Zaregoto

Chapter 22

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A human being without a weakness is more dangerous than a strong human being.1

Kouta-san was sitting by the stairs.

I froze in position when I opened the third-floor emergency door of Miyoshi Kokoromi"s third ward building with the lock-picking blade and turned the k.n.o.b. And then about ten seconds later I was finally able to p.r.o.nounce, "what are you doing?"

"I was being told that the person I was waiting for would not come," Kouta-san said nonchalantly. "It is not consummate."

"..... then I have just arrived. However, you were supposed to be headed toward Neo-san"s research ward."

"If you think about it, Kasugai-san is visiting Neo-san"s place right now. Returning to such a place is not consummate."

Kouta-san stood up and patted away at the dust that had latched onto the bottom end of her coat, which she had ended up using as a seat. And then she stretched her back and cracked her neck left and right.

Perhaps she had been worried about me and waited there the whole time. That may have been the case, and there was also the same possibility that it was not the case. It was indiscernible. Either way, it would be the same possibility as a flipped coin standing on its edge. I said nothing and returned the blade I had borrowed to Kouta-san.

"So, did you achieve anything, dear friend?"

"Somewhat," I closed the door behind me as I answered. "There was a bit of progress. However, that was all. I gained more information but I did not arrive at an answer."

"Excessive information will simply get in the way..... well, so be it. If you may, allow me to hear."

I did not think there was any reason to hide things, so I told Kouta-san everything, from the truths that sensei had told me about Utsurigi"s corpse to the idle talk between sensei and I. My explanation was lacking because I have a bad memory, but it seemed she was able to understand after just one explanation.

"..... the reason his arms were cut off."

"Apparently the reason for dismembering a corpse is usually for convenience during transport or hiding, or hatred, or s.e.xual desire. However, I think it is not entirely incorrect to reason that there must have been some cause to cut the arms off."

"..... you appear to have said something like we are not talking about the Venus de Milo to Miyoshi-san, but what did you mean by that?"

Kouta-san asked me a question that I did not understand for a moment. And without understanding the intent behind the question, I simply answered, "No meaning in particular."

"It is one of many theories that have been brought up with regards to the Venus" arms. Kokoromi-sensei"s hypothetical reminded me of it, so I brought it up. That is all."

"The theory about Venus I prefer the most is the default one, in which there were no arms to begin with."

"Uh uh. What about that?"

"No, just idle chat. I"m just saying that regardless of how it comes about, the result is the finished product. The result -- regardless of what that may be. Well then," Kouta-san stared at me. "What shall we do next?"

"Next....." I thought for a moment. "Let us go to the roofstop. There is no particular reason to stay here."

"As you wish."

And then Kouta-san fluttered her denim coat sleeves as she began climbing the stairs. I walked behind her. After climbing about ten steps, Kouta-san prefaced, "Along with idle chat, or perhaps as yet more."

"Your teacher-student relationship is not distinct."

She said.

"How should I interpret distinct?"

"It is a story about the ambiguity over whether there is trust. Although this is from my own perspective, in other words, being my personal opinion, despite all that you say and act, your att.i.tude earlier belied certainty of safety. Somewhere, somehow you seemed certain that sensei would not warn the Professor about you, and would in fact even lend a hand."

"That is a misunderstanding, Kouta-san. I simply had no other choice. Of course, the possibility of having things handled internally always existed, but it was still a dangerous bet."

"That may have been the case, but it is hard to throw away the illusion."

"Illusion.... there is a difference between trust and being absolutely certain of each others" core behaviors," I said curtly. "There was no one across the ocean that I got along with worse."

"Across the ocean? You imply a great deal with that wording."

"There is a fortune-teller that I get along with even worse over here..... compared to that, sensei is still on the cuter side. Anyways, that is how it is. The connection between sensei and I is as strong as the effect of the moon"s gravity."

"That may be so," Kouta-san quickly stepped back, as it seemed her interest was really just at an idle chat level. "Well then. There are now exactly three hours left for the time limit. How do you feel about the odds of triumph?"

"Unfavorable. It is like, please look forward to our next series."

"What do you mean?"

"Nonsense."

Come to think of it, I had once read a novel that had the premise of please look forward to my next work, and as I escaped from reality in such thoughts, Kouta-san and I reached the rooftop of the third ward. Kouta-san walked to the center of the rooftop, and then raised both of her hands in a banzai posture. a.s.suming she was not calling for a UFO, she was probably just stretching her back.

"All that said, the view from here is spectacular," I said to Kouta-san for no reason. "A cryptomeria forest all around. It is enough to make me forget what I am to do. This must be what they mean when they say it steals your soul away."

"I hate to ruin some poetic words," Kouta-san said normally. "But what you see is not a cryptomeria forest. It is mostly oak."

"Huh? Really?"

"Other than that, there are chestnut trees. There"s some pine. There are other types mixed in, but there is no cedar."

"Is that so. Huh..... I had always thought all mountains had cedar."

"That is an intense misunderstanding. Is your brain alright? Well, not that the topic of trees is any relevant," Kouta-san turned to look at me. "Do you know what I am thinking right now, dear friend?"

"..... no. I do not know," perhaps she was thinking of my ignorance regarding mountain trees. No, of course she was not. "What?"

"I am admiring a bit. At Miyoshi-san"s quickness at giving up."

"Ahh....." I nodded. "That is true. However you must agree that she is correct in doing so? Sensei is insightful when it comes to profits. She would not stay herself in such a place without having a reason."

"Unlike Professor Kyouichirou, you would say?" Kouta-san said. "Professor Kyouichirou seems to have quite a villainous role to you. Although I do not blame you after such treatment. However, that cannot be helped. After all, character is like a bonus part attached to the well-off."

"What do you mean?"

"It"s a heartwarming story about how human beings first become a good person when they have composure. But everyone"s quite pressed," Kouta-san said cynically. "True geniuses like Kunagisa-san and Utsurigi-san can of course be kind to other people. It is like that proverb if I were Edison I could have been called the King of Invention, too. Someone with a 10 billion does not feel pained in giving someone 10 million. Because even so, they are 9 billion 990 million better than the other."

"You are quite defensive of him. Even though you said this place was like a graveyard."

