"It looks like there are a lot of people over there."
"I heard some anime director came to Sobu High. Young people, you know—there are bound to be many anime fans. Anyway, let's not talk about that. Where is little Izumi preparing for her performance? I thought we'd see the stage as soon as we entered the school."
"For school cultural festivals, performances are usually held either on the sports field, in the gymnasium, or in the auditorium. When I was in high school, ours was held on the field."
"Eh... mine too, back in my first year. Unfortunately, I only got to participate once. The next year, I was recruited early to the police academy."
Hidari Okumuro and Yukki Takashi arrived at Sobu High and chatted idly as they looked around the crowd, searching for Kotomi Izumi.
The two had left Shinjuku at 7 a.m. this morning. Upon reaching Chiba City, Hidari Okumuro sent a message to Kotomi Izumi. After learning that she would be performing in the afternoon, they decided not to rush to Sobu High immediately. Instead, they turned the car around and made a stop at the Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters.
Both had a good relationship with Inspector Ishimizu from the First Investigation Division, and naturally, they had already heard about the incident that occurred earlier this morning at Chiba Municipal Hospital. Although no one had died, the behavior and words of the two nurses involved deeply concerned Hidari and Yukki, who were currently investigating the old Sengetsu Girls' Academy and Gokugū Village serial murder cases.
Inspector Ishimizu had also just learned about Hidari Okumuro's resignation from the Metropolitan Police Department. He expressed regret but also admiration for her decision.
"If it were me, the moment I saw Kami Hisami, regardless of whether she was a murderer or not, I would have restrained her. It would have been a form of protection for her—a way to help clear her name. But, Hidari, your approach... as a person, I completely understand it. Privately, I even think that perhaps for her, being cleared of suspicion wasn't important. What she wanted was to kill the real culprit herself—to avenge what was done to her. But as a police officer, I must firmly oppose your method."
Hidari Okumuro smiled faintly. "Seems I really wasn't cut out to be a cop."
"I heard about the case in Kanagawa too. Kami Hisami took her own life with a peaceful smile... I suppose she was grateful to you—for giving her the chance to take revenge. I envy her, honestly. At least she had the chance to kill her enemy with her own hands..."
Inspector Ishimizu's voice grew softer as he spoke, and soon he hurriedly changed the subject, steering the conversation back to the Chiba Municipal Hospital incident.
They talked from morning until noon. After lunch, Hidari Okumuro and Yukki Takashi left the police headquarters and drove to Sobu High.
"Once today's festival is over, let's not rush back to Shinjuku. Let's stay the night at a hotel and visit Sengetsu Girls' Academy tomorrow. It's getting close to the high school entrance exam season, and I've heard many girls are putting Sengetsu Girls' Academy as their top choice," Hidari suggested.
The current Sengetsu Girls' Academy had once been the bankrupt and later reconstructed Chigetsu Girls' Academy. After learning this, Hidari and Yukki had long wanted to investigate the school.
Originally, that part of the investigation was scheduled for later, but after hearing that the two deranged nurses had repeatedly shouted, 'The first one is going to appear!', both Hidari Okumuro and Yukki Takashi felt an ominous chill in their hearts.
"Fine by me. It sounds like you got uneasy after hearing that line too, huh? 'The first one is going to appear.'"
"Yeah... 'The first one is going to appear.' I just hope it has nothing to do with the old Chigetsu Girls' Academy or Gokugū Village. Otherwise, it might mean—the first victim is about to appear."
Having reviewed the brutal details of that bizarre serial murder case many times, Hidari Okumuro and Yukki Takashi both prayed the tragedy wouldn't repeat itself after so many years.
If it really did, the consequences would be unpredictable. After all, that unsolved case from Shōwa 31 was entangled with both the Izumi and Shiina families.
"If that phrase really is connected to Sengetsu Girls' Academy, should we advise the principal to shut the school down temporarily?"
"Impossible."
Yukki Takashi shook his head.
