Vol 5 Chapter 2 (1/2)
I believe in God
Because we've met
1
It was one such possibility
To begin with, why Kouta-san was able to invade this prison-like research facility so easily And why according to the security guards the intruder had already escaped the facility, yet Kouta-san still remained within the facility bounds There were other questionKouta-san, and when it came to answer all of them, I had predicted to an extent that there must be a double-dealer within the facility, be it security or someone else
However, I did not think the double-dealer would actually be one of the researchers
While drinking a cup of coffee that Neo-san had filled with sugar, I observed him I tried to be discrete about it, but Neo-san sensitively noticed hed ”fufu”
”What is it?” Neo-san said with an evaluating look and a condescending laugh ”Are you the type that dislikes coffee? I have some black tea, then I'd really like to recoood to paralyze your thought given what's co”
” I am not fond of alcohol”
”Right, Miyoshi+-san said so like that didn't she You downed a full bottle of vodka and got hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, was it? And you haven't taken a sip of alcohol since, or so”
So that instructor was going around spouting her mouth, after all
” no, I like coffee I actually prefer it black, but I do like sweet ones like canned coffee, too Although coffee probably does not care whether I like it or not”
”Hahah Right It's rough liking the liked back”
Neo-san grinned as he responded to me
”I can't stand black Absolutely can't I wish I could exter bitter and hot froion, the deity'd have to say coffee beans are impure and cannot be eaten”
””
The fourth floor of the fifth ward Neo Furuara-san's private room It was not created to look much like an academic's room, and instead, yes, it feltthe man himself A wine cooler, a luxurious sofa, what looked like a , and all four walls were covered with paintings And those paintings were nothing ordinary either, being works that seeallery They were counterfeit of course, but they spoke words of his tastes
”Hh it embarrasses me that they're all over the place”
Indeed, there sees Landscape to portrait to abstract, impressionist to cubis went I felt like he could even open an exhibit here if he wanted
”Do you like paintings?”
”Although painting does not see so monk can read sutras he's never studied? When I was a student, this being around middle school, yes, I once tried to paint”
”Huh,” I felt like his two phrasesthat out would lead to anything, so I let it slide ”So, how did that go?”
”Absolutely terrible It was quite different looking and doing I intended to draw a self-portrait, but ht, what is it, would it be, yes, an abstract landscape, it is quite, unique”
”” I could not laugh, having had a si a scholar?”
”Hahah Don't look at me like that You looked at the Professor the same way, didn't you? Scary, scary Don't you understand? I'ave you coffee”
”A friend”
What was most important here hich side Neo-san was a friend to At the very least, he is not the Professor's friend That is the truth But to conclude that he is a friend ofsimple-minded And to say that he is a friend of Kouta-san would be ju to conclusions, too Froine there to be much trust between the two I took a sip of coffee, and played with the taste indown I felt like my body warmed up from the inside out
”What are you?”
”A direct question fufu I shall answer that question like this,” Neo-san said as he stretched his arms out in a very old-fashi+oned way ”An expert at whistle-blowing! A professional at betrayal! A specialist of intelligence! A copycat of corruption! That is myself, Neo Furuara!”
””
”Don't slide away like that”
”Of course I would slide away,” I slid away like five kilometers ”So in other words, you and Kouta-san are co-conspirators, and you two are spies fro that wants to snoop around this research facility?”
”A little different Ishi+maru-san and I aren't really accomplices Well, the two of us are h to explain, though,” Neo-san see as he spoke ”It'd be better not to probe too much about me Your lifespan'll shrink if you learn too h that I'm not really a person on Shadou Kyouichirou's side, and more a person that's able to help you out?”
” it probably is”
Neo-san's objective was probably somewhat similar to Kouta-san's objective However, as opposed to Kouta-san, as acting solely on personal will, Neo-san seeanization he seeanization set up in opposition to this research facility or the organization above In other words, the Kunagisa household After all, Neo-san seeiven that he is infiltrating as a researcher, and the tier--, and by contrast Kouta-san was not as well-prepared but she had more maneuverability It was probably that sort of partnershi+p
However, as Neo-san said, it was indeed probably better to act like I knew nothing of the two Considering the lack of tianizations or research results or profits or things like that
”-- however you've caught the eye of quite a troublesome person”
”Troublesome person? Do you mean Kouta-san?”
