Immortal Detective, Reidou Momiji volume 4 chapter 6
Chapter 6: YOU CAN REDO
It should be impossible for Amifune to figure out why I came back to life.
However, if everything from the moment I met Reidou had been chronicled in a novel, and someone had read it... then perhaps it would be possible to deduce the truth.
Just like a "Challenge to the Reader"... Though I'd never heard of a challenge quite this insane.
December 21, 12:30 PM (7 hours prior to the present) – Tennai Haruma
My vision gradually brightened, and my consciousness snapped back.
Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling in a room thick with white, foggy mist.
"S-So cold...!"
Rubbing my arms furiously, I immediately sat up.
Scanning my surroundings, I quickly realized... I was in some kind of freezer.
The sub-zero temperature and the stored ingredients made it glaringly obvious.
"...Why the hell am I here...?"
What had I even been doing? My memory was a complete blur.
I wanted to sit and piece it all together, but it was far too cold for that.
I wasn't even wearing a jacket; if I stayed here, I was going to freeze to death.
Desperate to get out, I stumbled toward what looked like the exit.
For some reason, a water faucet had been left running over there, creating a massive puddle.
"...?"
The entrance to the freezer had a step down, making it the lowest point in the room, which explained why the water was pooling there... but there was a proper floor drain right in the corner.
Why wasn't it draining? Why was the water just gathering there...?
It bothered me, but my own survival took priority. First things first, I twisted the faucet shut to stop the flow. There was no sign of the water draining, so I had no choice but to wade into it...
Bracing myself, I stepped into the freezing water.
A piercing, agonizing cold engulfed my feet; it felt like my legs were going to be ripped off.
I frantically scrambled to the heavy door, slammed the latch-release button, and shoved with all my might.
The water pressure made it incredibly heavy, but the door finally gave way.
Pushing it open sent the pooled water rushing out, completely flooding the hallway in front of the freezer.
I felt a little bad about the mess, but it couldn't be helped.
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief at escaping that sub-zero hell, a familiar voice called my name.
"Haruma-kun!"
Reidou, looking absolutely panic-stricken, was sprinting toward me.
...For some reason, it felt like it had been an eternity since I last saw her.
Returning to the room I was sharing with Reidou, I immediately hopped into the shower to warm my freezing body and changed into dry clothes.
Downing a cup of scalding hot coffee, I turned to Reidou.
"...So, uh, what exactly is our situation right now?"
"I'm still a bit confused myself... I hardly know where to begin explaining..."
...Alright, let's organize the facts.
First, I needed to review my own actions.
While investigating Tsubaki-san's murder, I recalled my conversation with Reidou, the layout on the floor plan, and Tsubaki-san's condition the previous night, which led me to suspect the west-side elevator.
Since Reidou was in the shower changing, I left the room alone to check the elevator myself.
I figured the killer might have left some evidence behind.
Specifically, traces of Tsubaki-san's vomit... If I could find that, we could narrow down the culprit based on the murder method.
While walking, I called Yunomiya, intending to ask her if DNA testing could identify an individual from traces of vomit... And right then, someone ambushed me from behind, knocking me out cold.
A stun gun, most likely.
My memory ended right there, and the next time I woke up, I was inside that freezer.
Next, from Reidou's perspective.
When I didn't return after leaving the room, Reidou got worried and went out looking for me.
Then, after hearing that the freezer door was jammed shut, she rushed to the scene and, sensing the presence of an ability user, became absolutely certain I was trapped inside.
...At this point, her story drastically diverged from the reality I had just woken up in... but I let her continue.
Reidou eventually got the freezer open and found me collapsed inside.
I was completely unresponsive... having seemingly frozen to death while unconscious in that sub-zero environment.
With the surrounding bystanders and police officially confirming my demise... Reidou sank into total despair.
And in that moment, Reidou shared one final kiss with me.
"With you gone, Haruma-kun, I didn't know what to do anymore... I just couldn't bear to let you go, so... I kissed you."
As she spoke, Reidou reached out and gently squeezed my hand.
"But I never imagined... that it would trigger your special ability."
The kiss Reidou gave me fulfilled the activation condition of my ability... sending me back in time to the exact moment I had woken up earlier.
It was such an absurd miracle that I could barely believe it myself, but the logic tracked perfectly.
My ability prevents me from rewinding time past the point where I consciously register someone's death... meaning I can never rewind far enough to prevent a murder before it happens.
However, in this specific case... I never consciously registered my own death.
Because I was knocked out and left in the freezer, I technically died without ever being aware of it...
If I had been stabbed or shot, it might not have worked. But under these extremely specific circumstances, I somehow managed to bypass the worst restriction of my ability.
And Reidou's kiss had activated it...
Staring intensely at the palm of my hand, I muttered in sheer awe.
"I always thought this was a useless ability, but to think it could actually pull off something like this..."
It wasn't exactly immortality, and it didn't make me invincible, but... being able to literally overturn my own death.
Cheat ability was putting it mildly. It was flat-out cheating.
"I'm just so glad I get to see you again. Truly..."
Reidou, still gripping my hand, suddenly wrapped her arms around my back and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Burying her face in my shoulder, she whispered through her tears.
"Thank god... thank god..."
From Reidou's perspective, she had been magically reunited with someone she had explicitly watched die... Without special abilities involved, no one else on earth would ever experience something like this.
Even as the person it happened to, I couldn't even begin to fathom the sheer magnitude of her relief and joy.
For a long while, Reidou simply clung to me, pressing her body against mine as if constantly reassuring herself of my body heat, shedding warm, silent tears.
Once Reidou finally calmed down, we sat on the room's sofa and hashed out our next move.
"Right then... what do we do now?"
I glanced up at the wall clock. It was currently 1:00 PM.
In the original timeline before I rewound time, Reidou had apparently discovered my corpse in the freezer alongside Chiyuki-san and a man named Garayama Hadou.
Garayama Hadou was the guy with the two-tone beard... the same guy who said some weird stuff to me in the hot spring.
This time around, since Reidou had rushed straight to the freezer from our room the moment time rewound, she hadn't actually told anyone else I was missing yet...
"...Which means, the killer still thinks they successfully murdered me."
From the culprit's perspective, I was currently a frozen popsicle.
Since they used a specific trick to jam the freezer door, they probably wouldn't even bother checking on me.
If the killer found out I was still alive, they would immediately assume I knew their identity.
If they felt cornered, there was no telling what kind of desperate, scorched-earth tactics they might pull.
I wasn't exactly a manga protagonist, but if the bad guy realized I survived, they would definitely come gunning for me again, potentially dragging everyone else around me into the crossfire.
They might even try to blow up the entire hotel... Under normal circumstances, that would be absurd, but given our past experiences, it was a very real possibility.
Because of that, I wanted to stay officially "dead" until the case was solved, but...
Reidou looked up at the ceiling, piecing her thoughts together.
"Right now, the culprit certainly believes you are dead inside the freezer, Haruma-kun... However, since no one has actually verified your death, they will inevitably realize you are alive sooner or later."
The only reason my body was discovered in the first place was because the hotel staff reported the "jammed freezer door" to Chiyuki-san.
This time, the freezer opened normally.
It was only a matter of time before the killer realized I had escaped.
We needed to act before that happened. Our best option was...
"Faking my death... huh."
To actually pull that off, we'd need to explain the situation to the police... specifically Chiyuki-san, and enlist her help.
But Chiyuki-san didn't know about special abilities. Getting her to comprehend and accept the reality of the situation would be a monumental hurdle...
I crossed my arms, groaning as I racked my brain.
Our current situation, everything that had led up to this point, and what lay ahead—I took a step back and looked at the big picture.
And then, a certain woman's face popped into my mind.
"...Hey, Reidou. I need your opinion on something."
"What is it?"
"What do you think about... telling Yunomiya everything? The complete, unvarnished truth."
"Everything... including the existence of special abilities?"
"Yeah."
In short, I was proposing we tell her that I was murdered, but revived using my time-rewind ability... the whole nine yards.
