“Well then, first of all…”
“Oh, I guess the detective blood is stirring, huh? This is getting interesting, auntie.”
I immediately decided to read the mind of Kabemura-san, the gossip-loving head nurse.
“Um, first, did you notice anything, Head Nurse?”
[“Notice what? I was called by Fuko in a panic, so I don’t know anything. More importantly, what kind of cases has Kanako-chan solved? What was the most difficult case? Do you have any acquaintances in the police? Does being a detective pay well? I am curious about everything—the culprit too, of course.”]
(The fact that her mind doesn’t waver means she’s innocent, right?)
Kabemura-san seemed genuinely curious, a real information-loving auntie. Yeah, in a way that was good—if someone this high-tension actually harbored darkness, it would be incredibly difficult to work with.
“Hey, how about it?”
“S-sorry, let’s talk about that later.”
Well, being this persistent is normally difficult to deal with anyway.
Somehow managing to dodge the barrage of questions, I decided to speak with Katsura-san, who had rushed over next.
“Um, Katsura-san, is there anything that concerns you?”
“I’m curious about the components of the poison the director was made to drink.”
[The culprit must be Kai-kun. He killed Director Shimoda and is trying to frame me, who’s closest to becoming the next director, to steal the director’s position! What a foolish man… Hmm, here I should smartly expose him and hopefully make Fuuko-san turn toward me.]
(This person doesn’t seem to be the culprit either.)
And what he was thinking made some sense. Certainly, if both the director and the next candidates were gone, it would be easy to sit in the vacant seat.
(The culprit was aiming for that? Then the one who’s suddenly suspicious is the other candidate, Kai-san.)
I immediately decided to read the mind of the other next director candidate, Kai-san.
“Katsura-san, thank you. Then, Kai-san, is there anything about this incident that concerns you?”
“I’m curious about the meaning of that seiza position. And who made the director drink the poison…”
[The culprit must be Katsura-kun. He killed Director Shimoda and is trying to frame me, who’s closest to becoming the next director, to steal the director’s position! What a foolish person… Well, here I should gallantly expose him and hopefully make Fuuko-san turn toward me.]
(Huh? Copy-paste?)
This person also believes he’s the next director and suspects his rival candidate, Katsura-san.
(Their inner thoughts and taste in women are so similar… If their positions were different, they could have been good friends, couldn’t they?)
What Kabemura-san said about them being similar types seems to be right.
(However, neither of them is the culprit… Well then.)
I decided to speak with Yuuno-san from administration, who was also the first person to discover the scene.
“Um, Yuuno-san, have you noticed anything?”
“…No, nothing in particular.”
[Hawawa, what should I do, what should I do! I put wrung-out rag water in the director’s tea to get back at him for sexual harassment, but I never thought this would happen!]
(Hawawa!? Sexual harassment!? Rag!?)
There was so much information that my brain froze for a moment… Also, isn’t there too much of a difference between her appearance and demeanor versus her inner character?
While maintaining a straight face, she was panicking inside.
[Feee… It was just revenge for that perverted old man touching my butt!? That rag wiped off some dangerous chemical!? Ah, I messed up again. Someone incompetent like me should just do simple odd jobs, why did they make me work in a place where such dangerous chemicals are nearby!]
(She looks cool but is actually a klutz!?)
She’s competent-looking but incompetent, or rather, maybe her appearance works against her? …But more importantly.
(So that’s it. This wasn’t a crime but an accident?)
There was no murderous intent—just some rag water added as petty revenge that happened to contain some dangerous chemical… I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking “At least it wasn’t premeditated murder.”
(This should be resolved quickly. There are circumstances, and above all, it was an accident.)
If they left a rag that had wiped dangerous chemicals lying around, the director’s management responsibility would be questioned.
There might be parts that are hard to admit, but I thought I’d try to subtly encourage a confession. I raised one finger and walked around the room as usual.
“Oh, could it be, Kanako-chan?”
The gossip-loving Kabemura-san got excited seeing me create an atmosphere of case resolution. This person might get along well with Inspector Gori.
“For example, this could also be considered. This isn’t a crime but an accident… for instance, touching one’s mouth by mistake with hands that had touched dangerous chemicals… or something?”