"My. You do know grave-robbers are the most profitable of professions?" Kouta-san boasted happily. "Well, in any case, composure is most important."

"Leaving Kunagisa aside -- Utsurigi may have had plenty of composure, but he did not seem the type of person to be kind to others. He was the detestable kind that put all of his composure into being nastier."

"If one can be kind, one can also be unkind. Such is the bliss of those who can choose. After all, having these things decided for you without giving you any options is a tragedy. Don"t you think?"

"I do not think it is a tragedy. Just sad," I followed up absentmindedly. And then I changed the topic. "Sensei seems to have decided to leave this place already, but what of Neo-san? If what Kokoromi-sensei said is true, then it means he no longer has any reason to continue being a spy? And ..... what are you going to do, Ishimaru Kouta-san?"

"That is itself a superfluous worry. The three of us, Miyoshi-san and Neo-san as well as myself, have our three different objectives, so there is no need for us to walk the same path. And, Miyoshi-san already abandoned this place, but -- and I suppose that could be praised as having a splendid eye -- my personal opinion is that the Professor"s plan is not that bad. While I shall not say it has a high chance of success, it also does not have a low one. And the merit in the case of success - Kunagisa Tomo herself - is unbelievably great. The risk has consummate value."

"Although that bothers us greatly," my voice had naturally become displeased. "Each and every one... is like a vulture. A sample, an experimental subject, a test body... really, are any of them human?"

"They used to be human. Before they became academics."

Kouta-san"s sarcastic words sent a chill straight through my body. When it came to being inhuman, of those within this facility, was it not this one that was far and away the most befitting that term?

"Well, your each and every one may be counting myself. But that is also itself consummate. Well. In any case, shall we return to Neo-san"s place and come up with a strategy? Neo-san may have come across some new information, and it would be good to know of the Professor"s actions."

".........."

While I listened to Kouta-san"s words, I was facing the complete opposite direction from Neo-san"s fifth ward. In other words, I was looking in the direction of the second ward. In more precise terms, from here, I was visibly confirming the distance between here, the third ward, and there, the second ward. Kouta-san seemed to have noticed my look, as she walked in front of me and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I wondered if it would be possible to go from here to the seventh ward."

"..... I think I said it is impossible."

"I have not yet heard the reason for that. And, from the way I see it here, the distance to the second ward is roughly two meters. Around the same distance as between the fifth ward and the fourth ward...... no, this one seems a bit shorter. And then if I remember correctly, the next one, between the second and primary ward..... in other words the distance to reach the Primary Ward that houses the Professor, was not that great either."

"You"re quite fixated...... would that not be more befitting desperation?" Kouta-san said with some bit of exasperation. "This is not consummate."

"Then tell me. By what reason is it impossible?"

I could not see the distance going from the primary to the sixth ward, and then the important sixth to seventh ward because of the angle from here. Is Kouta-san saying that the distance is an issue? I did not know. However, Kouta-san was much more familiar with this facility. I understood, logically, that there was no point in refuting Kouta-san"s opinion when it came to the matters of infiltrating and trespa.s.sing. I understood, but.

"But, I cannot think of any other means of breaking into the seventh ward while avoiding its security."

"Then it would be best you didn"t," Kouta-san said bluntly. "..... perhaps you may not understand through words, so I suppose you might as well experience it yourself. No action is wasteful to such a reverse-psychology person like yourself, and it is more wasteful to be standing here arguing."

Kouta-san said, and then she walked toward the second ward, and with legwork akin to avoiding a puddle, moved to the rooftop of the second ward. I could not help but admire her boldness even though it was just a two-meter distance, considering that just slipping would be the end of her life.

I followed Kouta-san and moved to the second ward. Kouta-san walked quickly, and she soon moved to the other side, and then she waited for me. I caught up, and when I looked, the distance between the second and primary ward was three meters..... no, a bit less. Considering the air s.p.a.ce between the fourth and third wards, this felt like nothing.

Kouta-san gave herself a bit of a running start, and jumped to the primary ward. It was readily apparent she was not giving it her all, and with a light flight, she landed on the rooftop of the primary ward. As soon as she landed, she turned around, and silently waited for me. This had already become the fifth jump, and even I had started becoming used to this. However, I have also heard that it is once you get used to this sort of acrobatics that things become dangerous. I kept myself focused as I jumped from the second ward to the primary ward.

"..... this is a heliport," I mumbled with my toes pointed toward the big circle painted on top of the primary ward (which had a big H in the middle). "And a plenty large antenna.... despite its isolation, communication is not completely disconnected from the rest of the world....."

"Do you want to ask Kunagisa"s brother or your acquaintance contractor now?" Kouta-san teased. "You may go ahead if you please. I"m sure they shall come helping immediately."

Kouta-san did not seem to pay it much heed, but that line seemed to insinuate that she knew Nao-san and Aikawa-san. Despite the suspicion, I decided not to pursue the matter. In retrospect I would think that I should have pressed the issue, but I am not deft enough nor superhuman enough to predict my own regrets. This is not yet the time for that, I lightly responded, and then I turned to the east. The fifth to primary wards were all lined straight, but the sixth and seventh wards had probably been architectural afterthoughts, as they were placed to the side. I looked straight ahead to the sixth ward, and finally to the seventh ward.

"Professor Kyouichirou and the others," Kouta-san stared at the floor of the rooftop, as if she had x-ray vision, and spoke. "I wonder what sort of evidence they are collecting in preparation for what sort of method to set her... no, to set Kunagisa-san up as the suspect. Fufu, even if we were to succeed in infiltrating the seventh ward, there is nothing to be done if we were to run into someone altering the evidence."

"There is no point in such negativity."

"Indeed. Let us leave such matters to Neo-san. Although leaving things to others is not your preference."

Kouta-san gave an out-of-place smile and then walked to the sixth ward.

"Yes -- wait, huh?"

There was nothing like an entrance on the rooftop of the sixth floor. According to s.h.i.to-kun the sixth ward was a power plant -- what sort of power plant was it? A carbon power plant I think, or a silicon power plant. Or a nitrogen power plant? It was certainly one of those three, but I was not really listening, so it had become rather -- vague, and it was not a place that people would enter and exit, nor would people hang laundry, so this should have been expected, but there was nothing like an entrance door on the rooftop of the seventh ward that I could see. Large water tanks were placed along the eastern edge, and there were some wide pipes connected to the tanks, but otherwise it was a clean, flat plain.

