Immortal Detective, Reidou Momiji volume 4 chapter 5
Chapter 5: The Immortal Detective
December 21, 3:00 PM – Yunomiya Hiro
The rain that had been pouring while I was on the highway stopped the moment I arrived at the hotel.
I cut the engine in the parking lot and tied up my hair while looking in the rearview mirror.
Sweeping it up smoothly with my palms, I formed a ponytail.
I gave my head a shake to make sure it was secure, then stepped out of the car. Splash. My foot caught a puddle.
Shutting the door, I looked up at the hotel standing beneath the overcast sky.
It had apparently been built just a few years ago; the pristine exterior walls looked rather striking even with water streaming down them.
"...All right."
I glanced at the smartphone I pulled from my coat and muttered to myself. Tucking it away, I passed through the piloti and entered the hotel.
The lobby was crawling with police personnel, radiating a tense, imposing atmosphere.
Amidst the crowd, a woman with loosely curled hair widened her eyes when she spotted me.
"Y-Yunomiya-san~...!"
"Chiyuki-san, good work out here."
I bowed deeply in greeting. We were in different divisions, but she outranked me.
...Or at least she was supposed to, but she always seemed bizarrely nervous whenever she spoke to me.
"Thank you so much for coming all this way when you're so busy~..."
Chiyuki-san said, shrinking apologetically. I was busy, true, but this wasn't entirely unrelated to me.
"It actually worked out well, considering the manager of this hotel was shot and killed at a family restaurant the other day."
"Huh? The manager...?"
Chiyuki-san stared blankly at me.
...It seemed the news of the manager's murder hadn't reached them yet.
The shooting incident at the family restaurant that Sora, Miyagawa-san, Ashihara-san, and I had encountered a few days ago.
We'd discovered that Kousuke Niinami, the man who was shot in the chest and killed at that diner, was the manager of this very hotel.
While the incident itself had hit the news, the victim's identity hadn't been released to the public yet. That must be why Chiyuki-san hadn't known.
"Anyway, regarding what I contacted you about..."
I scanned the lobby as I spoke to Chiyuki-san.
I spotted Reidou-san sitting in the corner on one of the sofas.
"No problem at all~. You're free to intervene as much as you'd like, Yunomiya-san~!"
"Thank you."
It was crossing jurisdictional lines, but I'd had Chiyuki-san pull some strings so I could participate in the investigation under the guise of enlisting Tennai-kun and Reidou-san's help.
I clicked my heels as I strode across the lobby, approaching where Reidou-san was seated.
Her shoulders were slumped, her head hanging low. She looked so fragile, as if she might shatter at the slightest touch.
I sat down next to her and called her name.
"Reidou-san."
"...Yunomiya-san."
She replied, but kept her head down, her expression hidden.
"Are you alright?"
"..."
She neither confirmed nor denied it, simply remaining silent.
I placed my palm over Reidou-san's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm going to investigate the case. You just wait here."
"..."
Without waiting for her response, I stood up.
Aside from Reidou-san, several other individuals were gathered in the lobby.
All of them had been rounded up by Chiyuki-san.
First, I stopped in front of the man sitting closest to us.
He was heavily built, with scars and tattoos on his face—the absolute picture of a street thug.
...Actually, I recognized him.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Huh?"
The man scowled and looked up when I called out to him.
...This guy was the yakuza who'd crashed the Aosaki High School cultural festival.
He was the one with the Suruga Group's Nokogiri when they abducted Miyagawa Ai-san.
"Who the hell're you?"
It seemed he didn't remember me.
I had been wearing a china dress at the time, and for some reason, they'd assumed I was a student...
Setting that aside, his mere presence here was a problem.
It certainly wouldn't be strange if he held a grudge against Tennai Haruma-kun.
I definitely needed to mark him as a suspect, but...
Upon talking to him, I learned the man's name was Mito Shuya.
Apparently, he'd coincidentally run into Tennai-kun and Reidou-san at the hotel.
He'd also grown close to the victim, Tsubaki-san, and had been spending time with them.
Aside from Mito, three other people were seated on the lobby sofas.
A woman wearing a black dress and a white lace veil on her head.
A man with a two-tone beard, dressed roughly in a T-shirt and sandals.
And a well-built man with handsome features wearing blue VIVANT clothing.
Including Mito, that made four. They had apparently been gathered as suspects in the case.
...I decided to have Chiyuki-san give me the rundown of the incident from the very beginning.
"I see..."
The corpse of Tsubaki Aika-san, discovered inside the aquarium.
So far, no solid evidence leading to the culprit had been found.
Given the circumstances, suicide or an accident was highly unlikely... they were treating it as a homicide and hunting for the killer.
If there was no physical evidence, alibis would be crucial.
They'd need to verify the whereabouts of every single guest, which sounded like quite the ordeal, but...
"Since we figured out Tsubaki Aika-san's estimated time of death, we checked the alibis of all the hotel guests during that window and cross-referenced them with the security cameras~,"
Chiyuki-san stated casually, swiping on her tablet.
...She made it sound easy, but I could easily imagine the absurd amount of legwork required for that.
"Wow... That's incredible. In such a short amount of time..."
When I expressed my genuine surprise and admiration, Chiyuki-san offered a soft, pleasant smile.
"If it's something I can manage with sheer guts and willpower~, I'll do it as much as it takes~."
...I see. The words of a highly competent woman.
Furthermore, the security camera data used a write-once recording system. Meaning, there was no need to suspect tampering.
I had Chiyuki-san show me the compiled alibi data on her tablet.
Tsubaki Aika-san's estimated time of death was between midnight and 4:00 AM on December 21st. Since the body was submerged in water, the wide margin of error was unavoidable.
As for the guests' alibis... simply put, the vast majority had returned to their rooms and hadn't stepped out until morning.
Given that it was the dead of night, most people were likely sleeping.
The entrances to the guest rooms fell within the security cameras' field of view, so by checking the footage, it was possible to confirm when someone entered or left.
The issue lay with the individuals who weren't in their rooms at that time.
Specifically, those who were moving about in areas outside the cameras' coverage during the estimated window of death.
This hotel had a relatively low number of cameras, leaving a fair amount of blind spots, so they couldn't definitively pin down the culprit. However... anyone who wasn't caught on camera around the estimated time of death was considered to have no alibi.
The four people gathered in the lobby fit that exact criteria.
The former yakuza, Mito Shuya.
Showatari Tsubasa, the woman in the black dress with an 'X' taped over her mouth.
Garayama Hadou, with his two-tone beard.
And Inomichi Shinobu, dressed in his VIVANT gear.
With Chiyuki-san accompanying me, I decided to interrogate the four of them, one by one.
Borrowing a room in the hotel, we called the suspects in one at a time.
...First up was Mito Shuya.
Chiyuki-san and I sat across from him at a desk.
