn’t explain the culprit’s demands.”

“Why don’t you try looking at it like this? Murasaki’s objective wasn’t the

ransom money, he wanted to murder Sorachi Aoi from the start.”

Ibusuki wagged her long finger as she explained.

“Eeh!?

“Is it really that surprising? But you see, Murasaki was always at Sorachi Aoi’s

side, constantly following her around. If his twisted expression of love is what

brought about this incident, then the probability he was never after the money

to begin with is high.”

Which means, or so Ibusuki put it all together.

“From the start, Murasaki Kinichirou planned to die if he fulfilled his objective.

His objective of killing Sorachi Aoi… in other words, this was a forced double

suicide.”

“S-say what!?”

“It’s not impossible. Well, the reason he went out of his way to dress it as a

kidnapping is still a mystery, but… tormenting Aoi’s family; perhaps the act held

such sadistic implications. And if he was resolved to die from the start, that

would give a reason as to why he went out of his way to give Aoi’s location.”

“… Meaning?”

“If Aoi’s location was known, naturally the police would search the area. If they

did, then naturally his own remains would be found… if he kept quiet about

Aoi’s containment facility, they wouldn’t find his own dead body. Murasaki

called in a desire to avoid that. The form of your own decaying body isn’t one

you’d quite want to show off to others, is it?”

Hearing Ibusuki’s explanation, Atami felt it had quite a bit of persuasive power

to it. There were a few parts that seemed to be pushing it, but she had prepared

an answer to most of the points he’d been questioning.

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“I see…”

As Atami felt himself leaking a sigh of admiration, a doctor raced over.

“Detective, so this is where you were. That’s good. You’ll be able to talk to

Sorachi Aoi in a few minutes.”

On the sickbed, Sorachi Aoi’s long-eyelashed eyes were thinly opened, looking

towards the two detectives. Of the two sitting near her bed, she first looked at

Atami.

“… Itaru-kun.”

“Aoi, are you alright?”

Like older brother and sister, the two called each other’s names.

“I’m sure you were scared. But you’re fine now. Anyways, there’s nothing left

for you to worry about.”

Aoi nodded, perplexed at Atami’s strong words, “Yes… but what…” she said.

Ibusuki hit her hands together. When getting a situation in order, or to draw

attention, it was her habit.

“I’m Atami’s superior, Ibusuki. Anyways, let’s explain the situation.”

Starting with the threatening letter delivered to the Sorachi House, the call with

the kidnapper, finding Aoi, finding Murasaki’s remains, the things pointing to

him as the culprit… Ibusuki told her approximately everything.

Looking at the clock, Atami sighed in admiration once more. For such a load of

information, Ibusuki had managed to convey it in ninety seconds. What’s more,

precisely, and in a way easy to understand and follow.

Having finished listening to Ibusuki’s story, Aoi quietly closed her eyes. Was she

tired, Atami suspected, but tears fell from both Aoi’s eyes.

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“Is that so… Murasaki-kun was the culprit… and he’s dead.”

“Is it a shock?”

On Atami’s question, Aoi shook her head on the bed.

“I don’t know. I don’t get it. I don’t understand anything about him.”

“There’s no helping it.”

Ibusuki spoke in a troubled tone, but Atami saw her opening and closing her fist

on her lap. That was the sign she was growing restless.

“W-well then… Aoi, could you please tell us what happened?”

Atami sent some preemptive help. Aoi blinked her tear-covered eyes a few

times.

“… Is today May fourth?”

“It is.”

“I see, then it happened yesterday… Yesterday, on my way home from school…

it was around eight. I talked with my aunt Ai-san a bit, left the college, and

headed over to Yumoto station. But it was night and dark… as I was passing

through a deserted parking lot, a cloth was suddenly pushed over my mouth

from behind… I think I lost consciousness.”

“So you were forced to sniff chemical… and then?”

Atami urged her on. Aoi’s eyes narrowed.

“And then… next time I woke, I was blindfolded. I didn’t know whether it was

day or night, I was scared. My arms and legs were tied up, and I could tell I was

lying on some dusty concrete. My mouth was shut with packaging tape or

something. But I couldn’t tell anything else…”

Aoi finished by closing her eyes. Painfully, she continued with them shut.

“I don’t know how long I was there, but a long time later, I heard a sound… and

a while later, I heard a voice. It sounded like a man’s voice, and they were

talking on the phone. Did you call for your nephew? they asked. And… it seems

they pushed the phone up against me. ‘say something, it’s your old man’ they

143

said, and peeled off the tape. Since I was blindfolded, I didn’t know what was

going on.”

She sucked in a deep breath of air. Perhaps her breathing was pained. After

around ten seconds she opened her eyes and started back up.

“I said something in a daze… the phone was taken away, and my mouth was

blocked up again. I heard an angry scream from the culprit… then it went quiet

again. I remained lying down afraid… ten minutes, twenty, a long passed, until

suddenly, the tape was ripped off my mouth again… I was forced to swallow

something along with water, and I think I was slammed against the floor… and

when I came to, I was here.”

Once Aoi ended her story, she coughed a bit and grimaced.

“Meaning from start to finish, you were blindfolded, bound and unable to do

anything. The only time you ever talked was on the phone.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m sure it was hard on you… did you ever see the culprit?”

“I didn’t. Not once…”

Ibusuki scratched her hair.

“Is that so… did the voice belong to Murasaki Kinichirou?”

“Umm… I was terrified, and I don’t really remember, but I think it sounded

similar. Um, is it true that Murasaki-kun is the culprit? There hasn’t been a

mistake?”

“That does seem to be the case.”

Hearing Ibusuki’s unemotional words, Aoi took a long sigh.

“Is that… so… I still can’t believe it.”

“Give it some time. You’ve just been through something terrible.”

When Ibusuki was about to ask her next questions, the doctor entered the room

to inform them it was time. Ibusuki bit her lip in irritation but, there’s no helping

it, she shrugged her shoulders and stood.

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“I’m sorry for having you speak so much not long after your surgery. After

you’ve calmed down, I’ll ask you for some more details.”

“Yes. Thank you… Itaru-kun, I’m sorry for doing this when you’re supposed to be

off duty. It seems I’ve dragged you in.”

“No, don’t worry about me. Rather, did I tell you I would be off duty?

“I heard it when we went out for tea the other day. Me, you and father, the

three of us.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

With a look of, hey, you’re coming too, Ibusuki sent Atami off. Atami got the

feeling he still had a lot of things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t put any of

them into words.

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7

After the meeting was over and he had left the sickroom, Atami grew curious

and tossed a question at Ibusuki.

“Um, Ibusuki-san. There was something I was wondering.”

“… What is it this time?”

“Aoi’s mouth and eyes were sealed, and her limbs were bound, right? But when

we found her, Aoi didn’t have any of that on her. What could that mean?”

Ibusuki’s lips bent as if to say, oh that.

“We found all the tools that were used to bind her. They were all collected

together in a corner of the house where she was drugged. Um, to be more

precise… There was a cloth likely used to cover her eyes… we detected traces of

her eyelashes… and three used strips of packing tape. They were likely used on

the mouth, hands and legs.”

“Meaning after the culprit forced pills down Aoi’s throat, he took them all off…

why would he do that?”

“Who knows? Maybe he felt it was too pitiful to let her die in such an unsightly

state?”

Would Aoi’s stalker take that into consideration… the thought crossed Atami’s

mind.

“Anyways, don’t try to aimlessly drag on this case… I’m returning to

headquarters. For now, just keep a low profile.”

Ibusuki turned her back as if to thrust him away. Once Atami answered, “Yes,”

she took her leave.

Giving some moderate parting words to the people of the Sorachi House before

returning to the parking lot. Taking out his phone, he hesitated a bit. After

opening and closing his contacts a few times, he carried on internal conflict for

around three minutes before half-recklessly giving Chizuru a call.

After a few rings, Chizuru picked up.

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‘Atami-san. So how was it? Find anything?’

“Good grief, it was just as you said. Aoi never saw the culprit.”

Atami informed Chizuru of Aoi’s testimony he had just procured. The high

school detective on the other end provokingly answered, so it stands to reason.

“Hey, I give up already. Just what’s going on with this case? I can’t tell what’s

what anymore.”

After a bit of silence, ‘Well let’s see, if you look at the crime scene, I think you’ll

find something peculiar that will connect you to the culprit.’

“The scene? Is there something there?”

‘Perhaps, we’re just speaking hypotheticals here. You might just find a large

piece of evidence. Decisive evidence the culprit would definitely never be able

to dodge.’

“… I see. Very well.”

Atami said in desperation. Whatever will be will be.

“Then I’ll come to get you. Stay where you are.”

‘No way. I don’t want to move, and just sending me pictures enough. I’m sure

it'll be a lot easier if you’re the only one who goes to the crime scene.’

Even as he sighed at the lazy high school detective’s arrogance, Atami had no

reason to object.

“Got it. Then wait for some photos.”

Atami boarded a taxi and returned to the copse behind Yumoyo Music College.

It seemed forensics had pretty much finished their investigations, as the team

was pulling out. A single officer on lookout remained, but after Atami informed

him of his position as detective of the prefectural police and showed his badge,

he was let in.

He set foot into the hut. Dusty and disorderly, the building apparently belonged

to the university, but it hadn’t seen any use in the past few years. There were

vinyl sheets and chairs left randomly all over the place. When Aoi was found,

she was lying in the center of the hut. She had thrown up from all the sleeping

pills. He didn’t want to imagine the scene from when she was found.

147

As the winds had risen again, the entirety of the musty prefabricated hut let off

a rattling sound. One of the storm shutters on the verge of coming undone

made a thud against the wall every time a strong wind blew in.

“It’s like the wind alone’s going to level this place.”

Atami looked around anxiously as he muttered to himself. From there, he took

out his phone and took a number of shots from different angles. The shutter

sound was erased out by the wind. He sent them to Chizuru, and after he looked

at the scene a while longer, a call came to his phone. Atami hurriedly answered.

“Hello? Did you get anything from that, Chizuru-kun?”

‘…’

“What was that? I can’t really hear you. The wind’s so loud I can barely hear

anything.”

‘That’s because I didn’t say anything. It’s also quite hard to hear you on this

side… it was just as I thought… thank you. How should I put this, umm, I’ve

identified the culprit.’

“Really!”

Atami unintentionally let out a shout.

‘Yes, that I guarantee.’

Chizuru carelessly threw it out, but Atami still couldn’t believe it.

“Really, really? And that person isn’t Murasaki?”

‘That is correct. He is in essence a scapegoat… in short, he was simply used as a

substitute for the culprit. Which means he was murdered.’

“And you mean to say you know who killed him, and who almost killed Aoi.”

Chizuru went silent for a moment, before replying, ‘That’s what it would mean.’

“Who is it?”

‘We won’t get anywhere debating it here.’

Chizuru said bluntly.

148

‘Let’s go back to Yumoto General Hospital… pick me up along the way. I think I

need to hear out Aoi-san’s story one last time.’

Atami nodded and made for his own car parked outside the trees.

149

8

Sorachi Aoi lay atop her bed at the Yumoto General Hospital.

Outside the window, the sky was already dyed in twilight. She let out a single

sigh.

A knock came at the door.

“… Come in.”

As Aoi answered, the door slid open, and two people entered the room.

The first was Aoi’s cousin, Detective Atami Itaru. The other was a face Aoi hadn’t

seen before: A young boy who looked to be in high school. He wore a casual

outfit consisting of a white hoodie and jeans. His long bangs hid a bit of his face,

making his expression difficult to read.

“… Um, Itaru-kun. Who’s this…?”

“Hey Aoi, he’s a bit of a… crime specialist, I guess you could call it.”

The words Atami emitted as an excuse caused Aoi’s body to go stiff. A crime

solving expert… which meant a terribly dangerous person to her present

condition had appeared.

“Hmm…? He’s quite young.”

“I’m Kirishima Chizuru.”

“He’s been investigating into the case, and he said he figured out the culprit.”

Aoi opened her eyes wide.

“C-culprit? Didn’t you say it was Murasaki-kun?”

“That’s wrong, Murasaki Kinichirou-san was merely used by the culprit. The real

criminal is someone else.”

Chizuru jumped in.

“So, in order to obtain decisive testimony to pin down the culprit, Chizuru-kun

wants to ask you a question, it seems.”

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“Me…? But I never saw the culprit.”

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

Chizuru walked up to the side of the bed.

And he looked over Aoi. Aoi felt a chill run down her spine. He pointed her out

with his finger.

“The one who murdered Murasaki Kinichirou-san… Sorachi Aoi-san, it was you,

wasn’t it?”

＊

Atami was taken aback.

All he had heard from Chizuru was, “I have to ask Aoi one last important

question.” That’s why he got permission for another meeting, and came all the

way here to see her… he hadn’t foreseen this development at all.

Aoi was the culprit?

That shouldn’t be the case.

“W… what are you talking about?”

Still connected to an IV, Aoi knit her brow without moving from the bed.

“I was almost killed… and I’m the culprit? I don’t get what you’re trying to say.”

“That’s right Chizuru-kun! I never heard about this.”

“Because I never told you.”

Chizuru gave a short reply.

“By the way, Aoi-san. When you were bound and blindfolded the whole time,

why can you say Murasaki-san was the culprit?”

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“T-that’s… because I heard it from Itaru-kun and the detective who was with

him… hey, Itaru-kun! What’s going on? What’s wrong with this person?”

“No, honestly, I don’t know what’s what… oy, Chizuru-kun!”

Atami glared sharply at Chizuru.

“What sort of incomprehensible drivel are you trying to spout? She’s the victim

and—”

“It’s an act.”

Chizuru said calmly.

“The pretended to be a kidnapper, made a call, swallowed sleeping pills on her

own, and spat them on her own… isn’t that right? Aoi-san?”

“That’s wrong.”

Aoi’s tone was strong. But Chizuru ignored it and continued on.

“From the start, you were never kidnapped. You were simply playing a part in

your own play.”

“Staging my own kidnapping… what benefit was there to me?”

“Quite a large benefit. At the very least, that’s what you thought… When it

comes down to it, you had two large goals. First was the murder of Murasaki

Kinichirou. The second was to avoid suspicion by playing the victim.”

“Don’t be daft!”

Atami flew into a rage, and grasped Chizuru’s shoulder.

“Think about what your saying. A self-staged kidnapping is way too pointless. If

she had a grudge against Murasaki, she could just made it look like an accident

without playing the victim. For her to purposely drag her whole family into it

and shoulder all these unnecessary risks is idiotic.”

“Then Atami-san.”

Chizuru brushed off Atami’s hand with composure.

“If one day, all of a sudden, Murasaki was killed… who would be at the top of

the list of suspects?”

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Atami almost cried out Ah. He barely held it in. If he let it out, it would be like

accepting Aoi’s guild, and that scared him.

“That’s right, it would be Sorachi Aoi-san. She was a victim of Murasaki’s

stalking. If Murasaki was simply murdered…”

Chizuru mercilessly thrust a finger at Aoi’s cowering face.

“The charges would be directed at you. Simply faking Murasaki’s suicide would

also be difficult. He didn’t have any behavior that suggested suicide. To top it all

of, if it was ever found out as murder, that would be it for you. It was there that

you thought up a peculiar plot. Placing yourself outside the range of suspicion, a

way to add credibility to Murasaki’s ‘suicide’. Murasaki’s twisted love spiraled

out of control… is how it would look when it was really a self-kidnapping.”

“You’re just speaking from speculation.”

After crying out, Aoi burst into a coughing fit. Chizuru tossed her a look of pity.

“You’re still a patient, so you’d best not get too excited. I’ll hear all objections

you have, so first, please lend an ear to my reasoning.”

In both disgust and intrigue, Aoi and Atami found they couldn’t take their eyes

off Chizuru.

“After drafting up your plan, you carried it out last night. You made it so that

you were abducted after you left the college, but it was actually the opposite.

You called Murasaki-san out to some adequate place. Any adequate place…

perhaps it was the parking lot you spoke of… and you knocked him out. This was

also likely just as you said, by making him sniff chemical. With your own two

feet, you placed the threat letter in your own mailbox.”

On the contents Chizuru spoke of, Atami’s expression stiffened.

“Right, right, it seems that letter was printed at the Yumoto Music College study

room. In this incident, there are three people related to that university. First is

Murasaki-san. Then we have Aoi-san’s aunt, Momota Ai-san. And of course, Aoi-

san… you yourself.”

Aoi averted his face. Chizuru paid it no mind as he continued talking.

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“In the middle of the night, Murasaki-san was rendered unconscious. He was

planned to, ‘commit suicide by briquette,’ so no one would question if they

found a sleeping agent in his system.

“S-sure enough, there were sleeping pills scattered around the car.”

Atami groaned. Chizuru gave a light nod.

“Right? And Aoi-san waited in anticipation for today, May Fourth… It was time

to make the call. You called home from inside Murasaki-san’s car. It was

inevitable you called not in the prefab but the car. As he might wake up at any

moment, keeping your time away from him to a minimum was the natural

mentality…

Now then, before you called, you changed your voice, had a conversation with

Kisuke-san, and let him hear your own voice to emphasize that you and the

kidnapper were separate people.”

“I told you to stop it with the guess work!”

“That’s right, Chizuru-kun. Up to now, you haven’t presented a single…”

Chizuru troublesomely shook his head.

“That’s right, Officer Atami. I’ve yet to present the decisive evidence.”

“What?”

“… But putting that aside. Let’s return to the outline of the case. Anyways,

having finished the first call, Aoi-san got Murasaki-san in the driver seat’s

appearance in order, left the charcoal brazier on the passenger seat, and lit the

fire. While he awaited his death, Aoi-san chose a suitable time, changed her

voice again, and called her home. After informing them of her death and place,

the clock was ticking.”

As Chizuru went silent for a moment, the sound of someone’s footsteps in the

hall rung dreadfully loudly.

“Aoi-san, you tossed Murasaki’s cellphone into the car, and raced over to the

prefab hut. After leaving what you prepared beforehand, the ‘cloth and tape

used to bind Sorachi Aoi,’ in a corner of the hut, you lay down on the floor and

swallowed down the sleeping pills.”

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Atami lost his words as he took a few unsteady steps back.

“Aoi…”

“You too, Itaru-kun?”

Aoi’s voice was chilly. With her brow sharply knit, the lovable vestiges of Atami’s

cousin were nowhere to be seen.

“Even you want to say I’m the culprit? Come to think of it, you’re the one who

brought this person here. From the start, you visited me to do such a terrible

thing?”

“N-no… that’s not it, but…”

“Atami-san, from the start, you weren’t looking at this case with a level head.”

In the sheer lack of emotions behind it, Chizuru’s voice held even more force

that Aoi’s.

“In the first place, when the call came in from the culprit, who was the only

person involved without an alibi? Who was knowledgeable enough about him to

use him as a scapegoat?”

“… Aoi.”

Feeling like an idiot, Atami returned the natural response.

But Aoi tore off a few of the tubes connected to her, and raised the upper half

of her body.

“Are you taking me for a fool!? Yes, if we follow your line of logic, it’s possible

for me to have committed the crime. But we’re talking about possibilities. How

can you say with certainty that the prime suspect Murasaki-kun isn’t the

culprit?”

“The culprit in this case had full knowledge of the Sorachi House’s

circumstances. That your parents would go to sleep without waiting for your

return. That Kisuke had two nephews. That one of them was named Atami Itaru,

and that he was a detective. An outsider like Murasaki-san wouldn’t be able to

investigate that much information.”

“You can’t say for certain! He was following my around, and he surely

investigated me.”

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“However, if he did investigate, that raises the question of why he didn’t know

Kisuke-san’s other nephew, Sorachi Takurou-san was off overseas. It’s almost as

if he planned to call Officer Atami from the start, and planned to use it as a

pretense to carry out your murder.”

“If Murasaki-kun was the culprit, perhaps that was the case. It seems he hated

me considerably… that’s right. Just as you said, he intended to kill me from the

start. So he knew Takurou-san was overseas. He purposely designated my

father’s nephew. By calling Itaru-kun, he made a pretext to kill me.”

“But there was one thing Murasaki-san would never be able to find out.”

“… Hah? What’s that?”

“That Atami-san would be off duty today. As an active member of the police

force, regardless of golden week, he has work to do. And yet, knowing he’d be

able to move around today alone was something no outsider could know.”

“T-that’s right! If a detective is on duty, it’s next to impossible to slip out. It

would be difficult to make me the ransom handler… c-come to think of it, I told

Aoi I’d be off duty… it was me, her and Kisuke-san, when we went out for tea.”

“T-then p-perhaps…”

Aoi was fumbling over her words, her face pale as she grasped at straws.

“Maybe he planned to use the fact there was no ransom handler to kill me. And

it wouldn’t be strange if I was bugged. He was a stalker!”

“Give it a rest already, Aoi-san.”

Chizuru’s voice was filled with a quiet anger. Before a criminal trying to talk their

way out of it, he made the eyes of a hunter.

“I have decisive evidence that you, and only you, could have committed the

crime.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“… You were kidnapped, you woke up, you answered the phone, you were

drugged, you were sealed in that hut the whole time. That’s what you said,

right?”

“T-that’s right. Is anything strange? I was tied up and lying on the ground. I

couldn’t do a thing.”

“Is that so… then Atami-san.”

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Chizuru turned back to Atami.

“The spot Aoi-san was let to lay in the hut, there are absolutely no traces of her

having been moved… is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. From the vomit stain, there’s no doubt about it.”

“Then,” Chizuru stated without a single movement of his eyebrows, “There’s no

doubt Aoi-san is the culprit.”

“What!?”

Chizuru said without the slightest switch of an eyebrow.

Aoi hit her fist against her lap.

“What sort of incomprehensible things are you saying? Seriously, don’t joke

around! Get out of here.”

“I will once you admit to your crimes… let’s listen to the call from the culprit

again.”

Chizuru took Atami’s smart phone, and played back the first call from the

kidnapper.

The frog-like voice conversing with Kisuki. Aoi’s voice. And the frog’s voice

again… Chizuru cut the audio.

“How was that?”

“What?”

“It was quite quiet, was it not?”

Chizuru made an enigmatic expression. Aoi bit into her lip and replied.

“Why was it so quiet, without a single unnecessary sound? That’s just what it

means.”

After thinking a while, Atami shuddered.

“I… I see… it really is strange. There’s no way that could be true.”

“Itaru-kun! What are you talking about?”

“Right, there’s no way it could be.”

Chizuru slowly smiled.

157

“I mean, the wind was strong midday. I live in Yumoto as well, and I experienced

the strength of that wind first-hand. The windows of my room were rattling.”

“A-and what of it?”

“That beaten up prefab hut, you see, the whole place rattles in the wind. No,

that’s not all. The broken storm shutter thumps against the wall. Again and

again, it’s quite terrible.”

Aoi’s face lost its complexion all at once. Atami sensed Chizuru’s goal in having

him send the pictures, and the call he made afterward. It was to confirm it.

“It would be strange if it didn’t reach the other side of the phone at all. Right,

which means that call wasn’t made in the hut, but in Murasaki-san’s car… where

the wind couldn’t reach, you called inside an airtight vehicle. Because the winds

died down right after, you lost your chance to experience the racket that hut

can make, it seems.”

Aoi looked down, opening and closing her hand. Her mouth opened and closed.

“Your testimony that you never moved once from the scene is a falsehood. Now

Sorachi Aoi-san. Do you have an excuse prepared? Can you think up a reason

why you lied on the spot?”

She couldn’t say a thing.

Atami couldn’t bear to look, taking a glance out the window. The sky was pitch

black.

“… Why was it Aoi? I still can’t accept it.”

“Who knows? If it’s motive…”

Chizuru turned his face towards Aoi as if to say, you’re better off asking her. Her

face had lost anything that could be called an emotion.

“… I hated him from the start, that man.”

She spoke on with a low voice.

“While he persistently approached me time and again, I couldn’t bring myself to

like him in the slightest. Using his parent’s money like water, playing around all

he wanted, and yet somehow acting like that was cool. I wanted to become a

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singer, I had a definite dream, so I didn’t want to waste my time on a guy like

that. I didn’t want to suck up to him just because he was the son of a famous

record label! I wanted to fight with my own ability.”

Aoi gripped both her fists.

“Following me wherever I went… I couldn’t bear it. In school and in the circle,

he’d constantly get involved with me… I told him time and again to call it quits,

to give it up already. But the more I rejected him, the more he stuck fast. He

was probably a human who couldn’t recognize a situation where he was on the

losing end.”

“You should’ve told a detective like me. He was a stalker, right? That’s a criminal

offense. Why didn’t you tell me anything about it?”

Atami pleaded with miserable sentiment.

“Yeah, I might’ve consulted with you… if that never happened.”

Aoi gripped the provided blanket tight. She made several movements as if to

tear it apart.

“A month ago, I got accepted in the audition of a certain recording company.

Once I graduated school, I’d have my public pro debut. And yet… and yet!”

Aoi’s voice cracked and shook, as if it were about to fade out.

“He went and crushed it! Acting behind closed doors! … And, if you ever want a

chance at a debut, you’d better think about what you should do… he whispered

at me!”

She smacked her cover. Her hollow eyes and intensely moving arms looked like

different parts belonging to different people.

Without wiping her face that had grown soaked from her tears and her snot, Aoi

continued speaking.

“That’s why, that’s why… that’s why I…”

Atami took a glance at Chizuru to find him staring earnestly at Aoi. At the

unforeseen darkness in his eyes, Atami his breath.

159

“To escape his rule, I could only kill him. No matter where I went, I couldn’t

escape Murasaki. I had no choice but to… kill him.”

“I won’t say I don’t understand how you feel. The rule of authority… an absolute

evil to oppose. I understand the feeling well.”

However, Chizuru said with his lowest voice of all.

“I’ll just say you shouldn’t have been the one to judge him.”

Precisely, Atami thought.

Atami had felt an intense anger towards Murasaki. Even if he was deceased, he

felt a fury that couldn’t forgive him welling up… but as an officer of the law, the

one he was supposed to judge was clear.

“Aoi… what you did… was a crime.”

Atami tried his hardest to make sure his voice didn’t shake as he desperately

spun his words.

“However it may come to be, it isn’t something that can be forgiven… anyways,

while the police still haven’t reached the truth, you should turn yourself in. But

even if I said that, you can barely move, so I could act as a mediator. Is that

alright? You’re still young. You can do things over… The faster the better.”

