My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 370

But it's too late—your fear of me confirms my hypothesis.

"I heard about it from Asuhain through Yui. She said that around 8:30 pm on the first night, she witnessed a confession scene at the hotel's infinity pool. Of course, Asuhain didn't say which two people it was, but I remember the three points I just mentioned, so I'm certain that one of them must be you, and that you were the one who confessed."

"……Why?"

"Judging from what Asuhain said, there are only three possible candidates for the other person besides you. And I don't think any of those three people have the motive to confess to you... I'm sorry, I have to say this."

"Wait a minute... I don't understand what you're saying."

Having seemingly regained his composure, Yoshino finally put on his usual expression and said:

"Confessing your love to someone in the pool? And then getting pushed into the water? How can you be sure that was me? You said it was because I did laundry, but that doesn't mean I was soaking wet. For example... it could also be that I got spilled a drink all over me."

"I just realized you're wearing the same outfit from the first day. I remember it."

"Because it dried—"

"I can smell chlorine."

"what?"

Yoshino hurriedly brought his nose close to the shoulder strap of the tank top, and then froze like a statue.

I said with a slight smile:

"You're so honest."

She blushed deeply with embarrassment. I never expected her to be so easily fooled.

"You're so annoying! What do you want from me?! Are you messing with me for fun?!"

"Of course not, I have no problem with your confession. I don't know if you have any lingering issues with me—but more than those things, this is what I really want to ask you."

I pointed to Yoshino's left wrist.

To be precise, it's a watch worn on the wrist.

"Did you leave the pool with Asuhain around 8 PM?"

"...Huh? Why are you asking that?"

"I can tell who you confessed to just by watching what time you leave."

"You could have just asked me directly."

"You probably don't want to tell me, right? Besides—if I do, that guy might be even happier."

Yoshino squinted and stared at my face.

I didn't know what Yoshino's expression meant. But she remained silent for the time being, as if trying to accept the reality before her.

"...Okay, I admit defeat."

After uttering those words with a sigh, Yoshino looked at me with a listless gaze.

"In return, you should listen to me. Just listen to me after you've finished your reasoning."

"Okay, I'm willing to pay this price."

"Don't turn other people's love stories into a price to pay."

Then Yoshino looked down at the watch on his left wrist.

"Uh—what did you just ask? What time did I leave the pool?"

"Yes. If possible, I would appreciate it if you could describe it in more detail."

I couldn't get this clue from Asuhain because she wasn't wearing a watch. She shouldn't have been able to check the time when she left the pool.

"Wait a minute... I remember seeing that... -- Oh, I know. It must have been around 8:50."

"8:50..."

It was exactly ten minutes before I walked into the pool.

—That's settled now.

"Thanks. Now the truth is out."

"Really? Well, I'll ask you anyway. Let me test you! Who is the person I'm confessing to?"

I said a name.

Yoshino immediately smiled and said in a resigned tone:

"How annoying."

Later, after some time, she told me the whole story.

She told her love story, which began and ended in obscurity.

Mizuto Irito ◆ The True Face of the Human Shadow

We toured the reconstruction area of ​​the main hall from the surrounding walkways, walked up to the observation deck through a narrow path to enjoy the view, and then crossed several city walls to return to the vicinity of Shureimon Gate.

Next to the Shurei Gate is a lawn plaza lined with shops and other facilities. Others are free to move around until all the students return here.

While other students were shopping for souvenirs or buying ice cream, only one guy sat motionless under a tree with branches that spread out like a roof, flipping through his sketchbook on his lap.

I walked over to her and sat down next to her without asking a question.

What are you drawing?

When I asked him that, that guy—

Higashito Isana...

—While drawing lightly, he said:

"I saw a lot of picturesque scenery here, so I thought I'd do a simple sketch and then just put a character on it to see what it looked like—"

"You remember the scenery just because you walked around and looked at it?"

"So I just sketched it out roughly. Anyway, I took a picture to save it."

Izana brought an old digital camera with her. She said that in addition to reminiscing about her school trip, she also wanted to take some photos as reference material, so she borrowed the camera from her father and brought it with her.

As I watched Isana skillfully recreate the scenery of Shuri Castle, I asked her:

"This school trip is now over. Did you have fun?"

"I'm so happy! It's so much more fun than the one I did in junior high! I never knew that going on a school trip with friends could be so much fun!"

"I almost cried listening to this... but okay, I generally agree with your point of view."

I'm also very happy.

Despite various unexpected situations, the result is the most important thing... that's it.

"Izana—it's okay if you keep drawing your sketches. I have something I want to talk to you about, is that alright?"

"What is it—?"

"It's nothing serious. Actually, during this school trip, Yui and I ran into a little trouble. I have an idea to help resolve it, and I wanted to tell you about it."

"Huh? What's the point of telling me this? I can't offer any advice anyway."

"It's enough that you're willing to listen; it will also help me organize my thoughts."

I looked up at the blue sky over Okinawa from above the layers of treetops and began to narrate as if I were reminiscing.

"It happened at nine o'clock on the first night. Actually, I was meeting with Yui somewhere at that time."

"Yes, yes, yes."

"That hotel had a swimming pool, remember? We thought no students would come there, so we agreed to meet there at nine o'clock in the evening. We chatted there for a while—suddenly, we heard a rustling sound behind us. When we turned around, we saw a figure hurriedly running away from behind the bushes."

"Really?"

