After that, I returned to the Dormitory as assigned.
"Hm...? Ah, Keisha! Long time no see! Are we starting now?"
"Sorry, I could have come right away, but..."
There, I ran into Rekida and Komada, who had just come out of Karafuru's Research Lab.
"Nngh... It's not Komada's fault. I've just been... feeling terribly weak..."
And Karafuru, now fully back on his feet.
"Hey! Patients aren't allowed to say things like that! More importantly, we contacted Tsurudo. Are we supposed to head to the Annex?"
"Yeah. You heard the precautions too, right? Looking through the windows is fine, but be especially careful around classrooms full of white gas."
"Leave it to me. I'll... do my best..."
"....."
Was it just my imagination, or had Komada always been that downcast?
'...I guess he had been.'
He had consistently acted in a way that suited those dark circles under his eyes, in more ways than one. It was probably fine.
More than anything, seeing their backs as they casually said goodbye and headed for the Annex was enough.
"All right... then I should focus too."
I had to put my full detective skills to work searching this place.
"...Detective."
"...!"
Then Hiranui's voice came from behind me.
"...Hiranui, why'd you call me?"
He did not seem openly hostile, but he smirked and shook his head.
"Ambition driven only by greed will return as a desire to give up."
"What...? That's..."
He handed something to me.
To my surprise, it was everyone's Monophones.
"Relax. I got permission before collecting them. Use these to open everyone's Research Labs."
"....."
"Ah, surely you aren't about to tell me some fairy tale about how those bastards couldn't possibly be hiding in our Research Labs? That would be a nightmare itself."
Of course, if we could prove that, they would be the true culprits.
Knowing that, I swallowed my strange frustration and accepted them.
"...Huh? But where's Shu's Monophone?"
"Ah, that scar-faced... hypocrite's rather clever for one. She said she had already opened her own Research Lab... Had you forgotten?"
"...So that was why."
I had thought she had left it open because she had pumped it full of gas.
"More importantly... I'm pretty sure I told you not to call her a hypocrite."
"...Haa."
Without answering, Hiranui turned his back as though he were going off to investigate.
"...It seems you really don't know anything."
"What...?"
"...Ignore it. Dismiss it as the sophistry of a criminal."
"......"
Just as he said, I ignored it.
"...I need to hurry."
Time was not kind enough for me to spare my attention on something like that.
*
*
And so, I unlocked everyone's Research Labs one by one.
Honestly, I gave each of them a quick look-over, but as expected, I sensed no sign of anyone.
Maybe it was because I could not go inside, but I decided to trust my instincts on that much.
"Oh, Sir Keisha! How goes the investigation... Is it proceeding well?"
"...No, unfortunately."
"Is that so... Well, there are only so many places to hide in the Dormitory, so do not worry too much!"
I borrowed the Dormitory team's Monophones too, exchanging updates on our investigative progress while I was at it.
"Can we really assume they're not in the Dormitory...?"
Several hours passed without anyone finding a thing, enough to make me think that.
"Haa..."
Overcome by a strange emptiness, I inadvertently looked up.
On the second floor, Mayumi hurried along, while on the opposite side, Kitsui methodically examined the area.
"...Sure enough, from the Common Floor, you can't see above the third floor."
The others were probably searching the upper floors.
I could not confirm it due to my limited view.
"What am I doing? It's not like I have time for this."
At the very least, I was reminded that I had no right to stop moving.
Ding!
Then my Monophone notification went off.
I had only just returned everyone's Monophones after exchanging information with them.
"Hm? Tsurudo?"
I had received a message from Tsurudo.
[Going okay? You good?]
[...No luck, as expected. How about you?]
[Same. But I think we've looked around the Main Building as much as we can, so we're gonna make a sweep outside too, just in case. Splitting up north, south, east, and west, obviously.]
Sure enough, hiding out in the open outdoors might be a blind spot.
[Okay, okay. I'll leave it to you.]
[Yeah, I'll stop here. Gotta hurry if I'm gonna catch up with Tana lol]
[Good luck;]
As my brief conversation with Tsurudo ended—
Ding!
"W-What now...?"
This time, it was a message from Narita.