"It applies to this case too, but I genuinely believe Yunomiya will stay on our side moving forward, and we're probably going to be relying on her a lot more from now on."
It was a creeping suspicion, but I could feel the distinct will of someone orchestrating these assassinations against ability users.
It was highly likely they were connected to whoever was giving orders to Ritsune Mio... Mio-san.
To stand any chance against an entity like that, Yunomiya's cooperation was absolutely essential.
"...Well, if you're the one telling her, Haruma-kun, she'll probably believe it..."
Reidou grimaced. She really didn't like relying on Yunomiya.
"...However, if pretending you're dead keeps you off the killer's radar, then I agree with telling Yunomiya-san."
"Thanks. I'll call her right now."
I dialed Yunomiya's number. True to form, she picked up before the first ring even finished.
And then... I told her everything.
That Reidou and I possessed special abilities.
That I had been targeted in this current case, was actually murdered, and used my ability to rewind time.
And finally, that I needed her help to fake my death.
"...I see."
That was Yunomiya's immediate response. Did she actually accept it that easily?
"You... believe me?"
"Mmm, normally I'd call you crazy, but... it honestly makes a lot of things make sense."
All the cases I had been involved in up until now... Shioe killing Sasamura, Mio-san killing Tsubaki Hime in the cafรฉ, Fuse killing Elaine and Mearin, and Kagamine killing the Suruga Group thug.
To Yunomiya, it looked like I possessed some god-like deductive prowess, easily slicing through mysteries... but in reality, I had been using time-rewind to obtain information impossible to glean normally.
As an explanation for my "abnormal deductive skills", it seemed my story tracked perfectly.
"...Even so, I still think you're absolutely incredible, Tennai-kyun!"
"R-Right..."
"Even if someone had the exact same power, I doubt anyone else could accomplish what you have."
"..."
Hearing her say that, I realized I was far more relieved than I thought I'd be.
Deep down, I might have been terrified that she would be disappointed in me—that she'd look down on me for using such cheap tricks to solve cases.
"...She's very mature, Yunomiya-san."
Reidou, who had been listening in beside me, muttered softly.
Yunomiya had likely seen right through my insecurities and gone out of her way to praise me.
"I mean, Sora probably has one of those... special abilities too, you know."
She was talking about Calvin's retainer, Mitaka Sora. That maid absolutely had a special ability.
"You see, when we got drunk at the yakiniku place, Sora snapped her fingers... and the meat we had just eaten reappeared on the grill. It felt like I hit the jackpot."
...Come to think of it, Yunomiya was good friends with Mitaka.
She already had connections with an ability user, it seemed.
Mitaka Sora wielded an ability called Time Destruction: Break Axe.
I didn't know the exact mechanics, but I had been on the receiving end of it.
It's hard to explain, but it plunges you into a bizarre, unnatural sensation where "something you explicitly experienced suddenly never happened."
Eating the yakiniku only for it to revert back to the grill was exactly that.
Seriously though, don't use your powers when you're drunk...!
Having gained Yunomiya's understanding, we immediately put our plan into action.
First up: faking my death in the freezer.
To pull this off, we decided to enlist the help of Chiyuki-san, who was commanding the police officers. We kept the details about supernatural abilities under wraps, framing it simply as a ploy to help identify the culprit.
Being a card-carrying member of the Yunomiya Fan Club, Chiyuki-san agreed without a second thought the moment Yunomiya asked her.
We had her lock down the freezer under the pretense that "Following the body found in the aquarium, another guest's corpse has been discovered in the freezer."
Next came the suspect interrogations and the on-site investigation.
After the police scrutinized the security footage, the list of suspects for Tsubaki-san's murder was narrowed down to four people:
Mito Shuya, Garayama Hadou, Inomichi Shinobu, and Showatari Tsubasa.
Yunomiya interrogated the four of them, and I listened to the recorded audio data.
After that, I holed myself up in a room Yunomiya had prepared for me. I had her head out to investigate the crime scene, giving her directions on exactly where to look, and she sent me the photos and videos she took on her smartphone.
Thanks to her investigating the elevator, I was able to deduce how Tsubaki-san was murdered. I also had a pretty solid grasp on the trick behind the "locked room in the freezer" that had trapped me inside.
"…You've figured it out, haven't you? The culprit."
"Yes."
Since Yunomiya had hopped into the shower after finishing her investigation, Reidou and I had been organizing the information to arrive at the truth.
The hotel's floor plan, the suspects' alibis, and their testimonies.
Cross-referencing all of these naturally brought the truth to light.
Reidou knocked on the door to the dressing room where Yunomiya was.
"Yunomiya-san… there is something we need to discuss regarding this case."
To sell the illusion of my death, Reidou had been blatantly acting depressed in public, but there was no need for that anymore. Her voice had returned to its usual dignified, crisp tone.
"The culprit who murdered Tsubaki-san. And the culprit who murdered Haruma-kun… Thanks to the information you shared, Yunomiya-san, we understand everything now."
Pausing for a beat, Reidou continued.
"Let us go settle this."
Reidou called out through the door to Yunomiya in the dressing room. I watched the exchange while sitting on the sofa.
"You figured everything out…? You kids really are amazing," Yunomiya said as the dressing room door opened and she stepped out…
But then.
"?! Eh… W-Wait a minute!"
The moment Reidou saw Yunomiya, the serious atmosphere vanished entirely, replaced by a completely uncharacteristic shriek.
"Huh?" Yunomiya blinked.
"W-W-W-What are you wearing…!"
The woman in question looked completely bewildered, while Reidou was physically trembling.
As for why she was so shocked… Yunomiya's loungewear was a fluffy, pastel-blue two-piece set that looked incredibly soft and cute.
From the hem of her short shorts, her pale, slender legs were boldly exposed all the way from her thighs to her toes.
The thin fabric of her top left her chest rather open, and her long hair—usually tied back in a neat ponytail—was hanging loose. Coupled with that fresh-out-of-the-bath glow, her beauty had skyrocketed, radiating an overwhelming mature allure.
It was all a bit too dazzling to look at directly, and I instinctively averted my eyes.
"??? What's wrong?"
Yunomiya seemed utterly oblivious to her own appearance, looking nothing but thoroughly confused by Reidou's reaction.
Now that I think about it, she was exactly like this when she wore that cheongsam at the school festival… Despite having a literal fan club, she was completely indifferent to her own looks.
"Grrr, rghhh…"
Frustrated for whatever reason, Reidou was glaring and growling at Yunomiya like an angry dog.
You're being way too hostile…
"Yunomiya-san! Please change your clothes! That outfit is absolutely unacceptable!"
"E-Eeeh? Why?"
"It. Just. Is!"
—In the end, Reidou aggressively steamrolled her, and Yunomiya changed back into her usual suit. She sat on the sofa opposite us, skillfully tying her hair back into a ponytail.
"…Well then, let's hear this deduction of yours."
…First, I explained the incident regarding Tsubaki-san's murder.
After drinking in our room, there was a high probability Tsubaki-san would use the west elevator to return to her own room.
The most realistic way to bypass her invincible barrier ability was to trap her in a confined space and induce hypoxia.
And assuming the elevator was the crime scene, the only person who could have used the west elevator at that specific time was Inomichi Shinobu… Meaning that man was the culprit.
"…Haaaah~♡"
Yunomiya was listening to my deduction with a hand pressed to her cheek, completely spellbound.
"Tennai-kyun, you're so cool… Ah."
Please don't tell me she's going to get another nosebleed… Just as I was starting to worry, Yunomiya's smartphone vibrated. It seemed she'd received an email.
"It's about the vomit in the elevator," she reported. "They said they don't know yet if it belongs to Tsubaki-san."
Even so, with all the pieces lining up this perfectly, Inomichi Shinobu had to be the prime suspect.
Waiting for the results to confirm the vomit was Tsubaki-san's was fine, but asking Inomichi to hand over the clothes he was wearing would be a much faster, simpler piece of evidence.
He claimed to have washed them in the grand bath, but the chances of him completely removing all traces of vomit were slim.