"Ain't no way in hell I'd kill Tsubaki-san! I wanna beat the shit outta the bastard who did it myself!"
Mito fumed when I asked for his alibi during the incident, smashing his fist into his palm.
He had seemingly been quite fond of the victim, Tsubaki Aika-san.
"...If you tell us the truth and clear your name from the suspect list, it increases our chances of tracking down the real culprit. If you want to drag the person who killed Tsubaki Aika-san out into the light, I need your cooperation."
When I reasoned with him, Mito unclenched his fist and crossed his arms.
"If you catch the guy... can I deck 'em once... no, maybe ten times?"
"I'll overlook two or three punches, provided you do it where I can't see."
"...Hmph."
He seemed to accept the terms. Mito snorted and began explaining his alibi.
What mattered were his actions during the time he was outside his room and out of the cameras' sight.
The previous night, after eating dinner with Tennai-kun, Reidou-san, and Tsubaki-san, Mito claimed he had been shooting pool and drinking in the game room.
After playing for a while, he returned to his room and slept.
We knew from the security footage that Mito left the dining hall around 7:00 PM after finishing dinner.
He was also caught on camera entering his own room at 1:00 AM.
In other words, he needed to prove his alibi between 7:00 PM and 1:00 AM.
This window overlapped with Tsubaki-san's estimated time of death from midnight to 4:00 AM.
Jotting down notes quickly, I tossed a question at Mito.
"Were you with anyone in the game room?"
"I was with that old dude from the lobby earlier, the one with the black-and-white beard. Guy was pretty damn tough to beat at both pool and drinkin'."
A black-and-white beard... Garayama Hadou.
If his story was true, Mito and Garayama could vouch for each other's alibis.
I'd have to cross-reference this during Garayama's interrogation next.
Wrapping up with Mito, it was now time for the man defined by his two-tone beard: Garayama Hadou.
I immediately tried to ask about his alibi, but...
"...What a pain."
Garayama muttered, staring down at the desk without even looking in my direction.
"Excuse me?"
I couldn't help but respond with visible annoyance.
Garayama didn't shift his posture an inch, baiting me with an oddly slow, lethargic drawl.
"...I'd rather not have my words twisted by some greenhorn playing detective."
"Listen here..."
I might have looked young to Garayama, but being treated like an amateur was insulting.
As a vein popped on my forehead, Chiyuki-san whispered in my ear.
Apparently, this man had consistently exercised his right to remain silent during questioning.
Garayama's timeline was similar to Mito's; he left the dining hall at 7:00 PM and returned to his room at 2:00 AM. He wasn't on camera during this period, leaving him without an alibi.
If he really was in the game room like Mito said, it would cover the majority of his alibi, but...
"...Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."
Garayama mumbled, and refused to say another word.
It felt less like an active refusal to cooperate with the police, and more like complete apathy—he emanated an aura of utter resignation.
I had heard he was the one who helped pry open the freezer door when Tennai-kun was trapped inside. His demeanor now seemed drastically different from how he was described then.
What in the world was going on with him...? No matter what I asked, he gave no reply.
...Having gleaned zero information from Garayama, the next interrogation began.
It was the turn of the man in the blue VIVANT clothes, Inomichi Shinobu.
When I showed him my police badge, Inomichi raised a brow in disgust and said:
"Yunomiya... Hiro...?"
Checking my name against my face, he looked blatantly repulsed.
"Hah. I've got nothin' to say to you. Why don't you go home and write up an apology letter or somethin'."
"...You're awfully hostile. Did I do something to you?"
Inomichi Shinobu and I should have been complete strangers.
I wouldn't have forgotten meeting him, and his name didn't ring any bells.
Had I somehow indirectly earned his grudge somewhere along the line?
The timeframe where Inomichi vanished from the security cameras was between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM. This window lacked an alibi.
Camera footage showed him leaving his third-floor guest room carrying a Boston bag at 10:00 PM, and returning at 2:00 AM.
Just where was he and what was he doing during that time...?
"If you won't talk about your alibi, it only makes you look more suspicious."
Even when I pointed this out, Inomichi brushed me off.
"Suspect me all you want. Not like you'll ever find proof I did it, anyway. 'Cause I didn't."
Anyone would say that, guilty or not...
But it was clear Inomichi simply refused to talk to me.
Sensing the impasse, Chiyuki-san raised her hand beside me.
"Well, what if I asked you instead~...?"
"You're cute, so I guess I can answer one question for you."
Oh, now you'll talk? It was a little irritating, but I had to hand it to Chiyuki-san.
"Someone saw you washing your clothes in the large public bath around 1:00 AM. Why were you doing that~?"
"Ah, I was chowin' down too hard and got a stain on my favorite clothes. Figured I'd wash 'em off right quick."
Just as Chiyuki-san mentioned, another guest had spotted Inomichi washing his VIVANT gear in the public bath.
It was highly suspicious behavior, so it had caught my attention... So it got dirty during dinner, huh.
"..."
When I stayed silent and just watched him, Inomichi noticed my gaze and furrowed his brow.
"Ah? The hell're you lookin' at?"
...Seriously, why was I the only one he hated this much?
After Inomichi Shinobu came Showatari Tsubasa.
She was a mysterious woman draped in a black dress and white lace, her most distinctive feature being the 'X' taped over her mouth.
She was apparently unable to vocalize, communicating via mechanical voice through a text-to-speech app on her smartphone.
Her unaccounted-for time without an alibi was between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM.
When I asked about it, she answered smoothly.
[I was reading in the garden.]
After the previous two gave me nothing but grief, getting a straight answer was a relief.
...The 'garden' was a spacious balcony situated on the fifth floor. It functioned as an outdoor recreation area, landscaped with plants and furnished with benches and tables.
Reading outside in December sounded freezing, but apparently she had bundled up well.
"Reading quite late, weren't you... Was anyone else there?"
Depending on the book, I probably would have fallen asleep.
I could understand reading in bed before sleep, but...
[Who knows. I saw no one.]
It seemed the garden where she was reading had been deserted.
Given the late hour, it wasn't strange in itself, but this meant Showatari Tsubasa had absolutely zero alibi.
"Chiyuki-san. Conversely, were there any reports of someone spotting Showatari-san...?"
Just as Inomichi was seen at the public bath, maybe someone had caught sight of her.
Thinking this, I asked Chiyuki-san, who checked the files on her tablet.
"Actually, yes~. We have a male witness who testified he saw her leaving the mixed bath around midnight."
According to the officer who took the statement, the witness was breathing rather heavily.
Seeing a beauty like Showatari Tsubasa stepping out of a mixed bath had likely gotten him excited.
[...So I was seen.]
Showatari Tsubasa brought a hand to her mouth, pantomiming a silent chuckle.
Hesitating over whether it was appropriate to ask, I ventured the question anyway.
"Um, why were you in the mixed bath...?"
[It is a hobby.]
O-Oh...
