Shiinamachi-senpai no Anzenbi Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part A

■Search Results for "killer":

a type of profession where one specializes in accepting jobs to murder other people, thereby obtaining money from the client. does not include civil servants who perform executions due to their job responsibilities. someone who murders in exchange for money. A professional hitman. a type of profession where one accepts a client's killing request to eliminate a target.

"Fujisato, in actual fact, my family has been professional killers for generations."

This was the next day after I was met with a rare death experience.

During the break between my summer supplementary lessons, I told cla.s.s rep Fujisato the truth.

"Eh? Really?"

She opened her eyes wide and made a surprised look then c.o.c.ked her head doubtfully and expressed:

"If that were true, it'd really be quite frightening! Ahaha!"

Then she smiled happily at me.

Indeed, that's how a normal person is supposed to react.

No matter who I disclosed my secret to, whether cla.s.smates or library monitors, no one treated it as the truth.

The profession of being a killer sounded way too farfetched in the modern world.

"However, professional killers do seem to exist in other countries. I don't know if they're family businesses but in criminal organizations like mafias or gangs, they are supposed to hire professional killers, right?"

Like right now, I would occasionally hear the other person talk to me about superficial knowledge from movies or the internet. This was, of course, also how high school students were supposed to react.

"No really, I'm serious. My mother is a killer too."

"Wow, so surprising, Monjirou, could it be that you... have '8th grade syndrome'? I see now! But we're supposed to have graduated from 8th grade syndrome by the time we reach this age!"

"It's not like that. Not only that, I'm currently immortal as well. I was already murdered once yesterday by someone."

"Ahaha! I see now. You're talking about what you dreamt last night? Last night, I was chased by a bunch of zombies then bang bang bang, I gunned them all down!"

Fujisato dismissed my words with a smile. Even I couldn't help but feel like everything was a lie.

Was last night's events a dream? I actually hoped so but every time I checked the mark on my chest, I felt a little disappointed and realized that everything was real.

"But I'm quite surprised that you actually have such violent dreams?"

"Of course I make that type of dream! When working at the convenience store, I always meet groups of delinquents. Middle schoolers with dyed blond hair frequently gather at the store where I work. They love to crowd near the entrance and don't throw away their trash. It's their fault that I have to spend a lot of effort cleaning up each time. If I had an air gun, I'd really want to shoot at them and drive them all away."

"I see. Do they shoplift or do other bad things?"

"Hmm, things are not bad in this regard. After they enter the store, they act unexpectedly polite, actually."

The way I see it, they totally have a thing for Fujisato, right?

But as the convenience store's poster girl, I was quite relieved that Fujisato was only confronted with small troubles of this sort.

"By the way, Monjirou, have you ever thought about changing your current self?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"Weren't you talking about professional killers, immortal heroes and stuff like that just now? Usually, people who wants to become those kinds of things are those who feel dissatisfied with their current life!"

"Changing my current self..."

If I had to say, I'm actually in the post-transformation state right now.

--Under my mother's instruction, most of what I learnt from early childhood was how do people die and how to move so as to kill people more efficiently. Hence, in my youth, I almost never came into contact with normal values that most people are supposed to have.

Naturally, the family name Sakuradamon was a fake but my family does indeed hold a "license to kill". This is a license approved by a public agency and its authorization coverage was "the bearer is authorized engage in legal murder according to their personal judgment." My family has held this license for generations. In other words, my family was like a.s.sa.s.sins, in charge of eliminating the nation's enemies or spies from hostile countries. Supposedly, my mother was even a "master" with exceptional ability among the family.

The day I reached fifteen years of age, my mother suddenly vanished. Abandoned by my mother, I started living together with my little sister. Raised by my grandfather, my little sister had grown up peacefully as a normal person.

My past self never had a shred of emotion in my heart, like a specially designed machine made to kill. Rather than emotions, I prioritized logic and reason, to the point that I didn't think I needed to conform to society.

However, my little sister cherished me and took great pains to educate me. She told me what boys of my age were supposed to think about, to be interested in and the correct way to think like an average "person"...

After spending two years, I finally gained ordinary common sense and understood what the desires and values of high school boys at my age should have. I also know that I was more easily touched than boys of the same age and my heart wavered more easily, especially in s.e.x-related matters, my thoughts were particularly unstable, often unable to make correct decisions.

However, this part still counted within the parameters of a normal high school boy's behavior.

When wearing gla.s.ses, I can face my emotions and soul with honesty. While apply this sort of self-suggestion to myself, through the expenditure of long durations, I finally gained the soul a normal human was supposed to have.

Like this, when even my little sister guaranteed that I was like "an ordinary and normal person", only after that did I happily transfer into this exceedingly ordinary prefectural high school.

Of course, I was only able to complete this kind of personality remodeling partially because my mother had left a certain "mechanism" in my body before she left, which was how I was able to successfully come this far to this day--

"Would a highly skilled killer have some kind of powerful finishing move?"

My hand almost reached for my right shoulder involuntarily. Luckily, this sentence made me stop my movements.

"Hmm, yeah! But using a finishing move might lead to death so normally, they're sealed up."

"Ahaha, that feels like what I've often heard! It'd be so interesting if this type of story really were true!"

Sounding like a story but actually true, so true that it almost felt like a lie.

Perhaps the world was made up of all sorts of things like these.

Even this high school was the same. I used to think it was an ordinary prefectural high school but after transferring here did I find out that this place turned out to have Senpai who's from another race as well as that undercla.s.sman girl with a polite att.i.tude yet bizarre behavior.