Tears welled in Aoi’s eyes as she looked back at Atami. She quietly nodded. Even

as she cried for the end of the world, she was moved by Atami’s consideration,

making a face of relief.

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9

Just passed eight p.m. that day. Having finished the questioning, Atami and

Ibusuki walked side by side down the prefectural police corridor.

“Murasaki Kanichirou used his position as president’s son to crush Sorachi Aoi’s

work prospects… I see, there’s no helping that she hold a grudge. Though

murder is out of the question.”

Ibusuki took a slight glance at Atami.

“But Atani, that was quite a speedy resolution, coming from you… did your

cousin’s involvement get you that fired up.”

“… Ah, well, something like that.”

Atami scratched his head, but the moment he was about to say something

incriminating, “Ah, Ibusuki-san!” a voice called out.

It was Police Sergeant Nagashima. He was waving his brawny rugby-player-like

arms.

“So this is where you were.”

“What’s up, Nagashima? We just finished up questioning.”

“The thing is… I don’t quite know the reason, but Chief Kirishima Kankurou said

he wanted to talk with you personally. Ah, he wanted you there too, Assistant

Inspector Atami.”

“… The Chief of Criminal Investigations?”

Atami and Ibusuki exchanged a look.

Atami could feel a sense of unrest in his chest.

161

(TL: No alterations were made to that case.)

162

Case 4: A Somewhat Reckless

Howdunnit

(TL: In contrast to a whodunnit, a howdunnit places the focus on how the crime

was committed, instead of who committed it.)

163

1

A light cut through the darkness.

Chizuru narrowed his eyes to focus on the center of the beam. A person stood.

A person who hadn’t been in the room to that point. Wearing a jet-black dress

suit, a woman who wore a vivid crimson scarf. Where could she have entered

from

“Welcome, one and all, to the House of Darkness!”

A captivating alto voice. While some part of it made one feel like she was

reading lines, with the aid of the special air of the Mansion, it didn’t feel

particularly awkward.

“I will be your guide through the mansion, my name is Fukaya. It’s a pleasure to

meet you.”

The participants swallowed their saliva as they watched on. To Chizuru’s

righthand side stood Ageha- her eyes sparkling. To his left, Yuzuki was close

enough to breath on, nervously gripping the sleeve of Chizuru’s hoodie. Chizuru

couldn’t settle down himself.

“This is the structure that presides over the darkest corners… the House of

Darkness. You’re all going to be working together to escape. You must regain

the light.”

The room grew a little brighter. Erected in the center of the room, a light made

to imitate candles began to shine. It was only tasked with illuminating a room

five meters in each direction, but still it was insufficient. Still, even that small

light invited the participants into a sense of relief, as everyone put a hand to

their chest in unison.

“Without further ado, let the games begin.”

Fukaya declared. This looks like it’s going to take a while, Chizuru hastily

thought. Yuzuki peered into his face.

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“Let’s do our best! Chizuru-senpai.”

Rather than the game itself, his eyes were sparkling with expectations directed

at Chizuru.

“I’m counting on your deductions,” Ageha said and pat him on the shoulder. If

you’re not going to put your mind to it, then what’s the point, he wanted to

retort, but it did seem he had some expectations placed on him, so there was no

helping it. Chizuru decided he would apply himself. In moderation.

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2

‘Do you know about Actual Labyrinth?’

Tsukioka Yuzuki made the call around eight in the morning. Chizuru heard his

voice, precariously on the boundary between sleep and wake. Of course, at the

time, he was till on the bed. With a hazy head, he interpreted the meaning

behind those words and gave a vague reply. I know it.

You control a character to escape a maze. The time that game swept a

generation was still fresh in his mind. Before that heat could die down, “Don’t

you think it would be exciting to make that sort of escape game in real life?”

someone went and actually made it, so its popularity really was something. It

truly was an actual labyrinth. What’s more, those sites broke out simultaneously

across the nation.

‘I got my hands on a ticket for an event going on in Yumoto City. It says I can

bring up to two friends, so do you want to go, you, Ageha-senpai and me?’

Chizuru turned over. The outside of the window was dark, the rain gently

coming down.

“When?”

‘Three in the afternoon.’

“What day?”

‘Today.’

“Are you for real…”

He tried turning over again, but the rain was still falling.

‘Ah, could it be you’re busy? This really was out of nowhere, I’m sorry. The truth

is, my brother won the tickets in a contest, but he just had to be bedridden

today of all days…’

Yuzuki let out an unfortunate voice. Even so, Yuzuki’s brother sure was unlucky.

More than being bedridden, it was unfortunate he couldn’t go there with

Yuzuki. Especially when he thought of how he doted on his little brother.

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“I’m not busy.”

Chizuru spontaneously said it. Yuzuki’s voice rebounded the next instant.

‘Eh? Then Chizuru-senpai, do you want to go with me?’

“Yeah… sure.”

‘Yay! Then meet me at…’

For some reason, Chizuru couldn’t go against Tsukioka Yuzuki’s words.

With such circumstance, Chizuru set out into the Sunday town first thing in the

afternoon. The event hall was the Yumoto New Town Building.

Not far off from the station, it was a relatively new multipurpose facility, and

among its nine floors, the building housed a theater and arcade.

When the meeting time of two thirty came around, Yuzuki and Ageha were

already waiting at the porch. According to Yuzuki, the event was on the third

floor. Inside the elevator, he gave a simple lecture.

“This event is a one-day-only restricted venue. The first reproduction of a game

they held in Tokyo, it seems. So we’re really lucky.”

He spoke with a smile. Since he was wearing a plain hoodie, he really could only

be seen as a girl.

“It was produced by Akabane Kousuke- well known in the film and theater

industry- and was a huge hit. I had heard about this event as well, but I thought

I’d never be able to get my hands on a ticket.”

“Hmm, then will there be a lot of people?”

On Ageha’s words, Chizuru showed a bit of dread. But still with a smile, Yuzuki

shook his head.

“No, that shouldn’t be the case. The game is going to be held a few times, and I

think there’ll only be around ten participants per game. Working together as a

team to escape is the intent of Actual Labyrinth, after all.”

167

After rounding two corners, they found themselves in a bit of a circular hall. The

sofas set along the wall were sparsely dotted with supposed participants. There

were fewer people than Yuzuki mentioned, no more than five. And among

them, there didn’t seem to be any participants in the same age range as

Chizuru’s group. He tried muttering it was a bit of a surprise, and Ageha

responded.

“You didn’t know, Chizuru? These sorts of things mainly target adults in their

twenties and thirties. The tickets aren’t cheap, after all.”

“Hmm…”

Even if it was a game, it looked quite legitimate.

It seemed Chizuru’s group was the last to arrive, as a youthful male staff

member immediately declared, “Now that everyone’s arrived…”

He opened the thick double doors to his back. As if they had waited a long time

for this, the participants streamed in one after the next. That scenery was a little

bizarre. Finally, the Chizuru team timidly set foot into the room. The door closed

behind them.

The lights went out, and they were left in a world of darkness.

＊

After an introduction from the guide woman called Fukaya, the game began.

The room was reasonably wide, but that strange feeling of oppression, the

biggest reason was probably the illumination. Flickering in the center of the

room, that candle-themed light wasn’t enough to light to the corners of the

168

room.

The other reason had to be the bookshelves that pressed at the room from both

sides. Complete literary works with thick binding, and paperbacks with vibrant

spines were tightly packed into the matte black shelves.

The interior… didn’t have a sense of unity, and it was strange the shelves were

the only piece of furniture.

In that case, they had to be a hint to escape… the all-important exit was in the

furthest most depths of the room. Fastened onto the door itself was a monitor,

but it wasn’t displaying anything yet.

“Please take these.”

Fukaya approached and held out a sheet of paper. As Chizuru had been

observing the room’s interior, Ageha poked him, causing him to hastily raised

his head. He accepted what looked like a black card printed on in white

lettering.

<WILLIAM 4>

A name and a number. Yuzuki shoed him a similar card. His was a different one.

<AGATHA 2>

In that case, were they author names?

That would make Chizuru’s card William Shakespeare, and Yuzuki’s Agatha

Christie.

“It really gets your heart racing when something mysterious comes out.”

Ageha said as she showed her own card.

<KOUYOU 8>

So there was a Japanese author as well. Perhaps that one pointing to Ozaki

Kouyou. But that alone wasn’t enough to say the meaning of the number.

Looking on the back, he found an illustration of an angel riding a bike. A sketch

he had seen somewhere before… what was it again?

169

Looking around at the other participants, as expected, they had each been

handed a card.

“Does everyone have one?”

Fukaya spoke. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had made her way to the front of

the door further in.

“That card shall be treated as your identification number. It will be confirmed

once you reach the exit, so please do not mix yours up with someone else’s.

Now let me explain the first stage. The key to clearing this first stage lies with

those cards in your hands! Unless everyone words together, you won’t be able

to escape! Is everyone ready?”

She took a long, hard look around all the participants.

“The first chamber is multiple choice. These monitors shall display the question!

The time limit you have to get out of this room is twenty minutes! Well then, I

pray for a speedy escape!”

After saying that, she quite naturally vanished behind the doors. Click, the

audible fastening of a lock.

With that as the signal, a panel above the exit lit up. From a 20:00 display, it

ticked down second by second. I see, so that was the countdown panel. And the

monitors attached to the door itself, while they were a bit far to read, displayed

something that looked like a question.

eight participants left in the room. A silence flowed by at the sudden start.

Standing apart from one another, they exchanged inquisitive looks.

“… Hmm, well then.”

The one who started up was a tall woman with sunglasses resting on her

forehead.

“We’ve got twenty minutes, so let’s start with some short introductions.

Establishing communication early will make it a lot more convenient later on.”

“Agreed!”

170

Ageha agreed. He shameless attitude was still in good health before adults she

was meeting for the first time, and Chizuru was a little amazed.

“Since I brought it forward, allow me to start out. The name’s Takasaki Ibuki. I’m

a writer for an online news site. As luck would have it, I’ve been given the

opportunity to do an exclusive on this event. I’d just like to confirm, but there’s

no one in my business here, right? … Alright. Well, that’s how it is. Pleasure to

meet you.”

Takasaki gave a sweet smile. Casual clothes of a white blouse and jeans, her

sunglasses and the jacket wrapped around her waist emphasized an active

impression.

“Then I’ll go next.”

The one who raised his hand was a man around forty, his hair swept back. A

dark brown three-piece suite, a carefully kept moustache, he imparted an

impression as if he had time slipped from the good old days of Great Britain.

“Okabe Shousaku. I’m involved in net game production, and I’ve made a few

scenarios for Actual Labyrinth.”

“Eh? For real! Amazing!”

A female college-student-looking participant opened her eyes wide as she

leaked a voice of surprise.

Okabe gave a strained laugh as, “No, no,” he waved his hand.

“You see, with all the popularity there have been an enormous amount of them

produced, when it comes to Actual Labyrinth. I’m just a measly creator nowhere

near Producer Akabane. I submitted an application for this event in the hopes I

might learn something.”

“Hmm… then I guess we’re like going next.”

The female college student from before raised a lively voice as she took the arm

of the man standing beside her.

“Sophomore at Yumoto University, I’m Ino Makita! This is my boyfriend Shin-

chan.”

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“O-Oomiya Shinjorou. Happy to be here. Ah, I’m in the same college and yyear

as Makita.”

Makita blond and Oomiya brown, they both had their hair died, and they were a

couple who gave off a somewhat flippant air. Come to think of it, they were

both wearing T-Shirts with similar heart marks on them, but were they going for

that matching look? At least that part of them was honest, or rather old-school.

“Hmm, do you lot really understand this game?”

The one who started in such a sharp tone was a man in thick glasses, wearing a

violet round-neck shirt. His overgrown disheveled hair looked somewhat oily.

“Kinda feels like bandwagoners to me.”

He cynically lifted his glasses. Yuzuki asked in a whisper.

“Chizuru-senpai, what’s a bandwagoner?”

Chizuru didn’t quite know. Ageha informed them.

“It means someone who just boarded the trend and calls themselves a fan. It

can also just refer to a beginner, I guess.”

“Oh! Ageha-senpai, you’re real knowledgeable.”

“Hmhmm!”

It was slang, so that was a little different from knowledgeable, Chizuru thought,

but purposely kept quiet.

“Hah? What’s got your twat in a knot?”

On the overgrown hair man’s words, Oomiya and Makita bared their anger.

“Of course we’re here because we’re fans of Producer Akabane.”

“That’s right! Getting these tickets was like seriously a miracle.”

Overpowered, the purple-shirted man frowned. Seeing an opportunity, “Hey,

you should introduce yourself too,” Takasaki urged him.

“… Oku Tamotsu. I take part in every AL produced by Akabane… over.”

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* A girl who uses the masculine pronoun boku

He sullenly cut his own words. So Actual Labyrinth was abbreviated to AL. For

him to take part in every single one, he must be quite the enthusiast, thought

Chizuru. I better not ask why he didn’t touch on his occupation, he mused as he

felt the expressions of all the other participants grow stiff.

Makita and Oomiya exchanged a glance, while Takasaki’s lips moved for form

an, “Ah”. Okabe lowered his eyes.

… What’s this? Does everyone know Oku? Chizuru thought as he looked at the

man, but he was feigning ignorance. Chizuru felt hazy, but as he spaced out,

Ageha prodded him with her elbow to bring him back.

“Chizuru, it’s our turn… I’m Beppu Ageha, a Second Year in Yumoto oAcademy’s

High School Division. This is my classmate Kirishima Chizuru.”

Noticing Chizurus troubled behavior, she took the front lines and took care of

his introduction as well. It was much appreciated.

“Umm, I’m Tsukioka Yuzuki. I’m one grade lower than Ageha-senpai and

Chizuru-senpai. It’s my first time participating in one of these, so I’m nervous,

but I hope we get along.”

Yuzuki quickly lowered his head. Takasaki and Okabe smiled as they watched

over it, but their expressions showed there was something on their mind. The

one who bluntly pointed it out was Oku.

“A bokukko* in this day and age?”

“Eh? Pardon?”

Yuzuki didn’t seem to understand what that meant as he tilted his head. Ageha

cleared her throat as she put in a word.

“He’s not a bokukko! Yuzu-chan is a splendid boy!”

“Eh? No way!”

Makita raised a voice of disarray. Oomiya beside her was dumbfounded as well.

And expression of surprise from the adults Takasaki and Okabe as well. Oku

opened his mouth without saying a thing.

“But it’s true…”

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Yuzuki said reservedly with a conflicted expression. It did seem his troubles had

yet to die out. For now, Chizuru tried to change the topic.“For now, I think

we’ve all wasted enough time”

Ageha leisurely looked at the monitor, “Ah, you’re right. Eighteen minutes left,”

she muttered.

“Oy, oy we don’t have the time to dawdle.”

Oku yelled.

“Hurry up and get everyone’s cards together.”

He held his own out in front of him… written on it was <MASUJI 5>. Following

on, Oomiya, Makita, Takasaki and Okabe displayed their cards. <DOPPO 6>,

<SAISEI 7>, <RANPO 3>, <RYUUNOSUKE 1>.

“Looks like they’re all authors’ names… Ibuse Masuji, Kunikida Doppo, Murou

Saisei, Edogawa Ranpo, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke… do the numbers follow some

sort of rule?”

Takasaki examined all the cards before she spoke with discretion. The three high

schoolers also showed their cards to the rest of the group.

“I can understand Ozaki Kouyou, but it bothers me that we have William

Shakespeare and Agatha Christie, two foreign authors mixed in.”

“And what’s on the shelves in this room add to the hint…”

Following on from Takasaki, Okabe preciously stroked his moustache as he

spoke. Oku also nodded in agreement.

“I’d assume so. These games are made so you can properly solve them with the

hints in the room.”

“Looking closely, they properly have the complete works of Akutagawa and

Ibuse Masuji here.”

Yuzuki looked at the shelf as he gave a report. Chizuru also closed in to look. A

majority of Agatha Christie’s books were there in paperback, and there were

quite a few works he was familiar with.

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At that moment, looking over the two inspecting the bookshelf, “And wait,”

Makita broke out.

“The Japanese authors and Agatha Christie aside… there’s no guarantee

William’s Shakespeare, right? It could be Golding.”

“H-hmm? You’re surprisingly knowledgeable.”

Oku scrutinized Makita from top to bottom. She rudely averted her eyes, “We’re

in the literature club,” she answered. Now that’s a surprise, thought Chizuru.

“Looks like Golding’s correct.”

Okabe peered into the bookshelf and said.

“Lord of the flies… it looks like this shelf’s selection is there to identify the

authors only pointed to by first name.”

“So what sort of question is on the monitor?”

Takasaki approached the door. Oku and Ageha showed interest as well,

following behind her. Chizuru wandered over and hazarded a glance.

The question displayed went something like this.

Now who’s number nine? Choose from the following selections

(You only have two guesses)

○ Dazai Osamu

○ Yumeno Kyuusaku

○ Natsume Souseki

○ John Dickson Carr

○ Ellery Queen

○ Ernest Hemingway

“… I see.”

Takasaki said in thought.

“Meaning there’s some regularity to the eight cards in our hands… and we have

to find that pattern to pinpoint the ninth author.”

“My head is starting to hurt.”

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Ageha rubbed her forehead as she glared at the screen.

“While it seems every card we were given has the name of an author… yeah,

should we line them up chronologically?”

“In that case, Kouyou and Doppo would have a lower number than Akutagawa.”

“O-oh. As expected of Yuzu-chan. You’ve got good grades in Classical Japanese.”

“Ahaha, I’m just fond of it, literature and that sort of thing. I only got 7 points on

that last math test.”

“Now that’s something…”

To the derailed Ageha and Yuzuki, “You’re sure taking it easy,” Oku grumbled,

glaring in irritation. The two high schoolers sullenly shut their mouths.

“Even so, Chizuru-senpai. I’m not seeing any rule. Have you got anything?”

“I have.”

“As I thought, even Chizuru-senpai can’t just… eh!?”

Yuzuki opened his round eyes to their limit.

Takasaki and Oku turned as well, staring at Chizuru in surprise. The eyes of

everyone in the room concentrated on the young boy unmotivatedly shoving his

hands into his hoodie pockets.

“Hah? No way, for real?”

“You already have it? The answer to this riddle?”

Makita let out a shrill voice, and Oomiya raised an inverted tone as well. Chizuru

gave a nonchalant nod.

“This one’s easy. You just have to line all the authors in order. Not just by first

name include the surname as well.”

“Hmm, then first is Akutagawa Ryuunosuke,” Okabe stroked his moustache as

he spoke.

“Agatha Christie!” Following on, Yuzuki read out his number two.

“Then Edogawa Ranpo… right?” said Takasaki

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Following on, Chizuru muttered, “William Golding,” and sent a glance to Oku.

Anxiously, “Ibuse Masuji… right?” he said as if to confirm it.

“Mine is Kunikida… Dokuho, was it?”

“It’s Doppo, right?”

Awkwardly scratching his nose, Oomiya offered some help to his girlfriend

Makita.

“Kunikida Doppo. And mine’s Murou Saisei.”

“And my card reads Ozaki Kouyou.”

“So what are you saying it means? What did that demonstrate?”

Oku tapped his foot in irritation as he furrowed his thin brow.

“We’ve only got fifteen minutes left. Quite putting on airs and explain it.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah. I hate long-winded speeches, so let’s get right to it. I’m just

trying to say there’s a clear pattern if you line them up by the numbers given.

The fact that the codes on these cards only give the first names, think of it the

other way, and that just goes to show the last name is what’s important… is how

I see it. I mean, they even went as far as to give whole bookshelves as hints.”

“I see! I’ve got it, Chizuru-senpai!”

Yuzuki hit his hands together and said.

“It’s the initials! Akutagawa is A! Christie is C! Edogawa Ranpo is E!”

Okabe stopped the hand tugging at his moustache.

“It’s just alphabetical, skipping every other letter.”

Chizuru nodded.

“Fourth is Golding’s G, skip H, and you get Ibuse’s I, jump to Kunikida’s K. After L

comes Murou’s M.”

“Skip N and then you have my Ozaki Kouyou… and after P is Q! Meaning the

author with the Q surname is the right answer!”

To Ageha’s excited cry, Chizuru gave a light nod.

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TL: This is actually harder in Japanese, because they don’t use Alphabetical order.

“Among our choices, there is only one author with a Q initial.”

“So it was just alphabetical, dammit.”

The self-proclaimed professional Oku somewhat uninterestedly tapped the

monitor.

“Ellery Queen…”

Ping, a high-pitched electronic noise resounded. Following on, Thump, a dull

sound. The door quietly opened. On the screen, “You have successfully escaped

the first room!” The flashy letters displayed.

Chizuru went into an explanation.

“Right, Ellery Queen. Making a dashing debut in the years America fell into the

Great Depression, it’s the penname adapted by Fredrick Dannay and Manfred

Lee. From what I’ve heard, both Dannay and Lee were also pennames, making it

all unnecessarily complicated. The reason Christie was chosen as the C author

was a clue to show that mystery authors were fair game…”

“We don’t need your boasts, we’ve already cleared the stage. You hate long-

winded speeches, don’t you?”

Grinding his teeth, Oku interrupted Chizuru’s explanation.

“Whatever the case, let’s go on… this one goes to you, detective.”

“I’m not a detective.”

On Takasaki’s praise, Chizuru shrugged his shoulders as he lifted his body from

the wall. The first stage had been cleared.

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3

Once they left the first chamber, the interior design of the building suddenly

changed. An old western-style bright scarlet carpet was lain out, with candle-

themed lights placed along the wall.

“It’s finally starting to feel like an Akabane Kousuke Production.”

Okue standing at the lead enthused. Sure enough, compared to the plain

interior of the First Chamber, the atmosphere was feeling more genuine. Both

the walls and the ceiling were a decadent jet-black. The fearsome style of the

House of Darkness had come out, but as this was a borrowed facility, that wwas

probably just wallpaper, or so Chizuru thought such a trifling thing.

The narrow passage made them walk in a single-file line. After turning the first

corner and walking around five meters, yet another black surface, a black

wooden door stood in their way. As Oku turned the handle, a creaking noise

rose as it swung in.

Chizuru entered last, closing the door behind him as he looked over the second

chamber. Yet another strange interior. This time, it was a jumble of furniture

pieces all over the place.

There was a fireplace, an easy chair in front of it. In the back was a study desk,

and on the wall above it, a pennant and portraits of scholars were hung. In the

glass cased shelf, a globe, a bronze statue of a king piercing the ground with his

sword, a motley of items were kept.

They all shared a point in common, the matte black was what tied them all

together. Because of the black frames on the philosophers’ portraits, it almost

felt like a funeral for Socrates and Plato.

“Wah… so that’s why it’s the House of Darkness.”

Ageha raised an amazed voice of admiration.

The only light came from the flame burning in the fireplace. No, of course, with

safety in mind, there was no way they would use a real one. The flame was fake.

As promised, there was a door with a monitor in the back of the room. A

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countdown panel was included above it, with practically the same setup as the

previous room.

Perhaps it had started up when Oku had opened the door, as the timer was

ticking down. Since the remaining time was around nine and a half minutes,

they had likely started out with ten.

“Now then, what’s this room’s problem?”

Takasaki took a peek at the monitor at the exit.

“Oh my… looks like you don’t input it this time. Look at this.”

What she pointed at was the knob of the exit door. It was furnished with a clear

keyhole shaped keyhole.

“Meaning we have to find the real key somewhere in this room?”

Said Okabe. He fiddled with his bowtie in wonder.

“But going at it without any hints goes against the intent of the game. To the

end, this is a Labyrinth for one to enjoy intellectual puzzle solving, after all.”

“Yes, there’s a hint.”

Takasaki read out the letters on the monitor.

Even the key to the cavern knows his own allies.

“Is that all?”

Chizuru tried pressing. “There’s more,” Takasaki answered.

Ask the teachings of he who knows the banquet.

“The banquet… so that’s why there’s a line of philosophers.”

“You know what it means, Chizuru-senpai?”

When Yuzuki asked, he shook his head. Noticing that, “What’s wrong, little high

school detective,” Oku said provocatively but it was a pain, so he ignored it.

“H-hey Chizuru. Hurry and solve it and give Oku-san what’s coming for him.”

Ageha whispered in his ear, but Chizuru could only shrug his shoulders.

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“Since we’re supposed to ask the one who knows the banquet, there’s probably

another hint.”

“But it’s got to be Plato, right?”

Makita let her blond bob cut sway as she looked up at the wall… among the

portraits of philosophers lining the wall, there were a few from ancient Greece.

“Mine!”

Oku climbed into the study desk with his shoes, taking the Plato portrait in

hand. A nametag had been courteously attacked, so it seems he was able to

make his choice without hesitation.

… However.

“O-oy? There’s no key anywhere on it.”

Oku looked all over the frame curiously. Everyone surrounded the desk to see

but no matter where they looked, there wasn’t any key.

“Why don’t you try opening it?”

Said Takasaki. “Y-you didn’t have to tell me that,” Oku made an excuse as he

opened up the back.

Unfortunately, there was no key.

But on the back of Plato’s portrait, something had been written in black ink.

“Uwah, I’m no good with these.”

Yuzuki groaned.

(6R + 1L) + (21R + 34)

“What’s this?”

181

Oomiya tilted his head with good momentum. His girlfriend Makita also let out a

sigh as she covered her eyes. While she had shown a surprising level of literary

knowledge, it seemed she was bad at maths.

“My oh my, I’m not good with these things either. It’s all up to you, my young

talents.”

Takasaki flippantly waved her hand at the high school team, but Ageha and

Yuzuki’s expressions weren’t the best.

“I’m not the best either. Aren’t you good at them, Chizuru?”

“Yeah, but you don’t need any high-level math. Or any complex calculations”

He answered. Silence… from there, everyone cried in shock. Their reactions

were even more grandiose than in the first chamber.

“You can tell just by looking at it? Just what train of thought are your riding,

young man?”

Okabe looked at Chizuru. Without any attempts at humility, “Nothing special,”

he said bluntly. He left his body to the easy chair. While he was just taking a rest

since he was tired, you could call him an armchair detective in the physical

sense.

“I’m telling you, you don’t really need anything special for this one. No matter

how you look at it, these numbers and letters relate directly to the code on the

screen… otherwise, that profound-sounding statement would be wasted.”