It was an answer that left me totally speechless. I couldn't comprehend it, but if it was a hobby, what could I say?
[Still, this hotel is brimming with a negative aura. To think so many murders would occur.]
Showatari Tsubasa remarked, almost like she was talking to herself.
She apparently worked as a fortune teller, so perhaps she could sense this 'negative aura' she spoke of.
[The woman who died in the aquarium. Tennai Haruma-kun. And I've heard rumors the manager has died as well.]
"...!"
I reacted the moment I heard the words 'the manager has died'.
The diner shooting.
The incident had made the news, reporting that the culprit was still at large.
However, the victim's identity shouldn't have been broadcasted yet...
She said rumors—had she heard it from the hotel staff? It wouldn't be surprising if the staff knew internally, but...
[Regarding the manager's case... I wonder what Tennai-kun deduced? Yunomiya-san.]
"...Who knows."
I replied vaguely, averting my eyes.
With that, the interrogations for all four suspects were complete.
They returned to their respective rooms, and Chiyuki-san and I took a break over coffee.
"Good work. We ended up taking quite a bit of time."
"Oh no, not at all~. I'm just happy I got to see you up close, Yunomiya-san~♪"
I hadn't really done anything that impressive... Actually, since Chiyuki-san outranked me, I should have been the one studying her work.
I downed the paper cup of black coffee in one go to ward off my drowsiness.
"Now then... next, could you show me the freezer in question?"
Asking Chiyuki-san to lead the way, we headed for the freezer where Tennai-kun had reportedly been trapped.
We were currently on the twelfth floor. To get to the freezer on the fourth floor, we boarded the elevator.
"Right..."
Once inside, I took out my smartphone and snapped a photo of the panel lined with floor buttons.
Watching me, Chiyuki-san tilted her head in confusion.
"? What are you going to do with a picture of that~?"
"Just thought it might come in handy... This elevator is a bit old, isn't it?"
The elevator we were currently in was the one installed on the west side of the hotel.
Looking at the floor plan, you could see there were elevators on both the east and west sides.
While the east side had three cars, the west side only had one, and riding it now, I could tell this model was slightly older.
"Ah~, apparently they found some defects on the east side and replaced all three of them earlier this year~."
For a hotel that was only a few years old to already need three elevators replaced... Coupled with the murders, it was a truly cursed establishment.
Looking at the elevator panel, beneath the floor buttons sat an emergency button marked with a telephone icon. Well, standard enough.
The only other thing that caught my eye was the section fastened with screws...
If you removed them, the faceplate would pop off, allowing access to the panel's interior.
"..."
Seeing me fall silent while staring at my phone, Chiyuki-san asked curiously.
"Is something wrong~?"
"You mentioned the east-side elevators were replaced due to defects... do you know what kind of defects they were?"
"Um, let's see here~..."
Chiyuki-san pulled out her tablet and scrolled through her files.
She really relied heavily on that thing.
"The wiring on the circuit boards was too loose~... If a wire slipped out, the elevator would stop, and if you plugged it back in, it would start moving again. It was causing erratic behavior, apparently."
"I see..."
Only the three east-side elevators were replaced... did that mean the single west-side elevator we were riding still had the defect?
Was it left alone because its location meant fewer people used it, or did they want to replace it but couldn't because doing so would leave the west side without elevator access...?
"...Chiyuki-san. Let's try a little experiment."
"Eh?"
I tucked my smartphone into my pocket and made the suggestion.
Did this west-side elevator still have the defect?
Just maybe, it was connected to the case...
We cleared it with the hotel staff, retrieved a screwdriver, and removed the screws holding the elevator's control panel.
The plate came off, exposing the panel's guts for all to see. Multiple cables lined the inside.
Among the many wires, there was exactly one with a piece of paper resembling a sticky note wrapped around it.
Written in red ink on the paper were the words: "Do not touch! Will stop if unplugged!"
"Well, that's easy to understand~. So if we unplug this, the elevator stops~."
Chiyuki-san spoke from right behind me. I could feel her breath against my neck... Somehow, it felt like she was standing uncomfortably close.
Well, putting that aside.
"Looks like it. Let's give it a try."
Only Chiyuki-san and I were inside the elevator.
We had already notified the hotel that we were testing a defect, so there shouldn't be any issues.
First, I pressed the button for a random floor. The elevator whirred to life.
At that moment, I pinched the cable marked with the warning label and yanked it out of the circuit board.
It was much looser than I expected; it slid out with about as much force as pulling a book from a shelf.
"Kh...!"
Gakunk! The elevator jerked to a halt with a massive jolt.
I nearly fell over, thrusting my hand against the wall to catch my balance. At the same time, the lights cut out, plunging the inside of the elevator into pitch darkness.
"Kyaa!"
Right as Chiyuki-san let out a cute shriek, she collapsed against me, clinging tightly to my body.
"I-I'm so sorry~. I just got surprised..."
"It's fine."
...Or so I said, but thanks to the diner shooting yesterday, I'd been too busy to even take a bath. Being pressed together like this was embarrassing, even for me.
"Your waist is so thin~... What a great figure... Plus, you smell so good..."
"Excuse me?"
Chiyuki-san murmured, lightly stroking my waist while clinging to me.
Unless I misheard her, it sounded like she was openly sniffing me...
"Ahaha~. Man, it's so dark, this is a real problem, isn't it~? Sniff, sniff."
"A-Are you taking deep breaths!?"
The flow of air from her inhaling and exhaling tickled the nape of my neck. What the hell was this woman doing...?
Without even an emergency light, the elevator was pitch black, completely obscuring Chiyuki-san's face.
"I-I'm putting the cable back."
I said, peeling Chiyuki-san off of me.
"Ufufu. You never know what might happen in the dark, do you~?"
...Shaking off the distraction, I prepared to plug the cable back in.
Since we were in total darkness, I grabbed the labeled cable while illuminating it with my phone's flashlight.
The moment I pushed it back into the board...
The elevator violently jolted again, the lights flickered back on, and it began to move.
It carried on to the floor I had originally selected and the doors opened as if nothing had happened.
"...So, pulling this cable causes an emergency stop, and plugging it back in makes it resume as if nothing occurred."
"If the cables are really that loose and this happens frequently, that's definitely a problem~."
I jotted down a note about this phenomenon on my phone and turned to Chiyuki-san with a request.
"Chiyuki-san. There's one more thing I'd like the forensics team to check regarding this elevator..."
As for having forensics inspect the elevator, Chiyuki-san put in the request, so we simply had to wait for the results.
In the meantime, we proceeded to investigate the freezer.
I saluted the officer guarding the sealed crime scene and eyed the heavy-looking metal door.
"So this is the door that refused to open."
I touched the surface with my gloved hand. It was hard, heavy, and highly airtight.
I pulled the lever, disengaging the latch, and pushed it open.
A frigid chill spilled out from inside the freezer.