"However, I understand your kind of wish to transform. Sometimes I do wonder if the way I am is really okay? I'll be graduating next year and the year after that, I might become a university student. Sometimes I feel anxious and can't help but worry... Is it really okay for me to continue living life in such a laid back manner?"

"Hmm... About the future... I've never thought about it, actually."

"To be honest, I've always worried about whether I'll be able to handle exams, studying and I have no idea what university entrance exams are like... Ooh... Monjirou, you've got such a smart brain, you probably don't have to worry about this kind of stuff, right?"

Ordinary high schoolers all had to work hard and study and take exams to maintain their academic performance but my level of working hard apparently far surpa.s.sed the level of "ordinary high schoolers". A certain cram school had held a nation-wide mock exam back in the beginning of June and I took the exam. I ended up accidentally getting number one in the nation.

Actually, I wasn't planning on standing out that much but high schoolers of this age always had ma.s.sive emotional ups and downs on this kind of ranking. My little sister was so happy that she even cooked red bean rice to celebrate, this made me quite happy.

"Starting from the second term, mathematics, physics and chemistry will get more difficult, so it's necessary to work harder."

"Ooh... I'm recalling bad memories... You're right, the subjects will get more and more hard... Tohoho--"

Fujisato only made a "tohoho" sound whenever she felt very helpless and demoralized.

With shoulders slumped, her dejected look was very interesting so occasionally, I would feel the urge to imitate her motion.

Cling clong clang...

"Oh, it's time to return to our seats. By the way, Monjirou, would you like to have lunch together after this period? I brought two packed lunches from the convenience store this morning."

"Oh, thank you very much, then I'll accept your kind offer."

"Nagi-chan already invited me this morning to have lunch at the student cafeteria, so it won't be the two of alone. Is that okay?"

"Having lunch alone with you would be nice but I'm very happy to have Kuhou with us as a trio as well."

"Ahaha, thank you for your compliment! Yes, then see you later!"

Fujisato ran back to her seat, her soft sleek hair fluttering.

While watching her from behind, something completely unrelated went through my mind.

--Looks like Fujisato is innocent.

To be honest, she was probably still working at the convenience store at the time.

While we were chatting, based on the a.n.a.lysis of her responses, she looked like an ordinary high schooler no matter what.

Once the lunch break comes, I'll deduce more from the situation then report back to Senpai that I've confirmed Fujisato's innocence.

While thinking that... I still did not lower my guard and continued to observe other students.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Rewinding back to last night...

I explained how lacking my experience with romantic love was.

I also revealed that last night was my first time sharing a bath with a young woman.

I also clarified that last night was my first experience of lying on a girl's lap.

After I thoroughly exposed my past, Shiki still wanted to confirm the contents of my bag, so I had no choice but to offer the puddings in my bag to the two girls.

"I originally guessed it'd be something other than food..."

Shiki looked very disappointed but I still managed to maintain the deception successfully, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Fujisato, thank you so much!

"Okay, the party has reached its climax so let's start discussing all the things related to the murderer."

Shiki's cold voice turned into a weapon that could stab deep into other's hearts at this time.

So my past was simply an opening speech for introducing the main topic, just something for her to liven up the atmosphere.

"In other words, the subject of my experience with women was totally pointless..."

"Jirou-kun, don't worry. I have never had contact with boys before either, whether letting a boy lie on my lap, helping a boy scrub his back, or even dying for each other... Or rather, having our bodies overlapping together, you are the only one whom I have ever done any of this with."

"Your way of putting it is a bit weird... But you're saying that you've never had any contact with boys before?"

As she was not only everyone's senior but also a very cute girl, all the boys wished to get close to Shiinamachi-senpai.

Of course, although feeling bothered by a girl's age was little strange, Senpai was a Nightkin and surely must have lived longer than humans like us. Although the monopolizing desire in my heart refused to accept this fact, Senpai probably had many chances to come into contact with males, right?

"Monjirou appears to be pondering Kaguya's past experiences with men."

"Shiki, can you not expose me so quickly?"

Shiki really was a scary girl, able to see right into my heart using her eyes that was covered by her hair.

"Umm, I... Well..."

Shiinamachi-senpai began to panic. Seeing her cheeks blush scarlet, together with that troubled look on her face... It looked like she really had few chances to come into contact with men.

But I remembered that she had apparently lost her memory. If that was true, then before losing her memory, she could have had a lover. As soon as that thought occurred to me, I felt a dull pain in my chest.

"Jirou-kun, I don't know whether you're willing to believe me or not, but to this date, I... Umm... have almost never had any skin contact with a boy."

Senpai said firmly to me, instantly making my heart feel much relieved.

But the jealousy already growing in my heart was hard to eradicate.

"Didn't you say you had lost your memory, Senpai? Then how do you know that you've never had male contact in the past?"

"Hmm, well... Were it not my first time to have contact with a boy, umm... I think I wouldn't have felt so nervous, so uneasy, blushing and having my heart pound so hard..."

"S-Senpai was feeling uneasy, blushing and having her heart pound for my sake..."

Senpai nodded subtly at me, her face bright red.

"After various observations, I hereby confirm that Kaguya's prior experience with male contact is zero."

Shiki also added on the side on Senpai's behalf.

"Rather, Kaguya is actually quite afraid of males. Monjirou, you are one of the rare male candidates that she is able to have normal contact with. Even if they lose their memories, living things will reflexively act upon their old habits and respond the same way. So based on results, it is possible to conclude that she has no prior experience with male contact at all."

