I Am Very Curious (1)

"So what if I am?"

"It's nothing... just a little curious."

"Curious?"

"Yeah, curious about Classmate Sakayanagi."

"It's better not to be too curious."

"Why?"

"That will save you a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Eh--"

Kushida Kikyo tilted her head.

She let out a sound of confusion.

"What Oreki said is so profound..."

"Is it?"

Oreki frowned.

He was only kindly advising her to keep her distance from Sakayanagi.

Otherwise, she would end up miserable.

One could only say it was fortunate that Sakayanagi was good-looking.

If she were...

Forget it, Oreki didn't dare to think about it.

That was the silver lining in this misfortune.

"It's getting late, I'm heading back to the dorms."

"Won't you stay for dinner?"

"I'll pass."

Oreki glanced around.

Many girls were staring at him.

It was more than a little awkward.

After leaving the cafe.

He saw Kamuro Masumi not far away.

She was leaning against a motorcycle, looking at her phone out of boredom.

It must be a coincidence.

Oreki thought.

But just as he passed by Kamuro Masumi...

"You can ignore me if you want, but she will come to find you herself."

"Is that really okay?"

"Hm?"

These three sentences successfully made Oreki stop.

If nothing else.

This time, Oreki had truly shot himself in the foot.

Of all things to do, he had to go and help Sakayanagi recruit a girl.

The key point was...

He himself had been marked by her resentment.

What a misfortune.

"It's almost five, where are you going now?"

Oreki felt a bit helpless.

Playing tennis consumed a lot of energy.

How was he supposed to recover without a nap?

"To the library."

"Did I hear that right?"

"You did. Get on, I have things to do afterward."

"This..."

Oreki looked at Kamuro Masumi on the motorcycle.

It was his first time riding in a car driven by a girl.

Wait...

Had the roles been reversed?

Shouldn't it have been...

Unfortunately, Oreki didn't have a driver's license yet.

But Kamuro Masumi did.

"Are you not getting in yet?"

"Coming."

Oreki hesitated no longer.

He sat directly into the passenger seat.

A few minutes later.

Near the library.

"Get out."

"Yeah."

Oreki stepped out of the car calmly.

He glanced at the sign in front of him.

"No Honking."

That made sense.

Libraries were for reading.

Even with soundproofing, that didn't mean people outside could make noise recklessly.

"Second floor, Area B."

Kamuro Masumi left that sentence behind and walked away.

It seemed she really had something urgent to attend to.

It's always me going to find her...

Oreki complained in his heart.

Sakayanagi Arisu was the chairman's daughter, sure.

Abusing power like this was one thing.

But there had to be a limit, right?

Being at her beck and call...

He, Oreki, was not Sakayanagi Arisu's butler.

Until just a moment ago, that was exactly what Oreki had been thinking.

"Five million yen?"

"Yes, the same as before."

"Easy, easy... ahem, what I mean is..."

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

Sakayanagi closed her book with a smile.

She took out a picture.

On it was a famous painting—Girl Under Moonlight.

"Well, are you confident?"

"I'll have to see the scene to know."

"Mm, Kamuro will take you there tomorrow afternoon."

"And you?"

"I will be going as well."

Oreki nodded.

Although he didn't know if this was a trap set by Sakayanagi's father or a genuine incident...

There was only one thing he had to do.

And that was to find the person who stole the painting.

If this was a meticulously designed trap, he would have to catch the culprit to gain the other party's trust.

But if...

Deducing the truth is enough, right?

Leaving the actual arrests to the professionals is for the best.

Still, this school is really something else.

To think they'd just hang famous paintings in the art gallery so casually.

And then let someone successfully steal one.

I don't know whether to call them stupid or just incredibly careless.

"We should talk about you."

"Me?"

"Who else?"

"I don't have anything to talk about."

"Is that so? Then what about that girl, Karuizawa Kei?"

"We're just using each other."

"Oh?"

"...It's not like only you are allowed to have subordinates, right?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Sakayanagi folded her hands together.

She was curious.

If she were to step in and crush Karuizawa Kei just as the girl was starting to fall for Oreki...

What kind of scene would that be?

The thought alone was amusing.

Oreki had no idea what Sakayanagi was thinking.

He hesitated for a moment.

"Let's be direct. What do you think of Kiyoko from Class D?"

--To be continue