I stated almost the truth while keeping the rag business hidden. However…
“What are you saying?”
“Of course dangerous chemicals would be properly managed.”
Immediately, very reasonable opinions came flying from both doctors.
“Even if it were an accident, there’s no dangerous chemical that would cause poisoning symptoms just by touching one’s mouth.”
“Exactly, it’s more natural to think someone made him drink it.”
(B-but it’s the truth…)
Being strongly opposed by the experts, I was flustered. Actually, the fact that they can cooperate like this suggests these two are pretty good friends.
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Meanwhile, the head nurse was watching this scene with a grin.
“Mufufufu.”
[Nice! They usually oppose each other but are fundamentally good friends! The thin books are getting thicker!]
(Thin books!?)
Kabemura-san was making fujoshi comments in her brain. Apparently, she’s a seasoned fujoshi with decades of experience. Well, that aside, this is troublesome.
(Even when I tell the truth, they won’t believe me easily. Actually, the atmosphere might have become even harder to speak up.)
These two really seem to firmly believe this is “a case where the opponent schemed to frame them.”
(They’re desperately trying to use this opportunity to bring down their opponent and get both Fuuko-san and the director’s position.)
Both men, full of ulterior motives, began desperately trying to corner their opponent.
“This is a crime. [Someone] who was trying to steal the next director’s position got impatient and laid hands on Director Shimoda. And they’re trying to frame their rival candidate for it.”
Katsura-san emphasized “someone.”
Apparently irritated by that tone, Kai-san retorted:
“Getting impatient suggests they had quite little confidence in themselves. So they resorted to such violence… The culprit is a very short-sighted person, I’d say.”
“…”
[Hau!? I’m sorry for being impatient! I’m sorry for being short-sighted! I’m sorry for being born!]
(Hey! Your beloved Fuuko-san is taking massive damage!)
The more the two doctors blamed each other, the more damage Yuuno-san’s heart took.
Her cool expression hadn’t crumbled, but inside she was crying her eyes out.
(The more they vilify their romantic rival, the more they hurt the person they like… How pitiful…)
Unaware of this, the war of words continued.
“It’s good that Director Shimoda survived. If it had been murder, it would have been terrible, Kai-kun. Do you know how many years murder gets you?”
“Hmph, of course I know that, Katsura-kun. Five years or more in prison. Well, it might be longer if there are no mitigating circumstances.”
“…”
[Five years or more!? No way, no way! I’ll never tell!]
(Ah!? The confession is getting further away!? It was an accident with no murderous intent! And he’s not even dead!)
I want to say that out loud, but not being able to is the painful part of being a mind-reading detective.
While maintaining her cool face, Yuuno-san was making a different kind of resolution, like “I’ll take this to the grave.”
(No, not that direction! Make up your mind about confessing!)
Meanwhile, the two doctors continued their conversation on the premise that Director Shimoda was dead, thinking “I’ll throw this guy in prison and become director myself.” They had no way of knowing that Yuuno-san was being cornered beside them.
Watching these two with amusement, Kabemura-san spoke to me.
“So, which one do you think did it, detective-san? Tell just auntie.”
(Um, neither of them is the culprit though.)
This type of person who says “just me” will definitely tell everyone by the end of the day.
While I was troubled about how to answer, Kabemura-san started interpreting on her own, saying “That’s right.” Not listening is also characteristic of this type of person.
“Yeah, that’s right, there was still the mystery of the dying message, wasn’t there? Tell me about that first.”
(Ah, right, there was the mystery of the dying message… though he’s not dead.)
I had completely forgotten about it since I quickly figured out the culprit, but that seiza position was really meaningful-looking.
(What was that dying message about? Was it indicating Yuuno-san?)
If it was evidence to convince them it was an accident—the dying message might become a trigger to encourage confession.
While I was thinking this, Kai-san, who didn’t suspect Yuuno-san at all, began expounding his theory about the dying message.
“The dying message, certainly that mystery remains. But actually, I have an idea about it.”
“Oh, really?”
Putting his hand to his chin, Kai-san began speaking with a slightly proud air.
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