Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

After the memorial service ended, the Novelist immediately left school. When he got off at the Sakuradamon station and arrived in front of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, he was startled by the scene before him. The originally spacious platform and steps were completely packed with a bustling crowd.

At a glance, he could only see bobbing heads and shadowy figures. The throng of people nearby blocked his view entirely.

His ears were filled with chaotic noise, like unstable radio waves.

Judging from the microphones in their hands and the camera operators surrounding them, they were probably reporters from various media outlets.

Just as the Novelist was about to look for another way in, his sharp eyes noticed a familiar figure.

“Where’s Asami-senpai?”

He maneuvered around the bustling crowd and stood in front of Kazuki-san, who had just poked his head out from inside.

After noticing him, Kazuki-san first breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a bitter smile.

“So you came. I’m sorry you had to see this scene. Things have been quite troublesome lately.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but the shadows under Kazuki-san’s eyes seemed darker, clearly showing he hadn’t rested properly for some time.

Seeing this expression, the Novelist basically understood what might have happened here over the past few days.

“It must have been tough.”

“Can’t be helped. This incident happened at school. And it had already been blown out of proportion earlier. What they call a ‘trend,’ once not stopped in time, only snowballs…”

“Are you blaming Senpai?”

Noticing his cold expression, the other quickly shook his head.

“No, of course not. Without Asami-san’s efforts, if the mass suicide had actually happened, the situation might be ten times worse than it is now.”

Kazuki-san paused midway, a bitter smile appearing on his face again.

“But others might not think that way. ‘Not letting another victim appear’… after all, Asami-san said that at the headquarters meeting.”

“…Is that so?”

The Novelist thought for a few seconds.

“Anyway, leave these reporters outside to me.”

He scratched his cheek as he said this.

He had communicated with them before, so there shouldn’t be any problems in this regard.

“You…”

Kazuki-san widened his eyes in surprise, as if unable to quickly understand what he meant.

“Where is Asami-senpai now?”

The Novelist had no time to care about others’ thoughts and seriously asked him.

“Uh… Asami-san came here two days ago and hasn’t left since. However, she hasn’t shown her face at any meetings, which is why some people are dissatisfied…”

“As long as I know where she is, that’s fine. Don’t worry, please wait a moment. I’ll go find her now.”

The Novelist interrupted the prosecutor and walked past him, striding quickly toward the entrance of the police headquarters.

“Oh, and… please relay this to the others.”

After walking a few steps, he stopped as if remembering something. But the young man didn’t turn around, just waved his hand at Kazuki Kaichirou.

—”As for the rest, tell them not to worry. Leave it to the detective to solve!”

He took the elevator straight to the fifth floor. Along the way, he didn’t encounter anyone else.

Probably because the current situation didn’t allow for a moment’s relaxation, everyone was busy.

The corridor was silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop—or rather, you could only hear his own footsteps, crisply echoing.

“This is a bit uncomfortable…”

Near dusk, occasional voices faintly came from outside the window. The setting sun’s afterglow and dim halo stretched the shadows cast on the marble floor.

The last time he came here was when he passed by with Kazuki-san on the way to the conference room. Wandering around this area alone was a first.

It was just like a horror movie scene. Due to his overactive imagination and the scary scenarios constantly flashing in his mind, the Novelist couldn’t help but quicken his pace, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

…Yes, just like now.

A silent, empty corridor, the dim colors of the witching hour, and a female voice faintly echoing in his ears, coming from somewhere unknown…

…

Wait.

A girl’s voice?

It was real, not his auditory hallucination—

…What am I saying?

That was undoubtedly Senpai’s voice.

The Novelist stopped.

Surprisingly close.

After thinking for a moment, he moved toward the source of the sound. On the side of the corridor were several rooms with “Archives” signs hanging on them.

“Ugh…”

After opening the last door and witnessing the situation inside, the Novelist couldn’t help but let out a small sigh.

The first thing that caught his eye was a girl weakly calling for help.

She was buried under a large pile of case files, with only one slender arm extended through a gap.

“Help me…”

A weak, hoarse voice.

…It seems she noticed someone coming.

Senpai sounded somewhat frail. But from the looks of it, she didn’t seem to be in any real danger.

“Assistant-kun…”

Buried underneath, Asami Yuko made a pitiful plea for help.

How could she guess who it was without seeing anyone? Was it intuition, or could she recognize his footsteps?

Ignoring the girl, her feeble cries for help, and the hand sticking out from the pile of books, he observed the room’s interior. This was undoubtedly the police archives.

Glass cabinets held numerous files and dossiers, recording criminal cases that had occurred in this country and city over the past decade.

“…So mean.”

After a moment of silence, Asami-senpai, trapped under dozens of file folders, muttered.

“If you want someone’s help, you’d better be polite.”

He stated seriously, looking down at her.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me. Please, please help me, Assistant-kun… Assistant-sama. I don’t have the strength to move these books. If this continues, I might suffocate to death.”

…Her attitude changed as quickly as ever.

The Novelist approached the small mountain formed by the pile of dossiers. He extended his hand and grasped the girl’s cold, soft palm.

After pulling Asami Yuko out, he finally couldn’t hold back and laughed softly.

“You’re really… so mean.”

With her long hair falling to the hem of her skirt, the high school girl in uniform repeated the same words in a murmur, swaying as she fell into his arms.

“Asami-senpai, this is the second time, isn’t it?”

“…Stupid Assistant, you came too late.”