Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Asami-senpai shouted “Assistant-kun—” in a tone like a trainer calling out to a Poké○on.

Although the Novelist wanted to retort about this, and in fact there was no real need for him to be the one to stop the girl… it was better to cooperate with her right now.

After all, it was already strange enough that she had pulled him up to the water tower on the roof while no one was paying attention, rather than joining the police officers in preventing the high school girls who were in danger.

…

Jumping down from the rooftop, the impact transmitted through his rubber soles turned into a faint pain. In this situation, it was impossible to be gentle even if he wanted to. Ohashi Kazuko, who was crouching in the corner with a dark expression, was knocked directly to the ground.

The Novelist’s physical fitness and build were average, being the type with just a bit of muscle. He hadn’t received any professional training, nor did he have characteristics like being a former delinquent or having natural strength. If fighting against delinquents, he might win in a one-on-one situation. One against two would be quite dangerous, and one against three would definitely require fleeing—just to that extent.

That said, catching a fragile high school girl off guard and knocking her down wasn’t a problem, but this wasn’t something worth boasting about; removed from context and real conditions, it would rather be despicable. Fortunately, he was an egalitarian and didn’t mind this point much. This should have been left to the police, but they seemed to be intimidated by Ohashi Kazuko’s crazed behavior… though only for a brief few seconds, if this continued, her ten fingers would be beyond saving.

“Kazuko… why has it become like this…”

Thick-Brows was trembling, her pale face showing an expression of disbelief.

Several more police officers entered through the door. Under their escort, the girls on the rooftop were led down one by one. The sound of police sirens came from not far from the school gate.

“Asami-san…”

One of the police officers came forward to report the situation at the scene to her.

…

According to the brief questioning just now, in the words of Thick-Brows and other members, Ohashi Kazuko’s behavior today was drastically different from her usual attitude. She had originally been a quiet girl with a shy personality.

Two weeks ago, she was sent to the hospital for rest and treatment due to excessive blood loss. After being discharged, Kazuko escaped while her family wasn’t paying attention and came here to attend the regular gathering.

Mitsue and the others had been secretly delighted, mainly because of the loyalty and dependence Kazuko had shown… they never expected something like this to happen.

It was as if some fundamental nature had been exposed—driven by a twisted will to take crazy actions, Kazuko had developed an obsessive desire for “Mitsue-sama” in her heart, hoping to jump to their deaths together, even at the cost of sacrificing dozens of other companions.

No, perhaps in Ohashi Kazuko’s thinking, this was a true “happiness” worth rejoicing over! Because this was how Mitsue had been teaching her all along—

“Is Asami-senpai saying that this person brought this upon herself?” the Novelist asked in a low voice as he walked up beside Detective-san, noticing that both the unconscious Ohashi Kazuko and the suspicious high school girl group leader Mitsue had been taken into police custody.

“That’s part of the reason. However…” Senpai replied softly.

“This woman isn’t a fool; she’s quite experienced in deception and disguise. She wouldn’t easily let such a dangerous element into her group.”

Either Ohashi Kazuko was very good at hiding her true nature and deceived the other, or…

“Ohashi Kazuko only recently became like this. I find this more believable, because the clues are already in front of our eyes…”

The Novelist thought for a moment.

“…I see. Is it the effect of some powerful drug?”

Senpai nodded.

In the past few minutes, Ohashi Kazuko’s performance had been terrifying; those who hadn’t witnessed it might find it hard to imagine—ultimately, fear stems from deviation. Once one witnesses a deviation from daily life, logical reality, and social personality, the distorted part induces a sense of dread. Many people have the habit of biting their fingers when nervous, but humans who chew and swallow their fingers unhesitatingly as if they were candy, then spit them out—probably don’t exist at all.

That wasn’t purely a psychological or personality issue. Just now, Ohashi Kazuko’s expression showed that she completely didn’t feel the pain of consuming her own flesh and blood—

“If I’m not mistaken, she must have taken or injected a drug with hallucinogenic effects and nerve-numbing properties, and the effect was very strong,” Asami-senpai said to the police officer who came over to report the situation. Her words paused for half a second, as if making a choice in a moment of hesitation.

“Investigate the sale of prohibited substances by nearby gangs and underground organizations, especially those dealing with minors… as well as the source of the drugs.”

…

“Anyway, we can breathe a sigh of relief now, right?”

After the police and high school girls had all left, the rooftop quickly became empty.

The wind on the roof howled and grew fierce. Asami Yuko unconsciously narrowed her eyes, then smiled easily. While no one else was around, she stretched lazily before speaking to the Novelist, who seemed to be in a daze.

“Ah… yes. So, what next?”

“Next… I’ll take a break at school for now! Then go to the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in the afternoon. This time we managed to prevent them in advance. Don’t worry, we’ve taken the initiative now, you know?”

Senpai still wore a confident expression as she stood on her tiptoes and patted his shoulder.

…But it was indeed impressive. How did she know that this place would be the location of the fifth incident? And the timing was just right too. Even though previously, she had ruled out the suspiciousness of this group…

Before understanding Senpai’s intentions, the Novelist had to face the rapidly deteriorating situation, because this day was far from over. That was after returning to Yuihara Private High School with Senpai—

…

The afternoon sun was lazily shining on the lawn and the pebble-paved paths, as well as the classroom buildings during lunch break and the people passing by on the sidewalk. The familiar everyday atmosphere was changed by the dull sound like that of an overripe fruit falling and splattering its juice on the ground.

With the fallen girl lying on the path with her limbs bent at strange angles as the center, steaming blood and brain matter spread from behind the corpse, slowly seeping into the cracks between the rocks and into the soil.

Around her were terrified shouts and clamoring voices. The Novelist looked up from beside the corpse; Asami-senpai was gazing down at him from the rooftop.

Because she was backlit by the sun, her expression was hidden in shadow, indiscernible.