Chapter 4 (a)

<-prev

 CHAPTER 4

Wakamatsu: "I see..."

The principal's laconic comment kills the conversation and it is followed by an awkward silence. It can't be said that we are particularly welcomed in her office, but at least I do not sense from her the same hostility that Nagaoka displays. I am glad that today he was busy doing his job, for once. It is sort of funny to tease him, but his constant nagging has become unbearably obnoxious at this point. It isn't really pleasant to have that man around when I am not in the mood for bickering.

Satsukawa pretty much summarized all that emerged from Hibari's interrogation, the fact that she was the first person who discovered Gotsuji's corpse, the fact that she tampered with the crime scene, the fact that she is deeply involved in Teramoto's sham and so on. Wakamatsu listened attentively to the whole report, only occasionally interrupting the flow with clarifying questions.

Normally I wouldn't see the need to waste my time this way, and I would have rather asked Satsukawa to make someone else do this, but for my plan to work, it is required that the principal will not interfere, and I need to persuade her of this necessity. Explaining the situation concerning Hibari was just the first step, now comes the difficult part. I must try to regain Wakamatsu's trust, and I must make her realize that she will not free her school from the plague that is afflicting it through conventional methods.

Right now she is pondering on what actions to take to discipline Hibari. Whatever she is thinking, I must try to convince her to delay any decisions for at least two days. But that will come for last.

Satsukawa: "So, in the end, I think we can safely assume that Kagami Hibari isn't directly involved with the murder of Hitomi Gotsuji. There are still suspicions on her, especially because of her ties with Maaya Teramoto, but at the light of what was uncovered, she's no longer a prime suspect."

Wakamatsu: "Knowing that a student of this school was cleared from suspicions is a relief, and I can only welcome this news. However, that still doesn't change the fact that a murder was perpetrated."

Erika: "In other words, that a student of this school will be found guilty of murder is practically inevitable. The chances that the culprit is someone from outside are extremely low."

Wakamatsu: "That's not quite what I meant to say..."

Erika: "There's absolutely no need to worry then, the culprit will be found, it's only a matter of time."

Satsukawa: "We're steadily getting closer to the truth. What happened with Hibari shouldn't be seen as a failure but as an improvement."

Erika: "I'm not a fan of trial and error methods, but it's undeniable that every time you learn that a previously accepted theory is wrong, the number of possibilities lowers."

Wakamatsu: "That kind of reasoning is irresponsible. If you really don't like trial and error methods then refrain from publicly denounce an innocent in the future."

Erika: "Oh, is that what you think? There's clearly a misunderstanding here."

Wakamatsu: "What do you mean?"

Erika: "You're assuming that I seriously thought that Hibari was the culprit. That never crossed my mind."

Wakamatsu: "Are you denying what the whole school heard you saying?"

Satsukawa: "Wakamatsu-san, what Erika did was certainly irresponsible, and she should've really chosen better words. However her objective wasn't wrong, she knew that she had to avert the worst case scenario, and she took a drastic measure to prevent it."

Wakamatsu: "Wasn't her objective to catch what she erroneously believed to be the murderer?"

Erika: "Wrong. This is exactly the misunderstanding I was talking about earlier. Even if I didn't think she was the culprit, her own actions made her a prime suspect, whether I wanted it or not. At that point the damage was already done, and the only thing that I could do was to prevent it from escalating further."

Satsukawa: "Hibari was trying to escape the law, on the false assumption that she was framed. If she became a fugitive, it would've been a lot harder to prove her innocence. In addition there's no telling of what could've happened to her. A girl of her age, desperate and alone, could've turned to crime or worse."

Erika: "Then, as you can see, I merely decided to use the best possible tactic at my disposal in order to avoid all of that. Telling that she was a prime suspect was simply the best way for me to gain the highest possible attention. After that, no matter where Hibari decided to go, students would scream as soon as they saw her, thus alerting us of her position."

Wakamatsu: "Hmmm..."

Wakamatsu shakes her head as if to free her mind from a bothersome thought. She is clearly still dubious about the necessity of my actions, but the fact that she is thinking about it, is already an improvement.

Satsukawa: "There's more to this story. I'm kind of ashamed to say this, but after Hibari was apprehended, my colleagues were pretty certain that she was guilty. It wasn't decided whether she was the culprit or just an accomplice, but either way she was pressured to talk. Erika played an important role in making us understand that we needed to rethink our conclusions. She convinced Hibari to tell us the whole truth. At that point her testimony became more credible and all of her suspicious actions were explained."

Wakamatsu: "I see... So there's actually some worth in having this person participating in the investigations..."

Good. This is proceeding even more smoothly than what I expected.

Erika: "I don't blame you for having doubts about me, or for thinking I could only cause damage. That's what anyone would believe in your position. I don't expect people to simply trust in my abilities without any proofs. But this is absolutely not a problem for me, because I know that in the end my worth will be proven without fail, and that's all that matters."

Wakamatsu: "Given the circumstances, I'll overlook what you did yesterday. Even so, I won't tolerate further commotions, especially if not justified. You'd better not take my threat lightly, I don't care if you're with the MPD. I'll send the press after you, if you put another of my students in danger."

Scary. The last thing the police wants is bad publicity. It is already hard as it is to convince the masses that they are on their side and not against them. This threat must have had quite an effect on Satsukawa. Not so much on me, though.

Erika: "You have my word that I'll never cause that much trouble again, unless I'll deem it absolutely necessary."

It seems that my answer was satisfactory enough for the principal. She doesn't realize that what I deem necessary is quite different from what she does. The important thing, for now, is to convince her that I am a rational person capable of understanding her position and her situation. She must believe that despite my quirks I am the right person to solve problems in the most efficient way.