”Who else? It looks like dangerous people take a liking to you,” Neo-san said with be it this time, but you should really let this be the last tiine why Ishi+ fro to worry about? Indeed Compared to the past compared to when I first came into contact with her, Ishi+maru-san's mellowed a lot However, I knohen she used to be called a Seven Spear[1]”
Based on what he said, I could iine Neo-san and Kouta-san seemed to have run across each other before In that case, it would mean Neo-san was not just any insider, and that Kouta-san was not just so too far into this topic, but at the same time, I do not know if I will be allowed to avoid the topic Because there was no assurance that this was unrelated to this Utsurigi case
”Anyways What're you going to do now?” Neo-san asked and returned to his other mood in a blink ”To be frank, this proble was absurd, but it's also the only solution that currently exists Can't call it theeveryone The security systeest obstacle, after all Card Nu that's supposed to be kept in theone of us, but that's a tough call, too I still think an outsider did it Then of course, they'll have left thethis within four hours would be impossible”
”-- it's not a good show to intimidate a child”
There is no need to explain who the voice belonged to All of a sudden, Kouta-san appeared, standing behind Neo-san with a bundle of papers She truly left no presence Neo-san see without turning around, ”Yo, Ishi+ have you been there?”
”Beginning when you were giving a warning as a senior Yes, let us engage in deep discourse over our difference in opinion regarding that topic at a later time, Neo-san More importantly, dear friend, here”
Ishi+maru-san first sat next to Neo-san, who sat across from me, and handed ible English and nuly endless set of rows No, this is not English This is a prograe
”What is this?”
”I went ahead and printed it out, just in case The logs kept in the mother computer,” Kouta-san shot Neo-san a look ” Neo-san's computer was so pitiful that it took me quite soht The four-digit number records the time, and the labels next to it refer to the various research wards”
I listened to Kouta-san's explanation, and confir However, all this ht, no person other than Kasugai-san left their own research ward, and even that Kasugai-san only walked outside for roughly five to ten minutes Given these records, the Professor Kyouichirou and the researchers all have an alibi Using process of eliisa Creas clearly the most suspicious
Things did not look well
Hmph
Process of elimination
” how about the possibility these were tampered?”
”They can't be tampered with,” said Neo-san instead of Kouta-san ”We don't have such skills This includes the Professor Utsurigi-san ht have been able to, but his specialization is different -- he specialized more in the software side than the hardware side, after all -- plus, Utsurigi-san was the one as killed Miyoshi+-san and Kasugai-san work in different fields to begin with, and Koutari-san is aki-kun and Uze-san have pretty high skill levels but those lay in completely different areas”
”-- the others aside, would the Professor not be able to? He is the Mad De as his name is not just for show, he should be able to do at least that much”
”Let's enius And Shadou Kyouichirou is not a genius This difference is larger than you think, Mr Lover”
””
”Yes, the Professor is not a genius Of course, you and myself, and our sort of level wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the Lady and the Professor The two of theeniuses to us There are only a few hus that can tell the difference between the two And the Professor his And wouldn't that be why, because the Professor realized he's not a genius, wouldn't that be why he diverged fro his whole life, and created this idiotic research topic?”
Idiotic research topic It was probably so However, if that were the case, then regardless of alibi, the Professor would have no reason to kill Utsurigi There was noyour own research
”Hus are like that, you know, life forh we all know that the world isn't fair and equal Isn't that right? You could ask anyone and they'd answer the sa sole person exists in this world that is inferior to you? You won't find anyone that'll nod their head”
Neo-san see fun
Neo-san said nothing wrong There is only one top, and the rest are countless bottoms That is how this world is built That said, it was not so enjoyable to hear
”I guess ent on a tangent? But you know, there're too many black boxes in this syste the mother co inside is the original creator, the Lady of Kunagisa”
” so we are not just talking about things not looking well,” I tossed the papers on the table ” and when it comes to computers and such, all I can do is throw my hands up in the air I do not specialize in them at all”
”Huh,” Neo-san seemed amused ”Then, what is your specialty? You're Miyoshi+-san's apprentice, so perhaps dissection?”
” I did not like dissectionof dissection ”What happened to Utsurigi-san's crucified corpse?”
”Haki-kun and Uze-san carried it to the third ward to Miyoshi+-san's research facility, and Kasugai-san and Miyoshi+-san are perforether Cause of death and ti”
”I see”
I thought Inforet , I was so surprised at what I saw after entering the roorasp any concrete inforotten a close look That hy I must take another look at the brutalized and disi body
And the other thing was that we could not forego investigating the crii had been crucified and comprehend the situation To re-enter that barren rooe
I needed to do these two things, however, I did not kno
”More importantly, dear friend, do we not have a matter to be settled?” Kouta-san spoke tothatas we are cooperating”
”What is it?”
