​Chapter 7: The Immortal Locked Room

​December 21, 21:00 - Reidou Momiji 

​To assess the situation, I had made my way outside the hotel... near the main entrance.

​Crowds of people were gathering steadily around the ruined hotel. Paramedics and police officers.

​The incident had concluded without a single injury to the hotel guests.

​As I lingered near the entrance, Yunomiya-san emerged from the hotel, leaning heavily on the shoulder of a female police officer.

​"…Yunomiya-san!"

​Seeing her state, the color drained from my face, and I rushed over.

​Yunomiya-san was... battered beyond recognition.

​Her clothes were filthy, her face was grotesquely swollen, and dried tracks of blood ran from her nose and mouth.

​According to what Haruma-kun told me, Yunomiya-san had gone after Inomichi Shinobu.

​...Did she confront that man and get beaten this severely?

​Stumbling forward while looking at the ground, Yunomiya-san noticed me and raised her head.

​With a painfully battered face, she offered a weak, fragile smile.

​"…Reidou-san… You're safe…"

​"I am perfectly fine, but Yunomiya-san, you…"

​Seeing it up close, it was truly horrific. It looked like she had been repeatedly pummeled.

​Trembling with shock and rage, I clenched my fists.

​I had never imagined things had escalated to this...

​Yunomiya-san spoke to the female officer supporting her, asking her to step back, and forced herself to stand on her own two feet. Then, she placed a hand on my shoulder.

​"…This kind of thing… is pretty common when you're a detective. Don't worry about it…"

​She forced a smile on her swollen face, acting tough so I wouldn't worry.

​Seeing Yunomiya-san like that... it honestly brought tears to my eyes.

​Just how mature... how incredibly strong was this woman?

​"…Having you worry about me like this, Reidou-san… makes me a little happy…"

​Yunomiya-san murmured softly. I bit my lip to hold back my tears.

​"Honestly... your looks are your only redeeming feature, so please heal quickly."

​"…What do you mean 'only', hehe…"

​Suddenly, I caught sight of Haruma-kun behind Yunomiya-san.

​He had been checking the surroundings as well, but it seemed he noticed us.

​He called Yunomiya-san's name as he walked over.

​"Yunomiya-san, are you okay—"

​"Hiik...!"

​In that instant, Yunomiya-san's shoulders violently jerked.

​...? What was wrong?

​Did being called out from behind startle her? I thought, but Yunomiya-san didn't turn to face Haruma-kun. Instead, the color rapidly drained from her face.

​She wrapped her arms around her own shoulders, beginning to tremble violently.

​"N-No…"

​Confused by her highly uncharacteristic behavior, Haruma-kun reached out a hand as he drew near.

​"? Yunomiya-sa—"

​"No! Stay away!"

​Yunomiya-san shrieked in a voice I had never heard her use before, swatting Haruma-kun's hand away.

​"Don't come near me!"

​She shoved Haruma-kun away with her palms like a frightened child.

​Losing his balance, Haruma-kun fell onto his rear, staring at her in sheer bewilderment.

​"Stop, please don't hit me…!"

​Yunomiya-san clutched her head with both hands in pure terror, hyperventilating as tears streamed down her face.

​...The sight of her bore a striking resemblance to Elaine, who had been heavily traumatized by guns...

​In other words, the brutal violence she suffered from Inomichi Shinobu had triggered PTSD.

​Haruma-kun suddenly calling out to her... or perhaps being approached by a man in general... must have caused the memory of her beating to flash back.

​"Yunomiya-san, please calm down!"

​I hurriedly embraced the cowering Yunomiya-san, gently rubbing her back.

​"It is okay... You are safe..."

​Cooing to her soothingly, I made eye contact with the female officer standing nearby.

​I raised a palm toward her, signaling her to "stay back."

​It would be better if I stayed like this and calmed her down myself.

​I met Haruma-kun's stunned eyes. Snapping out of his daze, he gave me a firm nod.

​He immediately turned on his heel and walked away. He must have realized his presence was doing more harm than good right now.

​...To instill this level of terror in Yunomiya-san... what she endured must have been far more horrific than I imagined.

​I could see red, finger-shaped bruises lingering on Yunomiya-san's neck.

​...I will never forgive that man...

​"The person who was just here was Haruma-kun. Please rest assured."