Erika: "Wakamatsu-san, regarding Kagami Hibari, what do you intend to do?"

Wakamatsu: "I want to consult her teachers before taking a definitive decision, but she's most likely going to receive the same punishment that we've already decided for the occultism club members."

Erika: "Same as Teramoto's punishment?"

Wakamatsu: "No, it's been decided that Teramoto will be suspended for a whole month. In that time we hope to dismantle permanently the network of accomplices that she established, and to release from her spell as many students as possible. The occultism club will be permanently disbanded, and as soon as the police will permit it, the old PE shed will be razed to the ground."

What a pointless overkill. But in a way that is not a wrong decision, given the circumstances. Teramoto's punishment is quite harsh, but she should still manage to graduate, there is a whole year ahead. Considering the gravity of this whole affair, she can consider herself lucky that they didn't decide to expel her. As for her faithful followers, Wakamatsu is being way too optimistic. A month isn't nearly enough, and her closest accomplices will most definitely keep everything under control until their leader's return. It doesn't matter what the teachers say or do, a belief is not something that can be easily removed. Repressive methods will not work, if anything they will make the cult even stronger. In the end if you believe in something, it won't be force nor an authority telling that you are wrong that will make you change your mind. To completely erase a belief, you need to prove that it is wrong, but sometimes not even that works, and sometimes it is simply impossible.

The principal is showing all of her determination in proceeding with the plan that she deems the best. A verdict was pronounced, a judgment has been settled, her eyes are telling me that the decision is irrevocable. If I challenged her directly at this point, I would only cause her to turtle up and strengthen her defenses. Instead I decide to take the opposite approach. I tilt my head slightly and smile wryly, averting my eyes as if I was trying to gather my thoughts.

Erika: "A belief... is really not different from a virus, isn't it?"

Wakamatsu frowns, showing her distrust in front of this apparently nonsensical change of topic. She must have already sensed that I am trying persuade her about something, and she is refraining from carelessly answer to my question.

Erika: "A virus is an organism that can barely be defined as life form. It's little more than a vessel for data. The only purpose of a virus is to replicate itself and its own data by hijacking the reproductive structures of the host cell it infects. In other words viruses are parasites, they can't do anything by themselves. Once a cell is infected, its own nature is changed and it begins to work for the sake of the virus, creating many copies of it and spreading them. The viruses thus created infect other cells and the cycle repeats. With this system the more are the infected subjects, the more the diffusion of the virus increases, rapidly escalating and exponentially growing. Viruses sure are terrifying, aren't they?

As for beliefs, they are basically concepts. Whether it's through spoken words or written texts, concepts require a medium in order to be transferred from a person to another, however it's only in the mind of a human that a concept can truly exist. Once a belief roots itself in the mind a human, that very human mind is changed. Not only the individual starts acting according to the precepts dictated by the belief, it also strives to replicate the belief in as many other human minds as possible. So it isn't wrong to state that a belief uses humans to replicate itself, and the more are the humans that are affected by it, the faster and more powerfully it spreads. Beliefs are truly terrifying, aren't they?

When you think about them on these terms, they aren't really that different from viruses. And if you still refuse to accept the comparison because viruses are tangible beings, then think about computer viruses instead."

Wakamatsu: "A pretty cynic perspective, but what exactly are you trying to prove?"

Erika: "Unfortunately, there aren't really many effective methods to fight viruses. Strengthening people's natural defenses is still the best that modern medicine can do to prevent their diffusion. This is usually done through vaccines. The battle against beliefs isn't much different. It's a lot easier to prepare a person to refute them, than to eradicate them from those who have already been converted. I'm sure you understand what I mean."

Wakamatsu: "You're equating serious religious precepts to a bunch of poorly conceived school legends. I refuse to believe that they're that much rooted in the students' minds."

Erika: "I suggest you don't underestimate this problem. You wouldn't have believed that these poorly conceived school legends could work at all to begin with, and yet they're already out of control."

The principal takes a deep breath, for a few seconds she ponders my words. It is indeed hard to believe that the story Teramoto told us could be taken seriously by so many people, but in the end school legends aren't really any more plausible, and yet it is said that there is at least one in every single school of Japan. If students can believe in such silly stories without any kind of proof to back them, then what if proofs were presented? And there is another important factor to consider; humans tend to be heavily influenced by their environment. For example, there is a very interesting experiment that was once conducted. Several subjects were shown many different colors ranging from blue to green, and they were asked to classify them into either end of the spectrum. But the true purpose of the experiment was different from what they were told. They were made to participate alongside a group of people, rather than individually, under the false pretense that the others were subjects just like them. In reality they were all actors acting under the directives of the researchers. At specific points, as part of the experiment, all the fake participants unanimously would claim that a clear green or a clear blue were the opposite color. Most subjects decided to comply with what the group stated in spite of what they were clearly seeing.

This phenomenon is commonly known as "groupthink", and Teramoto exploited it to achieve an even more persuasive power. Large groups of people were preferred, with the club members being enough to impress the weaker individuals, which would then add up to the number impressing even more people and so on in a domino effect.

Wakamatsu: "Then... what do you suggest?"

At last, the question I was waiting for.

Erika: "Repressive methods won't work. Simply telling them that Teramoto lied won't work. No matter how much you insist, words are just words, they can't beat facts."

Wakamatsu: "Facts?!"

Erika: "Of course that's not real facts, but Teramoto managed to create that illusion. Even if that was nothing but a sham, she still managed to prove that demons exist in her followers' eyes. And now, how do you intend to prove that demons don't exist?"

