Jogakusei Tantei Vol 1 Chapter 3

“Disciplinary Committee President’s Secret Performance Behind the School Building!”

Before too long, a newspaper extra with that kind of heading was sure to turn up. Ex, who had, in fact, been Juurou-senpai, had been planning to throw the culture festival into chaos with a bomb. However, thanks to Kudou-sensei’s tactics, his role had instead been changed to the mischievous Disciplinary Committee President who had just put on an un.o.bstructive, impromptu fireworks show at the festival.

With this, Ex, who had previously caused so much commotion throughout the school, probably wasn’t likely to appear ever again. The truth behind his ident.i.ty would remain as a mystery, and quietly become sealed within the school’s dark history

“Still, why fireworks….?”

When I mumbled this, the author began with, “This is likely what happened,” before launching into his explanation.

“His father must have realized his unsettling plan, and swapped the contents of the box with fireworks. Ones that would display the three colors of the school flag in a playful manner, at that.”

When I stopped to consider that, it seemed like the only reasonable possibility.

“It’s clear that those fireworks were made with safety as a priority, as well. That could only have been done by a skilled pyrotechnician.”

It was rare for the author to praise someone in such a manner. Quite rare indeed. For such an outstanding craftsman, it probably wouldn’t have taken them long to notice that so much of their gunpowder had been stolen.

“Although, even if the bomb hadn’t been replaced with fireworks, it’s doubtful whether or not it would have even gone off.”

True… Given Juurou-senpai’s behavior when I’d confronted him, I now found it hard to imagine that he would have been able to successfully pull off his objective in that miserable state.

“……Haah.”

But still….

“How long are you going to keep making the face of a moist senbei cracker?”

The author gave me his half-eaten candied apple. However, since it was the very one that I had paid for with my own money earlier, I honestly didn’t feel the need to be grateful for his offer.

I was still frustrated about how wrong my reasoning had been.

“In the end, I wonder why Saho went up to the roof in the first place. Would you happen to have any idea about that, as well?”

As I gnawed roughly on the candied apple, I pried him for an answer.

The author made an annoyed face, and turned away.

“Speaking of which, did you even read through the guidebook for your own culture festival?”

“The guidebook? Well, yes, I skimmed it…. Why do you ask?”

“Isn’t the monument going to be shown soon?”

I looked up at the clock tower, and saw that the hands pointed at 11:30 AM.

“Oh, you’re right. The unveiling is at noon, so I think they should have started putting it together somewhere by now. Sensei, don’t tell me you’re actually looking forward to it? Ufufu~ How childish.”

“Don’t speak nonsense. I’ll rip out your brain.”

“Eek! How?!”

“I’ve been watching them. Since this morning, students busily bringing out things like scaffoldings and framework. They’ve been taking them to the side of the south school building.”

It would seem that the monument production crew hadn’t been able to bring out all the part before the Akebi Festival started, after all. Even though it’d been kept such a secret until now, it was pitiful that on the actual day of the festival, it suddenly ended up being witnessed by the general visitors before the unveiling.

“Come with me now, if you will,”

Saying this, the author took my hand and began walking.

Although he’d had the decency to say so politely, with the way he was pulling me along like that, I had no other choice but to go with him.

Just as he’d said, in the tall gra.s.ses beside the south school building, the construction of the monument had begun. The members of the production crew called out to each other as they put together each of the parts.

Beside them, the PE teacher who had the face of someone that seemed likely to be the first to be cut down during a sword fight scene in a historical play, hence being nicknamed “Sword Fodder” by the students, shouted out instructions while pointing his bamboo sword accordingly. However, it didn’t look like anyone was paying particular attention to his instructions.

It seemed that they’d finally finished constructing about half of the monument, but it was already so tall that you had to tilt your head back to see the top of it.

It was exciting, almost like we had come back in time and were watching Tokyo Tower being constructed. The bamboo was a.s.sembled from the bottom upwards, like a ladder, and looked wide enough for a single person to climb on.

Among the working students, I spotted a face I recognized. It was the boy who had been carrying out the parts near the staircase this morning. He was being called “Leader” by the students around him.

He must have felt a gaze, because he then noticed that we were observing, and called out to us.

“Well, d.a.m.n….. If possible, I’d hoped to put it all together out-of-sight…”

“Are you the leader of the monument construction crew?”

“That’s right. The name’s Seno, a third year. I’m the one who mainly designed the monument this time, although I did take in opinions from everyone else, of course.”

“I heard that this year’s monument is the biggest it’s ever been.”

