Chapter 23: Volume 5 4

It is easy to trick a genius.

It is difficult to trick an idiot.

It is impossible to trick a pig.

1

When there was less than an hour left, I returned once more to Neo-san's private room. Neo-san and Kouta-san went to a separate room to discuss what they were going to do next -- that next presumably being something an afterwards completely unrelated to Kunagisa and I -- and so I was left alone in this room. I simply sat in a sofa surrounded by various paintings, mumbling alone to myself.

The sound of the clock ticking away the seconds was loud. I felt like I should have prepared for this and brought a digital watch. But Kunagisa had customized that so much that it had become a completely messed-up clock, and this analog watch was a gift from Hime-chan, so wearing it felt like an obligation, so I did not have a choice after all.

"A choice -- but it may be a relative blessing to even have one choice."

Choose.

The action of choosing.

I pulled out Misachi-san's Jericho from my belt and stared at it. It had a very boorish form. However, handling it -- as long as I did not let myself lose my calm as Misachi-san had done earlier -- was not too difficult. Practicing even without reaching the levels of being called training would be enough to give me good aim.

"This country is reeally peaceful....."

The means of escaping that Kouta-mentioned was quite simple. First, she pulled the unconscious Misachi-san and Shito-kun inside the ward, and tied up Misachi-san with a PC cable. She said Misachi-san probably would not awaken for half a day anyways, but it was just for insurance. As for Shito-kun, Kouta-san tossed him to me (literally, tossed him), and made me carry him on my back.

"I support the feminist movement. That men and women should be equal."

"Then it is right for you to carry him, dear friend," Kouta-san smiled. "As men and women are equal, it is clear who between you and I has authority."

Indeed.

It was, of course, not like Kouta-san had handed Shito-kun to me out of kindness. In short, Oogaki Shito-kun's role was to be a key. His unconscious eye was for the retina scanner. We then used the card he carried around, and I had heard the ID number enough times to have remembered it. I was a bit unsure of whether it was ikwe9f2ma444 or ikwe9mada423 but Kouta-san hurried me and I was able to remember. It was the same for the memorized number. I was a lot more worried about this one (I felt like it would be really handy to have Kunagisa in these cases) but it seemed I was correct. However, both the number and the ID were just bonuses for the security system. The important things were the card, the retina check -- and the voice. In other words, the real proofs of identity. Of these, we were able to clear the card and the retina check, but there was no chance of forcing the unconscious Shito-kun to speak--

"Oogaki Shito. My ID is ikwe9f2ma444."

Kouta-san said, changing her voice.

"Voice and retina confirmed. Please wait."

The synthetic voice responded, and the door opened.

"Why are you surprised? Aikawa Jun does not need to have monopoly over vocal mimicry, does she?" Kouta-san stated. "Even I can trick a machine. These are consummately simple constructs."

"You know Aikawa-san?"

Kouta-san made a slightly displeased expression at my question, but she quickly recovered, and said, "I have heard about her through the grapevine."

"I had a feeling you meant that notorious Aikawa Jun when you mentioned a contractor -- of course, if it were her, she would deceive not just machines but even God. Well, we must hurry along or the door will shut. Ahh, leave Shito-kun there, will you? We've tied up his hands and his feet, so he can do nothing."

In other words, this time it was Shito-kun and Misachi-san who were captured. While we would be found out eventually, it was best delayed as much as possible. Even if the Professor would eventually realize the two were missing and act, we would still be given a bit of reprieve until the time limit. Well, perhaps that is too much to hope for, but in any case, that was how Kouta-san and I succeeded in escaping the seventh ward.

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

-- so now, a question.

Ishimaru Kouta, who meticulously infiltrated this facility, and even succeeded in remaining inside by feigning that she had already gone outside. The Machiavellist, the schemer, the sly, the resourceful, the veteran Ishimaru Kouta. Do you really think that Ishimaru Kouta would be distracted by an MO disc (regardless of how important the data on it might have been) and accidentally set off the alarm? If I were to go further, Misachi-san aside, what if she (bearing in mind how easily she defeated) bothered engaging in a long conversation with the untrained Shito-kun simply to learn his voice--

How terrifying. What was more terrifying than anything else was not her action (-- after all, Aikawa-san would do something like that too, and even Kunagisa would have been able to calculate that much of an escape route--) but rather her audacity to do all of that with such nonchalance. It would be neither praise nor critique to say that her plan had not at all a high probability of success. If Misachi-san had opted for escape, then that would have been the end of it, and there was no guarantee that only a small number of people would come. There were plenty of other issues hidden away. Of course, most importantly, that she was relying on my (my!) memory was the biggest problem of all. If I were to have come up with this plan myself it would have been without a doubt foolishness. This sort of heroic absurdity is in most cases in retrospect the smartest way of accomplishing something through the only method possible, but I still would not think that to be the case. I risked my life -- no, Iabandoned my life to jump from the sixth ward to the seventh ward, but I would not be surprised if someone were to ask if this was not on par with that decision.

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

However, Kouta-san's scheme succeeded beautifully, and so here we are.

After our escape, Kouta-san contacted Neo-san with her wireless, and Neo-san stepped outside as if to see off the visiting (or more accurately, he had called for her) Kasugai-san, and let us in on the way back in.

In the end, Kouta-san was certain we would succeed, and I was not. Even before determining whether that risk was worth taking or not, I was unable to come up with such an audacious idea.

"-- I suppose that is the difference between a completed work and a perfect work....."

And the difference in those who can see things and those who cannot. Perhaps that was all that was behind this Utsurigi Gaisuke crucifixion incident. That the suspect was seeing something that an ordinary person like myself could not, and that the dismembering of the corpse and the destruction of the corpse, and the taking of the arms, and the elegant blood message, all of it all, may have been for some purpose.

"..... one hour twenty-five minutes remaining....."