Assuming everything went according to my deduction, that would be enough to corner him.
Next up was the incident where I was murdered in the freezer.
"…First, let's talk about the locked-room trick in the freezer," I began.
At that, Reidou started recalling the situation when she first discovered my body.
"That freezer doesn't have a lock, yet even with several people pushing from the outside, the door wouldn't budge an inch. That was the situation prior to rewinding time, of course…"
I pulled out my smartphone and pulled up the saved photos.
"Looking at the pictures and videos Yunomiya-san sent me, I pretty much figured out the trick."
When I woke up, I was too freezing cold to think straight… but looking back calmly, the reason the door wouldn't open was obvious.
"To jump straight to the conclusion… the reason the door wouldn't open when pushed is because a sheet of ice had formed on the inside."
Just inside the freezer, the floor right by the door is structured a step lower than the space further back. Fill that depressed area with water, let it freeze, and the inward-opening door is jammed shut… That was the gist of it.
In fact, when I woke up, the faucet had been left wide open, and water was pooling on the floor.
However, there's a drain on the floor there. Even if you left the water running, normally it would just wash away, but…
Taking over for me, Reidou explained the trick the culprit pulled.
"The culprit plugged the drain with ice."
If you prepared a piece of ice shaped to fit the drain, it would eventually melt once the freezer's temperature rose, allowing the pooled water to flush away. And since it was ice, it wouldn't leave any physical evidence of the trick behind.
The next issue was the faucet that had been left open to accumulate the water.
When I woke up, it was running.
However, in the timeline before we rewound time, when Reidou opened the door, the faucet was shut and no water was running.
Obviously, the culprit couldn't have been the one to close it.
Even if they waited for the water to pool, opening the door to leave would just cause the water to spill out, so the culprit shouldn't have been able to close the tap from the outside… Thinking about it like that, it was a surprisingly textbook locked-room mystery.
There was a clear-cut answer for this mystery, too.
"This right here in the photos Yunomiya-san sent is the key," I said.
I showed them a device attached to the wall near the drain in one of the photos. It was a circular mechanism mounted about ten centimeters above the floor.
"Is this…?"
Yunomiya didn't seem to recognize what it was. I continued my explanation.
"This is a water leak detection sensor."
Exactly as the name implies, it's a sensor designed to detect leaks. If the water level exceeds a certain volume, it automatically shuts off the water supply to prevent flooding damage.
This freezer is located on the fourth floor of the hotel.
If it were on the ground floor, they might not need to worry about it, but any water facility on the second floor or higher would naturally have leak prevention measures installed.
The culprit utilized this… Meaning, the flow of the "locked room in the freezer" trick went like this:
Carry the unconscious me inside and abandon me in the freezer.
Plug the drain near the entrance with ice, leave the tap running, and exit the freezer.
(Since normal ice would just float, they probably dissolved salt or sugar to make the ice denser before plugging the drain.)
Once a certain amount of water pooled, the water leak sensor triggered, automatically shutting off the tap.
A thick sheet of ice formed, creating a locked room sturdy enough not to budge even against human force.
Once the temperature rose, the ice plugging the drain would melt, allowing all the water to drain away and erasing the evidence.
Since opening the door required raising the temperature to melt the ice, it essentially bought them time. It was a locked-room trick designed specifically to delay discovery while the abandoned victim—me—froze to death.
Since I was already knocked out, they could have just killed me directly, but doing so would allow the police to determine the exact time of death, requiring the culprit to have an alibi.
In reality, unlike Tsubaki-san's case, there were so many people without an alibi during this incident that the police couldn't narrow down the suspects.
Their trick had actually worked flawlessly—the only reason it failed was because I used a cheat skill to rewind time.
"So, do you also know who locked you in the freezer, Tennai-kun?"
I gave a prompt nod to Yunomiya's question.
The person who targeted me was someone completely different from Inomichi Shinobu, who killed Tsubaki-san… It was Showatari Tsubasa.
"I had a feeling Showatari Tsubasa might be the only one you could deduce based on the information I provided, but… was there anything in her statement that actually outed her as the culprit?"
"There was one glaringly unnatural remark during the interrogation."
As I held up a single finger, Reidou crossed her arms and frowned in thought, just like Yunomiya.
"Hmm, I must admit, I have not figured it out either…"
It wasn't surprising that Reidou didn't know. Finding the answer required context only I had experienced firsthand.
The contradiction in Showatari Tsubasa's testimony…
It was her question regarding: "What deductions did Tennai Haruma make about the death of the hotel's manager?"
"Ah, the incident from the day before yesterday," Yunomiya reacted.
From what I'd heard, Yunomiya had actually been at the family restaurant where the manager died.
"The fact that the victim in that case was the manager of this hotel was something I only just learned from Yunomiya-san… There's no way I could have made any deductions about it."
"O-Okay, things are getting a bit tangled…"
Yunomiya tilted her head dramatically. True, it was a tricky point dealing with discrepancies in knowledge, so I needed to break it down simply.
To put it simply, for some reason, Showatari Tsubasa was under the misconception that I already knew "the hotel manager was murdered."
The victim's identity hadn't been released to the press, and even Chiyuki-san hadn't known about it until Yunomiya arrived here. Yunomiya seemed to assume Showatari Tsubasa had just heard it from the hotel staff, but even if that were true, it still made no sense.
Because merely knowing "the manager was killed" doesn't leave any room for deductions. I would have needed to know the specific, mysterious circumstances of the crime scene to deduce anything.
"There's only one reason Showatari Tsubasa would have made that assumption. She saw me talking with you on the phone, Yunomiya-san."
Hearing that, Reidou finally grasped the implication.
"…I see… So that is what happened."
Beside the murmuring Reidou, Yunomiya just tilted her head even further. "What do you mean?"
"Haruma-kun was knocked unconscious from behind with a stun gun… and the culprit must have known he was on the phone with you at that exact moment," Reidou explained.
"Ah, I get it…!"
Finally understanding, Yunomiya pounded her fist into her palm.
I was hit with the stun gun while I was talking to Yunomiya to investigate the elevator. Naturally, Yunomiya's name was displayed right there on my phone screen during the call.
"The last thing I heard Yunomiya-san say was about the family restaurant. It wouldn't be strange for the culprit holding the stun gun to have overheard it."
In other words, the culprit—Showatari Tsubasa—assumed Yunomiya was sharing the details of the family restaurant case with me, and that we were working out a deduction together.
That was exactly why she slipped up during the interrogation and asked, "What deductions did Tennai Haruma make?"
"And the only person who could possibly make that misunderstanding is the culprit who was standing right there!… I'd expect nothing less from Tennai-kyun…!"
Thrilled at reaching the truth, Yunomiya excitedly shot to her feet.
"Ah…♡"
Her excitement instantly spiked her blood pressure, causing her to get a nosebleed, sway on her feet, and collapse back onto the sofa.
Seriously, what is wrong with her.
…That wasn't the only evidence, either. Showatari Tsubasa's behavior had been highly suspicious in several other ways.
For instance… what she brought up when Reidou, Mito, Chiyuki-san, and I were eating breakfast in the dining hall.
["…By the way, what floor is your room on, Tennai-kun?"]
["And what about your deceased friend's room?"]
She had asked where my and Tsubaki-san's rooms were, but thinking back carefully, it was incredibly odd.
["What floor are your rooms on?"] When we first arrived at the hotel and had our fortunes read, Showatari Tsubasa had already asked that exact same question.
She had deliberately asked something she already knew. As for why she needed to ask what floor Tsubaki-san and I were on again…
Most likely… it was to subtly hint that I should investigate the elevators.
By doing so, she lured me toward the elevator with the express goal of ambushing me from behind with the stun gun.
Naturally, there was no guarantee I would go alone, but she probably just took the stance of "If he shows up completely alone, I'll execute the plan." There was no absolute necessity to kill me right then and there, after all.
The area around the west elevator had few security cameras, making the conditions ideal. And indeed, Showatari Tsubasa successfully murdered me without ever getting caught on tape.
