11:48 PM
I really want to understand how things ended up like this. This persistent sense of duty is hammering in my head, making sleep impossible. But a duty to what? I'll just follow it and rid my mind of this thought.
I heard that Takashi abandoned his post as hallway monitor, and at the moment, I'm following him through the school corridors.
When did I become so reckless? My suspicion grew when I noticed he waited for someone to ask permission to go to the restroom and then followed them seconds later. Could he plan to use the same approach as last night and expect to get away with it again?
The most plausible explanation I've reached for how the killer stays one step ahead of the student council is that they're right under Mikoto's nose.
It's clear that keeping the killer operating so close to her is unsafe—for both her and the other students. I need to resolve this soon and catch Takashi in the act. That way, Mikoto will be safe, and the foreign girl, Ailiss, will also be free of suspicion.
Am I doing all this for their sake?
I continue following him, walking carefully to avoid making a sound. Still, it feels like he might hear my irregular heartbeat at any moment.
Suddenly, I feel something touch my shoulder.
Is the real killer behind me?
Was I too quick to assume Takashi was guilty?
"Johann-kun?" a whispered voice calls from behind me.
Miyu?! It's the first time I've felt relieved to have her find me. This agony was killing me.
But how should I explain this? Depending on how long she's been watching, I can't just lie and say I was heading to the bathroom while sneaking around like this. And I can't exactly say I'm searching for the killer.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"I should be asking you! Why are you wandering the halls alone?"
I turn and see a girl beside her. Kobayashi Keiko. So, she's with a dormitory supervisor at this hour. She was probably accompanying Miyu to the restroom.
"It's a long story. But in short, I thought I heard something suspicious and got up to investigate. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must continue my mission."
"You can't just walk around at this hour! I thought we made it clear in the rules we established. If you heard something suspicious, you should have reported it to the dorm supervisor. What do you expect the council to think of me finding you in this situation?" Keiko reprimands.
"Not to mention, this is so unlike you. Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Miyu asks.
Looks like I won't get out of this quickly.
Seeing that I've lost track of Takashi and won't be able to resume following him, I think the best course of action is to try to save face.
"I'm sorry. I was paranoid, and Takashi wasn't there for me to report the issue to. So, I acted impulsively. What should I do? If I just return to my dorm, will everything be fine?"
"Let's see… What to do? Normally, I should report any suspicious behavior to Kaichou. And you'll have to agree that a student wandering the halls after curfew qualifies as suspicious," Keiko says.
"Kobayashi-san, I can guarantee Johann-kun isn't involved in the murders. He's my friend; you can trust me," Miyu pleads.
"Even so, the rules are the rules. Exceptions in our current circumstances would be unacceptable, even for a trusted friend. The law must be universal and applied equally to all students. If I make an exception for him, everyone would have the same right," Keiko explains.
"You almost sound like Kaichou explaining something so formally," Miyu teases.
"Really?" Keiko laughs briefly. "Wait, this situation is serious!"
If I'm hoping for leniency, I'm out of luck. I need to find a way to counter her decision. But what would convince Keiko to go against the council's rules?
Only one idea comes to mind.
"Alright. I didn't want to resort to this, but I have no choice. Let me be honest. Didn't Mikoto tell you anything about me?" I reply.
"Mikoto?! What's your relationship with Kaichou? Not even Tanaka-kun calls her by her first name!" Keiko exclaims, raising her voice more than she should.
Thankfully, it doesn't seem like anyone heard her outburst. Miyu also looks shocked by how the conversation is unfolding.
Using the president's first name clearly has a powerful effect. Pretending to have some level of familiarity could be the key to turning this situation in my favor.
"I didn't know you and Kaichou were acquainted. Why didn't you ever tell me?" Miyu asks.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I didn't want to create any false expectations. We're just allies. She asked me to investigate someone, and that's exactly what I was doing until you interrupted me."
"I see your point, but I need to verify this information. I haven't received any notice about you helping with the investigation, let alone being allowed to roam at night. Kaichou is usually very formal; did she not give you a signed document authorizing this?" Keiko asks.
Naturally, she wouldn't accept this excuse without proof. After all, I could just be lying.
"I didn't receive explicit permission, but I acted to follow the suspect. I assumed it was implied that I could break some rules for investigative purposes. Once you confirm with Mikoto that I'm telling the truth, you'll have to report how you disrupted my observation of the suspect at a critical time. Think carefully before informing her about this; we'll both suffer the consequences."
Keiko looks deeply contemplative about my proposal but eventually realizes she's cornered. Blackmailing her was the only viable solution. The fear of being reprimanded by Mikoto is the only thing that would make her defy one of her orders.
"Fine, you win for now. I'm not willing to take that risk. But I want you to explain this better to me later. For now, we'll leave it at that. Yoshida-san, we didn't see anything, did we?"
"Y-yeah. Exactly. We didn't see anything," Miyu agrees hesitantly.
What I said wasn't entirely a lie, so it seems to have worked.
"Goodnight, and be careful. Don't do anything reckless, okay?" Miyu says as she and Keiko head back to the girls' dormitory.
I search for Takashi's whereabouts for a few more minutes, but I can no longer find him. The longer I'm out, the riskier it becomes to return to my dormitory and run into him. I decide to head back and sleep. This night has already proven unproductive the moment I lost track of him.
I enter the dormitory without much trouble. Takashi still hasn't returned, nor has the student who asked to use the restroom. I lie down and leave my worries for tomorrow.
Day 4
7:14 AM
Again.
Once again, we were met with murders as brutal as last night—no, even more so. There's no comparison.
Just glimpsing the bodies makes me nauseous. The color red dominates the bathroom floor. The bodies were discovered locked inside a stall by a student who went to use the restroom this morning.
Deep cuts cover their bodies, from limbs to more lethal areas like the neck, chest, and abdomen. As if that wasn't enough, the killer mutilated their faces, leaving them deformed. Some mouths are slashed open, and others have wounds around their eyes. The state they're in reflects the pure agony they endured.