"Even though we're investigating the case, our authority is still limited. Sengetsu Girls' Academy is a private elite school. They'll care more about their reputation than anything else. Even if we directly told them that the unsolved case from Shōwa 31 might repeat itself—and that the location could very well be the academy—their first reaction wouldn't be to cooperate, but to cover it up."
"Ah... what a hassle. It's a good thing Kotomi Izumi didn't enroll in Sengetsu Girls' Academy, otherwise I'd be really worried."
Yukki chuckled. "Why don't you talk to the head of the Izumi family yourself? Maybe you won't have to be a private investigator anymore. You could become little Izumi's bodyguard instead. I bet the pay would be amazing."
Hidari Okumuro smirked. "My combat skills are only just above average. I'm not sure I'd qualify for a bodyguard position. Rather than that, I'd rather get to the bottom of this Shōwa 31 case once and for all. If the Kushibana family still has descendants trying to imitate their ancestor's methods to commit more murders, we'll catch them before they get the chance to strike!"
"Let's just hope that line—'The first one is going to appear'—has nothing to do with the Shōwa 31 case. Otherwise, this could get ugly."
As they walked, Hidari Okumuro and Yukki Takashi's lighthearted conversation gradually turned back into serious discussion about the case.
Meanwhile, Iroha Isshiki was waiting in line with Aimi Izumi at the balloon-dart booth. The rules were simple: hit the right balloon with a dart, and you'd win the corresponding prize. Aimi had her eye on the second prize—a vase painted with a cute little penguin.
There were still a few people ahead of them in line, and to pass the time, Iroha started chatting.
"Aimi, that black-and-purple dress looks great on you. I don't think I've ever seen you wear it before."
"That's because I usually wear my school uniform, and I hardly go out on weekends. When I was picking my outfit this morning, I found this black-and-purple dress in my closet and had to think for a while before remembering that I bought it last year—and never wore it once."
"You really haven't gone out much on weekends lately. You used to always invite me out shopping. What have you been doing instead?"
"Hehehe... playing gal games..." Aimi scratched her head awkwardly, laughing shyly.
"Oh right, Aimi—did you tell your sister earlier that you're putting Sengetsu Girls' Academy as your first choice?"
"Ah, I forgot to tell her just now. But she already knows. When I was stressing over my high school application, I actually asked her for advice."
"That's so nice... I wish my senpai would help me with my entrance applications too," Iroha said with envy.
Aimi naturally took it as a joke and didn't get jealous. After all, in her eyes, Iroha Isshiki was her best friend—there was no way she'd try to compete with her for Kotomi's attention.
"Didn't you already decide to apply to Sobu High School?"
"Yeah, I did. My first, second, and third choices are all Sobu High. But still, I wish senpai could help me fill out the forms. Well, if she can't help me with high school, then I'll make sure she helps me with college instead—she'll sit next to me and teach me how to pick the best university!"
"My sister isn't a guidance counselor, you know," Aimi said with mild annoyance.
"But still..." Iroha suddenly added, her tone brightening, "Once your first-choice results come out, and if you actually make it into Sengetsu Girls' Academy, that means you'll officially be a student there! Even though that means we won't be in the same high school anymore, if you really get in, I'll treat you to a big celebratory meal! I've been saving up my allowance, and I'll spend it all to treat you! You can eat whatever you want until you're stuffed!"
"Then what if my sister comes along too?" Aimi asked with a teasing smile.
"If senpai comes..."
Iroha Isshiki thought for a moment, mentally calculating her saved allowance. She quickly realized a harsh truth: even if she spent all her savings to treat Kotomi Izumi to dinner—just Kotomi alone—it probably wouldn't be enough to fill her up.
Iroha knew Kotomi's appetite all too well. They'd eaten together many times, and every single time, she was left stunned by how much Kotomi could order. People often said that buffet restaurant owners never lose money no matter how much customers eat—and that was true, because running a buffet wasn't charity.
But if Kotomi Izumi ever went to a buffet, the restaurant might actually take a loss.
In the face of absolute power, all business models crumble.
Kotomi herself was perfectly aware of this. That's why she always avoided buffet restaurants when eating out. After all, running a physical store these days was no easy job.
