No matter how heinous they may be, a criminal must not be subjected to a unilateral rampage.
That was the conviction I had learned as a proper detective.
"..."
No, that was merely the only reason I could calmly approach him.
Which was why this caught me off guard.
"...You're soft."
I never expected him to speak first.
"What...?"
Tsurudo failed to hold back his voice, and the man slowly turned to face us.
The first thing I met was a pair of sharp pink eyes that carried an air of seasoned authority.
"Were you unconsciously trying to hide your presence? That was a rather admirable effort."
And his outfit was almost stereotypically formal: a suit.
"...Who are you?"
I never thought I, rather than Tsurudo, would be the one to speak in such an aggressive tone.
"If I'm to ask about someone's identity, I first pay with my own. That's my rule."
With a leisurely shrug, he pulled a... cigarette from inside his coat.
"H-hey, you're not seriously going to smoke indoors, are you?"
"I'd like to ask whether you seriously intend to waste my time over something so trivial."
"...Keisha Shoko. Ultimate Detective."
When I cut in, the other two ended up introducing themselves as well.
"Heh. I see... A fixer, a gambling addict, and a detective..."
"I'm not a gambling addict!! I'm a gambler, a gambler!!"
"Well, that does make sense in its own way... Fine. You followed my rule, so I should follow it too."
Only then did he put the cigarette he had lit between his lips and flash a crooked smile.
"Don't bother remembering the name. Hiranui Renya, Ultimate Boss."
[Hiranui Renya / Ultimate Boss]
"U-Ultimate Boss...? What's that supposed to mean? What kind of organization are you from?"
"Do you even need to ask...? There's only one kind of 'organization' that wears coats and suits like that."
I refrained from explaining that he had likely killed people, but allow me at least the right to narrow my eyes.
"A European criminal organization... You're from the Mafia, aren't you?"
"...Heh."
Unlike the two flustered beside me, Hiranui bared his teeth in a relaxed smile, as though he were taking their share of composure as well.
"...The Hiranui Family. Wasn't it in your police academy textbooks, Detective?"
"...There's no way something like that would be in them. Nor would there be any need for it to be."
Unlike my curt reply—
"The Hiranui... Family?"
Tsurudo and Shu murmured it with puzzled expressions.
"What is it? Do you two know something?"
"No, I think I've heard of them around the neighborhood where I worked...? An organization led by an Asian man who took control of Europe's underworld at a young age..."
"Hmm... Same here. If their name reached the casino where I stayed, then I suppose he's earned the right to call himself the Ultimate Boss?"
At Tsurudo's question, he leisurely took the burnt-down cigarette from his mouth and exhaled.
"...You don't earn an epithet. It follows you on its own. In other words... there's no need to care about it."
"I don't care about your posturing. More importantly, if you rose as high as the boss of a Mafia organization... then you must have..."
"Sh-Shoko...? Why are you suddenly so worked up...?"
"Why am I worked up? You two may not know, but this guy...!"
Letting my emotions get the better of me was a mistake, but that was no reason not to accuse him.
"That's right. I killed them."
But what was this concise confession supposed to be?
"What...?"
"I'm the boss of a Mafia organization. By now, the bones beneath my feet are no more than inefficient accessories."
No, it was more than concise—it was brazen. We all found ourselves speechless.
"How can you be so unaffected by it...?"
"Heh. How rude of me. In front of a detective, did I hold my head too high? It can't be helped. A person cannot reach the summit without overstepping their station."
"...Shoko, just ignore him. It's not as though he'd listen no matter how much we argued..."
Shu gently patted my shoulder, and only then did I feel ready to let it go a little. Without a word, I turned away.
"...Wait."
But why was he calling out to us this time?
"...What now? I have no intention of talking to you any more than this—"
"Ah, I don't care about you two. The one I called is... that 'scar.'"
"What...?"
Just as he said, Hiranui approached Shu with his eyes fixed solely on her.
"...What? If you're thinking of threatening me, you picked the wrong person."
"Naturally. My creed is that carnal relations are the only thing worth sharing with women. But more importantly..."
After that, no one made a sound.
The three of us merely watched Hiranui's every movement, while he watched Shu's.
"...You seem quite confident in your acting."
At last, Hiranui broke the silence with an incomprehensible remark.
"What...? What's that supposed to mean?"
"The way you were quietly looking at me with contempt from behind the detective, and the way you mingle with everyone as if nothing's wrong..."
"Stop beating around the bush and say it clearly. You're making me uncomfortable..."
"Oh? Then... as you wish."
Until then, his manner had almost seemed friendly.
"Enough already, hypocrite."
But when he looked back at her one final time, he was more terrifying than anything else.
"...!"
Perhaps we were overwhelmed by it, or perhaps we were turning over the meaning of his last words.
