The Eccentric, the Beauty, and the Detective: Kiriki Junka's Mystery Log Volume 2 Chapter 25

Ayamoto Reiksenpai of class 2, 1 topped off the victim list which consisted of Hatanaka Shouko-sensei, the music teacher; Tatsuno Hinata of the detective association, class 1, 1; Amane Eikyuu, 1, 2; and Minamata Kei-senpai of class 2, 2. Ayamoto had fractured her femur.

All five of them had taken a tumble down the stairs within a period of only two weeks. The situation was starting to feel normal.

“What makes this one unique is the time of day: lunch break. Looks like even our culprit can't act after school when the teachers monitor the halls.”

Junka was preparing to go home.

“It's like she's playing a game; it's like she's dancing on a tightrope. She's really bold, confident she'll never get caught.”

He shut his bag.

“See you, Rouji-kun.”

“Oh? We aren't going back together?”

“I have some visits to make.”

I locked right on to that.

“You mean you're going to the hospital to check up on Mimatsenpai, and Ayamoto-senpai?”

“Bingo.”

“Shall I come too?”

“You just go home and study. I've got less to worry about on the tests than you do.”

He left after reminding me of that which I didn't want to hear.

It was about a week before final exams, and around the time when the sleep deprived students emerged from their dens. I battled drowsiness as I faced an oncoming English lesson. I wasn't sure if Junka was being productive either, as he too was nodding off while looking at his notes.

Junka hadn't given up his search yet. I guessed he'd gotten some insight in that strange mind of his. Well, he might have been plotting his next absurdity. I really wanted it to be the first option, but the latter felt more likely.

Eiji was getting gloomy about how he hadn't made progress like he'd expected. While he'd given up on his Iida Nao hypothesis, it not being one any reasonable person could maintain, he'd yet to apologise. He'd been totally blocked off on all fronts, and it didn't seem like he intended to continue the fight.

Kitaue-sensei was explaining a difficult syntactic structure. Gazing at the scenery out the window, I saw it bathed in light as the curtain wafted in the breeze. It was a peaceful day in early summer.

“Woooaaah!”

A thunderous roar and the sound of a rack toppling quickly resounded through the air. Kitaue-sensei put down the chalk with an, “Again?”

“It's self study time,” he said as he left the room.

Naturally, Nao, Junka, and I all followed. On the stairs down to the first floor was a figure like the incident with Ayamoto-senpai. We watched from the shadows.

It was a male student. He was sat on his rear end, and didn't look like he wanted to be approached.

“Did someone shove you?” asked a teacher excitedly, having reached the scene first.

The response was, “That's right.”

He held one wrist, blushing slightly. Seemed to me like he'd fractured something, but was too stoic to mention it. One of the teachers looked at him meaningfully.

“What happened, exactly? Why were you not in class?”

“I felt bad, so I got permission to head to the nurse's office on the first floor. When I got to the stairs, I got pushed from behind. As for the rest… I went head first.”

Kitaue-sensei was fired up, “And the culprit? Did you see her face? Where did she run?”

He shook his head; some blood dripped down his brow.

“Sorry, I didn't have time to check.”

Kitaue-sensei's shoulders drooped.

“That so… well, let's get you to the hospital. Can you stand?”

“Yeah.”

We went back to the classroom in secret.

“That's the first male.”

There was no stopping my excitement. He was the sixth victim. This time, it happened during class. The culprit really kept showing up when least expected. I wondered just how she managed to take down her targets.

Junka, however, was in a different place.

“This'll be the end of it, I suppose.”

Nao asked, “Why?”

Junka sighed.

“I'm glad this ended before the tests. Tomorrow's an off day, so let's all go see the real culprit together. Well, if you can't make it, that's fine…”

“Wait, the culprit? You already know?”

“That's right,” Junka spoke calmly, “but I've got my secret principles. I'll always make sure to interview the culprit before wrapping things up. Please excuse my playfulness.”

I massaged my shoulder.

“You're always like that, but I guess it's fine. It's fun in its own way. And, no, nothing would stop me from making it to see this.”

A little later, Hinata came over from class 1, 1, to tell us what she'd gleaned from Kitaue-sensei. Junka, Nao, and I listened to the report after school.

“Kurosawa Toshikatsu, class 2, 2 was the victim this time. He's the student council secretary, doesn't engage in club activities, apparently has a private tutor, and is the top of his year.”

“He's a sharp one, eh?”

“Feels like he lives in a totally different world than we do. I have nothing but condolences for how he injured his wrist… he won't be able to do his work as secretary.”

Junka had drawn pupils on his closed eyelids, and it almost looked like he was awake.

So what?

“Anyway, weren't you going to tell us who the real culprit is? I'm looking forward to it.”

He started to snore. He'd somehow managed to fly off into dreamland all by himself. I couldn't believe him sometimes.

We met Sunday in front of Shibuyamadai Station. I was wearing a cool shirt with three quarter length sleeves, and Junka was waiting in a cardigan.

“Sorry, did we make you wait?”

Nao had shown up in a T-shirt and denim short shorts, while Hinata was wearing an elegant one piece dress. I figured that was everyone.

“No, we've still got two more to come.”

Junka was going to wait even longer under the beating noonday sun.

After five minutes, the odd couple appeared. I was on watch.

“Sannomiya, Kanno-san!”

Eiji in his cropped pants, and Yuuki in her summer suit were in their natural state: a pair. As soon as Eiji arrived, he started to complain without apologising for his tardiness.

“Why couldn't I come in my family car? To be with those plebs…”

Junka ignored him.

“Allright, let's go.”

“Hey, are you ignoring me?”

“We're going to get on the bus that comes to stop 3 for Shibuyamadai Hospital. The fare is 180 yen.”

We walked up the steps into the bus, and sat in the back. The breeze was heavenly.

After the bus took on some more passengers and their luggage, the time came for it to slowly depart. It ran along the tight roads, taking many turns.

I tried to get Eiji a little more excited.

“Sannomiya, why did Junka invite you?”

He pointed at the back of Junka's head, who was sitting in the seat in front of us.

“He invited me to see the end of the match. I figured he was trying to distract me to keep me from finding anything, but when I saw your stupid expressions… I'll have to wait and see,” he crossed his arms, and arrogantly continued, “just exactly who it is that wins.”

The bus arrived at the hospital and we disembarked with the others.

The magnificent white building surrounded by greenery was like an oasis. This was where the six victims had been taken, and where we had come to visit Hinata when she was hospitalised. It had been recent enough that it didn't feel like a distant memory yet.

Junka went to the reception, and called to us, “Sign the visitor's registration, and take your visitor's pass.”

I was first on the list, and I read that Mimata Kei was the one whom we were visiting.

“Hey, Junka, this…”

“Just sign it.”

Translator's Note:

I do like a good mystery, but this one has characters that just seem way too shallow. Maybe there are too many. Junka and Eiji are more than complicated enough for a good buddy-cop style dynamic, and the chapters are so short it doesn't give much space for much. I am not going to say I could write a better story, as I've never done something this long.

Editor's Note:

Coming to the end of where I decided to translate this to has burdened me with the responsibility to find something new for my reading practice. I'm still not a good enough reader to be able to read without a dictionary when I don't know the subject material already, but reading is the only way to get better at reading. I need to get my act in gear, and maybe track down Dr. MIA while I'm at it. I talked to him a little bit last week, so that means he's still alive.

Chapter end