"I guess I'll just learn how to cook and make food for senpai instead," Iroha said suddenly. Though she had saved up quite a bit of allowance, using it all to buy Kotomi an extravagant meal felt unrealistic.
"When you learn to cook, I want to eat too!" Aimi chimed in cheerfully, not realizing anything was off. Her vaunted radar for detecting rival women seemed to have completely failed her today.
But that wasn't surprising—Aimi viewed Iroha as her best friend. Naturally, she didn't see her as competition for Kotomi's affection. Even if Iroha were to declare, "I love Kotomi, I want to marry her!", Aimi would probably just laugh and take it as a joke.
As their turn in line drew near, Aimi smiled softly.
"To be honest, I don't think my chances of getting into Sengetsu Girls' Academy are very high. It's a prestigious school—an elite private academy for young ladies. The kind of place where every student probably gets top grades, has perfect manners, and greets people with a 'good day' every time they meet. Just imagining it makes me tired."
Aimi shrank her neck slightly. As the eldest daughter of the Izumi family, she personally knew a few girls who had attended high-class girls' academies since childhood. Every time she heard them talk about their school life, she couldn't help frowning. There were endless rules—even down to which hand you used to eat or drink. Just hearing about it was exhausting, let alone living like that every day.
In Aimi's mind, even if she somehow got accepted into Sengetsu Girls' Academy, she'd probably want to drop out within two weeks.
She added with a sigh:
"Besides, it's way too early to be confident about getting in. I haven't even taken the entrance exams yet. I heard the cutoff scores go up every year, and the written and interview exams keep getting harder. I know my own academic level—realistically, even if I put Sengetsu Girls' Academy as my first choice, my chances of getting in are very low. Honestly, the school I'm most confident about, and also want to attend, is my second choice—Sobu High School. My sister taught me that it's best to put the school you're sure you can get into, and actually want to attend, as your second choice."
"Getting into Sobu High would be great too. That way, we'd be at the same school again! And if we end up in the same class, sitting next to each other again, that'd be perfect."
"I want that too, Iroha. Maybe I'll just hold back a little on my exam scores," Aimi teased with a grin.
"Ugh, show-off!" Iroha huffed dramatically.
Laughing together, the two girls finally reached the front of the line.
"Ten darts, please."
Aimi immediately pulled out 1000 yen to buy ten darts.
She was determined to win that little penguin vase—the second-place prize. She even considered offering to buy it outright. Even though she didn't keep flowers, the sight of that small penguin painted on the vase instantly reminded her of her silly, penguin-like older sister.
Even if she only used it as a water cup, she had to have that penguin vase!
Aimi adjusted her aim carefully, then threw her first dart with confidence.
Pop.
Not only did she miss the second-place area completely—she didn't even hit the consolation prize balloons.
After a moment of silence, Aimi picked up the remaining nine darts and threw them one after another.
By the end…
Aimi quietly pulled out 10,000 yen from her wallet and said to the student running the booth, "Sell me that little penguin vase."
"Eh? But the rules say..."
"15,000."
"If we sell directly, it wouldn't be fair to other customers. The whole point of this game is to test your skill, you know? Fairness—"
"20,000."
"Y-Yes, miss! Please wait just a moment, I'll get it for you right away!"
Balloon popping might be about skill, but paying directly—well, that's also a kind of strength.
As the student carefully took the little penguin vase down, the black-and-purple vase beside it suddenly tipped over—as if pushed by an invisible hand—and crashed to the ground.
With a sharp crack, the sound of shattering ceramic echoed. Black-purple fragments scattered across the floor.
"Ah, seriously—be careful! That was one of the vases a kind lady donated to our class for this booth's prizes," another student exclaimed, rushing over to look at the broken shards with a helpless sigh.
"But I didn't even touch it! How did it fall on its own?"
"Anyway, I'll grab a broom and dustpan before someone gets hurt."
Aimi Izumi instinctively turned to look at the shattered vase lying on the floor.
Was it just her imagination…?
Why did it look like the color of that fallen vase… was exactly the same as the black-and-purple dress she was wearing right now?
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