Or if I were to say Dead Blue-style, one hour twenty-four minutes forty-six point seventy-seven seconds. However, after thinking for two-and-a-half hours and not coming up with any leads, was it realistic to hope for something to come up in the last hour and a half? Thinking negatively was not going to progress matters any, either, but I could not help my mind tumbling in that direction.

"Shiogi-chan -- if you were in my position, even in this worst of positions in the worst of situations, would you be able to come up with the most effective clever scheme that could exist?"

Well, of course you would.

However, it is impossible for me.

It seems I am incapable of becoming a strategist even remotely the class of Shiogi-chan.

For example, how about if I were to force something together. Let me think hard enough that I would be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with even Professor Kyouichirou. Yes, for example -- right now, Ishimaru Kouta-san, who is helping me out with my thinking. What would happen if we were to suppose her as the suspect?

One cannot say it impossible. After all, Professor Kyouichirou does not know of her existence, and within this facility the only one who knows about her is the corrupt Neo-san (although currently Shito-kun and Misachi-san would also be in the know). And unlike the researchers, Kouta-san was not restricted to any research ward. As a result, there are less obstacles for her being suspected than any other suspect. And that thinking speed, that wisdom, and that decision-making that she had just shown me, would make murdering Utsurigi and coming up with such an unsolvable crime a piece of cake--

"..... such hideous nonsense."

I forced shut the forced theory. There was only so far I could handle the lack of logic. I did not intend to respect Professor Kyouichirou any, but the Professor's forced theory about Kunagisa Tomo being the suspect was much more believable. Truly, this world had no lack of mysterious respect.

"In that case, Neo-san would, under the same reason..... well, there is one more bizarre theory....."

That would simply be the possibility that I myself am the suspect. Would it not be a rather tasteful twist if I, a mere accomplice to Kunagisa Tomo's visit, were the suspect behind the killing of Utsurigi Gaisuke? Of course, that would simply be tasteful, and meaningless. I know that I am not the suspect, and while I harbored hostility toward Utsurigi, I did not harbor any intent to murder.

However.

In this case, whether an action took place did not matter. All that mattered was that it was acceptable. As long as some level of logic could be followed--

"I am thinking such foolish things."

I mumbled, and then I found a phone in the room. I own a cell phone, but I had left it in the wooden apartment I called my home. Because, leaving the satellite cell phone that Kunagisa used (which Professor Kyouichirou confiscated) aside, there was no way I could get signal here so deep in the mountains. However, phone companies are bound by law, such that no matter where you are in Japan (including a lonely island in the middle of the ocean or in an unexplored region of a mountain range) if there is a request, they are obligated to connect the phone line. As a result, even this Shadow Kyouichirou Research Facility was connected to the outside via a network, and that was why Neo-san's private room had a phone.

And then it hit me. Usually, phone lines in these sorts of facilities are designed not to have access to outside networks, but this facility was designed to house a ridiculously small number of employees. In other words, that phone probably did connect outside. By the time I had finished my thought, I had already moved to the phone, and picked up the receiver.

As for the number I immediately tried to call, my fingers stopped midway, and I hung up the phone. Come to think of it, it was not reasonable to hope for a proper conversation with that person. That person does not speak when they do not want to speak, and that person does not speak even when they want to speak, and yet while that would be acceptable if they were listening to what I was saying, that person does not listen to any orders from anyone other than their master, and that person does not even pay attention to their master's orders. However, after thinking about it some more, there was no point in assuming that the phone would even be picked up by that person in the first place. Worst case, it might even be that crazy fortune-teller. What would that clairvoyant say about my current situation? I feel like my blood boiled just by imagining what she might say.

"Yet, Miiko-san is out..... and she does not carry a cell phone."

And Miiko-san has instincts as sharp as Onimarukunitsuna , so there was nothing to say that she would not sense Suzunashi-san having been locked up in a cage. Considering the immediate-action personality of Miiko-san, I could not imagine that leading to anything good. After pondering, I ended up deciding to dial Hime-chan's cell phone.

"Hello hello?" answered a somewhat nervous-sounding Hime-chan, before the phone rang even a second time. "Who is this?"

"A man who seeks world domination."

"Ahh, Master. Hullo good day," Hime-chan sounded relieved. "I was surprised by the unknown number, Master. What's up? Weren't you supposed to be in the middle of a trip to Nagoya Prefecture?"

"Yes. Pretty much," I answered, and tilted my head to the side at her calling Nagoya a prefecture. Pretty sure she is wrong. But for some reason that sounded familiar. "Right now, well, ..... I am calling from where we are staying."

"Mhm. Guess that's why it's unknown. Ahh, you know, perfect time. Hime-chan forgot to tell Master something."

"What?"

"Souvenir. Can you bring back five bars of uirō?"

"Oh? Did Hime-chan like sweet things?" I asked while I tried to remember if uirō were sweet. Ahh, right. This is the Aichi Prefecture. Nagoya is just a city here. It is not Nagoya Prefecture, after all. "..... by uirō do you mean that soft thing that looks like yōkan? Do you like that stuff, Hime-chan?"

"Nope, Hime-chan's friend does. Do you remember? I introduced you. Usagi-chan or something. Hime-chan forgot that when Hime-chan mentioned Matser was headed to Nagoya Prefecture she started going on about uirō. Hime-chan doesn't need them, but five bars for my friend. Colorful ones, if you can. Master's sucked away plenty of money from Hime-chan, so you've got enough, right?"

"I would rather you not make me sound like a villain..... yes, you are right, if I can return safely, I will buy you five hundred bars."

"No way. I'm not Dazai's imogayu."

imogayu was Akutagawa.

I corrected her, like a Master.

"Was that so. But Master, whatcha mean by that? If I can return safely. You make it sound like you might not."