"I see. Shiki, thank you for your explanation."

"You're welcome."

Shiki gave a nod. I began to feel a sense of rea.s.surance towards her. I see, so because she was always a.n.a.lyzing, thinking and observing on different levels to reach reasonable conclusions, no wonder Senpai found her so dependable.

"I was thinking Senpai might have had contact with members of her race..."

But I still found it difficult to let go completely. Perhaps I really was a shameful man. Men were always particularly concerned with the "shadow of the previous man", this was almost a basic instinct. Naturally, I was no exception.

"Oh, don't worry, because the Lords are all female."

I couldn't help but feel that the Nightkin race was too amazing.

No matter how long their life span, if all of them were female, then how did they leave descendants? I really wanted to know how the Nightkin solved this issue but asking about it would apparently const.i.tute s.e.xual hara.s.sment so I decided to behave.

"Currently what is certain is that the vast majority of Lords tends to have children with their Knights."

Shiki had proceeded to say something that greatly shocked me.

"...Really...?"

I tried hard to suppress the emotions shaking my heart and forcefully pushed my vanity gla.s.ses up twice.

As for Shiinamachi-senpai... The blush on her face had already spread to her ears. Just by looking, it was obvious that her ears were red to their tips.

I-I see. Right. Yes.

So the "safe day" Senpai mentioned really did carry that level of meaning...? No, in that case, it'd be a "risky day" instead, right...?

"Oh, umm, please don't discuss this topic anymore, uh... Let's hurry and cut to the chase!"

Senpai looked down, her hands waving in front of her face. This adorable sight was quite something to behold.

If I had to use an a.n.a.logy, Senpai's motions were like a small animals, possessing greatly soothing properties, capable of consoling Shiki and I who were watching her from the side. With that, of course I couldn't bring myself to ask Senpai what the true meaning of "safe day" was.

But whatever. In any case, Senpai never had any experience with men and for some reason, I was fortunate enough to be selected by Senpai. That was enough.

"Okay, roger that. Let us start the serious discussion segment."

Shiki took out a notebook from her lab coat, spun the ball point pen in her right hand and announced.

"Serious discussion segment... Although it's a bit of a shame, I understand."

"You two... are both equally annoying..."

Hearing Senpai's sulking words, a s.a.d.i.s.tic urge surged forth in my heart. But since she is Senpai, whether in school year or how many years lived, I must respect her seniority. Hence, I should only tease her once in a while.

"So, Kaguya, are you able to recognize who the culprit is?"

Next, Shiki suddenly went straight to confirming the culprit and other related matters.

"Umm... No idea at all."

Shiinamachi-senpai's eyebrows dropped.

"While I was waiting for Jirou-kun... I suddenly heard knocking so I called out to answer then opened the door... Then the blade stabbed into my chest, just like that."

Senpai pointed at the wooden door in the room. That spot was some distance away from where she collapsed.

"So basically… Senpai was pushed back a fair distance from the position of the wooden door?"

"Looks like it."

Judging from the location where the pool of blood was formed, it could also be confirmed that Senpai drew her last breath in the center of the room.

The murderer's blade had aimed accurately to pierce her heart. At the time, Senpai stumbled and probably had no way of walking over to where she fell.

"Kaguya, are you unable to confirm the culprit's face and appearance?"

"Hmm… No, I really can't be certain. By the time I noticed the person's figure, it had already happened."

"Senpai, what about the size of the figure? For example, similar to mine? Or more like Shiki's?"

"Oh, in that case… I think it wasn't as big as yours, Jirou-kun. Compared to Shiki-san… Maybe a bit taller, or perhaps about the same? I can't be sure…"

If the attacker was only slightly taller than Shiki or about her height, then that person was probably a short boy or even a girl. However, would a girl be able to stab a blade so accurately through the heart? Hearts were essentially ma.s.ses of muscle tissue. To stab a blade through a heart required substantial force. Besides, the attacker had pierced the heart completely. It would take even a man quite a bit of strength.

"I see, I see."

Shiki recorded these details in her notebook while nodding repeatedly. Her actions were quite experienced and it felt like she was long used to making these kinds of records.

"Monjirou, I will confirm with you. How much muscle power is needed to pierce the heart in one strike?"

Then Shiki tossed me that question with absolute precision.

--I am a descendant of trained killers.

She must have asked me this question because she knew of that fact.

This was a highly efficient manner of information gathering.

The useful person here was not the usual, laid back "Sakuradamon Jirou" but the man who was born in a family of killers, the one who had learned all sorts of knowledge and techniques from his mother. Indeed, for the sake of protecting Shiinamachi-senpai--In other words, the "master", that was how a va.s.sal ought to act.

Hence, I one again pushed my gla.s.ses swiftly and switched my mental state.

"Ordinary high school boy" Sakuradamon Jirou and "professional killer" me. The act of touching the gla.s.ses served as a ritual and hint to switch consciousness. My "normal human soul" was not mature enough while my consciousness and emotions were evidently not stable enough. If I returned to being a "killer" for too long, the mental state in my mind that approaches a normal person's could disappear.

Hence, my little sister established a system of self-control techniques for me, in other words, I would use this pair of vanity gla.s.ses to switch between modes.

