As usual, Seiren Higano was in his carefully appointed, almost monotone office. His tall, slim figure was draped in an Armani suit, over which he wore his white doctor’s coat. He was drinking coffee from beans he had ground himself. Next to his coffee cup was a glass cube puzzle.
However, the person on the sofa facing him was not someone ordinarily found in this office. At the very least, it was clear she hadn’t come to see him as a patient.
She was a beautiful woman wearing a flashy, well-cut red dress. There was a beauty mark on her collarbone. But the eye was drawn to something else.
Ropes.
Her entire body was bound by ropes, robbing her of her freedom. Her arms were restrained behind the sofa, and she had a black blindfold over her eyes, so only her mouth could move freely.
But she was still beautiful. She’d been kidnapped and brutally restrained, yet there was nothing desperate or sad about the scene. Far from it—she exuded a raw sensuality. The ropes bound her long, white legs in a way that emphasized their elegant beauty. Her red dress, red nails, and red lipstick matched so perfectly, they raised the bondage to the level of art.
It was fascinating. Her lack of freedom almost seemed put on.
“The coffee smells nice,” she said.
May 26th, 4:50 P.M. Higano had followed this beautiful woman, subdued her with pharmaceuticals while she was on her way home from a café, and abducted her in his car. He had bound her in the car and brought her to his office.
An experience like that would’ve made most people panic. However, her crystal clear voice was perfectly composed.
Higano checked his Scandinavian wall clock and saw that it was now past 5:30. He smiled.
“I put some coffee out for you right in front of you. Even if you can’t taste it, you’re welcome to enjoy how it smells.”
“Well, that is thoughtful of you. But I’d really like to try such fine coffee myself. If you don’t mind, could I have a taste?”
“You’re asking me to let you out, aren’t you?”
“No, I don’t mind trying it like this. Hold the cup and let me taste it.”
When Higano understood what she was saying, he nodded and stood, smiling. He took the coffee cup sitting in front of her and brought it to her lips.
“Mmm.” Her delicate throat moved as she swallowed.
Higano had given her the coffee slowly, but the black liquid spilled out from the side of her mouth. The effect was, however, not unpleasant at all. It was even a little erotic.
Higano took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth.
Even under these circumstances, it was obvious she was trying to fluster the man in front of her. Higano fleetingly wondered whether she was trying to flirt her way out of trouble, but he quickly reconsidered.
This was probably just her nature.
She had the bad habit of always needing to charm people.
“It’s fantastic. This is a pour-over, right? I can tell that you’re particular about the entire process—the beans you use, how you roast them, how you grind them, how they bloom, and how to extract it.5
✦ ✦ ✦
So here’s my question: If you’re not a barista, then what exactly are you?”
“Seiren Higano,” he responded without hesitation, hiding nothing. “I’m a serial killer.”
The beautiful woman didn’t even flinch when he said “serial killer.”
“A serial killer…I never thought I’d come across someone in that line of work.”
“That’s what everyone says before I kill them.”
“Haha, I guess so. Well, Mr. Serial Killer, did someone hire you to kill me?”
“That would be a hit man. I’m a serial killer. Serial killers kill people because they want to.”
“I see, so that’s how you’re defining it. If that’s the case, why did you decide to kill me?”
“Basically, because your feet are incredibly beautiful.”
“Well, I’m truly honored. My feet are one of the few things I’m actually confident about.”
Her response was so elegant that if her hands and feet had been free, one would have imagined her curtsying with her skirt hems.
“Now, let me ask you a basic question,” Higano said. “What’s your name?”
The beautiful woman answered, “Reina Myoko.”
“You’re lying, right? You’re Asami Ino. You’re one of the Bumblebees that flits around with Reina.”
Though this one remark must have pierced to the center of everything she was, the woman was undaunted and said, “No, I’m Reina Myoko.”
Higano leaned back in his Aeron chair, looking with deep interest at the stoic woman.
“Fine, let’s change the subject. Let me explain the rules I use to kill people. I try to learn as much as I can about my target’s temperament. I wanted to find out more about you, but there were just too many things that I couldn’t understand without asking you directly.”
“Secrets only make a woman more alluring.”
“It pains me to diminish your allure, but I hope you’ll be willing to cooperate as we identify your secrets, Asami.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about Asami Ino. Her existence has been eliminated. But why don’t we talk about the woman we all share—Reina Myoko?”
“Hmm.”
Higano was interested in Asami because until she met Reina Myoko, her life had been completely ordinary and utterly unremarkable.
Asami Ino. She was the second of three daughters born to a bureaucrat father and an IT entrepreneur mother. Economically, their lifestyle lacked for nothing. She entered Junseiwa Academy after middle school and met Reina. Her grades were above average when she started, but by the time she graduated she was at the top of the class. She was accepted into Keiryoku University along with Reina and the other Bumblebees, but after a year, she mysteriously vanished along with the rest of them.
“Understanding Reina is basically understanding you. I don’t mind starting from there.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“But how well do you know Reina?”
“I know everything,” she said, confidently.
Higano crossed his arms. He knew that Reina and the Bumblebees had an unusual solidarity, but it could be beyond what he’d imagined.
“Well then,” he continued, “I’ll tell you what I know about Reina. From a young age, she was involved in some incredibly unfortunate incidents. At five she was kidnapped for ransom. At 14 she witnessed her classmate commit suicide. At 15 she lost her mother in an accident in Portugal. From age 16 onward she was involved with many different men, including her father. At 18, her father’s company went bankrupt, which put the family in dire economic straits and forced her to drop out of Keiryoku University. Then she spent three years estranged from her father. Not long after that, all news of you and the Bumblebees ceased entirely.”
“Now that’s impressive! Serial killers really do a lot of legwork!”
“I’m not sure your average serial killer would. It does help with the planning, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I moonlight as a detective, so that’s the only reason I can investigate this extensively.”
“A detective and serial killer! What a perfect combination. Now I get it. Without those abilities, you’d never’ve become Masquerade, killing over and over in Odaiba without being caught. Ahh. I’m so glad to find out that the only serial killer of these times is as intelligent as I’d imagined.”
“You’re too kind…I’m honored someone like you appreciates me.”
Higano and the beautiful woman flashed polished smiles at each other.
During their brief time together, Higano had discovered this woman was pleasant and on the same wavelength as he himself. It was exceedingly rare for him to find a woman he could talk to all day long.
But unfortunately he couldn’t spend all day with her because he would have to kill her in the next few minutes.
“All six of you—the five Bumblebees and Reina herself—were living as Reina Myoko. She lived a life that left the single impression of being beautiful. She suppressed as much of her individuality as she could and left not even a single photograph. Of the six, I was able to learn what four of you were doing through my investigation. The first got a job with a major corporation and was living as an ordinary office worker. The second was working as a secretary for a member of the House of Councilors in the Liberal Party of Japan.6 The third got a job with a casino management company and managed to earn over 100 million, although I don’t know exactly how. And the fourth—you—kept herself busy conspiring with Ken to involve his father Heiji in a scandal. And you were the one who showed up at Koichiro’s after three years, pretending to be his daughter. Out of all the Reina Myokos, you were remarkably capable and took care of some of the most critical points. You were so frighteningly talented you were actually able to replace Reina for even Koichiro. And while playing his daughter, you began a physical relationship with him and got pregnant.”
She probably hadn’t expected him to find out so much. The usually talkative woman kept her mouth closed.