Zaregoto Vol 5 Chapter 1

There are no flowers that do not wilt but there are flowers that do not blossom.

The world is absolutely unfair.

1

"-- you good-for-nothing!"

Professor Kyouichirou shouted with a cracked roar, and beat s.h.i.+to-kun with his wooden staff. s.h.i.+to-kun did not attempt to get out of the way, took a blow to the head, and crumpled to the ground. However, Professor Kyouichirou did not let up, and continued to lay into s.h.i.+to-kun's body with his staff.

"Good-for-nothing, good-for-nothing, good for nothing!" he repeated.

We watched that.

With nothing to say or do, we watched that.

In that visitor room in the first ward. Shadou Kyouichirou, Koutari Hinayos.h.i.+, Neo Furuara, Miyos.h.i.+ Kokoromi, Kasugai Kasuga. Uze Misachi, Oogaki s.h.i.+to. And Suzunas.h.i.+ Neon, Kunagisa Tomo, myself. Those ten were gathered. This meant that everyone in the facility other than her were gathered here.

"--....."

At least an hour had pa.s.sed since then, but a police organization had still not arrived. Misachi-san had apparently already handled contacting authorities after discovering the body, but our location so deep in the mountains plus the overnight rain affected their response. The roads probably were not affected much, so it should just take a bit longer to arrive.

A murder.

Is what it would be, would it not?

It did not sink in yet, but I think that should be right. It was not sinking in yet at all, that the Utsurigi Gaisuke that spoke so frankly yesterday would be killed, but that should be about right.

"s.h.i.+t... it was supposed to be my turn for questions today..."

I mumbled that line while having s.h.i.+to-kun being scolded reflecting off my eyes. If the reality were otherwise, what would I have asked that man? I feel like there were things I needed to ask, but I also felt like there was nothing to ask. In the end, Utsurigi was able to quit while he was ahead. Regardless of whether that was what he wished or not.

"-- please stop."

Said Misachi-san, clinging to the Professor's arm.

"Professor, calm down--"

"Shut up!"

Professor Kyouichirou then flung Misachi-san away, and on top of that, beat her with his staff the same way he did s.h.i.+to-kun. Misachi-san covered her face with her arm and took the hit, and then with a small scream fell to the ground.

"Each and every one getting in mind--"

The Professor said, as he kicked Misachi-san's back.

"--....."

So easily they crumble.

Those things called people.

Right now, the small old man throwing a tantrum in front of me had not a shred of that presence, that veteran feel. Nothing whatsoever that I saw yesterday. In its place was someone like a child who just had a previous toy broken, someone just scattering things everywhere like an infant. Even a person of that magnitude falls apart this easily. For better or for worse, it was no longer the Shadou Kyouichirou that cowed me with his far superior presence.

That is why, if it were to have been me instead.

"How unsightly, Professor Shadou."

Right as Professor Kyouichirou raised his staff to beat Misachi-san once more, a voice that sounded like an fired arrow echoed around the room. Due to that, the Professor's arm froze at its apex.

The voice belonged to Suzunas.h.i.+-san.

She sat in a chair with a leg crossed over the other, her jaw was raised as if to look down on the Professor, and truthfully, she looked at the Professor with disdain.

"Jeez -- I had some expectations because you had a grandiose nickname like the Mad Demon, but those expectations were way off. You've got a boring life, you. Unbelievably boring. A person who's lived sixty years loses control just because one person died, even beating on women and children while throwing a tantrum without ever bothering to check on the situation. Really, how unsightly, how unsightly, how unsightly--"

"Shut up! A girl who hasn't even lived thirty years has no right to talk back to me! You know nothing!"

The Professor shouted, and then he threw the staff at Suzunas.h.i.+-san. Suzunas.h.i.+-san did not bother to avoid it, and did not even blink. The head of the staff shattered at Suzunas.h.i.+-san's forehead. Even then, Suzunas.h.i.+-san simply snorted, "Hmph," and continued looking at the Professor with disdain.

A look that was truly as if she was simply looking at a pathetic animal. As someone who had been looked-at by Suzunas.h.i.+-san like that before, I could more or less figure how the Professor felt. That look made you taste how small and insignificant you are.

"You... looking at me with those eyes--"

"Professor! Please stop!" s.h.i.+to-kun yelled while still on the ground. "Calm down -- please cool your head."

"Calm! How can I become calm like this! If that dies--" the Professor turned back to s.h.i.+to-kun. "If that dies, if that disappears what happens! Everything is over! Every thing that I've built up until now is done for!"

That -- Utsurigi Gaisuke.

"..... who," the Professor looked toward the table where everyone was seated with hostility-filled eyes. "Who killed that? Who did it! Who pulled this stunt and for what purpose! It's one of you wasn't it! You shameless immoral!"

The Professor shouted and slammed both hands on the table. However, no one responded. That was probably not because anyone was intimidated by the Professor, but rather simply, because no one had an answer to give toward that question.

Suzunas.h.i.+-san was no longer looking at the Professor, as if she wanted to say there was no longer any value in looking. A bit of blood could be seen on her forehead, presumably from the staff. However, Suzunas.h.i.+-san did not seem to care about that. She looked like she was thinking about something, but at the same time it could look like she was not thinking about anything.

And Kunagisa, sitting next to her, just quietly observed.

"--..... it is nonsense."

The start of this -- well, I do not know if it could be called that, but anyways, it was supposedly s.h.i.+to-kun who first realized the abnormal. In the morning, Utsurigi did not make his usual call. That alone had happened several times to date -- oversleeping or forgetting or mischief, or other such rather Utsurigi-like reasons -- so he did not pay that much heed, but when he called Utsurigi, there was no response.

He thought something was off about that and let the Professor and Misachi-san know. And then the Professor ordered, go check on him, and s.h.i.+to-kun obliged. This was around six-thirty.

And then s.h.i.+to-kun discovered that. The bloodied body that had been violated all over with blades that belonged to Utsurigi. The murder art of the immoral that had been displayed on a whole wall, had been completely shown to him.

The discoverer of Utsurigi Gaisuke's corpse was Oogaki s.h.i.+to.

"..... immoral....."

I do not know why the Professor used that word, but the meaning probably was straightforward. This was deep in the mountains, and thus in one way a sealed s.p.a.ce. If someone inside were killed, then the suspect would therefore probably be one of the others.

In other words, a terrible and typical happening.

"-- well, let's calm down, everyone."