I was currently trying to let my thoughts return to that of a killer's while retaining my consciousness…

Then I began to speak slowly:

"A human's heart is a ma.s.s of muscle, so based on common logic, a female's arm strength shouldn't be able to pierce the heart so easily. Besides, a certain amount of force is needed to kill the target in one strike, this too, is very hard to achieve. Hmm… Supposing Senpai was standing in the center of the room at the time and the murderer had charged from the entrance forcefully to stab her, then that might be possible. As long as one knows how to use the impact and bodyweight to enhance the murder weapon's force, it should be possible."

"Monjirou, according to your observations, does the culprit possess a similar level of killing technique as your lineage?"

--This girl.

Was she trying to test out my abilities just by using these questions?

From the blue right eye that was vaguely visibly between the strands of her hair, light was given off that could not be underestimated.

--I see.

She thinks that I am one of the suspects for killing Shiinamachi-senpai, which is why she asked for my opinion, thereby letting me know that she was wary of me.

"Senpai's wound was very deep. Based on that, the murder weapon should be a large bladed tool or perhaps a kitchen knife of a certain length. If the weapon has a certain amount of weight, even if the user's skill is inferior to mine, the objective can still be achieved. If the murderer is on a similar level as me, then he or she should be able to murder Senpai with ease."

"In other words, as long as the culprit possesses a blade of that level, it's possible to achieve what was done, is that it?"

"Yeah, indeed. In learning techniques in killing, the use of swords and spears are basic essential skills. On that point, the murderer should have a certain level of muscle strength."

"Let me see… Height roughly the same as an average girl but rather strong… Someone fitting these requirements could be the murderer, right?"

Shiinamachi-senpai had her arms crossed before her chest while she looked down at the floor.

That spot must be where she was stabbed.

…How much did it hurt her at the time? At least when I was stabbed, it really hurt a lot.

Senpai was definitely not human but judging from the interactions I've had with her over the past three months, I find her to be no different from an ordinary girl. To think that someone could take a sword and stab her to death with absolute precision and efficiency without any hesitation at all.

This was almost something that only a professional killer could do.

As soon as I thought that, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine.

Shiki's question just not only expressed her suspicions about me but also, at the same time--revealed that she believes the murderer to be on a professional level.

I couldn't help but look at Shiki's face, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Monjirou, I will confirm with you. When you arrived here, was the clock tower locked?"

Shiki's ballpoint pen's tip pointed at me as she questioned me. I could feel those eyes, hidden behind her bangs, flashing with a serious gaze.

"Hmm, I unlocked it before entering, then after entering the clock tower, I locked it up again."

I remember locking up for sure to prevent intruders from following after me.

…Hmm? In other words--

"In other words, it's possible that the culprit… after killing Kaguya, locked the door again… then hid in the monitor's room downstairs from Kaguya's room."

If Shiki's reasoning was correct, that meant that I had pa.s.sed by the killer's hiding place at the time. Or rather, I was stabbed to death later so things could have happened as Shiki hypothesized?

"Let me think… Regardless of the ident.i.ty of the one who killed me, this clock tower's door cannot be opened unless you have a key, is that right?"

"Kaguya, you are correct. Since the culprit also killed Monjirou, in other words, the culprit's range of action is limited. However, herein lies a question. Why did the culprit kill Monjirou as well?"

"Hmm…"

I tried to ponder what had happened in sequence.

First, the killer unlocked the clock tower's entrance to invade the tower.

Then the killer locked the door and proceeded to kill Senpai.

Then I unlocked the door and came to Senpai's room. At this time, the killer appeared behind me and killed me.

I see. So that's how one can trace the killer's movements like this.

Shiki's method of thinking felt like a detective's. I was quite impressed.

Since early childhood, I had been trained nonstop as a killer so I had no chance to undergo this type of investigative thought.

After joining the library monitors, I also started reading some mystery novels. From the authors' perspectives, I was probably a good reader because I always failed to guess the culprit's ident.i.ty and would get a surprise at the ending every time.

"Here is a copy of my notes for you two."

Shiki handed to Senpai and me a sheet of paper torn out from her note book.

The lines drawn on the paper were very straight and neat, so much that I couldn't help but suspect whether she used a ruler to draw them. Ill.u.s.trated on the paper was a floor plan of the clock tower with notes included on the side. The crime scene was this room and she had drawn two people in that room, so they were probably representing me and Shiinamachi-senpai.

To think that she even colored the area around us red, what the heck was Shiki trying to do…

"Since this is a rare chance, let's try to recreate the crime scene."

"Yes, I understand."

After hearing Shiki's suggestion, Senpai and I nodded in agreement then stood up from our seat cushions.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

There were many places circled in red on the piece of notebook paper with annotations of "Important!"

Back door: the school entrance that everyone knows. Only place to sneak in to school grounds at night! Entrance: clock tower entrance. The heavy metal door can even deflect bullets! Library monitors' office: the lounge for library monitors. What might be hidden on the back of the giant clock's face plate…? Clock tower management room: the location where Kaguya and Monjirou were killed! Bathroom: indecent event happened here! ＼(^o^)／

"Any questions?"

"Hmm, nope."

Why were the explanations written with such exuberance? The tone completely failed to match the personality Shiki presented in person, making it impossible for me to hide the confusion in my heart. Especially what the heck's with that ⑤? How excited is she? There's even an emote at the end.

"Shiki-san's text messages are always very fun! Not only does she put in emotes, there's even ascii art, it's very cute!"

"I see."

Indeed, on the side of the notebook paper there were many emotes and ascii art patterns that one could find on the internet. This totally changed my view of Shiki. So she actually liked cute things a lot?

"Very cute, right?"

"Yeah, v-very cute."