Wakamatsu: "That's ridiculous! There's no need to prove such thing! Demons don't exist!"

Erika: "Demons don't exist, because demons don't exist? You won't go far with that logic."

Maybe I went a bit too far, the principal is showing signs of irritation.

Wakamatsu: "Then what?!"

Erika: "We need to destroy their beliefs from inside. We need to destroy their very foundation. I propose to fight the virus with another virus; an anti-belief that will spread through the students and destroy all traces of Teramoto's credibility."

Satsukawa: "Wait a moment, Erika, we never talked about this..."

Erika: "Ah, Satsukawa-san, I know what you're thinking: 'this has nothing to do with the murder case', 'this doesn't concern us'. Am I right?"

Satsukawa: "Well, of course, there's also that..."

Erika: "It does concern us. Remember what happened with Kagami Hibari. She only started to talk after I revealed the secret she was trying to protect. Teramoto is no different. As long as her illusions will stand, she won't tell us the truth. However, if I destroy her world, she won't have any more defenses, and she'll meekly answer all of our questions. This is a necessary step in order to solve this case."

Wakamatsu: "I'm not sure I understand what exactly you have in mind, but just because Teramoto is a troublesome child up to no good, it doesn't mean it's fine to mistreat her or to inflict unjustified harm and distress on her."

Erika: "Please, be at ease, I don't plan to hurt anything but her pride. I'm sure you recognize that her arrogance is a major problem, and so far all of your attempts have failed to produce any results. I think that it's in her best interest to learn a bit of humility... and I have exactly what it takes to teach her that."

For a moment I see a glimpse of hope on Wakamatsu's face, a part of her that wants to trust me, but it is just an instant. She quickly shakes her head with decision.

Wakamatsu: "This sounds very wrong. Even if your intentions are righteous, I cannot entrust you with such task. You're here to find a criminal, not to correct the students' behaviors."

And it seemed it was going so well... I guess it couldn't be that easy after all.

Erika: "I understand your point of view, but you should try to understand mine. As I've already explained to Satsukawa, it's vital for me to learn everything that Teramoto knows, and there's only one way to obtain that. Coincidentally that'd also solve your problems, and that's why I only ask for a bit of your cooperation."

Wakamatsu: "And I simply cannot do that. As the principal of the Mitsugi Institute, I cannot support whatever inconsiderate plan you have in mind!"

This is getting pretty annoying. I didn't think this woman could be this stubborn!

Calm down, I need to calm down. If I snap now, I will ruin it all. I need to understand why she is opposing me, and I need to figure out which is her weak spot. She said that she cannot do what I ask. Why? She said that she cannot do that as the principal of the Mitsugi institute. So it isn't something about her, but about her role. Her role is a role of responsibility. She called my plan 'inconsiderate', in other words this is where the conflict lies. The responsible principal of the Mitsugi institute cannot possibly endorse an irresponsible plan. I see, then I must reshape my strategy in a way that will not cause any more conflicts.

Next, what is her weak point? That must still be her role. Her role is a role of responsibility. As the principal of the Mitsugi institute she is supposed to resolve any kind of problem. If she cannot do that, people will think she isn't competent enough for the task.

Good, this is perfect!

Erika: "Wakamatsu-san, I think I didn't properly consider your position, so allow me to apologize for my inopportune request. As you've just said, you can't possibly give me your open support."

Wakamatsu: "Then I believe we don't have anything else to discuss."

Erika: "If you have confidence that everything will fix itself, then this is all."

Satsukawa: "Hey..."

I pretend to be ready to leave, a calculated risk. Even if she doesn't stop me, I can still turn around before opening the door and claim that I remembered something important.

Wakamatsu: "Wait a moment..."

Good.

Wakamatsu: "What did you mean with those parting words?"

Erika: "I think I've explained the problem clearly enough. This is a desperate situation, and desperate situations call for desperate measures, which unfortunately you cannot take. Anyway, once Teramoto graduates I expect her cult to slowly fade and finally disappear. That might take from five to ten years at max."

Wakamatsu: "Ten years!"

Her horrified expression is simply sublime.

Erika: "Well... maybe it's a bit pessimistic, let's say eight years, if nothing goes terribly wrong."

Naturally ten years or eight years do not make much difference for Wakamatsu.

Erika: "But as I've implied before, maybe things will be fixed without you doing anything."

Wakamatsu: "What do you mean?"

Erika: "Well... I understand your position, you understand mine. Did I ever say that I'll give up on my plan?"

Satsukawa: "Hey, Erika..."

Wakamatsu: "In other words you plan on teaching some humility on Teramoto whether I agree or not?"

Erika: "Precisely."

Wakamatsu: "I definitely cannot approve that."

Erika: "Duly noted, I'll face the consequences like usual, you'll yell at me and threat Satsukawa to file another complaint. Meanwhile all of Teramoto's illusions will be dispelled one by one, and in a few months everyone will completely forget that there was a time when people believed in demons and spirits."

Wakamatsu opens her mouth, shocked, but at the same time intrigued. She evaluates my words with meticulous care.

Wakamatsu: "Hypothetically speaking... if I had accepted your proposal... what would you have asked?"

This time it worked, I cannot repress a mischievous grin.

Erika: "The ideal condition for my plan to work, requires that Teramoto will be left free to act as she always did... until I destroy her..."

Wakamatsu: "I see... Is that all?"

Erika: "Nothing else."

Wakamatsu: "I'll probably need to reconsider the disciplinary actions to take against Teramoto on the light of what emerged from Hibari's confession. At this point the final decision will probably be postponed until the next week."

Erika: "That seems sensible."