”Whether to prioritize you orpose ”Whether you shall give me your infor and then receive your share afterwards The pressing matter of order”
”Ahh” that is right There was that problem ”That is a problem, indeed”
Of course, I would rather give my information afterwards Not because of lack of tiainst Kouta-san However, that was also true for her Just because she were to aid ain I had already turned down her offer last night, after all It would be impossible for Kouta-san to trust me fully
Perhaps Kouta-san thought the same, as we both fell silent for a while
”How about flipping a coin?” Neo-san suggested to Kouta-san ”Ti while you two stand around like this, Ishi+ood for the boyfriend, either And there's no clean answer to that question anyways, so how about we just carelessly decide it with the even chance of a coin?”
”-- I see Consuh her coat pockets and fished out what looked like some sort of medal At the very least, I could tell it was not a japanese yen, but I could not deduce where it could be from, and it could even just be an arcade token ”Well then, dear friend, would you like heads or tails?”
”That is hard to call fair,” I said carefully ”The person throwing the coin can control the face of the coin I do notsuspicious, but I do not want to relent myself to a syste”
”Indeed that is so,” Kouta-san said without hesitation ”Then you may throw it I shall choose Wouldn't that fair to you?”
” are you sure? What I just said works for you, as well”
”I have one more coin,” Kouta-san said, and then she pulled a second coin fro it in your right hand Tails if it's in your left hand How is that?”
Kouta-san then flicked the coin into the air, and then she ht hands I could not figure out where the coin ended up
” alright, then”
I flicked the coin lightly into the air There were no ame of chance I did not catch the coin on the palht onto the table The coin bounced a number of ti with the tails up
Pascal[2] says fifty
To express it in more precise terms, it is not exactly fifty-percent because there was the chance the coin hably low that it was not worth taking into account, and it had already been avoided I looked at Kouta-san again She had a sorin as she slowly opened her left hand Nothing was in her hand
” very well This is itself consummate We shall prioritize you,” Kouta-san stood up from the sofa, and then looked down at me for a moment ”Then, as a textbook step-by-step for this sort of case, let us hear an autopsy and investigate the crii-san's body first, or the crime scene first You shall decide”
I answered Kouta-san's gaze with my own and answered her question
” indeed Then let us -- look at the corpse, first The et,” I looked at Neo-san ”Neo-san, do you knohat rooi's corpse is kept in the third ward?”
”Probably the seventh dissection room on the third floor Because that's what she said U to do?” Neo-san tilted his head to the side a bit as he asked ”You or rather, you and Ishi+ that third ward, you know? The sa the seventh ward I can house you here like this I can give you a hand with thinking, and I can give you inforive you a cup of coffee But it's pretty tough for h spot right now, too You know that, right?”
” well, yes, I know that”
What to do The first thing popped to mind was to ask sensei for help But that was too risky and did not coaine sensei, that none other than Miyoshi+, the most self-centered in the world Kokoromi-sensei, actually worshi+ped Professor Kyouichirou or anything, but I also could not i to betray the Professor She is incredibly talented, after all She could not just be a normal hire at this laboratory There must be some personal motive And for that sensei who could not possibly live a life beyond her ohi could exist in this world that she would prioritize over her own goals To hope that a once-student of hers had any had any modicum of value to her was a vain, futile hope
” in that case, there is only one way”
Kouta-san said towardfor my reply, she turned to Neo-san and said, ”as for you, in any case”
”Please bother the Professor Please circulate unnecessary errands and counterfeit information as much as you can Please confuse hi up That is your area of expertise, is it not?”
