The red-light district in the early
morning is a sad place.
The dreams of old men have
disappeared into the foam of beer, and the remnants of a night's pleasure sit
in garbage bags, awaiting the visit of the garbage truck.
This is a morning scene in the
red-light district behind the station.
On there, Fujiwara-san and I left the
hotel, holding hands amidst the clamorous sounds of cats and crows fighting
over territory.
As a man, it's hard for me to ask my
girlfriend to pay for the entire stay, but I only have a few coins in my
wallet.
When I said, “I'll let you pay
for this” and I’m waiting for her to say something, she replied, “Yes, yes”
with a wry smile, and I felt a little upset.
Gununu, you little breast. Just as I
was gritting my teeth, Fujiwara-san looked into my face.
She was wearing no makeup at all. I
wonder if she's cuter that way. This could shake the meaning of the existence
of makeup.
「Fu~min」
「What is it?」
「What? No, no, no! You should have
said “yes” to that. Fu~min is the one who said, “Let's do something loverly”,
right?」
「......Well, anyway...」
「Oh, you lied! Fu~min is terrible!」
She pouted. But I don't care, I ask
her this question.
「You stayed out overnight without
permission, is that okay? Aren't you afraid you might get in trouble?」
「It's okay. I sent a message to my
mom. I told her I'd stay at Misuzu's place. I also sent a message to Misuzu to
make sure she knows」
「When did you send it......?」
「Don't underestimate a gal's typing
skills」
With a smug look on her face,
Fujiwara-san puffed out her chest.
「So, since it would be even more
suspicious if I hurried home, Let's go and have a breakfast. I want an English
muffin」
「Then, Fujiwara-san will pay for it」
「I won't treat someone who refers to his
girlfriend as Fujiwara-san」
「Mai, I want a breakfast with your
money」
「You look like you're trying to be
cool, but that's really the worst thing you can say」
◇ ◇ ◇
When I went back to my apartment last
night, Misuzu-sama was not there.
Kyoko-chan is a bit dumb. But, when I
was questioning her about it, Misuzu-sama came back.
She told me that she had met her
boyfriend.
What a shame. How could Misuzu-sama
allow another man to touch her when she was under the care of Master?
At any rate, I asked Misuzu-sama to
behave herself, and lectured Kyoko-chan until midnight.
And this morning, I left the
apartment, thinking about how I should apologize to Master.
「Good morning」
「Oh, good morning」
When I arrived at the office,
Inomoto-senpai was just sitting down with a cup of coffee in his hand.
Today, I'm going to work directly at
the office, not at the school. The investigation in the school was finished yesterday.
And from 10 o'clock, there is a debriefing with all the investigators.
「I heard that Anna Kamishima was here
yesterday」
「Eh, I was quite surprised」
「What was she like?」
「She looks like a ...... freak. She
had that kind of vibe where she would laugh and try to trick people」
Inomoto-senpai shrugged his
shoulders.
「That's scary」
It seems Inomoto-senpai has not yet
discarded the theory that the Kamishima Clan is responsible for the series of
kidnappings, which was completely denied by the career group, including
Inspector Nakamura.
「Have you made any progress over
there?」
It's about Master's fake information.
And it was Inomoto-senpai who took
the lead in the investigation of the false information given by the master: “The
fence behind the club building has broken down, allowing access to the forest
road”.
「Yeah, it's pretty good. I found the
victim's student handbook. It was a first-year student named Yui Kayama. I
think it's safe to say that the route she took was through the fence and out
the back」
「I see」
I don't know what's so certain about
that. But there's no way she could have gone that way, since she just went
straight into Master's “room”.
「Unfortunately, due to the rush of the
media on the main gate, quite a few of the students went back through the woods
the day after the incident. The path has been trampled, so we can't expect to
find any footprints」
「That's unfortunate......」
「Yeah, but when I think about it, if I
wanted to move eighteen people from one place to another, I'd have to make them
walk on their own legs. However, there is no evidence of a struggle, and one
person carrying one girl is too conspicuous to be practical」
「Well, I suppose you're right」
「I'm going to try to find out if it
was the OG or the advisor...... who led them」
That's what Inspector Nakamura also
said, that someone may have guided them. But this could be an interesting
development.
If there is a connection between the
OG or the advisor and Anna Kamishima, it will be a great reason to raid the
Kamishima clan.