"Who knows. They say there're green mountains wherever you are in the world, so it's no surprise that you can die anywhere, too." Indeed, no surprise. Especially when it comes to someone like me. "But if I am not to return, you can do whatever you want with the stuff in my room."

"Really?" Hime-chan sounded excited. "Then I can take the weird T-shirts and weird jeans and weird jackets and weird socks?"

"Avoid calling other peoples' stuff weird....." and what did she want to do with socks anyways? "Yes. In exchange, Hime-chan will also have to take care of paying off the apartment and throwing away the trash and that sort of stuff."

"Ehhh," Hime-chan suddenly sounded displeased. How mercenary. "But you know, Master, you sound serious. Are you in a bind? Were you in a building when a terrorist started attacking or did a plane come crashing or did a submarine come hurtling in?"

"No, nothing like that, this time..... but something similar."

Mmhmm, Hime-chan did not sound appeased.

"Master's pretty smart but kiiiiinda stupid," Hime-chan said, not sounding anything like her age. "Hime-chan's an idiot but not stupid. So Hime-chan knows Master's fretting right now."

"Uh huh. Well that is nice. Does that mean you can help?"

"Of course not. I have class soon."

What a pure-hearted reason.

"Ah, I see..... Hime-chan is at school," I said as I checked the wristwatch Hime-chan had given me. "You should not be bringing cell phones to school."

"Yeah yeah. I get it, Master," and then I heard a chime from far off overlapping with Hime-chan's voice. "Oops, well, the chime rang, so Hime-chan's gotta go now, Master."

"Yes, farewell."

Keeping with the politeness of being the caller, I placed the receiver back down. And then I felt like some weight had been lifted off my shoulders and sagged a bit. I sighed deeply enough that it felt like I was blowing out all the air in my lungs, and then I returned to the sofa.

That was fine.

That should be fine.

As someone who had never truly trusted the individual known as myself, I truthfully had nothing like confidence. It was not that there was any falsehood behind the words I had said to Kouta-san some hours ago, but my life is a history of failure, and mixed with regret and repentance. That was why. That was why in the event of failure, or perhaps in the event of guilt, when I repent, there should not be anything for me to have left undone.

I had finished wrapping up loose ends.

Now I just need to do what I want.

"..... maybe it would be good to go back to the cage once and talk to Kunagisa....."

If one were to talk about a remote-control type person, Kunagisa Tomo would fall right in that category. Cooped up in her mansion, unable to even descend stairs by herself. Yet that very Kunagisa Tomo also attained and controlled worldly information and scientific knowledge (even if she were not to the level of Chii-kun). If I were to input the data I had gathered in the past two and a half hours, maybe she could come up with some sort of answer.

That said, going back to the fourth ward after Kasugai-san has returned would be quite risky. I do not think Kasugai-san would use the stairs, so it should be somewhat alright, but I could not help but err on the side of caution given that it would be an irreversible risk.

"No point in fretting over it, though....."

Hime-chan is in class, anyways, I mumbled to myself. Someone hearing that would not know what I mean at all, and then I tried to leave the room. I thought about discussing it with Kouta-san. However, before I could even reach for the doorknob, the door opened toward the other side. Huh. Was this door automatic? I had unfortunately never encountered one before, but they do say the world has automatic doors that do not open sideways -- no, I do not recall this door being of such make. That would mean that someone was trying to enter the room from the hallway. And as expected, Kouta-san looked at me with wide eyes.

"-- my. What is it, dear friend? Why're you standing there?"

"No, I was just thinking of returning to the cages once..... I wanted to ask for Kunagisa and Suzunashi-san's opinions. However, that is a dangerously dangerous act, so I was wondering what to do."

"No, I do not think that a bad idea at all," Kouta-san said. "And, that works out quite well."

"Quite well? Speaking of which, did you finish speaking to Neo-san?"

"I wouldn't call it finish so much as stopped," Kouta-san answered vaguely. "Took a small break. A visitor arrived in the middle. There was a call from Koutari-san to Neo-san just now, that Koutari-san was going to be coming here for some purpose. But it's not like I can let Koutari-san see me. And so it seems they're going to use this room, so I've been told to take you out."

"Uh huh."

..... Koutari-san.

My mind recalled that desperately (I do not know of anything more desperate than that) weaved-together theory about Koutari Hinayoshi being the suspect. Kouta-san had instantly kicked away the idea of using his hair as a rope, but that did not mean all suspicion could be lifted. There was still the possibility that Koutari-san had used a different method to kill Utsurigi. At the very least, it seemed like Koutari-san and Utsurigi were not on friendly terms -- although I do not think any human being was on friendly terms with Utsurigi.

"Not one--, ..... but you know," a question crept up my mind. "It feels like he would get along just fine with Kokoromi-sensei....."

"Utsurigi-san may have deliberately distanced himself from others," Kouta-san said. "Would it not be best to just ask Kunagisa-san about that? Of course, Kunagisa-san does not seem too keen on speaking much about Utsurigi-san."

"It cannot be helped. She is pretty clumsy. She has loose lips, but she can either say everything, or say nothing, and only one or the other. Fuzzy things like I can say this much are incomprehensible to her."

"Like bool. Or perhaps I should say like blue?"

"Both, of course."

I left the room and moved to the side of the hallway near Kouta-san. And then I came up with one not-that-bad idea. Of course, I could not run into Koutari-san here, but at the same time that meant that was the only thing that I could not do. I wanted to hear what Koutari-san had to say, for information gathering purposes. And if I am not to be allowed, then--

"Kouta-san."

"Accepted."

Before I could say anything, Kouta-san pulled out a wireless from her coat. It was smaller than a cell phone and basically shaped like a board. There were four knobs in the place of buttons, and Kouta-san tweaked them. It was what she had used to communicate with Neo-san earlier, but as you might except of the thief Kouta-san, she had her share of secret gadgets.