​As her ragged breathing began to slow, I spoke to her gently to ease her panic.

​"Haa… haa… It was… Tennai-kun…?"

​Held safely in my arms, she slowly lowered her hands from her head.

​Then, cupping her hands together like she was scooping water, she buried her face in them.

​"…I'm the worst…"

​December 21, Same Time - Tennai Haruma

​Head hung low, I trudged through the first floor of the hotel.

​"Dammit..."

​The way Yunomiya had shoved me away earlier was completely abnormal.

​Her face was horrifically swollen, undoubtedly the result of Inomichi Shinobu beating her.

​"…Tennai, huh."

​Someone called out to me, making me raise my head.

​Looking toward the voice, I found Mito slumped against a corner of the lobby.

​Just like Yunomiya, he was battered and bruised.

​"Mito... you alright?"

​"This much ain't nothin' for me, but that lady detective…"

​Gritting his back teeth in clear frustration, Mito bowed his head to me.

​"…Sorry, Tennai. I let that bastard get away."

​According to Mito... he found Inomichi trying to murder Yunomiya and engaged him in a fight.

​Inomichi was monstrously strong, his raw physical power completely eclipsing Mito's.

​It became a brutal brawl between Mito's Star Murger and Inomichi's bare-fisted martial arts... and the moment Mito dropped to one knee, Inomichi, realizing he was out of time, fled.

​Effectively evading all the police officers surrounding the hotel, Inomichi successfully escaped clean away.

​"…If you hadn't been there, Yunomiya-san would have been killed. Thank you."

​"Haha, never thought the day would come where I'd get a thank you from you."

​...He had a point. Mito and I had our fair share of history, but right here, right now, I was genuinely grateful.

​Things turning out like this was my fault, after all...

​It wasn't just Yunomiya. Chiyuki-san had been shot through the head right in front of me, too.

​Both of them had ended up like this because I asked them to cooperate with my investigation.

​My own powerlessness, the gnawing regret of having made the wrong choices... weighed heavily on my chest.

​Coming to this hotel, bringing Tsubaki-san along, moving independently to expose the culprit... Wasn't every single choice I made a massive mistake?

​And yet here I am, the only one surviving without a scratch.

​...Even if I regret it, I've already reached a point where I can't rewind and try again.

​From here on out... I need to tread carefully and do what needs to be done.

​Parting ways with Mito, I moved to the hotel courtyard. There were two silhouettes waiting there.

​My dad, and Amifune.

​After driving off the helicopter, I had left Amifune in my dad's care to go pick up Reidou.

​As the culprit behind this incident and a key figure deeply tied to our past cases, Amifune was arguably the most crucial person of interest right now.

​I had a mountain of questions I needed to ask him.

​"Yoo Haruma, how are things out front?"

​Dad asked, so I gave him a rough rundown of the situation.

​But right now, there was something else I needed to ask him.

​"Look... why were you even at this hotel, Dad? And in disguise, no less..."

​"Well duh, work is work. Your pops is a bona fide company man."

​"I mean, work...?"

​...The father I knew, Tennai Touji, was just a regular middle-aged dude who liked motorcycles.

​He always claimed his job was "writing," but I never actually knew what he wrote...

​Listening to him now, there was no way he was just a regular civilian.

​"He leaped onto a helicopter and engaged in a flashy shootout. He is definitely not a normal person," Amifune added, having witnessed dad's stunts firsthand.

​Seriously, who the hell is he? He even has a gun.

​"Hmm, I really can't talk about it~. What a bind."

​"It's a secret even from me?"

​"It's the kind of job I can't even tell my beloved son about, unfortunately."

​Evading the question again...

​"But hey, stating the obvious here, I ain't your enemy. So just, y'know, read between the lines. …Besides, I can help you find the answers to what you're lookin' for next."

​Saying so, Dad turned on his heel and approached a nearby human-shaped statue.

​It was a statue of a male figure resembling an Italian gentleman, carved from white stone... However, due to the explosion Reidou caused, a piece of falling motorcycle shrapnel had spectacularly obliterated it.

​Touching the broken statue with his back to us, Dad spoke.

​"Your whole reason for coming here was about Momiji-san's old man, right?"

​"You know about that?"

​"Her dad... Reidou Aoshi-san and I are fairly, sorta, kinda old acquaintances."