“That reasoning is a bit unfair, Chizuru. Well, but, I guess you do have a point.”

“And since the variables aren’t X or Y, but L and R, they really have to be that.

Yeah, it looks like Takasaki-san just got it. Right, it’s left and right.”

Ah, I see, Yuzuki said. Showering eyes of admiration onto Chizuru.

“Rather, these aren’t even variables in the first place. I mean, if it was a variable,

they wouldn’t have to write the 1 in 1L.”

“I see, so this wasn’t a mathematical equation, it was an equation to solve the

code.”

“Right.”

182

Chizuru signaled towards the monitor. The screen with ‘How does the key to…’

“I’ve got it. The number specifies the letter position, L means go back one, and R

means go forward.”

While Oku now understood the method to solve it, Chizuru had once more

found the answer all too easily, and a disinterested look spread across Oku’s

face.

“Precisely.”

Chizuru rocked in the easy chair as he explained.

“In ‘Even the key to the cavern knows his own allies.’, the 6th letter is H. The first

letter is… it goes without saying they included the 1 in order to do this… E. The

21st and 34th letters are N and L.”

“And that’s where the L and R comes in, I see! 6R is one letter after H, so I!”

Yuzuki grasped his hands as he spoke. Okabe continued on from there.

“Hmm, 1L would be after E, so D. 21R would put you at… O, and if you take the L

as is…”

“Idol!”

While Ageha cried out, it was once again Oku who was the first to rush off. He

opened the glass shelf, violently grabbing the brass statue of the king poised

with a sword. He lifted only the top portion up, leaving the pedestal on the

shelf, and pulling out the king and sword portion alone. Looking closely, there

were some fine grooves carved into the sword portion that had been pulled out.

It looked like it would work as a key.

“That’s King Arthur, isn’t it?”

Takasaki pointed out.

“In that case, could the sword in his hands be Excalibur? Stands to reason.”

Thus, Chizuru’s reasoning was proven to be correct, but Oku was staring at the

boy in doubt.

183

“It all feels too well-put together… Don’t tell me you snuck into the previous

event. Or did you read that blog?”

The previous event? What blog? Chizuru hadn’t the slightest idea. Yuzuki puffed

up his cheeks as he stood before Oku.

“Chizuru-senpai isn’t cheating! I only just invited him today morning.”

Touching both his hands to his hips, Yuzuki stared hard at Oku as if to intimidate

him. The professional was overpowered. “F-fine, got it. Dammit,” he threw

words over his shoulder as he made for the door.

The sword… or rather key fit in and turned, raising an unlocking sound

comfortable on the ear. The second stage had been cleared.

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4

“What did he mean back there?”

Walking down the corridor in the same single-file order as before, Chizuru tried

asking Takasaki. The passage’s construction wasn’t much different from the

previous one.

“Back there?”

“Oku-san was talking about it. Something about a previous event, and a blog…”

Oh, that. Takasaki nodded, lowering her voice so Oku at the head of the line

couldn’t hear.

“You know how this ‘Escape from the House of Darkness’ is a reproduction of an

event they did in Tokyo? It seems like Oku-san wasn’t able to participate in that

one.”

“Hmm, I wonder why. That guy seems like an incredibly zealous fan of the

producer, right?”

Ageha who’d listened in marveled over the notion.

“He’s secured a number of back-door routes; usually sneaks in by the resale of

tickets other people won by lottery, but last time alone, it seems he wasn’t able

to get his hands on one. That’s why he’s so unnecessarily devoted to it this time

around.”

When she was the one who had asked, Ageha was surprised at Takasaki’s

immediate reply.

“W-why are you so knowledgeable on it?”

“… That Oku-san’s a famous one. Among fans of Producer Akabane, that is.”

Takasaki lowered her voice even further.

“And not in a good way. He’ll use any means at his disposal to infiltrate an

event, and he’s quite infamous for his terrible manners. Enthusiastically

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reporting on the events over social media, bragging each and every time over

how he ranked number one in escape speed. You saw, didn’t you? His attitude

in the previous stage.”

“Hmm, so he’s notorious.”

I see. So that’s why the air around the other guests turned so dubious when Oku

named himself in the first chamber. They all knew Oku Tamotsu after all.

“So what blog was he talking about?”

To Chizuru’s question, Takasaki stuck up a finger and spoke pridefully on the

matter.

“In last time’s Tokyo venue, one of the participants posted all the contents in

detail on their personal blog. Going as far as to tack on a map, from the riddles

to the construction of the rooms, they threw it all out. It seems their motive was

to rack up views plain and simple. But no spoilers is the fundamental rule of

Actual Labyrinth so naturally, the blogger was ganged up on, trolled and doxed.

There was a warning from the management team of the event as well. That’s

why the article was quickly deleted, but it’s because of that spoiler post that this

reproduction was postponed considerably.”

“Hmm, so this is a world where you really have to respect good manners.”

While someone might get angry if he said it… Chizuru had his vague fears about

the fans’ attachment to a mere game.

“Even so, Takasaki-san, you’re really knowledgeable on the matter.”

Ageha sounded impressed.

“I said it, didn’t I? I’m a journalist for an online news sight. Despite how I look, I

can stand my own in the battle for information… thought annoyingly enough, I

missed my chance to browse the blog in question.”

While they were discussing such things, the door to the next room came into

sight.

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The third chamber was even more bizarre.

While the prior second chamber had a composed construction with a western

motif, this room was different in concept.

The light illuminating the room was faint, flickering in a bizarre hue. Perhaps

blue, or purple, it was an ambiguous light that somewhat lacked a sense of

reality. Entering last once more, Chizuru shut the door, and there his eyes were

stolen by the peculiar scenery.

“… What is… this.”

Each wall of the room was hung with mirrors, diffusing the eerie light raining

down from the ceiling at peculiar angles. There wasn’t a single piece of furniture

in the room.

The characteristic scent of lavender filled the space, with such intensity it might

drive one dizzy. Quite a bit of production value was placed into this room as

well.

“A strange hue and mirrors… how avantgarde.”

Okabe stroked his moustache, letting out an impressed sigh.

As expected, there was a monitor displaying a question on the door that led to

the next room. And above the door was a countdown board… but that board

wasn’t displaying anything.

‘Is everyone ready? It’s finally time for the third stage!’

Fukaya’s voice resounded.

‘We’ve had you make your way here through teamwork, but… listen now and

listen well. From here on out, will be an individual battle!’

“Eeeh!”

Yuzuki let out a sorrowful cry. It did appear this was the first he’d heard of it.

‘Here, the keyword cards we handed you in the first chamber will prove

important once more! Will everyone please take care not to show the others as

you look at your own card once more! And on the occasion that you do escape

187

from this room, please make sure the other participants don’t see what you

input on the screen! Of course, you’ll be escaping one at a time… Well then, I

pray for a swift escape!’

The sound was suddenly cut. The countdown started. This time was five

minutes.

“What’s that supposed to mean? This card will become important again…”

Ageha tilted her head, taking the item in question out of a pouch and gazing at

it. Chizuru also took the black scrap from his hoodie pocket, but only the code

<WILLIAM 4> was written on it, without any other particularily interesting

points.

“Whatever the case, it all starts with the question.”

Okabe said. Everyone crowded around the monitor.

The question for the room read as follows.

Please provide the name of the other individual (Four Letters).

There was a keypad to input alphabet characters.

It seemed English letters were the answer.

“The other? What could that mean? The other in regards to what?”

Yuzuki tilted his head.

“In English, ‘Another’…?”

Ageha said it herself and shook her own head.

“It has to be four character.”

“The hint is these cards, right? Will the authors be the key again?”

Said Takasaki. The announcement said it was an ‘individual battle,’ but

conversation wasn’t prohibited, so it came down to brainstorming no different

form the previous stages.

“How about it, Chizuru… do you think the cards are the hint?”

188

To Ageha’s question, Chizuru muttered. “Could it be that this is…”

It was at that moment.

Oku let off a short utterance of, “Ah”. He gazed at the card in his hands, an

excited look on his face. His state clearly wasn’t normal. He gave off some sort

of extraordinary presence. After abruptly sticking that card into his shorts, he

raced off like a madman.

“I’ve got it!”

He raised an exulted cry as he leapt at the door, curling his back as he began

inputting into the monitor.

A sharp electronic ping rang out, the door opened. Oku raced in.

The members left behind stared blankly.

“Eh? What’s with him?”

Takasaki said dubiously. But no one could provide an explanation to the suddent

change in his behavior.

“N’ wait, he’s already gone. So he solved the problem?”

Makita shook her head.

“He was looking at his own card with such enthusiasm, but… I wonder what he

noticed.”

Okabe stroked his chin as he spoke.

“H-hey, Chizuru-senpai! I wonder why that person was able to get it. The answer

to the question.”

“Who knows? All I can say is that he was looking at the card.”

Yuzuki wounded desperate, but Chizuru smoothly let it go by. “Chizuru really

doesn’t know how to feel irritated…” Ageha sighed.

But Chizuru was curious as to why only Oku could solve the mystery.

Card… Oku’s card was supposed to say <Masuji 5>. Where did that get him… ah,

no wait. Could it be… the moment Chizuru noticed something.

189

“GAAAAAAAAAAAaH!!”

A scream suddenly sounded out.

Chizuru reflexively raised his face. The scream came from the door of the room

Oku had entered.

“Wait, what was that?”

“W-who knows. I don’t know what the hell’s…”

Even in the space the Makita and Oomiya couple carried a confused

conversation, Oku’s scream continued. .The alarm to inform them of a fire

began to ring.

The room brightened at once. From the speaker, a panicked voice flowed in.

‘To all participants, a fire has broken out. Please calm down and head towards

the exit!’

It was Fukaya’s voice. Simultaneously, the door that led to the exit opened.

… In the middle of the passage, the lump of meat that was once Oku Tamotsu

lay without a twitch of movement.

“Eek!”

Makita raised a short scream as she clung onto Oomiya.

“W-what could this…”

Okabe also covered his mouth at the ghastly sight.

“I can smell gasoline.”

Chizuru calmly sensed the irregularity. By his words, the faint scent wafting

through the air was detected by everyone’s nose.

“This is clearly… an incident devised by someone’s hands.”

The moment Chizuru said that, the emergency alarm stopped.

But everyone stood on the spot, as if under a spell.

190

5

“Did you get that? This area of the floor, gasoline was sprinkled over it.”

On Shirahama Yayoi’s words, Atami couldn’t believe his ears.

“Gasoline? Then is this a case of arson?”

“It’s because there’s reason to believe this was deliberate that we’re here in the

first place.”

Ibusuki said calmly, crouching down beside Shirahama. Sure enough, the report

from the district station detailed that, ‘There are numerous unnatural points

about the scene,’ so the prefectural police were called in.

The game’s participants couldn’t quite pass through a crime scene, they were

made backtrack to the entrance to get out. A fire-engine was called in as well,

but as the fire had already gone out, it didn’t prove necessary. In its place,

multiple patrol cars rushed in to carry out investigations and questionings. Still…

Atami took a look around the room that had become the crime scene.

It was much too bizarre of a room. The mirrors that coated all sides were

terribly unsettling. He wasn’t very knowledgeable about Action Labyrinth, but

just what could the intent have been?

“So where did the fire break out?”

“Over there, can you tell?”

Where Shirahama pointed wasn’t in the room but the passage. A fresh burn

residue still lingered on the floor and walls. The doors were all set to lock

automatically, so a door stopper was inserted to make sure the investigation

team could go through… on the floor, a handysize tin of gasoline lay.

“That’s where it was ignited, but… look at the walls.”

Atami also peered in from behind Ibusuki. Along the walls, there were LED lights

lined up to imitate candles. Among them, one of them was burned pitch black.

191

“That was the trigger… I mean to say, in the socket you’re supposed to screw a

lightbulb into, it seems wire was wrapped around it.”

“… And what would that do?”

To Ibusuki’s question, “Kapow,” Shirahama mouthed the sound effect,

energetically opening her closed fist.

“It’ll scatter sparks the moment electricity’s passed through it. By the time the

room was lit, I think the gasoline had already vaporized, so it was set ablaze all

at once.”

“So this can’t be anything but a murder.”

Ibusuki bit her lip. Shirahama continued her explanation.

“From what I’ve heard, in this game you enter from the first chamber and clear

the code-like riddles to move forward. The passage that became the crime

scene connected the third and fourth chambers. You can reach the exit from the

fourth chamber. There’s a high probability the culprit infiltrated from the exit

side to set this up. ”

“Which means there’s a high probability the culprit is connected to this facility,

or event staff!”

Atami sounded enthusiastic, but, “I wonder,” said Ibusuki.

“When it comes to the exit, it’s the one we just came through, right? Just after

you walk out of the elevator, an unpopular corridor… with the words, ‘This is the

Exit’ plainly laid out. Don’t you think anyone could’ve snuck in? All they’d need

to set up was the gasoline and the coil.”

“R-right you are!”

For now, Atami made a memo of the info he’d collected. Rather than putting

any uneccesary deductions to mouth, it looked far better to leave it to his

superior.

“But Shirahama-san. This means that it was set to ignite the moment electricity

was passed through, right? Where’s the switch?”

“It was apparently set up to detect whenever someone passed through and

automatically turn on. Please come over here.”

192

Shirahama led the two detectives down the corridor. The fourth chamber had a

black TV, a black phone, and a black kotatsu in place. It was a Japanese room all

black in bad taste. The three passed through it and entered the passage that led

to the exit. To the side of the door labelled <EXIT>, an electronic switch was

placed.

“They probably turned auto mode off here, before setting up the wire and

turning it back on. That way, when the next person passed through, the sensor

would detect them, the lights would turn one, and the sparks would go kapow.

That’s how it is.”

“Meaning this was an indiscriminate murder targeting whoever escaped the

third chamber first. That’s what it has to mean, right?”

“… Perhaps.”

To Atami’s words, Ibusuki made a frown as she nodded. At that moment, the

exit door opened and a single man popped in his head. A constitution like a

rugby player, and a characteristically grim countenance, it was police sergeant

Nagashima.

“Ibusuki-san. I’ve looked over the security camera footage with the people of

the district.”

“What’s the result?”

“Yes. It seems the preparations for this House of Darkness were carried out by a

contractor yesterday. The only people to enter this attraction before the

incident were the person responsible for the event, Miyahara, alongside… the

part-time staff member Fukaya-san. Just those two. According to their

testimony, they had to check and see if any of the contraptions were defective,

the time was around midday. Also.”

As if to stress what came next was the main point, Nagashima forced his

audacious eyebrows together.

“Between midday and three when the event started, the only people to enter

the fifth floor were the eight event participants, including the victim. Apart from

them, the only ones on this floor were the two staff members I just told you

about.”

193

“I see. We’ve narrowed down our suspects.”

Ibusuki narrowed her eyes. Giving Atami a hand signal, she walked off. Leaving

the House of Darkness, she walked straight down the corridor.

“I-Ibusuki-san…?”

“The relevant personnel are gathered in this floor’s meeting room, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“The culprit is either an event participant, or a staff member. Nine suspects… If

we hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, we’ll have it figured out soon

enough.”

“Um, but…”

There was a question that stuck in a corner of his head, so Atami timidly tried

saying it.

“Even if the setup was simple, this was the first time the event participants

experienced the House of Darkness, correct? That means the only one who

could have a grasp of the place’s structure beforehand was the staff, so doesn’t

the culprit have to be a staff member?”

“There’s no guarantee.”

A voice came from the back of the passageway, stopping Atami and Ibusuki in

their tracks. That familiar voice set their bodies stiff as they turned.

Long bangs that hid his eyes, an oversized white hoodie, and hands thrust into

his pockets. A lack of ambition that hadn’t changed in the slightest from when

they met him around the start of the month.

“Kirishima… Chizuru…”

Ibusuki’s voice went a tone lower as she called that name. As if she was calling

the name of a bitter foe.

“Why are you here?”

“I was participating in the event by pure coincidence.”

“Oh I see… now can you explain to me why you’re freely loitering near the crime

scene?”

194

“Because I went to the bathroom.”

“Is that so! Then get back this instant!”

With a mildly bewildered expression, Chizuru tilted his head, placing a hand on

his nape.

“Looks like I’m hated. I didn’t really do anything today.”

Without giving an answer, Ibusuki took the lead and walked down the hall.

Chizuru whispered to Atami.

“Hey, why is she so angry?”

“W-who can say? I wonder why…”

While he said that, Atami knew the reason Ibusuki was nervous. And he also

hoped that, if possible, Chizuru wouldn’t do anything unnecessary this time

around.

“By the way, Chizuru-kun. You’d better keep to yourself today. I’m seriously

begging you here.”

“Oh, that’s a surprise, Atami-san. When you usually beg me to solve the case.”

“I-I’ve never begged.”

“Oy, Atami! Hurry up and bring him over.”

Ibusuki shouted out, so Atami hurriedly pulled Chizuru along by the hand.

“Ah, that hurts, Atami-san, can’t you walk a bit slower…”

“Yeah, yeah, just come. And please keep to yourself today.”

“You already said that.”

“Yes. I said it twice, because it’s important.”

It really was important, he emphasized it again.

And Atami thought back to his conversation with Chizuru’s father… with Head

Detective Kirishima.

＊

195

The Detective Chief Superintendent’s office at the prefect.

It was May Fourth, Greenery Day. After the resolution of a murder case in

Yumoto City, Atami and Ibusuki were summoned there.

“I had a bit of a question.”

The man who supervised the criminal affairs department of the prefect…

Kirishima Kankurou spoke. Resting his elbows against an expensive-looking

wooden desk, he locked his fingers stuck in white gloves together.

He was a man who might be taken as an undertaker. The gloves went without

saying, but the black suit he wore from top to bottom and his facial features

with gloom finely chiseled in only strengthened that impression.

“A question… what could it be?”

Standing a step in front of Atami, Ibusuki carefully asked. Chief Superintendent

Kirishima wouldn’t give an answer so easily. Quietly lifting himself out of his

chair with wheels, he folded his hands behind him as he traversed the room.

“I applaud your work in resolving that case today… Police Inspector Ibusuki, and

Assistant Inspector Atami.”

“Presumptuous as it may be, I must offer a correction. Atami was taken off the

investigation.”

Ibusuki pointed it out without the slightest hesitation, but Kirishima sent her a

slight sidelong glance, “But even so, I heard he urged the culprit to turn herself

in. His contributions are the highest of all… As chief, it’s not a good feeling to

have a criminal come out of one of our detective’s families, but it’s not like they

were so close as parents or siblings.” He said.

Atami lowered his head, he couldn’t find any joy in the man’s lack of restraint.

The reason being, while he had concealed his existence, the one who identified

the culprit and had her sink under his deductions was this man’s own son,

Chizuru. Even if it wasn’t a secret, when he thought of the critical situation

surrounding this parent and child, it wasn’t something he could bring himself to

say.

“Now onto the question… it’s about Kirishima Chizuru.”

196

Atami thought his heart might stop. To Atami, the fact he called his son by his

full name felt uncanny. He stood in front of the curtain-sealed window and

spoke.

“I heard Kirishima Chizuru was involved in two cases that occurred in Yumoto

City in the month of April.”

“The murder of an Izumi Central Junior High teacher. And the case involving the

injury of a gardener. You are correct.”

Ibusuki answered as if to prove him out.

“… And today’s case as well?”

The moment Atami saw Ibusuki’s expression as she furrowed her brow in doubt

beside him, he felt as if his breathing might go out of control.

“No… He didn’t have the slightest involvement in this case.”

“Oh?”

At Ibusuki’s response, Kirishima directed a sharp look at Atami. Atami thought

he might collapse. Apart from the persons concerned he had placed a gag order

on, the only one who knew of Chizuru’s involvement was Atami himself. From

where did Kankurou catch onto that information?

Or could it be the result he produced from reasoning out the info he had on

hand? Just as his own son had done to catch the culprit?

But Kankurou,

“… I see. Thank you.”

Pulled back all too easily. “Yes,” Ibusuki gave a curt response. Though when it

came to Chizuru’s involvement, Atami who knew the truth couldn’t stay at ease.

“I’d like to ask just one favor from you two.”

“A favor?”

“That’s right. Even if Kirishima Chizuru has any involvement in any further

incidents… by no means, can you let him participate in the investigation.”

“Of course. That’s how we’ve handled it thus far as well.”

197

Ibusuki said in a strong tone. The chief detective gave a faint smile.

“Then that’s how it is, I leave it to you.”

With just those words, Ibusuki and Atami left the office.

Why would the Detective Chief Superintendent go out of his way to say such a

thing? A son he was living apart from for some reason.

Yet he was mindful that the boy was showing his face around crime scenes, for

what reason could that be? Atami couldn’t tell what was going on in Chief

Detective Kirishima’s heart at all.

But whatever the case, it was an order from the top detective. Atami mustered

a strong resolve to not leak Chizuru any unnecessary information.

… No, that went without saying.

198

6

All the relevant parties were already gathered in the meeting room.

The blinds were lowered on the window, as a fluorescent light bright enough to

call pointless illuminated the room. All present sat around a conference table in

the middle of the room, as all hung their heads in gloom. But as they noticed the

detectives- and Chizuru- come in, they all raised their faces.

“Ah, Chizuru-senpai! You’re finally back.”

While the others gazed at the detectives with nervous faces, Yuzuki’s gaze was

poured at Chizuru. Not fully unsatisfied, Chizuru took a seat beside him.

Elsewhere, an Ageha gazed over the scene with a warm smile. As the three of

them had all been involved in a case at least once, it seemed they had built up a

slight immunity. Whether that was a good thing or not.

Atami took a rough look around the individuals in the room.

The presumed couple of a blond-haired woman and brown-haired man

nervously lent each other a shoulder. The middle-aged man in a three-piece suit

restlessly touched his moustache, while the woman with sunglasses resting on

her forehead closed her eyes haggardly.

Across the table, the high school team. And the remaining ones, from their

outfits, they were probably staff. A woman wearing a crimson scarf, and the

man who seemed to be in charge.

As Atami and Ibusuki approached, the man stood as a conditioned reflex,

directing the to their seats.

“Thanks. I’m Ibusuki from the prefect, and this is my subordinate Atami. Calm

down, and first off, take a seat.”

Ibusuki said calmly and looked at the faces of everyone gathered.

“I’d first like to hear all your profiles. Your name and occupation. Let’s start with

the staff.”

199

The man with his hair parted in a three-to-seven ration stood once more. From

how he incessantly rubbed his hands together, it was clear he was terribly

agitated.

“Ah, yes. Hello, hello. I’m Miyahara, I was in charge of the event. Miyahara

Yukio. The Escape from the House of Darkness was, well, yes. I was responsible

for it, and I was also thorough in securing the safety of all parts, but on this

occasion…”

“I see, that’s enough.”

Ibusuki curtly shut him up. Her eyes urged the woman beside Miyahara to go

next. She spoke up in a somber alto.

“I’m Fukaya Sawako. I’m a part-time hire, and I was working as something of a

navigator for the game.”

“Is this the first time you’ve worked part-time on this event?”

Ibusuki asked. Yes, Fukaya gave a dignified nod.

“I saw the ad and sent in my application. It wasn’t about how high the salary

was, I’m a fan of Producer Akabane, so I couldn’t help but try out.”

“She was quite enthusiastic, yes. Over this past half-year, she continued sending

in one application after the next, and her enthusiasm won me over. Won the

firm over as well.”

Miyahara got in a word.

“The firm… is it. My apologies, Miyahara-san, but what exactly your position

that makes you responsible? Are you a person of this building?”

“Oh heavens no.”

He shook his head.

“Yumoto New Town Building is a building our firm paid money to rent, and it is

not under the jurisdiction of our company by any means. I, um, well, I am an

employee of the company that carries and holds a trademark over the name

Actual Labyrinth.”

“Hmm.”

200

Ibusuki didn’t show any particular interest, but as he was filling out the

paperwork, Atami put it down.

Following on, the participants of the game named themselves.

Apart from the three high school students, there were Yumoto University

students Oomiya Shinjirou and Ino Makita. The net news writer Takasaki Ibuki,

and the game designer Okabe Shousaku

“Umm, if I may, detective.”

Once everyone had finished their introduction, Miyahara reservedly opened his

mouth.

“Will our firm have to pay fire damage reparations to this facility after all? We

have vowed to uphold perfect standards when it comes to maintaining safety

and…”

“I understand. Have some piece of mind. I think such reparations should be

demanded from the culprit.”

Ibusuki’s words set those involved astir. Atami was surprised as well. She was

already dealing that card?

“What do you mean by culprit?”

Takasaki leaned forward. Ibusuki disinterestedly explained. There was gasoline

scattered around the scene. That a coil had been wrapped around a light bulb.

The explanation ended and Makita cried out.

“No way! Then if one of us cleared it before that Oku-san, we woulda been

screwed.”

“That’s scary… Chizuru would’ve been in real danger. He was the first in all the

other stages.”

“Hm? Hmm…”

At Ageha’s words, Chizuru made a dubious expression. He looked like he wanted

to sleep. His indifference towards the case, for now it was something to

celebrate, but Atami felt a tinge of loneliness… is he really not going to do a

smidgen of deduction?

201

“About that,” Yuzuki spoke up.

“Why was Oku-san able to reach the answer so quickly? It was a moment after

he read the problem display. Truly… practically as if someone had told him the

answer.”

“Is that true? That quickly?”

Ibusuki bit onto the new piece of info. Yuzuki gave a big nod.

“Yes. It really was instantaneous.”

“He’s right, that wasn’t normal,” said Takasaki.

“Which means… someone who knew the answer was able to indirectly ffeed it

to him?”

On Atami’s idea, Makita snapped at him.

“Hey, what do you mean by someone? You’re making it sound like one of us’s

the culprit…”

“No, wait a second, Makita.”

Her boyfriend Oomiya gave a somewhat vulgar smile.

“If there was a culprit who could secretly give only Oku-san the answer… then

we’re not the suspicious ones.”

He sent a glance towards the two staff members.

Miyahara opened his small eyes wide, “Nononono,” he raised a voice of protest.

“For one of us to tell a guest anything beforehand is…”

“That’s right. Even if they weren’t a staff member, there was a way for them to

know beforehand.”

The one who said it was Chizuru. Everyone’s eyes gathered on him.

“What do you mean? Don’t keep it to yourself, share it with the rest of the

class.”

“You don’t have to be so hostile, Inspector Ibusuki. This is something I heard

from Takasaki-san. Right?”

