Chapter 9

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As a first step, Shouma decided to talk to the person who had been attacked. After some research he found out that there were a fair amount of victims at the University, but most of them didn’t want to talk about what they had experienced that night, so it was difficult to get them to cooperate with him.

At this rate there were only four people who he was able to talk with.

Naoki Kochou ・ Third year ・ Womaniser

“The one who attacked me, right? It was probably one of my ex-girlfriends. She’s so persistent! Maybe she wants me to forgive her for cheating on me. Hmm, the weapon? I remember it was something like a cloth. I don’t know what time it happened since it was less than a fortnight ago. I think I heard something just before I passed out. It was in a park near the Rokkou Hondori shopping street.”

Miho Hikasa・ Second year・ Dark-haired beauty

“It was last Wednesday when I was attacked. When I entered the alleyway in front of the station, someone strangled me with a cloth that looked like a towel. What time did it happen? I don’t know it exactly, but the stars were already out, so it was around that time…”

Yoshitaka Inomata・ Fourth year・ Head of the Tennis Club

“The guy who attacked me? I think it was a man, since he put a cloth over my face with quite a vigor. A woman cannot do that. It was in the week before the last. It was before the second half of the Golden Week. The time was after 6:00 pm. I think. I was just on my way home when I went to the supermarket to buy some cheap souzai…[1]”

Natsuko Kayama・ First year・ Harajuku style [2]

“My nose and mouth were suddenly blocked and I was in a lot of pain. It was a bit traumatic for a few days. The place was Rokko Kaze’s Sato Park near the shopping street. Just then, a bell began ringing to announce 6:00 pm.”

Shouma sat on a bench in the schoolyard and took notes on what he had just heard. The more he listened and thought about it the less clear the details of the case became.

“The only thing they have in common is the weapon…”

Moreover, it was said that men were suffocated by covering their faces, but some women were also throttled by the same method.

Shouma scratched his head with the end of his pen.

“I have a feeling that even if I bring this to Tendou-san he’d just turn it back down as useless…”

“I guess we won’t know the outcome unless you show it to me.”

“That might be true.”

“I think you never know until you try it.”

“No, but the more I look into it, the more I realise that it’s not mysterious at all… Wha…Tendou-san! Why are you here?”

Shouma noticed that Tendou was next to him, waving excitedly with his hand.

“Aiya, I was on the edge of my seat, thinking I’d never get noticed.”

“I didn’t notice you at all! I mean, you’re too good at disguising your presence! Are you a ninja or something?”

“I’m gonna be embarrassed if you praise me this much.”

“I’m not complimenting you!”

Tendou smiled delightfully.

Unlike High Schools, Universities are becoming open to non-students. This is because institutions like libraries are open to the public. So it was no surprise that Tendou, an outsider, was at the university, but what was interesting in this situation was the reason why he is here.

“Why have you come here?”

“I think it was because I was a bit concerned if my scout was indeed working properly. The amulet, it would be unpleasant if you just wanted to fix it and then run away with it, wouldn’t it?”

“…I wouldn’t do that.”

Shouma was quite crestfallen that the man thought him this unreliable. Does it look to Tendou as if Shouma was going to avoid paying his three million yen debt? He wasn’t sure if he would find any uncanny events as the man wanted, but at least he wasn’t planning to run away with just a good luck charm.

“So, what are you doing?”

Tendou cocked his head in puzzlement as Shouma talked about the rumoured random assailant he only just heard about this morning.

The man only nodded in comprehension to Shouma’s narrative.

“Then, that’s the note you made for this case.”

“Yes. But the more I look into it, the more I feel I’m just left in the dark. Furthermore, it didn’t even seem like an overly suspicious affair, so I don’t know if it has anything to do with the kaii.”

“Hmm.”

Tendou pulled the notebook out of Shouma’s hand and looked through it carefully.

The gender, age of the victims, the place and time of the attack with the description of the perpetrator was written on it. Shouma’s notes were summarized in a clear and easy to understand method.

“Is that it?”

“I was just thinking of going to ask one more person though…..”

“Well, let’s go then.”

Tendou suddenly jumped to his feet. Seeing this, Shouma also stood up from the bench in a hurry.

“Where are we going?”

“Isn’t it obvious? To the next victim, of course.”

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Translator’s Notes:

[1] Small side-dishes, which are usually packed in boxes. (example)

[2] Mix of all the well-known Japanese street fashions. The wearers like to match randomly picked up clothes with outrageous accessories. (example)

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