In the past week, Iwanaga Asaichi had not met with Sakuna.
It was already mid-May, and it was starting to get humid. Because it was the period for midterm exams, Asaichi also didn’t contact Sakuna.
However, now that the test period was over, he wondered how the issue with Fuyutsuki had turned out, so he decided to ask Sakuna directly.
It was lunchtime. There was no cafeteria at Kamijo North High School, but there was a school store. Students who didn’t use it brought their own lunches. Unless you belonged to a club, it was typical to eat lunch with friends in the classroom.
However, Sakuna wasn’t in the class 2-3 room. Since she had said she wasn’t good at socializing, it was likely she preferred being alone. Asaichi found this hard to understand, but he knew where such people tended to eat lunch.
He didn’t want to believe the urban legend that people ate in the restroom, and he certainly couldn’t go into the girls’ restroom. The places where people usually ate alone would be either behind the school building or the stairs leading to the rooftop. The area behind the building tended to attract students with poor behavior, so he guessed it was the rooftop.
“I knew it, she’s here.”
Sakuna was eating an anpan (sweet bread) in the space in front of the door leading to the rooftop. The rooftop of Kamijo North High School wasn’t open to students. The door was locked, and hardly anyone came up. The sunlight wasn’t great, and it wasn’t breezy, making it a bit damp.
“I’m glad you’re not eating in the restroom.”
“I did think about trying the restroom, but it just didn’t seem sanitary…” Sakuna continued eating the anpan, nibbling at it like a small animal.
“How’s the situation with that account?”
Sakuna stopped eating, looking embarrassed, and avoided eye contact.
“Is it not going well?”
Asaichi sat a little away from Sakuna as he spoke. Sakuna opened her mouth with a groan.
“…They turned defiant.”
“Could you explain?”
“Well, up until a certain point, things were going well. At first, following the original plan, I contacted the bad-mouthing account as A Girl (who was supposedly toyed with by the counselor, Fuyutsuki Takushi). But I was ignored. I sent direct messages several times, but there was no response, so I tried the approach of ‘I’ll report information.’ That got a reaction.”
“So you became friends?”
“Yes. It was easy once I used a few techniques.”
“Techniques? Like what?”
“Well, the whole idea of ‘reporting’ itself is a technique. It piques curiosity. Then, I compliment the person, act like I’m a clueless fool, and let them feel good and relax. That way, people naturally become more talkative.”
Asaichi thought to himself that this really sounded like the methods of a con artist.
“Then, I figured out their interests. I found out she liked male idols, so I pretended to agree with her, and we even promised to go to a concert together.”
“Wow, you really became close.”
“And then, I indirectly found out which school she went to. I didn’t ask directly though.”
“Why didn’t you ask directly?”
“Because then I’d be the one suspected of leaking information. It’d be a problem if she thought I betrayed her, and it would hurt her.”
“You’re being kind in such a strange way, even though you’re deceiving her…”
“You said it yourself, right? There are kind lies among the lies. If I’m going to do it, I want to make it end gently.”
“So, you figured out the school, and then did you identify the individual?”
“She goes to Shizuumi Girls’ High School. It’s a private girls’ school. And the counselor’s middle school is Higashifunabashi Junior High, right?”
Since it was also the middle school Asaichi attended, he nodded.
“There are four people who graduated from Higashifunabashi Junior High and entered Shizuumi Girls’ High. Three of them have been involved with the counselor.”
“You investigated all that?”
“…That part was the hardest.”
She lowered her head, looking tired.
“What happened?”
“First, I listed the women from the bad-mouthing account’s list of past relationships and asked people who graduated from Higashifunabashi Junior High. That was really hard.”
Just remembering it seemed to drain her energy, and her voice lacked its usual vigor.
“Then, through a connection, I got introduced to a third-year senior and learned a lot. I also asked around with first-year students…”
“Koizuka-san, you’re socially awkward, but you sure have a lot of initiative.”
“Aah! You called me socially awkward! I’m not socially awkward! I just choose solitude on my own! I’m a lone warrior!”
She glared at him angrily, so he quickly apologized.
“So, after verifying the information, I found that there were four people from Higashifunabashi Junior High who entered Shizuumi Girls’ High. Three of them had been involved with the counselor.”
“That’s impressive… Shizuumi is an elite girls’ school, right?”
“Then I found out two of them had boyfriends.”
“You researched all that?”
“Well, it’s easy to figure out by tracking social media. Some people openly admit they have boyfriends, and there are also indirect clues.”
Asaichi was amazed by her determination.
“So, you narrowed it down to four suspects?”
“No, just one. The person who would harass someone like that would have a direct grudge. So, it had to be one of the three women who were victims of the counselor. But two of them are moving on to new relationships. There’s no reason to dig up the past now, right?”
“That makes sense. So, it must be the ex-girlfriend who doesn’t have a new boyfriend.”
“That’s what I thought, so I created a threatening account as planned and confronted her with ‘You’re the one who did it!’ But the reaction was bad. There were no responses even on the Friend A account. When I pressed her, she turned defiant…”
“Then what if you just named all four of their names in order?”
“They’d figure out I was just guessing. I only have one more chance. I can’t make a mistake next time, but I have no idea who it is…”
“Could it be a lie that the ex-girlfriends have new boyfriends?”
“That’s impossible. It’s highly likely their friends have seen it too. Also, I found all the boyfriends’ accounts. They were having very intimate conversations.”
“So, there’s only one person left.”
“Are you talking about the ex-girlfriend who wasn’t a victim of the counselor? That’s impossible. She has no motive. There’s no reason for her to hate the counselor.”
“She may not hate him, but she might have a motive.”
“What kind of motive could that be?”
She looked genuinely confused, probably because she didn’t understand such things. Was it because she was a romance novelist who had never experienced love?
“Because, don’t you think the person running the bad-mouthing account might like Fuyutsuki?”
Sakuna frowned deeply.
“If she liked him, she wouldn’t do something so horrible.”
“Well, most people wouldn’t, but… if rumors like that are going around, wouldn’t it make fewer people want to date Fuyutsuki? In fact, it’s already caused a breakup. Plus, the person running the account likes male idols, right? Fuyutsuki’s face is kind of like that type, don’t you think?”
Sakuna nodded, thinking it over.
“Even if she doesn’t want to date her idol, many fans probably wouldn’t tolerate the idea of their idol being with someone else. That might have triggered jealousy, and she acted in a way to stop bad things from happening.”
“But is it really possible for someone to do such a thing out of love?”
She still didn’t seem convinced. Asaichi shrugged, smiling slightly.
“When you fall in love, you learn all sorts of things about yourself, you know? Jealousy, possessiveness… Not everything is beautiful.”
“Is that how it is?”
“You’ve seen stories like that in romance manga, right?”
“I don’t read that kind of drama. What I want from romance manga is a soothing, idealized ‘prince’ to escape from reality.”
“…Now I really want to read one of your novels.”
“What do you mean by ‘now’?”
She glared at him, so he quickly changed the subject to cover it up.
“Anyway, I think the girl who isn’t dating Fuyutsuki is the most suspicious. You should bring up her name and ask about it.”
Sakuna, still eating her anpan, was deep in thought.
“…I’ll consider your opinion and recheck the information.”