"Yes -- correct, Neo-san. Please, go on like that."

After exchanging two, three lines, Kouta-san received agreement -- or rather, acceptance, from Neo-san.

"Then let us wait on the rooftop. Other rooms would do, but if Koutari-san were to open any doors for no reason, everything would end on the spot."

"Uh huh....." the rooftop again. "However, how would we hear them from the rooftop?"

"We shall use this wireless for that. If we keep it on a receiving channel they will not hear our voices, after all. Well, the one thing to worry about is that someone somewhere might be intercepting the radio waves..... but that is not a significant worry here."

Said Kouta-san as she began climbing the stairs to the rooftop.

"If anything, I worry more about the two of them."

"Shito-kun and Misachi-san?" I asked as I followed her in climbing the stairs. "They will not wake up for half a day, right? You beat them so unnecessarily, after all."

"My, my. It is not consummate to deliberately speak of one like a sadist. I did not use any more violence than necessary."

"Leaving Misachi-san aside, I think you went too far with Shito-kun. You kept striking at his internal organs. It would have sufficed to strike his head once. He will be in quite some pain for a while."

"Keep talking as you wish. You shall find out soon enough how kind I am."

Kouta-san replied with an inexplicable retort. We finished climbing the stairs, opened the door, and then Kouta-san took off her coat and spread it out on the ground before sitting. I did the same and sat in front of her. Kouta-san began fiddling with the knobs on the wireless.

"..... come to think of it, this place has security systems but no security cameras," I said out of boredom. "This suits Kouta-san and I just fine, but is that not a security problem?"

"From an administrative standpoint that is more consummate," Kouta-san answered my question without taking her eyes off the device. "There are probably some things they would rather not be recorded. For example, those MO discs had some value, but were not anything important. Basically, that is how it is."

"Everything and everything is recorded in their individual brains....."

To begin with, is that machine-based security really usually enough?

Kouta-san seemed to have finished tweaking the channels, as she placed the wireless device smack dab in the middle between the two of us. I could hear something that sounded like something was brushing against clothing. Perhaps Neo-san had placed a wireless in his pocket, too.

"Hmm. It's a bit off."

Kouta-san tilted her head to the side as she turned a knob just a bit. And then, it seemed the wireless device began picking up what sounded like a person's voice.

"..... like..... so..... utari-San."

"No clue."

"However, it seems you took your time. How rare of you, Koutari-san, considering how precise you are with time."

"For some reason the elevator was broken."

Neo-san and Koutari-san's voices. It did not sound like they were talking as they were walking, so it seemed they were in that private room adorned with paintings.

"..... so, what did you want, Koutari-san?"

"About the research, of course."

And then the two of them began conversing about topics that chained together what seemed like specialized language (something ability and something circuit, and other such things of that lingo). I listened intently for a while, but there is nothing more boring than listening to words that you do not understand. This may sound rude to Neo-san and Koutari-san, but the two of us gradually began losing interest in their conversation.

"..... it seems like this was a complete waste of effort," Kouta-san seemed to feel the way, as she mumbled in a very bored tone. "Although we did not really use much effort. Still, it is amazing that they can continue talking about such a pointless topic. Do they find it amusing?"

"Do you understand bits of it? It sounds like a foreign language to me."

"It is because I understand bits of it that I find it boring," Kouta-san said. "Boring even if you understand, boring if you don't, it's the worst."

"I cannot shake the feeling that this is a waste of time..... I wonder if Neo-san won't change the subject to the incident."

"If he were to shift the subject now, it would be quite unnatural. That person has his own sets of issues. At the very least, he cannot afford to show his cards yet."

"I understand that, but..... then, Kouta-san. Can I leave this place to you?" I stood up. "I shall head back to the cage to check on Kunagisa."

"Dividing up now. It is not consummate to be pressing such a boring task to me, but at this point, I suppose it cannot be helped. There is the matter of the remaining time, after all."

I looked at my watch. An hour and fifteen minutes remained.

"Ah..... but, if Kouta-san taking out Shito-kun acts as a camouflage, ..... if the Professor were to panic over it, then maybe this number will grow a bit."

"Or it could do the opposite," Kouta-san adjusted her cap a bit and looked at me. "The two who went to check on the seventh ward do not show any signs of returning. This is extremely suspicious. Of course, if he were to trust the two, there is a large possibility that the Professor simply thinks, even if something were to happen, the two of them would deal with it, so in this case they are probably just investigating the ward carefully."

"Trust..... I think he believes them," and then I remembered one thing. The line that Kouta-san said when she was taking on Misachi-san. "By the way, Kouta-san, what did you mean by that?"

"What do you mean by that?" she asked back, intentionally. "I do not remember becoming intimate enough with you to be able to understand what your pronouns refer to. Or perhaps that is what you wish, dear friend?"

"Please do not deflect the question. You said to Misachi-san while pointing to Shito-kun. And be used in one of the Professor's human experiments? – like this simplistic fool lying down over here."

I said, mimicking Kouta-san's sarcastic tone of voice. I felt like I replicated her voice fairly well, but for whatever reason, she simply made a face. I cleared my throat, and then forced the conversation to continue. "What did you mean by that?"

"There is no meaning or anything. It is consummate to take it literally," Kouta-san seemed to have been extremely bothered, as she answered with a dismissive tone. "In other words, Oogaki Shito-kun was a subject just the same as Utsurigi Gaisuke. Of course, in his case, you could find plenty of replacements, so it wouldn't be entirely accurate to call them just the same, but he is an extraordinary existence nonetheless."

"Extraordinary existence....."

That is probably the truth. I had not yet been able to see the wisdom of Shito-kun yet, but that was simply because there was no such opportunity. Him being a talented human being was proven just by the fact that he lived in this facility.