"Inomichi Shinobu and Showatari Tsubasa. They are the two culprits behind this incident."
That was the truth we arrived at by piling together the fragments of information the three of us—Reidou, Yunomiya, and I—had gathered.
Having identified the culprits, we initiated our plan to corner them.
We needed to lure them to a location where we could talk, while simultaneously evacuating the hotel guests in case they resisted.
A literal bomb going off inside the hotel would be a disaster, after all…
We managed to call out Inomichi Shinobu, but Showatari Tsubasa was nowhere to be found.
Yunomiya went searching for Showatari Tsubasa, while Reidou cornered Inomichi. The setup had Chiyuki-san, Mito, and me watching the confrontation from the shadows of the cafรฉ.
The only reason Reidou was able to spit such venom at Inomichi and talk so openly about her ability was because I was right there.
If her deduction turned out to be wrong, I could just rewind time.
Though I never expected him to shatter the damn aquarium…
December 21, 20:15 - Tennai Haruma
The eighth floor of the hotel.
In a lounge completely ravaged by the massive flood of water, Amifune and I faced off.
"So… how did you figure out that Showatari Tsubasa was my disguise?"
"I didn't realize it at first, to be honest…"
Until I rewound time and sorted through the situation, I genuinely had no idea.
He had hidden his face using lace, bangs, and tape over his mouth, and above all, he never used his actual voice.
Looking back, it was a two-birds-one-stone disguise that kept both his face hidden and his voice unrecognizable.
However… when I dug through my memories to formulate my deductions—like flipping back through the pages of a novel to re-read it from the beginning—I finally noticed.
There was exactly one time I had heard Showatari Tsubasa's real voice.
It was right after I got hit by the stun gun, just before I passed out.
The person who attacked me had said: "Goodbye, Tennai Haruma-kun."
Because his plan to murder me had practically succeeded, he must have let his guard down and spoken aloud.
That voice belonged to my friend, Amifune Itaru… There was no way I could mistake it.
And once I proved the culprit was Showatari Tsubasa, the only logical conclusion was that Amifune was the one in disguise.
To add to that, there was an eyewitness account of Showatari Tsubasa "coming out of the mixed bath"… Since he was crossdressing, a mixed bath he could reserve for private use was extremely convenient.
Sure, there's a shower in the room, but everyone wants to soak in a big bath.
…All of that, of course, relies entirely on the premise that I had rewound time.
There was no reason to explain to Amifune right here and now how I had resurrected and figured out his true identity.
"Hmm, I have so many things I'd like to ask you, Tennai-kun, but…"
"That's my line."
I had no idea who he really was, but Amifune was our enemy—one who had been closer to us than anyone else.
Aside from targeting my life, Amifune was undoubtedly involved in Tsubaki-san's murder as well. His targets were, as I suspected, ability users.
"Amifune, you…"
If he had been watching all the incidents we'd encountered up close…
"…Were you also involved in the incident where Elaine and Mearin were killed?"
"Hehe. You could say that."
Amifune chuckled softly, flashing his usual smile without denying it.
Amifune was someone who knew exactly what this "something" surrounding us was. I needed to make him spill everything right here and get my answers.
"…My apologies, but our chat is over. I still have things I need to do," Amifune said gently.
Having discarded the black dress he wore as Showatari Tsubasa, Amifune was now dressed in a casual tracksuit.
Just as he turned on his heel to flee, a figure appeared in the direction he was facing.
"Aah…?"
Raising a single eyebrow at the sight of Amifune was none other than Inomichi Shinobu. He was absolutely soaked from the aquarium water.
Having been exposed as Tsubaki-san's murderer, Inomichi must have been running away when he stumbled across Amifune and skidded to a halt.
I lost sight of him when the aquarium shattered, but it seemed he got swept all the way down here, too.
"So they figured you out too, huh? Looks like a total defeat for us today," Inomichi said, narrowing one eye as if mocking him.
Seeing Amifune like this, he must have quickly deduced that Showatari Tsubasa's disguise had been compromised.
In response, Amifune didn't change his expression, answering in a chillingly cold voice.
"…I will handle the rest. Feel free to run wherever you like, Inomichi-san."
"Hmph. Make sure you set off a big firework then, kid."
Snorting, Inomichi broke into a sprint toward the stairs leading down. Simultaneously, Amifune began moving in the opposite direction.
"Ah, wait!"
Amifune and Inomichi Shinobu. I couldn't ignore either of them, but considering their little exchange just now, it felt like I needed to prioritize Amifune…!
As I hesitated for a few seconds, a gruff, booming roar echoed from the direction Inomichi was running.
"ORRRA! Get back here, you bastard!"
That roar… Mito!
It looked like Mito had been relentlessly chasing Inomichi. He was sprinting, completely drenched and panting heavily.
Since he noticed me, I shouted out to him.
"Mito, I'm leaving that guy to you!"
"Ya don't need to tell me twice! I'll beat his ass into the dirt for you, too!"
Leaving Inomichi to Mito, I focused entirely on pursuing Amifune. I'm not exactly athletic, but I could outrun Amifune… I think!
December 21, Same Time - Reidou Momiji
I was currently on the floor where the aquarium shattered and the helicopter crashed, accompanying Tennai Touji-san… Haruma-kun's father.
Thanks to Yunomiya-san and Chiyuki-san's cooperation, Haruma-kun's official status was dead in the freezer.
Naturally, Touji-san had believed this as well, so I gave him a rough explanation of the situation.
"…Therefore, Haruma-kun is still alive."
"Eh, seriously, he is? Whoa…"
All the strength seemingly drained from his body, Touji-san leaned his back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.
"…I figured there was no way I could just sit back quietly after my son got murdered, so I was fully prepared to fight to the death to crush 'em. Well, you sure got me."
"S-So that is why you brought down the helicopter…"
Pulling off a massive stunt like crashing a helicopter had apparently been an impulsive act born of rage over his murdered son. His methods were far too dynamic.
…Thinking back, Garayama Hadou—Touji-san's disguise—had been extremely cooperative in trying to force open the freezer door in the timeline before we rewound time.
He had done that because he knew his son was inside.
I felt it was a slight overreaction, but sensing the love a father held for his child brought a small, heartwarming smile to my face.
Even so… Haruma-kun mentioned that Showatari Tsubasa's true identity was Amifune Itaru in disguise. Which meant, out of the suspects in this incident, everyone except Mito-san had been using a fake name.
Showatari Tsubasa -> Amifune Itaru
Inomichi Shinobu -> Arikata Shinobu
Garayama Hadou -> Tennai Touji
It truly was an utterly chaotic incident, tangled with various hidden motives.
Visibly relieved, Touji-san pulled an e-cigarette from his pocket and began to smoke.
"Ah, this doesn't leave a smell, so forgive me." He inhaled the sweet-scented vapor, thoroughly relaxing.
"…Momiji-san. I assume you came to this hotel because of Aoshi-san?"
I was stunned to hear the name Aoshi. It was my father's name.
"Did you know my father?"
"Yeah, you could say that. I wanted to sit down and talk with Haruma too once my work settled down, but… man, I've just been too busy. They seriously need to give me some time off."
Touji-san took a drag from his vape, his tone a vague mix of annoyance and amusement.
…Haruma-kun's father, and my father…
Just when everything seemed to be winding down, our personal connections intertwined in a completely unexpected way.
What concerned me even more was that Touji-san was clearly not an ordinary civilian. He was carrying a handgun, and his demeanor was far too relaxed given the circumstances.
Just who in the world was he…?
I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but right now, I had been separated from Haruma-kun, Mito-san, and Chiyuki-san, and we had lost sight of the culprits. I needed to find everyone first…
Just then, a deafening roar echoed from outside into the hotel.
The mechanical whir of rotors, and the sound of wind being sliced apart.
This was…
"A helicopter…?! Y-You cannot be serious, another one?!"
December 21, Same Time - Yunomiya Hiro
Taking the stairs down from the roof revealed the interior of the hotel in an absolutely horrific state.
That massive aquarium seemed to have completely shattered, sending a catastrophic flood of water from the top floor all the way to the bottom, washing away everything in its path.