"Is this what you meant, Kouta-san?" I asked Kouta-san, stunned. "In other words, there is no entrance from the rooftop on the seventh ward--"

"There is," Kouta-san immediately responded. "Can you not see? How is your eyesight?"

"I have not had it measured recently, but I do not have any sense of it worsening, so it is probably around 20-20."

"Then you should be able to see. About three meters toward us from the water tanks. A round, steel plug that looks like a manhole? It"s less an entrance and more an emergency exit, but we can enter the building from there."

Indeed, as Kouta-san said..... or rather, once she mentioned it, I noticed that door (if it could be called such). However, in terms of distance, because the sixth ward was still in between, it was hardly visible. How good must Kouta-san"s eyesight be to be able to see such a thing so clearly? Her gla.s.ses must surely be fake.

"There is a separate reason for it being impossible. In any case, let us head to the sixth ward. It is easy for you to see up close."

Said Kouta-san, and then she jumped from the primary ward to the sixth ward. The distance was probably one and a half meters. It was short enough that Kunagisa could probably stretch herself sideways and become a bridge (although that is quite a terrible thing to imagine).

Without giving myself a running start, I simply jumped over. It was simple, but even so I felt a bit of fear when I glanced down. One would say to not look down in that case, but one could also say that is a mysterious thing about the human mind.

"So. Now do you understand?" Kouta-san had moved to the edge of the sixth ward and spoke without waiting for me to catch up. "The reason we can"t use this route to get to the seventh ward."

".........."

As I walked closer to Kouta-san, I gradually understood what Kouta-san said. After reaching around the center point of the rooftop of the sixth ward, I could do nothing but confirm her words. I had to confirm her words even if I did not like it.

"..... how could it be?"

Indeed, this would be... impossible.

The distance between the sixth ward and the seventh ward. Compared to the distance between the wards so far -- two meters between the fifth and fourth, three and a half meters between the fourth and third, just less than two meters between the third and second, just less than three meters between the second and primary, and then the one and a half meters between the primary and sixth ward -- this was on a different level. No, it was not really on a different level, but it was big enough gap that one could not be faulted for despairing and expressing it as such.

Five meters.

Five meters.....

"Is it not impossible?" Kouta-san repeated. "Now do you understand why I said we cannot use this route to enter the seventh ward, dear friend?"

"I see....."

Five meters. That distance was such that it would be reckless to risk a life trying to jump across. Not even reckless, but simply a suicidal action. I am not familiar with athletic records, but based on what Kouta-san had said earlier, the world record was eight meters and seventy-five centimeters. Let us call it nine meters. The distance between the sixth ward and the seventh ward was four meters shorter. However, just as I had thought when she brought up that comparison, I maintain that it is preposterous to compare me to a world record. I am a j.a.panese, and my body is not particularly built. I am not as extreme as Kunagisa, but I am still an indoor person.

Five meters.

Truly, this is an unreasonable demand.

"..... well then, there is no point in remaining here any longer, so let us return to Neo-san, this time. There may yet be another route--"

As I listened to Kouta-san"s not-really-placating words -- no, I was not even listening to such words, as I thought myself into a rut. I simply, thought. Yes, this is an unreasonable demand. Solid and unparalleled, completely and utterly impossible.

"----------"

But that is why.

That is why.

The crucified Utsurigi Green Green Green Gaisuke. Both arms cut off, both eyes and even the brain behind them destroyed, throat slashed out, chest and torso cut open like a dissected frog, both crushed legs pierced. That truly empty, colorless and stateless room colored into an ammonia-smelling reddish-black atmosphere, and then on the wall was literally -- truly literally -- a blood-written message.

The research ward that was locked by an impenetrable hard security lock, the sealed room that was too large. There was no record of anyone entering. There was no record of anyone having even left their own research wards. The crime was physically, theoretically only possible for one, the administrator of security, Kunagisa Dead Blue Tomo, the leader and ruler of the Team and Cl.u.s.ter that rewrote the rules of j.a.panese cybers.p.a.ce by fifty-five fold.

The Mad Demon Shadou Kyouichirou Research Facility.

It was absurd. This was no usual incident. A crime so impossible that it left no s.p.a.ce for argument, a murder so abnormal that it left no s.p.a.ce for excuses, a phenomenon so paranormal that it left no s.p.a.ce for retorts.

That is why. That is why.

That is why the answer to this incident must be psychological[1]. It is necessary. Not just the suspect behind this incident. I as the detective must also become psycho. I must be psycho. That is the premise of this logic.

A deep breath. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"..... hey. What are you thinking, dear friend?" Kouta-san said, suspicious. "I have a terribly bad feeling right now."

"You"re on the mark."

The answer, from my position -- toward the edge facing the seventh ward, roughly ten meters -- I began running. I had no composure. I had no composure at all. I could not waste even a single centimeter of distance here. I thought nothing, I felt nothing, I forgot I was living, and I used every bit of muscle in my body. My brain had long since stopped functioning. Like a soul-less robot, it followed orders.

Not yet. I did not jump yet. One more step.

"You -- idiot!"

Kouta-san"s shouting voice, changed from the elegant mannerism she had been using, for the first time carried emotion -- and the moment after the insults washed over me, I stomped down with my left foot. I felt something, like molecular atoms, coursing through the center of my body, like all my blood was leaking out, like my head was being showered with liquid nitrogen. I had never experienced molecules coursing through my body or leaking blood or being showered with liquid nitrogen, however, probably, this was how that would feel.

In other words.

I was freed from everything.

I freed everything.

Unfettered.

This is dying.

This is disappearing.

This is vanishing.

This is ending.

Death.

Here. I can die. I can die. I can die with. I can die to. I can die it. I can die for. I can die too. I can die me. I can die of. I can die from. I can die more.

"That"s why you--"

Like a revolving lantern, I was reminded of a line that someone had told me.

"-- should just die."

Yes.

You are right.Jump up↑ insane logic2

"Kusanagi? Kuginasa? What?"