Wakamatsu: "I must once again urge you to not cause any more problems."

Erika: "Yes, you must. It was a pleasant conversation, Wakamatsu-san."

Wakamatsu: "I'll eagerly awaits for news about your progresses."

There is nothing else to say. It was just a small request, but of extreme importance. My plan could not possibly work if it wasn't granted. It turned out a lot more difficult than what I imagined, but all that matters is that it ended in a success.

next->

Chapter 3 (o)

<-prev

It was an exhausting day.

My mind is tired, my body is sore. Certainly a lot of things have happened. Too many battle of wits, too much running around, and as if that wasn't enough, I have been tackled and pinned on the floor. That last bit wasn't nice at all.

That is why I unceremoniously let myself drop on the comfy armchair of my hotel room. It wasn't elegant nor lady-like, but after all that I have been through today, I think that I can be excused for this little transgression from the proper etiquette. In the end, I am really tired.

Satsukawa: "Today was really hectic, wasn't it?"

An inevitable comment, considering the situation.

Erika: "Indeed, but I've seen worse. Thanks for taking me back to my room again, Satsukawa-san."

Satsukawa: "No problem, that's my job."

Erika: "You say so, but now you need to drive back to the headquarter again, don't you?"

Satsukawa: "Well... yeah. I still need to write my report..."

Erika: "Kimura is going to eat you alive."

Satsukawa: "Don't remind me that, please..."

Erika: "You really surprised me back then."

Satsukawa: "I think... I surprised even myself..."

Erika: "Ha ha! It appears I'm having a very bad influence on you. You must be careful!"

Satsukawa: "I wonder... did I really do the wrong thing? As a law enforcer I'm supposed to respect and uphold the rules, so my actions were certainly wrong, objectively speaking. And yet, I don't really feel guilt about it. Deep inside I feel that I made the right choice. If I could go back, I'd do it again."

Erika: "See? You're already on a dangerous path."

Satsukawa: "Aren't you grateful?"

Erika: "Why would I? I was already giving up on the idea, but you gave me the right chance. If you didn't, I wouldn't feel like I've been ran over by a steamroller now."

Satsukawa: "Ha ha ha... They really went too far, I'm very sorry..."

Erika: "No, they just did their job."

Satsukawa: "All that you threatened was to ruin an interrogation, that's hardly a good excuse to harm a civilian. I'll never accept something like that."

Erika: "I see... that's how you interpreted the situation. It's strange, you were the only one that understood what I was thinking, you alone figured out my plan. That should mean you're the one that knows me the best, but if you say such things, I guess that Kimura understands me better after all."

Satsukawa: "What do you mean?"

Erika: "You said that all that I threatened was to ruin an interrogation, as if I couldn't do anything more than that. Kimura and his men didn't think it that way. I'm surprised that they let me keep that tool, it could've easily become a weapon. Maybe the thought finally crossed their minds when they realized what I was doing."

Satsukawa: "..."

Erika: "What is it, Satsukawa-san? You suddenly tensed up."

Satsukawa: "I don't quite understand what kind of mind game you're playing with me."

Erika: "I'm just telling you that you should be careful. So many people have told you that already, so many times, and you still haven't learned it."

Satsukawa: "Why would you tell me this, if you were really planning something bad?"

Erika: "Good point. Why am I telling you? Maybe because it isn't fun when someone is as naive and trusting as you are."

Satsukawa: "..."

Erika: "You better go. You have a job to do and I want to take a bath."

Satsukawa: "Yeah, that's a good idea. You do that. You'll feel a lot better after."

Erika: "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Have a safe trip."

Satsukawa: "Later then. If you need anything..."

Erika: "Yeah, I know."

He remains a while there, silent. I think he is trying to remember something important that he wanted to tell me, or maybe he remembered it already and he isn't sure if he should mention it. Whatever it is, in the end he gives up.

As he is about to leave my room with his hand already on the doorknob, I decide to tell him something that bugged me for a while.

Erika: "You should stop doing that. It's annoying."

Satsukawa freezes on the spot and then turns around with a concerned expression.

Satsukawa: "What do you mean?"

Erika: "Every time you're nervous around me, you cross your arms."

Satsukawa: "Do I... really do that?"

Erika: "Occasionally. You just did it a while ago. Like I said, it's annoying."

Satsukawa: "I'll try to be careful about that..."

Erika: "That's right, you should be careful."

Satsukawa: "He he..."

Naturally, when I said that I was annoyed by that, I was lying. I just wanted him to know that I noticed this bad habit of his.

At this point the situation has gotten pretty awkward and Satsukawa probably wants to run away as fast as he can. Not like I can blame him.

So, before I know it, he is gone, and I find myself alone again. Or rather, it is more correct to say that I am alone with Dlanor. Then again, that makes as much sense as to say that I am alone with my armchair.

Dlanor: "Your behavior is illogical."

Erika: "What?!"

Dlanor: "You do not want Mister Satsukawa to get closer to you. You do not want him to become your friend. That is why you acted that way with him just now."

Erika: "So? I remember that I had explicitly told him all that from the very beginning. There's nothing illogical about it."

Dlanor: "Normally you would consider people mistakenly believing you are their friend an advantage. Sometimes in the past you even actively deceived people into believing they could trust you."

Erika: "I have no plans concerning Satsukawa, no strategies that involve him directly. That's all."

Dlanor: "What Mister Satsukawa did today suggests he is on your side. Even if you denied it, you are grateful."

Erika: "Am I grateful that he helped me? Yes, I am. But I do not feel any more gratitude toward him, than what I'd feel for a sunny sky on a day out. In other words, that's just a variable outside my control that turned out to play in my favor. Nothing else."