​What's with that incredibly vague description... I almost retorted, but I was far too surprised. I had never imagined Dad actually knew Reidou's father.

​"Alrighty… hup."

​Dad began to push the broken statue he had his hand on.

​Since the majority of it was shattered, the statue's balance was poor, and it wobbled unsteadily.

​"Huh? Ah, just pushing ain't gonna cut it… SEI!"

​With a spirited shout, Dad drove the sole of his boot into the statue, kicking it away.

​The wobbling statue tilted violently before finally toppling over onto the ground.

​I barely had a second to think what the hell is he doing... before I saw what the fallen statue had been hiding, and my eyes widened.

​"Thanks to Momiji-san's kamikaze missile blowing this thing to bits, we can actually get inside now."

​What was revealed was a lid, or a hatch... a heavy metal plate.

​It had a handle, meaning it could be lifted open. I didn't know exactly what was under there, but given the flow of the conversation, it was highly likely...

​"The basement... was it right here all along?!"

​To think it was in the courtyard. Under a statue, no less... No matter how hard we searched, we never would have found it.

​I figured the chances of the basement surviving the hotel's construction were slim to none, but...

​In reality, when they tore down the old café to build the hotel, they designated this area as the courtyard and just sealed it up with a statue... Was that it?

​Dad tapped the metal hatch with his foot.

​"Honestly, there ain't anything particularly exciting down there… but when it comes to Aoshi-san, seeing this place for yourself is the fastest way to understand. Plus, it's the perfect spot for a little secret chat."

​In other words... Dad was going to tell me what he knew about Reidou's father too.

​I called out to Amifune, who was still sitting in the corner of the courtyard.

​"…Amifune, you're going to answer my questions too, right?"

​"Yes. I will tell you everything I know."

​Amifune had given up on everything, fully believing he was going to be disposed of... but having survived that execution, it seemed he was finally willing to spill his guts.

​...Once we entered this basement, the answers to the massive mysteries surrounding us would finally come to light... I could feel it.

​Coming to this hotel hadn't been a waste after all.

​"Alright... let's go."

​＊

Reidou joined us after she finished tending to Yunomiya. Together with Dad and Amifune, the four of us entered the basement.

​Lifting the trapdoor set into the floor revealed a descending flight of white stairs.

​Looking down at it, Reidou murmured.

​"I remember these stairs. It's definitely the same basement from back then."

​Her face bore her usual flat expression—neither elated nor pessimistic.

​Feeling a bit worried, I asked her.

​"…Reidou, are you okay?"

​If we kept going, we'd reach the room where her father died. It might trigger the trauma of that day.

​"My father's death was sad, yes… but the manner of his passing wasn't particularly traumatic, so I'll be fine," Reidou smiled at me warmly. "Thank you for always worrying about me. Let's go."

​She wasn't putting on a brave front; she genuinely seemed okay. Reassured, I turned my attention back to the basement.

​"I'll take the lead. It'd be super lame to slip, fall, and crack your head open, so watch your step, Haruma~"

​Dad pulled out his smartphone to illuminate the basement with its flashlight.

​The white stairs were stained with black mold, carrying a distinct musty odor.

​Following Dad's advice, I carefully made my way down the stairs to avoid slipping.

​At the bottom stood a metal door. It was wide open, exposing the room inside.

​Reidou gently touched the door.

​"I believe… this door was extremely thick, so the police had to cut through it with a blowtorch."

​Even at a glance, the door looked incredibly thick and sturdy. Being a basement, they couldn't just break through the walls, so it seemed they had forced their way in by destroying the door.

​Passing through the wide-open doorway, we finally stepped into the basement room.

​This was the place where Reidou's father had died without a single external injury… or so the story went.

​There was nothing inside the room—truly, it was an utterly empty space. Not even a single bug could be found.

​"The air is stagnant," Amifune noted, covering his mouth.

​Because it was a basement, there were no windows, nor were there any vents for air circulation.

​This was probably the first time fresh air had entered this room in a long while.

​"……………"

​I swept the room with my own smartphone flashlight, letting my thoughts race.

​Looking at the completely unadorned concrete walls, Reidou's expression twisted into one of confusion.

​"Now that we're actually here, there really is nothing. Not even any clues to base a deduction on…"

​It was simply a box-shaped concrete room. The only thing present was the stagnant air.