Although Shiki was not like Fujisato who would instantly yell "SO CUTE!" whenever she saw anything, it looked like somewhere in the depths of this weirdo's heart was a girl who loved cute things.

Putting that aside, at least thanks to this piece of notebook paper, the situation had become a lot easier to understand.

Looking a Shiki's handwritten note, we left the room, walked down the creaking wooden staircase and arrived at the library monitors' office.

"Senpai, is your condition okay? Having bled so much earlier, will you get uncomfortable symptoms like anemia?"

"Should be fine… Jirou-kun, you really so kind."

Senpai smiled faintly and immediately became embarra.s.sed.

This smile was the smile that soothed my heart and soul every time when library monitor meetings were held. Every time I thought about how a girl with this kind of smile had lost her life, I couldn't help but feel a severe chill. Had she not been a Nightkin, I probably would not be able to see this facial expression again. And after I was killed, had it not been for Senpai's help in giving me immortality, then the result would have been the same. To think that I actually met two miracles in a single night.

Speaking of which, had Shiki come to borrow Senpai's bathroom with her usual state of mind, had she set off earlier, most likely she would have faced danger as well.

"By the way, Shiki, why do you come to Senpai's room to borrow the bathroom?"

Thanks to Shiinamachi-senpai's smile, my heart was finally calm and I asked Shiki a question.

"Shiki-san has locked herself away in the computer lab management room lately doing research so I invited her to use the bathroom at my room every night."

So it was Shiinamachi-senpai who took initiative to invite her? In other words, Shiki was going to visit Senpai's room as usual tonight, which meant that Senpai never intended to be alone with me in the first place.

…Yes, I get it now!

The clock tower management room was Shiinamachi-senpai's personal room. The room itself was like a suite and quite s.p.a.cious. On the other hand, Shiki was occupying the computer lab management room, so maybe that place might also have been modified to add functions for living?

I found it a bit difficult to imagine staying out overnight, even to the point of staying in school. Although I had the ability to survive outdoors and pitch tents, staying overnight at Shiinamachi-senpai's room together with everyone really was my one and only previous experience staying in school. Perhaps there might be even more people who lived in school discreetly.

Having lived in this area for the past three months, I originally thought this school to be ordinary but now I'm getting an increasingly strong feeling that this place is actually pretty weird.

"Shiki, what do you do in that room?"

"Hacking into the computers of bad guys, obtaining all sorts of state secrets, investigating whether other Nightkin or their va.s.sals exist in other places."

Somehow, I felt like I had unintentionally heard about extremely outrageous work.

So stuff like that really existed in the word. I couldn't help but think that, yet…

Every generation of my family consisted of professional killers, hence I changed my mind. There was no need to make a big deal out of what Shiki did. After all, I was someone ignorant of worldly matters, which is why I used to think the world was unexpectedly ordinary. I also used to take my own upbringing for granted and never had any doubts.

However, there did exist many things in the world that are known to few, it's just that we don't know about them. I feel like this was the sort of information I seem to have obtained many times tonight.

"Senpai, apart from Shiki, is there anyone else in this school you know who has a special background?"

"Yes… But since they are keeping a low profile on purpose, I have no choice but to keep their secrets for now."

Shiinamachi-senpai lifted her index finger and made a hush sound. Indeed, if people wanted to hide their background, then it wouldn't be appropriate to spill their secrets without their consent.

Based on this fact, then surely there were other people living in the school.

And those people must have pretty astounding backgrounds.

I've already accepted all sorts of surreal circ.u.mstances, even to the point of naturally coming to conclusions as the above.

"By the way, Monjirou."

"Hmm?"

Walking down the stairs, we reached the library monitors' office.

Shiki waved repeatedly at me then pointed at the far wall.

"Monjirou, if someone hid behind the back of that large clock's faceplate, could you tell?"

"Hmm… If it's the daytime or there's lighting nearby, I might be able to tell. But if it's totally dark like just now, I probably can't."

The surroundings were very dim at the time and I didn't expect anyone to be hiding in the first place, so if someone suppressed their breathing and leaned behind the back of the clock faceplate against the wall, I wouldn't have noticed at all.

"But if the other person didn't know I was coming, he or she wouldn't have hid there, right?"

"That's right. Hence, the culprit actually…"

Shiki moved over to the clock's faceplate.

"Suppose the murderer was just about to flee the scene and Monjirou just happened to enter through the door here…"

Saying that, Shiki hid behind the clock faceplate… Getting on all fours, hiding her body.

"In this kind of condition, can the culprit lurk like this, hidden in the darkness while watching Monjirou climb up the stairs?"

"--Why doesn't the culprit take the opportunity to escape instead of going out of their way to kill me off?"

"Well then, Monjirou, let's call upon your speculations of the killer's psychology to provide a hypothesis."

Shiki took out a ballpoint pen from her chest pocket and handed it over to me.

"Imagine this pen as either a key or a knife as appropriate depending on the situation when making use of this prop. Monjirou, please act it out. What would you do if you were the culprit?"

"Hmm, let me think about it first."

"Go ahead."

Senpai was looking at me intently, so I hoped to make my performance as realistic as possible. So I kept staring at the note paper, imagining what course of action the culprit should take.

--Okay, first of all…

The culprit walks from ① over to the clock tower then opens the lock at ②. Just as Shiki's notes indicate, this is the only entrance to the school at night. Without a key, this door cannot be opened.

Then pa.s.sing by ③, in other words, our current room, then heading over to ④, Shiinamachi-senpai's room--

As for ⑤, the bathroom is totally irrelevant to the entire incident, simply a sweet memory between Senpai and me.