“Ah, that’s right,” Takasaki responded as if she had suddenly just recalled.

202

She spoke of the blog post that was open to the public for a short window of

time. Certainly, if someone read the details of an identical events, it was

plausible for them to anticipate and place various contraptions beforehand.

“I see, so there’s no guarantee the suspect is a staff member.”

Ageha thought to herself.

“It makes sense, the exit was in quite an obvious place, so someone might be

able to secretly go in the other way and lay a trap.”

“But in that case,” Fukaya timidly raised a hand.

“There’s a possibility someone apart from us nine could have snuck in and…”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Ibusuki spoke about the security cameras. There were cameras on the elevator

and stairs, but the only ones to enter the fifth floor in the problematic time

space were those gathered here.

“I-is that so.”

Fukaya uncomfortable lowered her gaze.

“Ah, but we couldn’t have!” said Yuzuki.

“We headed to the venue the moment we arrived on the floor, so we didn’t

have the time.”

“That is certainly true.”

Miyahara lent a glance to the three high schoolers.

“You three were our final guests, after all. But the other guests arrived around

thirty minutes ahead of schedule, and they all took the opportunity to use the

restroom, so…”

You’re saying it’s possible for us four, that’s what you want to say?”

Makita interpreted in a sharp voice. Intimidated by a female college student

young enough to be his daughter, Miyahara began chewing his own words.

Ibusuki hit her hands together and went on to a different question.

203

“For reference, could the two staff members please state your movements prior

to and during the incident?”

Miyahara starting rubbing his hands together again as he spoke.

“I-I was, umm… once I finished confirming the attraction’s interior at midday, I

ate some lunch with Fukaya-kun… after that, I greeted our guests, yes. While

the event was in progress, I was in this meeting room the whole time, looking

over documents as I stood on standby. Partway through, I was joined by Fukaya-

kun.”

“There’s no doubt about it,” Fukaya nodded. “After I explained the rules to the

customers in the first chamber, I returned to this room, and used that…” she

pointed to a mountain of electronics in a corner of the room, “mic hooked up to

the speakers to read the script to our guests.”

Atami recorded it all down in his notepad. After making sure of that, Ibusuki hit

her hands together and changed the subject.

“By the way, is there anyone here acquainted with the late Oku-san?”

“I’d doubt it. The tickets were all by lottery.”

Miyahara didn’t hesitate to give a reply.

“I was not asking you… and it looks like the others have some ideas.”

Ibusuki didn’t let the uncertain looks on the participants’ faces slip by.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call us acquaintances.”

Okabe scratched his brow as he gave an ill natured reply.

“It’s just, umm… he was a hugh fan of Producer Akabane who laid out the

design for this Escape from the House of Darkness, and in that regard, he was

exceedingly famous.”

“Notorious, even.”

Ageha expressed it in short. Oomiya and Makita didn’t deny it.

“I mean yeah, his reputation’s terrible, but there shouldn’t be anyone here who

hates him enough to want to kill him.”

204

Not wanting anyone to get ahead of themselves, Takasaki spoke quickly.

“Rather than a zealous fan, I just came here to gather material for an article.”

“Yes, I’m the same,” said Okabe.

“I came because I thought it would give me some ideas for my own job… rather,

you youngsters over there, when you first introduced yourselves, I remember

you getting into an argument with Oku-kun.”

Receiving his eyes, Oomiya and Makita’s faces turned impatient.

“W-what are you talking about! Who would kill someone over a stupid quibble

like that?”

“Right, right.”

Atami grew curious over what this argument was abut but, “That’s irrelevant,”

Chizuru flatly pointed out.

“By that point, the culprit should have already set the gasoline and trigger. That

wouldn’t become a motive for the crime.”

“I’m well aware.”

Ibusuki swiftly silenced Chizuru.

“By the way, Fukaya-san, were you aware of Oku-san? You’re a fan of Producer

Akabane, right?”

Fukaya narrowed her dignified brow in dismay, touching a hand to her face.

“That’s true, but… I don’t use the internet much, so I was unaware of him.

Umm, I saw him at the start of the event, but Oku-san was that person with thin

eyebrows, right? I think that was the first time I saw his face.”

Hmm.“

Ibuski showed a satisfied nod. Not losing a change, Makita put in her mouth.

“N’ wait, isn’t this one of those indiscriminate murder things? I mean, there’s no

way they could tell who the first one to clear the third chamber would be!”

“B-but… if the victim was really so irreputable, then I think the probability

they’d be aimed for really must be high.”

205

Atami ended up saying. Yeah, that’s right, Ageha put a finger to her lips.

“He solved it that quickly, after all. It almost feels like Oku-san alone was given

an invisible hint.”

“… I see. Meaning it’s possible that the game’s participants… had a way of

singling him out.”

Ibusuki said as she looked over everyone’s faces.

“Right, the card!”

Yuzuki cried out as it struck him.

“Oku-san was staring intently at the card, it was like he suddenly realized

something. Maybe there was something like a hint written on that card.”

“The one who handed them out was Fukaya-san, right?”

When Oomiya said that, Fukaya’s face turn terribly surprised as she desperately

shook her head.

“Those came in an envelope from the main Actual Labyrinth company, and I

only unsealed them right before the event was to start. They were on my

person the whole time… so there wasn’t any time for anyone to tamper with

them.”

“Umm, doesn’t that like just leave you?”

On Makita’s words, Fukaya’s expression turned to despair. There, Takasaki

forced her way in.

“What are you talking about? In the first chamber, we all showed each other our

cards. Did that card have anything on it besides the hint to solve the first riddle?

Not that I recall.”

“Hmm, I definitely saw Oku-kun’s card… there wasn’t anything strange about it.”

With Okabe’s aid, Fukaya pat her chest in relief.

“Then in the third chamber, someone said a strange statement to lead him on…

did anything of the sort occur?”

206

On Ibusuki’s pointed question, the guests all made faces as if to probe out such

a statement.

“I don’t… think there was anything like that.”

Okabe uncomfortably stroked his beard as he revealed. Ageha also gave a big

nod.

“There weren’t any people who spoke to Oku-san alone. Takasaki-san said

something like, ‘Do you think the Authors are the hint’ but… Oomiya-san, Ino-

san and Okabe-san didn’t say anything in particular.”

“That’s how it is.”

Oomiya made a triumphant face. Ibusuki lightly glared at him.

“Then who was standing closest to Oku-san?”

The one discretely raising a hand was Okabe.

“The closest one might have been me. But I was a meter away. He was making

sure to hide his card as he stared intently at it.”

“Hey, before all that stuff.”

Makita tapered her lips as she leaked a complaint.

“In the end, what was the answer to the code? If we know that, don’t you think

we might get somewhere?”

“It was Jack.”

On Chizuru’s sudden words, the others looked to be doubting their ears. For a

moment, Atami was also unable to grasp what he said.

“Eh? Chizuru, you say something?”

“As I was saying, that’s the answer.”

“C-Chizuru-senpai, you solved it!?”

“Yeah. The moment before the incident occurred.”

He nodded and informed them of the answer.

207

“J.A.C.K. Those were the four alphabet letters. It was simply based off the

answers to the first and second chambers, and…”

“Oy, hold it. Don’t just the talks forward on your own. Inform the police of the

context.”

“I’m not good at talking, so I’ll leave it to my wonderful childhood friend and my

cute underclassman to explain.” Placing a hand over the shoulders of Ageha and

Yuzuki sitting on either side of him, throwing the matter entirely.

“Hey, Chizuru-senpai, please don’t call me cute! I don’t like being talked about

like that… ah, but when I hear it from you, I guess it doesn’t feel so bad.”

Towards a bashful Yuzuki and a full-face-smiling Ageha watching over the two

boys, Ibusuki loudly hit her hands together twice.

“Please save those reactions for later. Hurry up and explain.”

Sure enough, unlike Chizuru, the two high schoolers were able to give a simple

explanation without putting on airs.

“… Hmm, so the flow from the first chamber led up to the third chamber’s

answer? So why is this other individual Jack?”

“Oh. I got it.” Takasaki hit a fist down onto a hand.

“It’s trump cards.”

“Oh I see! The first chamber’s answer was Ellery Queen! The key in the second

chamber was a statue of King Arthur! The remaining face card is Jack.”

“Precisely, Okabe-san. There was also a hint for us to realize that… look at the

back side of your card.”

Chizuru produced the problematic piece of paper from his pocket. On the back

was a picture of an angel riding a bike.

“An angel and bike… this strange pairing is what’s found on the back of the

internationally famous American brand Bicycle’s standard playing cards. When

they said the cards would be the hint, they really meant it.”

When Chizuru sent them a glance, the two staff members exchanged a glance.

They gave a small nod.

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“Amazing, Chizuru-senpai!”

Both his hands together, with glimmering eyes, Yuzuki looked at Chizuru. As if to

extinguish those sparkles, Ibusuki clapped again to gather attention.

“And! So what? How was that useful to solving the case?”

On those words, the participants calmed down.

I see, just knowing the answer to the code in the game didn’t provide any

progress to the incident in reality.

“Right… no one said anything about trump cards back then.”

Takasaki bit her lip, “I said something completely off the mark,” she sounded

annoyed.

“Yeah, yeah, so nothing’s changed.”

Said Oomiya. Everyone instantly reverted to their cold expressions.

“In that case, it really was an indiscriminate murder… is that what it means?”

“No, that’s wrong, Yuzuki. This was a crime targeted against Oku-san alone.”

Chizuru spoke. Everyone focused attention on him.

“What do you mean by that? High school detective?”

Takasaki asked in doubt. Chizuru directed a glance at her.

“Takasaki-san, can I ask you a question? How long has Oku-san be like that?”

“Meaning?”

“I mean, for how long has he been famous in a bad sense?”

“Yeaah, let’s see. For around the past year, I’d say. Right, Okabe-san?”

“Yes, I think so. I learned of him more recently than that.”

“I’d expect so, his fame’s only grown recently. He had that characteristic was of

writing about himself, and those glasses and long hair, those peculiar purple

clothing only became his venomous style within the past three months… What

about it, high school detective? Is his degree of fame relevant to this case?”

“It is. This incident was undoubtedly a devised to target Oku-san alone, after

all… and a person who could carry it out… there’s only one among us.”

In an unmotivated tone, Chizuru declared.

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7

“That means… you know the culprit?”

Takasaki raised a high voice of amazement. The others all uniformly showed

surprised faces as well.

“S-so who are you saying did it, Chizuru-kun!”

Atami couldn’t help but ask, but “Oy!” Ibusuki gave a strong restraint. That’s

right. Chief Detective Kirishima ordered them to not let Chizuru get involved.

“… Kirishima Chizuru. Any unnecessary statements that throw our investigation

awry will be…”

“But Chizuru-senpai hasn’t said anything unnecessary!”

Yuzuki desperately cried out. Ibusuki went sullen as she tried to refute, but as if

to cover for him, Takasuki voiced her agreement.

“Can’t you at least hear out what he has to say? From what I can tell, his

deductive prowess isn’t bad.”

“You’re talking about a game. That’s on a different level from a real-life

murder.”

“Oh, but that doesn’t make for a reason not to hear him out, does it?”

On that sound opinion, Ibusuki bit her lip, leaving her back to the chair. “… Very

well, then say what you will, Kirishima Chizuru.”

“W-who are you saying the culprit is?”

Unable to calm down, Miyahara rubbed his hands together as he asked.

“In this incident, the most important factor is how to single out the victim to be

killed.”

Without answering Miyahara’s question, Chizuru went on at his own pace.

“Once you know that, the culprit comes naturally.”

“But,” Makita stuck un her mouth, “At the time, no one said anything

210

unnecessary to Oku.”

“Yes. That’s why I can only think the setup was in the card. Right before his

death, he was staring intently at his card.”

“But isn’t that speculation?” said Ibusuki. “Oku is dead. At this point, how he

learned the answer is something we can only leave up to our imagination…”

“No, I can declare it. Are you listening? The bicycle design that identified the

answer to the code was on the back of the card. And yet, he was looking at the

front… where Masuji something something was written… when he realized the

answer. What’s more, he didn’t misunderstand and input something that

missed the mark, he was guided to the right answer. That itself suggests a hint

that was never supposed to be there was written on the front of the card…

don’t you think?”

“Wait a second,” this time Oomiya spoke. “The card we saw in the first chamber

didn’t have anything suspicious on it. You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I saw it. That’s why… it was written in invisible letters.”

“Invisible,” “Letters?”

Oomiya and Makita replied in perfect sync. Chizuru nodded.

“That’s right. At the start, the victim didn’t see it either. However… the moment

he entered the third chamber, it became visible.”

“Can something so magical happen?”

Atami couldn’t help but say. “Yes,” Chizuru gave a big nod.

“The culprit made use of the characteristics of the third chamber.”

“The black light.”

Takasaki said as if carried on by the heat.

“Right? If it’s written in invisible ink, you usually wouldn’t be able to see it.”

“Correct.”

Chizuru smiled.

“If they used in that would only visualize when under a black light, they would

be able to show the victim the message the first time they entered the third

chamber. Because in all the stages to that point, the light sources were candles

211

and fireplaces, warm colored lights.”

“A black light, you say?” Ibusuki furrowed her brow.

“I never heard about this. That room was lit up with a black light?”

Under her glare, Miyahara gave a cry of, “Eep,” in the back of his throat.

“S-sorry, I’m sorry. To make it so the policemen could walk around with ease,

we cut the attraction-purposed illumination and switched over to normal

lights.”

“I thought so. This floor was just borrowed out for the event. There’s no way

there could be a room lit up with black light on a regular basis. Well, as the back

light was never on, there’s no helping that Inspector Ibusuki never noticed it.

Meaning the trick went like this.”

Chizuru rhythmically drummed his fingers against the conference table as he

continued his explanation.

“This was the culprit’s trap… only the card handed to the victim detailed a

blatant hint beforehand. Perhaps, ‘Trump’ or, ‘Reference the rooms you’ve been

in,’ I’m sure some obvious key words were thrown in. With that alone, the

possibility the victim is the first to solve the riddle skyrockets. To add to that,

the moment the victim leaps into the room, the card is incinerated ant the

evidence disappears.”

“W-which means the culprit is…”

Atami swallowed his breath as he slowly moved his gaze. Chizuru turned in the

same direction as well.

“Fukaya Sawako-san, it’s you.”

With a finger thrust at her, Fukaya Sawako opened her lips in a peculiar shape,

staring fixatedly back at Chizuru.

“Lie… that’s a lie! You’re just imagining things.”

She suddenly kicked her pipe chair back and stood.

“Your reasoning is all over the place. You say those letters became visible for the

first time in the third chamber? If something so unnatural happened, Oku-san

212

would definitely doubt it. There’s no doubt he’d try to confirm it with the other

participants!”

“Sure enough, that’s a valid opinion.”

When Ibusuki nodded, a little relief oozed into Fukaya’s face, but Chizuru

mercilessly plunged in.

“You mustn’t forget this, Inspector Ibusuki. At the time of the incident, we were

playing a game.”

Ibusuki fell silent. She noticed an insufficiency in her own simulation.

“Try imagining it. After solving the problems of the first and second chamber,

this bizarre air itself is the experience of playing Actual Labyrinth. Having come

so far, the black light shines down, a bizarre design, a bizarre space… meaning in

that time and place, strange was no longer strange. The victim thought that was

an officially embedded hint, never doubting it once. On top of that, he was a

radical Producer Akabane Follower with an ardent hate for beginners. If he was

told to go forth on his own, it is easy to imagine him leaping straight into the

trap without sharing opinions with any of the other participants.”

Once Kirishima cut his words, everyone was quiet. A while later, “May I say

something,” Okabe raised a hand.

“By your reasoning, you can certainly explain ‘How he was killed’. But with that

alone, your evidence is…”

“You’re right, it might be weak. But apart from that, there are suspicious points

with Fukaya-san herself.”

“W-what are you talking about!? What about me is suspicious?”

Fukaya put both hands to the desk, howling at Chizuru. But in a contrastive

calm, he spoke.

“You don’t know Oku-san. Today is the first time you saw him. Is that right?”

“That’s right, what about it?”

“When asked by Ibusuki, you described Oku as the person with the thin

eyebrows, didn’t you?”

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“And what about that is--”

“Was that true?”

Yuzuki spoke. The gazes concentrated on him.

“Ah, no… I’m not talking about whether Fukaya-san said it or not. I just can’t

really remember anything about Oku-san’s eyebrows.”

“Me neither, me neither!” Ageha sympathized.

“When Fukaya-san said it back then, I tried thinking a bit, but I couldn’t recall

the eyebrows at all. I mean, Oku-san’s got weed-like hair, a purple shirt and

those thick glasses, those are some strong characteristic looks, you know.”

Crap, Fukaya’s face said as she held her mouth. But it was already too late.

“I never saw the victim while alive… but if that’s really what he looked like then

it certainly might be strange for one’s first impression to be eyebrows.”

Ibusuki admitted as well. It was a somewhat surreal conversation, but Fukaya

made a face of despair as she sharply bit into her lip.

“Right, according to Takasaki-san, Oku took up that peculiar mantle around

three months ago. Which means, Fukaya-san. Perhaps you knew Oku from

before then… or so it might imply.”

“B-but that’s also speculation or rather, you don’t have a shred of material

evidence.”

“We have material evidence apart from that.”

Turning to Miyahara who had fallen back, Chizuru said flatly. He pointed to

something no one had paid any attention to, to that point. Her handbag she had

placed by her feet.

“You could only have written your addition to the card today. Up ‘til then, the

problematic item was sealed in an envelope. Which means, Fukaya-san, it

should be in your bag. The invisible ink and pen you used to write that

message.”

The blood drained from Fukaya’s face. As both her arms drooped powerlessly,

she was left standing crestfallen on the spot.

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“B-but young man. Isn’t there a possibility she already discarded it?”

Said Okabe. Chizuru shook his head.

“I’m sure she was too scared to throw it away. If that special ink was found, the

trick would be unraveled, and it would be inevitable that suspicions would be

directed at the only person capable of carrying it out. In that case, camouflaging

it in a different bottle and keeping it close at hand was her safest bet. According

to her testimony, she didn’t have the time to go to a different floor to discard it

anyways.”

“… Fukaya-san. Would it be alright if I searched your hand baggage?”

When Atami stood and said that, she retrieved the bag at her feet, suddenly

raising it high overhead and throwing it as if she intended to break it.

“Geh.”

Atami groaned. It was a direct hit to the face. Makita screamed, clinging

fearfully to Oomiya.

“… If you want to search it so badly, then search the damn thing. What I used to

write was a highlighter out of ink. It’s in the pencil case. The invisible ink is in the

eyedrop bottle.”

She spat out the words. It was as if she had lost her inhibitions, a voice without

the slightest fragment of refreshingness. The poison she had stored all over her

body under her cool façade was being emitted all at once.

“What’s the matter, Fukaya-kun!”

Miyahara barked bitterly. “You were such an enthusiastic fan of Producer

Akabane, weren’t you! And yet, you used this event to do such a… such a…!”

“This is just my conjecture, but… Perhaps Fukaya-san actually hates Producer

Akabane… or Actual Labyrinth itself?”

“Precisely.”

On Fukaya’s low voice, Miyahara’s body froze over. “Looks like you get it,” she

nonchalantly said. Chizuru shrugged his shoulders as he went on.

215

“The victim was famous, you could even identify his social media account. If you

really wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be hard to locate him and kill him on the

street. And yet you went out of your way to use this risky killing method with

such a limited array of possible suspects and so many uncertain factors… you

wanted to ruin an event produced by Akabane in itself. Isn’t that the thought

that underlay it all?”

“My oh my, you really see through me. That’s precisely right.”

Fukaya stood looking on Miyahara, spitting as she spoke.

“All I did was lower the curtain on this ridiculous farce of an event… alongside

the vile man who stole my brother’s life.”

“What do you mean?”

Without even looking at the sincere expression Okabe made as he asked,

Fukaya flowingly spoke on. As if she was reading out a script in her head.

“I took part in an Actual Labyrinth with my middle school little brother… with

Shinya… that was half a year ago. No, to be more precise, we were blocked from

participating… by that man.”

So you did meet Oku before. Atami felt embarrassed he had honestly swallowed

down her claim of never knowing him. She seemed to be an actress.

“He was a joke of a man. That time, unlike today’s limited event, there was a

long line to get in. And it seemed that guy was at the end of his patience, he cut

in front of the kid ahead of him. A weak-willed-looking little girl, she gave off

around an upper-elementary school vibe, but whatever the case, it looked like

Oku knew she wouldn’t be able to complain, and when she did muster up every

ounce of courage to protest, he snapped at her. I’m an adult, I’m a bigger fan

than you, he brandished some incoherent logic, and as I gazed on from around

five spots back, it was considerably irritating. So my brother with his strong

sense of justice couldn’t stay quiet anymore. He turned to Oku and smacked

him with a sound argument… of course, you all knows what happens when you

try hitting a man like Oku with sound argument, right?”

Fukaya spoke as if making an appeal. The area sullenly returned to silence.

216

“My brother was thrust away by him. He staggered and fell down a flight of

stairs… of course, the air became one where the surrounding customers

wouldn’t stay silent either, but my brother sure was an idiot you see, even when

he had fallen down the stairs, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ he said and tried to look cool.

He really was an idiot… my brother. Since Shinya said he was feeling sick, just to

be careful, we decided to go home. On the way back, he suddenly collapsed,

and straight up…”

“Was it because Oku pushed him?”

On Atami’s mildly idiotic question, Fukaya mockingly scoffed.

“Of course it was! The doctor said the cause of death was cerebral contusion.”

“Then why didn’t you tell the police!? That’s a splendid case of manslaughter! If

you filled out the proper paperwork, you should’ve been able to prosecute

him.”

Ibusuki also exposed her anger as she raised her voice.

“I knew that was coming!”

Fukaya’s scream rose in intensity as well. As if possessed by something, she

swung around her arms.

“The night my brother breathed his last in the hospital, I immediately did my

research. About that man…! When I looked up the event, he popped up

immediately! But that bastard, that bastard!”

From her wide-open bloodshot eyes, the tears flowed out as if her ducts were

out of order.

“The fact he had pushed away my brother! He had written about it himself! So

comically and proudly… ‘Got rid of a bandwagoner brat, better get them while

they’re young’ he said! I couldn’t forgive it, there was no way it could be

forgiven! When he had stolen away a single human life, he boasted about it, he

went and enjoyed the event without a care in the world.”

“Then, then the reason you tried to crush an Akabane Event was…”

217

It seemed Miyahara had completely forgotten his fears, he was rubbing his

hands together again as he asked. Fukaya gave a big shrug of her shoulders.

“Yes, that’s right! If these ridiculous events didn’t exist, my brother wouldn’t

have died, we wouldn’t have to have met that man! That’s why, this, this…!”

“Quite screwing around!”

Yuzuki cried out. On the delicate boy’s sudden outburst, as if caught by a

surprise attack, Fukaya shut her lips. He stood.

“Certainly, what Oku-san did was the worst! I have a brother too, so I can

understand how you’d never forgive him if their life was taken away like that.

But taking life away… what’s more, by lighting a fire in an event hall. Isn’t that

just as bad?”

“And what do you understand? A kid like you? This piece of shit of a…”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the game!”

Yuzuki slammed the table.

“Do you really not get it? The moment the gasoline you scattered caught fire,

did you know how far it had vaporized!? The force of the blast? How far the

surrounding people had to be to be safe? If the sprinklers were functional? Did

you really do this upon all those calculations?”

Fukaya opened her lips, but only a strange breath leaked out. There weren’t any

words.

“If you were unlucky, this entire building might’ve burned down! Also, if your

trick misfired, and someone else solved the riddle before Oku, that person

might have become a sacrifice! The one you exposed to danger wasn’t just the

target Oku! Chizuru-senpai and Ageha-senpai, everyone participating in the

event, everyone in the building! Don’t go getting the idea that you did a good

thing!”

“The kid’s right.”

Ibusuki also spoke in a dry tone as she placed a hand on Fukaya’s shoulder.

218

“You forgot yourself in anger and grew shortsighted. Have another good think

about the weight of what you did.”

“Urgh… kuh, uuu…”

Fukaya fell to her knees, covering her face. She was crying. Rather than losing to

Yuzuki and Ibusuki’s reprimand, she had been shaken so hard the string holding

her up had been severed, or so Atami saw it.

“Excuse me, Fukaya-san, I understand your anger. Someday, I’ll definitely write

an article honoring your little brother’s deeds.”

This time, Takasaki spoke kindly. She pulled in her chin to look down over the

collapsed woman.

“But you really are at a disadvantage. It really is hard to talk about a victim’s

fault. If you say the culprit had their reason, the world gives you a huge bashing.

So the most we can do is try not to circle around to the assailant’s side. You

really made an unfortunate decision.”

They were harsh words, but even so, Takasaki’s voice was gentle. Fukaya slowly

stood, she entrusted her body to Ibusuki. Atami hurried to support her up from

the other side.

“… Hey, high school detective.”

Fukaya turned her head to look over her shoulder. The ‘high school detective’

who solved the puzzle without getting up form his seat tilted his head to ask

what it was.

“What surprised me most, it wasn’t that the trick was revealed or that you

pinned down evidence… it’s that you were able to guess my motive. I know I’m

not one to speak, but don’t you… have some strong emotions in you as well?”

“Perhaps.”

Chizuru vaguely accepted it. Fukaya gave a farsighted smile.

“You’d best be careful. I don’t know what you’re holding that resentment

towards, but… if you don’t keep a good grip on it, you’ll end up like me.”

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“I’ll put that to heart.”

“We’re going.”

The conversation between detective and culprit over, Ibusuki walked off. AT the

doorway, she stopped her feet.

“… Thank you. You have my gratitude.”

Ibusuki gave Chizuru her formal thanks. From there, her steps grew a little faster

as she walked down the hall. A dazed Atami hurried to keep up with her back.

220

7

When they left the building, the outside had already gone dark.

The air was damp as if a rain had just let up, The city lights let off a somewhat

blurry glimmer. Chizuru, Yuzuki and Ageha walked side by side.

“I’m sorry about today, Chizuru-senpai, Ageha-senpai. For it to become

something like this.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not your fault, Yuzu-chan. You were really cool

back there, right Chizuru?”

“Mn.”