However, if the term human experiment that Kouta-san used matched what I imagined, then perhaps things would begin to take a different meaning. An experimental specimen for the Professor and to be a research subject. In other words,

"A Genius Creation Project -- perhaps?" Kouta-san kept an ear to the wireless device as she spoke in a somewhat joking tone. "However, can we speak about that when everything is over? Even you cannot think that why Oogaki Shito exists in this facility and what role he takes, has anything to do with Kunagisa Tomo and Utsurigi Gaisuke, can you?"

Maybe. I did not know. I do not know that, either. I did not know anything. I did not know anything at all.

And just then.

My thoughts froze at the words spoken by Koutari-san across the wireless device.

"Neo. About this incident."

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"Neo. This incident, what do you think?"

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"What do I think? I don't think a thing, Koutari-san. Well, I think we're in a bit of a bind, of course. Utsurigi-san passing away leaves us without any options. Granted, the Professor seems to be scheming something."

"Scheming. That blue-haired girl."

"Yes yes, that, indeed. She is the former leader of Cluster after all. You could say she's even better than Utsurigi-san as material. And still not even 20. Much easier to handle than Utsurigi-san."

"She does not look easy to handle."

"Perhaps so. As an individual that may be the case. But you shan't forget we have the two acquaintances of hers as hostages, Koutari-san."

"Hostages. Hostages."

"Yes. Leaving aside that black-clothed woman -- given that she did not seem too close to the Lady -- that boy is a useful card. The lover of the direct descendant of the Kunagisa Syndicate lineage, that's an S-rank rare card that doesn't come along very often. Well, leaving aside its value, it's definitely a rare."

"Indeed. I don't understand, but that blue-haired girl seems attached to that brat."

"Yes. Although the Professor had told us to expect a girl with no emotions. Like real access to a machine. Although from an objective perspective -- or at least from my perspective, she does not look like anything special. She does not look intellectual. That black-clothed woman seems much more intellectual."

"You cannot determine one's intellect from their outward appearances..... you cannot judge someone based on their appearance."

"Well that is as you say. I understand that too, of course. I've heard enough through the grapevine about the Lady of Kunagisa's abilities. That's why I can't say I don't understand why the Professor's so desperate to frame her."

"Although it's unclear whether it's just a framing."

"You're still saying that? Well, that's true. What the Professor is doing is not entirely impossible, however difficult it may be to prove anything."

"There's no need to prove anything."

"Perhaps. You don't need to do anything as painstaking as proving it as long you just brute force things into place. The problem would be dealings with the Kunagisa Syndicate. Or shall we call it negotiations, but in either case the result would be the same. They would not remain silent if we were to try using one of them as a specimen."

"Just have to say they volunteered."

"Like with Utsurigi-san? That may be one way, but how would you get her to say that?"

"Stop forgetting what you said yourself."

"Ahh, hostages. I see. Mmhmm -- that is not a bad idea. Not bad at all."

"Although we did use the same trick for that pervert, so if someone were to accuse us of being one-trick ponies we would be guilty as charged."

"That pervert? Ahh, you mean Utsurigi-san. Well, true. However there is no need to seek aesthetics for matters like this. We are not artists but scientists. And unlike Utsurigi-san's case, this time we have a specific hostage, that boy. In other words, along with locking up the Lady of Kunagisa, we would have to lock up that boy. Would that not be the case?"

"It would. But that's a blessing."

"My, my. And how so?"

"That blue-haired girl lacks recognition of reality. In other words, it doesn't matter to her where she is. Put another way, she's everywhere and nowhere at the same time."

"A rather poetic expression for Koutari-san. Oh, excuse me, I was poking fun. Please, do go on."

"It doesn't matter whether she's at home or whether she's in this facility. As long as that brat is by her side."

"Oh hoh, I see. That does seem to be the case. That means that seventh ward would become their lovely nest. Although they would be kept under watch 24-7, so it does not sound so well. But it does not sound terribly bad, either."

"Although that's only the case for the blue-haired girl."

"Ah, right. The ER Program Dropout Boy does not seem satisfied just by being with the Lady of Kunagisa, after all. Well, he's a difficult boy to grasp, so I cannot say much."

"You can grasp him just fine. The problem is just that you can grasp him so well that none of it actually matters."

"Okay, you win that round. That is indeed true. As you would expect of Koutari Hinayoshi, your insight is magnificently brilliant! Hmm, as you say, even with the Lady of Kunagisa doting on him so much, the problem remains on his end. What does the Professor mean to do there? He is an individual unaffiliated with the Kunagisa Syndicate. His family and friends would fret if he were to disappear."

"He does not seem the type to have many friends."

"That can be said. He is a quite silver-tongued and friendly boy, but that may have been brought about by his fear of coming in contact with other people -- well, psychiatrists would say that, but in his case it feels like there is something much more complex going on. There is something about him that I can't place. I suppose you could say he's rather similar to the Lady of Kunagisa and Utsurigi in that sense. Most terrifying are not the human beings that can do anything, but rather the human beings you can't predict. Especially when they're young. Anyways, the contemporary world isn't carefree enough to not raise a ruckus when someone goes missing."

"If you say so. I disagree."

"Well, perhaps. The serial killer case in Kyoto where the Lady of Kunagisa lives has yet to be resolved, after all. You definitely cannot be carefree in this world. However, just because--"

"Neo. What I find problematic is not that brat but more the one you call the black-clothed woman."

"Oh. And why would that be? Umm, she was -- Suzunashi-san, was she? Suzunashi Neon-san."

"Yes. What do you think Professor Kyouichirou intends to do with her?"

"Ahh, well you only need one hostage. But for secretiveness you cannot just let her go back. But keeping her here would cause the same problems as with the boy. In other words, her family and friends would panic."

"Has the Professor not investigated her? He was supposed to have done a background check."