Stepping inside, there was a small step up leading into a wide-open space. It was roughly the size of a school classroom.
Deep in the back lay the spot where Tennai-kun had reportedly been found.
"Right around here..."
"Eh?"
Chiyuki-san reacted to the words I muttered with bitter resentment.
"...It's nothing."
I brushed it off and surveyed the entirety of the freezer.
Using my smartphone, I began taking pictures of the scene.
Corner to corner, snapping photo after photo to capture the whole space.
Inside the freezer were several shelves for storing ingredients, beams on the ceiling for hanging meat and fish, and a scrub brush hung in the corner with the cleaning supplies.
A massive tuna was impaled on a meat hook dangling from the ceiling. Apparently, they had planned to use it for a live butchering show.
Fresh sashimi sliced right on the spot would probably be delicious... I thought to myself.
The scrub brush was likely used to polish the floor after spraying it down. There was a faucet connected to a hose, and a drain on the floor.
...Conversely, that was about all there was.
According to what I'd heard beforehand... Right before they discovered Tennai-kun, pushing on this door hadn't budged it an inch; they literally couldn't open it.
Normally, this door had no lock, meaning it shouldn't ever be impossible to open.
...Which also meant that anyone, even non-employees, could enter and exit freely.
Then, they disabled the freezer's cooling system, and after a few dozen minutes, it finally swung open.
In other words, the reason the door was stuck... the reason this room became a locked room, was likely related to the temperature.
I didn't possess the razor-sharp deductive reasoning of Tennai-kun or Reidou-san, but the true nature of this "locked freezer" trick was hazily starting to come into focus.
In that case, what drew my attention was the area around the door... the spot down the small step from the freezer's main floor.
It felt almost like a genkan entryway.
It was completely bare, but since it was a lowered section, it naturally had a floor drain.
Attached to the wall near the drain, about ten centimeters off the floor, was a circular device.
It was about the size of a palm.
"...I wonder what this is."
As I snapped a picture of it, Chiyuki-san called out to me with a troubled look, tapping away at her tablet.
"Yunomiya-san, some bad news just came in regarding the guests~..."
"What is it?"
"Orders are down to release all the guests by tomorrow morning. They're saying we can't detain them any longer~."
The police had been holding the dozens of guests confined within the hotel to prevent the culprit from escaping.
But they couldn't keep that up forever, and now a hard time limit had been set.
"...We have no choice. Let's find the killer as quickly as possible."
I opted not to go home today, choosing to stay the night at the hotel instead.
They'd already secured a room for me, which meant I could finally take a shower.
...One way or another, I had to hunt down the culprit by the end of the day.
＊
Having secured a room to crash in for the night, I stood under the scalding hot water of the shower, relentlessly organizing the information on the cases in my head.
Tsubaki Aika-san, and Tennai Haruma-kun. The incidents where those two became victims...
Tsubaki Aika-san was found drowned inside the aquarium on the morning of December 21st.
The estimated time of death was between midnight and 4:00 AM on that same day.
After scouring the hotel's security footage, the suspect list was narrowed down to four people.
Upon questioning them, their claimed alibis were as follows:
Mito Shuya: Was playing pool with Garayama Hadou in the game room until 1:00 AM. After 1:00 AM, he was caught on camera returning to his room, securing his alibi from that point on.
Garayama Hadou: Exercised his right to remain silent. Presumed to have been in the game room with Mito Shuya. Caught on camera returning to his room after 2:00 AM, securing his alibi from that point on.
Inomichi Shinobu: In the large public bath at 1:00 AM. Remained silent regarding his alibi prior to that.
Showatari Tsubasa: Reading in the garden from 10:00 PM. Exited the mixed bath at midnight.
Additionally, because the first-floor lobby is heavily monitored by security cameras, it was confirmed that none of these four passed through the first floor during the night.
The probability that the killer was among them was high, but... I still couldn't narrow it down to a single person.
Next, Tennai Haruma-kun's case.
It was highly likely the culprit abandoned Tennai-kun in the freezer, employing some sort of trick to seal the door shut.
The infuriating part was that, because the crime occurred during the day rather than late at night, reviewing the security footage hadn't narrowed down the suspects nearly as much as Tsubaki Aika-san's case.
There were no cameras near the freezer, making it impossible to catch a glimpse of the killer.
I had a rough idea of the trick used, but as for the culprit, I was completely in the dark...
Finally, regarding the west-side elevator where Chiyuki-san and I verified the defect earlier.
We had forensics examine it, and traces of vomit were discovered inside.
...Which meant...
Finished with my shower, I stepped out into the changing room and dried off, wrapping myself in a towel and applying toner and lotion to my face.
After drying my hair, I opened the bag containing the loungewear sitting next to the sink.
It was made of fluffy fabric and was actually quite cute. It featured a pair of shorts, giving it an airy, relaxing feel.
Just as I finished changing, a knock echoed from the sliding door of the changing room.
When I replied, a voice called out from the other side.
"Yunomiya-san... I have something to discuss with you regarding these incidents."
It was Reidou-san's voice.
Through the door, she continued.
"The person who murdered Tsubaki-san. And the person who murdered Haruma-kun. ...Thanks to what you told me, Yunomiya-san, I understand everything now."
Her voice lacked the dreary, despairing tone from when we met in the lobby... It was crisp and taut as a wire, wrapped in a strength reminiscent of a ray of light piercing through a dark canyon.
"Let's go end this."
A Challenge to the Reader
Yunomiya Hiro cannot identify the culprit.
Who is the culprit that dropped Tsubaki Aika into the aquarium?
The suspects are four individuals: Mito Shuya, Garayama Hadou, Inomichi Shinobu, and Showatari Tsubasa.
Who is the culprit that locked Tennai Haruma inside the freezer?
There are numerous suspects.
If one possesses the bird's-eye view to know everything that Tennai Haruma, Reidou Momiji, and Yunomiya Hiro have seen and heard... then even without knowing the methods or the motives, it is possible to deduce the identity of the person who committed each crime.
December 21, 8:00 PM –Reidou Momiji
There was a cafe situated on the twelfth floor of the hotel.
Right in the middle sat the hotel's centerpiece: the massive cylindrical aquarium that pierced vertically through the floors.
Guests could enjoy food and drinks while watching the fish swim by. Given the high elevation, anyone turning toward the windows was treated to a spectacular view.
You could easily say it was a cafΓ© that capitalized on the hotel's unique features and location to offer a truly special experience.
The interior was dead silent. All I could hear was the sound of fish swimming and bubbles shifting in the tank.
...Right now, only two people sat at a table in this cafΓ©. It was otherwise deserted.
First, myself. And across from me—.
Sat the person I had summoned.
I took a sip of my coffee and set the cup down on the saucer. After the faint clink of ceramics, I slowly began to speak to the person seated opposite me.
They simply closed their eyes, taking occasional sips of coffee, listening to me in absolute silence.