Dlanor: "If Miss Erika says so, then I will not insist on this matter."

Erika: "Good. Then, is there any other concern?"

Dlanor: "Yes. Today we have learned that Miss Hibari was just a red herring, a needless variable."

Erika: "I've been suspecting that for a while."

Dlanor: "The problem is the message. According to your reasoning, there had to be three different fingerprints. However Miss Hibari does not fit in your equation, she is a fourth variable. That means..."

Erika: "I know... My reasoning was wrong... Don't you dare to point that out in front of Satsukawa, or anyone else!"

Dlanor: "You know I would never do that, Miss Erika."

Erika: "Is the culprit smarter than I thought, I wonder? Hibari messing with the crime scene might have caused a distortion in my assessment."

Dlanor: "This is neither an impossible crime nor a plausible incident."

Erika: "Then what else the culprit was aiming for?"

Dlanor: "Supposing that the culprit acted according to a specific plan, then there is only one possible answer."

Erika: "That's a reckless statement, Dlanor. You should be open to more possibilities, even those you don't expect. At any rate it's probably what you're thinking. It's a bit more difficult than a plausible incident, but in the end the basic concept is similar and the long term effects are the same."

Dlanor: "It could be easier if the conditions are favorable."

Erika: "That's right. But enough with that! I decided to leisurely enjoy this case, so I have no reason to rush for a solution. I'm going to take that bath now."

Dlanor: "Miss Erika, I have a request."

Erika: "Oh? That's quite a rare event! What's your desire, Dlanor?"

Dlanor: "Today... they air Fuwa-Fuwa Purin Nyan..."

Erika: "So? Don't tell me you want to watch it."

Dlanor: "..."

I take a deep breath and then I let out a long sigh.

Erika: "You really have a weak spot for those things. In the end you're just a kid... or... that's what I'd say, if I didn't know that Fuwa-Fuwa Purin Nyan is actually a show for perverted lolicons disguised as an anime for little girls."

Dlanor: "I do not have perverted feelings nor anything of that sort..."

Erika: "I know... you've just been fooled by the appearances and you're too innocent to notice the blatant fan service."

Dlanor: "They never let me watch it at the mansion..."

Erika: "Of course! Rokudou and the other servants would never allow you to stay up that late. When does it air again?"

Dlanor: "Half past one AM."

Erika: "Seriously... how are you going to wake up tomorrow?"

Dlanor: "It is all right. I will definitely wake up in time like usual."

Erika: "Aaah... all right, you win, we'll watch it together. Somehow I've become interested in it."

Dlanor: "Thank you, Miss Erika!"

next->

Chapter 3 (n)

<-prev

Erika: "Very well, I think Oosugi-san made a question. It would be rude not to answer, don't you think? *giggle* *giggle*."

Oosugi: "I didn't ask it to you!"

Erika: "Nonetheless I know the answer. This is the tool that Hibari used to close the shed's door."

Kagami: "Why do you know?! Ah!"

Erika: "There's no point in denying it anymore! I've already figured out everything by myself!"

Kagami: "Uggaaah..."

Satsukawa: "But how exactly does that work?"

Kagami: "That's right! Just because you have that, it doesn't mean you can use it! You'd never guess how in a million years! It's complicated!"

Erika: "Maybe it's complicated for you, but it's just child play for someone of my intellectual stature."

Kagami: "What?! If you think you're that smart, then prove it!"

Erika: "As you wish! In the end I think it's faster for me to say it."

And I certainly prefer to be the one explaining the solution of this riddle!

Erika: "First, just imagine that you can see the crack of the closed door from above. Try to visualize that. Now imagine that you're inserting this tool in it, starting from the ring. Naturally the ring must be perpendicular to the floor, and the L-shaped part must be parallel to it. There's no other way. Push the ring all the way until it gets completely inside."

Satsukawa: "Are you sure this is right? What can you do after that? The tool at this point should be stuck."

Erika: "Ha ha! Only an idiot would give up at this point! It's pretty simple if you reason about it. You just need to rotate the tool around the axis of the the shorter arm, ninety degree, pushing the longer arm downward. The ring at this point would be parallel to the floor."

Kagami: "Ugh!"

Oosugi: "Then... what?"

Erika: "Then? The next step is blatantly obvious! At this point nothing will prevent you from pushing the shorter arm completely inside the room! That's yet another rotation of ninety degree, but this time you do it by pushing the longer arm directly up, and the ring down."

Satsukawa: "Oooh, I see! I didn't think about that..."

Erika: "Now change perspective, try to visualize the door from inside the room. The shorter arm with the ring attached can be made to swing right and left freely."

 

Erika: "At this point you need to consider a fact. The latch was custom made by someone who designed it with the specific purpose of being opened and closed from outside using this tool. So while normally this system would encounter several logistic problems, in our case it works perfectly with little effort. For example, the ring is made to fit perfectly with the latch's handle. From outside it might be a bit difficult to hook it, since you can't see it, but with some practice it should become automatic."

Kagami: "That's right! I can do it with my eyes closed! Uggah! I-I mean..."

Erika: "This probably works better if you hook the handle from above. Once you do that, it's pretty simple. If you push the tool down the latch will open, if you push it up, the latch will close. There's nothing really that complicated about it. Does everyone understand?"

Erika: "In order to extract the tool, you just follow the same steps I described before, but in reverse order."

Kimura: "Who the hell came up with this complicated system, and why?"

