Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 42: The Premeditated Lock

The massive iron door had completely sealed off the emergency exit. In the dim light, not even a sliver of space remained at the entrance.

Itou Maho couldn’t understand why they’d stopped here—the door was clearly locked from the outside… Yet the young man beside her walked up to it and crouched down by the lock. Soon, there came a series of clicking sounds.

“Even if you’re going to do that sort of thing… remember to take proper safety precautions, okay? If anything were to happen to Landlord-san’s body, it would be quite troubling.”

Miyagi-san had mentioned this twice, and along with the information she’d deliberately revealed about the mansion’s security system, it seemed she’d noticed something unusual.

Though most men would interpret such words suggestively… the Novelist later believed it might have been meant “literally.”

A contingency left specifically for this purpose.

“Click… click click…”

Crouching at the door, he carefully manipulated the “foreign object” in the keyhole under the light of his phone screen. The gloves were prepared for this moment too. When tampering with the door earlier, they’d gotten rust and dust on them, but this time that could be avoided.

“L-Liang-kun… you even know how to do this sort of thing…?”

The Class Rep stammered behind him.

“Don’t misunderstand. This isn’t some criminal technique. Besides, it’s impossible to pick a security door like this without specialized tools, isn’t it?”

As he spoke, he gently extracted the “foreign object” from the keyhole. The lock mechanism gave a light click as it opened, allowing a faint glimmer of outside light to penetrate.

The Novelist had first used a flexible metal piece to catch the lock’s spring mechanism. When someone locked it from outside, they wouldn’t notice anything unusual unless they peered into the keyhole. In reality, a gap remained. Then, using leverage, he could release the partially engaged spring, returning it to an unlocked state.

…In other words, it was a mechanism that “wouldn’t activate unless locked from outside,” and required someone inside to make it work.

“Class Rep, keep watch on our surroundings.”

“Y-yes…”

The girl, clearly not yet recovered from her shock, nodded reflexively.

Wait, if the door could be opened, didn’t that mean everyone could leave now? But why had Liang-kun still told everyone to look for a phone…? These jumbled thoughts swirled in Itou’s mind. Just as she was about to ask, she hesitated and stopped.

“…”

The Novelist noticed the Class Rep’s peculiar expression. After thinking for a moment, he curled his finger and flicked her forehead.

“Ouch…!”

“Pardon me.”

Facing the girl’s angry glare after she recovered, he apologized without sincerity while calmly explaining.

“Class Rep, why do you think I didn’t tell them we had a way out, even though I was prepared?”

“Is it…”

The Class Rep hesitated, rubbing her forehead.

“Because you don’t want everyone to leave like this?”

The Novelist nodded.

“Partly because if they’d used more forceful methods to seal the exits, like using obstacles or destroying the locks, this little trick wouldn’t work at all. I needed to confirm that first.”

“Also, I believe we need to verify whether it’s dangerous outside first. If everyone rushed out at once, they might become targets, you know?”

In fact, the danger was more likely. After all, someone had already called for help outside with no response. The Niwa family’s people around the mansion had probably all been “silenced.”

“Ah…!”

The Class Rep’s body trembled slightly.

“So for now, the safest option is still to wait for the police rescue. If something happens inside the mansion before the police arrive, then we can leave through here.”

The Novelist pushed the door open just wide enough for one person to pass through, and was about to step out when—

“Wait! Liang-kun, what are you trying to do?”

The Class Rep furrowed her delicate brows.

“I want to check the situation outside.”

Just now, though he’d figured out the identity of the “probable culprit”—the person who sent the crime announcement—there were still puzzling aspects.

The strangest part was—

How had “that person” managed to do all this?

Setting aside the difficulty of sealing off the mansion and tampering with its interior, blocking communications and dealing with the servants and guards outside would be impossible for one person.

Unable to understand this, he felt compelled to seek out the truth.

“Didn’t you just say it yourself, Liang-kun? Staying inside the mansion and waiting for rescue is the best choice… isn’t it? I won’t let you go somewhere dangerous.”

The Class Rep grabbed his sleeve with determination, showing no intention of letting go.

“Alright, I understand.”

After reconsidering, the Novelist gave up quite readily.

“If you must go, I’ll come with… Eh? What did you say?”

The girl stared at him in disbelief.

“Um… what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing… I just thought Liang-kun would stubbornly insist on going.”

“I did consider it at first, but I think the Class Rep makes a good point.”

The incidents at the Niwa household had nothing to do with him. Even if he worked to uncover the truth, there would be no benefit. Putting himself in danger for such trivial curiosity would surely be foolish. However…

“Why would the Class Rep think that?”

“W-well, like solving the mystery and catching the culprit…”

The Class Rep turned her head away bashfully.

…Wait, seriously?

“Uh, you mean…”

“I-I’m sorry!”

The girl hurriedly apologized.

“Just now, I suddenly thought Liang-kun was like those detective characters from TV shows and anime, usually unremarkable and always seeming unmotivated. But once a case happens, they become really amazing and… I-I’m really sorry!”

“I see.”

The Novelist responded casually, and just as he was about to close the door, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of long, flowing hair sweeping past. It seemed to be the striking figure of a woman—

…Was it an illusion?

“Liang-kun, what’s wrong?”

The Class Rep watched him with concern. She seemed worried that projecting her expectations onto him had been rude and was anxious about whether he might be angry.

…Come to think of it, isn’t the Class Rep a bit too sensitive about these things?

“It’s nothing, Class Rep.”

He closed the door and leaned lazily against the wall behind him. As if responding to the girl’s expectations, he showed a composed smile.

“Oh right, let me tell you something good. Even without going outside, I already know who sent that crime announcement.”

“Eh—really?!”