​—Which is exactly why we have all the clues we need, I thought.

​"…Reidou."

​I slowly opened my mouth and called her name.

​It wasn't just about this basement.

​—Everything I've experienced since meeting Reidou.

​All of it was material for my deduction.

​"Will you listen to my deduction?"

​"…Yes."

​Reidou gave a small nod. Dad and Amifune remained silent, ready to listen.

​Thinking about where to begin, I started laying out everything I had been turning over in my head.

​From here on out, I decided I would refer to Reidou's father by his given name, Aoshi-san.

​"—When I first heard the story of finding Aoshi-san in this basement and the details of the immortality ability… the very first thing that crossed my mind was, 'What happens if they starve?'"

​To put it bluntly, Reidou is a massive glutton, and everything she eats gets properly digested.

​…The first time I shared a meal with her… right, it was when we were investigating Sasamura's murder at school.

​I had lunch with Miyagawa—which was when the size of her chest became abundantly clear—but that was also when I learned just how much Reidou could eat.

​Reidou had excused herself to use the restroom during that time, which meant (pardon the crudeness) her body was actively digesting it all.

​Taking what I learned then and combining it with the mechanics of immortality I heard about later, the first question I asked myself was, 'What would happen if she just stopped eating entirely?'

​Reidou rubbed her stomach as she spoke.

​"You mean, would we starve to death? I've never been starved to that extent, so I wouldn't know. But considering it's called 'immortality', I feel like we wouldn't die…"

​That made sense.

​Living a normal life in modern Japan, it was highly unlikely Reidou would ever find herself in a situation where she would starve to death.

​However, expanding on the starvation theory brought up a critical question about the immortality ability itself. That was my next point.

​"For example… what happens in a Checkmate scenario? Like if an immortal person were to fall into magma?"

​Sinking into the deep sea, being thrown out into the vacuum of space… Even if the power of immortality could continuously regenerate them, there are countless environments and phenomena where a human simply cannot exist as a human.

​I used the word 'Checkmate' as an easy way to describe it.

​Against a Checkmate scenario, immortality isn't just useless; it actively forces the host to experience eternal agony.

​—Much like when Reidou was locked in the basement during the school festival incident.

​If you are imprisoned without the ability to move, completely conscious, the only thing waiting for you is an eternity of suffering.

​At first glance, the immortality ability seems invincible, but it unquestionably possesses a fatal weakness: a physical Checkmate.

​And—

​"This basement fulfills those conditions," I said, spreading my arms to indicate the room.

​A sealed room, shut tight by a heavy door.

​From what we've checked, there are no ventilation holes anywhere.

​Being locked in this room alone creates a Checkmate by starvation, but to make matters worse, staying in here too long would eventually deplete the oxygen.

​—They would succumb to hypoxia, just like what happened to Tsubaki-san.

​I continued my explanation. After the physical Checkmate came the next piece of the puzzle.

​"Next is the psychological aspect… There are signs that the strength of the immortality ability fluctuates depending on the user's mental state."

​"Is that so? I've never really been conscious of it…"

​Well, it might be something surprisingly hard to notice about yourself.

​…During our past cases, whenever Reidou got injured, the speed of her recovery clearly varied depending on the situation.

​Take the two times she jumped off a building, for example.

​The first was during Shioe's incident, right before her fight behind the school. Reidou threw herself from the Literature Club's window just to rush to Miyagawa's side.

​The second time was during the incident where Elaine and Mearin were killed. Consumed by the grief of losing them both, Reidou threw herself off the school roof.

​The first time, she was so confident she didn't even seem to feel pain. But the second time, she was so badly injured that the impact zone was left covered in blood… It was a stark visual representation of how her mental state affected her durability.

​"To sum it up… Immortality has a weakness in the form of a Checkmate, and the ability is directly linked to the user's psyche."

​This was the hypothesis I had formulated based on everything I had experienced with Reidou.

​Now that we were here, all that was left was to cross-reference it with the facts.

​The fact that the immortality ability had been passed down from Reidou Aoshi to Reidou Momiji.

​And the ultimate mystery: why did a person possessing the immortality ability die?

​By bridging my experience-based hypothesis with the actual facts, the answer I arrived at was—

​"…When placed in a physical Checkmate where their mind ultimately shatters… The immortality ability kills its host to release them from eternal suffering. Then, it transfers to someone else. Isn't that the true nature of this power?"