"Kunagisa, it"s Kunagisa. K U N A G I S A, Kunagisa. And then Tomo, for friend. Kunagisa Tomo."

"Hmm. I see. Kunagisa-kun. Huhhh, your head, it"s pretty cool."

"You can call me Tomo."

"Alright. Then you can call me Tomo, too."

"That"s confusing. I"m going to call you Ii-chan."

"Then I"ll call you Ii-chan, too."

"That"s confusing."

"That one"s like a baby bird."

"Baby bird? What do you mean?"

"Do you know about "imprinting"? They say when baby birds"re born, they look at whatever thing they see that moves first, no matter what it is, and adore them as a parent..... well, it"s a superst.i.tion."

"Are you saying that your sister is like that to me?"

"Yeah. Now you"re Tomo"s one and only guiding post. You"re the one and only, irreplaceable. That makes me extremely displeased."

"This is not any pleasant to me, either."

"You"ve gained the right. The right to demand obedience from Tomo like a parent any way you wish. You"ve gained free ownership over Kunagisa Tomo."

"There are parents in this world who are killed by their children, Nao-san."

"Don"t you wanna die? Don"t you wanna die, and apologize? Don"t you wanna beg for forgiveness?"

".........."

"Then pray. Go ahead and pray. Cry, and beg for forgiveness, and pray."

".........."

"Like I once did toward Kunagisa Nao, plead to G.o.d or even Satan."

".........."

"If I"m to be born again, please make me a cat or a dog or something."

".........."

"A pig, a cow, even a monkey"d work. I wouldn"t even mind being a bug. Just make it so I don"t run into Kunagisa Tomo....."

I had lost consciousness for probably just a moment -- truthfully an instant, just the instant that I had blinked. I was lying down on the rooftop of the seventh ward, on that unfinished concrete. Or truthfully, I was sprawled out there. I had probably failed at landing. My legs hurt a bit. However this was no doubt due to the impact of landing. In that case, the moment that I landed, because of the sense of security -- or perhaps from despondency, I momentarily lost consciousness. I had subconsciously braced myself, and did not seem to be hurt in any hurtful way. Considering that I had been beaten up by Suzunashi-san and Kokoromi-sensei this morning, this was by comparison just a meaningless, dull pain.

"Well then -- I must have done something bad in a previous life....."

I survived.

I was able to jump.

I chewed on that as I slowly picked myself up off the ground. Or tried to.

"-- I am currently exasperated beyond all belief."

Sounded the voice from right next to me, and so my attempt to raise myself was halted. There was Ishimaru Kouta-san standing still as she let the rooftop wind play with her denim coat, glaring down at me.

"..... huh? Hmm, but....."

I turned my neck and gazed at the direction I had jumped from, in other words, in the direction of the rooftop of the sixth ward. Kouta-san was not there. In other words, unless this situation was not a dream that I was seeing in the moments before failing my jump, it meant that Kouta-san had also succeeded in jumping to this side. While the former did not seem particularly out of the realm of possibility (probably higher than the chances of a coin flip showing heads), this pain running along my body was unmistakably real. However, the phenomenon of phantom pain does exist in this world. I did not know for sure, so I decided to ask Kouta-san.

"I am living, correct?"

"It just means you aren"t dead," Kouta-san answered coldly. "Because things that hurry to their deaths for no reason cannot be called living."

"I see..."

This time, I was able to finish getting myself up, and stood. Muscles, bones, ligaments, all green. I imitated a few stretches while I said to Kouta-san, "Did you jump across too?" Kouta-san did not answer. She just sighed.

"It may have been a failure on my part to choose you as a partner," Kouta-san said. "I did not think I would have to tag along with such recklessness. It is not consummate. Not consummate at all."

"However, now we have proven that you can jump from the sixth ward to the seventh ward -- in other words, that it is possible to move across. All is well, Kouta-san. This means there does exist a route to the seventh ward, and that the sealed room state has been lifted--"

In other words, there is no longer any reason to absolve the researchers from suspicion. I had proven with my body that there was no need to bother with the one and only entrance, because one could infiltrate the seventh ward by jumping across the rooftops. There was no need to leave records of leaving your own research ward, much less records of entering the seventh ward.

Of course, all this proved was that anyone could be the suspect, and so it still left the suspect at large; however, at the very least, there was no longer any reason to suspect Kunagisa Tomo alone -- or should I say no longer any just cause for this situation.

"There"s no talking carefulness with you and your way of thinking, is there," however, Kouta-san"s voice remained cold. It seemed she was extremely irritated at my going off on my own. "And all is well, on top of that? You make me laugh. I can"t stop laughing, really. Perhaps you should get Kokoromi-sensei to dissect your brain once? It"ll surely boast a different set of construction from other people."

"That is quite harsh of you... well, I will apologize over going on ahead on my own, but because of it, we were able to prove that what was supposedly impossible is actually possible, so is it not all good?"

"Does your normalcy not include allowing others to finish? When, where, and how did I ever say jumping from the sixth ward to the seventh ward is impossible?"

"..........?"

Kouta-san"s behavior finally made me feel doubtful -- or rather, finally began to feel something like uneasiness. Indeed. To begin with, when it came to absurdity, this Ishimaru Kouta-san was doing something far more absurd. Infiltrating this research facility by coming right through the front door using the Zerozaki surname, being acquainted with the treasonous Neo-san, and despite having a reason for it, helping myself and Kunagisa and Suzunashi-san. The risks she faced were incredibly high. To insinuate that Kouta-san to think this -- despite the possibility of death, this -- level of danger was any obstruction was insulting enough for her to be miffed, is it not?

Then..... there is something else.

I thought that much, -- I finally thought that much, and realized. I realized it. Right. A five-meter jump should be impossible for myself, given my lack of any training. Then why did I attempt it after calculating the odds? The reason. The reason that I had recognized, subconsciously.

I looked back at the sixth ward once more.

And then.

"..... ah, c.r.a.p....."

I see.

So that is why.

So that was why, Kouta-san.

I understood. I understood, completely. And then I felt exasperated. At my own personal idiocy, and at the reason this route is impossible, as stated by Kouta-san.