Naturally, the elevators were out of commission. I had no choice but to keep descending the stairs.
As I sprinted down, I pulled out my smartphone and dialed Tennai-kun's number.
"Tennai-kun, is everything alright on your end?"
He must have answered while running, as the heavy rustling of wind hit my ear. Panting heavily, he gave me a brief rundown of the situation.
"I'm chasing after Amifune—Showatari Tsubasa! Inomichi ran downstairs, and Mito is after him! Please go after them if you can!"
"…Understood!"
I was worried about Tennai-kun chasing Showatari Tsubasa, but if he asked me to do this, I needed to prioritize Inomichi Shinobu.
I couldn't let a murderer escape here. If he fled downward, the highest probability of interception was heading straight for the first floor.
…My prediction proved correct. I collided with Inomichi Shinobu right in the first-floor corridor.
Taking the shortest route had paid off. The hallway was narrow, and if he wanted to reach the hotel exit, this was the fastest way through.
It was the perfect spot to capture him…!
"Haa… Haa… Gettin' old is a bitch."
This man looked relatively young, but…
Sprinting down the stairs had taken its toll; Inomichi Shinobu was panting and wiping sweat from his forehead.
I was in a similar state, heaving for breath, but I quickly drew my gun to intimidate him.
My opponent was a murderer, and we were dealing with irrational events like helicopters crashing through the building. I couldn't afford to drop my guard.
"Phew… If you're that tired, letting me slap the cuffs on you means you won't have to run anymore."
"Tch. Brat…"
Inomichi clicked his tongue loudly, glaring at me like I was something repulsive.
…I had sensed it during his interrogation, but there was no mistaking it: he seemed to harbor a deep-seated grudge against me.
A cold chill ran down my spine, and I tightened my grip on my handgun.
"! Don't move!"
"Like I give a shit!"
Completely ignoring my warning, Inomichi dropped low to the ground and lunged at me like a wild animal.
Despite my clear stance that I would shoot if he came closer, he didn't care in the slightest.
Closing the gap with movements that seemed to slither across the floor, Inomichi swung his right leg up at a blinding speed, kicking directly at my hands.
My handgun was knocked away, soaring out of my grip and into the air.
Crap! The moment the thought crossed my mind, a massive, dull impact slammed into my abdomen.
"Gaha…!"
Right after kicking my gun away, Inomichi had driven his knee directly into my stomach.
A blinding agony shot through me, feeling as if my internal organs had been crushed, and all the air was violently forced from my lungs. I fought the urge to vomit, my hands flying reflexively to my stomach from the overwhelming pain.
"You can't pull the trigger, right?! You were just trying to scare me!"
Inomichi roared, his voice grating like a thick nail being hammered into wood.
This man had been absolutely certain I wouldn't fire the gun I aimed at him, so he had charged.
Clutching my aching stomach, I doubled over in agony… but Inomichi wasn't going to show me mercy.
This time, he slammed his fist right into my right cheek.
The strike from his hardened fist felt like taking a full swing to the face with an aluminum baseball bat. Blown backwards, my body slammed hard against the hallway wall.
The pain in my gut, the throbbing in my face, the ache spreading across my entire body from the wall.
My brain couldn't process any coherent thoughts anymore as I scraped down the wall and collapsed to the floor.
"Did ya think you got lucky catching up to me?!"
Before I could hit the floor, Inomichi violently grabbed my ponytail, yanking me up.
With my head forced up, my stomach was entirely exposed, and Inomichi's knee drove into it once again.
"U-Gueh…!"
That organ-piercing agony flared anew, and something hot surged up the back of my throat. A gout of blood spilled from my mouth.
"You've got it backward, Yunomiya Hirooo… I finally got my chance to beat the living shit out of you. The lucky one here is me!"
Right now, I was dangling defenseless, suspended by the ponytail in Inomichi's grip. My mind was consumed by a pain that felt like I'd been crushed under a truck, leaving me unable to even resist.
I reflexively threw up both my arms to defend myself, but Inomichi slipped his right fist right through my guard, hammering it into my left cheek.
Being punched in the face while having my hair wrenched sent a burning, tearing pain radiating through my face and scalp.
"U… Ah…"
Massive internal damage combined with repeated trauma to the face. I couldn't even form a scream; only weak, pathetic moans left my lips.
"Does it hurt? Want me to stop? Are you regretting what you did to me yet?! Right now, I feel like I'm finally scrubbing away a filthy stain I could never reach before!"
…I had no idea what this man was talking about.
I had just met Inomichi Shinobu for the first time at this hotel. If we had some sort of shared history, there was no way I would have forgotten it.
Why was he speaking to me with such venomous, deeply personal hatred?
Choking on my own blood, I wheezed as I struggled to pull air into my lungs. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to force the words out.
"I… don't… know you…"
Before I could even finish the sentence, a pain like a boulder crashing into the center of my face erupted.
Right cheek, left cheek, and now the bridge of my nose—his fist slammed directly into it, sending blood spraying out like a geyser.
"Buu, kaha…!"
The nosebleeds I usually got from pure excitement were now pouring out, accompanied by an agony so intense I thought I might faint.
…I'm… going to be killed…
Blood dripping from my nose and mouth and tears spilling from my vacant eyes coated my face in a morbid mess.
"AHAHAHAHA!"
Inomichi covered his eyes with his bloody palm and tilted his head back, laughing boisterously at the ceiling.
"My past kills were great and all… but getting to murder you directly with my own bare hands? Nothing can top this shit. Ain't that right?"
Speaking to someone only he could see, Inomichi wrapped his thick palm around my throat.
Twisting his wrist as he choked me, his thick fingers dug deep into my neck. The pressure was so intense I felt my throat's shape being deformed.
"Ugh…"
Cut off from oxygen, my vision began to darken, blurring the expression of the man murdering me.
I had absolutely no memory of doing anything to this man. And yet, he harbored an intense, psychotic hatred toward me.
I hadn't done anything wrong. I was sure of it, and yet…
A desperate apology slipped from my bloody lips.
"I'm… sorry… forgi…ve me…"
My strained croak fell on deaf ears, and the strength crushing my throat only intensified.
A horrifying creak echoed from my cervical vertebrae.
Dangling midair, bodily fluids steadily dripped onto the floor below me. Like a camera zooming out, my consciousness faded, and my vision steadily bled to white.
…Ah… I am… going to die here…
I had completely accepted my death. That was when—
From down the hallway, a familiar man's voice roared.
"Hey, piece of shit! Say my name!"
My vision was completely dark, preventing me from seeing his figure… but that voice undoubtedly belonged to Mito Shuya.
"Hah? Mito Shuya… I'm right at the good part! Stop getting in my way!"
"You finally answered me. Now… you're right in my blast zone!"
"……!"
My dying brain couldn't process their exchange. My vision was gone, leaving me blind to the world.
But upon hearing Mito's words, Inomichi released his grip on my neck.
"Star Murger!" Mito bellowed.
"Guugh…!"
I couldn't tell what had happened, but alongside a heavy, dull impact, Inomichi groaned in pain.
"Kaha… haa, haa."
Released from the chokehold, I collapsed hard onto the floor.
My consciousness fading in and out, I gasped for air, fighting through the agonizing pain that scorched my entire body.
Letting my blood and tears stain the floor, I felt a deep wave of relief wash over me just knowing I was still alive.
As oxygen flooded back into my system, my brain kickstarted once more, and my pitch-black vision began to brighten.
Coughing up a clot of blood from deep inside my chest, I somehow managed to push myself up.
Mito was standing at a distance, a solid fighting stance ready.
In response, Inomichi spread his arms wide, adopting his own combat stance.
Glaring daggers at each other, the two men roared and clashed…!
"First Tsubaki-san, and now her… Targetin' nothing but women! You really are the lowest piece of shit imaginable!"
"Don't you run your damn mouth at me, you washed-up, scum-sucking thug!"
December 21, Same Time - Tennai Haruma
Fleeing from me all the way up to the ninth floor, Amifune wiped the heavy beads of sweat streaming down his forehead.