​Being trapped in this basement would inevitably lead to a mental breakdown.

​If immortality is tied to the mind, what happens when that mind hits rock bottom?

​The answer is the transfer of the ability.

​…Talking about this reminded me of the painting Elaine had been working on.

​George Frederic Watts' Hope.

​A blindfolded woman sitting atop a globe, trying to play a lyre with only a single string left… clinging desperately to a faint glimmer of hope.

​If that last, single string were to snap, only despair would remain.

​I believe Aoshi-san was driven into exactly that kind of situation.

​"It's impossible. You can't deduce anything when you know things like that exist."

​Inomichi Shinobu's words suddenly flashed through my mind.

​Because this was a deduction regarding an ability, it couldn't be anything more than a hypothesis.

​However, it was a highly probable theory built by connecting concrete information with events that actually happened.

​To give this hypothesis weight, it was crucial to understand just how thoroughly this basement created a Checkmate scenario. That was exactly why I suggested this investigation to Reidou in the first place.

​"……………………"

​Having heard my explanation, Reidou looked completely dumbfounded, falling into a temporary silence.

​Worried that I might have upset her, I asked, "Are you okay?"

​"Ah, no… It's just, it was a much simpler answer than I expected."

​Well, I suppose it was simple...

​It wasn't like some bizarre, convoluted trick was used. If I were smarter, I probably could have reached this hypothesis the moment I first heard about the immortality ability.

​The real problem started now.

​Even if we understood the mystery behind Aoshi-san's death, knowing what came next was the vital part.

​Who killed him, and why?

​Not to mention the lingering mystery: why was Aoshi-san's death—a body with zero external injuries and an entirely unknown cause of death—ruled a suicide?

​Clap, clap, clap. The sound echoed through the basement.

​Dad, who had been completely silent up until now, was clapping with a casual air.

​"Not bad, Haruma. Dead on the money."

​Dead on the money? Hearing that, Reidou looked over at Dad's face.

​"I knew it. You did know about immortality, Touji-san."

​Dad had, after all, lent Reidou his motorcycle during the hotel incident fully knowing she planned to use herself as a human bomb to chase off a helicopter.

​Because of that, Reidou had already suspected he knew about the ability.

​Dad nodded at her.

​"Aoshi-san's ability may grant physical immortality, but it can't prevent the death of the mind. Just as Haruma said, when that happens, the power is designed to pass on to someone else. In fact, Aoshi-san told me he inherited it from someone else, too."

​…I had thought my deduction was nothing more than a hypothesis, but if the man himself said it, then it was undeniable fact.

​To think the correct answer would be revealed through my dad of all people... You really never know what's going to happen.

​"I pulled some strings behind the scenes to make sure Aoshi-san's death was processed as a suicide. If they did an autopsy and started cutting his body to pieces, it would have been a nightmare for him."

​Dad dropped that bombshell like he was talking about the weather.

​You've gotta be kidding me, I thought. Reidou, whose eyes were equally wide, spoke up.

​"Eh… i-is that true?"

​It was no wonder she was surprised.

​That exact mystery was the entire reason Reidou felt compelled to uncover the truth in the first place.

​"I've been searching for the reason his death was ruled a suicide for so long... To think it was you all along, Touji-san..."

​Hearing Reidou's words, Dad scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish.

​"Yeah… It probably wasn't a satisfying conclusion for you, Momiji-san. I'm sorry for causing you so much confusion."

​Dad bowed his head deeply. In response, Reidou quickly bowed back.

​"No, you were protecting my father, weren't you? Thank you so much."

​…What Dad said about avoiding an autopsy definitely made sense.

​With a corpse in such an abnormal state, there was no telling how he would have been treated on the dissection table.

​From the sound of it, Dad and Aoshi-san were close friends... and I didn't think it was wrong of him to want to spare his friend from that.

​But putting that aside, there was something far more pressing in what he just said.

​"Wait, 'pulled some strings'… Dad, does that mean you're affiliated with the police? Aren't you a writer?"

​"Well, well, well, you know how it is. Read the room. Besides, being a writer isn't a lie! I post web novels online. Gotta aim for that sweet, sweet royalty lifestyle!"