"It is not a hobby nor principle nor style of mine to bother people about what they"ve already done," Kouta-san said coldly, behind me, "But please understand that we are now in an extremely tough situation, dear friend. If you are to go off on your own again in such manner, I will have to reevaluate our alliance."

"..... indeed....."

I nodded, and confirmed that truth again. I confirmed again because it could have been my misunderstanding. And then I confirmed that it was not.

The sixth ward was built slightly taller than this seventh ward. Or rather, the seventh ward was slightly shorter than every other research ward. From the sixth ward it was difficult to tell, but from this side -- from the shorter side, it was clear that the roof of the sixth ward was slightly -- even so it was still some tens of centimeters -- closer to heaven. Then, what would that entail?

In other words, it means jumping from that side to this side becomes easier. Even if it were five meters in a straight line, because of gravity and jumping angle, I would get some tens of centimeters worth of a.s.sistance. That was why I succeeded in jumping. While it sounds nice that my cornered mind unleashed the full power of my body, this sort of realistic explanation felt more sensible.

Now, as for the jumping from there to here being easier this time. As opposed to the other research wards, what was meant by this seventh ward having a different height.

"..... we cannot go back."

I mumbled.

I did not want to mumble, but I did.

"Correct, dear friend," Kouta-san dealt a finishing blow. "That is the reason for this route being impossible. In other words, this seventh ward, which was probably built after the fact, is the only one in this facility that has a different height. The sixth ward is taller. Yes, if you were to return to the sixth ward, I would guess you would need to jump about seven meters?"

".........."

"If you still want to try that, please, don"t mind me."

"I will pa.s.s....." I took a step back, and then I could not help but fall down on my b.u.t.t. "..... c.r.a.p..... I was an idiot, Kouta-san."

"It is consummate if you understand. Most things can be forgiven as long as they are apologized for," Kouta-san shrugged her shoulders, and then finally removed the ice from her voice as she spoke in a brighter tone. "And I recognize that my withholding information was one such cause for this turn of events."

That was true, too. If she had not explained it as "you"ll understand if you see" and simply stated "the seventh ward has a different height, so you can go to but not back from the seventh ward," this would have never happened. However, at the same time, this was still my fault for not understanding despite seeing. The only excuse I could offer was that blood had rushed to my head.

"In the end, the sealed room remains a sealed room....." I mumbled with despair. "..... however, maybe, one of the researchers has tremendous physical attributes?"

"Even if there were, it is not consummate, dear friend. There is, after all, one more reason that I stated this route was impossible. Do you not remember?" Kouta-san spoke. "Last night, when we met -- it had begun raining?"

"Rain.....?"

I looked at the flooring on the rooftop. It was mostly dried, but indeed, there were still puddles that had been formed by rain.

Right. Rain. It was raining last night.

"..... ah," why did I just realize that. "Ahh....."

"With Miyoshi-san"s estimation of time of death being around 1 in the morning..... well, let us say they were able to get from the sixth ward to the seventh ward. However, didn"t Miyoshi-san also mention? The arms that were cut off were for some reasonseveral hours later. In other words, the return trip.... after killing Utsurigi-san and then finishing the beautification of the scene, when they began returning to their research ward, would it not have been under rain?"

If that were the case, then what would happen. Simple. There is no way someone could perform the same feat in rain as without. And of course, they would not be able to beat their record.

I was careless. Too careless. If I had been even been able to remember that it had rained last night, I would not have been surprised by this route being deemed impossible. In the end, I am just a helplessly foolish idiot. I rushed, rushed, rushed, and then rushed myself into an irreparable act. Perhaps this stupidity could not be cured till death.

"What shall we do....."

Rather than solving the sealed room, it had gotten even more sealed, and furthermore, we had become trapped within our own sort of sealed room. Of course, we did not have a card nor a registered ID nor knew the keycode nor had set up the vocal and retina check, and neither Kouta-san nor I had administration privileges like Kunagisa, so it would be impossible for us to break out through the front. At the same time, just because it was shorter than other research wards, I was not suicidal enough to ponder jumping off the rooftop. I did not know how it would go for Kouta-san, but at the very least she did not seem to have any wings. And this building had no windows. We were, in short, trapped.

"Two hours and forty-five minutes remain. We do not have much time to think," Kouta-san eventually said. "In any case, how about going into action? We can think about later some other time, so how about taking our infiltration into the seventh ward as a blessing -- unfortunately it is debatable whether it should be called that rather than a curse -- and check the crime scene, dear friend?"

"..... you are optimistic."

"Because it"s not my problem."

Kouta-san said, and then she began opening the manhole next to the water tanks. Either due to rust or due to being set tightly to begin with, it did not open easily. I helped, and in the end, we were able to open the steel lid.

"There is no need to be so crestfallen, dear friend. There may be some strong rope in the seventh ward. There is nothing to say that there isn"t rope strong enough to carry the weight of a person. In that case, we would be able to escape."

"Do you think there is?"

"Not at all," Kouta-san"s placating was half-hearted. "Now, let"s go, dear friend."

Regardless, that was all I could do. We climbed down the steel ladder and infiltrated the seventh ward.3

Thirty minutes later.

Kouta-san and I stood in the tremendously odorous Utsurigi Gaisuke murder scene without sharing a single word as if we were simply, simply, obligated to be here for some purpose.

Kouta-san leaned her tall physique against the wall next to the entrance, arms folded, and closed her eyes as if she were thinking. If one were to see Kouta-san now, they may think her to be some sort of philosopher. Such was how calm, how transcendental she looked. By contrast, like a cat that had just been shaved, I was pacing frenetically around this room, this completely barren, this reddish-black, this c.r.a.ppily painted room. As if I were imprisoned by the uneasiness of possibly forgetting how to walk.

s.h.i.t. I did not think having a time limit for a problem would be this much of a pain. There were about two hours and fifteen minutes remaining. However, that leaned toward a best-case scenario, one in which we were given the most time possible.

This fourth floor of the seventh ward, after Utsurigi"s corpse had already been carried off, this private room that belonged to Utsurigi Gaisuke, as if the dimension itself had been warped, only left an empty image. When I came here yesterday, when I came here this morning. In total, I had come here three times, and each time my impression of the room changed. I certainly did not like that man named Utsurigi, and I do not think I ever would have liked him, but I feel like the time when I came into this room for the first time and argued with Utsurigi was the least objectionable. And this third time was the worst feeling.