（Isn't it too convenient to use
them......?）
◇ ◇ ◇
「Good morning...... is it?」
「......Maybe」
I answered Shima-senpai's question
with my eyes closed.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Yui-chan
lying on her back with her tongue lingering on a tray of water jugs for dogs
that had been placed in front of her.
It must be painful to endure for a
good young lady.
And a few hours ago, a creepy woman
with a sackhead suddenly appeared and left trays full of water in front of
everyone, one at a time.
Since we were tied up with our hands
behind our backs, the only way we could drink the water was to stick our faces
in and sip it, or lick it off with our tongues like a dog.
It was a shameful sight, but there
was nothing we could do to fight the extreme thirst, and the dimly lit room was
filled with countless small sounds of water chuckling.
A few hours have passed since then,
and although the place looks like a morgue, only the worms in my stomach are
repeatedly asserting themselves in various places.
「Ahaha...... I'm about to die, huh」
「Stupid, you're in your third year,
why are you whining?」
At that moment when Captain Tashiro
condemned Shima-senpai's words in a scratchy voice, one corner of the wall
suddenly opened and light leaked out in the form of a door.
As we gasped, three figures entered
the room.
One of them is the mysterious woman
wearing the sackhead from earlier. She is wearing a leather rider's suit with a
feather-like object on one side of her back that clings to her body.
The other is a foreigner with silver
hair and blue eyes. She was clad in an English-style maid's uniform.
And as soon as I saw the last one who
came in, Shima-senpai let out a moaning voice.
「Masaki...... Are you Masaki?」
The woman who came in, led by the two
in front of her, was wearing a dress that looked like an anachronistic medieval
princess.
The pink fabric with a white lace
parasol skirt. The tiara on her head reflected the glittering light of the
jewels.
She was probably about the same age
as us, with a cute baby face, but her breasts were just too big.
As she walked slowly, a luxurious chair
that looked like a throne suddenly appeared in front of her. It was
appeared...... in a place where there was nothing before.
When the princess sits down on the
chair, the intense lighting behind her makes me impossible to look directly at
her.
Then, the maid and the sackhead woman
kneeled on each side of the princess.
To be honest, I was a bit confused.
I wondered what we were being shown.
To my eyes, all three of them looked
like participants in a masquerade parade.
「Masaki! Masaki! Help me!」
Shima-senpai suddenly raised her
voice.
It seems Shima-senpai knew the
princess.
But the princess turned her head
towards Shima-senpai and narrowed her eyes in displeasure, then tucked her chin
towards the sackhead woman.
And when the sackhead woman walked up
to Shima-senpai.
「Eh...... what...... what......?」
She suddenly kicked Shima-senpai's
stomach, who was still confused.
「Gghho!」
「「Huh!?」」
It's a strong kick that sends her
floating several inches in the air in a prone position.
Then, a muffled voice similar to
vomiting spilled out of Shima-senpai's mouth, and those around her desperately
stepped back while choking back a scream.
「Ugh...... Ugh......」
「Shima, get a hold of yourself, Shima!」
Shima-senpai was writhing with blood
dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Everyone-including me, except
Captain, retreated to the wall at once, creating a large space in the center
surrounding the throne.
「It's the ultimate in disrespect to
call out Masaki-sama. What shall we do, Masaki-sama? Shall I deal her away now?」
「Drop it. It's not good for the
conversation」
「Certainly」
When the maid politely bows, the
princess looks around at us and opens her mouth.
「I'm Masaki Haneda, the great Confinement
King’s first favored princess. I hope you can understand that it is up to me,
even with your lacking brain, to make you live or die」
（Confinement King?）
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar
name.
「What are you going to do with us?」
Suddenly, captain stood up and shouted.
We were all surprised by this. But we
didn't understand. For better or for worse, this girl can't read the air.
However, there was no way she could
be strong in this situation. Because it's not like protesting to an advisor.
Surprisingly, however, the princess
responded to captain's question with a faint smile.
「There are four of you who have
committed a mortal sin」
「Mortal sins?」
「Freesia, tell them」
The princess tucked her chin, and the
silver-haired maid stood up and opened her mouth.
「There are four of you who have
humiliated Mai Fujiwara, one of the favorite princesses of the great Confinement
King」
Immediately, I heard a faint gasp.
There must be someone who knows what
she's talking about.
Then, the princess looked around at
everyone and smiled kindly.