​No matter how I pressed, it seemed he had absolutely no intention of revealing his actual profession.

​A police affiliate who can't even tell his own family, huh...

​The web novel stuff didn't matter, so I just ignored it.

​With the mystery of the suicide resolved, Amifune—who had been silently nodding along—realized it was his turn and began to speak.

​"I was also told that's how the immortality ability works. Though, obviously, I wasn't doing the kind of things I am now eight years ago."

​Eight years ago was the year Aoshi-san died. Amifune and I would have been around eight years old at the time.

​Amifune had learned about the immortality ability from someone else. And that person was likely...

​"…Amifune, you know the culprit who killed Aoshi-san, don't you?"

​When I asked, Amifune closed his eyes and nodded.

​"You're going to tell us everything, right?"

​Amifune opened his eyes and let out a long, quiet breath.

​Then, dropping his gaze to the floor, he began his confession.

​"…For the past few years, I've been acting under someone's orders. My primary objectives were to locate ability users… and kill them."

​"…!"

​Me, Reidou, Dad… we were all left speechless.

​We had suspected as much, but ability users really were being hunted and murdered.

​And to think my own classmate, Amifune, was being ordered to do it…

​"Among the people Tennai-kun knows, Ritsune Mio and Inomichi Shinobu received those same orders."

​"…So that's why they targeted Elaine, Mearin, Tsubaki-san, and me."

​Amifune nodded without hesitation.

​Ritsune Mio… Mio-san used Fuse Kazuma's thirst for revenge to have Elaine and Mearin killed, and he had targeted Tsubaki-san's life as well.

​And Inomichi was the one who murdered Tsubaki-san in this hotel after Mio-san failed.

​"Inomichi and I originally came to this hotel to kill Mito Shuya. That was the plan, at least… until you and Tsubaki Aika-san showed up."

​"How could…"

​Shocked, Reidou covered her mouth.

​If we hadn't brought Tsubaki-san to this hotel, she wouldn't have been killed here. Though, in that scenario, it's highly likely Mito would have died instead…

​"Tennai-kun, who was highly suspected of being an ability user, and Tsubaki Aika-san, whose ability made her incredibly difficult to kill. We judged your abilities to be a far greater threat than Mito Shuya's, so our priorities shifted."

​From Amifune's perspective, I was an ability user who 'knew things I shouldn't know.'

​Tsubaki-san possessed an automatic defense ability, making her inherently difficult to assassinate.

​Compared to Mito's Purifying Magnetic Fire Ability, Star Murger, assessing them as far more troublesome targets was a completely valid tactical judgment.

​Hearing our conversation, Dad suddenly chimed in with a bewildered, "Oh my?"

​"Huh? Wait a sec. Haruma, you're an ability user?"

​…Right. He seemed to know about Reidou's situation, but there was no way Dad could have known about my ability.

​I guess we both had our fair share of secrets.

​"…I'll explain later, let's just listen to Amifune for now."

​Since we'd gone this far, there was no hiding my ability anymore. I'd just have to explain it to Dad afterward.

​More importantly, I had to ask the most crucial question of all. Holding my breath, I asked.

​"So… who is it? Who drove Aoshi-san to his death and is giving orders to Mio-san, Inomichi, and you?"

​"…The Defense Minister's Policy Advisor, Hakunaga Mikasa. We have different last names, but… he's my father."

​The name Amifune gave belonged to someone I had never heard of before. However—

​"Your father?!"

​The sheer shock of the revelation made me shout without thinking.

​My classmate, Amifune, had been taking assassination orders from his own father. It was a story so absurd it was hard to believe.

​Reidou repeated the unfamiliar title.

​"Defense Minister's… Policy Advisor? So, he's a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Defense?"

​"Well, ain't that a shocker. A Ministry of Defense official making his own kid help out with murders?"

​Dad spat, his face twisting in utter disgust.

​As a fellow father, he clearly had some strong feelings about it.

​Even so… it felt like fathers were strangely deeply tied to the events surrounding us.

​"Why would your father do such a thing…?" Reidou asked, but Amifune shook his head.

​"I don't know. …But I could feel something from him. An obsession of sorts."

​A burning obsession with killing ability users.

​Just what could have happened to drive a person to such an extreme ideology?

​The name of the true mastermind had finally been revealed, but the mysteries were only deepening.

