They
were two women dressed in the same outfit.
They
are wearing mafia-like dark suits and bright red neckties. They also wore
bowler hats with masks covering only their eyes.
Both
of them looked like models, standing like they were in a movie scene.
One of
the detective’s JKs, the one with long hair, was pointing at something with an
exaggerated action. That was where a golden statue like a pharaoh was sitting.
For
those who had turned on the TV here, the picture must have been quite
unexplained.
The
detective JK, in a dramatic tone, asked.
「Before
the track and field club went missing, there were two girls who had gone
missing before. Are you acquainted with these two girls?」
「YES」
The
light at the edge of the screen is blue.
Of
course. Misuzu and Masaki are both classmates. There's no way he doesn't know
them.
「On
the day the track and field club members were kidnapped, did you go straight
home from school?」
「YES」
At the
edge of the screen, a red light came on this time.
When
exactly was the day that the track and field kids went missing?
On the
way home, Fu~min is usually with me.
There
must have been only a few days since I was surrounded by Teruya-chi and her friends
at the old school building that we didn't go home together.
The
questions that were asked to him were all trivial as I watched the screen with
a gulp.
I was
surprised at the first question, but the culprit in the mysterious
disappearance was Anna-senpai. Fu~min must have known about it. It's nothing to
panic about.
（This
is really bad for my heart.... Can they really prove that Fu~min had nothing to
do with this? I have a feeling it's going to make him look even more suspicious
than he already was）
As I
was thinking about this, Detective JK asked another question.
「You
are involved in the Mysterious Disappearance case, aren't you?」
「NO」
At
that moment, a chill went down my spine.
At the
edge of the screen, a red light came on.
I
heard the commentators gasp, and an idol girl, whose name I didn't know, let
out a high-pitched "N-no way!?".
Perhaps
it was a staff member's voice, but the microphone picked up the commotion in
the studio.
（Fu~min!
This is not good! They're trying to frame Fu~min. That's exactly what I
imagine!）
Immediately,
the red and yellow primary colors used in the set of the variety program appear
to be a poisonous color scheme.
At the
moment when Detective JK's mouth was twisted into a grin, I ran out of the dressing
room into the hallway, without bothering to take anything.
（It's
a trap! Fu~min said that Detective JK was his friend, but maybe those girls
were just trying to trick Fu~min. I have to stop them, I have to save Fu~min!）
↓ Continue to Read ↓
↓ Continue to Read ↓
◇ ◇ ◇
On the
living room's big screen TV.
As
soon as Claudia-san on the screen said, "You are involved in the
Mysterious Disappearance case, aren't you?", my brother let out a weird "Fuhi!".
Sitting
on the sofa with his back arched, he grabbed a tube of potato chips and stared
intently at the screen as if he were watching a movie.
Then,
as soon as the red light came on for the answer “NO”, my brother shouted out.
「Serve
you! Hahahahaha! How do you feel when you're cornered, Kijima? Kizuna! Look at
this! Almost a reach! It's all over now!」
「Yeah,
I understand」
I
can't say I'm in the same mood, but it's been a long time since I've seen my brother this happy.
Now,
if this Kijima person is caught, maybe my brother will be able to escape from his shut-in life. I'd be happy
if that happens.
He has
lost a lot of things, but if he returns to his old self, he should be able to
get them back.
（Yes,
it was Shiratori-senpai who arranged everything, I have to thank her when
school starts...）
I
think of my senpai who should be at the studio.
Maybe
she's just as excited as my brother. It's hard to imagine, though…
Almost
at the same time as I couldn't help but smile, Claudia-san's face appeared
again in a close-up on the screen.
「This
is the last question」
As
soon as she said that, bang! A loud sound effect like an orchestral hit rang
out.
「The
mastermind of that incident is a devil. Not a metaphor, but a real devil. And
you are his contractor. You're the mastermind behind it, aren't you!?」
The
studio is silent. The sound of my brother squeezing a tube of potato chips echoes in the
background.