"-- have you not learnt anything?" Kouta-san opened her eyes, and her mouth, for the first time in twenty-five minutes. "The remaining time is becoming rather not consummate, dear friend."

"I cannot see anything," I answered, and then I opened my mouth for the first time in twenty-five minutes. "Leaving the trick aside, I cannot see anything about the plot..... I truly, literally do not understand."

"Are you complaining?"

"I am being honest. I am concentrating this hard and thinking, and it seems something that even someone other than myself could think of. Yet nothing comes to mind. I cannot imagine at all of what the suspect thought of coming to this end."

"Imagine what the suspect thought..... or perhaps they were not."

"..... yes. Perhaps."

Then it leaves me completely helpless. As a third-party and observer, even if I were to be able to track another person"s thoughts, I cannot track their ideologies. Cannot.

"Ritualistic..... or rather, it seems religious. Although I feel apologetic relating this to religions, the way Utsurigi was killed seems somewhat religious. In other words, this is less mysterious and more eerie. If it were mysterious, we must find elucidation, but if it is eerie, there is nothing that can be done. That was gruesome to that level."

"Was it?" Kouta-san said in a surprised tone. "I have seen to this point much more gruesome corpses. I have also seen much more gruesome life forms. I do not wish to try to order them, but if I were pressed, I would say the decapitated head I saw two years ago was the most extreme."

"A hanging corpse?" I was not really getting anywhere in thought, so I joined Kouta-san"s topic. "I have seen those, too."

"No, a living decapitated head. A person living with just their head."

"That is impossible? A person would die with just their head."

"There is no problem as long as one performs proper medical procedures. After all, the heart is but a pump. The lungs are but oxygen supply tanks. Other internal organs can be simplified as nutrition creation factories. As long as you provide the brain with blood and oxygen and nutrition, one can live with just a head. Of course, there are no internal organs nor throat, so they cannot talk, but they can still communicate."

"..... what is the purpose of that?"

"There is no purpose. Just interest. Are you not curious, yourself? Whether a person can live with just a head. I can understand that ideology, personally. Compared to something like that--" Kouta-san glanced at the opposite wall. The remains of Utsurigi"s crucifixion remained. "-- Mr. Utsurigi Gaisuke"s means of death does not seem like an illogical ideology at all. There is just logical ideology."

Kouta-san pushed herself lightly off the wall, and opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I am being kind and giving you s.p.a.ce. Is it not easier to think when you are alone?"

"Well, true..... still, where are you going, Kouta-san?"

"Have you forgotten about my real profession?" Kouta-san grinned audaciously. "I was able to enter the impenetrable seventh ward, after all, so I shall go scavenge. Things may have already been sorted, but..... well, I"ll be back soon enough."

And then Kouta-san left the room.

"Real profession..... I am but a university student, though....." I mumbled, and then I moved to where Kouta-san had previously been standing, and leaned against the wall as she did. "..... why did things turn out like this..... what do things turn out like this, always always always."

I complained to no one.

"..... I am through with this. Really. I am through with this. I really am. I really am. I have had enough."

Son of a b.i.t.c.h. Son of a b.i.t.c.h son of a b.i.t.c.h son of a b.i.t.c.h. Sons of b.i.t.c.hes more sc.u.m than people. Want me to just die here? Want me to just mix my blood into Utsurigi"s blood? Take out the knife from my left breast-pocket and stab it into my abdomen and cut vertically. And then pull out my internal organs and scatter them. And then chew on my own liver to liven things up and then stab blades into these eyes that are not being of any use to anyone. Once they reach the brain my head will hopefully finally begin functioning normally. And then cut straight down the skull just like that past the throat and slice the collarbone and sunder the ribs and then reach the aorta, and if my strength and consciousness last, to the heart. I would certainly put forth a grand display of spurting blood. The problem is whether this knife has that much durability. However, even if it did not, I would still die. And then if I were to be born again this time I would study and study and study and become a researcher. I would become a researcher and then construct a research facility deep in the mountains but I would absolutely not break or go mad, and for the world and for people, yet not for praise, I would research day and night. For people in trouble and for people un-blessed I would use my strengths unheralded. I would not accept the cheap stereotype that just because I am an academic I am alright being insane, and I would feel empathy for others and would be a person who thinks of others, first.

"..... wow, no..... what am I thinking."

To begin with, once you go into rebirth, you signal the end of humanity. I must be extremely tired. I slid down to the floor, as if rubbing my back against the wall. A tremendously heavy, falling feeling. I was imprisoned in the sense that I had completely sank down and yet was still falling. I cradled my head into my hands and sighed.

"Have I broken....."

What pa.s.sed through my mind was what Kunagisa said. That when I truly thought that I was no longer capable, then I could call Nao-san. Or perhaps the red contractor Mankind"s Strongest. In the case that I were to rely on her. I would cease having to experience such a struggle. I could borrow a phone from Neo-san..... or perhaps I could use the network to reach out which, despite the slight need for effort, should not be too difficult. The contradictory situation in that despite being able to use such a backdoor I cannot. Am I truly generous enough to approve of such a contradiction... am I truly just a person enough?

Have I not done enough?

"..... of course I have not."

There is never a point to effort unless it is given to the end.

Not that this was something that could be called effort.

"How, ugly....."

There is a difference between value and rarity. Having come dangerously close to blaming the world on my own powerlessness -- no, having come close to revealing that I had already been blaming the world, I mumbled without hiding the hatefulness toward myself for trying to escape from something that way, and stood up.

As I thought that I had wasted time for no reason, I looked at the opposite wall.

You just watch, 『DEAD BLUE』!!

"Shut up and watch..... could it be that this is the one with the message?"

There remained the possibility that the suspect was providing a clue on his own accord. I ignored various theories and tried changing the order of the twenty-five letters on the wall, tried dissecting each letter and recreating letters, tried writing it over in a different language, and tried other such things, but in the end, none of them resulted in anything conclusive. I even forcibly created a language for it, but it felt like I was just trying to will something to happen. These words may have to just be taken literally.