Erika: "I can see two reasons. The first was to improve security; no one can open a lock that doesn't exist. I can imagine that whoever came up with this idea is a little paranoid. The second was to create the illusion that someone or something had to be inside the shed at any time. This was conveniently used by Teramoto as a way to further challenge the disbelief of the students. For what concerns the who, I have a theory, but I guess it's easier to ask Hibari directly."

Kagami: "Eh? I think that was Maaya's idea..."

Erika: "What?! Are you sure?"

Kagami: "I don't know... I never bothered asking. I always assumed it was Maaya who came up with all that..."

Erika: "Nevermind then..."

Kagami: "Uooooooooaaaahhh!!!"

Oosugi: "What now?!"

Kagami: "Maaya is going to kill me when I'll tell her I revealed her secret! Uggaaaaaah..."

Erika: "Where's the problem? Just don't tell her."

Kagami: "Uh? But... you..."

Erika: "Why should I tell her that you told me anything about that? I don't have any reason to. Plus, I thought I made it clear that I had already figured out everything by myself. You just don't tell Teramoto a single thing about this matter, and all will be fine."

Kagami: "Is it... really all right?"

Erika: "Sure, why not? It's not like it'd be a lie or anything. By the way, Yuu Azuma never betrayed you."

Kagami: "Whaaaat?!"

Erika: "Oosugi-san simply made you believe so."

Oosugi: "Hmph! It's not like I actually said she did."

Kagami: "Y-you tricked me! You tricked meee! What's with such villain-like deceptions! Aren't you supposed to be the good guys?! Uggah!"

Erika: "By the way, Hibari, why don't you finally tell us everything from the beginning. Before that, I want to make sure you reflect on something. At this point is there any kind of secrets you still need to protect? Is there any reason to lie? We have pretty much understood everything you wanted to hide from us already. Don't you think?"

Kagami: "Uh... uh... hmmmgh... Ug... gah..."

Erika: "So? What do you say? If you still have doubts, I can assure you something. I think I have understood the general situation already, and the way I see it, telling us the truth can only improve your situation. Satsukawa-san also understood, and he reached the conclusion that you're innocent, as I did."

Kagami: "Re-really?"

Satsukawa: "Yes, I can confirm that. Hibari, just tell us everything that you know."

Oosugi: "Tch..."

Kimura: "Wait a moment!"

Oosugi: "The hell with it, Kimura. At this point let her talk."

Erika: "Let's begin, Hibari. This is your turn."

Kagami: "Hmmm... where should I start from?"

Oosugi: "You're in the gym with Yuu Azuma. Everyone else has already left. This is around 6:00 PM. What's next?"

Kagami: "Ah, yeah! I tell Yuu that I'm done for the day. She offers to do the boring stuff by herself as usual, and she insists I go ahead."

Same thing as she said before.

Kagami: "I go to the changing room, nobody is there anymore, I'm alone. I quickly change and I run toward the exit."

Erika: "Wait a second. You mentioned this earlier, but why were you in a hurry?"

Kagami: "I remembered that my favorite show was going to be aired that day! I didn't want to miss it! By the way... I ended up missing it anyway... uggah..."

Erika: "Wait... wait... let me get this straight... It was your idea to end training at 6:00 PM. Everyone else pretty much decided to end it fifteen minutes earlier, but you stubbornly decided to continue anyway..."

Kagami: "Yeah!"

Erika: "And only after that you realized that you needed to go home as fast as possible?"

Kagami: "Yeah..."

Erika: "..."

Oosugi: "..."

Kimura: "..."

Satsukawa: "..."

Erika: "Nevermind... I mean... how much in a hurry you were? Did you take a shower at least?"

Kagami: "Weeell..."

No way... this is odd. If we assume that the culprit met the victim at 6:00 PM in front of the shed, then just how much time did it pass before Hibari also went there? Hibari wasn't supposed to be that fast. But wait, did the culprit actually know about all of this? Suddenly it would make a lot of sense if the culprit was one of the club members that left earlier. No, no, I am missing something. There was no need for Gotsuji to insist to leave earlier if she needed to meet a club member. They both would be free at the same time anyway.

Oosugi: "Go on. What do you do next?"

Kagami: "I open my locker to get my shoes, and whoa! There's a suspicious message inside!"

Oosugi snaps his fingers.

Oosugi: "Did you ever see that message before?"

Kagami: "No, never."

Oosugi: "Was it the first time you've seen it inside your locker?"

Kagami: "Yes."

Oosugi: "Go on."

Kagami: "Well, of course, after I read it, even if I was in a hurry, I couldn't simply ignore it! I rushed to the shed to see what the hell was Hitomi thinking!"

Erika: "Are you the one that crumpled up that message? Or was it already that way?"

Kagami: "I didn't do that. It was folded when I took it... but... yes, I think I remember it was all creased."

Oosugi: "Tell me what you've seen when you arrived to the scene."

Kagami: "The door was open! It was a big shock! I couldn't believe my eyes!"

Erika: "You were the one that closed the door just the day before, right?"

Kagami: "Yeah... Wait! Why do you know?!"

Erika: "You told me that yourself. Did you forget already?"

Kagami: "Huh? Me?! When?!"

Oosugi: "Forget about it, for now. You must have entered inside the shed at that point."

Kagami: "I did... I did... it was dark, but I... I still saw her! It was... it was Hitomi!"

Oosugi: "Give me the particulars, whatever you remember."

Kagami: "I don't remember much! I literally went crazy! I don't remember almost anything! But I know she was inside the circle... and I've seen the cursed sword... the blood..."

It seems that she saw exactly the same thing that Oda saw. It was already done by that time...

Oosugi: "Anything else? Anything could be important, try to remember."

Kagami: "I don't... I don't... I was so scared! And then... then I took the message and..."