"I am the one who asked Chiyuki-san to summon you here."
"On the morning of December 21st, Tsubaki Aika-san was discovered dead inside the aquarium."
"According to the police, the estimated time of death was between midnight and 4:00 AM on that same day. During that timeframe, the alibis of nearly everyone in the hotel were verified via security cameras."
"Only four people lacked an alibi. You are one of them."
"The victim, Tsubaki-san, possessed a special ability. A sort of barrier that repelled external threats and attacks. The very fact that someone managed to murder Tsubaki-san, who wielded such power, strongly suggests the culprit knew about her ability."
"Assuming the killer knew about her ability, how did they manage to drop Tsubaki-san into the aquarium when normally, they wouldn't even be able to touch her...?"
"The answer to that is 'oxygen deprivation.' The culprit forced Tsubaki-san into a hypoxic environment, causing her to lose consciousness, and then dropped her into the tank. Even without knowing the exact specifics of what her ability could and could not block, it is glaringly obvious that she could do nothing against a lack of oxygen. It was an exceedingly logical strategy."
"So, how exactly did they put Tsubaki-san in a state of oxygen deprivation? First, doing so in a large, open space would be difficult. That leaves tight, enclosed spaces... like a private room. However, based on the security footage, Tsubaki-san never returned to her room, ruling that out immediately."
"Tsubaki-san left our room around midnight to head back to her own... It's highly unlikely she visited someone else's room along the way, and she never appeared on the cameras doing so. But—there was one narrow, enclosed space she was absolutely guaranteed to enter."
"That space was the elevator. Our room was on the fourth floor, and Tsubaki-san's room was on the thirteenth. Almost no one would walk that distance without using an elevator. Furthermore, the closest elevator to our room was on the west side. One look at the floor plan, and it was easy to predict the exact route Tsubaki-san would take to return. You studied the floor plan, mapped out the blind spots of the security cameras, and confirmed there were no cameras inside the elevators."
"You watched Tsubaki-san board the elevator and rode it with her. Given that it was late at night, and the west-side elevator sees little traffic, the odds of the two of you being completely alone were incredibly high. Of course, you weren't strictly obligated to murder her right then and there... So, if Tsubaki-san hadn't taken the elevator, or if other guests had boarded with you, you likely would have aborted the plan."
"Unfortunately, the conditions aligned perfectly, leaving Tsubaki-san trapped alone in that elevator with you."
"...That specific elevator is designed to make an emergency stop if a certain cable is unplugged."
"A halted, pitch-black elevator is the ultimate steel box for suffocating someone. There are several ways one might induce oxygen deprivation in that state... For example, the culprit could have brought a small oxygen tank for themselves while flooding the enclosed space with nitrogen gas. It's a method that requires minimal equipment."
"However, a severe miscalculation occurred."
"Tsubaki-san had been drinking, and was heavily intoxicated. I doubt she could put up much of a struggle, but between the alcohol in her system and the sudden lack of oxygen, her body couldn't handle the physical stress. As a result, Tsubaki-san... vomited."
"In fact, she had left our room looking ready to throw up at any second, so under those conditions, it was practically guaranteed."
"That must have been a problem for you. Suddenly, you had to clean up her vomit inside the elevator, and worse... it likely got on your own clothes, didn't it?"
"The one silver lining for you was the fact that Tsubaki-san's ability automatically deactivates when she loses consciousness. You undoubtedly figured out that caveat on the spot."
"Once she passed out from the lack of oxygen, you were finally able to touch her... Which meant you could carry her to another location."
"And so, you carried Tsubaki-san up to the "Aquarium Inspection Room" on the fourteenth floor and dropped her into the water... Afterward, you were forced to wash the clothes that had been soiled by her vomit."
"Your room was far away, and walking back in covered in bile would draw far too much attention. So, you chose to wash your clothes in the nearby public bath instead of returning to your room. After all, the Aquarium Inspection Room and the hot spring are both located on the fourteenth floor. ...And that is where you were spotted by another guest—"
"Isn't that right, Inomichi Shinobu-san?"
After my lengthy explanation, I thrust my final conclusion at him. Inomichi Shinobu, seated across from me, drained the rest of his coffee, rested his hand on his chin, and nodded with deep amusement.
"...Ho, ho, ho. Hmmm, is that right. Ain't that a pretty damn fascinatin' theory."
He flashed a fearless, arrogant grin.
"Hate to use a clichΓ© line here, but... that whole story you just spun is purely guesswork, ain't it?"
Inomichi spread his hands, shrugging mockingly as if my deduction was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.
"Assumin' these 'abilities' even exist, what if there's another user out there? Ain't it possible they used some crazy, unimaginable power to kill her?"
Planting his elbows on the table, he leaned in close to my face. Twisting his wastefully handsome features into a scowl, he glared sharply at me.
"It's impossible. You can't logically deduce shit when you know powers like that are in play."
Inomichi Shinobu's argument was completely valid. In a world where special abilities existed, you could never fully dismiss the unknown, rendering any precise deduction impossible.
You could formulate hypotheses, but the absolute truth would remain out of reach. Unlike in a mystery novel, you couldn't just gather clues and crack the case.
...However, I could.
"That is not a concern. Because I can identify ability users on sight."
"...!"
That clearly caught him off guard. Inomichi's glaring eyes shot wide open.
The only ability users in this hotel were myself, Haruma-kun, Tsubaki-san, and Mito-san. That was an unshakable fact.
"Building upon that, there is physical evidence supporting the method I described, as well as concrete proof pointing directly to you."
Without changing my expression, I continued hammering my deductions into the leaning Inomichi.
"First, the proof that you used the elevator to induce oxygen deprivation. We discovered this simply by inspecting the inside."
When Tsubaki-san threw up, Inomichi was forced to deal with the mess. But just wiping it down wouldn't be enough to erase all traces of it entirely.
"Forensics found traces of vomit inside the elevator, and DNA testing confirmed it belonged to Tsubaki-san."
This was the result of the investigation Yunomiya-san had Chiyuki-san request.
Traces of vomit were left wedged in the elevator's crevices. This completely proved that the killer used the method I described... cementing the elevator as the primary crime scene.
"..."
Inomichi Shinobu fell silent, but I didn't stop.
"If the crime scene was the elevator... then based on the security footage, the only possible culprit is you. Because out of everyone, you are the only one who could reach the west-side elevator without being caught on camera."
...This is the most conclusive evidence proving that you, Inomichi Shinobu, are the killer.
If you cross-reference the locations of the security cameras on the floor plan and plot out the movements of our four suspects: Mito-san and Garayama Hadou were in the game room, while Showatari Tsubasa was in the garden and the mixed bath.
This reveals that if any of the other three besides Inomichi Shinobu had tried to head to the west-side elevator during the estimated time of death, they absolutely would have been caught on the security cameras.