While I did that, the time remaining ticked down to two hours.

"Really, what shall I do, Kunagisa-kun."

As I did a long time ago, as I did before I realized that she were a girl, I called out to Kunagisa. Of course, the Kunagisa Tomo of six years no longer existed, and even the present Kunagisa Tomo existed in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the fourth ward. Thus, there was obviously no answer.

But there was something else instead of an answer. Suddenly, from somewhere -- the hallway -- an ear-piercing siren noise began echoing everywhere. No, this was not something as normal as a noise. This was like a shockwave. It applied air pressure sufficient to blast apart my ear drums. It was so unpleasant that if one had the talent of purity of tone they still would not be able to identify the note, and it slammed through the door.

"What! What did I do! Really!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs as I went through the door. There was no particular reason to be so loud, but the alarm had such volume that without shouting like this it would not even count as speaking to myself. When I entered the hallway the noise became even louder. I felt like my head was being hammered with cymbals.

"----------!"

I could no longer hear my own voice, even when shouting. Such a small tremor was nothing in the face of the large tidal wave of sound. There must be a speaker somewhere, I thought, as I covered both of my ears, and frantically chased the ceiling with my eyes. Unless I can find and destroy the speaker, my brain would go nuts.

However, before I could even do just that, the next moment, the noise suddenly stopped. I slowly let go of my ears. No, I reminded myself I could not let up my guard yet. There exists the term "eye of the hurricane." It would be a folly to think that it was over after going silent once. There could still be a second wave. No, wait, this is indoors. There should not be a hurricane. No, I am confused. I do not understand. Am I stupid?

"Are you feeling consummate?" the door to the stairs opened and Kouta-san arrived from a lower floor. "h.e.l.lo, long time no see."

"No, long time no see, it has not yet been fifteen minutes."

"Has it not? Well that is consummate."

Kouta-san beamed as she pulled the brim of her hat back down. As if she were trying to escape my gaze. Yes. Her behavior was clearly and obviously suspicious.

"Kouta-san..... what did you do?"

"I acquired such a thing," she said as she pulled an four MO discs [1] from her pocket -- I think -- and fanned them out. "They are not directly related to my objective, however, Utsurigi Gaisuke"s research data is still quite a find."

"And you found the alarm system, too....." I could tell my speech was still a bit slurred. "I know I am not one to talk, but..... Kouta-san, do you think before you act?"

"How rude, of course I do. I am thinking even as we stand here now."

That was synonymous with not thinking.

"We are best partners....." I mumbled a joke that was not a joke. "What shall we do? That sound probably reached the Professor in the first ward. This building is very heavily secured so the sound probably did not reach him, but it must have reached him through the security system."

"It would be thankful if he thought it were just a false alarm, but life does not go as smoothly," Kouta-san seemed to say indifferently, as if it were somebody else"s business, yet it was so clearly hers this time. "How bothersome."

Indeed, it is bothersome.

While I may pull Kouta-san back, it was unexpected that Kouta-san would pull me back instead. This indeed was truly and without a doubt nonsense.

"..... let us run to the rooftop. We may not be found there."

"Indeed. At the very least, it does sound better than being in the building," Kouta-san quickly answered, and then we climbed the stairs, climbed the ladder, opened the steel lid, and went out onto the rooftop. Kouta-san stretched her back once, and then walked to toward the west and crawled to the edge. I did not know what she intended, but I followed suit anyways. From the cedar trees -- or was it oak? I do not really know -- but in any case we could see two silhouettes walking in a jog (given the contradictory overlap of my expression you can tell how dis...o...b..bulated I still am). I see, we were p.r.o.ne so that they could not see us even if we could see them. I had begun to think Kouta-san was trying to emulate Samuel Beckett[2]. Not that I actually thought that.

"---..... umm," I squinted my eyes and looked at the two silhouettes. "..... s.h.i.to-kun....., ..... Misachi-san...... I think?"

"It seems so," Kouta-san remained in the crawling position as she backed up, and then once she reached a point where she would not be seen from the ground, she slapped the ground with both hands and stood up. "They received orders from the Professor to take a look... would be how it seems."

They turned the corner, and so I could no longer see the two. That corner led to the entrance of the seventh ward, to that steel door. I confirmed that, and then backed up the same way Kouta-san did. However, come to think of it, because we could no longer see them anyways, there was no purpose to this action.

"It is not consummate, but it is still slightly fortunate," Kouta-san said. "I worried about a full squad of tough guards coming in..... but two youngsters are no trouble at all. It seems the Professor decided it was a false alarm."

"That would be great if true..... however, we still must not be seen."

"Then come this way," Kouta-san pulled my hand and dragged me along. I wondered where she was leading us, but it was to the shade of the water supply tank. She led me to a small, open s.p.a.ce that existed after stepping over several water pipes. "We will not be seen here."

"Well, perhaps we would not be seen with a simple glance..... but."

I could not call it a particularly large s.p.a.ce. No matter how you look at it, there was only enough s.p.a.ce for one human being. I thought it impossible that the tall Kouta-san and my not especially small adult male self could hide in that s.p.a.ce together.

"That is not at all the case."

Kouta-san laughed mischievously -- at that, I was able to imagine what was going to happen -- and she pulled me to her and then shoved me in, and then, from a third-party perspective it might look like she were hugging me, or rather that was all it could look like, as she pressed herself against me while facing me, wrapped her long arms around my back, and then placed her chin over my right shoulder. Naturally, I could feel her breathing, hear her heartbeat, and feel her warmth. Of course, my breathing, my heartbeat, my warmth also could be heard and felt by her.

"Now this s.p.a.ce is sufficient for the both of us."

"-- this can end up problematic, you know." My arms were locked in place by Kouta-san and so I could not resist. No, that was not the problem. "A very big problem."

"Do you dislike problems?"

"I generally also hate solutions....."

"You"re quite naive," Kouta-san giggled. It was a very lewd way of laughing. "By the way, if we may resume conversing, while I was looking for that MO disc, I tried looking for something like a rope."

"Was there anything?" I restrained my heartbeat as I asked. Although, hearts are automatic muscles, so they are not something that can be suppressed. "Rope....."