Chizuru gave a light nod. Yuzuki fave a smile of relief. From there, the three

walked silently a while. When they stopped the wait for a light, Yuzuki turned to

Chizuru and spoke.

“There’s one thing that’s been on my mind this whole time.”

“What?”

“You and Police Inspector Ibusuki… is there some history between you two?”

Chizuru stopped. Yuzuki followed suit.

“… Why do you think so?”

“Ah, no. I just thought she was strangely angry with you.”

“You’re right. I don’t really get it either, but it’s not ringing any bells. It’s

probably about three years ago… I think.”

On Chizuru’s strangely specific words, Yuzuki made a dubious face.

“Three years ago… is it?”

“There you go, saying it in a roundabout way again.”

Ageha sighed and added on.

“You mean when your mother passed away, don’t you?”

“Eh… she passed away? Chizuru-senpai’s mother?”

221

As Yuzuki’s expression stiffened, Chizuru sent a laugh.

“Don’t make that face, Yuzuki. It’s been three years. It’s not really weighing on

my mind…”

“But! If that’s the case, then why does Inspector Ibusuki have to be so hostile

towards you? When you’re the one who lost a mother.”

A strange, strained air flowed between the three of them.

The thunderous sound of a freight truck brought with it a large splash of water

as it raced by. In the night, three faces rose up. Ageha’s sullen face. Yuzuki’s

desperate face. Chizuru, still expressionless, his hair stuck down to his eyes.

“… It’s fine, Yuzuki. You don’t have to be so worked up.”

Chizuru smiled again. A tired, lonely sort of smile.

“It’s just, you see, in that incident, it’s true I made a slipup. When I… tried to pin

down the culprit, I was in a bit too much of a hurry.”

“About who killed your mother? But what does hurrying…?”

“… I’m sorry, Yuzuki.”

The voice that cut off Yuzuki, it held a strong and solid will. Chizuru closed his

mouth, and then, he opened it again. Closing his eyes, he said it quietly.

“I don’t want to talk about it… I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no… I should be the one, I’m sorry.”

The night breeze passed by.

A may night’s mix of sweet air, coming in tepid and leaving cold.

The steps of the three, little by little, began to stray.

Chizuru grew a smidgen faster, while Yuzuki seemed nervous of something as

the pace he carried his feet slowed… how inconvenient.

Chizuru thought so. In the end, no matter how much time passed, Chizuru

couldn’t talk about his mother’s death. That would probably go on forever.

But his puzzle solving, and his opposition of the police, and his discord with his

father, and his own lack of motivation, right, when it really came down to it, it

all converged in the past.

222

Not even to Ageha. Not even to Yuzuki.

Perhaps he could no longer associate with anyone in the truest sense anymore.

Chizuru somehow had a hunch it was so.

223

(TL: About the riddle in the second chamber. The original code and formula

were similar, but instead of L and R meaning go forward or backward a letter, it

meant to take that segment of the kanji in that space. I.E. take the left-hand side

of the kanji in the 23rd space, and add that to the righthand side of the kanji in

the 1st space to make a new kanji. This eventually made the kanji for statue. I

know this code translation might seem stupid. I’m not trying to be clever, I’m

just trying to have it make sense in English.)

224

Case 5: Kirishima Chizuru’s

Cold Case

225

1

The temperature slowly rises. The sound of rustling leaves and a car’s exhaust.

Chizuru closed his eye, putting his hands together in prayer as he took it all in.

Perhaps it was a mistake to come in a hoodie, he vaguely thought. Now that

June had reached its fourth day, it was terribly sultry.

He opened his eyes.

The gravestone he’d only just poured water from the bucket over, the shade of

an evergreen tree drew a speckled pattern over the stone lacquered in two

distinct colors of black and gray, making for quite a worthwhile sight.

“It’s going to be three years soon, mother.”

He quietly said. With a tone gentler than usual, he faced that gravestone

without any interesting traits besides the ‘Kirishima Family Grave’ text carved

into it.

“I’d really like to forget already… but for some reason, lately it’s been getting

noisy around me again.”

It was a fine voice that might disappear beneath the rustling of the trees.

“Well then, until next time.”

Without anything more to say, Chizuru closed his mouth. Lifting up the hand-

sized bucked with a ladle shoved in, he took a glance at the grave. The grime

stood out, and there were some weeds here and there. But he’d be back in no

time, so that was enough for now; he even exhibited his indolence in front of

the dead as he turned away.

His feet soon came to a stop.

A single man stood in front of him. Wearing a grey suit, a white-haired old man

of small build. Both the ends of his eyebrows and his sideburns were overly

fluffed up, his sharp pair of eyes giving a shrewd impression.

226

Chizuru stopped breathing, he stood still. There was no way he could forget. The

hooked nose of a magician, the deep creases carved into that face, the hands

folded behind that curved back…

“… Hey. It’s been a while, child.”

In a hoarse voice, the man spoke. Regardless of the way he addressed Chizuru

as child, that tone didn’t hold a fragment of intimacy. Chizuru felt ashamed. He

was driven by an urge to ignore him and pass by, but the man stood in the

center of the pass, showing no intentions of moving.

“Well, let’s have a little talk… since Madame Kirishima Midori left, the third year

is trying to pass its way by. Time flies like an arrow, it passed by so fast.”

“You really think so? Detective Chief Superintendent Shigusawa… no, would that

be former Chief Superintendent?”

Chizuru took caution so as not to let any hostility stain his words. This old man

was the sort who took the negative emotions directed at him as sustenance.

There was no use in feeling irritated.

“Are you sure the flow of time isn’t just quicker for the elderly? Because of you,

it's been a tantalizingly slow three years for.”

“Oh my, oh my! Good grief, you’re still fixating on that ridiculous pet theory of

yours. Are you calling me a criminal? Children really are beyond me.”

Chizuru was flustered by the strong emotions welling up in him for the first in a

long time. Putting power into the hand gripping the bucket, he held out.

“… So what brings you here? Paying a visit to the grave of the person you killed

yourself after so long? I’m sure my mother doesn’t want to see you, so please,

by all means, turn back and go home. I’m sorry if it’s been a strain on your old

bones.”

Even if he thought to keep quiet, his hatred, his disgust was oozing out. Chizuru

gripped his hand until his palm started to hurt. He gripped it harder still.

“… Good grief, this brat doesn’t even know how to mind his manners.”

Drawing in his bare surface-level courtesy, Shigusawa spat it out.

227

“It’s not like I came to pay her a visit. I don’t have such an obligation… oh, right,

by the way, my current title is president of a certain security company. You can

remember that if you want.”

“You really went down on a golden parachute. I can’t bring myself to like the

police after all.”

“And it goes without saying the police don’t like you either.”

Shigusawa grinned… perhaps his smile was a little too malicious to call it that.

“It seems you’ve been sticking your head into a number of incidents the prefect

was involved in. Like a case where a middle school teacher was murdered, and

that murder-arson at the event hall. It’s entered my ears. Naturally, your

father’s ears as well.”

“Oh, is that so… I’m not interested, so I’ll be leaving. Can you please move

aside?”

“Hey, just listen a bit. You youngsters these days have such short attention

spans. What I’m getting at is that you’re troubling the prefect. Loitering

wherever you want around crime scenes, using your position as son of the

current DCS to threaten lower-ranking officers, arbitrarily drawing out

information.”

“You make it all sound so malicious.”

Chizuru gave a faint smile as he tilted his head. Sweat was spreading across his

palm and forehead.

“I’d just like to ask, but is this troublesome behavior of mine slowing down the

speed at which the prefectural police arrest the culprit? While it’s true I’ve given

the good detectives my advice a few times, if I had to say, it’s because that was

the most effective way of approaching the truth…”

“Oh no, dear me, this isn’t about the truth or anything like that. A civilian is

interfering in investigations, that in itself is a troublesome and unnatural thing

indeed. You get it, don’t you?”

“Not in the slightest. For now, can I take it that the police value the show they

put on over the truth? Very well. Then they haven’t gone a single step forward

in three years.”

228

Chizuru had just about grown sick of looking at Shigusawa’s face. The moment

he wanted to cut off conversation, from behind Shigusawa, other visitors came

to visit a grave. An elderly couple leading a girl around elementary school. She

took some distance as she gazed curiously at the conversing old man and boy.

Shigusawa frowned as he opened the way. The elderly couple sensed the

serious air, giving a perfunctory greeting as they pulled what was lightly their

granddaughter by the hand, swiftly passing by Chizuru’s side.

Not letting that timing slip him by, Chizuru slipped passed Shigusawa, making

for the exit of the graveyard. He didn’t even want to turn around.

“Kirishima Chizuru!”

An old man’s withered voice called him to a halt.

“Don’t tread any further into our territory. Just like three years ago, you won’t

get off unscathed.”

“I see, I’ve read your intent.”

Chizuru had no further mind to conceal his hatred. Turning, he sent a glare

through the gaps in his hanging bangs.

“In the million to one chance I’m able to make connections within the

prefecture as an amateur detective, it’ll be inconvenient for you. Because when

it comes down to it, you’re no longer a person of the prefect. Now I’ve heard

something interesting. Not doing any pointless work is what I live by, but I might

just get proactive in cooperating with investigations.”

“Don’t get so full of yourself.”

That voice was low with a threat underlying it. A gust of wind passed between

the two. The leaves were astir.

“… It seems your merry friends are often found around crime scenes. Take

Beppu Ageha, the girl you’ve gotten along with since Yumoto Academy’s Middle

School Division, and Tsukioka Yuzuki, a young boy involved in the pot theft

incident, you’ve been quite close lately.”

Chizuru opened his mouth halfway, but failed to find words to return.

229

“They’re both wonderful and adorable friends. Miss Beppu of course, and Young

Tsukioka is also fair-looking and frail. They seem just the type the wrong sort

might take to.”

“Are you stalking me or something? That’s not very nice.”

“And you’re as libelous as ever. When you get to where I am, even if I leave you

be, the information reaches me. Now, Kirishima Chizuru-kun. If, let’s say,

something happens to your precious friends, what sort of reasoning would you

come out with?”

“… So it’s come to that. You’re the one who hasn’t changed a bit… understood.

I’m kind to my elders, so I’ll keep to myself. Leave them be.”

Chizuru put power in his hand again as he walked off. He spoke without turning

around.

“But if you try to do anything to Ageha or Yuzuki… this time, it will be my turn to

kill you.”

230

2

“Three years ago… three years ago…”

Atami touched a finger against the thick files one by one as he moved from shelf

to shelf.

The dim reference room of the prefectural police was hot and humid, wearing a

suit, Atami could feel his whole body growing moist with sweat. To add on to

that, he hadn’t thought of any excuses for when someone asked what he was

doing, so in that sense as well, a strange sweat was spreading.

I really should use a computer to access the database, he thought. But he

quickly shook his head.

No, it was much too dangerous for someone of the first investigative division to

access from their own terminal. He didn’t even know what benefit he’d get out

of this and where, and in the first place, if Inspector Ibusuki found him, it would

be a pain.

At present, most investigators of the first investigative division were on break,

but there was no telling when he’d be called. He had to find the document he

was looking for, and fast…

And five minutes from when he started his search, he found it all too easily.

<Yumoto City Defense Attorney Suicide Case>

Found it, Atami gave a small cry of delight. He took the file in his sweaty hands.

Ever since the Tsukioka House incident, when Ibusuki told him about the case

where Chizuru’s mother had died, it had been on his mind. What sort of case

was it? What role did Chizuru play in the case? And what conclusion did it

reach?

On the net, when he put in Kirishima, Yumoto and Incident, he was able to find

the corresponding news articles, but the most he was able to get out of them

was that a lawyer called Kirishima Midori died after falling out of an apartment.

It was almost as if some circumstances had caused the reporting to fall

through…

231

Atami swallowed his spit as he began flipping through the investigation report.

To explain it without the technical terms and formallities, it went something like

this.

[Three years prior, June 10th. From the sixth floor(Room 603) of Yumoto

Residence, an apartment complex with an overly commonplace name, Defense

Attorney Kirishima Midori (37) fell to her death. Only the window to the balcony

was open and it was clear she fell from there. The room was a corner room, so

there were a number of other windows, but when the police rushed in, all the

windows were locked.

From the dust traces, the possibility of a third party infiltrating from the balcony

was denied, in the first place, the neighboring room was unoccupied with locks

on the windows. No traces that the emergency escape ladder was used.

The key to the front door, when the police entered after the body’s discovery,

was found placed on top of the shoe rack. The strap attached to it (sold at the

convenience store: two hundred fifty yen) was red and quite conspicuous.

“When we entered from the front door, it was definitely there,” the policemen

testified.

The location of the other two spare keys, and the manager’s master key were

clearly identified.

The husband (Prefectural Superintendent Kirishima) and the son (Kirishima

Chizuru, Second Year of Middle School) definitely had their keys during the

corresponding timeslot, and they had alibis. During the problematic timeslot,

exit and entry to the management room was being monitored by the entrance

security camera, eliminating the possibility for the manager to commit the

crime, or for a third party to have taken the key.

At the time of the crime, a suspicious man covering his face with a hat and mask

was captured by the entrance camera, and at first, their relation to the incident

was suspected but in the end, the individual’s identity remained a mystery. As

the crime scene, Room 603 could not be entered by any means, it was irrelevant

who entered and left the complex, or so the investigative authorities decided.

Therefore, the police concluded the matter as suicide.]

232

“Suicide, huh.”

Yeah, it was written on the cover as well. But if this was suicide, then what was

the point of the discord between Ibusuki- who was on the investigation of the

case- and Chizuru? And why did the Kirishima father and son live apart?

Atami flipped another page, searching for his greatest question… the cause of

Midori’s suicide. The diagnosis of the investigator in charge around the last page

caused him to say, I see. To summarize, it went like this.

[Up to a week before the incident, Defense Attorney Kirishima was on the

defense of the juvenile ‘Yumoto South High Bullying Incident’ that had garnered

some attention at the time.

An incident that occurred in April of the same year. A single young boy was

assaulted by four others, resulting in death. It wasn’t as if they drove him to

suicide (Though of course, that would be an unforgivable inhumane act as well),

cerebral contusion incurred during the assault resulted in death, so it was

undoubtedly manslaughter.

“No room for sympathy for the assailants,” was the majority opinion, so the

defense attorney was heavily bashed. According to the records at the time,

Defense Attorney Kirishima’s, ‘Health took a turn for the worse,’ forcing her to

step down from the defense of the case.

It was a common tale, and because she was stepped down, she was only flamed

more. As a result, Defense Attorney Kirishima was psychologically cornered

Leaving her husband who worked for the prefecture and her middle school son

behind, she committed suicide… the writer concluded.]

“… Mn, this part is talking about Chizuru-kun, right?”

What Atami’s eyes stopped on was a passage tacked to the end of the

paragraph.

[When Defense Attorney Kirishima fell from the balcony, she was holding a

dried carnation flower. This was apparently an item her son (13) sent her on

mother’s day, approximately a month before the event. This also supports the

notion she committed suicide.]

233

Atami’s hands stopped there.

It was a somewhat tear-jerking paragraph unsuited for an official document, but

as someone who knew the ‘son’ in question, there was something closing in on

his chest. But on the verge of being seeped in emotion, Atami gave a strong

shake of his head. He hadn’t resolved any of his questions yet.

“Is there anything…? Any more details about the case’s background…”

He started flipping from the start again. This time, his hands stopped on a

detailed report on the situation when the sealed room that became the crime

scene was first entered. Something about borrowing the key from the

manager’s room, something about the Yumoto District Policemen definitely

confirming it was locked before they opened it, among those lines of little value,

there was a sentence that caught his attention.

[When the three police officers arrived on the scene, they coincidentally met up

with Chief Superintendent Shigusawa Nobuo, who accompanied them as they

swiftly worked to preserve the crime scene.]

Atami tilted his head. What could that mean?

Atami knew the name of the former Chief Superintendent Shigusawa Nobuo

well. He had seen him making a speech at some assembly back when he was in

police academy. That cold look in his eyes, rather than encouraging the young

hands, the negative way he cautioned them not to go against their superiors

remained in his mind. Detective Chief Superintendent Kirishima wasn’t anything

to laugh at, but he thought his predecessor gave off a considerably harsher

impression.

But was it really so common to meet an important man like the Chief

Superintendent at the crime scene of such an incident? Why was he loitering

around such a place…?

The moment Atami tried to read it again with a focus on Shigusawa, he heard

the sound of the door opening… it couldn’t be helped. He’s come to read it

again later.

Reluctant to part, Atami hurriedly closed the file and returned it to the shelf.

Leaving the narrow passage, he offered a greeting to the senior officer who had

entered before leaving that space.

234

＊

That night.

Meimon Hibari faced her beloved PC in her room, making a pleasant click clack

as she hit against the keyboard. The quiet rain drops mingled with the typing

sounds, carving out a certain rhythm. She changed the air conditioner to

dehumidify mode, writing in good form.

But suddenly, “I’ll be off,” she heard a voice that made her doubt her ears. Her

hands stopped. When she looked at the clock, it was passed eight in the

evening.

“H-hey, wait! Hold it right there!”

Hibari burst out of her room, holding Chizuru back as he slipped on his sandals

at the entranceway. He was wearing the same hoodie and jeans as he had been

at noon.

“What?”

“Don’t give me that. Where are you going at this hour?”

“… A bit over there.”

“Where’s over there… anyways, you should call it quits, it’s raining and all. In the

first place, whenever you go somewhere of your own initiative, it’s never

anything decent, or rather… seriously, where are you going?”

Chizuru said, “It’s a secret,” pulling an umbrella out the umbrella stand and

ignoring Hibari’s words as he opened the front door.

“Ah, wait…”

Hibari tried to stop him, but Chizuru left at once.

235

＊

The mans remains were found in a cemetery in Yumoto City the next day… the

morning of June fifth. The cause of death was blood loss from numerous stab

wounds in the chest and abdomen. It was clearly murder.

The man’s name was Shigusawa Nobuo, the individual who had served as

Detective Chief Superintendent of the Prefectural Police until two years prior.

236

3

“I’m Ibusuki of the Prefectural Police. This is my subordinate Atami… what’s the

situation?”

“Yes, the forensics investigation has concluded, and our men are working to

preserve the state of the crime scene.”

A young policeman of the Yumoto District saluted as he briskly explained. A

young man whose black-rim glasses suited him well, and Atami thought he

looked like a student.

“The first person to find the body was…”

“The manager who came to clean early in the morning. We have him waiting in

that patrol car, but would you like to speak with him?”

The policeman pointed at a patrol car stopped in a corner of the parking lot, but

Ibusuki held up a hand and pointed towards the grounds.

“I’ll leave that to your jurisdiction… can you show me around the scene?”

Yumoto Cemetery where Shigusawa Nobuo’s body was found was a

considerably large plot surrounded by a low stone wall. The gravesites

numbered roughly one hundred fifty.

The scene was around a minute’s walk from the entrance gate. Quite far in the

back. As they entered a corner where a blue sheet had already been laid down,

Shirahama Yayoi of the forensics team raised her head.

“Ah, Ibusuki-san and Atami-san. How have you been holding up.”

“Not bad… have you made any large findings?”

Shirahama let her braids sway as she shook her head.

“It’s no good, we’ve got nothing. It seems the crime took place at night, but the

rain that was falling all through the night washed quite a bit away. We’re not

getting any finger or footprints… For now, please have a look at the body.”

237

She waved a hand towards what was covered.

Atami prayed before lifting the cover. Ibusuki peeked in as well.

On the old man’s remains, an expression of anguish was evident. It was clearly

the face of former Chief Superintendent Shigusawa.

“How much do you know about him?”

On Ibusuki’s sudden question, “Barely anything,” Atami a frank answer.

“I see… when you entered the force, it was already Kirishima…”

The shut her mouth tight, quietly touching a finger to her lip in thought. What’s

wrong? Atami wondered and looked into her face, but she signed and shook her

head.

“I’m reading too deep into it.”

Ibusuki said to herself, pulling her gloves down tight as she leaned over and

began investigating.

“Right, Ibusuki-san. There was one thing that bothered me. Could you have a

look at the body’s right hand?”

Shirahama said.

“Right hand?”

She repeated as she opened the covering even higher.

The moment Atami saw what the victim clutched in his hand, he felt like crying

out Ah. It was a bright-red carnation.

He had a flashback to the document he had read the day before.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? There aren’t any carnations growing around these parts.

Since it’s out in the open, it doesn’t look like he brought a bouquet either. Was

the culprit made to hold it? What do you think, Ibusuki-san… Ibusuki-san?”

What Atami looked over, Ibusuki’s eyes had frozen on the carnation, a serious

look on her face. She blankly raised her head, giving Shirahama a vague reply as

she stood.

238

“… Ibusuki-san, what’s wrong?”

Atami asked. Without answering, Ibusuki looked around. Her eyes stopped at

one of the gravestones surrounding the blue sheet, her expression turning much

grimmer.

“Look at that, Atami.”

As instructed, he followed her eyes. He gazed in amazement.

“Kirishima family… grave…?”

The investigation documents revived in his head again. For the table to be

prepared to such an extent, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be…

“Um! Are you trying to say this case is related to Kirishima Chizuru-kun’s

mother’s suicide incident?”

As he unintentionally cried out, a queer expression surfaced on Ibusuki’s face.

“Why do you think so?”

“No, I mean, you said it before, didn’t you? A carnation… Chief Superintendent

Shigusawa… and that grave. It bears a close resemblance to… ah.”

Crap, thought Atami. Ibusuki had told him to forget he heard anything about

that case. But since he’d said that much, it couldn’t be helped.

“My deepest apologies, Inspector Ibusuki, the truth is…”

Atami confessed he had grown curious about Chizuru’s incident and looked into

it. Ibusuki let out a sigh.

“Seriously, you’re… well, I don’t care about that right now. It actually makes

matters quick.”

“U-um, I don’t see where this is going.”

Said Shirahama. Ibusuki scratched her hear, “Sorry, that’ll have to wait,” she

said as she waved the sleeve of her suit and left the blue-sheeted enclosure.

“Ah, wait, Inspector Ibusuki, where are you going?”

239

When Atami frantically asked, she turned and sent a sharp look back.

“We’re going to the Shigusawa House.”

240

4

“I-Inspector Ibusuki… are you serious?”

Atami asked as he started up the car. Folding her arms, Ibusuki took a sidelong

glance at Atami, “About what?” she said.

“What I’m trying to say is… are you seriously treating Kirishima Chizuru-kun as a

suspect?”

“That’s right. Even if he isn’t the culprit, there is no doubt he should at least be

suspected.”

“Why is that? Are you saying he had a motive to murder Shigusawa?”

Atami said as he flipped on the blinkers. “He does,” Ibusuki answered.

“Revenge for his mother.”

“Revenge, you mean…”

Atami was startled, he reflexively turned to look at Ibusuki’s face. “Eyes on the

road,” she said, so he hurriedly shifted his eyes back front as he added onto his

question.

“What does that mean? I’m no Shirahama-san, but I can’t see where this is

going.”

“Meaning former Detective Chief Superintendent Shigusawa was… the true

culprit who murdered Kirishima Midori.”

“M-murder… was it? Not suicide?”

Atami practically fell into a panic as he repeated the word. The light turned red,

and he hastily stepped on the brake. After thinking a little, he spoke.

“Why… would he have to murder Defense Attorney Kirishima?”

Ibusuki clicked her tongue, so Atami drew back for a moment, but it seems she

wasn’t irritated at Atami, it was something else.

241

“I see, you said you read the investigation report… but I see that part was

redacted from the case files. You’ll need some background information.”

“Background information?”

Atami noticed he had done nothing but repeat his superior’s words for a while

now.

“Let’s start here. You read about the case Kirishima was in charge of until right

before her death, right?”

“Yeah, the juvenile case that was quite a hot subject at the time.”

“He was there among the culprits… Shigusawa’s son.”

“Eeh!”

In his surprise, Atami stared straight at Police Inspector Ibusuki’s face. If they

hadn’t been waiting at a traffic light, it might have made for a flashy accident.

Ibusuki had measured out the right time to say it.

Her face warped into a frown.

“But even if I say that, he was never prosecuted. Shigusawa Nobuo’s son…

Tadashi, at the time, he was seen as the principal offender in that case, but right

after Defense Attorney Kirishima died, his name was removed from the list of

suspects. You know what this means, right?”

“Shigusawa moved things behind the scenes…”

“That’s right,” Ibusuki said in disgust, glancing out the window as she went on.

“In Kirishima Midori’s murder case, I was in placed in the property office.”

Property office, it was a term that he didn’t hear often nowadays, and it took

some time for Atami to recall the meaning.

Different from jidori, where officers investigated the immediate vicinity of the

crime, and kandori that had them look into the victim’s human relations, the

property office carried out investigations pertaining to evidence and lost

property.

“I had only just been stationed at the prefect. The job of looking into the

attorney’s PC and her work documents came around to me, but the moment I

242

started looking into the ambiguities, a notice came from my direct superior.

‘Stop your investigation at once,’ they said.”

She lowered her voice, emphasizing each and every syllable.

“It was pressure from Shigusawa. His son was implicated in a juvenile offense,

what’s more, Attorney Kirishima had a hold of information inconvenient to his

case, that’s as far as I was able to get.”

Atami was at a loss for words, it was as if he was just hit with what sort of

organization he was working for.

But at the same time, Ibusuki’s ambivalence told him that couldn’t be the case…

as Atami’s sympathies began to tilt, she threw out the bomb herself.

“That’s what was going on, so I copied it all to the USB and decided to

investigate it at home.”

Atami feebly opened his mouth as he stared at Ibusuki. She irritantly waved a

hand for Atami to look forward.

“The light’s green… I’m quite well aware it’s a breach of duty, but I couldn’t

stand how it reeked. From the password-locked diary she left on her computer,

a surprising depiction came out.”

“What sort?”

“It was announced Kirishima stepped down from the defense side of the

juvenile case due to poor health, but that wasn’t the case. ‘At the start, the four

young boys who caused the incident wouldn’t talk to me, but little by little, they

started to open their mouths. And Shigusawa Tadashi said it himself… he finally

spoke, he told me upfront that he was the principal offender.’ She wrote. But

the moment she tried centering her plea around Tadashi being the prime

offender, an unexpected hindrance came in. One day, her dismissal was

suddenly delivered. I don’t even have to say it was Shigusawa’s plot.”

“N-no way… then why was she appointed as the defense attorney to begin

with?”