“Yeah. Big, and expensive, too. We went through a lot to get this far, but it looks like we’ll be able to pull it off,”

He told us while wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Because of last year’s accident, the budget for the construction of the monument has gone down considerably…. To begin with, they were talking about banning the monument altogether at first. But the Executive Committee President, Igaras.h.i.+, talked it over with the school officials, and we were able to continue carrying on this tradition.”

“Igaras.h.i.+-senpai did…..?”

“Do you know him? He’s a good guy. We’ve been friends since elementary school. We live pretty close to each other, too. When we were little, we would used to have play-sword fights at the local park until it got dark out.”

As he spoke, the monument behind him grew steadily taller. “Sword Fodder”, whose instructions were being ignored for the most part, had started practicing baseball swings by himself with the idle bamboo sword. Seeing that in the background when Seno-senpai mentioned “sword fights”, it connected in a strange way and made me want to laugh.

“You know, the park that’s right behind Akebi High. Oh, and listen to this. We only applied for this high school because it was the one closest to our houses. Stupid, right? Back then, both Yuuma and I used to hate studying, but look at him now. He’s turned into a total honor student.”

Although we barely gave much response at all, Seno-senpai continued to ramble on excitedly by himself. It seemed like he genuinely enjoyed talking.

“But it sure was fun the other day. Although we ended up having to abort it, it’s been a while since he came up with such an interesting plan…. Ah, whoops,”

It was then that he closed his mouth for a moment, his expression suddenly darkening.

“Anyway, he’s amazing, really. Even after what happened to his sister during the accident, he still worked so hard to keep the monument going this year.”

“His sister? Um….. Could it be that, the person that was injured in last year’s accident was…..”

“Yeah, that was his sister. They have a pretty large age difference, so I think she’s still in elementary…. Ah, well that was last year, so she should be attending Akahas.h.i.+ Middle School starting from this year. Oh, looks like I’ve rambled too far. I’ll be getting back to work now,”

Having talked for a while, he returned to his construction work once more.

Afterwards, I watched the completion of the monument while standing still like a ghost. All the while, for once, the author simply waited without uttering a single comment.

The completed monument looked similar to Tokyo Tower, and close to ten meters tall. Looking up from directly below it, it seemed even taller.

The bamboo framework that was chosen for its lightness, flexibility, and durability, fitted together firmly, and at the very summit was a heart symbol.

Furthermore, there was  large hand with its fingers wrapped around the heart in a strong grip, making it an altogether elaborate design. Seno-senpai’s t.i.tle for it was “Man Clenching A Heart.” But I had a feeling that it spoke for itself.

“Wait! Hey, it’s small, but there’s a hole in that part below the heart! Geez, why didn’t anyone notice that!”

Just as Seno-senpai had said, upon closer inspection, there was a small hole in the heart symbol. However, it was so small that it wasn’t noticable unless you looked very carefully.

“Well, whatever. If anyone points it out, we can just say that it was left by an angel’s arrow!”

Cheering right back up, he said this with a hearty laugh.

As if he’d been waiting for the moment of the monument’s completion, the author muttered quietly from beside me,

“It’s tall enough that you have to look up at it. It looks like it would really hurt if you fell from such a height.”

When I heard those words, inside of me, a bridge formed between “howdunit” and “whodunit.”

“Sensei, I’ve finally figured it out.”

“Go on, then. If you’re wrong again, I’ll console you, amateur detective.”

The Wind Orchestra Club that awaited in the schoolyard began to play a gorgeous piece. And as if in tune with that melody, the monument construction crew, lead  by Seno-senpai, carried the monument towards the sound.

Leaving Kudou-sensei behind, I walked after them. When the monument made its appearance in the inner courtyard, cheers arose from the crowds. Everyone was looking up at it while squinting their eyes against the glare of the sun.

I didn’t know who had organized it, but confetti rained down from the third and fourth story windows of both the north and south school buildings.

Music, confetti, and a huge monument that was like a portable shrine.

It was like a parade.

I immediately found who I was looking for within the dense crowd of people, since they were the only one not looking up at the monument, and instead staring down at their feet.

Even after everyone else followed the monument as it was carried to the schoolyard, only that person remained in the inner courtyard.

I listened to the cheers fading in the distance, and then called out to him.

“If it’s Saho that you’re worried about, I’m sure that she’ll be fine, Igaras.h.i.+-senpai.”

Even after I’d spoke, he didn’t turn around for a while.

The last bit of confetti danced persistently in the air before drifting feebly down at Igaras.h.i.+-senpai’s feet.