"Senpai, did you hear any knocking at your door?"

"Yes. I thought it was Jirou-kun at the time, so I opened it immediately."

Although the incident wasn't caused by me, I still felt very apologetic because there's a feeling like I indirectly killed Senpai. However, I don't have the time to feel depressed over this. These kinds of thoughts are better left for reminiscing in bed alone so as to toss and turn, unable to fall asleep.

Back to the main topic, I faced Senpai squarely and tried to act out the scene when the murderer killed Senpai. I pushed the tip of the ballpoint pen towards Shiinamachi-senpai.

"Monjirou, could you do the deed with a 'gabah!" Please."

"Not 'gabah' right? I think it should more of a 'gusah'."

"The sound effect is just a kind of performance."

"--In any case, it's just for show."

I made eye contact with Senpai and she performed the motion of slowly opening the door.

Then I… with a slow and steady pace, I aimed for Senpai's chest.

--Aimed at the chest.

"Oh, Jirou-kun, the position should be slightly lower."

I really couldn't bring myself to poke the ballpoint pen directly into Senpai's magnificent bust. Hence, Senpai pulled my hand and poked the pen's tip into her soft bosom. The pen was capped so I don't think it would hurt too much but through the pen, I could feel concretely the suppleness and elasticity of Senpai's body.

In this manner, my hand was almost about to touch Senpai's voluptuous bosom… I frantically released the ballpoint pen.

"I-I see. So that's how Senpai was stabbed to death!"

Senpai looked at my panic in puzzlement. To prevent the girls from asking why I was so embarra.s.sed and nervous, I hastily tried to continue modeling the original killer's movements.

"Oh right. The culprit then crashed into me just like that, pushing my entire body to the center of the room."

After listening to Senpai's explanation, Shiki took out another ballpoint pen, knocking audibly on the chin. Senpai and I looked at Shiki while she pondered, waiting for her to comment.

"I see. I understand now. In that case, the culprit actually… Hold on, let's switch up."

Shiki exchanged positions with me.

"The culprit actually used this long and thick thing to penetrate Kaguya. Using his or her entire body's strength, the killer pushed Kaguya to the center of the room."

Shiki held the ballpoint pen with both hands then pretended to slam her body into Shiinamachi-senpai. But perhaps because Shiki didn't actually thrust with a running start, Senpai's bountiful bosom cushioned her motion. If there weren't a reenactment of a murder process, the whole scene would look like a drawing, bringing a smile to one's face.

This fact, combined with what Shiki just said about a long and thick thing… I'll just pretend not to notice.

"Yes yes yes, like this. The murderer charged at me like that, giving me quite a fright."

Shiinamachi-senpai received Shiki's motion with her chest and slowly moved backwards.

"Then I collapsed in the room's center."

"Yes. When I discovered Senpai, she was already collapsed in the center of ④."

When I saw Senpai, she had already fallen in a pool of blood. But reviving after receiving my blood, Senpai decided in her panic to pa.s.s along the gift of immortality to me. Furthermore, she cleaned up the blood from the scene before I awakened. Although I don't understand what kind of power it was exactly, nor how it worked… In any case, the two of us apparently don't need to worry about dying from blood loss.

"According to estimates, Kaguya's time of death is roughly when?"

"Should be after 11pm… Yes."

"Let me add that it was 11:55 when I arrived at Senpai's room."

"In that case, a substantial duration must have pa.s.sed before Kaguya resurrected."

"Yes… Probably. Actually, it was because Jirou-kun's blood happened to splash on me that I was able to revive, so…"

So-called immortality probably required fulfilling certain conditions for resurrection to happen. Looks like this power was even less convenient than I imagined.

"I see. Judging from the situation, even if the culprit was slow, Monjirou probably couldn't have witnessed the crime in the act. In that case--Monjirou, could you please continue playing the culprit."

"Eh? Oh sure."

"So, Monjirou was just about to extend his evil claws towards the lovely and vulnerable Kaguya…"

"No no no, I didn't do it!"

"Fufu."

I protested against the maliciously teasing Shiki while Shiinamachi-senpai watched this scene rather happily.

Hmm. Being able to see Senpai make such a smile, I guess it's worth it for getting teased. Shiki, your criminal actions are totally premeditated!

"Then let's change the wording a bit. Monjirou used his long and thick thing to take away Kaguya's first time… Does that work?"

"I'm sorry, Shiki-sama, I'm begging you. Could you stop using this type of description to recreate the events, okay?"

"Very well."

Shiinamachi-senpai simply c.o.c.ked her head in puzzlement with a face full of innocence, probably because she was not too familiar with these dirty keywords with ambiguous meanings. Without a direct description, Senpai was not going to get the meaning. Judging from that, even though she was my senior in school, she was actually a pure and untainted maiden inside.

"As a side note, to me personally, Monjirou's naked body was the first ever male nude body I've ever seen."

I was forced to recall recent memories that I had not wish to remember.

"A man's naked body isn't interesting at all, right?"

"At the time, I was originally planning to confirm the mark that had appeared on your body."

"Oh, you mean the pattern on my chest?"

The pattern had appeared after Shiinamachi-senpai had helped me to resurrect. This pattern was also proof that I had obtained Senpai's magical power and become her companion.

"By the way, I also noticed the scar on your right shoulder."

"That's…"

Hearing Shiki point out my right shoulder's scar, I used my left hand to touch the side of the my right shoulder.