Just as an insufferable feeling was descending on everyone -- no, just as an insufferable feeling was about to settle in on everyone, it was Neo-san who changed the mood. As if he were about to play a joke on everyone, he lifted both of his hands and took a composed posture.

"There's nothing to gain from getting all hot-headed over this. Isn't that right? Professor. We need to think about what to do next."

"Next?" the Professor looked at Neo-san with irritation. "What do you mean to do now? There exists no next. Nowhere."

"Now now, it's not good to throw everything by the wayside like that. That's right, how about we make the person who did such an outrageous thing take responsibility. Come come, look at how out flamboyant it was, there's no way there's no evidence. Once the police arrive they'll figure it out right away. And then--"

"Suspect? It's one of you isn't it?"

"That's just short-sighted, Professor. Not like you at all, Professor Kyouichirou. Didn't we just have an intruder alert the other day? We can't just decide that it wasn't someone else. No, it must be. After all, even if this is a tough castle to crack, it doesn't mean it's infallible."

-- intruder.

I stiffed a bit at that word, though only to the point where no one would notice.

"I don't blame you one bit for suspecting an inside job, but that's not a good way to start. After all, we -- as researchers would have no reason to do that, right? That was a precious, precious specimen even for us."

"Neo!"

This time the Professor shouted in a different way. However, Neo-san simply waved that off and said, "Oh what does it matter."

"The Lady of Kunagisa and that bright-looking lady, even the boy must have figured. That's why they came this far. Isn't that right? Let's be through with deceiving and misdirecting and disguising against each other. Isn't this a situation to just open up?"

".........." ".........."

Neo-san said and looked at the Professor and Kunagisa, and while the Professor looked back silently with his teeth grinding, Kunagisa simply ignored the words, as if she had never heard them to begin with. Neo-san shrugged his shoulders, "golly golly."

"Well, that's that, let's continue. Anyways, that's why no researcher would want to kill Utsurigi-san. That's obvious. Then what? Would it be the Professor's secretary, Uze Misachi, or perhaps the a.s.sistant, Oogaki s.h.i.+to-kun?"

Misachi-san and s.h.i.+to-kun, still lying on the ground to the left and right of the Professor, reacted at the same time.

"However, this too cannot be. Everyone knows how loyal they are to the Professor. Not to mean any offence, but s.h.i.+to-kun's devotion in particular is abnormal. Doing such a thing would obviously only draw the ire of the Professor, so it would be out of the question. Then, what would you do? Yes, you would suspect the Guests, the Lady of Kunagisa and her friends, but--"

Neo-san then turned toward us.

"This, too, cannot be. Because these three came to save Utsurigi-san. Save is a rather painful word to use toward us, but anyways they wouldn't be trying to kill him. Isn't that right?" and then Neo-san turned back to the Professor. "Then, Professor, it means n.o.body here is the suspect. Of course, that includes you."

".........."

I do not know if it could be called summarizing, but Neo-san's reasonable logic silenced even the Professor. No matter how furious or far his mental state was from being calm, whether down on luck or withered or shriveled or rotting he was still Shadou Kyouichirou, a man who could not simply ignore logic.

"And in that case, I can't think that anyone other than an outsider did it. Especially given that much of a performance, you know, maybe it's that enemy organization to the Professor? I think the Hariura Syndicate or the Visar Organization are particularly suspicious."

"..... they would never be so overt."

"Maybe. But the possibility is there. So I think it's too early to declare that there's an immoral within. Right? Isn't that right, everyone?"

Neo-san turned around as if seeking everyone's opinion.

".........."

Indeed, I agreed. His speech mannerism was extremely casual, but it was probably a means of smas.h.i.+ng through the heavy feeling. At the very least, Neo-san succeeded in calming everyone -- especially the Professor -- to the point of being able think rationally.

Of course, that included me.

"-- Kokoromi-sensei."

I, I called to Kokoromi-sensei, who sat a small distance away from us. Sensei widened her eyes and responded, "Hm?" and then for some reason grinned a bit, and turned to me and asked, "What's it, my pupil?"

"..... what's it, got something to ask, my pupil?"

"..... sensei. Would you not be able to deduce some things just by looking at that?" I said, nervously. "After all, you are an expert in dissecting human beings. How Utsurigi Gaisuke was killed, the cause of death or something--"

"Heheh. I'd never'ave expected ya'd depend on me for anything. Life's pretty boring, but I guess it's worth living for moments like these," sensei gave me that look she always used to give me, that detestable smile. "Well I only looked at it, so there's nothing much t'say."

".........."

"Bled to death. If not, shock from his wounds. Well, anyone could tell that much, eh," the Professor began talking to everyone without looking at anyone in particular. "The time of death would be, yah, around last night, in the three hours from midnight to three in the morning, I guess."

"Rather large interval."

"Well yah. Normally when I wanna tell the time of death with a glance, I use their state of rigor mortis and the state of their eyes, but I haven't touched Utsurigi-san's body, and well ya know about his eyes."

Utsurigi-san's eyes, which were pierced with scissors.

"Sorry I can't live up to your hopes, but that's all I can tell ya now."

"..... thanks."

I nodded, and looked away from sensei.

Midnight to three... what was I doing then? If I remember correctly, I met with Kasugai-san around one, and then, after that--

"What here what here. Are you thinking of asking for alibis, young man?" Neo-san said. "Then there's a better way. Right, Uze-san?"

Misachi-san snapped her face up with a "What?" when she was suddenly mentioned.

"-- what is it?"

"Go take a look. At the door entry logs."

".........."

Misachi-san looked dubiously at the Professor, who irritably barked, "hurry up and go."

"..... understood."

Misachi-san nodded, and then quickly left the room.

Log...? I tilted my head to the side at the word. What did that mean? Ahh, perhaps that severe security system for entering and exiting the laboratory wards (card key, numeric pa.s.sword, ID, voice recognition, and even a retina scan--) recorded everything in some central computer somewhere. I see, then indeed, the time of the crime would be definitively narrowed down. After all, in order to enter the seventh ward--

"... to enter?"

My thoughts broke off there.

Right. It was not just a matter of records. In order to enter the seventh ward you would need to break through that severe security system. Someone without being registered with a key would not be able to even enter, much less kill Utsurigi.

Then -- I looked at Neo-san. Did Neo-san not realize? Because in that case, not one outsider would be able to step foot inside the seventh ward.

