Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 49: The Two Accomplices

The girl gave no response.

From her expression, the Novelist couldn’t guess what she was thinking.

However, what needed to be said had to be said.

“Do you know how the police judged the accident that happened to Niwa Daizo, Ogiwara-san?”

“…That’s currently restricted information, so naturally I wouldn’t know.”

“Is that so? Well, traces of tampering were detected on the severely damaged car that fell from the mountain road over ten meters high. The incident has been classified as a premeditated harm case. Considering the motive, it’s likely a carefully planned murder by an individual or group with conflicting interests with the Niwa family.”

“The police concluded that the criminals likely cooperated first with the manor’s manager, Miki Yu. One side provided an environment to take revenge on Niwa Takahito without any interference, while the other side needed to seal off the annex to prevent anyone from disrupting the assassination plan. Of course, there was also the provision of information about the mansion’s personnel.”

“…Does Liang-kun think something is wrong?”

The Novelist sighed.

“The conditions make sense – even as a manager, Miki Yu couldn’t have taken out so many security personnel alone without being discovered, so having ‘accomplices’ is certain. However… the conclusion is wrong.”

“Dismissing the opinions of professionals so easily – you really sound like a famous detective, Liang-kun.”

The Novelist ignored what could have been either sarcasm or genuine praise.

“If Miki Yu’s accomplice knew about the birthday party information, they should have understood that the people coming to the annex were just students. Was it necessary to create a locked room just to guard against them? Besides, Miki Yu’s goal was only revenge against Niwa Takahito – he himself shouldn’t have had such a strong motive to create an enclosed environment… To me, it seems more like it was artificially created to establish someone’s ‘alibi.'”

— In other words, as long as the annex remained “sealed” all night, everyone inside would automatically be excluded from the police’s list of suspects.

However, only the Novelist and the Class Rep, who remained silent during the subsequent questioning, knew that the sealed environment was never valid from the start.

“It was precisely because this completely ‘unnecessary’ sealed environment existed that I initially worried about whether a killer from a horror movie might break in. But thinking carefully, that was even more impossible. So…”

“So, Liang-kun believes that Miki Yu’s accomplice was actually, like him, mixed in among the high school students attending the party… is that right?”

The Novelist nodded.

“But these are all speculations without evidence, aren’t they? Besides, why would Liang-kun think that I, an ordinary high school girl, would be capable of doing such things?”

“Yes, the above has no basis… so rather than deduction, it’s more like conditions I derived by working backward from the conclusion. Because…”

When he and the Class Rep were hiding in the emergency passage—

“I saw you.”

…Although it was just a fleeting figure through the door crack, he hadn’t seen the face directly.

“But there’s only one person in my memory with such beautiful long black hair.”

…

After a long silence, Ogiwara-san tilted her head and asked carefully.

“…Sexual harassment?”

“It’s not!”

Why would she say something like that at this time!

“…Ahem, next is what happened at the end of that night. Since I was locked inside the mansion, I didn’t witness it personally, so the rest is just my personal speculation.”

The Novelist cleared his throat.

“Anyway, after some of the security personnel and servants around the main building and annex were ‘cleared away,’ Niwa Daizo quickly discovered the anomaly.”

“He likely suspected that this intrusion had the cooperation of someone inside, so he chose not to tell anyone, including other Niwa family members and his own subordinates.”

“So, he decided to drive away from this dangerous place alone. Niwa Daizo himself loved racing and never stopped practicing his driving skills – perhaps he had also been preparing for accidents like that night. However… that was his biggest mistake.”

After that—

“Liang-kun, you’ve got something wrong,” Ogiwara Yayoi suddenly interrupted.

“…Eh?”

“Miki Yu and I weren’t accomplices. You saw it then too, didn’t you?”

‘Then’…?

…Ah.

The Novelist quickly realized.

It was that afternoon after the school gathering.

So that wasn’t a confession… though that was natural. Just like Miki Yu’s identity, it was simply his misunderstanding.

“Miki Yu seems to have heard about me from somewhere, so he planned to cooperate with me. Unfortunately, he wasn’t qualified, so I refused him.”

Ogiwara Yayoi said softly.

“Rather than calling this incident a murder planned jointly by Miki Yu and his accomplice, it’s more accurate to say it was two parallel revenge killings.”

…

…I see.

Though the truth was somewhat unexpected, there was no need to continue further.

She had already admitted to the fact of revenge.

“Liang-kun just asked me what I want to do next… that question should be asked by me to you. What do you want to do? Do you plan to stop me?”

“…What if I say yes?”

Of course, he actually had no such intention.

“Hmm, I would probably be disappointed. Because Liang-kun is a lying deceiver.”

…Huh?

A completely unexpected accusation.

“‘Even if it’s for an ‘impure’ or even ‘evil’ purpose, you would still respect her’… isn’t that what Liang-kun said?”

Somehow, Ogiwara Yayoi had already come very close to him and was staring at him seriously and intently.

That was.

On a certain night when the girl was searching for the moon.

She had a conversation about life with the boy—

…

The Novelist opened his eyes in surprise, and finally couldn’t help but laugh. Not because her words were too unexpected, but because what Ogiwara Yayoi had been thinking about was exactly the same as him.

“However, now the premise is for yourself, right? Hmm… what if I say I’m acting ‘to kill Niwa Daizo’?”

“…’Acting to kill someone’ and ‘acting for someone’ are essentially the same thing. However, I believe that rather than suicide, Ogiwara-san would choose to solve problems by killing others.”

“How strict.”

Though she said this, she smiled as if she had heard something good, in a very good mood.

“Then, how about ‘to satisfy my own twisted desire for revenge, complete a plot ten years in the making, and make all members of the Niwa family pay a terrible price’?”

That sounded quite bad.

Extremely bad.

“This time…”

The girl reached out her hand to him.

The Novelist clearly saw that the syringe in her hand had disappeared. Ogiwara Yayoi’s face wore a gentle smile, completely different from her previous impression.

“Liang-kun, can you help me? Don’t worry, it won’t be anything bad.”

Such words coming from the mouth of a young conspirator who had just revealed her objective didn’t make anyone feel reassured at all.

“…If you think I can really do anything…”

However, the Novelist quickly grasped Ogiwara Yayoi’s hand in return. He was feeling embarrassed about the intimate contact with the girl. Besides that, he would have no hesitation, nor would he allow himself to hesitate.