"We rushed after him, but by the time we crossed the locker room and ran into the hallway, he was already gone. As you know, our relationship would cause a lot of trouble if too many people knew about it, right? So before the school trip ends—before everyone gets their phones back, we have to find the spy and ask him to keep it a secret."

"That's a must."

"But we still haven't caught the culprit by this morning. I only have one lead about the culprit. Actually, when we were at the pool, Nan seemed to have been keeping watch at the pool entrance. According to her, from the time we entered the pool until we came out, no one else seemed to have entered or left the pool."

"what?"

"So the perpetrator didn't immediately run into the corridor, but hid and escaped our pursuit. And I checked all the lockers in the men's locker room, which means the perpetrator could only have hidden in the locker in the women's locker room that the girl passed by. Therefore, the perpetrator is a girl. After all, in that emergency situation, I don't think a boy would choose to escape into the women's locker room."

"Oh, I see."

"On the other hand, that's all I know—but there was more to the story than just that happened at that pool that night. I've found that when you put the two things together, the events unfold like a jigsaw puzzle, neatly identifying the only suspect."

"What does that mean?"

"About half an hour before we entered the pool—around 8:30—there were three other people at that pool. One of them was Asuhain. Asuhain was hiding in the bushes and witnessed not me and Yui, but another secret meeting. That is, the scene of Yoshino Miko confessing to a student."

"Is that so?"

"Yoshino's confession failed, and it seems the two had a falling out. Just as they were about to start arguing, Asuhain, who was hiding in the bushes, rushed out and, in a moment of excitement, pushed him into the pool."

"Oh my."

"This incident is not unrelated to ours. Because the person Yoshino confessed to—one of the three people at the pool at 8:30—was the very last one who spied on our secret meeting."

Isana, who had been sketching and answering questions the whole time, stopped drawing the moment she heard these words and glanced at me.

"...Why do you think that?"

"Yoshino just told me. She said that after her confession was rejected, Asuhain pushed her into the pool, and then Asuhain brought her clothes to change into, and told me what time she left the pool. The answer is around 8:50. Now you have to remember a key point, right? I just mentioned that Minami was keeping watch at the entrance, right? Actually, when she said she started keeping watch, it was about 9 o'clock in ten minutes—that is, around 8:50. But as you can imagine, Minami didn't see Yoshino and the others leave the pool, nor did she see anyone go in."

"oh……"

"Whether it's Yoshino or Minami, they might not remember the exact time, but I think they probably just missed each other. But regardless, the voyeur could only enter the pool within a few short minutes before Yoshino and the others left and Minami started keeping watch. Can it really be called a coincidence that the culprit seized this opportune moment to slip into the pool?"

"It's hard to say."

"Nan-san certainly didn't tell anyone she was keeping watch, and only she knows the exact time she started. Being able to evade her surveillance is purely coincidental. But what about Yoshino and the others? Assuming the voyeur has no connection to Yoshino and the others, there's no reason for them to hide. Even assuming this person is extremely shy, it would be difficult for them to know Yoshino and the others were there without having seen the changing room. Since Asuha-in claims no one else came to the changing room, and she and Yoshino didn't speak at all—without showing their face or hearing their voices, how could the perpetrator know Yoshino and the others were there?"

"you're right……"

"I think the voyeur knew from the beginning that Yoshino and the others were in the changing room, and was probably in an awkward situation with them. Only one person could fit all these conditions, which is—the person who just rejected Yoshino's confession."

"........."

"The person who rejected Yoshino's confession is the one who spied on our secret meeting. The moment this formula came true, the four conditions that hinted at the culprit's true identity were fulfilled in my mind."

I raised my index finger.

"As I just mentioned, the first point is that this person is a woman."

I then raised my middle finger.

"Secondly, this person is in the same class as Yoshino, but in a different group. Because Asuhain heard them—Yoshino, in particular, say to the prisoner, 'I really wanted to be in your group.' It would be impossible for someone in the same class but a different group to say that."

I then raised my ring finger.

"Thirdly, this person brought a swimsuit. It is said that the person who rejected Yoshino's confession left Yoshino, who was soaking wet and unable to walk, and Asuhain, who went to get a change of clothes, and left the pool alone. To do this, one must be wearing a swimsuit when pushed into the pool—because there is a swimsuit spin dryer in the pool's changing room."

Finally, I raised my little finger.

"Fourth point - This person must not have an alibi at 9 p.m. on that day."

Then I turned it around and bent my four upright fingers back down one by one, starting with my index finger.

"Based on the first condition, there are more than a hundred suspects; if we add the second condition, the scope can be narrowed down to the eleven female classmates in our class, excluding the girls in Yoshino's group."

index finger.

Middle finger.

"Then there's the third condition. For this school trip, only students who chose the marine park experience on the second afternoon brought swimsuits. In our class, only Yoshino's group and our group chose the marine park experience—Yoshino's group was already eliminated based on the second condition. In other words, the culprit must be one of the four girls in our group."

Ring finger.

"Finally, let's talk about the fourth condition. Of the remaining four suspects, Yui is obviously not the culprit. Minami, who claimed to be keeping watch at the pool entrance, seemed to be with friends at the time, so her alibi is also very clear. Asuha was already in the room when Yui returned from the pool. The culprit had previously hidden in the locker to avoid us, so he could only return to the room after we left the pool—it's impossible for him to have returned to the room before Yui."

At last……

I bent my remaining little finger.

"Now there's only one person left."

I looked at my best friend's profile.

"Izana—were you the one spying on us back then?"

Higashito Isana—the prisoner who hid in the bushes and spied on our secret meeting at nine o'clock on the first night…