Chapter 4 (h)

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Satsukawa: "Erika, are you still with me?"

Erika: "... Where else do you think I am?"

Satsukawa: "I don't know... sometimes you just space out all of a sudden."

Erika: "It's probably because of you, you're a boring person."

Satsukawa: "What?! No, I'm not!"

Erika: "Yes you are... sometimes..."

Satsukawa: "I never thought of myself as a boring person..."

Erika: "That's what all the boring persons think."

Satsukawa: "Is that... so?"

Erika: "Yes, they all think they're pretty interesting, and they can't understand how someone could be bored by them."

Satsukawa: "But I'm not that kind of person... I've always been a very outgoing guy who can socialize with everyone."

Erika: "That doesn't mean a thing. There are boring persons that are pretty extroverted, but they're still boring, because they keep talking about inane stuff. By the way, this conversation right now is excruciatingly boring, so let's stop this, okay?"

Satsukawa: "All right..."

I wonder if I have become a little more like Bernkastel. When you know so much, when you have seen so much, when you have experienced and thought so many different things, everything that isn't particularly strange and unusual becomes dull and stale. The boredom that sometimes I feel is almost unbearable, but it is probably nothing compared to what the witch of miracles must endure.

Satsukawa: "By the way, Erika, don't you think we've been idling for too long?"

Erika: "I wasn't idling at all. All this time I've been busy thinking about the case."

Satsukawa: "While you were talking with me?"

Erika: "I wasn't really paying attention to our conversation."

Satsukawa: "That's... huh... What the hell I've been doing for the past two hours?!"

Erika: "Talking by yourself, I guess."

Satsukawa: "..."

Satsukawa lets out a dejected sigh.

This is really funny. I have completely lost any cognition of the passing time, while I was reminiscing the Rokkenjima incident. I vaguely remember that I have been talking with Satsukawa, but I can't tell about what. This is no good, a true detective should always memorize everything, including boring and irrelevant particulars. I need to be more careful in the future.

On the bright side, at this point lessons have already ended, and club activities have started, which means it is time to pay a visit to a certain guy.

Erika: "Satsukawa-san, to tell you the truth, there isn't really much that I plan to do before challenging Teramoto. So until then we can only wait."

Satsukawa: "I see... Wait! What exactly are we doing here, then?"

Erika: "Nothing much, but there's somewhere that I'd like to go to while we're still here."

Satsukawa: "Is it related to the case? Because I've got quite a backlog of paperworks to do, and..."

Erika: "Satsukawa-san, it almost looks like you want to be done with me as fast as possible, as if you weren't happy to be in my company. Try to choose your words with more care, I could get the wrong idea."

Satsukawa: "Ah... ha ha ha... I didn't mean to..."

Erika: "I know. Anyway, to answer your question, maybe it's related, maybe it isn't. It's still worth a shot, and we don't have anything better to do."

Satsukawa: "All right, I got it. Where do we go?"

Erika: "The student council's room."

Satsukawa: "Ah, I see... You suspect there's a connection between Kubota and Teramoto."

Erika: "That's more a certainty than a suspicion. I'm more interested in understanding why Kubota is following her orders."

Satsukawa: "Blackmail?"

Erika: "Probably, but about what? That's what I want to know."

Satsukawa: "Well, I'm not really looking forward to listen to that guy's babbles again, but this is work. Shall we go?"

Erika: "Indeed, let's go."

Kuon Kubota is certainly a pretty interesting guy. His exaggeratedly dramatic mannerisms defy any common sense, and the way he reasons is all messed up. But I think that is just his way to distract people from his many shortcomings. I must admit that his tactic is effective, in a way. I haven't talked much with him, but it was really hard to keep focused on what I really wanted to talk about, he has a knack for derailing the conversation away from subjects that bother him.

I think I have already figured out what he is trying to hide the most, but I don't quite understand why. His image as the student council president should have been damaged already, his incompetence should have been already demonstrated. And moreover it doesn't seem like he cares that much about it, that guy doesn't seem to have any shame. But that doesn't quite fit with my theory. So what I think, is that he just has his own peculiar view of what is shameful and what it is not.

How come, Kubota? What am I missing?

I am going to find that out very soon. We have reached the third floor, and we are now in front of the door of the student council's room.

I knock. A female voice invites me to enter. From that I can deduct that other members of the student council are here; at the very least, one of them is. This is what I was hoping for.

I open the door, and I step inside.

Erika: "Sorry for intruding."

I quickly count the people inside: five.

At the far end, near the windows, there are two guys. Judging by the way they look and the shabby state of their uniforms, I would never think they are student council members. One has bleached hair, the other is wearing sunglasses; quite a characteristic pair. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are delinquents, but they don't exactly look like model students either. Moreover, apparently they are busy playing some card game.

Closer to the door, sitting at the long table, there is a glamorous girl, covered in makeup, with a fashionable hairstyle. She isn't even looking at me, her eyes are religiously focused on her nails, which she is polishing.

There is then another girl, standing at the opposite side of the table. This one seems to be the most normal person of the whole group, and I bet she is the one who answered to my knock earlier. Even so, right in front of the chair that she was probably sitting on, I can spot a magazine. No doubt she was reading it a while ago. In the end I can safely conclude that not a single person here is taking his role seriously.