” hahahahahah” Neo-san replied to Kouta-san with an airy laugh ”Roger roger roger, Ishi+maru Kouta-san I do not knohy, but it appears Ishi+ man What is that information you want so badly, I wonder? Very well, I shall not ask It arouses reatly, but I shall not ask Yes Leave it to me, Ishi+maru-san This Neo Furuara shall put forth the little everything and anything that I have to provide assistance”
”Consuo, dear friend,” Kouta-san said with a smile that seerabbed my hand and pulled me up from the sofa ”It is time to depart on an adventure”
” you seem carefree”
”Because it is not of my concern For now, anyways”
”Young man,” Neo-san said with a hint of seriousness as I was forcibly dragged away ”Be careful not to be seen by anyone If you are seen, it's over Thinking that Miyoshi+-san is alright because you are old acquaintances, or that youlike that should be throay”
”I am quite aware, on that at least”
”Not just the Professor Every person here has a fallen quality to theht, be careful especially of Kasugai-san”
” Kasugai-san?” I was a bit surprised by that ”Why? It seemed like shi+to-kun and Misachi-san would beof worry”
I felt like the two of the the recipients of such illogical violence erous
”Those without any conviction are the erous, here Think about it Why did the Professor place you all - or rather, the Lady of Kunagisa, not in his own research ward, but rather in Kasugai-san's? Of course, part of it's so the blae to escape But more than that is because there's an objective belief that Kasugai-san would never betray the Professor I can understand it, because I'm a professional at betrayal Because I operate under the premise of betrayal, I can understand with absolute conviction Kasugai-san won't betray Because they aren't even cooperating, to begin with Oogaki-kun and Uze-san have a reason for their adulation of the Professor Respect toward the Professor, repaying of favors from the Professor, and so on However, that's why all you have to do is provide thele yourself in while they have a bit of shock over their treat like that There're plenty of ways to get soai-san is different The reason she's here is just because”
”Just because?”
Neo-san grinned at my response
”Yeah Hey, can you ithat operates without any conviction and without any reason She has no reason to adhere to Professor Kyouichirou Not one reason She's just here just because That's why it's impossible to warp her actions Because there's no reason for her to be assisting the Professor, so there's no logic that you can use to shape that You canand you'd still end up with zero, and you can't divide from zero What could you call this but fanaticism?”
””
Kasugai Kasuga
I thought back on ht
She said she would opt to not choose
She who is nothing, without liking or hating or being nor indifferent
She who is nothing, just because
But at the time, I did not truly understand what Neo-san ai-san arped in soine her to be that much of a threat I felt like shi+to-kun and Misachi-san see for the term fanaticism, and I could not feel any fear at this point from the arbitrary phrase just because
Kasugai Kasuga, just because
Is that not an issue that did not need fretting over?
-- but I would find out in these few hours That a hu that had not an ounce of conviction could beco the way they are in the world I would experience first-hand that there are no answers to someone who is not a problem
Ju/wiki/Seven_Spears_of_shi+zugatake Seven Spears of shi+zugatake[
Juer Pascal's Wager[
2
And then Kouta-san and I returned to the rooftop of the fourth ward
” what are you going to do?”
”Of course You want to go to the third ward, don't you? Then there's a route, right there The one and only route”
Kouta-san pointed toward nothing but air The space between the fourth ward and the third ward I eye-balled the distance as roughly four meters three and a half meters at the very worst It was close to a er than the distance between the fifth and fourth ward
” juain?”
”It is consuame over, as you please”
””
I stuck just e of the rooftop and looked down Yes, no matter how round I could say that with certainty because my eyes were both 20-20 This one was one of those times I did not appreciate my healthy body
” it is at least three and a half meters, you know?”
”Even high school girls can ju eleo four meters Incidentally, the current ht meters and ninety-five centimeters, the female record would be seven meters and fifty centimeters It is less than half of even the female record There is no way you cannot jump that, is there?”
At the very least, please do not compare me to a world record And while those peopletheir lives ju heavily injured placed a greater burden on me than I would have expected
”I do not think it's a good idea to sit around in one spot for too long And there's no saying that Utsurigi-san's corpse will be stored in the third ward forever Once enough proof -- by which I mean plenty of proof that works in the Professor's favor -- it would not be surprising for it to be cremated That would be the end Yes, by which I isa-san A dead end”
Bringing up that naerated way, and then took e This ti distance That said, if I took too much distance and used up too much stamina by the time I jumped, that would not do, either
”-- leaving me side, can Kouta-san jump that?”
”Easily”
Kouta-san laughed with plenty of confidence, and pushed the rilasses up Based on her attitude, this was probably easy for her In that case, I should just worry about h momentum, there was no way I could not ju as I concentrated and e--
I took a deep breath and then took a step forward My seventh step took hth I arched my body like a bow -- focuseda second, soared through the air, and then, landed I was able to land
”-- phew”
I turned around, toward the rooftop of the fourth ward that I was just on a few seconds ago By the ti, Kouta-san was in the air And she landed on the rooftop of the third ward before I could adjust ht, and the momentum carried her laced boots forward by her heels, and then she stopped
”---- fufu,” Kouta-san hed towardcouple Wethis sort of acrobatics together”
”I would not say I a this”
I said, but I was bothered e than Kouta-san She was tall, although not to the sas , but this was probably not a case of build but rather athletic talent
”What is it? We must hurry You are short on time, are you not?”
