Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 37: The Crime Announcement Performance

“Something seems to have happened.”

The novelist stood at the end of the hallway, cautiously listening for a moment. Since he didn’t hear anything like “bloodcurdling screams,” the situation was probably still under control. If some horror movie-esque murderer wielding a weapon had broken in, rushing down at the first sound would have been equivalent to suicide. He would probably first lock down the hallway and stairwell entrances.

“Ogiwara-san…”

The girl nodded at him.

…

The two descended the spiral staircase, heading toward the source of the sound.

“Seems like it’s coming from both sides…?”

If he remembered correctly, the movie theater was on the left. The home-style karaoke rooms were on the right.

“Let’s check where more people are first.”

Ogiwara took the lead, heading toward the karaoke rooms on the right. Class Rep and Niwa-kun were there, along with about half of Class 2-1’s students gathered in that room.

When they opened the door, a wave of clamorous music and swirling colored lights poured out. Both of them unconsciously furrowed their brows. In the dim yet dazzling space, there were no real human voices—only a man in the background track desperately shouting, creating a somewhat lonely atmosphere.

The novelist scanned the surroundings.

Everyone from the class was there. Some were silently sipping their drinks, but most were just sitting in their seats.

Due to the dim and irregular lighting, it was difficult to make out everyone’s expressions. But this strange collective silence was clearly unusual.

“Everyone, may I ask what happened?” he asked with a smile.

No one answered.

Behind him, Ogiwara turned on the lights and walked past everyone as if they weren’t there, turning off the noisy music. Then she quietly returned to her position behind the novelist.

After he raised his voice and asked again, a bespectacled girl he didn’t recognize well from class stuttered a response.

“J-just now, from the projector… someone else’s voice came through.”

…

Afterward, the novelist and Ogiwara learned the details from the others.

No one had noticed anything unusual at first, and the room’s atmosphere had quickly become lively with everyone taking turns choosing songs. But several minutes ago, just when it had been Class Rep’s turn, the music had stopped playing. Initially, they had thought the machine had broken down, but soon a strange man’s voice had come through.

After some static noise, the man had said something to everyone present. They hadn’t recorded the exact words, but—

“Niwa Takahito had a girlfriend in middle school. And after entering high school, because he didn’t do something, the result—”

“Led • to • his • girlfriend’s • death.”

Furthermore, the video player had simultaneously shown photos of Niwa Takahito with an unknown girl.

While there hadn’t been anything too inappropriate, the two in the photos were undeniably a couple. The girl’s face was completely pixelated. But the boy whose arm she was affectionately holding or whose hand she was grabbing was unmistakably Niwa Takahito himself.

“…”

The novelist and Ogiwara instinctively exchanged glances.

…To be honest, this development was completely unexpected.

“Then? What else did that person say?”

“…Revenge.”

This time, it was Yoshino Takashi who answered with a complicated expression.

“He said he would take revenge on Takahito. And, well… that he wouldn’t let his friends off either… something like that.”

The novelist nodded.

“I more or less understand the situation. By the way, where is the person in question… Niwa-kun?”

“He went to the bathroom while we were singing. He hasn’t come back yet.”

“And how did that man’s voice sound? Elderly? Young? Child-like?”

“Um… it didn’t sound human at all, more like it was coming from a cold machine.”

What’s this, they used a voice changer?

The novelist’s gaze turned toward the speaker system and projector.

…

At this point, the gathered students seemed to recover from their fear and shock, using this as a catalyst to begin whispering among themselves.

“What was that just now?”

“What does it mean? A prank?”

“If so, it seems way too serious…”

“Yeah, it’s not funny at all.”

“And s-saying they’ll take revenge on Niwa-kun and us… it’s really scary.”

…

“Takahito… surely didn’t do anything like that, right?”

Someone suddenly said.

After a moment of silence, others quickly chimed in agreement.

“Yeah… he w-wouldn’t, right?”

“Don’t know what that guy’s thinking, but murder and stuff… must be lying.”

…

Ogiwara observed everyone’s reactions while asking the only person in this class she found concerning.

“What do you think, Liang-kun?”

The novelist lifted his head, staring into the void of the ceiling as if in contemplation, without speaking.

After a while, he seemed to carefully weave his words together.

“Well, it’s like a crime announcement, isn’t it?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“However, there’s something subtly strange about what that guy said, right?”

“Oh, where?”

“When mentioning the revenge motive, that man said ‘because Niwa-kun «didn’t do» something, it led to his girlfriend’s death’… right?”

He furrowed his brows.

“Consider if the man’s words are true: if Niwa-kun had killed his girlfriend, or done something similar that caused her death, it should have been phrased as something he «did». It doesn’t sound like a threat, nor does it seem like a slip of the tongue. So, what’s the meaning behind specifically emphasizing ‘didn’t’?”

Ogiwara thought for a moment before responding.

“Indeed, thinking about it that way, Niwa-kun probably didn’t kill anyone. However… perhaps he abandoned the girl after getting her pregnant and didn’t take responsibility, leading to her death during childbirth. That might be it.”

“…Is that so?”

Maybe it was possible… no, very possible.

Considering their relationship as lovers…

“Don’t say such baseless things…!”

Since Ogiwara hadn’t lowered her voice at all, quite a few people must have heard.

The one who reacted strongly was Itou Maho.

She suddenly stood up from her seat, showing a rare angry expression. There seemed to be traces of tears on her face.

“Th-that’s right!”

Yoshino-kun chimed in from the side.

“Takahito would never do something like that, it must be either a prank or someone with some other motive. A-anyway, whoever did this is disgusting, someone who would do such a thing is completely unforgivable…”

“…You two.”

The novelist, whose thoughts were interrupted by Yoshino Takashi’s loud voice, raised one eyebrow slightly in displeasure.

“Calm down a bit.”

But he didn’t show this feeling, instead waiting for the right moment to interrupt Yoshino-kun’s words with a gentle voice.

“You know, rather than focusing on whether Niwa-kun did such things or not, shouldn’t we be more concerned about his current situation?”

The novelist pointed to the clock on the wall.

“It’s been over twenty minutes since Niwa-kun went to the bathroom. Also, has it not occurred to anyone present to call the police?”