Unable to do anything, we could only watch as he calmly passed us by.
"A hypocrite... he said?"
"Shu, don't let it get to you. A guy like him..."
"Shoko..."
When I patted her shoulder in return, her slightly darkened expression brightened in an instant.
"Don't worry! After working as a fixer, I'm immune to insults like that! And besides..."
As if repaying me for it, she boldly rested her elbow on my shoulder.
"Having you comfort me actually made me feel better! Come on, let's go check out the other places too!"
"Huh? Ah, yeah...!"
Why was it that, watching her back as she hurried down the hallway—
"Shu..."
I felt my face grow warm.
"What's with you, Keisha? Are you going to let us leave you behind?"
"Ah... It's nothing! Let's catch up!"
I was seized by a strange feeling, but for now, responding to their calls from up ahead came first.
*
*
After confirming that the fourth floor also had only four doors, we got back into the elevator.
"Come to think of it, there's an elevator at each corner on every floor. It's convenient, at least."
"Doesn't that mean this really is something like a dormitory? It's equipped with all kinds of conveniences."
"Who knows... Hm?"
As we exchanged opinions in the stopped elevator, something caught my eye.
"R... does that mean Rooftop? This button is for the roof, right?"
It was a small button labeled R, positioned above the button marked 4.
"Is that it? Wait, then we can go above the skylight ceiling, can't we? Let's go!"
Before I could say anything, Tsurudo pressed the button without hesitation.
Whirr...
With a soft sound, the elevator swiftly carried us up to the rooftop.
Ding!
As soon as the doors opened, the characteristic brightness of the open sky made me squint for a moment.
"...!"
Then a cool breeze blew in, making me open my eyes fully.
"So this is the rooftop..."
I murmured as I looked around for a moment.
The elevator seemed to reach the roof through a thick pillar, and aside from that, there were no notable structures.
It was so empty that 'a gray field' seemed the fitting name for it; there was nothing but safety railings...
"Hey, don't you really remember anything? You don't? You don't remember anythiiing?!"
"No, even if you keep asking me that..."
As if it were too soon to conclude that, voices came from the railing on the opposite side.
"Sh-Shoko! Look over there!"
Where Shu pointed after following the voices, a man and a woman stood side by side.
One was a purple-haired woman smiling cheerfully, while the other was a man in a cap with hair an even deeper shade of purple.
"Oho, is that so! Well, that's really... Hm?"
Only then did the woman notice us. She stopped talking and turned slightly toward us.
"Yahoo! Hello there! Sorry to ask when we've just met, but who might you be?"
"Don't people usually ask who someone is when they first meet them...?"
"Aha, you're right! I forget that a lot these days! Then I'll introduce myself first!"
With that, she curved her half-lidded eyes into crescents.
"I'm Rekida Ikuro! Ultimate Light Music Club!"
...An awkward silence fell.
"Y-You're lying, right...? Your suit and the way you look clearly don't say music at all!"
Tsurudo was the first to speak.
"Hey, that's an illogical prejudice! How about broadening your horizons?"
"S-So you really are in a light music club?"
"Hmm... How should I put this... Ah, that's it! I was lying! Kyaahaha! A light music club character with a similar way of speaking came to mind, that's all!"
"Ah... Is that so? Fine, then could you introduce yourself for real now?"
Only then did Rekida nod at me and open her mouth.
"Again! I'm Rekida Ikuro! I'm the Ultimate Negotiator, so pleased to meet you!"
[Rekida Ikuro / Ultimate Negotiator]
"A n-negotiator...? That suits you even less! Are you messing with us right now?!"
After he had introduced himself, Tsurudo raised his voice once more.
"Huh? But Tsurudo saw it too, didn't you? That grand effect saying [Rekida Ikuro... blah, blah, blah]!"
"What the hell is that supposed to be?! And where are you even looking while you say that?!"
"Calm down, Tsurudo. I can't say I believe it either... but there's no reason she can't be a negotiator, is there?"
"Yaha! Keisha is right! I've conquered countless thick, hot, long, hard negotiations, after all!"
I wondered whether those modifiers had really been necessary, but apparently her skill itself was genuine: she had bought an entire small town with a few words, or saved ten hostages.
"...Huh? Come to think of it, we haven't gotten acquainted with you yet, have we? Who are you?"
In the middle of our conversation, Shu suddenly addressed the man beside Rekida.
"...Sorry, but I don't remember much."
"What...? Are you like Karafuru too... You don't remember your talent or anything?"
"Karafuru... You mean that handsome, cute boy downstairs! He looks just like my younger brother, so I really like him!"
"Would you stop talking for once?! More importantly, you—say something!"
Watching Tsurudo silence Rekida, the man hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"...No, I do remember my name and my talent... It's just that I don't remember anything else..."