Before long, he let out a sigh and said,

“It was an accident.”

“I know. I believe it was an accident, as well. However, you unintentionally created a suspicious scene that looked like an attempted suicide on the roof. Am I right?”

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai was silent.

“That day, you went up to the school roof in the middle of the night. And then you put together that monument.”

Right now, the monument would have been moved to the center of the schoolyard.

“The parts for the monument were made in the fourth floor Science Preparation Room which usually goes unused. It wouldn’t have been difficult to move the parts from there to the rooftop. Also, according to Seno-senpai’s design, the materials used were much lighter than last year’s, so with a little time, you were able to put it all together even on your own.”

And so, you put together that huge monument on the roof in the middle of the night.

That sounds about right so far, correct?

I gave Igaras.h.i.+-senpai a look that suggested these words, and he nodded slightly.

“It’s as you said, mostly. To be accurate, I wasn’t the only one that went up to the roof that night. I thought it might be hard to put it together all on my own, so I asked someone to help me.”

“And that would’ve been Seno-senpai, right?”

“Yeah. We’ve been good friends since we were kids. I approached him, saying that if we could display that record-high work that he made, up on the roof in one night, our names would go down in Akebi High history.”

“But if you tried to pull something like that on your own, the school officials wouldn’t just let that go quietly. Even though the monument itself could be banned altogether, I’m surprised that Seno-senpai still agreed to that plan.”

“I told him that the teacher responsible for the monument construction were secretly in on it as well. That I’d had it all taken care of.”

By teacher, he must have meant the “Sword Fodder” one.

“Seno loves things that are interesting and stand out, so he was on board right away.”

This was what Seno-senpai had meant when he offhandedly mentioned a “dramatic presentation.”

“However, the truth is, you never said anything to the teacher. Igaras.h.i.+-senpai, you lied to him. Am I wrong?”

“…No, you’re exactly right.”

And without knowing of Igaras.h.i.+-senpai’s real objective, Seno-senpai had helped him.

“After we praised each other’s good work on putting together the monument that night, we hurried home before daybreak. We wanted to get some rest, even if only for an hour or two.”

“The following morning, you came to the school earlier than anyone else, for the sake of staging the monument’s end… right?”

That was the true plan that Igaras.h.i.+-senpai had come up with.

“Yeah. I thought I’d barricade myself on the roof while I waited for the other students to arrive, and once I felt that I’d gathered enough attention, I would set fire to the monument right then and there, without waiting until the second day of the Akebi Festival.”

I see; putting together that towering monument had been a feasible task, and furthermore, the highest place in the school where he could isolate it was the roof.

“You wanted to end it with your own hands, didn’t you?”

As Igaras.h.i.+-senpai hesitated to say his true intentions aloud, I quietly spoke them in his place.

He looked up the sky for a little while, as if waiting for the waves of his emotions to pa.s.s, and then finally opened his mouth again.

“That’s right. I wanted to be the one to stage the monument’s end.”

Putting together the ten-meter tall monument on the roof in secret from the school officials, and then setting fire to it—carrying out such a dangerous act would put an end the history of the monument. That had been his true objective all along.

“I’m graduating next year. So that’s why I wanted to settle it before I leave this school. I didn’t want it to end naturally, through voluntary restraint, but to erase the monument construction from the Akebi Festival entirely, with my own hands.”

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai wasn’t looking at the sky anymore. He was now looking at his hands with eyes full of emotions that were difficult to put into words.

“Was it all for your sister’s sake?”

“—You even know that much, do you… Just who are you, exactly?”

For the first time, Igaras.h.i.+-senpai looked directly at me.

“I heard from Seno-senpai that the one who was injured in last year’s accident was Igaras.h.i.+-senpai’s younger sister. Correct me if I’m wrong, but was your sister….”

I hesitated with my next words, but I wound up saying them in the end.

“Did she suffer a wound from her left cheek to her ear?”

“Even now, she still has a scar.”

It was a clearly positive answer.

“Last year, I took my sister by the hand and guided her around the culture festival. She’s always been rather shy, and rarely expresses her emotions, but that day, she actually smiled a lot for once. In the afternoon, we went to look at the monument together. And then, a sudden wind blew. An unexpected gust of wind toppled the monument, and it came falling down towards my sister and I……”

“Hurry, hurry!” A pair of girls ran past us and towards the schoolyard while holding hands with each other.

“At that time, I separated from her. The moment I tried to get away, I let go of her hand.”

He must have watched it unfold right in front of his eyes. His own sister, in terrible pain.