​"It seems we'll need to thoroughly investigate this Hakunaga Mikasa. If he's a bureaucrat, there might be public records available."

​"Yeah…"

​Reidou was right. Just like when we looked up Hamo Ryoko online, we might at least be able to find a picture of his face.

​There was no signal in the basement, so I made a mental note to look it up later.

​But I still had more questions for Amifune. Specifically about the people receiving those orders.

​"Hey, Amifune. Why did Ritsune Mio and Inomichi Shinobu follow Hakunaga Mikasa?"

​"I don't know what originally triggered their allegiance, but Inomichi Shinobu was moving because of the massive payouts."

​Money, huh… I suppose a high-ranking bureaucrat could move vast sums of cash if they wanted to.

​Remembering something, Reidou spoke up.

​"Come to think of it, Ritsune Mio was a detective, and Inomichi Shinobu claimed to be a police officer as well. He had a police badge, and his real name was Arikata Shinobu…"

​When Reidou cornered Inomichi with her deduction during this incident, he had flashed a police badge at her.

​Not that seeing a badge meant we'd trust he was actually a cop, but still…

​Hearing Reidou mention Inomichi Shinobu, Dad's eyebrow twitched.

​"…Arikata Shinobu?"

​"Touji-san, do you know him?"

​"He's an ex-detective. Used to be with the Organized Crime Department. An old geezer in his forties."

​Setting aside the fact that Dad was also an old geezer… he rattled off information about Inomichi without missing a beat.

​"Arikata was a dirty cop. The absolute worst kind, heavily involved in 'cop killings.'"

​Cop killings…? That was a new one.

​"Two years ago, the ones who cornered that dirty detective were… that female detective who came to this hotel, Yunomiya Hiro, and the boss of a yakuza syndicate called the Crane Group."

​The names Dad dropped completely threw me for a loop.

​Yunomiya Hiro and the Crane Group—that meant—

​"The Crane Group… You mean Giorgio-san?"

​Seeing that I knew a yakuza boss by name, all the color drained from Dad's face.

​"Whoa, Haruma, since when did you turn into a delinquent? Give me a break, becoming a yakuza—"

​"I'm not! I just met him after a bunch of stuff happened!"

​He just happened to be my friend Calvin's dad... Well, I did participate in a billion-yen gamble with him, so 'a bunch of stuff' was putting it lightly.

​Ignoring Dad and my back-and-forth, Amifune continued his explanation of Inomichi (Arikata).

​"It's getting confusing, so I'll call him Arikata from here on out. Apparently, Arikata fled from the police and changed both his name and his face."

​According to Dad, Arikata Shinobu was in his forties.

​When I first saw Arikata at the hotel, he had the sharp, ruggedly handsome features of a man in his twenties... meaning that look was entirely bought with plastic surgery.

​"Arikata was in it for the money, but he definitely enjoyed the act of killing, too. He used the badge he stole to impersonate an officer… but honestly, he was so suspicious that I always thought Arikata was an idiot."

​Hearing Amifune's blunt assessment, I couldn't help but think, What the hell...

​Sure, a guy in his forties getting plastic surgery to look like a hot twenty-something sounded incredibly stupid… but Yunomiya hadn't noticed his true identity at all, so he was evidently doing a good job hiding it.

​He managed to fight off Yunomiya and Mito and successfully escape, so there was no doubting his strength, either.

​…Still, to think Yunomiya and Giorgio-san had cornered Arikata two years ago. That was a shocking piece of history.

​The sheer, trauma-inducing violence Arikata unleashed upon Yunomiya… was it born out of a deep-seated grudge?

​After Arikata Shinobu came Mio-san.

​"As for Ritsune Mio, it seems he and my father were old friends."

​"Mio-san was acquainted with a Ministry of Defense bureaucrat? I've never heard anything about that…"

​Mio-san used to be a close neighbor and friend. He was basically an older brother to me. That was exactly why the crimes he committed were such a massive shock...

​"In the end… Ritsune Mio realized my father would kill him for failing to assassinate Tsubaki Aika-san, so he chose to take his own life."

​Amifune's explanation brought back the memory of the department store collapsing in the explosion.

​Mio-san didn't try to run; he threw himself into the blast on his own terms. Was Hakunaga Mikasa really that terrifying of a man?

​"Also… Fuse Kazuma was killed."