[Kei. sha. How. is. your investigation. going?]
[...? Are you not used to typing?]
[D-Do not. worry. about it. !! . Anyway... could you gather. on the rooftop. right now. @@]
[The rooftop? Why? Did you find something?]
[Rather than. finding something. Roshiya. suggested it. If we look around. from high up. perhaps we might see. something we missed?]
Sure enough, from a high place, even blind spots that were easy to overlook would be plainly visible.
[Okay, okay. I'll head there right now. You don't have to reply if it's hard.]
[@^^@]
Since it was Shu's suggestion, I headed to the rooftop without hesitation.
*
*
When I reached the rooftop, I immediately found the others gathered there.
They had already split up in every direction, looking over various areas.
"Hm...? Hey, we haven't checked over there yet, right?"
As I spoke, I pointed toward the space between the Dormitory and the Annex.
"Ah... I forgot! Sorry, Shoko! That was my area, but I totally forgot about it until now!"
"It's okay. I'll check it now."
With that, I looked down over the railing on the east side.
"...It's narrower than I imagined."
I could tell from below, but the gap between the Dormitory and the Annex really was uncomfortably close.
Maybe the Monotwins had designed it that way so we could reach the dining hall quickly, but right now it only irritated me.
'Those bastards... Why haven't they shown themselves even once?'
If they were avatars of the mastermind, they would have an excuse to interfere—even if it meant invoking some unreasonable school rule that banned investigations.
Ding!
Then my Monophone rang again.
[Shoko! Where are you right now? You're on the rooftop with everyone, right?]
To my surprise, it was Shu.
[Ah, yeah! We're all gathered here. Why?]
[Have you spotted anything strange down there? Let me know if you have!]
I quickly asked Kitsui, but she merely shook her head firmly.
[Nope, not a thing. Looks like Tsurudo's group got back a while ago too.]
[Okay, okay. Sorry for taking your time! Let's keep at it!]
[Yeah, good luck! Hehe.]
After I sent that slightly embarrassing text, she did not reply for a moment.
'D-Did that have the opposite effect...?'
Thinking that, my face darkened despite myself.
[...♥]
But she reacted to my message with a heart.
Of course, it definitely was not a confession or anything. It was probably just an ordinary, easy way to end a conversation.
Still, at the sight of it, my eyes could only widen for a moment.
"...? Shoko, what's wrong? Are you getting ticklish or something?"
Mayumi, who had seen it too, tilted her head and asked.
"...It's nothing!"
All she saw was my meaningful smile.
*
*
But that was the last time I was able to smile.
Before I knew it, the sun had set, and dusk had fallen.
[Fuck, there's nothing no matter how much we search. Is this right? Even a ninja couldn't hide this well.]
[Totally agree! We searched everywhere we could reach around the Annex too, but there's nothing... ㅠㅠ]
[Stay. calm. There is. still. time. @@]
But by now, the same results had been repeated to the point of tedium.
"Ten minutes until seven... This isn't going to be easy..."
Even Kitsui finally clicked her tongue and began to frown.
"Maybe it'd be better to prepare now rather than keep investigating."
"Ah, I agree. There was a fairly decent one in my Research Lab... Though not as good as my partner, of course."
As Kitsui and Hiranui said, further searching might have lost its value.
All we could do was entrust our backs to one another, without knowing where, how, when, or in what numbers they might come for us.
Perhaps our only remaining option was to stand against the shadows of [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White].
Ding!
[...Guys. Let's start gathering now. Accounting for travel time, I think that's best.]
Apparently, Shu had made a group chat at some point. That was her first message in it.
As she said, there were not even five minutes left.
"...No helping it. Make your final preparations, then meet up on the Common Floor."
I put away my work gloves again and headed to the Common Floor with everyone.
*
*
"...Ah, Shu."
"Shoko..."
When I came down, several of the others had already gathered there.
"Sonoconsigliere... You need not say it. I wasn't expecting anything, and it was only natural anyway."
"........Don't say that."
One by one... more people who had finished their preparations came into view.
And now, only around two minutes remained.
"...Huh?"
Then Rekida spoke up.
"B-But where are they? The rest of them...?"
"...!"
She was right.