“You developed a hatred for the monument, as well as the Akebi Festival,  that gave your sister such a serious wound on her face…”

“It wasn’t only her face. I’m sure that she suffered mental and emotional trauma, as well. But, I don’t know… if I did what I did that night on the roof out of hatred towards the Akebi Festival, or because I was trying to escape the anger I felt towards myself for letting go of her hand…..”

There was an exceptionally loud cheer from the schoolyard. The monument had been brought to its a.s.signed position. Looking at it from such a distance, it looked so small.

“But, that night, you went home, but then came straight back to the school again, didn’t you? And then you hurried to take down the monument that you’d just worked so hard to construct.”

“I’d forgotten my jacket on the roof and gone straight home. It started to get hot as we were putting the monument together, so I took it off, but since I was so tired both mentally and physically afterwards, I forgot all about picking it back up. I didn’t realize it until I reached the front door of my house, and rushed back to go get it. I think this was sometime after 3 AM.”

After he’d run back up to the roof, short of breath and with a flashlight in hand, an unbelievable scene met his eyes.

A female student was collapsed underneath the monument, bleeding heavily.

“At first, I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I thought it might’ve been a ghost, you know? But eventually, I realized that she’d fallen from the monument. Although I had no idea what a girl was doing there on the roof at such a late hour—”

Even Igaras.h.i.+-senpai had been able to figure out that she had climbed the monument, and then fallen down by accident.

“You were actually the first one to find her, then.”

“She was bleeding… A lot. And she was lying so still, I thought she might already be dead. I was probably too shocked to think straight at the time. After that, I hurried to take the monument down.”

“And isn’t that when you injured your left hand?”

Today, as well, there were bandages wrapped around his left hand.

“Yeah. In any case, I was in a rush, and I pushed myself too hard.”

Because of the sudden and unexpected visitor, Igaras.h.i.+-senpai had no longer been able to carry out his initial plan.

“I got scared, and ran away from the school. But on the way home, there was a police box, and for a while, I just stood there, thinking. But I didn’t know how I could explain it….. They’d probably just think I was crazy if I told them that a girl had fallen to her death on the roof. But if I tried to explain it properly, I’d have to tell them everything about my plan. And in doing so, Seno would get involved, as well…. I ended up going home without doing anything.”

Clearly, Igaras.h.i.+-senpai hadn’t been able to sleep a wink that night. It’d been obvious from his haggard appearance and bloodshot eyes the following morning.

“When I heard you say that Amemura-san was alright, I was so relieved…. I felt like I could collapse right then and there, simply from knowing the fact that she was alive…..”

Back then, maybe he had been rubbing his eyes because he’d really started to cry, and not because he was lacking sleep.

“I knew that I would have to atone for my sins before long. I’m certain that once Amemura-san wakes up, she’ll call me out as being inhumane for leaving her behind, and everything will be brought to light,”

That was what Igaras.h.i.+-senpai said, but I had something else in mind. However, even if I told him about that now, I wouldn’t be able to convey it well enough.

“But, how did you figure out that I snuck into the school that night? Tell me that, at least.”

“Because of what you said about the radio. Senpai, you said that you’d been at home listening to that radio program all night.”

“Radio program? Ah, right, S-Edition Hour.”

“You also said that they were playing many familiar songs, as usual.”

“…I suppose I did.”

“When I first heard that, I had no way of knowing whether or not that was true, because I’d fallen asleep without listening to the entire program. However, someone close to me also listened to the same program, and he told me that there was a rare incident during the broadcast that night.”

Or so I said, but when I had heard about the broadcast incident from Kares.h.i.+ma-san, I still had yet to notice the contradiction with Igaras.h.i.+-senpai’s story.

His relations.h.i.+p with Seno-senpai, his sister, and the conflicting stories. When I tried seeing the monument as being the center of all these events, everything about Igaras.h.i.+-senpai and all that he’d said come flooding back as the key to solve the mystery.

“So my alibi fell apart because of the radio show, huh? Looks like my tongue slipped.”

He shook his head with a light scoff.

“In the end, I couldn’t accomplish anything. All I did was leave things unfinished. I couldn’t help Amemura-san, or even carry out my initial plan. Without being able to make up my mind about anything, I acted as the President of the Akebi Festival Executive Committee. I couldn’t even take revenge for my sister’s injury…..”

“…Senpai, have you met with your sister today?”

“No… She should be at home right now. Why do you ask?”

“I think your sister has likely already gotten over her injury. At the very least, I think that she’s come to terms with it in her own way.”

“No, she couldn’t have…..”