For example, the red Contractor, Aikawa Jun. She was so skilled in voice-mimicking and mind-reading, plus lock-picking that there would be no one to her right, and she was so far ahead that no one would be to her left, either (at least, according to her). It may be better to only half-trust her words given how much of a narcissist and how much self-confidence she needs to be to go around calling herself mankind's strongest, but I think even that Aikawa-san would not be able to break through that impenetrable wall. They were strict, logic-based machines, after all.

Neo-san simply sat his large and wide body on a chair while looking completely composed. There was no way of course that he had not realized it. There was no way that Neo-san would have failed to recognize the paradox that he himself had said. Then, was that simply a means of placating the Professor?

-- how shrewd.

I thought that once more. And as I thought that, I became even more calm.

As such, the truth is that the three of us -- Kunagisa and Suzunas.h.i.+-san and I -- the three of us would not have been able to commit that crime. Because we were not registered as researchers, we would not be able to clear ourselves through the locks, and as a result, we would naturally be removed from the pool of suspects.

"--....."

At the same time, that rejected the possibility of her being the suspect. That left seven -- that narrowed the suspects down to the seven researchers who were in this facility to begin with. Because thy were the only ones capable of invading a ward, so this was certain. There were no large mistakes to this set of logic, no mistakes that would require significant changes to this set of logic.

I subtly doubted -- Professor Kyouichirou, Neo-san, Koutari-san, Kasugai-san, Sensei, and s.h.i.+to-kun -- and Misachi-san, who had left the room. Seven people. However, what Neo-san had said earlier was not entirely a means of placating. I could not think of a motive for any of these seven people to kill Utsurigi-san -- and in such a brutal way. I could not think of any.

"But you know," Neo-san. "All last night I was just in my lab -- the fifth ward. How about you, Koutari-san?"

"Same here," Koutari-san gave a short reply. "No reason to walk at night."

"Same here, yah."

"I went outside once to walk the dogs. And I ran into that boy on the way, right?"

Kasugai-san said to me. I nodded silently.

"How about you? Professor?"

The Professor answered Neo-san's question irritably, "Same."

"I was here in this first ward the whole time, with s.h.i.+to and Uze. That'll be apparent from the log."

"I see, and you?" Neo-san s.h.i.+fted his attention to us. "What were you all doing last night?"

"We were in the inn the whole time. I took a quick walk before it started raining, though."

"Mmhmm, a walk," Neo-san said with emphasis. "I see, a night walk, rather human. Hmm, then it would mean there's no suspect here. Because no one went by the seventh ward."

But Neo-san himself probably thought no such thing. To take a walk at night, and then lie about it, that is what a human does. Nothing said that everyone is honest to everyone.

"..... hey, Inoji," Suzunas.h.i.+-san whispered so that only I could hear. "This is going to turn out to be a bit bad for us."

"---? Is it not already..." I glanced sideways at Kunagisa (she was still staring off into s.p.a.ce) and whispered back to Suzunas.h.i.+-san. "Not to take the Professor's words, but everything is over now... because Utsurigi was killed, so there was no point in us coming here, and we are just a bother now."

No, Suzunas.h.i.+-san was probably not meaning that, but rather the police interrogation and such that would follow. We would probably go through a lengthy investigation process, and presumably, we would be considered suspects for a while, and would be stuck in the Aichi prefecture. We may be late getting back to Kyoto. I am a bored university student and Kunagisa is an unemployed hikikomori, so we do not mind, but Suzunas.h.i.+-san has work (even if it is part-time). I thought that was the sort oftrouble she was referring to, but Suzunas.h.i.+-san said, "that's not what I mean."

"I mean that it feels like the wind's blowing against us... really, nothing good ever comes of listening to Asano's requests... I won't say always even though it's always the case... and I still always listen to her even though I know it..."

"Um, Suzunas.h.i.+-san?"

As I was bewildered by Suzunas.h.i.+-san, who appeared to be berating herself, Misachi-san returned. She had a troubled expression, and first walked toward everyone, and then hesitated, and walked to the Professor. And then she whispered something in his ear.

"..... what?" the Professor blurted out, and he confirmed something with Misachi-san. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes... there is no mistaking it."

She confirmed. I do not know what she confirmed, but in any case Misachi-san nodded. And then the Professor took that and looked like he began thinking hard. And then the Professor sat in his chair and turned toward the table. And then, still seated, he hunched over in more thought.

".........."

..... what in the world did Misachi-san tell the Professor?

No, what was said was not the problem here. The problem was that the Professor heard that and regained his composure -- or more accurately, the bottomless feel he gave was reminiscent of the first time I had seen him, and it was like he had settled back into his small physique. That he looked like that again was a problem for me. I did not know yet why it was a problem, but anyways, it was a problem.

In other words, I had a bad feeling. The same feeling I had when I confirmed my reunion with sensei swirled around my stomach. And that bad feeling had never once been wrong. Just like that worst fortune-teller, it never once missed.

"-- hmph."

The Professor raised his head, his body still hunched over. Suddenly, everyone looked at the Professor.

"It seems we're in quite some trouble, ladies and gentlemen."

Upon hearing the single word, trouble, I looked at Suzunas.h.i.+-san. She had closed her eyes, and was looking like she was trying to sleep. It looked like blood had already stopped flowing from her cheeks. I turned my eyes back to the Professor. He had regained that wily, old grin and expression.

"--hey, Uze," the Professor looked at Misachi-san. "-- go contact the security guards at the gate. Tell them if the police arrive, turn them back."

"What..." Misachi-san looked surprised at the Professor's words. "But, what, why..."

"Who cares about the reason. Well, right, just tell them it was a mistaken report. A child's..." the Professor looked at s.h.i.+to-kun. "... mischief."

"..... huh," Misachi-san nodded without understanding. She looked like she did not understand the situation very well -- no, like she did not understand the situation at all. "..... a mistaken report....."

"What? Hurry up and go."

"..... but, why....."

"Are you unable to work for me without asking for the reason every time?"

"No, that's not... I'm sorry, I'll be right back."

Misachi-san hurriedly bowed her head to the Proefssor, and then ran out of the room again.

"..... what's going on, Professor?" Neo-san asked, while staring at the door that Misachi-san had just pa.s.sed through. "Turning back the police? I think that's insane. What did Uze-san whisper to you?"

"That's the thing, Neo. That's the thing," the Professor Kyouichirou grinned. "We're in quite some trouble."