The fifth member is, naturally, Kuon Kubota himself, who is being uncharacteristically silent and quiet. In fact, he is sleeping. Why am I not surprised!

While examining more attentively this strange group, I notice that there is something that they all have in common. They are all, in a way, good looking people. Even Kubota is the kind of guy that could make a young girl's heart beat faster, if only he wasn't such a weirdo. These students must be popular, and that certainly played a decisive factor when they were chosen for their current roles. But normally people like them avoid responsibilities, they are more fit for a student party than a student council.

This would be quite surprising, if the reason wasn't already blatantly obvious. These guys aren't here to work, they are just like Kubota, they are here to look good and important, and then they do whatever they please. They probably use their popularity and influence to push most of their chores onto others. Come to think of it, I already know that Kubota did that with Oda.

This is indeed an interesting bunch, I wonder who came up with this revolutionary approach to run a student council. Maybe it was Kubota himself, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

Normal Girl: "Aaah! You're that detective girl!"

Sunglasses Guy: "Whoa! Really? Is she going to arrest us?"

Bleached Guy: "What the hell are you talking about, idiot? She isn't a cop."

Satsukawa: "She's not, but I am."

Bleached Guy: "See? That's the one who's going to arrest us!"

Sunglasses: "Ha ha ha ha! I guess I'll call my lawyer then!"

Glamorous Girl: "Those two idiots, why do they always need to be so silly?"

She shakes her head in disapproval, while blowing on her nails.

Normal Girl: "Ah, hmmm... what can I do for you... err..."

Erika: "Erika Furudo."

Normal Girl: "Right, Furudo-san!"

Erika: "I came her because I wanted to have a little chat with Kubota, but it seems that he's pretty busy at the moment."

Bleached Guy: "If you want me to wake him up, there's no problem!"

I think I have a good idea of how he plans to do that.

Erika: "Please don't, let him sleep for another while. I think I'll take this chance to ask something to you guys instead, if that's okay with you."

Sunglasses Guy: "I haven't done anything, I'm clean!"

Bleached Guy: "Hey, are you completely stupid?"

Glamorous Girl: "Besides you aren't clean at all, when was the last time you bathed?"

Sunglasses Guy: "A true man must smell! That's how you get the chicks to fall at your feet!"

Glamorous Girl: "Yeah, they all drop dead like mosquitoes when they smell you."

Normal Girl: "Ha ha ha ha!"

Sunglasses Guy: "Tch! What a bitch!"

Glamorous Girl: "You wish."

Erika: "You guys really get along, I see. I'm almost envious! *giggle* *giggle*"

Normal Girl: "They always pick on each other, but they're good friends."

Sunglasses Guy: "I'm not! Not at all!"

Glamorous Girl: "Who wants to be his friend, anyway?"

Erika: "Regarding Kubota, does he always sleep when he's here?"

Bleached Guy: "Nah, normally he comes here and talks all the time. This is one of those rare occasions when he's tired and remains quiet."

Glamorous Girl: "That happens at least once every week."

Normal Girl: "Thursday, it's always on Thursday. I wonder why..."

Just like I suspected.

Erika: "What do you think about him?"

Normal Girl: "Uh? About Kubota?"

Sunglasses Guy: "Maybe she wants to know if you like him."

Normal Girl: "Idiot!"

Erika: "I didn't meant it that way, I just want to hear your general opinion."

Normal Girl: "Hmmm... he's a strange guy, but that's part of his charm, I guess."

Sunglasses Guy: "Go on and admit you've got a crush on him."

Normal Girl: "That's not true at all, jerk!"

Bleached Guy: "I think he's cool, he's a bro."

Sunglasses Guy: "I didn't know you swung that way."

Bleached Guy: "Shut up, faggot! It's called bromance, I just respect the cool guy, no homo."

Cool guy, uh?

Sunglasses Guy: "Man, I was just kidding! Of course I respect Kubota, he's our boss."

Bleached Guy: "He's fine, when he doesn't start with his obnoxious talks."

Sunglasses Guy: "Ha ha ha! So true, that damn son of a fox! I could kick his sorry ass into the next week, when he does."

Glamorous Girl: "At least he's got style, unlike you cavemen."

Bleached Guy: "I'm no caveman, I'm smart and neat. This guy on the other hand..."

Sunglasses Guy: "The hell, you dork! You're no better than me!"

Bleached Guy: "Yeah, then why do you suck so much at chess?"

Sunglasses Guy: "That's just not my thing! That's all! And then you suck too when you play against Kubota."

Bleached Guy: "At least I am a match, unlike you."

Sunglasses Guy: "You still lose every time!"

Bleached Guy: "I tied once!"

Sunglasses Guy: "As if that counted!"

Erika: "Kubota is a good chess player? Interesting."

Bleached Guy: "He's a pro. Can't win against him."

Glamorous Girl: "You're both amateurs, that's why you keep losing."

Bleached Guy: "Bulls! I'm the strongest in my neighborhood!"

Normal Girl: "Ha ha ha ha!"

Bleached Guy: "Don't laugh!"

Normal Girl: "But... come on! Ha ha ha!"

Bleached Guy: "Don't laugh, I said!"

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