“Earlier, I saw someone that looked like it could have been your sister. She’s here. Without even hiding the scar on her face, she came to see the festival that her older brother has organized. Don’t you think that this is her way of showing how she feels?”

If she had wanted to hide the scar, she could have worn a mask. And she wouldn’t have set foot in the grounds of the Akebi Festival again if her feelings hadn’t been in order.

That was what I believed.

“But still… As her brother, I wasn’t able to overcome it. The only way in which I could settle my feelings was to carry about a plan that was understood by no one, that I could tell no one about.”

He said that no one had understood his plan, but I felt that wasn’t quite correct.

“There was someone that understood, wasn’t there? Just one person.”

“Was there? But, I didn’t talk about it to anyone…. No, it can’t be…..”

“Yes. It was Saho. I think that Saho probably went up to the roof that night because she knew that you were there.”

“But why….? For what purpose?!”

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai pressed me for an answer, his face indicating that he truly did not understand.

“You really don’t get it?”

I said, letting myself be driven by the irritation that rose up from the pits of my stomach.

“If that’s the case, go to the monument right now, and climb up to the very top! I’m certain that everything will make sense once you do.”

“The very top….? Is it something to do with the heart symbol…..?”

“Please go see it for yourself.”

“But…. I…..”

“Hurry up! It’s going to be burned down by tomorrow, you know!”

I shouted at him in anger, and took off running in the direction of the monument. Teachers stared blankly up at the heart, and guests were engrossed in taking pictures. Many of the students had quickly grown bored, and started chatting amongst themselves. I pushed my way past everyone, and by the time I’d finally made it to the foot of the monument, I was a bit short of breath.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”

The PE teacher who was standing nearby, “Sword Fodder,” tried to stop me once he’d spotted me. I leapt up onto the monument before I was caught.

“Sorry, but there’s something important that I need to pick up!”

I placed my feet on the bamboo framework and steadily climbed upwards. The entire monument rattled and swayed. It was swaying much more than I had imagined it would.

For a moment, my legs froze, but I tried not to look down and kept on climbing.

A wind blew in the schoolyard, the same as last year. However, I trusted that the monument wouldn’t fall this year, and continued to climb.

Below, I could hear shouts of anger from the teachers, and screams from parents.

Although they didn’t know the situation at hand, because it looked interesting, the students that were gathered starting chanting things like, “Climb, climb—!”

“Hanamoto-san!”

I could hear Igaras.h.i.+-senpai’s voice from below me. Good. He’d followed me here like he was supposed to.

The top of the monument had felt very far off, but at last, I eventually climbed high enough to reach my hand into the heart symbol.

“This is it!”

I immediately found the small hole that had been noticed only just after the monument had been completed. I stuck my hand through the hole without a moment of hesitation.

It has to be in here! It has to be!

As I repeated these words to myself like a prayer, I searched inside.

And upon doing so, something touched the tips of my fingers. The texture of it felt just like what I was expecting.

I carefully wrapped my fingers around it and pulled my hand out.

“I found it, Senpai! Here, look!”

I raised the letter that I’d pulled out. In small print were the words, “To Igaras.h.i.+-senpai.”

“It’s just like I said—….. Ah—”

It was then that I returned to my senses.

So high up——

Looking down from the top of the monument, the people on the ground looked tiny.

Saho had climbed to such great heights, relying only on moonlight.

My legs shook.

Right now, I had to climb back down the monument, with the letter in hand. But, would I be able to—?

And then, a strong wind blew, bringing dust into my eyes.

“Ah—!”

In the next instant, I lost my footing. As if it didn’t belong to me at all, my body fell head over heels. How stupid of me.

As I watched the ground draw nearer, those were the only words that pa.s.sed through my mind. I didn’t even see my life flash before my eyes—what a dull ending.

Sensei——

And then, I hit the ground.

Or at least, I should have.

I really… should have… but strangely, the ground felt soft, and warm.

“I advise you start eating better. You’re much too light.”

Very slowly, I opened my eyes and saw the author’s face right in front of me.

I was being held within his arms.

“Seems like I made it in time.”

“S-Sensei…..!”

“You are not guilty of any sin. Which is why you won’t receive divine punishment. No matter how many times you are thrown down for recklessly approaching heaven, I will be there to catch you each time. ….That is, only if my hands are free, and I have nothing better to do.”

“That last part was unnecessary.”

“Was it?” The author laughed. Up until then, it had been so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, but as soon as he laughed, the schoolyard erupted in cheers.

