"They even took this many balls."
"They've got every kind."
"But why..."
"The person who took them couldn't have been just one person, right?"
"One person wouldn't need this many balls..."
"Heh, so how many people would need this many balls?"
"They've got soccer balls, basketballs, volleyballs—everything."
"What?"
"Were they planning to hold a ball-games tournament or something?"
"Pfft~"
"If there really were a ball-games tournament with this many different kinds, how could nobody know about it?"
"Could it have been held in secret?"
"You're getting more and more ridiculous."
"Why would they hold it in secret?"
"They could've just told everyone."
"...Hey, what if..."
The boy's voice suddenly turned mysterious.
"A huge, empty schoolyard..."
"...all kinds of balls scattered across the ground..."
"...discovered by students by chance the next day..."
"Ah!"
The boy let out a loud shout.
"Ah—"
The boy beside him gave a short yelp.
Very soon, the boy's exasperated voice rang out.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't you know you can scare someone to death?"
"Pfft—cough, cough~"
The boy who'd been startled forcibly swallowed his laughter.
Still, the first few words he spoke carried a faint trace of amusement.
"I just thought..."
"Hey, don't you think..."
"All those different kinds of balls scattered around the school, with no one knowing who put them there..."
"Would make a great start to a suspense thriller?"
"The main characters help their teacher investigate..."
"But then they run into one strange thing after another."
"Members of the main group start getting into trouble one by one..."
"The mastermind watches their every move from the shadows."
"They have no idea."
"They've walked right into the trap the mastermind set long ago."
"Every step they take is exactly what the mastermind expected."
"They think they're investigators, hunters."
"But they're the