"..... well, of course we're in quite a pickle. But that's a different problem. What good does turning the police back do us in solving our predicament?"

"Now listen."

The Professor waved off Neo-san's complaints. And then he paused for a few seconds, before resuming, "to start with, Neo."

"What you said is odd. The entrance to Utsurigi's seventh ward has a tremendous amount of security. No matter the intruder, no one can get through. At the very least, that's the case for Hariura or Visar."

The Professor emphasized at the very least with staccato. I felt weight behind those words that I did not understand. What was this elder trying to say?

Neo-san exaggeratedly followed the Professor's point with an "Ahh, that might be true. I never thought of that."

"However, does that still provide the grounds for suspecting the people within? Professor, we've all worked together for some time. I understand you're out of sorts because Utsurigi-san ended up the way he did, but it's a bit of a tough predicament for us..."

"Out of sorts? How rude. I'm not, at all. I'm extremely calm."

The Professor said, boldly, as if his early tantrum was an optical illusion.

"But, however, Professor..."

"Don't worry, Neo. I wouldn't suspect someone within without having proof, right? Wanna know what Uze just told me?"

While everyone probably had issues with the first half of his words, they were drawn to the latter half, and awaited the rest. Professor Kyouichirou played coy for a moment, and then,

"..... last night, there's no record of the Seventh Ward being opened."

He said.

"..... no record?" Neo-san repeated. "No record, so does that mean there's no footprint of someone entering the Seventh Ward last night?"

"Exactly. The last person to open the door to the Seventh Ward was s.h.i.+to and... the Lady of Kunagisa and that boy, when that trio met with Utsurigi. Of course, if you think about it normally there shouldn't be an error in the log, right, Neo?"

The Professor this time emphasized if you think about it normally. As if he were trying to say that there exists a method outside of the norm. ..... perhaps the Professor already knew the suspect... already knew who the immoral was? It had only been an hour since the incident had been discovered, yet we may already be at the solution scene. However, not to take Suzunas.h.i.+-san's words, but this is not a movie, and I am unable to predict the remaining time. Part of me thinks this is it, and part of me thinks we are still only half way. There was no way for me to know if there were only a few pages left.

My position was uncertain.

"Well then everything gets messed up. That means no one entered the Seventh Ward. Are you sure it's not a machine error?"

"That's impossible. You know that best, don't you?"

"Then..." Neo-san seemed to think a bit. "... in terms of possibilities, it would make Oogaki-kun or the Lady of Kunagisa or her friend the suspects, because they entered last... however in that case Miyos.h.i.+-san's estimation of the time of death would be wrong. Professor, that would make this an impossible crime."

"There's another problem, Neo," the Professor laughed with plenty of composure. "Well, settle down and listen to me. Calm down. It's unsightly for an adult to lose their composure. Uze investigated what went in and out of the Seventh Ward too... the records of whether the other researchers, including myself, entered or left."

".....? Other... you mean us?"

"There are others," Professor Kyouichirou said heartily. As if the more he talked, the more his excitement meter filled. Yet by contrast, it felt that my feelings... or rather my instinct, or something like it, sank ever deeper.

I was beginning to understand. I was not exactly sure what the Professor was wanting to say, but I was beginning to understand where he was wanting to head. And the composure that was wrought by it, that self-importance that was wrought by it. Jones' Principle[1]. People who laugh despite the things going against them are already thinking of whom to blame.

Then--

"The result -- I'll say it because Uze isn't here, but the result -- is that at night, at the very least during the timeframe that Miyos.h.i.+ said, no one left their own research ward."

Everyone sucked in their breath at what he said.

"Aside from one, anyways... Kasugai."

Said the Professor. Kasugai-san twitched in response to the Professor's words, with almost no expression.

"Kasugai left the fourth ward from around 1 AM for about five minutes. That would be the walking the dogs she referred to. But this isn't worth fretting over. That sort of spectacle could not be constructed in just five minutes."

"... well, thank you," Kasugai-san said with a tone of voice that sounded as if she wanted to continue, though I don't really understand. "Thank you, in any case."

"..... hm? Then, that would mean..." Neo-san said with a faltering voice. "..... huh? Then, Professor, that means there's even less of a reason to suspect us, right? We didn't leave our research wards. And there are no entry logs for the seventh ward. Then....."

"An impossible crime."

Kokoromi-sensei stole Neo-san's words.

"Wouldn'tcha think that's the case, my pupil?"

"..... I do think that would be the case....."

I chose my words carefully as I affirmed my teacher's words. Indeed, theoretically, if you were to accept the Professor's words at face value -- then it would mean no one entered the seventh ward, and it would mean that no one left their own research ward. In that case, if you were to summarize this with a simple word.

A sealed-room mystery.

Meant in a very physical matter sort of way.

"However, if this were to be an impossible crime--"

If that were what Professor Kyouichirou was trying to drive people toward, then what meaning would there be to telling the police off? Would it not be their time to s.h.i.+ne if that were the case, I thought, as I remembered the pair of detectives from the Kyoto Prefecture Police. Then, naturally, I was able to see where the Professor was sitting.

He smiled triumphantly.

"Impossible? Such a foolish thing doesn't exist in this world. Everything is either possible, or already possible."

"But still, Professor, we're in such a situation, so why'd you turn the police away?" Neo-san asked my question exactly. "That doesn't make sense, then. Very unlike you, Professor."

"Come, come. Hey, Neo, how about thinking every so often? You'll end up with the t.i.tle of idiot if you haven't figured it out by now."

"Idiot, then," Neo-san crossed his arms. "However, Professor."

"We aren't the only ones here are we?"

He said--

As the Professor turned his jaw at the three of us. After that, Neo-san with some surprise, Koutari-san without any surprise, Kokoromi-sensei who could not seem to care less, Kasugai-san who could not care less, and s.h.i.+to-kun with eyes wide open, turned toward us.

I swallowed. Suzunas.h.i.+-san still had her eyes shut. Perhaps she was truly asleep. When it came to Kunagisa Tomo by her side, she too did not seem fazed, as she simply sat with her eyes gazing off and not focused on anything in particular. Maybe she was thinking about how Raja Maharaja [2] and Parappa the Rapper [3] were related, or perhaps she was not. In any case, it was clear this was not a normal situation. I looked over our combat potential (though it was a depressing sight to behold) and then looked back at the others.