My hand was still tightly holding onto the letter. I wanted to praise my own hand for not releasing it this entire time.

“Hibari-chan! Waaah! I was so worrieeed!”

Pus.h.i.+ng her way through the crowd, Yue appeared. No sooner, she’d buried her face into my chest and started bawling. She’d started crying while still wearing her Kerakera Onna costume.

“Yue-chan, you’ve turned into the Mesomeso Onna (“sobbing woman”).”

“Waaaah! You fool—! Hibari-chan, you’re so heartless! Bakenekooo—!”

“Don’t pull a stunt like that ever again. I thought my heart was gonna stop.”

Touka also appeared soon after. She stood on tiptoe to pat me on the head.

“And don’t worry. No one saw your underwear.”

With my heart still pounding, I stood in front of Igaras.h.i.+-senpai, who had been watching from beginning to end.

“What a relief… If you’d also ended up like Amemura-san because of me…..”

As he made a grasping motion at his chest, I held out the letter to him.

“Here. These are the feelings of the girl named Amemura Saho.”

“A letter…..”

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai took it with shaking hands, and slowly opened it.

He read through the contents in silence, and before long, he started to cry.

*

“Looks like you went through a lot yesterday. But, I’m glad that you weren’t hurt in the end.”

On the afternoon of the second day of the Akebi Festival, Kares.h.i.+ma-san came to visit the Youkai Jazz Cafe.

“It’s been a long time since I went straight home and fell asleep right after. I guess I overworked both my mind and body yesterday.”

Even in a place like this, Kares.h.i.+ma-san still wore his usual kimono. I would have expected no less from him.

On the other hand, it was more like his appearance fit all too well with a Youkai Jazz Cafe.

“You make a cute bakeneko. And this is exactly why helping out was worth it,”

Kares.h.i.+ma-san said, and patted me on the head. Yes, to tell the truth, although we’d come up with the idea of this bizarre cafe, the one that had provided the reference materials on youkai had been none other than Kares.h.i.+ma-san. In fact, he’d been so enthusiastic about it that he’d even gone so far as to choose the role for each of my cla.s.smates.

If he hadn’t, everyone would have chosen youkai that most people normally wouldn’t be familiar with, like Kejourou and Tenjou-kudari.

“You seem like you’re in a good mood today, Hibari-chan.”

“That’s because I slept soundly all night, and for breakfast, I stuffed myself so full, you wouldn’t think I was still just a young girl!”

However, those weren’t the only reasons.

Apparently, Saho had regained consciousness in the hospital this morning. She still needed a few more days of bedrest, but since there weren’t any indications of lasting aftereffects, I couldn’t be happier right now.

Once things had settled down a bit, I wanted to go visit her with Touka and Yue.

“Um…. By the way….  Um, well…”

Seeing me suddenly start to fidget restlessly, Kares.h.i.+ma-san broke into a smile.

“He came by again today, you know.”

As expected, he really was sensitive to what people wanted to say.

“He said that because of how hectic yesterday was, there was something he forgot to go see.”

“Something he forgot to…? Oh, Sensei… No matter what he says, he really is enjoying the festival, isn’t he?”

A man stood still at that place, ignoring the steady flow of people. Female students and women stared listlessly at him, as if they were gazing upon a beautiful mirage.

Here in the art room, the paintings by the club members were displayed at reasonable intervals from one another.

In front of the man, Kudou, was a single painting that was not very large, by any means.

In the painting was a man sitting in a chair and reading a book, depicted from the rear view. For the most part, it was void of color. Only soft, milky white hues subtly adorned the piece.

The t.i.tle was,

“Sunlight, Or Perhaps a Rea.s.suring Scene / by Hanamoto Hibari”

Kudou’s signature devilish grin spread on his face.

“Hmph, what a mundane representation,”

Contrary to those words, his tone of voice sounded unusually chipper.

*

To Igaras.h.i.+-senpai

h.e.l.lo, it’s nice to meet you.

In reality, it isn’t our first time meeting, but if I were to look at it from Senpai’s point of view, then I’m sure that it would be correct to say that.

Forgive me for saying this so suddenly, but at the moment, I feel very strange. Hmm, I suppose you could say that I feel uplifted. In any case, I currently find myself in a very peculiar mental state.

Please do not be alarmed, but just now, I’ve followed after you and snuck into the school in the middle of the night. Naturally, I’m alone.

I am writing this letter on the stair landing by moonlight. Therefore, please forgive me if my handwriting is a bit difficult to read.