「So, I will give you a chance. If all
four of you come forward by the time, I count to ten, I will send the rest of
you back to your homes」
「W-wait a minute! What will happen to
those who come forward?」
「I'll let them go in the end. But I
will cut them into pieces, stop the bleeding so they don't die, and they will
be sent home by refrigerated courier after several years of literally cutting
their bodies down to the bare minimum of viable organs」
No one could speak, stunned by the
horrific, hair-raising story.
「Then I'll count. One, two......」
As the princess began to count,
everyone began to look around at each other. Then, Yui-chan raised her voice
like a scream.
「Who? Who is it! Get out! Don't drag
me into this!」
「Calm down, Kayama! You're selling out
your friends!」
「I'm not your friend! Let me go! I
want to go home!」
Immediately, the other members of the
club started shouting.
It's crazy.
But that didn't stop the princess
from counting.
「Eight, Nine.......」
Then, the captain of the club shouted
loudly.
「It was me! I'm the only one who did
this! Let the others go!」
「......Ten」
The princess let out a deep sigh as
she looked at captain, who stood alone as the cries of the club members faded
away and their sobs echoed.
「You, what is your name?」
「Tashiro...... it's Hatsu Tashiro」
「Unfortunately, I don't have the
mentality that makes me think it's beautiful to risk your life to protect
others. So, you'll never have the chance to leave this place again」
「I'm saying I did it」
「Unfortunately, I have some idea of
who did it. And you don't have that characteristic. But...... you're good. For
your courage, I'll give all of you one more chance」
「Are you still trying to play......
with us?」
「That's right. There is some of that.
But you have to obey. Isn't that right?」
Captain clenched her teeth tightly.
「Those of you who are being summoned
now, come this way. Whoever is called by me will be rescued from this situation」
The princess began to look around at
each person, then suddenly pointed to one person.
「You there. Come over here」
「Y-yes!」
「What is your name?」
「My name is Yui Kayama and I'm
from.......」
「You, too, come here」
The one who got up silently was a
second-year student.
「What is your name?」
「......Kei Takasago」
Kei Takasago is a quiet, sleepy-eyed
girl with long black hair. The third-year students call her "Sleeping
Beauty" because of her well-shaped face.
「And...... you」
「Huh, huh!?」
The princess pointed at me.
I got up hurriedly and come over to
her side.
「What is your name?」
「Momomo, mo, it's Saori Moribe」
I was so nervous that I was
stuttering, and the princess giggled.
「The rest is Tashiro-san, isn't it?
I'm appointing you and four others as inquisitor」
「inquisitor?」
Captain glared at the princess.
I was thinking in my heart （Captain!
Stop it! Don't make waves!） .
「Yes, yes. On my behalf, you're to
find the great sinner who humiliated the Confinement King's favorite princess」
「How is that possible?」
I don't know why Yui-chan was so
forward in her questioning.
「The method is simple. I will give you
four a whip. And until all the great criminals come forward, you will use that
whip to beat any “pig” you like at least a hundred times every day. If you
don't strike them at least a hundred times, you will be dismissed from your
position as inspectors. Then, you'll go back as a “pig”」
「Nonsense, you want me to whip the
members!」
「Arara, are you afraid they'll hate
you? Don't worry. You will be treated as my direct subordinates. If they
disobey you, the pigs will all be punished together. Oh right, you will also be
given a room for each of you, as good as a hotel suite, clothes, and luxurious
meals. Let's just say that if you successfully find all four of them, you could
go back to your home.......」
「You!」
「What? Are you dissatisfied? It can't
be helped. Then you should be on the receiving end. In return, that's
right...... you」
「M-me?」
「What's your name?」
「......Shima, Natsumi Shima」
Shima-senpai looked confused when she
was asked her name.
「Then, you're okay. Or do you want to
refuse, to save face like that inflexible girl there?」
Shima-senpai glanced at captain.
「I'll do it, I'll do it」
Shima-senpai nodded with a serious
face.
「Okay. Then you four follow me. From
today on, you will feed the other pigs two meals a day. We can't let them die
of starvation, it would be too easy」
We followed the princess out of the
room. And as we left the room, I glanced back and saw all the members of the
club staring at us with condemning eyes.
When we left the room, the princess
looked back into the room and said.
「Oh, yes, all of you must be punished
for your disobedience. Lili-chan, please <paralyze> them」
And then...
「Agh!?」
「Aah!?」
Suddenly, everyone, who was in the
room began to convulse and jump as if they had been struck by lightning.