In other words, the moment the true crime scene was uncovered, Inomichi Shinobu became the only possible culprit.
And that is exactly why Inomichi Shinobu, fearing the suspect pool would be narrowed down, went out of his way to drop Tsubaki-san into the aquarium.
By ensuring the body was found in the water tank, he diverted attention away from the actual crime scene: the elevator. If no one had deduced how it happened, no one would have ever thought to search it for traces of vomit.
It was precisely because we knew about her special ability that we found it so strange she was dropped into the aquarium... and that allowed us to reach this truth.
"...Little lady, lyin' ain't good. Even if you really found puke, it'd take a hell of a lot longer to prove it belongs to the vic."
"Well, who can say?"
—Inomichi Shinobu was right. A DNA test would certainly confirm whether the vomit belonged to Tsubaki-san, but the actual results weren't back yet.
My claim was a bluff, but I didn't expect him to see right through it... However, I still had evidence to thrust in his face.
"If you still need more proof... how about you hand over that navy-blue VIVANT shirt you were wearing?"
The clothes Inomichi Shinobu had worn yesterday. He was caught on camera wearing them.
The blue shirt the man sitting across from me currently wore was a similar shade, but a completely different garment.
If my deduction was correct, that navy shirt was stained with vomit, and Inomichi Shinobu had washed it in the large public bath.
"..."
Inomichi Shinobu fell silent once more.
If he couldn't produce that shirt, he was guilty.
Even if he washed it, there was a high probability he hadn't completely eradicated the traces of vomit... Given enough time to examine it, it would become undeniable, damning evidence.
Inomichi Shinobu, who had been leaning over the table, heavily slumped back into his chair. Then, he slid his hand into his waist pocket.
"...You ever hear the phrase "Teaching Buddha to preach"?"
"What are you trying to say?"
I couldn't fathom why he was suddenly quoting proverbs.
"Y'know. Like "teaching a Tokyo U student how to pass exams", or "lecturing Bob Dylan on rock.""
"...?"
With his eyes lowered, still spouting things that completely missed the point, Inomichi Shinobu pulled his hand from his pocket.
In his grasp was a black leather pass case adorned with a badge... a police ID.
"Actually, I'm one of these."
He flipped it open and shoved it in my face.
Perhaps the headshot was old, because the impression it gave was different from the man before me... yet, it retained enough of his features to confirm it was him. However, the name written there was different.
"The name doesn't match..."
The name on the police ID read Arikata Shinobu. His affiliation was listed as the Organized Crime Department of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
"I belong to the Prefectural Police Security Bureau's Public Security Department... The name Inomichi is an alias. And that's why the affiliation listed here is different too."
He snapped the police ID shut and stowed it back in his waist pocket.
"..."
This man wasn't Inomichi, but Arikata... And despite his ID claiming he was with the Organized Crime Department, he asserted he was actually a detective with the Public Security Police.
It was true that Public Security sometimes falsified their affiliations and names... but this felt incredibly wrong.
Just because he flashed a police badge didn't mean I could easily trust him.
Besides, it didn't change the logical conclusion drawn from the crime scene.
That whole "teaching Buddha to preach" comment earlier was likely meant to mock me for trying to flex my deductive reasoning on a cop, but...
As I sat there pondering, a woman's voice called out from behind me.
"Reidou-san, are you finished talking~?"
I turned around to see Chiyuki-san.
Because this discussion involved special abilities, I had asked her to wait outside the cafΓ© while I laid out the truth of the case.
Figuring her timing was perfect, I asked Chiyuki-san a question.
"...Chiyuki-san. This person claims to be a police officer, do you think it's true?"
"Eh? Is that so~?"
"His police ID says he's Arikata Shinobu from the Criminal Investigation Bureau's Organized Crime Department..."
The moment she heard that name, Chiyuki-san's soft, gentle expression vanished instantly, replaced by a grim, serious stare.
"...Arikata... you say..."
The next instant, a dull thud echoed through the cafΓ©.
Without even the time to utter a sound, Chiyuki-san was sent flying, crashing to the floor and toppling tables along the way.
For a split second, I couldn't comprehend what had happened... but it seemed Inomichi Shinobu had moved with blinding speed to strike Chiyuki-san.
In his hand, he gripped a handgun.
It had happened faster than the eye could track, but he had evidently bludgeoned Chiyuki-san over the head with the butt of his gun.
"Chiyuki-san!"
I called her name, but there was no response. She had been knocked out cold in a single blow.
"Oops. Right, I can't kill you... but I can knock you out, right?"
Inomichi Shinobu trained the muzzle of his gun on me.
This man knew about my immortality too...!
As I gasped for breath, a deep, gruff voice bellowed from the cafΓ©'s entrance.
"Hey, you piece of shit!"
It was Mito-san, who had been waiting outside the cafΓ© alongside Chiyuki-san. It seemed the commotion had alerted him.
"Aaah? —Mito Shuya, huh!"
The moment Inomichi Shinobu recognized Mito-san, he aimed his gun without a shred of hesitation and fired twice.
There was no longer any room for doubt; this man fully grasped how special abilities worked.
Because he knew Mito-san was an ability user, he had fired instantly, giving him zero time to retaliate.
"Whoa, shit!"
Without even having the time to use his remote-striking ability—Purifying Magnetic Fire Ability: Star Murger—Mito-san instinctively ducked, narrowly dodging the bullets.
The two rounds cut through the empty air... and slammed into the aquarium directly behind Mito-san.
The acrylic wall of the tank, which pierced vertically from the first to the thirteenth floor, was thick and incredibly sturdy. But it wasn't enough to repel bullets entirely, and two holes were punched into its surface.
"...Ah. That might be bad."
Watching the water blast out like a fountain from the two holes his bullets had created, Inomichi Shinobu muttered to himself.
Driven by the structural damage and the immense water pressure, the cracks around the holes rapidly spread. And then...
The aquarium ruptured, sending a colossal deluge of water flooding into the hotel.
December 21, 8:05 PM – Yunomiya Hiro
The hotel rooftop was restricted, but the door didn't appear to be locked.
Riding the elevator all the way up and stepping outside, I emerged into a vast, empty space.
It seemed the roof doubled as a heliport.
...Standing precisely in the center of the heliport was a single woman. Panting for breath, I called out to her.
"I've been looking... all over for you... Showatari-san..."
Showatari-san, who had been gazing up at the sky, turned at my voice and replied via the electronic voice on her smartphone, just as she always did.
"Out of breath, are we? Is something the matter?"
"I was running around the entire hotel... trying to find you..."
...By now, Reidou-san and the others had likely cornered Inomichi Shinobu and confronted him with the truth.
Meanwhile, I had split off to track down Showatari Tsubasa.
I had wanted to summon her the same way we did Inomichi Shinobu, but her whereabouts were unknown, forcing me to run myself ragged searching every inch of the hotel from the ground floor up.