Still, for me to be doing something like this now, I have to say that it’s very out of character for me. If my normal life were to be viewed as a room, it’s like stepping outside through a door I’ve never opened before. I suppose you would call this being tempted by an evil spirit?

But, it really is like my body moved against my own will. For instance, have you ever played in a sandbox?

It’s like when you can’t resist the impulse to kick down a sand castle, even after you spent so much time to build it in the first place.

Hm? Or perhaps it’s a little different? I suppose that’s not a very good example, is it?

Now then, to be frank, I know what you and Seno-senpai are planning. The plan where you intend to surprise everyone tomorrow morning by constructing the monument on the roof. It was really only by chance, but I overheard the two of you talking about it after school last Wednesday, between the dusty bookshelves in a corner of the library. About how you secretly discussed it with the teacher, and about how you would be carrying out the plan tonight. I found myself feeling anxious every day since hearing that conversation, and wasn’t able to sleep at night, either. And every night, I wondered why I felt so unsettled.

Was it because I had found out that my senior, the president of the Akebi Festival Executive Committee, had organized such an unprecedented plan?

Or was it because I started to feel, on my own accord, like I was like an accomplice in keeping the same secret, although I had only happened to hear it?

I wasn’t able to come up with a definite answer.

However, I will say this. It isn’t because I felt that I had to stop your plan that I decided to wait behind the school building for you to come so late at night, and even follow after you inside the building.

To tell the truth, at first I thought that it might be best if I talked you out of doing this. But when I really thought it through, I realized I didn’t have any concrete reason to do so.

Just so there aren’t any misunderstandings, it also isn’t my intention to admit that I overheard your plan, and say that I will help with it. Having a girl interfere in something strictly between boys would just spoil things, wouldn’t it?

Right about now, I would a.s.sume that you’ve gone up to the roof with Seno-senpai to quickly set up the monument. For the sake of tomorrow’s unveiling.

At least, that’s what Seno-senpai believes, correct?

However, you have another objective, Igaras.h.i.+-senpai. That is what I think.

What led to me this conclusion was a very slight inconsistency.

Despite the fact that your younger sister was injured so terribly because of last year’s monument falling over, it’s strange that you would go so far as to break the tradition, and unveil the monument in such a grand manner before the actual Akebi Festival.

Perhaps, I thought, Senpai actually wanted to get rid of the monument, and the annual monument-constructing event, at least for this year? In reality, isn’t it that this plan hadn’t been discussed with the teacher at all, and building the monument on the roof was actually for the purpose of abolis.h.i.+ng it? Is that Senpai’s actual goal? I thought to myself.

Come to think of it, you volunteered to be put on the Executive Committee, and stopped the budget cut for the monument quite early on, didn’t you? Was that to prevent the monument from being abolished by voluntary restraint—?

Of course, this is only my personal take on the matter. Forgive me if I was incorrect.

But, having thought about it to this point, I wouldn’t think of stopping you now.

I know very well about the accident last year. Or rather, I was close to being one of those that were involved in it.

The truth is, I was standing nearby when the monument fell. To be more precise, I would have been right below it the moment hit the ground. However, I came out unharmed. Someone pushed me out of the way mere seconds before it collapsed on me.

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai. That someone was you.

I think that you must have forgotten it by now. It happened so quickly, after all, and immediately after the accident, everyone was in a state of panic. And moreover, I’m sure that you would have been too preoccupied with your sister being injured.

Yes, your sister, who had suffered in my place…..

I’m sorry. I had to open the window in the hallway to get some fresh air. Let me continue now.

Ever since that day, you’ve been constantly on my mind, together with the vivid articles of the accident.

Senpai, why did you save me that day? No, that’s a cruel question, isn’t it? I’m sure that it was because your body moved instinctively. I think that you’re the type of person who would instinctively save whoever that was right in front of you.

That’s what made me start liking you. That’s why I could never take my eyes off of you.

Finally! After beating around the bush for so many pages, I’ve finally gotten to the point! Really, how much of a coward am I?

Allow me to write it once more.

Senpai, I like you.

In truth, I only came here tonight to tell you this.

But since Seno-senpai is also here today, I’ve calmed down enough to overcome that impulse and instead write down my feelings in a letter with no recipient. I really am a coward.

Still, I think it’s really something amazing that I would lie to my parents and sneak out of the house just to come here. I doubt that anyone would praise me for doing this, so at the very least, I want to praise my

I’m sorry for stopping midway again. I heard you and Seno-senpai coming down the stairs, so I hurried to hide in the bathroom until the two of you were gone.