"You said that it was an old wound, right?"

So Shiki was listening to my conversation with Senpai? As soon as I thought that, I couldn't help but look at Shiki. However, her bangs covered both eyes and I was unable to read any emotions from her.

"This is where the promise between my mother and me was carved."

I rubbed my left hand back and forth over the scar then noticed Senpai tilting her head slightly.

"You said that's the promise between your mother and you?"

"Yes. No matter what happens, as long as my body carries this scar, I won't forget my mother's words. In other words, this is the bond between me and my disappeared mother."

Although my mother had left behind a great sun of money, before she left, the hidden significance behind this scar was what she cared about the most.

--Dormant beneath this scar is actually my entire clan's secret.

Precisely because of that, my mother warned me repeatedly that I must firmly remember this scar and the significance behind it.

Just recalling the contents of her warning made me feel a chill down my spine.

"Understood. In other words, there are still a number of places on Monjirou's body that I have yet to investigate thoroughly."

"Yeah. Something like that."

Looks like Shiki still had not figured out what this scar represented.

"Even if I keep staring at the scar, I cannot understand its meaning."

"So you've been staring at it all along?"

I recalled how Shiki had been silently staring at me while I was putting on my clothes.

"Just to be safe, I shall use a maidenly excuse for myself. In actual fact, I felt quite embarra.s.sed at the time."

Although I felt that Shiki was doing it openly with an upfront att.i.tude at the time, since she went as far as to say this, I'll just pretend it was so. I decided to believe in her explanation… Just as I felt an impulse to turn my gaze towards Shiki, I noticed a small and compact realm.

Despite Shiki's arrogant airs, that part of hers was rather modest.

"I can sense dirty ogling."

"Sorry about that."

"No problem. Once you get tired of Kaguya's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I allow you to freely admire mine."

"Oh okay, thank you."

Although I didn't think I'd ever grow tired of Senpai's magnificent bust, this suggestion was still very attractive, hence I nodded in response for now.

"Shiki-san, Jirou-kun, t-this is unacceptable!"

I could hear Senpai's utterly embarra.s.sed voice. It made my lips curl in a smile.

"Putting this aside, let's continue the reenactment. First, suppose the culprit escaped the room after murdering Kaguya at ④. Currently, let's a.s.sume that Monjirou's murderer is the same person and continue with that."

Shiki rapidly wrote in her notebook. Her fingers moved quickly over the notebook, it looked like she was drawing. Shiinamachi-senpai looked at Shiki's motions then stared at the note in her hand.

"Hmm… If both murders were committed by the same person… After killing me, there was still a period of time until Jirou-kun was murdered. What was the culprit doing during this time?"

"That's right. Perhaps there might be something subtle here that only the culprit could discern. Monjirou, if you were the culprit, what would you have done?"

"Hmm…"

A murderer's actions. I've never actually carried such a action out. Neither had I ever thought about it. To think I'd have to test this under hypothetical conditions right now. However, that murderer's skills were definitely very professional. Although it was quite difficult, I suppose having me to deduce the entire process might really be the fastest solution.

In that case, it couldn't be helped. In order to turn my consciousness entirely to my other self, I took off my vanity gla.s.ses to switch modes.

Next, I took a deep breath and exhaled, allowing myself to regain the ice-cold judgment of a killer's.

First of all, there was no need to clean up the scene after the murder. Once the target was successfully killed, the most effective course of action was to leave straight away. Whether destroying evidence or taking other actions, the more unnecessary behavior, the easier it was to leave clues behind.

Hence, supposing "I" was the culprit, after killing the target--Shiinamachi-senpai--I absolutely wouldn't do anything else. Murder cases in mystery novels often have many clues, which is how the detective catches the culprit at the end. In real life, the more trivial and mundane things, naturally, the higher the chances of failure. After all, I was someone who had undergone the education of a professional killer's, so my conclusion is: most murderers are not professionals, hence there is nothing surprising even if they fail.

Because there was no need to personally see the aftermath of the murder, I would have swiftly departed through the wooden door and ran down the steps. As long as no one heard the wooden steps creaking, everything would be fine. Then reaching the library monitors' office on the ground floor, I'd immediately leave the building. Escaping directly was fine.

If the time of murder was 11pm, then not even a minute would be needed from killing the target to leaving the building.

From outside the building to leaving the school grounds, it shouldn't take five minutes either.

With that, it was possible to kill the target without anyone discovering--That being said, after killing her, it was necessary to kill "Sakuradamon Jirou".

If that was the case…

"There should have been quite a gap between the culprit escaping and my arrival time. If the murderer chose to kill me, it must have been because he or her discovered me during the escape then tailed me and returned to the crime scene in an abnormal move."

It should have been roughly 11:35pm when I met Kuhou in front of the school. The culprit probably discovered me heading to the school building at this time.

In that case, it meant that during a gap as long as thirty minutes, the culprit was staying near the crime scene. This behavior was really quite weird… But I did in fact get stabbed by the killer so let's a.s.sume this is the truth for now.

"Monjirou, do you think that the culprit could have secretly tailed you before killing you?"

"If the culprit has no experience or only received a bit of training, I'd immediately notice someone was following me. But if it was an expert, that'd be tough to notice."

"Okay, then let's a.s.sume it was an expert. According to my speculations, back then, your mental state was 'Wow! I will be enjoying my lovey-dovey time with Shiinamachi-senpai soon, hehehe!' hence you must have been quite distracted."

"Shiki, hold on!"