“To Shigusawa, she was the wife of a subordinate. I presume Shigusawa thought

she would be easy to control when he appointed her to his son’s defense, but

that was an outrageous miscalculations. Forget trying to curry favor with

243

Shigusawa, her first priority was to lay out the truth to the best of her abilities.

He realized it wasn’t going his way and had her fired, I’m sure. But Defense

Attorney Kirishima wasn’t the sort to back down from something like that.”

As if blinded by the light streaming in from the window, Ibusuki narrowed her

eyes. They had just turned onto Yumoto Boulevard. The evergreen trees lining

the side of the road swayed, scattering the water from yesterday’s rain that

stuck to their leaves.

“Even after a different attorney took over the defense, she went steady at her

own investigation, it seems. I’m sure she was a thorn in Shigusawa’s side. And

the day before the incident, in the final entry to her diary, she left these words…

‘I’m going to meet with Chief Superintendent Shigusawa tomorrow. I have to

settle things’.”

“I-if that’s true, then…”

Ibusuki nodded.

“There’s almost no room to doubt that Shigusawa is the culprit. Honestly, I was

shaking. He was near the crime scene on the day of the crime, ordering this and

that from the policemen of the district. You know about that, right? It may have

been possible for him to complete the sealed room. Thinking that, I took over

Defense Attorney Kirishima’s personal investigation… but I really was making

light of the police force. Back then, I learned just how powerless a twenty-nine-

year-old woman really was.”

“If you were twenty-nine three years ago, then that makes you…”

“Thank you for your input.”

Restraining him with a threatening voice, Ibusuki planted an elbow in Atami’s

face. The car took a big lurch and a car horn sounded out from the car behind

them. Atami lamented the unfairness of it all, but for now decided to offer an

apology as he returned his eyes to the front.

“Damn, you made me forget where I was… umm, right, right, anyways, I was

entirely useless. The case was quickly processed as a suicide, the investigations

were called off. Ashamed as I was, I continued my investigation in secret, but it

only took a week for my personal investigations to be axed. Shigusawa noticed.”

244

Her story reached its climax, heading towards an unsatisfying conclusion.

“I was called to the chief superintendent’s office. Shigusawa censured me for

conducting a personal investigation, indirectly threatening me. I somehow

managed to say, ‘The truth is something the world should know,’ or something

along those lines. But he clicked his tongue, ‘If the world knows the detective

chief superintendent’s son is a criminal, the entire police force will suffer as a

result’. He brazenly said it. And what do you think he said next? ‘Kirishima’s son

was one thing, but even you’re throwing around some ridiculous accusations,’

he said. I realized it, why he was able to notice my independent investigation.

When the case was handled as a suicide, why did he panic and erase it all so

quickly? That’s because someone noticed the truth and pointed it out. Of

course, that was Kirishima Chizuru.”

From Yumoto Boulevard, they entered Izumi City. The streets were lined with

brand-new white houses. Unlike Yumoto City, this part of Izumi was quite

exclusive.

“… So something like that happened.”

Atami said after some time had passed.

“Meaning Chizuru-kun noticed Shigusawa killed his own mother… but isn’t that

strange? Why did he stay silent about that? No matter the pressure, it was

murder so he could inform the press. There were plenty of ways to…”

“I dare say his deduction was an empty theory, he had at most seen through the

trick of the sealed room. As opposed to the clear circumstantial evidence I’d

found.”

“Ah, I see.”

He had completely forgotten about the sealed room. Come to think of it, how

had Shigusawa managed to set it up? A bit too late, the question came up, but

there was something that weighed on his mind even more.

“So, um, in the end, did you inform anyone of that truth?”

“Under Shigusawa’s surveillance, I couldn’t quite do something like that. More

annoying than anything is how the evidence was thoroughly stolen away. The

245

USB was stolen, and my home computer was oh so courteously hacked, its data

wiped clean. There was nothing I could do, kicking my legs in the air… at that

point, no matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. I had carried off data

and moved in secret, so I couldn’t tattle to the upper brass of the prefecture

either. That’s how it went down. There was nothing I could do, and I couldn’t

announce the truth. What’s more, for a while to follow, the surveillance

continued. I’m sure that’s the largest reason I wasn’t banished from the

prefect.”

Atami couldn’t say anything. He thought anything he said would sound hollow.

246

5

They soon arrived at the Shigusawa residence.

The Shigusawa House was a substantial two story of cream-colored walls, a

length of around fifteen meters of front yard in front of the front porch. An iron

fence stretched around the property, and a security company’s logo was

plastered on the gate post. Atami rung the doorbell beneath the logo.

To the woman’s voice that responded, Ibusuki explained her position and

business, and had her open the gate.

As they crossed the yard, Atami reported to Ibusuki what he’d just heard from

investigation headquarters over the phone.

“According to a general autopsy, the time of death was between eight and ten

thirty. Once they carry out the official one, we’ll be able to get more details. Ah,

also, Chief Superintendent Shigusawa lived here alone with his wife Hitomi. The

son Tadashi is currently living in an apartment in the city. We haven’t

established contact with him yet.”

Atami conversed with Ibusuki as he sounded the front door’s knocker. From

inside, the door was opened more forcefully than was expected.

When he jumped back in surprise, a single woman stuck out her sullen face.

Hair with a perm, a n individual a bit on the plump side, from the white one-

piece dress she wore, it could be inferred she was not a housekeeper, but the

lady of the house.

“… Please come in.”

She said forcingly. Atami and Ibusuki saluted as the entered the entrance hall;

she jerked her double chin and closed the door behind them.

“You must be Madam Shigusawa.”

Ibusuki cut in without any fear.

“Today, I must offer you my utmost con--”

“I don’t need the preface.”

247

The madam sounded annoyed as she interrupted.

“If it’s about my husband’s murder, I already received the notice. So hurry up

and catch the culprit already.”

“… The police are sparing no effort in the investigation.”

“As they should be.”

She swung her arms as if she had nowhere to put her anger, but it didn’t seem

she was actually sad. Then just what could be irritating her so? Atami couldn’t

really tell.

“And if you’re here to investigate, then I’ll just tell you we don’t have anything

pertaining to the incident here.”

“That’s not it, we came to as you some questions.”

Ibusuki didn’t shy back either, a critical air erupting between the two women.

Atami could only nervously compare the two.

“What I want to ask is, has your husband recently… come into contact with

anyone related to Defense Attorney Kirishima Midori.”

So straight to the point, Atami swallowed down his spit.

But Madam Shigusawa simply answered, “No.”

“Kirishima, eh? That female attorney who threw out Tatashi’s defense? As I

recall she committed suicide. Whatever the case, I think that person is

irrelevant.”

From how unmoved she was, this woman was likely truly irrelevant to the

attorney’s murder. Atami chewed on a peculiar mix of disappointment and relief

as he looked down. Of course, it wasn’t as if her testimony alone would decide

Chizuru’s innocence.

… The moment Atami thought that.

“But he was reading back over the documents on her suicide case.”

The madam said.

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“My husband cuts out the newspaper articles on all cases related to him and

preserves them as a scrap book, but… the file on that case, I remember him

pulling it out and looking back on it just yesterday.”

“Is that true!?”

Ibusuki bit on. As if overpowered, Madam Shigusawa drew her beautifully

painted eyebrows together as she nodded.

“Y-yes… very well, I’ll let you see it. Over here.”

When they were investigating the murder case of her husband, she was

considerably calm. Was there little affection between the two, or so Atami

imagined something scandalous. Ibusuki gave the impression she didn’t have

the time to pay mind to such a thing.

Madam Shigusawa invited them to a room, right at the outlet of the stairs that

curled around the atrium of the entrance area. It looked to be a study, with

bookshelves on both sides. In the back of the room, a desk was stationed. There

was a file left out on top of it.

“Pardon my intrusion.”

Ibusuki pulled down her gloves as she approached. Atami hurriedly gave chase.

The cover of the file on the desk read, <Yumoto City Defense Attorney Suicide

Case>, the case name laid out by the police brazenly tacked on.

Standing close to the door, Madam Shigusawa explained.

“Yesterday evening, around five, perhaps? A phone call came from someone,

and they were talking about something serious in the living room. After that, he

holed himself up in the study… when I went to call him down for dinner, he was

reading the materials for that case, and when I noticed, he hurriedly hid them.”

She scowled at the two detectives as if straining her mind to recollect.

“Hey? Could it be my husband was killed by someone related to that case?”

“No, we don’t know anything about the culprit yet.”

At Ibusuki’s brisk response, the madam hummed a note as if to say, you really

are useless. Ibusuki ignored it and continued on with her questions.

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“Could you tell who the voice on the phone belonged to? Did you catch any of

the sound?”

“Let’s see, I heard a bit.”

The madam thought to herself.

“… It was a young man’s voice. Still in their teens.”

Atami ended up looking at Ibusuki. A slight smile of satisfaction had surfaced on

her face… the Chizuru culprit theory had gone another step forward.

“You couldn’t have misheard? For example, it could have been a husky woman’s

voice, or an older man with a naturally high voice.”

Atami hung onto the matter. The madam furrowed her brow.

“No doubt in my mind. That sort of thing, it’s something you determine not

from just the tone, you take their manner of speech and such to make a

comprehensive evaluation. I didn’t recognize the voice, and I only caught

fragments of what they were talking about, but my husband was considerably

tense, and there was a strained air around him. Ah, I’d be troubled if you asked

me what they were talking about. I was thoroughly uninterested and instantly

forgot.”

Ibusuki gave her thanks and returned her eyes to the file. She noticed the

existence of another file the Midori Case file was using as a place mat.

“Ibusuki-san, that’s?”

“Yeah, it’s the…”

After acting mindful of the madam’s eyes, she showed the cover to Atami.

<South Yumoto High Bullying Incident>

I see. The one where the Shigusawa house’s son… Tadashi was involved.

When he was virtually the principal offender, the boy whose sin was erased. It

would be awkward to show that file to the mother and making a ruckus.

“Well, I’m sure he pulled it out as reference material for Attorney Kirishima’s

incident, but…”

250

After thinking a bit, she looked over at the madam.

“Madam. Have you established contact with your son? The police were unable

to look into his contact information at a moment’s notice…”

“Yeah, he just reached the house.”

“You mean he’s here right now?”

Atami reflexively cried out. The madam nodded as if nothing had happened.

“He lost his father after all, I thought I’d have to get in touch. Ah, but I think he

said he’d be going out a moment ago? Right around the time you rung the

doorbell, he made off towards the garage.”

“Say what!? Could you please call him back?”

The madam scowled.

“And why is that? I don’t think my son has anything to do with it.”

“We can’t say for sure.”

Ibusuki didn’t show any signs of drawing back. The sparks flew once more.

“Then I’ll be going there.”

Before long, Ibusuki made a move. With agile movements, she slipped by the

madam’s side, descending the stairs in half-a-sprint. With rough steps, the

madam who had returned to her senses gave chase.

“Hey, lady! That was rude!”

Atami hurriedly went after the two. As he raced down the stairs, he heard an

intermittent dull sound. The sound of a bike’s exhaust.

Throwing the door open, Ibusuki stood imposingly before the boy straddling the

motorcycle. Madam Shigusawa stood beside her with an enraged look on her

face.

“Mom, the hell’s with her!? This woman?”

“I am Ibusuki of the prefectural police. Please step down from your bike.”

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When she showed her badge, Tadashi clicked his tongue, his thin-shaven

eyebrows warping as he followed instruction to cut the bike engine. Roughly

removing his jet helmet, he revealed blond hair in a two-block cut.

“When your father was just murdered, you look like you’re in top form…

Shigusawa Tadashi-kun.”

“How I feel is up to me, right? So what do you want?”

“No, I just thought I’d ask about your conduct last night. Your father passed

between eight and ten thirty…”

“- Hah!? Cut the crap! You sayin’ I killed my old man!?”

“That’s right, who do you think you are!? Grabbing someone’s son and calling

them a father killer?”

The madam was also in a frenzy. Atami was fed up with her. As Chizuru before

him, he thought he might ask if he could go home yet.

“This is a question we ask to everyone who might be related to the case. Baring

fangs will only impart a worse impression, so I think it best you stopped.”

Ibusuki threw her polite tone to the wind, reverting the same strict one she

used when addressing subordinates.

“Madam, you two. In that timeframe last night. Do you have an alibi or not?”

“You’re doubting me to? Really, give me a break… if it’s that time period, my

husband was out, so I took the opportunity to invite five of my friends and held

a little house party! We drunk wine in the living room until eleven at night, as I

waited for my husband’s return alongside them, but he wasn’t coming home, so

we called it a night. Any complaints?”

“No. I’ll have to confirm that, so if you could tell me their names.”

Even now, Madam Shigusawa’s face was so red she might break into hysteria at

any moment, but not standing being treated as the culprit, she screamed out

her lady friends’ names.

“I was in my apartment alone… most I did was go out to the convenience store.”

Perhaps gaining a level-head after seeing his mother’s temper tantrum, Tadashi

tapered his lips as he answered.

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“I see. Thank you.”

Said Ibusuki as she gazed at him with her long-slit eyes. Atami wondered what

was going on, but he decided to write it down. He hurriedly detailed all he’d just

heard on his notepad.

“… Can I go now?”

“Go ahead. Ah, before that.”

Just when she was about to give permission, Ibusuki called him to a halt.

“Have you met anyone related to Defense Attorney Kirishima Midori lately? For

example…”

If she wanted to add fuel to the fire, her words had an instant effect. Opening

his eyes as if fearful of something, Tadashi leapt on his bike and pulled down his

question.

“Like hell I know! I just returned from America two weeks ago!”

He yelled as he revved his engine to get away. Trampling the lawn’s grass, he

distinctly carved in tire marks.

“That was terrible.”

After excusing themselves as they were driven away from the mansion, Atami

gave his frank impression. But as Ibusuki boarded the passenger seat, she

actually seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

“But we obtained some valuable testimony… you know where we’re going

next?”

“… Yes. We’re going to Kirishima Chizuru’s house, aren’t we.”

Atami was aware his own voice was growing depressed in contrast.

From here on, he would have to do the job he hated most. He had no way of

253

enduring his melancholy. Just as he turned the car in the opposite direction

down Yumoto Boulevard, Ibusuki spoke up.

“No wait a second. Why do you know the way to Kirishima Chizuru’s house?”

“Pardon?”

That’s right. The reason Atami knew his apartment complex was because he had

driven him home in the kidnapping incident he had dragged him into himself. It

went without saying Ibusuki didn’t know about that. After mulling over whether

to tell her or not, Atami settled for the latter.

“Remember… we had that dying message incident, right? Where the middle

school teacher was murdered… during that incident, I sent Chizuru-kun and

Beppu-san home.”

It was a spur-of-the-moment lie. But luckily, Ibusuki didn’t seem to be

particularly interested.

“Hmm. Well, it doesn’t matter.”

“B-by the way, Ibusuki-san! In that juvenile case, exactly what sort of role did

Shigusawa Tadashi play?”

“That, huh… truth be told, that one was a terrible case.”

Her expression clouded. She opened her heavy mouth as he spoke.

Three years prior, mid-April, at South Yumoto high school, a prefectural

institution in Yumoto City, an incident occurred that caused the death of a single

young boy. The boy’s name was Takasumi Teiji. He was still a first year.

When it was only two weeks since school started, why was he bullied to such an

extent…? That was the question held by the general public, as well as the

lament of the teaching staff, but it seems victim-included, all five of the students

involved were graduates of the same middle school, and no strangers to one

another. The assailants were as follows.

Shigusawa Tadashi and Kazami Yoshiteru who took the initiative to pick on him.

Their tag-along Tsukumo Kouta. And Shimoya Reiichirou, who was dragged in by

the other three, but still took part.

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Over the course of one month, these four bullied Takasumi, psychologically

cornering him, and on the last day, April 17th, as a result of their assault, he

wound up dead. The contents of their harassment was, put in short,

considerably cruel.

The assailants would drag Takasumi behind the gym (The standard spot), and

violently inflict blows on his body… wherever it wouldn’t be conspicuous. It

seems such occurrences happened on repeat. On April 17th, that violence

escalated and at the end of it, young Takasumi hit the back of his head against a

corner of the stone steps to the gym storage and breathed his last breath. If that

wasn’t enough, the young boys all took flight without telling anyone. The

incident came to light when students who just happened to pass by found him

by coincidence.

At first, the assailants kept silent, but by Attorney Kirishima Midori’s devoted

cordial interactions, they slowly started talking about the details of the case.

When Attorney Kirishima left the world and the defense was handed over to

someone else, the case suddenly developed in a different direction. The

principal offender Shigusawa Tadashi was said to not have been present on the

day of the incident.

In the end, only he was never prosecuted. The remaining members weren’t

handed particularly heavy sentences.

Of the three boys, Kazame Yoshiteru was put into a reform center due to his

highly violent nature, imprisoned there for a standard sentence of two years. He

was already out of the institution.

Having heard all that, Atami’s mood took a turn for miserable.

“Well, what we’re here to discuss isn’t how right or wrong the law surrounding

juvenile cases is. Whatever the case, Shigusawa Tadashi was able to evade his

crimes. That’s what it means.”

The two of them were silent a while. Along the way, as if recalling something,

Ibusuki made a phone call. It seemed she was talking with Nagashima, and she

was making a request to substantiate Madam Shigusawa and Tadashi’s alibis.

After this and that, the car reached the space in front of the apartment complex

where Kirishima Chizuru lived.

255

6

After advancing into the living room of Chizuru’s residence, the moment Ibusuki

informed him Shigusawa Nobuo was killed, Chizuru’s eyes widened a bit.

But that sway in expression was a slight one, it could be an act, Atami thought.

“My oh my… so I don’t really get it, but why have you come to my house?”

“Why don’t you put a hand to your chest and ask yourself?”

Ibusuki said flatly. Chizuru blankly tilted his head.

Chizuru was wearing a jersey, and from the zipper pulled down to his chest, his

ghastly white skin peeked out. Even if he was inside, that was way too sloppy.

“I really want to avoid trouble, so let me say it a little more clearly. Police

Inspector Ibusuki. You suspect me in the murder of Shigusawa. I didn’t do it.

That’s a wrap, folks.”

He put his hand to his neck and turned his head in circes. Cricking sounds loud

enough Atami was anxious his bones might break sounded out. Ibusuki pulled

his Jersey close, glaring with all her might.

“Unfortunately, we have witness testimony. That you met him at the crime

scene yesterday.”

“The crime scene was Yumoto Cemetery?”

Chizuru seemed a little surprised. “How shameless,” Ibusuki grimaced as if to

say, when the door to the living room opened, and a single young girl came out.

It was Beppu Ageha.

“Oh, when I was in the bathroom, you’ve brought in quite the rare guests.

What’s wrong, you two?”

Why is she here, Atami asked Chizuru with his eyes, “The tests are close, so she

was helping me study,” he gave quite an unromantic answer. There, Ibusuki,

“We came to take him in as a prime suspect.”

256

Added on a dangerous answer.

“Hah? Chizuru, what did you do?”

Ageha raised a hysteric voice.

“They’re saying I killed someone.”

“Eeeeeeh!? You did?”

“How terrible, Ageha, there’s no way I did.”

Ibusuki interrupted the conversation with a clearing of her throat.

“Anyways, Kirishima Chizuru! You’re coming with us!”

“Eeeh, why do I have to? Today’s Sunday you know.”

It seemed his attitude was only deepening Ibusuki’s irritation as she let out a

deep voice form the depths of her stomach.

“Former Chief Superintendent Shigusawa was killed over the grave your

ancestors sleep. And… in his hand, he clutched a carnation. Are you in need of

any explanations?”

Hearing those words, Chizuru closed his eyes a bit. After a bit of time, he

opened his mouth.

“… I’ve grasped the gist of it. But I do think those circumstances sound just a

little contrived.”

“You were frames… is that what you want to say?”

“Yes. You don’t think so, Inspector Ibusuki? I mean, in such circumstance, it’s

almost as if they’re confessing someone related to Kirishima Midori is the

culprit.”

“And it might have been a counterplot all the same. This is what I heard from

Madam Shigusawa…”

Ibusuki told him how the voice Shigusawa spoke to over the phone sounded like

it belonged to a young boy. Chizuru’s face turned dejected, he scratched his

hair.

257

“Hey, Inspector Ibusuki, I understand that you hate me for some reason. But this

is clearly a false accusation.”

“A false explanation? Then could you please explain, Kirishima Chizuru. Between

the hours of eight and eleven last night, where were you?”

“I mean…”

Chizuru took a slight glance at Ageha, “I can’t really say,” he closed his mouth.

“Hah!? What’s that supposed to mean, Chizuru?”

At those words, Ageha raised a scream.

“Weren’t you at home? If you have Hibari-san vouch for you…”

“I’ve been listening in. At that time, you definitely went out without saying

where you were going.”

The door opening again, the one who entered was a woman in her twenties or

thirties. Her thin frameless glasses looked intellectual, Atami thought.

“Eh~, Hibari-san. Why did you have to say that?”

Chizuru stuck out his lips as he protested to the woman. The woman called

Hibari scratched her face. “I mean, it’s not good to lie,” she timidly said.

“… If you can’t prove your alibi, then I really will have to hear you out in depth.”

“Chizuru-kun.”

Atami couldn’t help but stick in his mouth. He didn’t want to doubt the boy, but

he was Ibusuki’s subordinate, and a person on the side of the police.

“You’d best not say anything unnecessary to ruin your credibility. Now I’m

begging you, please come with us.”

“… Understood.”

He obeyed relatively obediently. Sinking into his room once to change from

jersey to hoodie, Chizuru slipped on his sandals and took the initiative to stand

at the entranceway.

“Hey, Chizuru! Wait, will you be alright?”

“Who knows?”

258

A backwards glance at his panicky childhood friend, the unmotivated young boy

said it as if it was someone else’s business as he left the house.

Taking Chizuru in Atami’s car, they reached the Yumoto District Police Station

and began questioning him at once.

The room was in the very depths of the third floor. Where an iron lattice was

installed to prevent suicide or escape, and a magic mirror set up, so one

couldn’t see out, a perfect interrogation room.

“Now let’s get to it.”

Ibusuki put her elbows to the desk, resting her chin on her locked hands. While

she was a young woman instead of a bearded old man, it was a pose that had a

bit of dignity, or so Atami mused over something quite pointless. He sat at a

desk in the corner of the room, filling out protocol.

“The first thing I want to ask about is you relationship with Shigusawa Nobuo.

What did you think about him?”

“I saw him as an old man who had achieved the final form of corruption. Also a

murderer.”

“Chizuru-kun!”

Atami cried out to restrain him. What good will digging your own grave do for

you? I see, I see, Ibusuki nodded.

“I see. So you hated the victim.”

“To be blunt… Hey, Inspector Ibusuki. The fact that a carnation at the scene

made me be the first person you suspected means you naturally know of his

past sins as well. In truth, how much do you know?”

“… Then I’ll tell you. Exactly what I know.”

Perhaps succumbing to Chizuru’s upturned eyes, as she had with Atami, Ibusuki

spoke of Midori’s case. About her diary. About her promise to meet with

Shigusawa. And About the pressure Shigusawa laid down. Of course, when it

came to the juvenile case, she omitted Shigusawa’s son’s name, for argument’s

sake. Chizuru felt an interest as he folded his arms, intently listening in silence.

259

“… That was valuable information. You have my thanks.”

Once that had finished, Chizuru spoked. In a calm, gentle tone that, on the

contrary, had Atami bewildered.

“Just hearing that made it worth coming here today. I’m happy I got to hear my

mother’s true intent.”

“That so.”

Ibusuki was also lightly confused at Chizuru’s sudden admirable outburst. Her

poker face hadn’t crumbled, but from how the probing tone had left her voice,

and her fingertip tapping the table had grown less impatient, it was clear.

Chizuru probably picked up on that as well.

“Now it’s your turn. I’d really appreciate if you’d open up and say your piece as

well.”

“Right then… as a single material witness who knows the victim’s past, let me

tell you what I know. Atami-san, you sure look interested.”

At the cheeky young boy folding his arms and looking over, even as he felt

embarrassed, Atami nodded.

“By all means, let’s hear it. About your past… and of how Shigusawa-san set up

that locked room.”

“Very well. Ah, but… before that, could you get me some water? That much

should be fine, right?”

Ibusuki let out a sigh, jerking her chin towards Atami.

260

7

“Now then,”

After sparingly sipping the water in his glass, Chizuru began speaking.

“Let’s start by going over the circumstances that surrounded the sealed room.

Kirishima Midori took a fall, and making it so he just happened to be at the

scene, Shigusawa took lead of the police unit that raced over, suggesting that

they first check the apartment room. The key was right by the entranceway, on

top of the shoe rack, so the culprit couldn’t have locked the room behind them

and fled. The three police officers even went around every room to confirm no

one was hiding. By the way, Shigusawa bravely declared, ‘If anyone tries to

make a break for it, they won’t get passed me’ in a hardboiled way as he stood

imposingly in the doorway.”

Tense from the cynicism mixed in here and there, Atami gripped his palm and

inclined his ears.

“All the windows to the room were locked, the only one that would open was

the large window in the living room that led to the balcony my mother fell from.

It was thought too difficult to move there from the neighboring room, and there

weren’t any such traces. Now then, this is the tragic suicide of a defense

attorney who took up a delicate case… is that how it looks? I didn’t think so. For

some arbitrary reason, my mother was forcefully dismissed from the case, I

overheard the lover’s tiff they had after so I knew. As Shigusawa’s subordinate,

my father was overwhelmed. Not that it matters. Whatever the case, I couldn’t

think of it as a suicide.”

Lifting his glass up again, he slurped some more water before starting again.

“So the night of the incident, I thought my way through it without any sleep.

The reason for the sealed room. I noticed… the sealed room had a trick to it.”

He spoke fluidly. When he treated speaking as a considerable pain, once Chizuru

started talking, he was the type who couldn’t stop.

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“The next day, it had already become a pain, so I called out Detective Chief

Superintendent Shigusawa. Bringing my father in, we were the only three in the

room. I should’ve gathered more witnesses, is how I see it now. But I couldn’t

help it. For at the time, I was in my second year of middle school. That couldn’t

be helped. I couldn’t contain my desires to put on a reasoning show. I was

enthralled by the first time in my life I could show off my deductions.”