"Well… yeah, that was much rougher than I anticipated…"
Bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees, Amifune was wheezing heavily.
He had sprinted to escape me, but the floors were slick with massive amounts of flooding water, and debris was scattered everywhere. Running through those conditions had instantly sapped all of his stamina.
"I'm not trying to disrespect the art club, but I knew I wouldn't lose a footrace against you, Amifune."
"That is quite a statement coming from a member of the book club," he retorted.
At the edge of my vision, keeping Amifune in my sights, I could see the moon through the window. We were on a floor facing the courtyard—a scenic corridor with an entire wall made of glass.
Due to the power outage caused by the flood, the hotel's lighting was completely dead, plunging the interior into darkness. Only the moonlight illuminated Amifune and me.
"…I suppose I have no choice but to give up now."
Amifune let out a long sigh, looking up at the moon with a resigned expression.
"I thought I could manage somehow if I just killed you, but without knowing the specifics of your ability, that seems impossible."
"…So you really were targeting my life knowing full well I was an ability user."
I threw those words at Amifune, who was still staring ethereally at the moon.
"Just as I predicted. You walked right into my trap."
Amifune's eye twitched slightly.
"…And what exactly do you mean by that?"
I had been suspecting Amifune Itaru for a little while now. Specifically, ever since the school festival.
The catalyst for those suspicions was the incident where Reidou was trapped in the old building's basement.
Since I rewound time, it technically never happened, but the culprit behind it was Ashihara.
Ashihara had heard rumors regarding Reidou's ability from Shioe. Growing suspicious of Reidou, she overheard her muttering something and subsequently decided to murder her for Miyagawa's sake…
…Or so I had deduced.
I was correct about the first half. Ashihara truly suspected that Reidou was immortal.
However, regarding the direct trigger—that Ashihara mistakenly believed "Reidou was going to harm Miyagawa"—that aspect remained entirely unconfirmed since I had rewound time.
I had explained it that way to satisfy Reidou, but looking closely at Ashihara's actions, a strange sense of incongruity lingered.
Did Ashihara have some other, hidden motive for killing Reidou…?
The moment I considered that possibility, the person who came to mind was Amifune.
Amifune seemed to have an unusual relationship with Ashihara, to the point where Ashihara called herself "Amifune's Mama."
I didn't know his exact methods… but was it possible that Amifune had manipulated Ashihara into directing murderous intent toward Reidou? That was what I suspected.
It wasn't hard evidence, but I had two major reasons to believe so.
The first was the rumor about the "Treasure Sleeping at the School Festival," the very story the vice-principal told us that sent us on a wild goose chase.
It was an incredibly obscure rumor that normal students had never heard of. But Amifune had been standing right next to me when the vice-principal told the story, making him someone who definitively knew about it. It wouldn't be strange for him to easily find his way to the basement.
The second was the sheer abruptness of Amifune approaching me in the first place.
It was the exact day Elaine and Mearin transferred to Aosaki High School… Up until then, we had barely even spoken, yet he suddenly closed the distance and became my friend.
Piecing all of that together, I began to doubt the person known as Amifune Itaru.
I lacked concrete proof, so it remained just that: a suspicion. If I was wrong, fine.
…Which was exactly why I laid a trap.
"Amifune. You listened to my deduction at the art museum and figured out I possessed an ability, didn't you?"
A few days ago, Reidou and I had been called out to the art museum regarding the incident with the "Mona Lisa Locked Room."
During that case, I rewound time and condemned Dabi as the culprit.
And when I did… I deliberately revealed a deduction that included information I shouldn't have possibly known at the time.
"First, the history of Dabi-san adjusting the thermostat should be left on his smartphone. And to a much higher temperature than usual, at that."
The fact that the museum's temperature was controlled via smartphone and logged a history. By all accounts, I shouldn't have had that information at that exact moment.
The people present at the time, excluding Reidou, were Director Saruba, Mirei-san, Dabi, Yamauchi-san, and Amifune.
Anyone else who heard me mention the temperature controls would naturally assume, "Oh, someone must have told him."
But to Amifune, who had been glued to my side from the very moment I arrived at the museum, my knowledge of it was extremely suspicious…
Because of that, Amifune would conclude that I might be an ability user…
And if his goal was to target ability users, he would inevitably come after my life in some way or another.
"Color me surprised. So that was deliberate... I can't believe I fell for it," Amifune said, a self-deprecating smile on his lips.
...Well, I certainly hadn't expected Amifune to be cross-dressing in this hotel, either.
Looking back... Showatari Tsubasa had said this during the fortune-telling:
—"...You know things that you shouldn't possibly be able to know..."
He made it sound like he had divined it, but witnessing my deduction at the art museum must have been what actually made Amifune think: He knows things he shouldn't know.
And now. The suspicions I had directed at Amifune—the ones I desperately wanted to be wrong—had hit the mark.
I posed a question to Amifune as he gazed at the moon.
"…Why did you…"
Cutting me off, a woman's voice called my name.
"Tennai-kun!"
"Chiyuki-san, you're safe."
It was Chiyuki-san, stumbling toward us.
She had been on the same floor as Reidou when she cornered Inomichi Shinobu, but her whereabouts had been unknown since the aquarium shattered. She seemed to have injured her leg, dragging it as she walked.
"My smartphone broke in the water, so I couldn't get in touch with anyone~... Um, who is he~?"
Chiyuki-san asked, placing a finger on her cheek as she looked at Amifune. She was injured, but she seemed her usual self.
"He's the guy who was disguised as Showatari Tsubasa. His name is Amifune Itaru. I left Inomichi Shinobu to Mito, so for now, we should arrest Amifu—"
In that instant, something pierced straight through Chiyuki-san's head.
The glass covering the entire courtyard-facing wall of the lounge shattered.
With a deafening crash, the glass scattered and rained down onto the floor.
And Chiyuki-san, a massive amount of blood spraying from her pierced head, swayed and collapsed.
The sudden turn of events instantly drained the color from my face.
"Wha...?!"
The window glass shattered, and Chiyuki-san's head was pierced.
This meant... we were under attack from somewhere!
A gunshot, most likely.
What followed was the roaring sound of propellers slicing through the wind.
Looking outside, a black helicopter was flying through the night sky.
Hovering several dozen meters away from the hotel, its side was facing us. The helicopter's door was open, and though it was far, I could make out someone standing there.
"You've gotta be kidding me, they shot from all the way out there?!"
The bullet had accurately struck Chiyuki-san in the head.
Her pupils were dilated, and blood poured endlessly from her skull... Chiyuki-san was already dead.
To have a victim fall right in front of me after making it this far... This was the worst-case scenario!
"They must have come to dispose of me. And you as well, Tennai-kun," Amifune muttered emotionlessly.
Hearing those words, the final moments of Ritsune Mio... Mio-san, flashed across my mind.
My friend who failed his mission and threw himself to his death.
From Amifune's perspective, he had failed to kill me, and his identity as the culprit had been exposed.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say he was in the exact same situation as Mio-san.
Amifune was acting like he'd given up, but screw that...!
I tackled Amifune on pure reflex, pushing him down to take cover behind one of the hotel's pillars.
The sniper must have fired again, as a bullet hole opened up in the exact spot we had just been standing.
Panic causing my emotions to boil over, I yelled at Amifune.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?! Elaine, Mearin, Tsubaki-san, and now me—what are you trying to accomplish by killing us?!"
Pinned beside the pillar from my tackle, Amifune forced out a strained voice.
"It's not like... I'm doing this because I want to..."
"......!"
For the first time, it felt like I was hearing Amifune's true feelings.
There weren't tears in his eyes, but I could feel the raw emotion bleeding out of him.
...I couldn't afford to die in a place like this, and I wasn't going to let them kill Amifune either!
"If you don't want to die, stay put! When this is over, you're telling me everything!" I said, half-standing while keeping hidden behind the pillar.
He didn't answer, but that was fine for now.
While this was happening, bullet after bullet flew in, punching holes into the floors and walls.