He spoke in a murmur, but with our encouragement, he barely managed to introduce himself.
"Komada Kichio... I'm supposedly the Ultimate Commander-in-Chief, but..."
[Komada Kichio / Ultimate Commander-in-Chief]
"Hmm? Did you just say Ultimate Supreme Leader? Do you happen to laugh like 'Nishishi~' or something?"
"How could you possibly hear it that way...? I said Ultimate Commander-in-Chief..."
"Ah, sorry! Your looks and name are similar, so I got confused for a second. Sorry!"
Setting Rekida's remarks aside for the moment, the title of Commander-in-Chief was concerning, but...
"...Sigh."
After meeting a vampire, a psychic, and a boss who had killed people, I found myself accepting something like this.
"I agree, but it's strange... Karafuru doesn't even know his talent, but why do you remember yours?"
"Even if I remember it, it's only the name. I don't know why I'm a Commander-in-Chief—an Ultimate Commander-in-Chief at that."
"Well... Taking it simply, it was strange from the beginning that we woke up in a place like this... Hmm..."
After Karafuru, we had encountered another person who had lost their own past.
It was certainly suspicious, but we had far too little information to draw any definite conclusion.
"More importantly... that makes sixteen. It matches the number of rooms in this 'building we assume is a dormitory' exactly."
"Oh! Have you all met every single kid? I'm jealous of how sociable you are!"
For the moment, we passed the time exchanging whatever solid information we could give or receive.
Krrt... krrrtt...
But then it happened.
Static began to crackle from above the pillar housing the elevator.
"...Ahem, microphone test!!"
A resonant voice, as though several people were speaking at once, began to ring out.
"W-What's going on all of a sudden?!"
As though answering Tsurudo's question, the voice continued.
"...Upu."
No, to be exact... it sounded closer to barking.
"Upu... Upupupu... Upupupu!!"
For a while, that slightly unpleasant cry repeated over and over.
"Ahem, an announcement to all 'students' currently at Kyusen Academy! Please gather immediately on the first floor of the square gray building... otherwise known as the 'Common Floor'!!"
Then, all of a sudden, it began issuing a one-sided announcement in fluent speech.
"This is a repeat announcement!! Please gather on the first-floor Common Floor immediately! If you're late to act relaxed, or absent to act cool..."
We could not properly understand a single thing amid the sudden turn of events.
"...you will be punished."
Click!
That chilling final sentence at least commanded us to abandon any thought of defiance.
"I-I'm not sure what's going on, but..."
"Shouldn't we go down for now?! I-I'm starting to get a little scared!"
"Yeah... Let's follow its instructions for now."
And so, the five of us immediately went back down to the first floor.
*
*
Ding!
The doors opened, revealing the first floor once again.
"Oh, so you guys were there?"
"Hey, Gambler! Why are you following me around again?!"
A considerable number of the others, including Kitsui and Ubauchi, were gathering there.
"Shut up! Do you think I came here because I wanted to hear that?"
As the two began bickering once more, several more people entered the common area.
"...Hmph. I would have preferred to decline such a stale party."
Hiranui strolled in with lazy ease, and with him as the last, everyone had gathered in the common area.
"Hiranui... I didn't think even you would follow such a strange order."
"Heh, I'm not the type to pull out a gun instead of money when buying cigarettes. More importantly... look ahead."
"What...?"
"...It'll come soon. Just a prediction."
Perhaps because he still had that distinctive air of authority, I forgot even my hostility and looked ahead.
Everyone did the same. As though we had made a promise, we were all staring at the center of the brightly lit common area when—
Poof!!
"W-What the hell?!"
Without any warning, something exploded, and thick smoke billowed up.
"Upu, upupupu..."
Then that same overlapping voice began to emerge from within it.
"Thank you all for gathering here."
"You lot!! Stop spacing out and pay attention!!"
Immediately afterward, it split into two entirely different voices.
At the same time, the smoke from the explosion slowly began to clear...
"You... No, you two are..."
Before I could even ask who they were, they revealed themselves.
"Were you about to ask who we are? I'm afraid I will explain that myself."
The one who spoke politely had a white appearance to match.
"Not 'I'! I'm the one in charge of explaining, you idiot!!"
The one who spoke roughly had a black appearance to match...
"A mouse...?! No, is that a bear...?"
They were stuffed dolls with appearances too ambiguous to easily identify.
"S-Stuffed dolls...?"
Though I had just reached that conclusion, an inner objection immediately arose: there was no such thing as talking stuffed dolls.
"We are not stuffed dolls!"
Only for the dolls themselves to deny it at once.
"That's right!! We are the headmasters of this Kyusen Academy, and your overall supervisors..."
Then their voices merged once more and echoed through the air.
"We are the Monotwins!!"
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