This is where everything becomes messed up.

Kagami: "That message never mentioned any names. I told you, right? It couldn't be meant for me, Hitomi would've never invited me there! Then everything became so obvious! The culprit did it! There was no other explanation! The culprit wanted me to find Hitomi inside that shed! A place that only I and a few others could access! Don't you understand?! I've seen way too many mystery movies to not know where that would lead. I fell on my knees, I cried, I was shocked, but in the end I could only think about myself! One of my best friends just died, the ace of my basket club just died, and all I could think was that I didn't want to be accused of being her murderer! I couldn't help it... I was so scared... And in the end I somehow managed to drag myself away. And I ran back to the main building... and there I wondered so many times: 'what should I do?', 'what should I do?', 'what should I do?!' There was no one around, no one! I wanted to get rid of that message, why it had to me? Why couldn't it be someone else? And then... then I remembered..."

Of course, that very morning something major had happened, and almost everyone inside the school knew about that.

Kagami: "Oda was just punished that day! He should've been still inside the school! It was easy to check if he hadn't gone already. I opened his locker, and... his shoes were still there! Of course, that was also true for Yuu, but I didn't want to involve her. I decided that Oda had to do it! Hitomi was his childhood friend after all! And so by that point it was already decided. I folded the message again and I placed it inside Oda's locker."

Oosugi: "Hmmm..."

Oosugi shakes his head.

Oosugi: "Go on. The story doesn't end here, right?"

Kagami: "Yeah... I was going home... I wanted to get away from there as fast as I could but... in the end I couldn't..."

Erika: "Second thoughts?"

Kagami: "I realized that I was doing a bad thing after all! What if they'd blame Oda then? I don't like that guy, but I don't hate him either! Not as much as to want him to be accused of a murder he never committed! I couldn't do it! I really couldn't! So I thought... what if nobody did it? What if that was nobody's fault...? It was... it was demon! If it was the demon, then nobody would get in trouble! The more I thought about that, the more I convinced myself that it was the only way to solve everything!"

Oosugi: "What a stupid..."

Erika: "Sooo... in the end... You waited!"

Kagami: "Yeah... I waited... hidden. It felt like an eternity! I kept asking myself why Oda wasn't coming! I even thought he could be dead as well! I almost went insane with all those crazy thoughts haunting my mind! That's when I remembered about fingerprints..."

Erika: "Back then you realized that you left fingerprints?"

Kagami: "Yeah! And I knew you could remove them... and that's what I did... on Oda's locker..."

I see, that makes sense... wait!

Erika: "What about the message?!"

Kagami: "Like I said, I didn't realize you could leave fingerprints on paper!"

I just cannot believe this girl...

Oosugi: "Did you see Oda in the end?"

Kagami: "Of course I did! I saw him! And he saw the message! He went where Hitomi was, and I followed. I felt really bad for him... I knew what he was going through, I had just experienced it myself. But he didn't react the same way. He screamed so aloud! I didn't do that... I was too scared to scream, I practically couldn't even talk even if I wanted. For a moment I was really worried. I thought someone would come, and that would've been really bad. But no one did. Oda then rushed back inside the main building. I had to act quickly. As soon as he left, I closed the door with my Slim Jim. With that everyone would certainly believe... it must've been the demon! It wasn't me, it wasn't Oda either, it wasn't anyone's fault!"

Erika: "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but no one among us ever thought that for a single second."

Even if I said that I am sorry, I am actually pretty happy to be the one to tell her.

Kagami: "Uggaaaah..."

Erika: "I suppose that you removed your fingerprints from the door as well, then."

Kagami: "Yeah, as fast as I could! Then I ran outside as if the demon was behind me!"

Oosugi takes a deep breath and shakes his head again.

Kimura: "Pretty funny story. But that doesn't mean it's the truth, it's hardly credible anyway."

Kagami: "It's the truth! I told you all that I know!"

Erika: "Kimura-san, do you remember what that man said when I asked him at which point the interrogation was? He said that Hibari was lying, 'no doubt about that'. Those were his exact words. Do you know what that means? It means that this girl is really bad at lying! She wouldn't fool a kid, even if she tried her best!"

Kagami: "Uggaaah! That's not true! Not true at all!!!"

Erika: "Of course now, I'm not asking you to trust me, I know you won't. But I believe you said that you trust Oosugi-san's judgment. Then this is where you should ask him: did Hibari lie? Do you have the feeling that she's still hiding something? How much do you think it's probable that she made it all up?"

Kimura suddenly becomes pretty serious. He stares intently at Oosugi without saying a word, waiting patiently for an answer. But the latter doesn't seem to be in the mood for that, he just grunts and smiles wryly after a few seconds.

Oosugi: "I'm tired of this, and this room has become way too crowded for my tastes. I'm going outside to cool my head. This interrogation has gone all wrong anyway, you completely messed it up! You can get this brat back to her home, for all I care. I'm out!"

What a sore, prehistoric loser! He couldn't admit it, the poor bastard, but the message was clear anyway. If he really still thought that Hibari knew something about the murder, he wouldn't simply let her go like that, no matter how much we messed up his plans. In the end he also had to recognize it: this girl is completely unrelated to the crime. She doesn't know anything more than what Oda does!

Without adding any other words, Oosugi stands up and slowly walks away. Nobody stops him, nobody comments. The interrogation room becomes strangely silent for a while.

Erika: "Well then... Oosugi-san might be already done with you, Hibari, but I'm not, not yet."

Kagami: "More questions?! I told you everything!"

Erika: "Just a few more. I imagine you don't have anything against that. Right, Kimura-san?"