I took a deep breath to steady myself. Straightening the lapels of my suit, I braced my resolve.
"What were you doing in a place like this? Showatari-san."
"That is my own business. Do you have some business with me, Detective?"
"...Yes, I do. Very important business."
I slowly extended my arm, pointing my index finger directly at her.
"The person who murdered Tennai Haruma-kun was you. Showatari Tsubasa-san."
Even upon hearing my accusation, Showatari Tsubasa didn't flinch in the slightest.
Between her long bangs and the taped 'X' over her mouth, her expression was entirely unreadable to begin with, but...
"I do not understand. Why would I do such a thing?"
"Honestly, I don't know your motive. However, there is a glaring contradiction in your testimony..."
I prepared to corner Showatari Tsubasa with sheer logic.
But the moment I opened my mouth, a deafening roar and a massive shockwave erupted from beneath my feet.
"...!?"
The ground trembled violently, shuddering like an earthquake.
A split second later, sirens began wailing.
Did something happen downstairs...?
The traumatic memory of the shopping mall explosion flashed through my mind.
I wanted to rush down and assess the situation... but I had already taken preemptive measures regarding the guests' evacuation.
My immediate priority was taking Showatari Tsubasa into custody.
"Showatari Tsubasa-san, I hate to do this, but you're coming with me."
"Let me be clear. I refuse."
The instant she flatly rejected me, I noticed the sound of slicing wind from above.
Whipping my head around the wide-open heliport, the source of the noise immediately became apparent.
A helicopter had appeared out of nowhere and was rapidly approaching us.
"Eh... W-What is that!?"
Shedding altitude quickly, the helicopter bore down on us.
The immense downdraft battered me, making it feel as if someone were physically dragging my hair backward.
Shielding my face from the gale with my arms, I watched as the helicopter's side door slid open.
And from it, a rope ladder was tossed down.
...There was no one else on this roof but me and Showatari Tsubasa. It was blatantly obvious that this ladder had been lowered specifically for her.
Realizing this, I snapped my gaze back to Showatari Tsubasa.
Before I knew it, her black dress fluttering wildly, she had gracefully walked right into position to grab the dangling ladder.
"Wait, Showatari Tsubasa!"
I screamed, but there was no way she was going to stop just because I asked her to.
Determined not to let her escape, I broke into a sprint.
...In that fraction of a second, an icy chill of sheer terror ran down my spine, and I instinctively hurled myself backward.
A second later, sparks flew at my feet as a bullet hole was punched into the concrete.
"You've gotta be kidding me...!?"
Gunfire.
It had come from the helicopter. Someone inside was actively sniping at me.
While I retreated, the helicopter closed the distance even further, its rotors screaming in my ears. The wind whipped my hair into a frenzy and sent my suit jacket flapping violently.
Showatari Tsubasa firmly grasped the swaying ladder and lifted her feet from the ground.
The helicopter immediately began to pull away.
They were trying to put distance between themselves and the hotel.
I drew my gun from my coat and aimed, but it was utterly pointless.
Shooting at the helicopter would do nothing, and I couldn't exactly snipe Showatari Tsubasa out of the air.
It was infuriating, but they had pulled a maneuver so completely out of left field that I was out of options.
Was it over...?
—Just as I was about to give up.
With a deafening Vroooom, a black shadow tore past me.
"...Eh?"
The shadow that had blown past me was a motorcycle.
A man wearing a black leather jacket and leather shoes was straddling an American-style cruiser, tearing across the hotel roof at top speed.
He must have shoved the bike into the hotel's elevator and ridden it all the way up.
He wasn't wearing a helmet, giving me a clear view of his face. His clothes were different, but that two-tone beard was unmistakable... it was Garayama Hadou, one of the suspects.
"Wait, what are you trying to do!?"
I had no idea why Garayama Hadou was here, or why the hell he was riding a motorcycle on the roof... but he was revving the throttle to the max, chasing down the helicopter.
He couldn't possibly be... Before I could even finish the thought—
"Eeeeeeeh!?"
I screamed in utter disbelief.
Garayama Hadou flew. Standing up on the speeding bike, he launched himself into the air.
Aiming directly for the helicopter that had retrieved Showatari Tsubasa and was pulling away from the hotel...
Using his momentum, he leaped from the edge of the roof in a massive, suicidal jump.
The suddenly riderless motorcycle lost its balance and crashed, grinding to a halt on the roof in a shower of sparks.
If I tried a stunt like that, I would just plummet to my death. But despite the sheer distance, Garayama Hadou launched himself with explosive force and successfully grabbed the very bottom of the dangling ladder.
"!?"
Even from here, I could see Showatari Tsubasa, who was midway up climbing into the helicopter, freeze in sheer astonishment at his insane maneuver.
Instantly, a man in black coveralls leaned out from the helicopter cabin.
He held a long firearm—like a rifle—and aimed the muzzle straight down at Garayama Hadou clinging to the ladder below.
Was that the sniper who had shot at my feet? Even with the unstable aircraft making it hard to aim, being shot at from above at that distance was a death sentence...!
The rifleman lined up his sights on Garayama Hadou and rested his finger on the trigger.
He's going to get shot... the moment the thought crossed my mind.
Blood sprayed from the helicopter. The rifleman's shoulder burst open, crimson mist catching the wind.
Looking closely at Garayama Hadou, he was clinging to the ladder with his left hand while gripping a handgun in his right. He had just shot the rifleman straight through the shoulder.
Landing a precision quick-draw shot while being battered by gale-force winds and clinging to a ladder thrashing like a fish out of water...!
Even watching from a distance, I hadn't even processed him drawing his gun.
The shot rifleman ducked back inside the helicopter. Garayama Hadou had survived the threat from above, but now the aircraft itself was acting erratically.
It began to yaw unsteadily from side to side, gradually losing altitude.
Had the pilot lost control during the firefight?
Because the helicopter had dipped below the level of the roof, I scrambled over to the edge.
As I peered over the side, a strong gust of wind hit me. It wasn't from the rotors; it was a natural crosswind.
Perhaps caught by the sudden gale, the out-of-control helicopter...
—Slammed violently into the side of the hotel.
"W-Whoa..."
Faced with an unprecedented catastrophe, a stupid sound escaped my lips.
The deafening roar of shattering glass and crushing concrete shook the building all the way up to the roof.
The helicopter had crashed horizontally right into the twelfth floor.
Its fuel must have ignited, because thick, black smoke began billowing out of the massive crater in the wall. It was a surreal sight, like something straight out of an action movie.
As I stared in breathless shock, a torrential deluge of water suddenly blasted out from the hole in the hotel's side.
It looked exactly like the Merlion fountain.
"Just... what on earth is happening...?"
Right when I thought I had cornered Showatari Tsubasa, a helicopter with a sniper showed up to extract her.
Then Garayama Hadou burst onto the scene on a motorcycle, pulled a massive stunt jump off the roof, and initiated a mid-air gunfight.