”Ahh, yes” but I thought of yet a different thing and froze in ht, but would we not be able to enter the seventh ward using thisfrom rooftop to rooftop?”
Kouta-san looked surprised for just a estion, and then she quickly replied, ”I think that's impossible” While it was not an immediate response, I could not understand why Kouta-san brushed that thought aside so quickly, so I could not help but sound like I were cross-exa when I asked, ”And why is that?”
”I would prefer if you didn't get so excited over this, it's quite unruly Were you like that when you tried to chew up Professor Kyouichirou?”
”That no, I aize”
I obediently lowered my head
Yes What point is there in getting over-excited? Even if Kunagisa and Suzunashi+-san's lives were endangered everyhot-blooded would not solve anything Rather, the opposite would happen It is because of the situation we are in, because of the position we are in, that I must always have a cool head I ht machine Like a robot without a soul
”However, what makes you brush it aside so quickly”
”Do you think I hadn't thought of that? Ju from roof to roof like Lupin III, do you think I've lived a life where I've not at least once resorted to such a course of action?” Kouta-san turned her back to”Anyways, it would be impossible for you to do that I shall explain the reason a later tii-san's body?”
” alright,” I nodded, not entirely appeased, and then I followed Kouta-san ”However, if this is impossible”
I had felt as if I had finally coht at the end of the tunnel to this difficult case, but perhaps it was just a wrong hunch For a moment it was like the completely, physically sealed-off seventh ward had shown just a crack
Kouta-san opened the lock of the door and said, ”but the problem is not just that sealed room, is it?”
”The reason that Utsurigi-san was killed in such a brutal way And the words written in blood pique , you'll stop being able to see where you're walking”
” indeed That is true”
I looked at hly three and a half hours left I could not say I had plenty of time left However, the amount of problems to think about boasted an absolute superiority in nu as it is not zero, I must continue on This was certainly a pessimistic perspective
I walked down the stairs after Kouta-san, and then realized oneIt was unrelated to the incident, and was about the gamble with Kouta-san earlier The front and back of the coin It ended with my victory, but was it trulyin her left hand However, that did not ht hand, because she did not show it It orth wondering whether both hands were ee to me because of my time limit felt so steeped in senti myself to ask about it Instead, I asked a completely different question: ”What does Neo-san do?”
”Didn't you ask him?”
”I did, but I felt like he did a neat job of uous Or perhaps he si like being an expert at whistle-blowing and a professional at betrayal and a specialist of intelligence and other such aliases that sound like lies”
”And, what did you conclude of him?”
” well, I think he anization”
”That answer is not consu that swims in the ocean is a fish, and indeed, I can only call it three-summate or four-summate”
”Uh huh,” I did not understanding that grading scale ”Then, what is Neo-san?”
”This is just between the two of us, okay?” Kouta-san paused going down the stairs, placed her index finger to her lips, and then winked ”He's not so as mellow as a spy And all of his aliases that he used to refer to himself are not lies but rather the truth Indeed, you could call hiroup no, a circuit dispatched, soreater than a spy”
” I wonder about that large circuit”
”That would be how scrutinized the research Professor Kyouichirou is perfori-san passed away, so I should call it research he had been perforisa-san then that correction is unnecessary And that would be up to you For exa to is also probably interested in Professor Kyouichirou's research results Yes, of course that place would be”
” and, yourself, too”
Of course, Kouta-san seean walking forward again I decided to avoid pressing further and simply followed We passed by the fourth-floor door and then arrived at the third floor Kouta-san waited forcare not to make too much sound, opened the lock with her knife
”What room did he say?”
”The seventh dissection room”
Kouta said as she turned the knob of the steel door and pushed it carefully, peering through the crack at the other side However, she also then closed the door that moment It was such an instantaneous action that it was like she did it out of reflexes, and it was astonishi+ng that even then the only sound that could be heard was the auto set
” what happened?”
”It is not consummate, as tomen walked out of what is likely the seventh dissection ward”
”Two? How did they look?”
”They both wore a lab coat One wore round glasses, and the other seemed like the cool type”