"Ahh, he did say that didn't he. We didn't have time, so he wasn't able to get much in-depth data. We didn't even know that boy partook in the ER Program until Miyoshi-san mentioned it, after all. And this place doesn't house a super extraordinary data seeker like the one said to have resided in Cluster. Granted, now that I think about it, if you consider the secretiveness of the ER3 System that may have been expected. Umm, so what was it? I don't remember."

"-- I tried looking into it earlier, and it's not good."

"Not good? That boy's history?"

"No. Suzunashi Neon."

"Huh. What sort of history? That's curious."

"I actually came here to discuss that. I can fill you in on the details later, but it would be incredibly dangerous to try to lock up that woman."

"Do you mean that it would be more dangerous than to lock up the Lady of Kunagisa or that boy? That does not sound like good news."

"It makes me hesitate to even bring it up to the Professor. After all, that Mad Demon is completely caught up in working out how to frame the blue-haired girl. We might get dragged into the mess."

"Dragged in... alright then, Koutari-san. Then I have a good idea. How about this? The two of us bring forth the come up with the true suspect behind the Utsurigi-san murder. We can point our fingers like a shounen manga. The suspect is you! It's Koutari-san and I after all, we're a pretty good pair."

"No."

"If you say so. That's a shame. However, the problem remains, so what do you think? Do you think the Lady of Kunagisa is the suspect?"

"Who knows. It doesn't matter who the suspect is, in this case."

"Is that so -- that may indeed be the case. It may indeed be the same. However, it's quite something to kill a person. Imagining someone so vicious in this facility makes me feel goosebumps."

"Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god. Jean Rostand's words."

"Woah. You said it first. Well, that might be true. Killing Utsurigi-san may be essentially the same as killing some hundreds of people. They did after all essentially kill the countless people that should have followed the footsteps of Utsurigi-san. Though they do say the death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."

"It's the truth."

"Indeed."

"However, there is one more thing that can be said."

"Uh huh. And what is that one? Oh don't be such a tease, Koutari-san. It's between the two of us. I'll end up skinny if you keep toying with me like that. What is that one more thing?"

"That the Utsurigi Gaisuke death was a suicide."

3

"That Utsurigi Gaisuke's death was a suicide. And I don't mean comparatively."

I immediately froze upon hearing those words through the wireless device. I subconsciously crowded over the device, and as a result, bumped into Kouta-san's nose. "Augh," she yelped as she backed up a bit.

"-- you can hear without being so close, dear friend. That hurt a little."

"Sorry....."

I absent-mindedly apologized and leaned just a bit back from the device. Even so, I could recognize that I was (meaninglessly) close to the device. I could recognize it, but still, I did not feel like backing up any more.

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

"Suicide? What do you mean suicide, Koutari-san?" Neo-san said with his usual, flamboyant tone. "He was obviously killed by someone else. Of course, every sealed-room case starts with a suicide theory, but that one's pretty obviously far from any theories like that. And it was sealed because of the autolock security."

"That's not what I meant by suicide," Koutari-san said with his low, mumbling voice. "Think about it, Neo. Does the Utsurigi Gaisuke we know seem like the kind of guy who'd die without putting up a fight?"

"Huh. Well, I've never seen him personally so I can't really say anything. But based on phone calls and emails, and from what I've heard about his past, that's probably true. He doesn't seem like a very calm type."

Indeed, that was true. I only spoke to Utsurigi for an hour, but I could say that he had a strong sense of self esteem -- if I were to borrow Kunagisa's words, he had a strong will. For better or for worse, he was a genius academic that looked down on others with self-righteousness wrapped in pride. Would that Utsurigi Gaisuke allow himself to be killed by someone? Of course not. Of course, not unless the opponent were to be Dead Blue.

"However, he has actually simply allowed himself to be killed," Neo-san retorted. "And not just killed, but violated beyond anything else. You know, it felt like the killer wasn't happy with just killing. In other words, couldn't it be said that because of that personality, because he was not the type to just allow himself to be killed, that he ended up like that? For us academics, anyways."

"We would have to agree to disagree, I think. However, let us return to the start," Koutari-san stoically spoke. "Why was Utsurigi Gaisuke imprisoned here?"

"The reason for his imprisonment. Well outwardly it was as a research fellow, and behind the scenes it was as a think tank for the Professor, and further behind that was as a research specimen for the Professor."

"That's not what I mean. Why Utsurigi Gaisuke himself agreed."

"Ahh -- I see."

It seemed Neo-san nodded. I nodded too.

Yes, that -- the reason why Utsurigi remained here. I wondered about that too. Yesterday myself, and Kunagisa, were deftly side-stepped, but it seemed Utsurigi was being blackmailed with something (although Utsurigi roared with laughter when I brought that up yesterday).

"Umm, what was it. I was never actually told, so I don't really know. But it was something like some grand crime he'd committed in the past -- in other words, that he was being threatened that if we would release information about some of the crimes he'd committed while in Cluster?"

"No. That was the true outward farce."

"Uh huh. I see, so we'd spread false rumors to hide the truth. As underhanded and painstakingly done as always, that Professor. So, what do you know, Koutari-san?"

"I heard from him personally before," Koutari-san said, surprisingly. "It was probably a slip of the tongue for him -- but it was about Kunagisa Tomo's birth."

Neo-san went silent for a moment at that. I went silent. I could not help but go silent. Kunagisa's birth.....? Did Koutari-san say that just now?

Seriously?

Is that true? It must be a lie. That cannot be true. If, if we were to assume that to be the case, there was no reason for Utsurigi-san to say that to Koutari-san. That manipulative man would not leak that to anyone under the guise of a slipped tongue.

Not such a thing.

"..... what do you mean?" Neo-san asked with a forcibly joking tone. "I don't understand."

