Despite having only just begun her hunt for the traitor, Touka-chan wasted almost no time in recounting everything to Shouta-kun and pulling him in as a comrade. Thanks to that, the introduction scenario that I had planned to draw Shouta-kun into the traitor event went up in smoke.
I had originally wondered why Touka-chan didn’t suspect Shouta-kun, but according to the secret conversation that I eavesdropped on between the two of them, she had determined that something as thoughtful as the “red herring” nonsense was entirely beyond him. She thinks you’re more ignorant than even Baba, Shouta-kun. Though the fact that she wasn’t entirely wrong only made things that much sadder. Shouta-kun was pretty much a genius when it came to fighting, but in regards to schemes and studying, he was extremely average. He did not know much random trivia, and he could almost never manage to utilize the little that he did know. As such, Touka-chan’s decision to eliminate him from the pool of suspects right off the bat was, generally speaking, completely the right call.
If I’d had it my way, then I would have liked for her to consider the possibility that he was being instigated into doing it against his will. However, this outcome was still better than her overthinking things and getting paranoid, unable to believe anyone. The fact that she had earned the experience of thinking for herself and making a conscious decision to trust someone was already enough to get a pass in my book.
After school, before heading over to Ama-no-Iwato, the two of them met up on the roof of the school building. According to the secret conversation that I eavesdropped on, they agreed on the list of suspects being “either Shiori Kaburagi, Master, Boss, or Lonalia Linalia Baba-Nyan” (they had dismissed Ig for obvious reasons), and were planning on installing a small surveillance camera inside the store as their first move.
Their opponent was an adult. They wouldn’t be able to win in a verbal fight, and if the culprit was alerted to the fact that they were digging around, he or she might run away or go on a rampage, either of which could possibly develop into something beyond what they could handle. That said, eyewitness testimony alone would be too weak to corner the culprit. Therefore, the best option was to get the traitor, or whoever it was that was smuggling out PSI drives, on camera.
When I heard Shouta-kun sadly murmur, “How great would it be if it really was just a robber,” I felt my chest tighten. It was true that no matter who it turned out to be, there would still be lingering ill will. It sure is painful to suspect a close comrade, isn’t it.
We had security cameras in our equipment storage, but the two of them feared that borrowing from there would tip off the culprit. Therefore, they both headed home first to grab their wallets, then pooled their money together to buy a small 19,800 yen (about $180 US) surveillance camera from a home electronics wholesale store. Only then did they make their way to Ama-no-Iwato, strolling in with nonchalant faces. At the time, only Kaburagi-san, Ig, and I were present. Baba was off at Kaneyama Tech.
Normally, as soon as she laid eyes on Kaburagi-san, Touka-chan would dash over with her figurative tail wagging furiously and burst into girls’ talk with her. However, she seemed less engaged and noticeably more distracted than usual. As for Shouta-kun, he was quite blatantly shooting glances between his school bag—where the surveillance camera was—and the entrance to the secret base.
Ohhh, they want to set it up when we’re gone. Well then, let’s read the atmosphere and come up with a random excuse to...... wait, no, I’m sure the two of them have thought something up to make Kaburagi-san and me leave the store. All right then, go on and show us what you’ve got. I was enjoying the situation so much that I had to struggle to keep a grin off my face.
Just as I was passing cherries—Ig’s latest favorite—to her position on top of my head, the entrance to Ama-no-Iwato, which was supposed to have a CLOSED sign hanging on it, suddenly opened. Two men stepped in.
One of them was a man with a large, solid build who had his salt-and-pepper hair swept back. His face bore strong resemblance to that of a bear that had just crawled out of its cave in a foul mood. The grey suit that he was wearing was so worn out that I couldn’t help but suspect that it might have seen even more years than myself.
The other man was, in sharp contrast, diminutive and skinny, and had disheveled black hair. His bucktooth and unshaven stubble gave off a very strong impression of a mouse.
I had no idea who the bear was, but the mouse rang a bell in my head. He was supposedly one of the detectives stationed at Adachi City. Weren’t the police distracted by the decoys or otherwise suppressed? Why are these two here? They don’t look at all like they’re here as customers.
The two of them casually panned the store, but could not help themselves from staring several times.
There was Ig, a common marmoset clinging to the back of my head and peeking out warily with only half her face.
There was Kaburagi-san, wearing an outfit that looked like it had been accidentally taken out of a portrait of a lady from the medieval era.
There was Touka-chan, who was gleefully occupied with the Sakyamuni statue that she had just received as a present from Kaburagi-san.
And last but certainly not least, there was Shouta-kun, the hoodlum with flashy red hair sitting at a table with his legs crossed rudely while puffing away on a chocolate cigarette.