"I cannot allow that to pa.s.s, Professor Shadou Kyouichirou," I forced down the tone of my voice and said to the Professor. "You make it sound like we are the suspects, and that we are the ones who killed Utsurigi-san. Even the Professor has limits on how far things can be taken."

"Hmm? Hey, hey, I said nothing yet," the Professor said with a cackle, speaking down at us. "What're you getting excited about? Or do you have something you're hiding?"

"Once you are through suspecting your inner circle, you turn your suspicions to us? What a simple thing to do. Indeed, that building had no security at all, so we can leave at any time. However, Professor, we have an even bigger alibi than you, because we cannot enter the seventh ward. Whether the logs kept a record or not does not matter given that we do not even have a registered ID, so we would not be able to enter or even leave the seventh ward."

"Kahah! Alibi? I wonder! That word is too meaningless!"

The Professor cackled in a grandiose way, and then like a switch had been flicked, suddenly squinted his eyes and glared at me, then pointed his finger.

"You wouldn't be able to do anything alone, brat. You wouldn't be able to enter or leave the seventh ward. But you're not alone, are you? There's an incredulous thing among the three of you--"

He slid the finger that was pointed at me to the side, and the Professor -- pointed at Kunagisa Tomo.

"Right, Lady of Kunagisa?"

As expected, Kunagisa showed no reaction to that. As if she was hearing nothing at all, as if she was seeing nothing at all, she did not react. However, everyone other than Kunagisa and Suzunas.h.i.+ could not hide their surprise at the Professor's words.

"Wa-- Professor, but..."

"What? Neo. It's not something to be that surprised over is it? After all, the Lady of Kunagisa was the charisma behind that Cl.u.s.ter. The former leader and comrade of our victim Utsurigi Gaisuke. She can probably break through that level of security while humming to herself. Isn't that right, Lady of Kunagisa?"

Kunagisa did not react. In turn, the Professor seemed irritated... or perhaps it seemed he became a bit more desperate, as he immediately recomposed himself, laughed with a "hmph," and showed composure.

"No words because I'm right?"

"There is absolutely no logic behind that, Professor," I said, recognizing that I was speaking a bit quicker, yet still managing to calm myself down. "There is no reason that Kunagisa would be able to break through that superfluous security..."

"Not just break through. After breaking through, she deleted the logs. A roughshod method, but I can only say it backfired. Not bothering to touch the logs of other wards shows how she is just a child."

"This is absurd. There is no reason behind that. Just a child? Who are you to say that? If Kunagisa can break the lock, then you..."

"There's a reason," the Professor said. "There's a reason why only the Lady of Kunagisa could do the feat of breaking the lock and deleting the logs. After all, creating the management program for this system, designing this superfluous security, andmanufacturing the materials for this research facility at the mere age of 12 were all done by the Lady of Kunagisa."

The Professor said and pointed at Kunagisa again.

As for Kunagisa, again, she showed no reaction. She said not a word since she saw Utsurigi's brutalized corpse. However, I thought. If what the Professor said were the truth.

"She's an unbelievable genius, to the point that an ordinary person like you couldn't imagine. Even I can't understand it. However, that's why, Lady of Kunagisa... that becomes the reason for prosecuting the three of you."

"Prosecuting? Prosecuting?" I stood from my seat. "This is ridiculous. Such nonsensical reason would never pa.s.s!"

"Calm down, my pupil," Kokoromi-sensei interjected in the Professor and I's conversation. I looked at her and noticed that at some point, she had begun smoking a cigarette and had a can of cola in her right hand. When did this person do all this, really. "Didn'tcha hear Suzunas.h.i.+-san say it's pathetic to lose control of yaself?"

"..... sensei."

"Professor. Ya know in that case a buncha things still don't make sense?"

Said Kokoromi-sensei as she pointed her cigarette at the Professor. I could not tell its brand, but it was a very thin, probably female-oriented cigarette. But she used to smoke cigars abroad, so perhaps she damaged her lungs?

"Doesn't make sense? What is it, Miyos.h.i.+."

"What Neo-san said a while back, ya know. These three came to save Utsurigi-san. So that'd mean they've got no reason to kill him, yah? The Lady of Kunagisa is the former leader of Utsurigi-san, as ya said yaself, Professor, so it makes even less sense. Same as none of us having any motive to kill Utsurigi-san, these three've got none either, ya know."

"You have such poor imagination, Miyos.h.i.+," the Professor said. "Let's do something called flipping our expectations around. After all, we're intellectuals, are we not? Well you are into biology so maybe it can't be helped..."

"Ahh, that statement unjustly discriminates against a certain sect of academia, ya know. Like ya sayin' math and engineering're better than biology, an expression that condescends others, ya know. Ain'that right, Kasugai-chan?"

"Absolutely. That's a statement that could only be spoken by an engineer that mistakenly believes that the world is made up of just their equations. One must be embarra.s.sed to say that. Their sensitivity must be dulling from looking at Arabic numerals all day."

Kasugai-san added her pace to sensei.

Hmm. There is conflict even within science. I had always thought people of science were all of the same side, but it seems that was a mistaken a.s.sumption, I thought, a thought that was certainly out of place here.

That said, Kasugai-san, she was like that last evening as well; she seems like an apathetic person but she has a remarkably harsh tongue. I might like her, I thought, yet more thoughts that were certainly out of place here. By doing that, I escaped.

"That's not what I meant, but..." the Professor smiled wryly as he was beset by two female researchers. "Well let me take that back then, Miyos.h.i.+, and ask you if there's any basis for what Neo said about them having come here to save him?"

"..... basis?" sensei looked at us. "Basis... well, ya know, but....."

"For example if Kunagisa had come here to kill Utsurigi Gaisuke from the start?"

"Kill.....?" even sensei was forced to furrow her brows. "What? Whatcha mean? I don't get it."

"In other words, they came to this research facility to kill Utsurigi. If that was what they meant to do from the start--"

"That's preposterous!" I broke character and shouted. "If you want to talk about a lack of basis, that is certainly that! Why in the world would Kunagisa kill her friend and teammate Utsirigi? There is no reason at all for us to want to do--"

"Hey, hey, careful of your mouth, brat."

The Professor's shoulders trembled with laughter.

"Your fate is in my hands. You should be thankful that I turned back the police. Can't you feel my sympathy?"

"I can feel malice for sure, Professor Mad Demon."

The Professor simply happily laughed at my retort.