We had overlooked it because we were gathered together, but there were still people who had not arrived.
"The Main Building team... and Karafuru...!"
Those five still had not gathered here.
"Q-Quick, contact them! What if something happened!?"
"C-Could [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White] have gotten to them...? Or maybe they really were among us, and two of those people are them after all!?"
"Narita, that possibility is exceedingly low. Their deadline was seven o'clock, and right now..."
It was 6:59.
In other words, they still had at least one minute.
To survive and eventually gather here.
Or to take off their masks and finally reveal their true colors.
"Haa... haa..."
Whichever outcome I wished for, my breathing quickened, and tension began to consume my body.
How could it not? It all came down to one minute.
Sixty seconds—no, somewhere within the fifty seconds that remained.
Once that time passed, no one could predict what would happen next.
"...Phew."
That was why I regained my composure.
Because I was a detective. Because that was the resolve I had sworn to the public.
No matter what possibility came, I had to protect everyone from the front lines.
"...Because that's what an [Ultimate Detective] does, right?"
"...!"
In that instant, someone whispered from behind me.
"...Shu..."
Maybe because my mind had been elsewhere, but she was standing behind me without a trace of presence, just as she had at the beginning.
No, to be precise...
"...Don't carry it all alone, Shoko."
She was gently embracing me with one arm.
"Shu... Y-You shouldn't do this here..."
"...I know. But, Shoko... you looked a little uneasy."
"...I thought I'd hidden it."
"Of course you did. You're not the kind of person who's that weak. It's just that I could see it. Because we're childhood friends."
Squeeze...
The subtle, soft fullness of her body pressed against my back, as if asking me to feel it completely.
"Ngh, Shu..."
"I'll be by your side too, like this."
Five seconds.
"...Yeah. Thank you."
"So, Shoko, don't ever... panic."
Two seconds. Even as we spoke... time passed mercilessly.
"Just like when we were kids, the two of us can do anything. So... you know, right?"
And then came the long-awaited final second.
"...Of course."
"...Hehe."
Just as I tried to face that end with what little pride I could muster—
"...Huh?"
We suddenly lost our balance.
More precisely, Shu's foot slipped...
Thud!
"Aah?!"
And I fell to the floor, practically using her as a cushion.
"Urgh... Shu, are you okay...?"
"Nngh... S-Somehow..."
Trying my best to ignore the strangely soft sensation, I immediately pulled away from her.
Zero seconds.
At that moment, the clock struck seven.
"..........."
Those five still had not returned.
And at last, the time of slaughter had come.
Everyone on the Common Floor must have been convinced of that.
"......!"
But less than a moment later—
"...Huh?"
We—no, I—saw it.
The threat that had been choking us.
The tragedy that had interrupted my moment with her.
And, above all, the sight of overwhelming despair taking form.
*
*
*
*
It began... in midair.
Of course it did. Everyone was looking up at it.
Like worshippers witnessing a descent, we watched it in reverent, rigid postures.
Just as that suggested, it had the appearance of an angel.
It was pure white, long enough to seem holy... and flying high through the sky.
But in the next moment, we realized it.
It was not an angel sent down to us from heaven.
It was a living sacrifice the devil had thrown at us.
It was not pure white. Nor was it flying through the sky.
Its hair was marked by colors staining that pure white, and more than anything, it was falling from the sky.
Cries like "Aah..." burst out all around us.
Yes. I finally felt as though I understood why the devil was giving us a living sacrifice.
The screams were a hymn, and the helplessness was the ritual.
We were nothing more than wretched demons starving at the bottom of hell.
And finally, as if driving in the final nail—
Crunch!
The living sacrifice fell into the center of us all.
With an impact that replaced a worship service, with blood that replaced a baptism.
And everyone knew the name of that living sacrifice.
Yes. The living sacrifice before us now... no, the
"corpse"
was—
The pitiful boy who had been forced to bear everyone's paranoid suspicion only moments ago.
And the pitiable boy who could not remember even his Ultimate talent or his past.
[ Karafuru Ikiro ]
was his name.
*
*
[ Chapter 1 ]
[ Your Smile Is a Sneer to Me ]
[
Non-Daily Life Arc
]
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