"I don't, either," Koutari-san answered. "But in short, Utsurigi Gaisuke was being blackmailed with such a weakness. The blue-haired girl was and still is of great importance to Utsurigi Gaisuke. After all, she was his leader during his Cluster years. If he were to refuse the demands, or escape, the secret would see the light of day -- well, I don't know that for sure. It's pretty questionable whether even the Mad Demon would risk the wrath of the Kunagisa Syndicate for no gain. However--"

However, that sort of threat.

"That sort of threat has effect because it is never executed. The what if must remain in the back of the mind. As a result, Utsurigi Gaisuke remained -- is how it was."

"Uh hu. I see -- however, what of it, Koutari-san? For what reason Utsurigi-san remained here, for what reason the Professor locked up Utsurigi-san here, ultimately doesn't matter because the result is the same. Utsurigi-san no longer being here throws the outward appearance and behind-the-scenes stuff in the bin."

"However, this time that Kunagisa Tomo came here," Koutari-san said. "And that creates a contradiction. The contradiction in that he remained here for the blue-haired girl but remaining here would not be to the blue-haired girl's benefit."

"So -- he committed suicide?"

"Theoretically. If he were to die, the Professor wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Blackmailing the dead is meaningless."

I could nod at Koutari-san's opinion -- or rather his theory. At the very least, I could agree with it on an emotional level. We are talking about that Utsurigi who had the gall to call Kunagisa his Kaiser. If the threat had to do with Kunagisa -- he may opt for death instead. If that were the case, then was yesterday's meeting more of a will? To his former leader, and then after his passing, the one who would look over that leader. That would also make what Utsurigi had said to Kunagisa yesterday, I guess it's time to restore my reputation, make more sense.

Not regaining honor nor clearing his name.

Restoring his reputation.

Regaining his name.

However, if one were to take another look at this, you could find another contradiction.

"However, Koutari-san," and as expected, Neo-san was also able to pick up on that contradiction. "That's odd. That ends up being very odd. If Utsurigi was killed -- or we can call it suicide, then it placed the Lady of Kunagisa in a precarious situation. After all, she's locked up in a cage right now and looks to be imprisoned in this facility for eternity."

"That is as you say," Koutari-san seemed to recognize that contradiction from the start, and accepted Neo-san's retort. "Anyways--"

Koutari-san was about to say something when some noise interfered with the device. The sound was terribly hair-raising, and I could not stop myself from turning down the volume. We could no longer hear Koutari-san or Neo-san's voices.

"-- did it break?"

"No, a phone call," Kouta-san said calmly. "There was a phone in that room, right? There was probably a call to that from somewhere. Even landline phones create radio waves, however little. It's the same reason why cell phones have interference when used next to a computer. The radio waves collide, and because this one was weaker, it lost, I guess."

"You guess. This is rather delicate, it seems," I thought, exasperated, and leaned back and sat down on the rooftop. "..... Neo-san seemed to be putting in some effort to get more out of Koutari-san..... but there is not much progress."

"Do you think so? It sounded rather important."

"Well it was certainly important," I nodded at Kouta-san. "From a subjective standpoint I could agree with the notion that Utsurigi's death was suicide. I could agree, however, this is not the time to be debating such possibilities. It is acceptable to discuss this when there is time to spare..... but right now, the reality is that Utsurigi was killed by someone. That cannot be refuted. You cannot commit suicide that way. Whether you let yourself be killed or put up a fight as you are killed, you are still killed."

"Hmm..... that may be," Kouta-san crossed her arms. "However, what did they mean by Kunagisa Tomo's birth? Do you know?"

"No, I do not."

Immediate response. However, no matter how you look at it, it was too immediate. Kouta-san looked at me with suspicion. I did not care. Regardless of whether it is an obvious lie, I do not take back what I have said. I must not.

"Well, we shall leave it at that. There is no point delving into Kunagisa-san's matters....." after glaring at each other for a few seconds, Kouta-san was the one who gave up. "..... still, they are having a long phone call. I would imagine they should be hanging up just about now. Or perhaps it truly did break."

Kouta-san began tweaking the device. I looked at that Kouta-san from the corner of my eye and sighed once again. Ever since I stepped foot inside this facility, aside from when I was asleep, I felt like I sighed at least once an hour. I dislike and am uncomfortable with losing control of my emotions, but the waves are hard to hold off. Staying here for another three days would probably cause me to go insane. Or perhaps I already am in that process. I thought that while thinking back on my actions to this point.

I looked at my watch. Precisely one hour remaining.

"Ah. It connected."

Kouta-san said as she placed the device back on the ground. I straightened myself, having been leaning back, and then leaned my face in toward the device again.

"..... .....-- what?"

"Well, you see," Neo-san said with extraordinary clarity. "Listen carefully, Koutari-san. This is extremely important."

"? What?"

"That was from the Professor. Apparently we've got a crisis. And not just any crisis, an extreme crisis, a crisis of a hundred years."

So said Neo-san with a bit of an old-fashioned choice of words, but it was oddly enunciated. Yes. As if. As if he were making sure he were communicating to Kouta-san and myself listening in through a wireless device. As if there was something he needed to tell us no matter what.

Naturally, his throat began sounding.

Kouta-san also leaned forward to listen.

"The boy that accompanied the Lady of Kunagisa -- has disappeared."

First, I struggled to make a decision. And the next moment.

I had already spun my body around. Running. Without thinking. Jumped across the two-meter gap between the fifth ward and fourth ward with one step, and landed on the rooftop of the fourth ward. And then continued running to the door. Could hear a voice from behind. Kouta-san's voice. Saying something. Could not hear. No time to hear. Pulled the knob to open the door into the ward, but it was locked and stopped. Who cares. Concentrated my strength and kicked the area near the knob. Even if the door itself is sturdy, if you continue to apply impact on areas where moving parts meet, it is easy to destroy this sort of lock. Who said that again? Do not remember. Someone over across. Problem is that it leaves proof, but who cares about proof. Now that they know.