"However, Professor, what the boy says has merit," Neo-san asked the Professor. "Isn't that line of thought too forced? Indeed, I understand where the Professor is coming from, but--"

"Reason?" the Professor stopped laughing. "Are you saying that the Lady of Kunagisa has no reason to kill Utsurigi?"

"Huh--" Neo-san momentarily lost his train of thought. "Yes, even if the Lady of Kunagisa can break through security and erase the logs on top of that. Even so, for someone related to the Kunagisa Syndicate -- someone directly from the core of it, to kill Utsurigi-san without thinking--"

"You can't say that, Neo."

The Professor looked at Kunagisa.

"You're right, we don't know. I don't know the reason why the Lady of Kunagisa needed to kill Utsurigi Gaisuke. I can't think of any such reason at all. But who cares? It's unnecessary. After all, this Lady Kunagisa Tomo is--"

The Professor spoke something along the lines of what he had said moments ago. However, at the end of it.

 

 

"--×××××"

 

Before the Professor could finish, my body already moved. It was not subconscious. My body moved with comprehension and understanding and clear thought. However, my thinking had stopped. I took a single step on top of the table with my fist balled. And as I was about to continue running that way toward the Professor, a blow hammered the right of my head. It was a cola can. At the end of my vision was the sight of Kokoromi-sensei running toward me. I see, I thought it was unnatural that she suddenly began drinking cola, but Kokoromi-sensei had probably predicted this. I would realize that some time later, and the sight of Kokoromi-sensei ended up just reflecting in my eyes and having no meaning. I could not see anything. I could not hear anything. Could not see. Could not hear. Crimson. Everything was red. Blood color. Bloodshot eyes. Light and sound and everything was scarlet. However, Kokoromi-sensei's action had succeeded in stopping my motion for one moment. As I was about to resume running, from behind. From behind, Suzunas.h.i.+-san who had caught up swept my legs out from under. My body floated in the air a bit above the large table. In that short moment, Suzunas.h.i.+-san grasped my head and slammed it to the table with all of her weight behind it. The sound of the durable wooden table groaning. That may have been the sound of my bones grinding. Of course I did not brave myself so I felt the impact along my whole body but even so I tried to run toward the Professor that Professor Kyouichirou and I stretched out my arm and Kokoromi-sensei held it down. Sensei scolded me while slapping my cheek that had caused the cola can to burst and so did Suzunas.h.i.+-san as she locked my left arm. It seemed like they were saying something but I could not hear. Calm down. What am I doing what. Wrong. Right thing I am doing.

Probably.

I think I went insane then.

The moment before Suzunas.h.i.+-san struck me along the back of my neck to make me lose consciousness, at the edge of the red scenery in my left eye, I felt like I caught a glimpse of Kunagisa's blue hair, but I may have been imagining things.

Jump up↑ https://www.maths.nottingham.ac.uk/personal/ibf/some.html Jump up↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOEblmjfzAg Jump up↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PaRappa_the_Rapper 2

When my consciousness returned -- when my consciousness recovered to the level where it could be called at least functional, we were located in a cage. A concrete floor, wall, and ceiling. A somewhat heavy feel. A melancholic feel. Listlessness, as if I want to get a little more sleep. As if I had just been watching a bad dream. However a bad dream is still probably better than a bad reality. To the point that I would be thinking such meaningless things.

Ahh, whatever. Whatever everything. The back of my head was ringing. My whole body, too. No mercy, at all. Suzunas.h.i.+-san and Kokoromi-sensei both. No mercy or anything useless like that. Speaking of which sensei beat me a lot over there. At least half, no, at least ninety-percent was her letting off her melancholy, but if I think about it now, the remaining ten percent was probably justified. I said if I think of it now, but I had no intention of pondering that at this point. Not understanding until you get beat, not stopping until you get hurt. Truly, I have not grown one bit since then--

"Ah. Ii-chan, woke up?"

What clearly awakened my consciousness was that sort of Kunagisa's voice.

"Mornink."

"..... mornink," I replied to Kunagisa with a light pose, and awakened my p.r.o.ne body. "..... umm."

I looked around again.

It was a a cell, unchanged from when I had looked around while half-asleep. Myself, Kunagisa, and Suzunas.h.i.+-san sat on the floor inside it.

"My. Inoji. You woke up. Great, great. I was worried if I hit you too much because you weren't waking up."

"Well, thanks..." I bowed my head to Suzunas.h.i.+-san despite the awkward feeling of doing so. "Umm... where are we?"

"The fourth research ward. The bas.e.m.e.nt of the research ward Kasugai-san uses."

"..... is that so? But, it looks like a prison....."

"These are the cages to keep the animals for experiments," Kunagisa laughed as she explained, for some reason enjoying this. "Ufufu-. This is the first time for boku-sama-chan, being stuck in a cage. First times are fun."

"This is my fifth....." I said, and I touched the steel bars. Obviously, they did not so much as brudge.

"Umm... I do not understand the situation very well... why are we in an animal cage? As long as we do not happen to have been monkeys, I do not think I can accept an explanation."

"Why of course, the Professor's orders. Or rather, Inoji, how much do you remember?"

"..... to be honest, not much. I know Suzunas.h.i.+-san and Kokoromi-sensei beat me senseless..." I answered Suzunas.h.i.+-san's question honestly. "Um... when I was on the roof in the morning, Suzunas.h.i.+-san spoke to me, and..."

"No way. All the way back there? It'd be a huge pain in the a.s.s to explain everything from there."

"Ahh, hold on please... I will calm down," and then I placed my back to a concrete wall and sat down properly. "... afterwards I tied Kunagisa's hair... hmm? Ahh, right, right. ..... yes, I remember."

"Good," Suzunas.h.i.+-san nodded. "That saves us a lot of trouble, thank you."

"Ufufu, Ii-chan's memory's still the same. It wouldn't be surprising if you had amnesia from that beating though."

"....."

Huh? It seemed Kunagisa had returned to normal, I thought, as I asked Suzunas.h.i.+-san,"So, what happened while I was asleep?" The decision to ask Suzunas.h.i.+-san was based on Kunagisa having returned to normal, because that meant asking her anything would be futile.

"We're the suspects, basically," said Suzunas.h.i.+-san. "And we were imprisoned here."

"..... thank you for that extremely succinct and clear explanation."

The fourth ward. The research ward governed by Kasugai-san. And then the bas.e.m.e.nt... I felt like we had been turned into experimental animals, but whether that was any better than being a prisoner would be a delicate question to pose. To be imprisoned in this place, of all places, proved the Professor was nastier than I imagined.