Kimura: "The hell... do whatever you want."

Erika: "Good! Before anything else, Hibari, I want you to tell me what did you do after you left school. Specifically, I want you to tell me what did you say to Teramoto and to Azuma."

Kagami: "Uggah!"

Erika: "Let's start with Teramoto."

Kagami: "Uggaaah... why do you know? Why?!"

Erika: "Because I'm a great detective! Did you even need to ask?! Now, your answer please!"

Kagami: "Gh... every... thing... I told her... everything..."

Erika: "Just like I thought. She knows you enough to believe that what you told her was the whole truth. And she also understood what an incredibly stupid thing you've done!"

Kagami: "Uggaaaah!"

Hibari, having received the finishing strike, collapses on the table, slamming her head in the process.

I can only imagine Teramoto's reactions as her friend narrated the whole story. Then again, I guess one could theorize two possible reasons to explain her anger. Teramoto could have simply been seriously concerned about her friend, or maybe she was the very person that wanted to frame her, in which case she couldn't really be happy that her plan didn't work.

Well, even if it wasn't Teramoto, there is no doubt that that Hibari acted against any predictions. It was stupid, but on the other hand... because of her something went wrong. What would have happened if Hibari just did what any other normal person would have done, in other words, what Oda did? If I find the answer to this question, I should be able to figure out which was the culprit's true plan.

Erika: "There's another person you talked to: Yuu Azuma."

Kagami: "I... didn't tell her the whole story... I just told her I was in a lot of trouble."

Erika: "That sounds suspicious to me."

Kagami: "You don't understand Yuu at all! She never thought I was the culprit, not even for a single second! She knows I would've never done that to Hitomi! The mere thought is ridiculous! She was my ace! I had great ambitions! Uggah... it's all gone now... and this is the last year for me..."

Erika: "So you asked her to provide you an alibi."

Kagami: "Yeah! And of course I also provided an alibi for her! It was a squid pro quote!"

Erika: "A 'quid pro quo'! But... Hibari... did it ever cross your mind that she might be the culprit?"

Kagami: "Uh? How? Why? When? Are we even talking about the same Yuu Azuma?! And anyway it doesn't work at all! When do you think she placed the message inside my locker? She couldn't possibly have the time for that!"

Erika: "What about before you even started club activities?"

Kagami: "Uh? What?!"

Erika: "Is that so strange? I think it's pretty clear why that method was used. You wouldn't open the locker until you were about to leave school, and you would definitely open it at that time. You need to retrieve your shoes before going outside, right? So it doesn't really matter when the culprit placed that message. It could have been any time since you arrived at school until after the club session ended."

Kagami: "But... but... that still doesn't make sense! When did she kill Hitomi?! When?!"

Erika: "Let's put that aside. I want to know more about the day before the crime. You were there, right? At that 'gathering'."

Kagami: "Ug... yeah... I was there..."

Erika: "I've talked to all the first year students that were invited that day. They said they didn't see you."

Kagami: "Of course not, I never reveal my presence when they do the gatherings, I stay hidden."

Erika: "Outside the shed?"

Kagami: "Yeah!"

Erika: "Why you? Why not another member of the occultism club?"

Kagami: "It's something that we decided many months ago. Maaya said it'd be too suspicious if it was a member of her club, and there mustn't be any suspicions that someone is playing behind the scene. She also wanted to involve me somehow, and I accepted... it was funny after all... So I thought: why not?"

Erika: "In the end you're the one that opens the door every time, and you're the one that closes it after everyone leaves. Teramoto just pretends to use some kind of arcane command, and everyone believes she must be the one who does it, because they don't know there's a hidden accomplice."

Kagami: "Y-yeah..."

But of course this is not all.

Erika: "You were Teramoto's friend even before high school, right?"

Kagami: "Did she... tell you?"

Erika: "No... nobody did."

Kagami: "Then how do you know?!"

Erika: "I told you, right? I'm a great detective! Beside, it was something pretty easy to imagine. You two don't really seem to have anything in common, and yet it seems that she trusts you more than anyone else. There had to be some reason for that. Since she became extremely popular by the time she started high school, I thought it was very unlikely that she grew that fond of you when she had so many other people to choose from."

Kagami: "Maaya... does she really like me more than anyone else?"

Erika: "So it seems. Do you think I'm wrong?"

Kagami: "No! Not at all! I mean... sometimes I wonder... why someone like her hangs with someone like me? I often have the feeling that she's going where I cannot reach her. We also took different paths. I have my club, she has hers... but she's such an amazing person! And she knows so many amazing people! We've almost nothing in common, just like you said! Then why? Rationally she shouldn't care about me, and yet she does..."

Erika: "Did it ever cross your mind that what Teramoto is doing is wrong?"

Kagami: "Why? She only wants people to believe in something, in a world when no one believes in anything anymore! Isn't a world where magic exists a lot more interesting? Isn't it a fantastic thing to witness something that defies common sense? Sometimes I envy those who are on the other side, sometimes I wish I was the spectator and not the performer! It would be such a wonderful experience! Like living inside an anime! Maaya sometimes explains her theories to me, all of her thoughts about what the supernatural is, and why it's so important. I don't quite understand all of that, but I think she's right. There are people that need to believe, and we make them believe. What's wrong with that?"

I smile. I smile like I didn't for a long time. A full smile, from ear to ear. And I feel the emotion that is causing it to the fullest. This is simply fantastic. She really asked me what is wrong with all that. She really asked me what is wrong with the very concept of magic that I know so well! The very concept of magic that I despise so much!

And now, whatever can I answer? What else if not...

Erika: "Everything."

next->