After
a pause for breath, as if deciding that there was no more room for error, the
answer that came out was “YES”.
A blue
light lit up at the edge of the screen, and the commentators stood up in
unison, groaning.
「Ha-ha-ha!
Yes! We did it! Hahahahahahahahaha! Serve you! Serve youuuu!」
My brother stood up from the couch, turned his head toward ceiling and laughed
out loud like a madman.
I
clapped my hands as hard as I could.
The
host on the screen, with his cheeks twitching, shouted, "Now, let's see who’s
the inside!", Then, a flashy spark erupted from the center of the
Tutankhamun-like statue, and it began to split in half. On there, a shadow of a
person wearing headphones appeared in the smoke.
↓ Continue to Read ↓
↓ Continue to Read ↓
◇ ◇ ◇
The sound
of clasps snapping echoed, and the statue split in half.
「...Too
bright!」
I
turned my head away from the lighting that was coming in.
『Thank
you for your hard work. Filming is finished, you can come out now』
While
I was still adjusting to the light, I squinted and looked around. Several
cameras were pointed at me, and the staff looked relieved.
When I
turned around, I found a drawing of a pyramid.
Around
the statue I was in, beautiful women in what looked like ancient Egyptian folk
costumes were smiling with colorful aluminum cans in their hands.
「Eh?
Eh? What? Eh!? ... What's this?」
While
I was stunned, a man in the back of the studio who looked like a producer said,
“Yes, this is the end of the commercial for FJ Beverage's new autumn product ――
Nile's Blessing (slightly carbonated). Thank you all for your hard work”
「「「「Thank
you for your hard work―」」」」
Voices
came from all over the studio, and I let out a confused voice.
「C-commercial?」
（W-what's
going on?? What happened to the live special program?）
After
I entered the "costume," I heard a voice say, "We're entering
the studio," and I felt like I was being carried somewhere, but then I
heard no sound through my headphones.
I
waited for thirty minutes, feeling a bit nervous, thinking that I was going to
be kept waiting for a long time. However, the statue suddenly opened, and this
is what I saw.
To be
honest, I don't understand at all.
「Hahaha!
Fu~min, welcome back!」
The
person who walked up to me was Fujiwara-san, in a young lady mode.
（No,
no... a devil doll?）
I have
no idea what's going on, but I should pretend not to notice that it's a devil
doll.
「Fu-Fujiwara-san,
what happened...」
「Yes,
it's a commercial for a new product from one of the Fujiwara Group companies.
The fiancée of the chairman's daughter, the future head of the Fujiwara Group,
is in it to create a buzz」
（There
are too many points to mention! Let's leave the fiancée out of it for now...）
「Appearance,
but I was just in the statue...」
「That's
okay, I wasn't lying. You're in a costume. Besides, if we tell people you're in
it, the companies we do business with will buy it by the container to make my stepfather happy」
「But...
what about the live special...」
「Fu~min,
don't you get it yet? You were almost tricked by that detective JK. That means
this Mai-chan rescued you」
◇ ◇ ◇
「Annabelleeeee!
She's useless! She failed to replace him!」
I
threw the wine glass in my hand at the TV screen. Then, *Shatter*! a
high-pitched shattering sound echoed, and the red wine splashed out.
It was
supposed to be Kasuya, the ugly one, in the statue. I had been watching the TV,
trying to see his crying face, trying to enjoy the panic of the foreign
women who were Liliamos' pawns.
However,
when the statue cracked open, it revealed a handsome man with a slightly worn
appearance.
Perhaps
that was the man Annabelle was talking about, Kijima.
（Even
though I had ordered her to confuse Kasuya and Kijima! You used woman!）
On the
screen, I could see the puzzled expression on the handsome man's face distort
as he realized the situation.
Security
guards held him back as he tried to raise his voice in a rage. The studio was
in an uproar, and the handsome man was shouting and screaming, pinned down on
the ground.