Hmm..... come to think of it, for a certain murder incident it was my idea to imprison the suspect in an isolated location, but I see, this is how it feels to be on the other end. It is too late now but I shall never propose such an idea again.

"So, what exactly is going on?"

"Nothing at all, sadly. Well, the Professor said We shall relieve you of some freedom while we determine how to deal with you in the future. Don't worry, we'll do nothing cruel."

"I see....." if we were imprisoned in a bas.e.m.e.nt after having been told he was not going to do anything cruel, I wondered what he would have done if he meant to do anything cruel. It was a topic that did not give me any gooseb.u.mps. "..... ahh, I am remembering everything. ..... wow."

Belatedly, I raised a surprised voice. I feel like I had been quite an idiot. "Well, that's how it went," Suzunas.h.i.+-san said in an accusing manner.

"I didn't think there was any point in rampaging alone, so I obliged them, but... well, really, I figured nothing good would ever come of going on a trip with Inoji, but I didn't expect something like this. A pheromone for attracting accidents and incidents, I suppose. Attracting? Baiting might be more accurate, in this case."

"This is unexpected for me, too....." and this time, no matter how you might look at it, not a single ounce of blame could be placed on me. As long as it was not I that killed Utsurigi, I felt Suzunas.h.i.+-san's moaning made no sense. "Truly, unexpected... this time I had thought nothing else would happen..."

"Ufufu, this is why I'm never bored with Ii-chan," Kunagisa happily laughed. "Really, it's never boring. Life is fun!"

"..... your friend was the one that was killed this time, you know."

"Hmm?" Kunagisa tilted her head to the side. "..... yup, but you know, what's done is done. You've gotta think positively in life."

"..... I suppose that is who you are."

I think that was the case, anyways. I think. That the Kunagisa from before was just weird. I think, for now.

"Anyways, the problem now... is how to break through this situation."

"Break through... what a wonderful goal, that," Suzunas.h.i.+-san wrapped a hand around an iron bar. "Even I can't do anything about these. If Asano were here maybe something could have been done, but..."

"..... Miiko-san can cut iron?"

"Well, she can cut konjac at least. ..... but they do say that Iaido and Battoudou can both eventually cut iron. Well, anyways, no point talking about someone who's not here."

"Indeed."

I looked up at the ceiling. If it were a movie or something, there would usually be a handy ventilation shaft or something that we could use to escape, but as you would expect of a real-world problem, there was nothing of the sort. The world is not so kind to let you get away through such means. Gosh, no wonder the air would grow stale. Truly, do they not know how to treat people in a humane way? Anyways, based on rational observation, there appeared no means of escaping from this cage. It was locked with a lock that looked extremely st.u.r.dy, and none of us had any lockpicking skills.

"Still... that geezer really spouted some bulls.h.i.+t."

"Woah. Ii-chan just got really vulgar. What a rare occasion, to do that in front of people."

"I can get rare, too, you know. I can indeed, really. I hope they're not setting up torture after this?"

If you consider that Kokoromi-sensei is here, that becomes a possibility. Leaving aside whether she would actually do it, that sensei is brilliant at doing things that people hate. It was not for show or out of whim that she was given the name Early Harvester.

"But I doubt that, you know? Because that person tried to stop Ii-chan, right? If you'd managed to punch the Professor all h.e.l.l would've broken loose. In that sense, Kokoromi-chan seems like a pretty good person."

"Good person... well, that might be."

Ignorance was bliss. Hmm, it seemed while I had been unconscious Suzunas.h.i.+-san had given Kunagisa a lecture about Kokoromi-sensei. Given that it was Suzunas.h.i.+-san, it had probably been relayed without saying too much.

"And you know, Ii-chan. The Professor didn't really say anything that nutty. He's always rooted in reason."

"Ah? Where. He's beyond preposterous. There's no rhyme or reason to the rhyme and reason. Even elementary school kids who haven't even learnt how to multiply reason better."

"I can't multiply-," Suzunas.h.i.+-san b.u.t.ted in. "I quit school before I learned how."

"..... ....." ".........."

"? Feel free to continue?"

"Uh huh..... umm, what were we talking about?" I forgot out of shock. "Right, the Professor's reason being insane. Yes. No one has left their research wards. No one has entered the seventh ward. Therefore, the Kunagisa Tomo Crew are the suspects. What is with that? Even Goldbach's conjecture [1] makes more sense."

"Crew," Kunagisa giggled in a snarky way. It seemed she liked the sound of crew. "Yup. Crew is good. Crew. Cruising along, as a crew. Or something. Ufufu."

".... well, better than bandits, anyways... do not change the subject though. I am already over capacity... how and why are you saying the Professor's reasoning has basis? Just because the Lady of Kunagisa was the leader of Cl.u.s.ter she can easily open a lock like that, is truly preposte--"

"I can," Kunagisa said, nonchalantly.

"---..... yes?"

"I can open that," Kunagisa repeated. "Pretty easily."

"Easily?" "Super easy."

I clutched my head in my hands at Kunagisa's curt response.

"..... what do you mean by that, Lady of Kunagisa?"

"Didn't you hear the Professor? Boku-sama-chan made the core of that system. Well, to be honest, Nao-kun and Micchan helped me too. So I know how that mechanism works, even before I read about it."

Micchan -- Kasumioka Douji-san. A close friend of Nao-san, and if I were to borrow Neo-san's words, a person who was once near the Core of the Kunagisa Syndicate. And currently -- well, leaving currently aside, a long time ago, before I met Kunagisa, she was always a trio with Nao-san and Kasumioka-san. That said, Nao-san and Kasumioka-san were both even less than newbies at electronic engineering. Then that would mean Kunagisa had constructed it alone.

"-- however, even so, you would need tools for that, would you not? If locks could be opened without keys just by knowing the system, everyone could become a lockpick. Even I know how the lock to my apartment room works, but I cannot open it without a key."

"Yup, true," nodded Kunagisa. "Without being Jun-chan there's nothing to do. But -- right, like, Ii-chan, like when we came into this research facility, you wrote our names, right?"

"Ahh. Wait, you were watching? I thought you were busy playing games."

"It's not like I'm playing games... anyways, the guard said then. These older means are tougher to mess with than relying solely on digital security."

"Did he," I did not remember, because it was so long ago. "Hmm. So?"

