Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 43: A Confrontation of Egos

“Is there really any need to be so surprised?”

“B-but, weren’t you just talking with me this whole time, Liang-kun? You didn’t search for evidence or question anyone else, so how…?”

The Class Rep stared at him in confusion.

“…There was no need for any of that.”

The Novelist tapped the iron door.

“All it took was simple deductive reasoning. Actually, I confirmed it when the door was opened earlier.”

“…Who’s the culprit?”

“We can’t say they’re the culprit just yet—they might not have had the chance to do anything,” he corrected the Class Rep before continuing. “In any case, the person who sent us the crime announcement should be Miki Yu.”

“Miki-san… the person who disappeared?”

“Yes. Though supposedly a Yuihara High student, you don’t actually know him, do you, Class Rep?”

Itou nodded.

“I’d never heard the name before. But don’t you and Ogiwara-san know him?”

“That was just a ‘misunderstanding’… I saw him confessing to Ogiwara-san at school, and because of his uniform, I assumed he was a student there.”

In other words, he’d been deceived. Due to his habitual thinking, the Novelist hadn’t questioned Miki’s identity until his disappearance.

“…He’s not a Yuihara High student?”

The Class Rep’s eyes widened slightly.

“But wasn’t Miki-san invited to the party by Niwa-san?”

“…When you were asking everyone about Miki Yu’s whereabouts earlier, I observed their reactions. I believe they weren’t denying having seen Miki Yu—they’d never even heard the name.”

He let out a soft sigh.

“Simply put, he’s the black sheep who infiltrated this gathering. Even for you, Class Rep, there must be people here today whom you don’t know well or are meeting for the first time, right? So as long as someone speaks and acts naturally enough, they won’t draw attention and will naturally become part of the party.”

The principle behind this was that people tend to assume unfamiliar faces in a gathering are ‘someone else’s’ acquaintance, and politeness prevents them from questioning too deeply.

In fact, this was a technique the Novelist often employed when completing Sachiyo’s requests. He was all too familiar with it.

“Miki Yu is an uninvited guest at the birthday party… is that it?”

“Yes. But that raises a question.”

The Novelist held up one finger.

“As the host and center of these social connections, Niwa-san should have recognized him. As you just said, Class Rep, everyone here was invited by him, which is why no one questioned Miki Yu’s presence, right?”

“Someone who wasn’t invited, and quite possibly isn’t even a Yuihara High student, yet could appear here naturally without arousing Niwa-san’s suspicion… who do you think that might be, Class Rep?”

“That would be…”

“Niwa-san mentioned it earlier, didn’t he? Though this place isn’t used often, someone maintains and cleans it—I think Miki Yu must be the caretaker employed by the Niwa family. That’s why Niwa-san knew him and found his presence here perfectly natural.”

Moreover, for a caretaker, tampering with the mansion’s doors, windows, and the equipment in the karaoke room and screening room would have been trivially easy.

“Only someone who always had the keys would consciously choose to lock the door normally from the outside. Usually, destroying the lock or using obstacles would be more convenient and reliable methods.”

…

After revealing his deductions about the “mastermind’s” identity, the Novelist stood up as if having made a decision.

“…What’s wrong?”

The Class Rep looked up startled, reaching to grab his sleeve as if afraid he might do something dangerous again.

“I’m going to look for Niwa-san, of course.”

He answered cheerfully.

“I was planning to go out for help, but now that everyone’s safety is the top priority, we have to stay in the mansion. In that case, the missing Niwa-san is in danger. What do you say, want to come along?”

…

The long staircase spiraled upward.

His gaze fixed on the skylight dome, where the glass windows cast down feather-light halos of clear light. A human silhouette could be dimly seen.

“Looks like we need to hurry.”

*

“Ha… ha…”

Running.

The stairs in his vision extended endlessly upward… his oxygen-deprived brain from the intense exercise was gradually losing sense of spatial orientation.

Was he running up or down? He felt as if he were in a mirror-inverted world, unable to see the exit.

Only the footsteps following behind him remained as clear as his violently beating heart, drumming against his eardrums.

“Damn it…!”

Niwa Takahito gritted his teeth.

I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?!

Should I call for help…?

But they’d kill me immediately if I did… that’s how they’d threatened him.

In other words, if he could escape from this person, they would leave on their own once the police arrived.

Though he didn’t believe such nonsense, he had no other options. All he could do was keep running.

Finally—

He saw the end.

The door leading to the rooftop.

“I’ll escape through there, then slam the door shut…!”

Niwa Takahito made up his mind, slowing his pace. While catching his breath, he stopped at the stairs near the restroom and turned around.

“…Huff… done running?”

The young man in the coat also looked exhausted, but the weapon in his hand remained steady—something Niwa couldn’t contend with.

“W-who are you?! You said something about revenge earlier… but that has nothing to do with me! I haven’t done anything!”

Though he wanted to deliver his time-buying lines smoothly, whether from unstable breathing or internal panic, they came out stuttering.

“…’Haven’t done anything’… that’s exactly what I hate most.”

The other person smiled darkly.

“My sister died precisely because of your ‘inaction,’ didn’t she?”

…Sister?

“Who… who are you?”

“Miki Haruko was your girlfriend in middle school, wasn’t she? I’m her brother. Understand now?”

Haruko…!

Niwa Takahito’s face turned pale for a moment.

His hand unconsciously braced against the wall to keep from falling.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

While keeping his eyes on the young man before him, he slowly backed away.

“Haruko… she committed suicide by jumping, didn’t she?”