Even though I’m at school during the night, strangely, I don’t feel scared at all. Is it because I’m so focused on writing this letter?

On the contrary, without the cla.s.smates who laugh and find joy in my sadness and frustration around, the school at night feels strangely comforting.

Incidentally, I’ve now gone up to the roof and am writing this letter while, of course, looking up at the monument that the two of you have built.

I was surprised. It looks tall enough to reach the heavens. Like the Tower of Babel.

Senpai, going back to what I said at the beginning, I feel very strange right now. Please don’t be alarmed at what I’m about to say.

I suddenly feel like climbing up this tower.

I can’t believe it either. How could I seriously be thinking of climbing it when I’ve always been so poor at climbing trees, and would be laughed at by everyone for being slow?

But, I suddenly feel like I simply have to see what the view from the top of this tower is like.

That’s why, even though I’m scared, I will try to climb it. It’s so nice with the moon out, after all, and since there’s no one else at school right now, it’s fine to do something a little out of character, isn’t it?

You must be back home right about now. I’m sure I’ll be able to see where your house is from the top (the truth is, I’ve actually written several letters like this and thought of putting it in the mailbox of your house, but I never had the courage to).

If I see the light of your room on, I might just start crying and waving my hand. Even though I know there’s no point in doing something like that.

Ah, I know. I’ll hide this letter inside of that huge heart. And then it can burn up together with the monument. Yes, that would be good.

And if I am to slip up and fall from the top afterwards, then that will be my punishment, I think. For wanting to seal off my feelings for you and set fire to them, a punishment(X) from G.o.d.

It won’t do to keep rambling on any more than this, so I’ll be ending it here.

Now then, please excuse me, but I’ll be heading up for a bit.

                                                                                                             From Amemura Saho

*

The Akebi Festival ended without further incident.

The monument was engulfed by the flames all too soon, the sparks dancing up towards the evening sky like fireflies.

“I’m thinking of going to the hospital. I’ll do what I can for her. I’ll atone for my sins, in whatever way she wishes me to,”

Igaras.h.i.+-senpai said, and left without taking part in the festival’s after party.

From here on, it was an issue between the two of them. If they were honest about their feelings, then things would surely work out.

As I got off the streetcar at the usual station, and was walking down the sidewalk deep in thought, the author came out of a nearby bookstore.

“What, you’re only just now heading home? Even with the street lights on, is it really wise for a girl to be out at night by herself?”

“I had to stay behind to clean up, so it can’t be helped. Anyway, aren’t you the one who left first without me?”

“I’m a very busy man.”

“And yet you still have the time to bully me and drink coffee.”

“You insolent….. No, it’s fine. I’ll overlook it for today, and spare your life.”

“You can’t go taking someone’s life no matter what day it is.”

“More importantly, come to my home immediately.”

The author grabbed my hand with an unusual firmness.

“Wh-what’s the matter?”

I asked him with my heart pounding.

“I haven’t had any proper coffee to drink for two whole days. That’s why you are to come and make me some immediately. I can’t concentrate on my work without it,”

As soon as he said this, the author began walking briskly while pulling my hand.

Come to think of it, the only coffee he’d had at school was the instant kind, and I hadn’t visited his house yesterday, either.

He’d been waiting without drinking any coffee this whole time.

“Because Sensei can’t drink any coffee but mine, huh?”

I muttered, but he didn’t seem to hear me.

Well of course he didn’t. Because I hadn’t said it loud enough for him to hear.

Before crossing the street to the other side, for a while, we stood side by side, waiting for the cars to pa.s.s.

As we waited, the author opened his mouth to say something.

“That letter you found in the monument must have had some rather terrible things written in it. It was quite pleasant to see him cast away all shame and reputation and burst into tears!”

My eyes widened like marbles as I stared at him. I didn’t have the energy to shut my mouth that hung agape, either.

“I-I don’t believe it! You didn’t understand anything at all! You’re the worst!”

“What did you say?!”

“I’m saying that you don’t understand the delicacies of a maiden’s heart! This is exactly why your books won’t sell!”

“Why, you coffee bean girl youkai! If I had my way with words—!”

“What’s with that weird nickname!”

“Come now, we’re crossing!”

Still sounding annoyed, the author pulled me along forcefully. It was like we were crossing a wide, deep river together.

A warm wind rustled the roadside trees.

The author was on the left. I was on the right. We walked in our usual order.

Now then, I suppose I’d brew some nice coffee for him today.

“There’s only one kind of letter that a girl would put so much thought into writing.”

“…..Ahh, I know now—”

“Sensei, don’t spoil everything!”