...The situation was abysmal.
If I leaned out from behind this pillar even an inch, my head would be blown off.
Normally, in a life-or-death crisis, I had the option of using my ability to rewind time... but since Chiyuki-san had died right in front of me, I couldn't use it.
Not to mention, if I did, Amifune would be the only person around to kiss.
Roasted by the anxiety induced by the roaring propellers, the wind, and the relentless hail of bullets, I racked my brain for a way out.
"Hey, you don't happen to have a weapon on you, do you?"
I grasped at straws, asking Amifune, but he immediately shook his head.
"…No. I brought a bomb for emergencies, but it's certainly not strong enough to blow away a helicopter from this distance. Besides, it's in my room right now."
For emergencies... he said it so casually, but I was just glad he hadn't used it to kill Tsubaki-san or me.
What do I do? What should I do...?
".................."
As I wracked my brain, my smartphone vibrated in my pocket.
Glancing at the screen, it read, Tennai Touji... an incoming call from my dad.
No, talking to my dad at a time like this wouldn't...
—Or so I thought, until... a phrase I heard in the hotel's hot springs suddenly came to mind.
What that two-toned bearded man, Garayama Hadou, had told me.
—"If you're going to fiddle with your phone, you better pick up when someone calls..."
I didn't even know why I remembered that specifically right now, but...
"............"
I tapped the screen of my smartphone.
December 21, 20:30 - Current Status
1st Floor: Yunomiya Hiro (Incapacitated), Mito Shuya and Inomichi Shinobu currently engaged in combat.
9th Floor: Chiyuki Kon (Deceased), Tennai Haruma and Amifune Itaru under attack from a helicopter.
12th Floor: Reidou Momiji and Tennai Touji moving together.
December 21, Same Time - Reidou Momiji
Because Touji-san had crashed a helicopter onto this floor, a massive hole had been blown open in the outer wall.
Through that hole, the sound of shattering glass drifted up from another floor.
It seemed the other helicopter flying outside was opening fire on the lower floors.
"Whoa, seriously...? Was Japan always this dangerous of a country? Looks like the end of the world out there."
Touji-san tucked his e-cigarette back into his pocket.
"No matter how you slice it, this is way too dangerous. We'd better bust out of this hotel, pronto... Reidou-san, can you get in touch with Haruma?"
"Actually, I do not have a smartphone."
When I shook my head, Touji-san immediately pulled out his own smartphone.
"Guess I'll try giving him a ring, then. But man, he totally ignored me last time. That was super depressing, y'know."
...I wonder what it was. Even though he always spoke in such a frivolous tone... I could feel traces of a doting parent in his words.
Touji-san operated his smartphone and turned on the speaker.
The ringing continued for a bit before the call connected.
"Yoohoo Haruma, looks like you're surprisingly energetic, huh? Eatin' your meals properly?"
In stark contrast to Touji-san's aloof attitude, Haruma-kun replied sounding completely desperate.
"Dad... I picked up on reflex, but this is really not the time!"
Through the phone, not only his voice, but the whistling howl of the wind could be heard.
Furthermore, the occasional sharp crack of something popping echoed.
Hearing that, Touji-san grasped the situation and lowered his voice.
"…! Are you getting targeted by that chopper, by any chance?"
We could see the helicopter flying outside from where we were, too.
So the sound of shattering glass from earlier came from Haruma-kun's floor...!
"That chopper... Dad, are you in this hotel?!"
"Yep, kickin' it with Reidou Momiji-san."
Touji-san shifted his gaze toward me. I called out into the smartphone.
"Haruma-kun, what is your situation?!"
"They're trying to kill Amifune and me. We're pinned down by continuous gunfire and can't move."
Even as he spoke, sounds resembling gunshots could be heard over the line.
"Gotta do somethin' about that chopper, but it's way too far..."
Touji-san peered outside through the hole in the wall.
The helicopter was targeting Haruma-kun and the others on a lower floor, so its altitude was lower than ours.
However, the horizontal distance was several dozen meters away; even a running jump wouldn't reach it.
Touji-san had a handgun, but shooting from here would be pointless.
"Apparently, there's a bomb in Amifune's room, but with them so far out, there's nothing we can do..."
Hearing Haruma-kun say that, my mind raced.
"A bomb..."
Setting aside why they would have something like that for a moment... what if we threw the bomb from the roof...? No, that's no good, it wouldn't reach.
Is there some way...?
As Touji-san and I racked our brains, a massive, echoing BANG suddenly resounded from outside.
"Uwaah!"
Followed immediately by Haruma-kun's scream through the phone.
Accompanied by a violent crash, the call disconnected.
"Not good. They might've switched weapons on 'em."
Faced with his son's crisis, even Touji-san was showing signs of panic.
...At this rate, Haruma-kun is truly going to... die.
I had to avoid that at all costs. What should I do...?!
I knew where Amifune Itaru's (Showatari Tsubasa's) room was because I had seen the floor plan.
It seems there is a bomb there, but even if we had it...
Thinking desperately, I scanned my surroundings for any tools we could use.
...Suddenly, my eyes landed on the black helicopter that had crashed onto this floor.
"Touji-san, how exactly did you bring down this helicopter?"
"Oh, I rode a bike up to the roof and jumped onto the chopper as it tried to bolt."
"With a bike..."
He had apparently brought a motorcycle up to the roof and used its momentum to leap onto the chopper. He rode much more wildly than Haruma-kun.
Perhaps, if I did something similar, I could reach that helicopter?
"..............."
A bomb, a motorcycle... and the expansive roof equipped with a heliport.
I connected the available elements in my head, formulating a breakthrough.
Before long, an idea flashed into my mind.
If it is me... I just might be able to pull it off!
"Touji-san, I have a favor to ask."
I sprang into action immediately.
First, to retrieve the bomb, we went to the room Amifune Itaru was staying in.
It was locked, but I asked Touji-san to force the door open.
Inside a backpack on the desk was a square box resembling a present.
...This must be the bomb.
Beside it lay a remote control with a switch. Meaning, this could detonate it.
Shouldering the backpack containing the bomb, I moved up the stairs to the roof with Touji-san.
Upon arriving at the roof, we spotted a large motorcycle lying on its side in the corner of the wide heliport.
"That's my Harley for ya, ain't broken a bit... Heave-ho."
Touji-san righted the fallen motorcycle.
He had apparently abandoned the bike to jump, but despite a few scratches, it did not appear broken.
Staring at the bike propped up on its kickstand, I spoke to Touji-san.
"Touji-san, could you start the engine for me?"
"…Momiji-san, don't tell me you're…"
Touji-san must have guessed what I was about to do.
"…So this is somethin' only you can pull off, huh."
"Yes."
When Touji-san turned the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life, vibrating intensely.
He gripped the clutch and twisted the throttle.
A loud VROOM blasted from the muffler, shaking the very air around us.
I straddled that bike... Harley?... and gripped the handlebars.
"You sure you know how to drive this thing?"
"I watched Haruma-kun drive from the back seat."
"Gaaah, ridin' tandem with a total beauty. Haruma really is a dark horse, ain't he?"
Touji-san said this with an exaggerated reaction, dramatically clasping his hands to his face and looking up at the sky.
Then, shifting his expression, he looked me straight in the eye.
"…Sorry for makin' you do somethin' like this, but I'm placing my bets on your plan. …Momiji-san, please, save Haruma."
"—Understood!"
Gripping the clutch, I revved the throttle twice to warm up the engine.
Slowly releasing the clutch while twisting the throttle, the Harley lurched forward.
At that exact moment, I lifted my feet off the ground.
The realization that the motorcycle was moving under my own control... shifted the entire atmosphere and my mood—!
It felt just like the climax of a movie, where the narrative kicks into high gear alongside a majestic soundtrack—a palpable shift in momentum.
—This is where the real battle begins!
The heliport, designed for helicopters to land, was perfectly flat terrain devoid of obstacles.
Even an amateur like me could ride on it without issue.
As my speed increased, the pitch of the engine changed, so I gripped the clutch and shifted up a gear.