​Reidou reacted sharply to the name.

​"Fuse-san…!?"

​Fuse Kazuma was the man who carried out the murders of Reidou's friends, Elaine and Mearin.

​His motive was revenge. After we confronted him with the truth, Fuse was supposed to have turned himself in...

​Dad seemed to know about Fuse as well, crossing his arms as he recalled the information.

​"Ah—I've heard about that too. Word is he committed suicide in his holding cell pretty recently."

​"That was manipulated information. Fuse Kazuma was killed by my father, and it was covered up to look like a suicide."

​Amifune stated it so matter-of-factly that Dad let out a surprised, "Seriously?"

​Fuse was connected to Mio-san. Hakunaga must have killed him before he could leak any secrets.

​He had committed unforgivable crimes, but Fuse had admitted his guilt and surrendered to the police…

​"……………"

​Looking at Reidou, her face was a swirl of confusion, sorrow, and hesitation.

​Fuse was the man who murdered her best friends, so her feelings on the matter were undeniably complicated.

​What about the other culprits from the cases I had been involved in… Shioe and Kagamine. They were safe, right?

​Their motives were purely personal: Shioe Mikan acted out of jealousy towards Miyagawa Ai, and Kagamine Yayoi acted in self-defense.

​There was no way they were connected to Hakunaga Mikasa. They wouldn't be targeted like Fuse... I hoped.

​Amifune, who had remained expressionless until now, suddenly lowered his brows, looking at me with a troubled expression.

​"Right now, I'm in the exact same position as Fuse Kazuma… From here on out, I believe my father will be targeting my life."

​"He already tried to kill you. Me too, for that matter."

​He had brought out an incredibly conspicuous helicopter and heavy firearms. Left to his own devices, Amifune would be killed in no time.

​"I can't forgive what you've done, Amifune-kun, and I do believe you should face justice…"

​But that didn't mean we wanted to watch him die. Despite everything that happened, Reidou seemed to share my sentiment.

​However, what were we supposed to do now? I crossed my arms and groaned.

​"…Given what happened to Fuse, having the police arrest you is no longer an option."

​If we handed Amifune over to the police, Hakunaga Mikasa would immediately make his move. It would be like throwing him straight into the viper's pit.

​Dad shook his head playfully and chimed in.

​"Hmm, yeah, that's true. I suppose I could do something about it if I pulled some heavy strings on my end... So, what's the plan, Haruma?"

​He was far too casual about it, and his phrasing inspired absolutely zero confidence...

​Relying on Dad was an option, but trusting him with Amifune's life felt a bit too risky.

​"…I'll think of a way to hide you."

​With my resolve set, I looked Amifune straight in the eye.

​"I'm not going to just stand by and let you get killed... You don't want to die either, do you, Amifune?"

​"Yeah. From now on, I will follow you, Tennai-kun."

​For the time being... our conversation in the basement, where so many truths had been laid bare, came to an end.

​We let Arikata get away, but the case that took place in this hotel was finally closed.

​Reidou, Amifune, and I piled into a car Dad had arranged to take us back.

​As the car gently rocked, I organized the new information we had learned into a mental list.

• ​The immortality ability kills its host when they are placed in a physical 'Checkmate' and suffer a mental breakdown.

• ​Aoshi-san's death was ruled a suicide because my Dad pulled strings to prevent an autopsy.

• ​Amifune's father is the Defense Minister's Policy Advisor, Hakunaga Mikasa. He is hunting and killing ability users.

• ​Among the people I know, Amifune Itaru, Ritsune Mio, and Inomichi Shinobu received orders from Hakunaga Mikasa to assist in killing ability users.

• ​Inomichi Shinobu's real name is Arikata Shinobu.

• ​Arikata Shinobu is a former detective who belonged to the Organized Crime Department. He is a vile criminal involved in 'cop killings', and he went on the run two years ago after being cornered by Yunomiya and Giorgio-san.

• ​According to Amifune, Arikata Shinobu is an idiot. He had plastic surgery to look like a handsome twenty-something and uses a police badge to impersonate an officer—incredibly suspicious behavior.

• ​Ritsune Mio was an old friend of Hakunaga Mikasa.

• ​Fuse Kazuma was murdered by Hakunaga Mikasa while in holding, and his death was covered up as a suicide through manipulated information.