His smile gradually faded. To Atami, it was painfully obvious Chizuru was

desperately trying to conceal his real thoughts. After he’d wasted his talent for

so long, once it had come to the stage where he was to say everything, by

inflicting damage on himself, he was able to provide himself some comfort.

At the time, the blood had probably rushed to his head from the resentment

towards his mother’s murderer. As he held back his tears, thinking through the

night, just what was his mental state when he saw through the trick?

It felt quite miserable to Atami. The self-concealment and self-inflicted damage

cleared away, he wanted to hear the cries of Chizuru’s bare heart.

“Well, when you know who the culprit is in advance, it’s quite easy to imagine

the answer to these sealed room tricks, right Atami-san?”

The talk was suddenly turned to him. Atami groaned.

“Ummm… right… since the key was on top of the shoe rack, could it have been

sent in from over the door… perhaps?”

“Forensics would notice that one.”

Ibusuki bluntly retorted. Atami mouthed an urp. Sure enough. In that case…?

“It’s a pain, so I’ll just say the answer… Shigusawa simply used the key to leave

the room. That’s all there is to id.”

“Eh? But… huh… the key on top of the shoe wrack was… hmm?”

“You still don’t get it? If Chief Superintendent Shigusawa was the culprit, he had

just one chance to swap it out. Meaning the second time he entered that room,

when the three policemen were investigating… though I’ll admit, I only noticed

that one after I learned Shigusawa was the culprit.”

“Precisely.”

262

Chizuru explained.

“The fact the strap stood out was the key. The moment they entered the room,

‘Ah, there’s a key,’ they would pick up on that fact at once. And when he was

out of sight, he swiftly switched the key out. The one left on top of the shoe box

was possibly Shigusawa’s own house key or something like that. When it comes

to the strap, it was on sale at the convenient store, so it’s possible he bought

the same one and switched it out entirely. Right, right. Of course, it goes

without saying that the suspicious man caught on the entrance camera around

the time of the crime was Shigusawa. Judging by how sloppy he was, I’m sure

this was a crime done on impulse. If you consider Inspector Ibusuki’s account,

he had likely initially come to negotiate for his son’s sake. But I doubt my

mother responded favorably, and when he snapped, the place she hit when he

pushed her away was the problem, there might have been such circumstance

underlying it. In order to make it look like a suicide, Shigusawa had her

dramatically hold a carnation, wiped the blood from the room, and in order to

hide the wound on her head… he dropped her.”

After keeping quiet a while, Atami tried asking.

“So you unveiled your reasoning, and what happened next?”

“Nothing at all. If I had to say, me living apart from my father was the most that

came of it.”

He spoke as if giving his impression on a boring movie.

“When I pointed out the truth to Chief Superintendent Shigusawa, he grew

quite irritated and took his leave. But to tell you the truth, I didn’t feel

disappointed at all. Because my father was there. He chased after Shigusawa

and left as well. I was satisfied, with this, the case is closed, I thought… but that

turned out to be a terrible miscalculation.”

His talk entered its final stage.

“The evening after the funeral, I asked my father. When will Shigusawa be

arrested? At the time, his answer went like this… ‘The incident is over. The case

is closed’. When I beat out some more complaints, he told me to leave. So I

263

went and did just that. After that, I started living with my aunt.”

“… How much does she know?”

When Atami asked, Chizuru shook his head.

“Barely anything. It’s just, I think she understood I wasn’t satisfied with the

police investigation into my mother… her elder sister’s death. Then again, she

herself swallowed down the suicide theory and seemed satisfied.”

And so the veil on Kirishima Chizuru’s past was lifted. Atami couldn’t contain the

long sigh he leaked out.

“… I see.”

Ahem, Ibusuki cleared her throat and returned to being the cold investigator.

“Well so be it. That’s that and this is this. Whatever the case, with such

circumstance, you held a grudge against Shigusawa… and just now, you’ve

admitted that fact.”

“Hey, Ibusuki-san? Having heard my story, didn’t you notice?”

Chizuru spoke amusedly.

“Noticed what?”

“The carnation, Yumoto Cemetery, Shigusawa Nobuo. If you connect all the key

words, there’s another suspect apart from me.”

Ibusuki tried thinking a bit. Atami also tried contemplating it. And he noticed

something he couldn’t say. At roughly the same time, Ibusuki noticed as well, a

panicked look crossing her face.

“O-oy… you shouldn’t say something so reckless.”

“Reckless?”

Chizuru raised the eyebrows almost completely covered by his bangs.

“I don’t think it’s so illogical. I mean, when it comes to meeting the conditions,

he stands on almost the same ground as me.”

“… Unfortunately, that’s wrong.”

264

The voice suddenly resounded.

Chizuru erased his expression as he looked towards the door. Atami and Ibusuki

turned as well.

“Because I have an alibi… material witness Kirishima Chizuru-kun.”

Standing there was Chizuru’s father… Detective Chief Superintendent Kirishima

Kankurou.

265

8

The chief superintendent closed the door with his white-gloved hands, walking

over to the desk without his feet making a sound. He was in the same black suit

as ever.

“Good grief… having your own father come all the way over, and calling him a

murderer, what sort of son are you?”

In a cold voice, he declared to his son. Atami gulped down his spit.

“From what I just heard from the coroner, the time of the offense was narrowed

down further, it was concluded to be between the hours of eight and nine.

During that time, I was in attendance at an investigations meeting for another

case… isn’t that right?”

Atami and Ibusuki exchanged a glance and nodded. The chief superintendent

made a triumphant face as he looked down over Chizuru.

“So how about that?”

“I’m not really surprised. You could’ve taken a page out of your predecessor’s

book and trained your subordinates well.”

Chizuru rudely averted his face, letting out a pointed voice. As Chief

Superintendent Kirishima produced a fearless smile, he put one hand to the

table and threatened.

“Give it a break already, Chizuru. If you did it, be honest and say it.”

“Wait, chief…”

No matter how you look at it, isn’t that a bit much? Atami couldn’t help but stick

his mouth in. But on a glare from the boss of criminal affairs, he couldn’t emit

any further words.

“Right, Chizuru. Take for example… could it have been legitimate self-defense?

Meaning Shigusawa tried to kill you. And in return… is that ringing any bells?”

“Hah?”

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Unable to measure out his intent, Chizuru made a frown as he looked up at his

father.

“What are you talking about? Why would he try to kill me?”

“To seal your mouth for the incident three years ago. Isn’t something like that

plausible?”

Atami and Ibusuki were dumbfounded as they gazed at their superior. The chief

superintendent that spoke without any hesitation, Atami held a strong distrust

towards him. Chizuru acted as an interpreter for those feelings.

“Is that the scenario you want me to detail in a court of law? You say some

interesting things, detective.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad, right? So all jokes aside, what really happened?”

Chizuru let out a tired breath, his face turning serious. Atami took a deep breath

as he watched over this unnatural conversation drama between parent and son.

At that moment, the outside of the room became terribly noisy.

“W-what’s with you!? Stop that this instant!”

“Don’t get in the way, please let me go!”

“Oy, what are you doing!? This is a restricted…”

There was some sort of dispute. Chief Superintendent Kirishima furrowed his

brow and nudged his head towards Atami. Go have a look, he meant. Atami

endured a sigh as he stood, approaching the door.

“What is…”

The moment Atami was about to open the door with a grumble, it was forcefully

slammed open. “Abweh,” he raised a strange voice as he leapt back. Feeling a

sharp pain in his jaw as he writhed on the floor, “Please wait!” he heard a

familiar voice. Small sneakers worn by small feet entered his field of vision.

When he looked up, they were attached to fragile, slender pale legs, then half

pants, a lemon-colored summer hoodie, and raising his eyes even further, he

found Tsukioka Yuzuki’s androgynous face.

“Y-Yuzuki… why are you here?”

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Chizuru’s face went strange, as he looked at the form of his panting

underclassman.

“I heard from Ageha-senpai! That you were arrested. And so, and so…”

Midway through his words, a member of the Yumoto District Station hurriedly

entered and was just about to grab him. But the Chief Superintendent put a

stop to that.

“Cease. You may stand down.”

“Y-y-yes!”

Restrained by the prefectural top brass they would usually only ever see in

photographs, two officers’ faces wet pale as they scampered off.

Once a stillness returned to the room, the chief detective stared fixatedly over

Yuzuki before returning his eyes to Chizuru.

“What is your relationship with this young girl?”

“I am not a young girl! I’m a boy!”

After throwing in his standard retort, “Wait, that doesn’t matter right now!”

Yuzuki said as he closed in on the chief. It doesn’t matter? Atami was also forced

to retort to himself.

“Chizuru-senpai is definitely not the culprit! Umm, eight to ten, was it? During

that time, Chizuru-senpai was with me the whole time!”

The one who composedly broke the silence that followed was the chief

superintendent.

“Oy, Chizuru, is what this girl… boy…? Is what this child saying true?”

“… Yeah, pretty much.”

“And what was your business?”

“I was having Chizuru-senpai help me study! The truth is, midterms start

Tuesday, but… I ran to him crying that I didn’t understand manth at all, so he

came flying through the night!”

An enraged Yuzuki spoke.

Is that true? The chief asked with his eyes. Chizuru gave a light nod.

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“Then why did you keep silent when asked about your alibi?”

To those words, and huh, why did daddy Kirishima know about that anyways?

Atami internally tilted his head.

“… I had three main reasons.”

Chizuru murmured.

“My first reason was to ask about the valuable information I heard from Police

Inspector Ibusuki a moment ago. The fact that I was suspected meant that there

was a person on the police side who knew Shigusawa was the culprit.

Otherwise, they would be troubled to tie me to the case by motive in such a

short period of time. From her attitude, I knew that Inspector Ibusuki was the

person I was looking for.”

“… You’re saying you controlled me?”

Rather than anger, Ibusuki’s tone was filled with shame. But Chizuru shook his

head.

“It’s nothing so grand. Truth be told, it was a huge bet for me. But I really am

thankful to you, Inspector Ibusuki. Even getting into a predicament for the sake

of my mother’s case… for going so far. I give you my sincere thanks.”

“Hah… it’s a bit late for that! After you’ve led me along this far.”

Ibusuki turned her face away from Chizuru, but in that instant, Atami witnessed

her face. Her lips shaking in bewilderment as her face reddened. Atami averted

his eyes in terror from Ibusuki who was suddenly looking womanly, but ignoring

all that, Chief Superintendent Kirishima went on.

“What’s the second reason.”

“When I was asked about my alibi, my good friend Beppu Ageha was present.”

“Eh? IS that a reason? Why’s that?”

Yuzuki tilted his head in bewilderment. For some reason, Chizuru’s face took on

a tone of vehement gloom.

“I mean, in front of Ageha, an underclassman- what’s more, a boy-‘s house, at

night, if I told her I paid a visit, what would come next… I’d probably teased for

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the next quarter of a century…”

“Mn, what do you mean? If it was man and woman, that would be a different

story, but…”

The revived Ibusuki asked.

“The third reason was,”

Interrupting Ibusuki’s words, Chizuru averted his eyes a bit.

“Well, simply put, I didn’t want to drag Yuzuki into it.”

Hearing those words, Yuzuki looked like he was about to cry as he drew closer

to Chizuru.

“How cruel, Chizuru-senpai! Saying you won’t want to involve me… it goes

without saying your innocence is more important.”

“… S-sorry.”

With a face as if he’d fallen victim to a surprise attack, Chizuru apologized.

“But the guy who was killed… he learned I was involved in the resolution of a

few cases lately, and he came to threaten me yesterday. He put out your and

Ageha’s names, ‘If you intend to remain active as an amateur detective, they

will be harmed as well,’ he said. Something like that happened, and I didn’t

really want to tell the police about you.”

Yuzuki sorrowfully lowered his gaze and nodded.

Atami thought. He… Chizuru was probably a young boy who didn’t know how to

rely on others. Not leaning against anyone, not trusting anyone, not associating

with anyone in the truest sense. Silently continuing to endure the absurdity and

unfairness of reality, he continued turning his back to the adults.

“You’re an idiot!”

He couldn’t keep quiet any longer. Atami cried out. Chizuru made a face that

said, “Uwah, Atami-san called me an idiot,” but Atami didn’t care.

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“Don’t think you can go and do everything on your own! That’s what you call

conceit! Rely on the police, on me, on Ibusuki-san a bit!”

When he turned to Ibusuki, he found her making a, “No, it would be

troublesome if he relied on me,” face, but Atami didn’t care.

“I know you’ve got a knack for deductions. I know it painfully so. In that Y-dying

message case, and the incident at Yuzuki-kun’s house as well. And my cousin’s

case, and the case at the event gall! You solved them all, didn’t you!? I

understand that. Just how quick your reasoning is. That’s why… shouldn’t we

really be working together!?”

After barking a while and getting his breath in order, Atami realized he had

screwed up. He said too much… it was a secret that Chizuru was involved in his

cousin’s case, and he made it sound as if the accepting Chizuru’s rasoning was

the will of the police as a whole…

Atami broke into a waterfall of cold sweat as he raised his face.

Surprisingly, Ibusuki was looking his way with a sincere expression.

He looked at Chief Superintendent Kirishima as well. The man was making a

terribly conflicted, divided expression, sharply biting down on his lip… and

tightly closing his eyes.

“C-Chizuru-senpai…?”

On Yuzuki’s hesitant voice, Atami looked at Chizuru and was startled. He was

hanging his head, hiding his eyes in his long bangs… but even so. As he moved

his fingertips to rub his face, it could be understood Chizuru was crying. Did I say

too much? Should I apologize? As Atami panicked, Chizuru raised a voice as if he

was smiling through tears.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Atami-san… it’s nothing. I think I’m just a little tired… just a bit,

see, I was just a bit… moved.”

Whatever the case, Chizuru’s alibi was proben.

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＊

“… Got it, I’ve got it already.”

After a break, Ibusuki let out an exhausted voice.

“I get it that you’re not the culprit… which means, the investigation’s still at the

starting point.”

“Is it really?”

A revived Chizuru spoke in his usual tone.

“With this, I think the case is practically solved. To be more precise, the range of

suspects has been considerably limited. There are three, at most.”

“Say what?”

Atami raised a strange voice. “As expected of Chizuru-senpai!” Yuzuki cheered.

“… You think so, Chizuru?” The Chief Superintendent somberly said. Staring

straight at his son. Chizuru gave a strong nod.

“With the choice of crime scene and the carnation, it’s clear that the culprit is

intentionally trying to pin the blame on someone related to Kirishima Midori.

But the individuals capable of doing so are limited.”

Hearing that exchange, Ibusuki presented a question.

“Why’s that? I recall the carnation was reported on nation-wide. To add that

tear-jerking factor to it, the press aggressively had it featured. For the grave’s

location as well, there aren’t too many graveyards within Yumoto City, so it

wouldn’t be too hard to locate.”

“As I was saying,”

Chizuru spoke in an easy-to-follow manner.

“There was someone who thought to kill Shigusawa. That’s fine. The number of

people he’s made cry is definitely not a small one. So they put together a

murder plan and manufactured a scapegoat. That’s also understandable. No one

wants to get captured, after all? But why would that individual choose those

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related to Kirishima Midori as a scapegoat? Why were they able to?”

“Ah!”

Atami cried out. That’s right. Publicly, Shigusawa Nobuo’s relation to Midori’s

case was thoroughly covered up. Those who could notice the discrepancy…

“The only ones who were able to do it were those involved.”

Ibusuki said quietly. As if to turn that around, “Take Inspector Ibusuki, for

example,” Chizuru said in a joking voice. Ibusuki sighed.

“Oy, bastard. Where did you put that gratitude I just gave you?”

Atami seriously tried considering her guilt. She definitely did have a strong sense

of justice, she knew Shigusawa’s sin, and she was involved in the case three

years ago. But the Chief Superintendent level-headedly stood up for her.

“Ibusuki-kun has an alibi, Chizuru. She took part in that meeting I mentioned

earlier.”

“Well, I wasn’t particularly suspecting her to begin with.”

Chizuru nonchalantly changed his hand.

“… Please think back to Madam Shigusawa’s testimony.”

“… Right. The voice of a young man, likely in their teens…”

Atami said.

“Quite right, quite right. Now let’s get things in order. The culprit- at least

vaguely- knew the truth surrounding Midori’s incident three years ago. The

possibility they are a young boy is high. From the reasons stated above, there is

an exceedingly high probability the culprit is among the three assailants

implicated in the juvenile case three years ago.”

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9

Atami delivered Yuzuki- who had finished his business- to the first floor. By the

Chief Superintendent’s orders, “We can document his official testimony later.”

A call came to the lobby with good timing and a report came in from Sergeant

Nakashima.

Shigusawa Tadashi and Madam Shigusawa’s alibis held up. ‘The madam’s five

friends confirmed she held a house party last night. Ah, by the way, the same

goes for Shigusawa Tadashi as well. While he lives alone in an apartment in

Tokyo, he was caught on a convenience store security camera from eight twenty

to eight thirty-five, and given the estimated time of death and the distance to

the crime scene, he did not have the time to commit the offense.’

Atami gave his thanks and hung up. By the establishing of those two allies, he

couldn’t quite tell whether they were moving forward or falling back.

Once he returned to the interrogation room anew, the three in the room had

calmed down. As Atami shut the door, the chief superintendent cleared his

throat.

“Now then. Chizuru.”

He suddenly opened the black bag in his hands. He took out a single file.

“This is the file for the juvenile case three years ago. I brought Midori’s case

data and the other related documents in case something like this happened.”

Wait a second, Atami screamed in his chest. The feelings he had a hard time

expression were screamed out by Ibusuki.

“Are you serious, chief? Showing that to Kirishima Chi… your son!?”

“It’s a juvenile case, restricted to the department, a problem of human rights. IF

this gets out, that’s it for the prefectural police.”

Circling around behind his superior who left off, Atami provided support, but

their boss from criminal affairs didn’t pay it any mind.

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“Like I care. When the press gets word of it, the one who’ll have to resign is me.

What’s more…”

“We don’t have any time.”

Chizuru swiftly flipped through the investigation reports as he spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still not get it? If the culprit was among the boys from three years ago,

then they could only have one goal in causing this incident.”

Atami and Ibusuki explained a slight glance and thought. Ibusuki opened her

mouth.

“I don’t get it. What are you trying to say? I don’t think something like their

motive is something you can logically work out.”

“No, in this instance, a clear signpost exists.”

Chizuru answered without raising his head.

“The boys and Shigusawa Nobuo. There is only one thread that ties them… the

trial that was held for the South Yumoto High Bullying Incident. And for some

reason, Shigusawa Tadashi was declared innocent right before the trial began.”

“Ah! I see, so that’s what it is…”

Said Ibusuki, biting her lip. Left behind, Atami was at a loss.

“Um… and what’s that got to do with it?”

“You’re really not following are you, Atami-san.”

Chizuru finally raised his eyes from the file.

“Shigusawa killed my mother. We’re preceding talks under this assumption. And

what reason did he have?”

“Well…” Atami took a slight glance at the Detective Chief Superintendent,

“Defense Attorney Kirishima went against Shigusawa’s will, pursuing a truth that

was inconvenient to Tadashi. Isn’t that right?” he said.

“That’s right. Which means, what would it mean? At the time, Shigusawa

Tadashi was being seen as the principal offender in the case, and it was

supposed he worked a considerable amount of violence against the victim…

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Takasuki Teiji. In the end, the person who thrust Takasumi and caused his death

might even have been Tadashi himself. Looking at the facts, the trial ended

without incident, and the juvenile case was brought to a close… which means

there’s an existence you can’t leave out.”

“The sacrifice… the true scapegoat.”

Ibusuki spat out the words. Not Chizuru, the Chief Superintendent nodded.

“One or more of the boys would have to have been coerced into giving

disadvantageous testimony. After the crime came to light, it would be difficult

for Tadashi to threaten them. There’s no doubt it was Shigusawa Nobuo who

put down the pressure when they were in police custody… truth be told, you

can tell if you just look at the protocol. All three of the boys were in a position

where they couldn’t go against the Shigusawa parent and child.”

“Quite right. First off, the new principal offender Kazami Yukiteru genuinely

participated in the violence, so if the words, ‘I’ll lighten your sentence,’ were

brought up, I’m sure he couldn’t go against them… hmm.”

Chizuru returned his eyes to the documents, speaking calmly.

“… And the tagalong of the Tadashi Kasami pair, Tsukumo Kouta had some

circumstances of his own. It’s written that his mother was suspect in a separate

incident resulting in injury. If a big wig policeman like Shigusawa put down his

repulsive pressure, I doubt he’d oppose.”

“Though the mother in question was a model prisoner, and she’s already been

discharged… if Tsukumo was threatened into giving a false confession, it’s

possible he hates Shigusawa for ruining his future.”

“What about that last Shimoya kid? He joined in on the bullying part-way

through.”

On Atami’s urgings, Chizuru read through Shimoya Reiichirou’s page a few

times, cautiously expressions his mind.

“He honestly admitted his own crimes on top of that, his crimes were the

lightest of the bunch, so I can’t find anywhere Shigusawa could have

manipulated him…”

“We should keep it as a possibility, just in case.”

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Ibusuki spoke in the discretion she picked up from Chizuru.

“Shimoya Reiichirou, he was always weak willed with a nature that couldn’t go

against others. According to his classmates from South Yumoto High, ‘From the

start of the year, he was being bullied by Shigusawa, and actually relatively close

to Takasumi Teiji, so it’s surprising he went around to the bullying side,’ some

voices came out.”

Holding up the file, Chizuru nodded.

“It’s written here. Meaning without any weaknesses to grasp, the pattern where

he was unconditionally threatened and had false testimony coerced out of him

certainly exists.”

Atami furrowed his brows.

“… If it’s just going off feelings, any one of them could’ve been the culprit.”

The Chief Superintendent got it together in a tone even more somber than

usual.

“Whatever the case, if one of the three boys was threatened by the Shigusawa

family into confessing lies, they might be using this incident as an opportunity to

correct the mistakes made in the trial. Chizuru. That’s restricted data, but you’d

better identify the culprit as soon as possible.”

“Umm, so wait? If that’s where the motive is, then why don’t we have any

time?”

Atami swallowed his breath. It was surely so.

“If the culprit is clearing their grudge over being dressed in false charges…

there’s a high chance they’ll try and kill Shigusawa Tadashi as well. IF you think

about it like that, it explains why the crime happened with this timing… isn’t it

because Tadashi returned from overseas two weeks ago?”

“Is that how it is… that means this is practically certain.”

“The more pressing matter is to confirm the locations of those three and

Shigusawa Tadashi. I’ll give the order.”

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The Chief Superintendent started dialing his phone.

Atami watched over the strange mental states of this parent and child.

Falling out after the incident three years ago, there was no doubt they had

barely ever spoken since. And yet they were acting like long-time partners.

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10

Right after that, Atami and Ibusuki divided up the official paperwork. The Chief

Superintendent fixatedly watched over his two subordinates and his son.

Atami took the file describing circumstances on the day of the incident and the

assailant boys’ actual charged in hand. Int was only text recorded, but he felt

like covering his eyes.

Crime Scene:

Prefectural institution, South Yumoto High School, behind the gymnasium.

Barely anyone ever passed through, and covered in trees and shrubs, it was a

blind spot from the street as well.

Situation at Time of Offense:

The incident took place after school. Cloudy sky, temperature and humidity

standard for the month of April. The volleyball club and basketball club were

practicing in the gym, but as the door was shut, no one noticed the offense.

The violence done to the victim was, “Inflicted by all parties present,” “It is

unknown who landed the fatal blow,” each defendant made the same assertion.

They had all fled the scene, and in the investigation that followed the day after

the incident, all three denied participation in the incident. Further investigation

discovered traces of the three, making them suspects. While his fingerprints and

saliva were never detected, Shigusawa Tadashi who conducted bullying on a

daily basis was to be put on trial alongside them.

Situation Upon Discovery.

The male student who claimed to have found the remains by coincidence

anonymously dialed 119 and reported the crime.

And again, a mere three minutes before the ambulance arrived, five male

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students on the basketball team stopped by the scene and discovered the body.

They called for the basketball team’s advisor, and the school nurse, and even

attempted to get the victim’s disheveled clothing in order. By the time the

emergency responders arrived, the victim was cleanly wearing his school

uniform and trousers, but as dirt and grass were later found on his boxers and

undershirt, it is assumed that during the offense, a portion of his clothing had

been stripped away.

About the Three Boys Who Committed the Offense:

Kazami Yukiteru

He is confirmed to have struck and kicked victim Takasumi. On the collar of the

victim’s shirt, his fingerprints and palmprint (Mainly from his left hand) were

detected. The shoe sole traces found on Takasumi’s pants were a match with

those worn by Kazami Yukiteru. Among the three boys, his violent nature was

the strongest, and the likelihood he landed the fatal blow is high.

In the juvenile detention center, he continued to display a defiant attitude,

causing him to be sent to a correctional facility.

P.S. He was admitted to the facility for one a one-year sentence.

Tsukumo Kouta

His role at the scene was mainly to direct toxic remarks at the victim and to

poke fun at him. When the victim was face down on the ground, he commited

light physical attacks such as spitting on him. From DNA analysis, the saliva

detected on the back of the victim’s shirt was a match. He never directly laid

hands on him, but his awareness towards his own crime was exceedingly low,

asserting to the very end of the trial that he was not at fault, that he only

watched. To the family court prohibition officer as well, he continued criticizing

the victim’s character. He was placed under probation.

Shimoya Reiichirou

Docile, with a low level of aggression. But as he was forced into assisting the

bullying, he took part in direct violence as well. On the day of the incident, the

investigators on the initial investigation debated whether he was present during

the violence or not, but Shimoya’s fingerprints (Mainly from his left thumb)

280

were found on every button of Takasumi’s uniform, establishing that he was the

one who stripped the victim of his clothes. He was placed under probation.

Other remarks: School officials explained that the victim reported “I am not

being bullied” on the survey distributed a few days prior to the incident, and

that they did not notice the bullying was taking place.

The leader of the group that carried out the bullying on a daily basis, a male

classmate (16) asserted he was not present at the site on the day of the crime,

only the other three committed violence that day. Regardless of his usual

conduct, the case under investigation was manslaughter, and he was

determined to be ignorant in regards to the matter.

“Hah…”

The moment Atami let out a miserable sigh, Ibusuki opened her mouth as if

something had hit her.