After some number of kicks, the door opened. Was destroyed.

"-- what the heck."

The one remaining hour. That was blown away like paper shreds. Why did they find out about my absence. Why. Perhaps Kasugai-san went back to the basement. Or perhaps Shito-kun or Misachi-san woke up earlier than expected. No, come to think of it, Misachi-san had already fired a shot before then. That sound may have reached someone. Maybe Kokoromi-sensei had alerted the Professor. Or perhaps my phone call to Hime-chan had been spotted in the records. And perhaps someone found it suspicious. Any of them seemed plausible, yet all of them were unnatural theories. However there is no reality that is fully naturally. This is the reality. Shit, what good are words, reason? That is all they are, a pile of over-thinking and misunderstanding and tunnel-visioning.

Already found out, there was no reason not to use the elevator. However, there is no elevator shaft leading to the rooftop, so I had to use the stairs. First the fourth floor, and then the elevator. I decided that much and then took a step toward the stairs.

And then my shoulder was grabbed from behind.

It was Kouta-san.

"-- where do you think you're going?"

Kouta-san's voice was a bit disheveled. It was apparently no simple task even for Kouta-san to have caught up across this distance after I had a head start. Ahh, right. I took too much time breaking the door. Shit. I don't have time to be dealing with you.

"-- there is nothing you can do by returning to the cage now."

Nothing? Is that so? Perhaps. Probably. Kouta-san was saying the correct thing. Nothing will happen by returning. That is not wrong. But that is why I need to return. I tried to shake off Kouta-san's hand. However, I could not shake off her firm grip.

".... I am grateful to you, Ishimaru Kouta-san," I said, as if I were growling. "Really, because of you, I was able to not lose hope these few hours. I was able to dream that I still have a path before me. That is why I am grateful."

"Why're you going on like you're about to die?" Kouta-san forced me to turn around. "It is not as if hope has been lost. No, now that we've been found, you are the only hope remaining. For Kunagisa-san and Suzunashi-san, and for yourself. Yet you're going to throw that away yourself?"

"I am not throwing it away. I am just returning things," I answered automatically. "From here on out you are no longer relevant. That is why--"

A dry sound echoed. It took about three seconds for me to realize Kouta-san had slapped me. It did not hurt at all. I had been excited so much that it seemed my senses had completely gone numb. However, it was hot.

"Not relevant? After acting together for several hours, you still have the galls to say I have nothing to do with this? You--" Kouta-san also became enraged, yet she lowered her voice, forcing herself to control her emotions. "..... you are going quite off-track."

"-- I am told that a lot," I nodded slowly. "Really, a lot."

"Do you remember what I told you on the rooftop of the seventh ward? If you decide to act on your own again, I shall break off the alliance."

"Please do, it has no bearing on me," I bowed my head. "Thank you for all the help you have giv-"

I was not able to finish. Because Kouta-san pushed me back. I fell down the stairs from my back, and without being able to brace myself was slammed against thirteen steps until I spilled out onto the landing. I finally stopped after crashing into the wall, and mumbled, "Ow that hurt." But in truth it did not hurt. If anything I felt relieved. I felt like it was the first time I had felt unrestrained since entering this facility.

And then something rained down from above. By my feet, it clattered. It was that lock-picking knife, the anti-lock blade. I looked at it, and then looked back up. There stood Kouta-san, keeping her follow-through after throwing the knife.

"A parting gift, dear friend," she said her parting words with a reluctant, truly reluctant tone. "Because you should avoid kicking down doors. It hurts your body. And that knife can be used as a weapon. The knife in your right pocket is not enough, is it? I recommend not using the pistol. But all of this may be pointless and an unnecessary bother."

"-----"

I opened my mouth, but I was unable to say anything to the disappearing Kouta-san. Eventually, I could not see her anymore, and I picked up the knife. And then I stood up. It appeared I suffered no broken bones or bruises. It seemed she had skillfully knocked me down, that Ishimaru Kouta-san, I thought as I looked at the knife. I thought as I remembered the lady who called me a friend until the very end. When all was said and done, I had simply used her, and was unable to return the favor. That was my one regret. However, that may not be limited to just her. They say you should interact with people, but I have always siphoned away from others, and burdened them. If even one person I encountered did not exist to this point in my life, I would probably be long dead.

That was why.

"I need to put an end, to even nonsense....."

Yes. Return. Return everything.

Just a bit, everything. All half.

Like when I first met that blue boy.

Like before that meeting.

I hated deciding. I hated choosing. I was unable to be interested in others. I was unable to be interested in myself. I hated conflict with people. I hated being laughed at. I could not laugh. I could not cry. I could not enjoy nor get angry. I could not do anything. I did not feel anything. I did not attain anything. I broke them because I could. I wanted them but I could not so I destroyed them. I wanted them so I threw them away. I wanted to trust them so I betrayed them. I liked them so I rejected them. I wanted to protect them so I hurt them. It felt homely so I escaped. We were friendly so I was lonely. I was envious so I crushed them. Necessities until they were unnecessary. Fondness until hatred. I acted like a cold person. I acted like a shallow person. I acted like a wise person. I acted like a smart person. I acted like a foolish person. I acted like a person. I mimicked someone else. I was unable to mimic someone else. I admired someone else. I hated myself. I tried to like myself. I tried to like someone else. I tried to love someone else. I could not love someone other than myself. I could not love myself. I did not know how to love or be loved, equally. That was why I ran. But I could not escape. From anywhere. From anyone.

Life sucked.

"..... so let's have a masterpiece."

I'll kill them, slice them to bits, line them all up, trim them down to size -- and set them out for all the world to see.

I felt quiet.

I confirmed the knife in the pocket of my coat, and then with the lock-picking knife in my left hand, I began climbing the stairs.

Began falling down the stairs.

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