"In other words, high technology has high technology holes. To be specific, when boku-sama-chan went to the seventh ward to see Sacchan. If I'd borrowed a computer from Sacchan then and accessed the mother computer in Professor Kyouichirou's first ward. And then I created a new fellow account for boku-sama-chan. Of course, as a BBC[2]. And then after killing Sacchan, I'd just delete it. I'd use a log-erasing tool and make it so nothing happened, including the door being opened in the first place."

Said that way, it did sound easy. However, that was just Kunagisa simplifying the explanation, and there must be plenty of protects, walls, defense programs, alert switches, and the likes.

-- but if it were Kunagisa.

Indeed, it might be possible. Kunagisa already came bearing a high set of skills, so if she knew the security management inside-out.

Mysteriously, it was as the Professor said.

"There're access privileges for computer security. At the very least, boku-sama-chan having an absolute advantage over everyone else is true. Come to think of it, it was actually Hii-chan that was really good at breaking through security... not that boku-sama-chan was bad at it."

"Hii-chan as in Double Flick?"

"Oh? Wowow, I'm surprised at Ii-chan's memory's functioning normally. Actually, abnormal is normal, so when it's functioning normally I should say it's abnormally functioning."

"Rather rude of you there. Utsurigi kept saying that name. Next to you and Chii-kun."

"Hmm. Sacchan makes no sense."

I felt like being told that by Kunagisa is tantamount to being done for, but well, nothing good can come of speaking ill about the dead. Even if it were directed toward that weirdo. That Utsurigi, who was crucified and killed -- or the other way around, killed and then crucified. After hearing that, Hi-chan or Chii-kun or Acchan and so on, would the people from Team mourn for him? As someone who did not directly know any of them, I could not make any deduction.

"However... what was that proclamation-looking thing? You just watch, 『DEAD BLUE』!!, was it? In other words, Shut up and watch, Kunagisa Tomo..."

"Who knows. Isn't it just warning boku-sama-chan to not do anything unnecessary? Like they're hammering in a loose nail. Heehee, yes, heeheehee."

It seems she had found the simile hammering in a loose nail amusing, as Kunagisa giggled. Though the mental build one would need to laugh at that play on words was beyond me.

"Unnecessary... trying to save Utsurigi? But, if that was unnecessary, then killing Utsurigi would ruin the point."

"I think you'll just have to table that question for now... because if you go there, you'll have to figure out why the suspect had to cut apart Sacchan so much, and why they took the arms away."

"But the first thing that comes to mind for someone relentlessly cutting apart a body is enmity..."

However, I could not imagine that Utsurigi, who had not stepped outside that building for over a year, could have wrought such enmity that he would end up in such a brutal state. Of course, that was if we limited things to within the confines of the laboratory, but -- I felt that I could not necessary remove the possibility because he may have done something while he was a member of Team.

"But, even if you can remove that lock. Even so, why would you kill Utsurigi... or rather, it would be hard to come up with a reason. Or rather, even before that, s.h.i.+to-kun and I were with you the whole time you were in the seventh ward with Utsurigi. Leaving aside what you said with Utsurigi, that room had no computer, so it would have been impossible to access the mother computer, right?"

"Hahah. What a blissful thing you say, Inoji," Suzunas.h.i.+-san laughed. "To the Professor, such a small detail is trivial."

"-- what do you mean by that?"

"In other words, as long as there's even a bit of reason, that's enough. It's not like the Professor seriously has any conviction that Ao-chan is the suspect. As Inoji said, the problem is whether he can force the matter through. This timelag is probably for that."

"Timelag?"

"Yes. The Professor is probably -- and not just the Professor, the whole faculty is probably reasoning out proof that the Kunagisa Crew were the suspects. Kasugai-san, was it? She said, I think a decision will be made on how to deal with you around five hours from now. Yes, we were just talking about that, until Inoji woke up."

"..... by which you mean?"

"In other words, Ii-chan," Kunagisa said without any care. "The Professor's probably wanting to make boku-sama-chan's replacement."

Instantly, I became aghast. Using Kunagisa as a replacement for Utsurigi? That. That meant.

"In exchange for not handing us over to the police, they would want her to help their research -- no, their experiments."

"That... that is definitely absurd."

"Yup. This situation is absurd," Suzunas.h.i.+-san said with a bit of resignation. "I don't know how they intend to deal with myself and Inoji, but... right, probably hostages for Ao-chan. That's what I'd do."

"That..."

However, Kunagisa Tomo would indeed be a great replacement part for Utsurigi Gaisuke. No, she might be whole levels better. If what the Professor was doing was as Kunagisa predicted last night. Then Kunagisa Tomo would be the greatest of specimens for such an experiment. Utsurigi would have been sufficient, but Kunagisa would be best.

Ultra Humanoid Dogma.

"That... that is -- that is something that cannot be allowed--"

"Woah there. Don't go berserking again, Inoji. If I need to restrain that alone, I don't have any confidence I wouldn't hurt you. Miyos.h.i.+-san helped out last time so it went alright, but you'll need to be ready to break half your bones."

"..... I am fine. I am calm," I said, as I slammed my fist against the concrete wall. It hurt. "I am extremely calm. Yes."

"Nifufu," Kunagisa (despite this topic being about her) laughed, carefree. "This is kinda nostalgic. This sort of pinch situation, this danger-like situation."

What do you mean, danger-like.

"... you look like you are having fun, Kunagisa Tomo."

"Pretty much. But you know, this is nothing compared to when I met Ii-chan for the first time. It's not like our lives are on the line, or worse."

"..... anyways, this whole trip has been a waste," I said. "So, what shall we do now? What now, Suzunas.h.i.+-san?"

"Nothing. There's nothing we can do like this," Suzunas.h.i.+-san said. "Well, if I don't get back, Asano might notice and then have some sort of reaction... but that'd be like a couple days from now."

"In any case, being locked up thirty meters underground like this means boku-sama-chan can't do anything. They took away my phone and I don't have my PDA. Powerless powerless gravity-less."

"Why gravity."

I sighed heavily.

"Indeed... there does not seem to be a realistic means of breaking through this blockade--"

"-- oh, but there is a means."

That voice naturally, seamlessly interrupted my dejected line. The timing was perfect, as if the speaker had been waiting for her seat all along. It was not Suzunas.h.i.+-san's voice nor Kunagisa's voice, and of course it was not my voice, and it came from the other side of the iron cage.

There stood Is.h.i.+maru Kouta with her arms crossed.

<>