The out-of-control helicopter then crashed into the hotel, and now a literal waterfall was gushing out of the wreckage.
It was absolute, unadulterated chaos.
I had no idea what was going on anymore... but there were still things I could do.
In the end, it meant Showatari Tsubasa hadn't managed to escape.
I spun around on my heel and bolted for the stairs to head down.
December 21, 8:10 PM – Reidou Momiji
The massive sound and vibration of something huge colliding with something hard jolted my fading consciousness back to reality.
"...Ow..."
I seemed to have blacked out. My entire body was soaking wet, and blood was trickling down my head.
...That's right. Just when I thought I had cornered Inomichi Shinobu, he shot the aquarium, sending a monumental flood of water rampaging through the hotel.
I was swept up in the deluge, hit my head, and lost consciousness.
Holding my aching head, I stood up and surveyed the area.
The twelfth-floor cafΓ© where I had just been... was completely decimated, churned into a chaotic mess of wreckage by the sheer force of the water.
It looked exactly like the aftermath of a tsunami. It was terrifyingly clear just how astronomical the volume of water in that tank truly was.
Looking around, I was the only one here. I hoped everyone else was safe... I hadn't prepared for something this drastic, completely underestimating the situation.
If there was one silver lining, it was that I had evacuated the hotel guests before cornering the culprit, out of caution against a large-scale retaliation similar to the shopping mall incident.
...Regardless, my priority right now was confirming everyone's safety and tracking down Inomichi Shinobu.
If he had been swept away by the water, he had to be on one of the lower floors.
I didn't have to worry about my own well-being, as my injuries didn't matter.
I started walking toward the stairs to descend.
...Along the way, for some inexplicable reason, I found a helicopter crashed inside the hotel.
I knew it sounded like nonsense, but I honestly had no idea what had just happened.
Why was there a helicopter in a place like this...?
Given the massive crater in the wall, it must have smashed into the hotel from the outside.
The fuselage was completely crumpled, spewing thick smoke. So this was the source of the noise and vibration earlier.
The aircraft was pitch black, devoid of any emblems or logos. It certainly didn't look like an official government vehicle...
While I was inspecting the wreckage, a figure slowly shifted in the corner of my eye.
"Whoopsie, messed that up. Looks like they bailed out."
The voice belonged to a man wearing a leather jacket and jeans, sporting a two-tone beard. His clothes had changed, but this was undoubtedly Garayama Hadou, one of our suspects.
"Yo, Reidou Momiji-san."
Noticing me, Garayama Hadou raised a hand casually in greeting.
...I had spoken to him when we were trying to pry open the freezer Haruma-kun was trapped in, but his entire demeanor felt completely different now. I remembered him being far more taciturn, mumbling under his breath...
I had no idea who this man truly was, but I did know he wasn't the culprit behind these incidents. For now, I returned his greeting.
"Um, are you okay...?"
Garayama Hadou's face—specifically around his bearded chin—was split wide open in a shocking manner... yet, there was no blood.
"Oh, this? It's fine, it's fine. See? Riiip."
Garayama Hadou spoke lightly as he pinched his beard and pulled... With a loud ripping noise like peeling off duct tape, the beard came completely off.
The facial hair covering his mouth, chin, cheeks, and sideburns vanished, revealing his bare skin.
That distinctive two-tone beard had been a fake.
...Meaning, this man had been in disguise the entire time. Seeing his true face stripped of its camouflage, a strange sense of familiarity washed over me...
"You're..."
When I trailed off, he flashed a bright smile and answered.
"Got some complicated circumstances on my end. The name Garayama Hadou is a fake, too."
Drooping eyes and clear blue pupils. Could it be... this man was...
"My real name is Tennai Touji. ...Looks like you've been taking good care of my son. Thanks for that, Reidou Momiji-san."
December 21, 8:10 PM – Showatari Tsubasa?
"Ngh..."
My entire body screaming in pain, I forced myself to sit up.
The interior of the hotel was completely flooded. My clothes were soaked through, bringing on a wave of cold and intense discomfort.
It seemed I had been thrown from the helicopter the moment it crashed into the hotel.
I didn't even fully understand where I was right now.
Shattered glass littered the area, and my body was covered in cuts and lacerations.
Judging by the view from the window, I seemed to be in a lounge somewhere around the eighth floor. I had really been tossed quite a distance.
The bolted-down sofas, tables, and furnishings had been swept away by the water, leaving the lounge in ruins.
This sheer volume of water... did the aquarium burst?
...Did Inomichi Shinobu screw up?
I inspected my own body. A fall from that height should have easily killed me, but it seemed a sofa drifting in the floodwaters had acted as a cushion, leaving me with only these minor injuries.
Am I lucky, or unlucky...?
I ground my teeth in frustration. I was just one step away from flawlessly completing the mission...
Just who was that man who leaped onto the helicopter from the roof?
Judging by his sheer agility and marksmanship, there was no way he was an ordinary civilian.
Lost in thought, I spotted a mirror hanging on the wall.
Staring into it, I peeled off the bloodstained wig and the tape covering my mouth.
I didn't need this disguise anymore.
I stripped off the black dress and wiped my grimy face. I was wearing normal clothes underneath, so it wasn't an issue.
Looking at my true reflection in the mirror, I let out a self-deprecating laugh and began calculating my next move.
...I managed to kill Tennai Haruma.
Reidou Momiji was impossible, but if things went well, I could probably eliminate Mito Shuya too.
No, actually... I might be able to use this chaos to assassinate Mito right now.
That's right, I just need to use that.
My identity as the killer was blown, and the plan had gone completely off the rails... but it was still salvageable.
With my course set, I needed to head back to my room. Meeting up with Inomichi Shinobu was also a viable option.
With the hotel in this state, the elevators were useless... I'd have to take the stairs.
Deciding on that, I turned away from the full-length mirror and began to walk.
—And then.
"Yo, Amifune."
A voice abruptly called out to me from behind.
It was a voice I recognized all too well...
The voice of a dead man who absolutely should not be here.
Trembling, I turned around, and the figure standing there struck the final blow.
"Done playing dress-up as Showatari Tsubasa? Amifune."
Standing there was the man who was supposed to be dead.
The very person I had personally sent to the afterlife... was staring right at me, a fearless smirk on his face.
Instinctively, I choked out his name from the depths of my throat.
"Tennai-kun...!?"
He... I was certain I had killed Tennai Haruma.
I had even heard the police officially confirm his death.
So why was he alive, standing right here?
And... he spoke as if he had seen right through the fact that Showatari Tsubasa was just Amifune Itaru in disguise.
"...Well, consider me surprised. Even though you were absolutely certain you killed me."
Given the circumstances, the clichΓ© "I actually survived" excuse was impossible to believe... Did this have something to do with his special ability?
"Don't tell me... you're an immortal detective...?"
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