We found the director of Otherworld Productions—or at least, we found his corpse.
Putting that aside, the message left behind at the scene bothers me. We found him hanging from a rope from the window frame, with a note on his laptop lamenting his incompetence. But was he really the kind of person who would take his own life?
No. The reason behind his suicide doesn’t matter. The important thing is keeping the company going.
Our activities at OtherPro as Ochiba Kareki are an invaluable chance to earn a real income and end our dependence on Futarishizuka. I’ve been putting in a lot of work to cover the cost of my room and board. If the company is having problems, I want to alleviate their misgivings.
That’s why I keep talking.
“They could have worn a mask. Then at least their identity would be safe. Fortunately for them, a lot of people are attending the event today. I think it would have been easy for them to blend in with the crowd and escape.”
“Oh? Hmm? I—I see what you mean.”
Now I’m saying this and that, like I’m some big shot who knows everything. But then, after thinking through it all, I come to a realization.
“If nobody shows up on the cameras, then I think we can assume this was a suicide,” I said. “I still have doubts about the messages on his laptop, but I don’t believe that’s enough evidence to point to murder.”
When I hear my neighbor’s words, I’m sure of it.
“Oh…”
My neighbor and Futarishizuka must be the ones behind this.
When I make a noise, he turns to me and asks, “Is something wrong, Miss Kareki?”
“No, um, w-well, it’s just…”
If that’s the case, their most important piece of evidence will be the security camera footage. I bet it won’t show anything.
Judging by how quickly my neighbor suggests we check it, there’s a high chance they’ve gotten the youngest daughter’s help. If they got assistance from their workplace, a psychic might even have helped out—maybe one with the power to turn invisible.
“……”
My attention automatically turns to Robot Girl. She hasn’t said much of anything since we met up.
“…Elder Sister, why do you stare at me so?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
I can’t ask her. That would be careless. Mechanical life-forms can’t lie—she would give everything away in an instant. The way she starts fidgeting with her fingers as soon as I speak to her deeply concerns me.
“I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself and started saying nonsense. What happened to Mr. Kuga is really unfortunate, but I think he probably did commit suicide. We don’t have to check the cameras. I sincerely apologize for disrespecting the dead.”
In haste, I recant all of my theories.
The director committed suicide.
It was suicide.
Even if it was homicide, it was suicide.
It can’t be anything else.
“Hold on one moment, Miss Kareki,” says Kihouin. “I, for one, believe your deductions were right on the mark.”
Rolling agrees. “Um, yeeeah, me too! I believed the whole thing, you knooow!”
“I’m sorry,” I insist. “It was all childish nonsense in the end. I hope you can overlook it.”