"What? Do you wish for me to deliberately add in more emotional fluctuation as a performance?"

"I'm not talking about your acting skills. But what's with that hehehe?"

"I am simply speculating that such thoughts probably went through Monjirou's mind at the time."

…It's true, the way I see it, I do feel that these kinds of thoughts could very well have happened.

But as soon as I heard someone else voice them, for some reason, I felt a very sad feeling in my heart…

"No, hmm, even if you deduced my thoughts at the time, could you not voice them out please…"

"Understood. First of all, Monjirou allowed himself to wallow in his l.u.s.t, then stepped towards the clock tower's door… This is probably okay, right?"

"If possible, I really hope you won't describe things that way, but yes, I did walk to the clock tower's door. After opening the door, I immediately locked it again."

I pointed at the door at the entrance. Shiki walked over to it.

She locked the door, producing a heavy clang in the lock.

Hearing this sound reminded me of something.

"Right, after entering here I immediately shut the door, so even if the murderer was following me, there shouldn't be any way to enter this building again."

That's right, just as Shiki wrote, "②Entrance: clock tower entrance. The heavy metal door can even deflect bullets!" This door was extremely thick and heavy. Also, there was no other entrance so we could rule out the hypothesis of the culprit discovering me then following after me.

--Just as I realized this fact…

I suddenly recalled how Shiki said the culprit could have hid behind the large clock's faceplate.

"I see… If the culprit wanted to kill, even if he or she followed me, there was no way to achieve this objective."

"Apparently so. So we can hypothesize that for the culprit to kill you, he or she probably did not step out of this door."

The killer had not stepped outside. If the killer's plan was to first kill Shiinamachi-senpai then kill me, then it was understandable why he or she chose to remain inside the building. Because my arrival time was unknown, the culprit had no choice but to hide here to wait for me to appear.

"Then we can hypothesize that after killing Shiinamachi-senpai… the culprit hid behind the clock's faceplate, right?"

"Yes. Please continue along these lines."

I really couldn't understand. Since the culprit's methods were as precise as a professional killer's, why take the risk of getting discovered and hide behind the clock's faceplate? Of course, I could understand if the killer had decided from the beginning to kill me after killing Senpai… But wait, I still had a question: Why did the murderer know I had an appointment with Senpai?

"The culprit was hiding here, waiting for 'me' to appear."

"In that case, arriving later, you immediately went up the stairs, right?"

Shiki walked over to the stairs then walked up, stepping on the wooden steps, producing creaking sounds as a result.

"Hmm. The culprit personally watched 'me' climb up the stairs towards Shiinamachi-senpai's room. Then rushing out from behind this clock face--"

I took my steps slowly and came to the staircase.

Just as the wooden steps made a sound--

"Shiki, stop for a sec."

I looked up at Shiki, but immediately looked down in a panic.

Because I almost caught sight of the view under Shiki's skirt, the depths of those slender thighs…

"Monjirou, you prefer to look at my panties openly?"

"No! I wasn't looking!"

"I have already seen your naked body, hence I permit you to peek at my panties."

What the heck kind of suggestion was that? But since she already said okay, that means I really can look?

Those thoughts surfaced in my mind but I immediately realized it was a trap set by Shiki so I shook my head.

"Ahem. Shiki, I think that the proposed crime process is too infeasible."

"Really?"

I somehow felt like Shiki was staring at me but because I couldn't look up, I turned my face to the side and brought up what I discovered.

"Supposing that the culprit had no choice but to kill 'me' and that he or she really was hiding here, then as soon as 'I' stepped on the stairs, the culprit could have finished 'me' off from behind."

The culprit was carrying such a large blade with substantial destructive potential. According to normal logic, doing the deed downstairs would have been the safer approach.

"The culprit only buried the murder weapon deeply into your back after you had discovered Kaguya and shocked as a result. In that case, you were less likely to counterattack, so the overall situation was safer… Suppose the killer knew this, what do you think?"

If that really was the case, then it meant that the killer already knew before hand that I was the descendant of professional killers. Without taking into account the possibility I might take notice and resist, it would have been difficult to achieve the objective.

However, if the culprit was backed by someone like Shiki who was privy to all sorts of information, then that probability would not be zero.

"Let's just a.s.sume that the culprit was able to chase after me on the stairs without making a sound then silently approach me from behind to stab me to death, that's really too--"

Indeed. As soon as anyone walked on these stairs, the wooden steps would surely creak.

No matter how hard an ordinary person tried, their own weight would cause the wooden boards on the steps to produce sounds from friction. Walking silently up and down those steps should be impossible.

But at the time, I totally did not hear any sound from someone ascending the stairs. Whether unlocking, opening the door or climbing the stairs, I didn't hear anything at all.

When I discovered Shiinamachi-senpai, the surroundings were unnaturally silent, almost to the point of hurting my ears. This was the indisputable truth.

--Precisely because of that, I was definitely capable of hearing the culprit's footsteps approaching me from behind.

Hence, the conclusion was--

"Impossible."

"I see. Understood."

Holding onto the handrail, Shiki tried to make creaking noises with the wooden boards underfoot.

Just by shaking the handrail, the sound of friction would increase.

"So, if that's the case… Shiki-san--"

Originally silent, listening to Shiki and I hypothesizing, Shiinamachi-senpai suddenly spoke with worry in her voice.

Shiki looked at the unsettled Senpai and slowly nodded--

"Yes. By my reasoning, the culprit must have used a Gift in order to accomplish the entire crime."

Thus she announced these ominous words.