In response, the Harley surged forward even faster.
Not yet... I still need to go faster!
I drove in a wide circle around the roof, building up running distance.
The needle on the speedometer climbed steadily as my velocity skyrocketed.
Shifting up another gear, the violent vibrations transmitting through the handlebars made my hands go numb.
The wind pressure blasting me on the roof of a high-rise was intense, feeling as though a giant's palm was physically pushing against me.
Squinting against the biting wind, I clung to the handlebars like a rider desperately trying to tame a bucking bronco.
The speedometer had long since maxed out; the Harley had reached its absolute top speed.
—With this speed, I can make it!
I turned my head, locking my eyes firmly on the direction I needed to go.
That direction being the exact spot where the helicopter was firing upon Haruma-kun and the others.
Distance: No problem!
Trajectory: Aligned!
Speed: Optimal!
I yanked the handlebars, rocketing straight toward that direction at a breakneck pace.
The landscape stretching out past the edge of the roof rushed toward me. Even so, I refused to ease off the throttle by even a millimeter.
"Hnghhhh!!!!!"
Driven solely by my desperate desire to save Haruma-kun, I gritted my teeth against the vibrations and wind pressure... and took flight!
Accelerating like a fired bullet, the motorcycle breached the edge of the roof.
Still straddling the bike, I launched myself off the roof of the fourteen-story hotel.
Above me spread the endless night sky, and far below, I could see streetlights and the headlights of cars.
And right there, hovering, was the helicopter targeting Haruma-kun.
Having blasted off at full speed, the raw inertia carried the Harley and me in a massive leap, covering several meters of empty air.
—With this, the horizontal gap is closed!
Just as calculated, I had soared until I was practically directly above the helicopter.
"Ngh, now for the rest...!"
Buffeted by the natural winds of the open air and the violent downdraft from the helicopter's rotors, I was tossed around until I lost all sense of up, down, left, and right.
Even so, the motorcycle and I obeyed gravity, plummeting toward the ground.
Which meant, the vertical gap between me and the helicopter was closing!
Releasing my grip on the handlebars, my hands trembled uncontrollably from the numbness.
Summoning every ounce of my remaining strength, I pulled something out from my pocket.
The detonator switch for the bomb from Amifune-kun's room.
And the bomb itself was still securely strapped to my back inside the backpack.
This was something only I could do... This was the fighting style of an immortal.
With a twitching thumb, I pressed the detonator switch.
The backpack detonated against my spine, blowing my entire field of vision into pure white.
December 21, Same Time - Tennai Haruma
The outside of the hotel flashed white, followed instantly by a colossal explosion.
The concussive force and sonic boom shattered the remaining glass, sending a shockwave surging into the building.
"W-What the...?!"
While I was bewildered by the sudden blast, Amifune spoke with absolute calm.
"…Looks like something exploded near the chopper. My bomb, perhaps?"
Someone attacked the helicopter... which meant Momiji and my dad must have done something.
A few moments after the explosion, I realized the sound of the propellers was gradually fading away.
Carefully, I peeked out from behind the pillar I was using for cover.
...The helicopter was gone. It didn't seem to have crashed from the explosion, but...
Amifune stood up, dusting off his pants.
"I imagine they retreated. That explosion just now might have caused enough damage that they couldn't stay hovering here."
"But still... didn't they disappear way too fast just to have flown off?"
Less than a minute had passed since the blast.
Even if they retreated instantly, we should have still been able to see the aircraft in flight.
"Ah, that is..."
Just as Amifune was about to say something, someone came running down the stairs. Spotting us, he called out.
"Yooo Haruma, you okay? Any new drafty holes in your body?"
"Dad!"
Dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, it was my dad, exactly as I remembered him.
This was the first time I'd seen him in what, two years...?
I had a mountain of questions for him—like why the hell are you here—but there were more pressing matters right now.
"…What about Reidou? She was with you, right?"
"Momiji-san chased off that chopper using a method only she could."
A method only Reidou could pull off...
Connecting that to the explosion just now, I formed a pretty good idea of what Reidou had done.
Dad shot a brief glance at Amifune before looking out through the shattered window.
"So, Haruma. Our savior Momiji-san left a very, very important message for you."
"…?"
A message? Dad turned his gaze away from the window and back to me.
"She said you're the only one she can ask to come pick her up, so she's waiting."
"Ah... Got it."
I see. So that's what happened...
Understanding the implication of the message, I left Amifune in my dad's custody and took off.
"Reidou!"
I hurried down to the first floor and stepped out into the courtyard, shouting her name into the empty air.
This hotel's courtyard used to be brimming with luxurious statues and beautifully blooming flowers.
But after the flood, the explosions, and the all-out firefight tonight, it was completely trashed.
Reidou had to be around here somewhere... As I thought that, a response came from nearby.
"Over here."
The voice came from an area where several large trees were growing.
I approached the spot, calling out again...
"Reido—"
I peeked behind the tree, only to completely freeze in my tracks.
"N-No! Please do not look...!"
She had answered, so naturally, Reidou was there.
However... she was stark naked.
Sitting on the grass, Reidou was devoid of not just her clothes, but even her underwear.
She wasn't wearing her usual headband or choker either. It was truly her in her absolute birthday suit.
I had seen her half-naked before, but this was the first time seeing her completely in the buff.
Face flushed crimson, she was trying to cover her chest and lower half with her arms.
Except her massive chest and plump thighs were simply too large to hide, and pressing her arms against them only emphasized their shape, making the sight even more tantalizingly erotic.
Yeah, that's dense...
Even I wasn't shameless enough to keep staring at her like that... but the image of Reidou baring it all out in the open burned itself into my retinas in a single glance.
—As for why she was in such a state, it was clearly because that explosion was the result of her suicidal sacrifice.
She had approached the helicopter holding the bomb, detonating it to catch them in the blast.
A kamikaze strike only possible for an immortal like Reidou.
Acting as the bomb herself meant Reidou's physical body would regenerate, but her vaporized clothes certainly wouldn't... Which was why Reidou had plummeted down to this courtyard completely naked.
"I brought you some clothes."
"…I appreciate that you managed to read between the lines. Thank you very much."
Factoring in my dad's hint and the situation, I had deduced her suicide bombing and grabbed some spare clothes from inside the hotel.
"Ugh... y-you only brought clothes?"
What I brought was some loungewear I borrowed from the front desk, but naturally, I didn't have underwear to offer.
Making her walk around in just a single layer of clothes was both too pitiful and something I didn't want, so I took off my jacket and handed it to her.
She put my jacket on over the loungewear and zipped it all the way up.
It was oversized for her, so wearing it like that hid her body completely.
"……………………"
Finished changing, Reidou fell silent for some reason.
She pulled the collar of the jacket up, burying her face into it until it covered her nose.
"…Hehe."
Strangely, Reidou let out an incredibly happy giggle. My heart skipped a beat as I asked her a question.
"Come to think of it, how did you even fly out to the chopper? It was way too far to reach by just jumping off the roof."
"I borrowed Touji-san's motorcycle to build up momentum and drove it off the roof."
Dad's bike... meaning a Harley-Davidson? Yeah, that would definitely cross the gap.
I imagined Reidou rocketing through the air at top speed, clutching a bomb. Total Momiji-missile.
"I really thought I was a goner this time. You saved my life, Reidou... Thank you."
I did technically die once in this hotel already, but man, this was one hell of an ordeal.
I never expected things to escalate like this just from coming here to investigate her father.
"I realized firsthand that if you were gone, Haruma-kun, I would never recover... I am truly glad I was able to use my power to save you."
...Because I had died once before, her desire not to lose me had grown exponentially stronger.
That's why she resorted to a suicide bombing.
I really didn't want her pulling stunts like that, but she did save us. That was an undeniable fact.
For now, I just needed to be immensely grateful.
...Suddenly, looking at Reidou, who had used her immortal ability to save me, Amifune's words crossed my mind.
—"Don't tell me... you're an immortal detective?"
That title was definitely more fitting for Reidou.
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