“By the way, I just noticed, but are you sure the culprit is among these three?

Meaning, is there no chance we are working under the wrong premise,

Kirishima Chizuru?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, could it have been between Shigusawa Tadashi working with his

mother? For example, what if Madam Shigusawa gave false testimony?

Anticipating that the crime would be placed on you, she said the voice belonged

to a young man, when in truth the call was nothing of the sort.”

“Ah, that line of logic was refuted.”

Atami apologized over what he had forgotten to say as he reported what he had

just heard over the phone.

Ibusuki gave a satisfied nod, but Chizuru didn’t seem particularly interested.

According to him,

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“Even without any alibis, I didn’t think those two could be the culprit from the

start.”

“Meaning?”

“First off, if Shigusawa Tadashi was the culprit, there’s no way the madam

would say she didn’t know the intimidator’s voice.”

“Her son could have coerced her into telling a lie. OR she could just be sticking

up for him.”

Ibusuki pointed out, but Chizuru kept his eyes glued to the file as he shook his

head.

“If she was giving false testimony, she wouldn’t name a narrow description that

overlapped with her own son, ‘A young man in his teens,’ as the culprit. She’d

more likely mention an old woman, or some other individual completely

different from her son.”

“But hey, Chizuru-kun,” Atami stuck in his mouth.

“The culprit was trying to frame you, right? In that case, she would have a

reason to give testimony that pointed to you.”

“No, that’s mistaken, Atami-san. I mean, the culprit didn’t try to frame me

alone, they were trying to turn police eyes towards everyone involved with

Kirishima Midori. I mean, the fact I didn’t have an alibi last night… no, the fact I

didn’t mentioned it but actually had one… that was just a coincidence, right?

The culprit had no way of predicting I would have no alibi, and in that case, it

would be too dangerous to mislead by narrowing the focus to ‘Kirishima

Midori’s son’. I’m sure that the culprit only intended to make, ‘Those who knew

Kirishima Midori’ seem suspicious. The fact I became the suspect was only a

buildup of unfortunate coincidence.”

Atami found it a little dreadful he could look from the culprit’s perspective and

write off his own innocence as unfortunate.

“Then what basis do we have that Madam Shigusawa isn’t the culprit?”

On Ibusuki’s question, Chizuru flipped a page.

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“The same reason. If she was the culprit, she would have no need to say the

words, ‘Young Man’ just to mislead us. If the false testimony was found out, that

would be the end of it.”

While they were talking, it seemed he reached the last page of the document in

his hands- the assailants’’ profiles- and as he put it in a corner of the desk, he

gazed at the file in Atami’s hands.

“W-what?”

“Atami-san, I haven’t read that one yet, would you kindly?”

“Eh? I’m still only partway--”

“If you’d be so kind, Atami-kun.”

The Chief Superintendent quickly interrupted.

“… Yes.”

Feeling an urge to cry, Atami presented the file to the overbearing highschooler.

The sound of Chizuru hurriedly flipping through pages filled the room. Atami’s

hands were out of a job, he reached for the documents on Midori’s case.

Was danger closing in on Shigusawa Tadashi as they spoke? Atami had no idea

what he was supposed to do.

“… I’ve figured it out.”

Said Chizuru. Atami fell forward over his desk as he looked at Chizuru.

The eyes of the high school detective were mingled with joy, surprise and

unease, a peculiar color floating in them. He repeated himself.

“I’ve figured out who the culprit is.”

“Already?”

Atami could only say like a fool. Ibusuki leaned over the desk as she peered into

Chizuru’s face.

“So who is it? Who killed Shigusawa?”

Chizuru said the name. The investigators leaked voices of surprise. Not even the

Chief Superintendent was spared.

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11

“Police Inspector Ibusuki! Assistant Inspector Atami! You have both been

granted permission to carry a firearm to use in the arrest of a dangerous

criminal. Hurry to the prefect to pick them up. If we figure out the location of

the suspect, make haste to the scene.”

The Detective Chief Superintendent quickly issued the order. Yes sir, the two

loudly called out.

“With our evidence at the present stage, issuing an arrest warrant will be

difficult, so you have to convince him to come in voluntarily.”

Alongside their spirited replies, Ibusuki and Atami left with nimble movements.

Once the footsteps grew distant, and with a little space after, the Chief

Superintendent spoke up.

“Are you… going to stay here?”

“I’ll be out before you know it. If the suspicions around me have cleared up, you

don’t mind, do you? In the first place, the police station’s hard to breath in. I’ll

be leaving, with all due haste.”

Chizuru said as he rubbed his shoulders.

“I see.”

Giving a curt response, he left his place against the wall and headed for the

door. The bag that took in all the documents anew was gripped in his hand.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chizuru stood and left the room after his father.

“But I’m surprised you could tell. That the culprit… was Shimoya Reiichirou. And

that he was sacrificed as Shigusawa’s scapegoat.”

“It wasn’t anything too difficult, after all.”

Chizuru mumbled his reply.

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“In the first place, why did no one notice how unnatural it was to have

fingerprints on every button of the uniform… that’s the part I don’t get. A school

uniform’s buttons are extremely easy to undo, and if it was violently removed,

then a tug was all that was needed. There was no need to touch every button…

the fact it was the one piece of fabricated evidence intentionally set up by

Shigusawa Tadashi himself, did that really go unnoticed by the investigators at

the time?”

“It goes without saying, there were those who thought it unnatural.”

The Chief Superintendent spoke in a tone that didn’t let one feel anger or

fatigue. The uneven footsteps of parent and child echoed down the police

station corridor.

“But Shimoya confessed to his sins before anyone, I doubt they realized he was

confessing under fabricated evidence. So they didn’t point out every little detail.

With this time’s case, the possibility of ‘Shigusawa’s scapegoat’ surfaced, and

you can say this was the first time it became distinct. Meaning… mn?”

Standing in front and descending the stairs, the chief detective stopped at the

landing and looked up at his son. Chizuru looked out the window in deep

thought.

“What’s wrong?”

“… No. A sense of unease just hit me. I can’t really explain it.”

The moment he narrowed his eyes to get his thoughts in order, the swift sound

of footsteps resounded from the lower floor.

“Ah, so this is where you were, Chief Superintendent! I’ve caught you at the

right time!”

It was Police Sergeant Nagashima. His eyes stopped on Chief Kirishima as he

informed him in a shaking voice.

“The suspect… Shimoya Reiichirou has taken Shigusawa Tadashi hostage and

holed himself up in a shopping mall within Yumoto City!”

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＊

“Are we too late?”

Ibusuki in the passenger seat regretfully grumbled as she hit against the side

window. The unmarked police car driven by Atami roared noisily towards the

large shopping mall in Yumoto. Noisily sounding out the siren, he took a large

drift at the red-lighted intersection, the sounds of the brakes and car horns

grandly reaching their ears.

“That was dangerous!”

“Don’t worry! Driving’s all I’m good for!”

“I know!”

While they were crying out idiotic things over the deafening sounds, it really

was no situation to joke at.

“But what could Shimoya’s goal be? Kill Shigusawa and then himself… if it comes

to that, it would be terrible, but based on the police officers who raced over,

that didn’t seem to be the case. He holed himself in a shopping mall… can you

imagine the reason?”

“No, not at all.”

The validity of Chizuru’s logic was proven.

But since it came to this before they could ask Shimoya to voluntarily come in, it

was no exaggeration to say all his reasoning was pointless. At the very least,

thirty minutes, if he had seen the materials twenty minutes earlier…

As she grudgingly thought, their destination building came into sight up ahead.

A four-story, overly large rectangular box. With enough momentum to leap

passed the police officers guiding them, they rushed into the parking lot, and

drove through that lot that was emptying out. At the exit, the cars wanting to

leave a danger zone as fast as possible were causing a huge pileup.

The two stepped down from the car, hurrying to the mall’s entrance. Only the

front entrance was open, with the home center and cleaning store on the first

floor lowing shutters over a majority of their glass windows.

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“I’m Ibusuki of the prefectural police! Move aside!”

She showed her badge to silence the uniformed policemen who ran over. They

hammered the wailing explanations of the policemen standing at the entrance

into their heads, leaping into the mall and earnestly running down the corridor.

As they passed the florist and sweets corner, a parent and child, a middle

schooler, a young couple raised screams as they passed by. Keep calm, the

policemen yelled, but it was utterly pointless.

Once the two stood in the middle atrium hall, Shigusawa Tadashi and a young

man they had never seen before took center stage. The man had a firm hold on

Tadashi’s neck, pressing a sharp shiny object against his nape. It looked to be a

survival knife.

“Shimoya!”

Ibusuki raised a strong scream from the depths of her stomach. With his name

called out, Shimoya Reiichirou showed a reaction. His long hair was bound, his

neutral facial features were actually relatively in order, but in his eyes dwelled

an intense madness.

“D-d-detective! Please save me, save mee, eep!”

Tadashi shouted out, but Shimoya tightened his grip, making him raise a

pathetic cry before going silent.

“Put a stop to this, Shimoya! Don’t do anything stupid!”

Ibusuki pulled the gun she had just received, skillfully taking her stance. Shimoya

pulled Shigusawa’s body in even closer. To emphasize a shot would hit the

hostage.

“Can you not hear me telling you to stop!?”

“Shut up! Go away!”

Shimoya screamed for the first time. Putting in all manner of rage, it was a voice

hard to put a shape to.

“I’m surprised he managed to cause such a ruckus with a single knife…”

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As Atami groaned, the police officer who came up to him explained.

“Until a moment ago, he was in possession of what looked like a gun.”

The officer nudged their head towards Shimoya’s feet. Sure enough, a

machinegun-like item had been discarded. And looking up, the glass-sided

elevator and the acrylic plates surrounding the second-floor passage were

dotted with what looked like bullet marks here and there. By randomly firing off

his gun, he had dropped the mall into a swirl of chaos. But the fact that he now

had a knife in his hands meant the gun was probably not real, more likely a

modified airsoft or something of the sort. Meaning his intent behind the

shooting wasn’t to kill or wound, it was to clear the area, Atami concluded.

But why would he do such a thing?

“What is your goal!?”

When Atami cried out, Shimoya frowned.

“… It’s for Takasumi Teiji. This is judgement!”

“Hah? I don’t get what you’re talking about! Aren’t you trying to get revenge

after being tricked and manipulated by the Shigusawa family?”

Shimoya didn’t answer Ibusuki’s shout. What was it? What could his objective

be?

“Have a look at that, detective.”

Shimoya angled his head towards the second and third floor. There, ignoring the

police instruction, there was a throng pointing their smart phones and cell

phones down at them.

“Everyone’s filming us. Taking videos and pictures. They’re writing inflammatory

messages and posting it on social media. It’s a strange world, isn’t it. But.”

Shimoya suddenly pressed his knife harder against Shigusawa’s throat. His face

already half-tear-stained, Shigusawa raised a weak cry.

“Right now, that sleazy society is helping me. A moment ago, I yelled out all the

necessary information. My name, his name. That I was the one who killed his

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father, that he did something socially unacceptable, and that he used his

father’s connections to erase his crime.”

“And why did you…”

“This is judgement. For Takasumi Teiji, this is a necessary act.”

That same refrain from before. Without establishing any meaning.

“So you want to put social restraints on Shigusawa’s name? If that’s your goal,

then you’ve already done that! What good will come of increasing the weight of

your crimes?”

The moment Ibusuki cried out, Atami’s cellphone buzzed.

Normally, this wasn’t the time for that. He was supposed to ignore it. But from a

certain premonition, Atami dug through his pocket, pressed it against his ear

and pressed the receive button. For a moment, Ibusuki directed a fed-up face at

him, but without the time to give a damn, she immediately returned her eyes to

Shimoya.

“… Is this Chizuru-kun?”

‘That’s right, Atami-san. What’s the situation right now?’

“Shimoya Reiichirou is right before our eyes, about to kill Shigusawa Tadashi. To

be honest, this isn’t the time for a phone call.”

“So it’s not looking too good?”

“Terrible.”

“Then let me offer you a bit of advice in your predicament. It might nor prove

any use, and it might actually enrage Shimoya further, it’s a double edged

sword. Did you get that?”

“Whatever works. Hurry up and say it.”

“Very well. The truth is, in my previous deduction, there was one point that was

off. The most vital part. Which means…”

The shock raced through Atami.

Once he finished listening in, he cut the call and shoved the phone in his breast

pocket. Having watched over it all, Shimoya showered Atami with suspicious

eyes.

“What are you doing, detective? Hurry up ang go away!”

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Carefully, cautiously, Atami chose his words. He wet his lips with his tongue.

“Hey… um, I understand how hard it was for you to live your life up to now. The

world, and the people around you, they’ve continued subjecting you to such

injustice. But think about it.”

Atami locked eyes with Shimoya. There, an intense disturbance was born.

“Even if you do something like this, you’ll only strengthen the prejudice towards

people in a similar situation. Isn’t that true? Even if your life ends here,

everyone else still has to live the rest of their life in this society. There’s no good

in increasing the number of people who taste the same pain.”

“Atami? What are you, talking… about…”

Half-way through her words, Ibusuki looked at Shimoya in surprise. A change

had shown itself in him.

For a while, Shimoya made empty, doll-like eyes as he stared back at Atami.

“… The fingerprints on the uniform buttons. That was the only thing that tied

you to Young Takasumi’s incident. But thinking back, those prints weren’t the

sort of evidence that could be fabricated after the crime came to light… the day

the incident happened, the real first person to discover the body was you,

wasn’t it?”

The hand holding his knife lowered a bit. The fact Tadashi was turning his head

away bit by bit also went unnoticed by Shimoya.

“After Takasumi was subjected to overt violence that unfortunately led to his

death, you got his clothing in order. And we also have testimony that you were

originally on good terms with the Takasumi… you and him, were in a love

relationship, weren’t you?”

On those sudden words, Ibusuki gazed in amazements. But before she could say

anything, Shimoya’s state changed.

He was shedding tears.

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“It’s not too late. Shimoya! You can still make an appeal, that you truly thought

of the bullied young boy more than anyone. But if you keep making your crimes

heavier, nothing will change!”

The knife slipped out of Shimoya’s hand. The knife that hit the floor left a

metallic noise that reverberated a long while.

Ibusuki instantly leapt out. Tadashi cried and wailed as he fled.

“Shimoya Reiichirou! You have been caught red-handed in the act of attempted

murder!”

The sound of handcuffs rang out. The string of tension severed, Atami fell to his

knees on the spot.

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12

The rain had lifted by the next morning, the sky was even clearer than the day

before. When Chizuru woke up that morning, he could hear a hint of the gently

pressing wind.

Still under the covers, he turned his body, looking at the digital clock on top of

the side board. Seven, on the dot.

“I have to go to school…”

Unsteadily tottering up, he approached his room door with uncertain steps. The

hall was silent. It didn’t seem Hibari was awake yet.

When he entered the living room and poured water into the coffee maker, ne

noticed Hibari lying on her back on the sofa. Her laptop was open on the coffee

table. By the look of it, she tried writing in the living room for a change of pace,

but the sofa was so comfortable she fell asleep.

Chizuru flipped the switch, and as the sound of running water signaled the

coffee was indeed being made, Hibari took a big stretch as she got up.

“Good morning.”

As Chibari gave a greeting, Hibari rubbed her half-asleep eyes, restlessly looked

around her surroundings before looking at her nephew.

“M-mornin’… h-huh? Today is…?”

“June sixth, Monday.”

“Kuh, so I fell asleep… this deadline’s going to be a rough one. Well, whatever,

it'll work itself out. More importantly, why are you up so early?”

Chizuru tilted his head. “Because it’s mond…”

“June sixth is the anniversary of Yumoto Academy’s founding, right?”

After staring blankly a while at his aunt sipping water, Chizuru spoke.

“I forgot…”

“What’s wrong, are you alright? For you to forget a holiday. Whenever Monday

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came around, you always used to ask, ‘Hibari-san, is today a school holiday?’”

“… A lot happened yesterday.”

“I guess I can’t blame you.”

Hibari gave a generous nod before stretching again and standing form the sofa.

Passing her by, Chizuru sat on the sofa as he sent her a glance.

“So umm… the one who told that person about my detective activity was you,

wasn’t it?”

Hibari stopped in her tracks.

“… Hmm? What’s this about?”

“Don’t play dumb. That guy appeared the moment after I was taken in to the

station… he knew about the kidnapping incident that took place on greenery

day as well. The only ones who knew I was involved in that case, apart from

Detective Atami and the suspects, was the one who overheard the phone call

that morning, you, Hibari-san.”

“Aha, not bad. You’re a sharp one.”

“… Why did you do something so arbitrary?”

“I don’t want to hear that from the most arbitrary person of all.”

Hibari clunked her glass against Chizuru’s head, speaking gently.

“Now look here, you’re parent and child, you know. I’m sure there are places

you don’t see eye to eye, and things you can’t stomach about one another. But

dragging that on for five, for ten years would just be boring, wouldn’t it? And

did you really think Kankurou-san just abandoned you?”

“… I did. Until yesterday.”

Oh, Chizuru pursed her lips.

“Then did you resolve it? Your relationship?”

“No, we’re not there yet…”

Chizuru restlessly said. Hibari smiled, this time lacing the palm of her hand on

Chizuru’s head.

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“You shouldn’t drag it out too long. Want to go over today?”

“… Fine.”

Chizuru’s face was just a little red.

Fiddling with the ‘visitor’ tag dangling at his neck, Chizuru leaned his back

against the elevator wall.

“What could’ve brought this on, Chizuru-kun?”

Pressing the button for the seventh floor for the Chief Superintendent’s office,

Atami asked.

“For you to want to meet our chief of your own accord.”

“No, it’s nothing, really. I was just in the mood. And I’ll be out before you know

it. I’ve got plans after this.”

The elevator quietly hummed, it began its ascent.

“… About Shimoya.”

Atami started up.

“He confessed to everything as if the demon had left him. I’m surprised that you

could tell, Chizuru-kun… that Shimoya and Takasumi had a special relationship

beyond friends, and that Shigusawa gripped it as a weakness.”

“Yes. I was too late to notice. But my basis had to be the buttons, after all. A

fingerprint on each individual button… it was way too simple and unnatural to

fabricate. And if that was fabricated, it would have to be before the trial, to be

more precise, before the incident came to light. That was unnatural. Meaning…

it was actually the evidence that Shimoya never committed any violence, and it

wasn’t fabricated.”

“Umm… so, where does that lead you? Back at the shopping mall, you only told

me that Shimoya and Takasumi were in that sort of relationship. What’s your

basis?”

294

“The prints were on each individual button. That would only be possible when

the buttons were pressed together, not pulled apart. Meaning the first person

to find the body, and the one who put the assaulted Takasumi’s clothes back on

was Shimoya. The rest was… a bet, or rather a delusion, or rather a certain

someone’s influence. It just happened to come in handy.”

“Mn…? I didn’t really catch that last part, but, I guess I’ll accept it. Come to think

of it, in the bullying survey issued a little before the incident, Takasumi

answered ‘I’m not being bullied’. That might have been him covering for

Shimoya who had been forced onto the assailant’s side.”

Bing, the sound of the elevator reaching. The door opened.

“Ah, right. We’ve almost finished extinguishing the flames Shimoya and

Shigusawa Tadashi lit. The information was diffused in a relatively flashy

manner, so I doubt we can do it perfectly, but… whatever the case, it was a

good opportunity to look back on a past case. Though the prefectural police

force are receiving some heavy bashing.”

“That’s good.”

Chizuru brazenly said. Atami tapered his lips.

“Making it sound like someone else’s business.”

Atami laughed.

by the time they noticed it, they were standing before the ‘Detective Chief

Superintendent’s Office’. Atami waved a fist, “Do your best,” he said as he left

down the corridor.

When he entered the office, the Detective Chief Superintendent stared fixatedly

at Chizuru from across the desk.

“What is it?”

“… I just thought, how rare. For you to come over on your own accord.”

“I get that a lot. No idea why. In the first place, you already heard from Hibari-

295

san, didn’t you?”

“So you’ve got me. Splendid work… but she never said what you were coming

for.”

“A bit of a deduction… no, less than that, I wanted to work some conjecture.

Will you spare some time to hear it out?”

“Go ahead.”

He pointed at the sofa. Chizuru heartily settled himself into it, his eyes stopping

on the memo-pad placed on the side of the table. After ripping out a blank page,

he slowly started talking.

“After an incident three years ago, after Superintendent Kirishima Kankurou

whose wife had been killed had solved the secret behind the sealed room trick,

after he saw the possibility that Shigusawa Nobuo was the culprit, for some

reason, he showed no signs of pursuing the truth of the matter. I thought that

was because of the pressure put down by Shigusawa, his boss at the time.”

The detective chief superintendent was silent. Chizuru folded the memo in half,

continuing without looking his father in the eye.

“But that wasn’t completely true. The truth of the matter was… that Shigusawa

had taken a hostage.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Something hit me from your statement the other day. You told me…

‘Shigusawa tried to kill me. It was legitimate self-defense’. You actually half-

believed that, didn’t you? Meaning… Shigusawa was,”

“That’s right.”

The chief superintendent interrupted him with a tired voice.

“Three years ago, after Midori’s incident… after you thought it out and

hammered your reasoning into Shigusawa, he indirectly put a threat on me. ‘If

you do any more unnecessary things, the same just might happen to your son’…

he said.”

“And you folded to that?”

“I think that was a foolish mistake.”

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The chief cast down his eyes, he fixatedly poured his attention onto his two

gloved hands. As he stayed silent, Chizuru quietly moved his hands,

transforming the memo sheet. Eventually, the Detective Chief Superintendent

opened his mouth.

“But… I was desperate. I had lost Midori, an if I had to lose you too… if

something like that happened, I thought. Even if I told myself it was a foolish

empty threat, I couldn’t bring myself to go against it… you know.”

“I understand. That’s enough… I just heard from Atami-san. About how you tried

to stop my involvement in investigations.”

As if to test something, Chizuru kept his eyes trained on his father.

“That’s right. If by doing so, you got Shigusawa’s eye on you, I thought… ah, no,

it seems that’s exactly what happened… I couldn’t stay still.”

Chizuru stayed silent a while.

Opening his mouth as if waiting for the right chance, he eventually spoke.

“I also think that was a mistake… no, rather than think, at this point I’ll declare

it. I was wrong. Three years ago.”

He raised his face, clearing away his bangs that had grown too long.

“The reasoning was right. But how I used it was wrong. A deduction without any

backing is no deduction at all… and in truth, I get the feeling I’ve been repeating

those barren pseudo-deductions. I was mistaken. Solving Yuzuki’s case, and

being thanked… solving Officer Atami’s cousin’s case and advising her to turn

herself in, I came to learn. These so-called deductions should be used in the

right place, in the right direction, in the right way… so,”

Chizuru’s voice started shaking.

Ah, no more. He would speak with his heart. When he usually didn’t speak much

at all. Lately, he had spoken a bit too much. His voice was now chipping.

“From today forth, I’d like to trust people a bit more.”

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The Chief Superintendent’s expression didn’t change. But by the next time he

opened his mouth, his tone was… how was it? Chizuru couldn’t quite say, but…

it was something different than the tone he had used to that point.

“… I’m sorry, Chizuru. And you did a wonderful job finding the culprit this time

as well. Thank you.”

“No.”

Chizuru made a smile around his mouth.

“I’m the one who should say thank you. Father.”

Well then, he excused himself from the room, turning towards the doorway

“Oh, you don’t have to be in such a rush. I’m free for the rest of the morning.”

“Don’t mind me. I’m keeping Yuzuki and Ageha waiting. We’re going to have a

study meetup after this. Those with good grades don’t have it easy.”

“Chizuru!”

The Detective Chief Superintendent called him to a stop. Chizuru put a hand on

the doorknob as he turned.

‘If… Just an if. if the prefect encounters a troublesome case we can’t hope to

contend with… could I possibly ask for your assistance? You have the blood of a

detective… the blood of an attorney with a strong sense of justice flowing

through your veins.’

“Perhaps.”

Chizuru laughed.

“If a case like that actually happens. And if I’m up to it… meaning, if it’s a case

where I feel a sense of duty to do it.”

And if there was someone who had to be saved.

“Then until net time.”

… After Chizuru unmotivatedly closed the door and left, the Chief

Superintendent finally noticed what had been placed on his desk.

While withered and shoddy, both its gave a sense of strength, a single folded

crane.

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(TL: This case remains in an unchanged state. Umm, as this book details the

Japanese police system, which works under a slightly different system than the

US or UK. Some terms do not have direct parallels I can find.)

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Post Script

This book has been adapted from the webnovel serialized on the novel

contribution website Syosetsuka ni Narou, with large alterations.

For a long time, I’ve dreamed of having a book I wrote published.

In manga and anime, by the time I gained awareness, I had a fondness of the

mystery genre. When I got around to the appropriate age, I naturally got to

reading detective novels, and seeing all the tricks that could only be expressed

in novel form, I got around to thinking, ‘I want to write something like this too’.

Among all the mystery novels I’ve read, I like highly logical orthodox mysteries,

and I was deeply charmed by the works of Ellery Queen, and a group of authors

of the Shinhonkaku Mystery movement. There are homages to many of those

masterpieces scattered across this book as well.

That being the case, while I respect orthodox mysteries, this book doesn’t

contain anything particularly difficult to figure out, so please rest at ease. Enjoy

it at your leisure, and feel good after reading it. That was the premise I tried

setting it up under.

The characters were made as I thought over the question, “What sort of

individual would I find appealing.” Chizuru, Ageha, Yuzuki, Officer Atami and

Inspector Ibusuki, they have all become important people to me. I would be

happy if everyone reading is able to find someone they can take a liking to.

I like characters that bring weaknesses and flaws with them. A human

overcoming their own weaknesses, or finding value in what they once thought

was a flaw. When I read a story like that, “I guess I should work hard too,” is

what I feel. I hope this book may become that sort of novel for you.

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We’re nearing the end, but I have to use this opportunity to give thanks to

everyone involved in turning this work into a book. Making a single volume is by

no means accomplished by a single person… it really is troublesome… I’ve

plainly come to realize. Sincerely, thank you.

Well then, I pray we’ll be able to meet somewhere once more.

- Kusutani Tasuki, May 2016

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This story is fiction.

It holds no relation to any real individuals or organizations.

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Kusutani Tasuku

Born in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. A resident of the Saitama Prefecture.

This book is his first published work.