"There was not. There were threads, like computer cables, but even if we were to tie them together it would be impossible to reach the sixth ward..... and of course if even cables were gone things would be obvious."

"Is that so....."

To begin with, it may have been stranger to hope that a research facility like this would keep rope strong enough to hold the weight of a person around. If there is no rope, then something like a rope..... or so I tried to think, but the scent of Kouta-san"s long hair kept obstructing my train of thought. Or perhaps my thoughts were the ones derailing my thinking. Calm down. Calm down. Think of something else.

"..... hair..... Kouta-san, how about hair?"

"Yes? What about hair?" Kouta-san asked as she hugged me even tighter. Because she was taller than me, being like this made me feel like I was being treated like a child. Suzunashi-san treats me like a child too but, how should I put it, Kouta-san seemed to be taking the exact opposite approach for treating me like a child. "Do you mean my hair?"

"No, I am not..... but would hair be a subst.i.tute for rope?"

I had heard that hair is rather firm. Of course, each strand is a mere thread, but some thousand, some tens of thousand strands would turn them into a strong rope. There are cases in history of people having been strangled by hair, so if you were to ask whether it were possible or impossible--

"Ahh, you mean Koutari-san, dear friend," Kouta-san spoke as if she were whispering into my ear. It gave me gooseb.u.mps. "Indeed, for him to have become bald just from a sentence from you is unnatural--"

Exactly. No matter what you may think, my words are not that enticing. Then in that case, there must have been a different reason to cut that long hair -- to shave that long hair. I thought a little about that expressionless, apathetic researcher.

"For example -- if Koutari-san were to infiltrate the seventh ward using the route we just took. And then he murdered Utsurigi. He crucified Utsurigi to the wall, and then when he was leaving, realized it would be impossible to jump down. Plus, it was raining, so it was even more impossible. However, he must not remain here. Then he would need something like a rope--"

"And so he used his own hair?" Kouta-san asked. "Somewhat consummate, but there is a problem."

"What do you mean by a problem?" Would that be a bigger problem than your right hand that is rubbing my thighs? "What do you mean, Kouta-san?"

"First, every single one of the rooftops in this facility lacks a fence or railing. In other words, even if you were to throw a rope, there would be nothing to tie it to. You would need some sort of hook to latch onto the edges. Second, there is still too much distance."

"Distance -- do you mean about five meters? Since we are using rope, you would not have to worry about angle."

"Even if Koutari-san"s hair were a meter long, you know. While I would agree having seen him from a distance that he had a good amount of hair, even if you were to use it all, if you were to even fold it five times over, you would still not create rope strong enough to hold a person. Even if you were to weave the most efficient of rope, four meters would be the best you could do."

Five times over -- four meters. Right, in order to use the hair you would need to twist it to strengthen it, and you would need to deal with knotting it, too. Indeed, in that case it would hardly reach five meters. As Kouta-san said, four meters would be the upper limit. But that would not be enough, and even if you were to make one or two ridiculous a.s.sumptions -- like if his hair were to suddenly grow -- and the hair were able to reach across the chasm, the first problem still existed, in that there were no hook, and that he would not be able to latch the hair onto the sixth ward. I felt like I had finally come to a psychological solution -- and while having my chast.i.ty threatened like this, too! -- but it seemed Koutari-san had indeed simply cut his hair. What a misleading thing to do! If this were a mystery novel, I would say it were being unfair.

"Is it really not possible to jump that..... sort of distance."

"It would be possible for someone world cla.s.s. However it is unthinkable for an ordinary human being."

"Human being," I latched onto that phrase. "..... then, would it be possible for something not human?"

"Huh?" Kouta-san answered with an astonished tone. "What do you mean? Are you trying to say that the suspect is a monster or something? Huh..... I don"t care, but you know, I wonder what the others would think? You might want to care for who you try to persuade with that."

"There is no need to jump to monsters. This world is not comprised only of human beings and monsters. There are animals..... like dogs," I continued without stopping my line of thought. Otherwise I was only going to lose more concentration. "Would you say it is possible for a large dog to jump seven meters?"

"Are you referring to the three dogs that Kasugai-san kee... no, owns?"

"Well, yes. An animal murder theory," I nodded. By nodding, my jaw dug itself deeper into Kouta-san"s body. Augh. "..... even otherwise, someone mentioned that there are boars in this mountain..... and while it may be impossible for boars to make the jump, then perhaps a bird....."

"Are you serious? I admire your capability of saying one silly theory after another," Kouta-san did not sound as if she were admiring at all. "So, how does a dog kill Utsurigi-san? Are you saying the dog used a knife to slice Utsurigi-san up? It is a bizarre and incredulous theory, and you do not feel it any odd?"

"Depending on training..... no, it is impossible," it did not seem an argument I could win either way, so I decided to retreat. "..... s.h.i.t. So the suspect remains undecided....."

"Undecided? Don"t you mean uncertain?"

"We shall have to call someone the suspect in the end anyways, so undecided is fine..... anyways, is it alright now? s.h.i.to-kun and Misachi-san probably went back already."

I squirmed and tried to escape from Kouta-san, but Kouta-san would not let me go, replying, "It is too early to feel safe." She says it is too early, but it has already been ten, fifteen minutes since s.h.i.to-kun came into the seventh ward -- which also meant that I was being embraced by Kouta-san for ten, fifteen minutes -- so I felt that enough time had pa.s.sed for them to consider this a false alarm.

"Kouta-sa--" "Shh."

My complaint was forcibly suppressed by Kouta-san. Or more specifically, the back of my head was grabbed and my face was pushed into Kouta-san"s shoulder, and so I was forced into silence. I wondered what was going on and turned my head, and noticed that the lid to the rooftop on the other side of the water tanks was slowly turning. Of course, that inorganic steel lid with no machinations would never begin moving on its own--

"s.h.i.t! What is this lid! It"s f.u.c.king heavy! d.a.m.nit! What am I, a dumbell-lifting Olympian?"

s.h.i.to-kun"s voice. s.h.i.to-kun"s voice could be heard from the other side of the entrance. It seemed he was having trouble pushing up the lid.

"-- I am surprised that they would even check the rooftop," I sighed with despair. "Wary, I suppose I

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