I Was Curious (1)

"So what if I am?"

"Nothing... I'm just a little curious."

"Curious?"

"Yeah, I'm especially curious about Classmate Sakayanagi."

"You'd be better off not being too curious."

"Why?"

"That way, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Ehh—"

Kushida Kikyo tilted her head.

She sounded confused.

"Classmate Oreki, you say such profound things..."

"Do I?"

Oreki frowned.

He'd been kindly advising her to spend less time with Sakayanagi.

Otherwise, she'd end up unhappy.

It was lucky that Sakayanagi was pretty, at least.

If she weren't...

Never mind. Oreki didn't dare think about it.

That was a small blessing amid the misfortune.

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

"Won't you stay and have dinner with us?"

"I think I'll pass."

Oreki glanced around.

Quite a few girls were looking his way.

It was a little awkward.

After leaving the café,

he spotted Kamuro Masumi not far away.

She was leaning against a motorcycle, staring at her phone with a bored expression.

It must've been a coincidence, Oreki thought.

But just as he passed Kamuro Masumi...

"You can ignore me if you want, but she'll come looking for you herself."

"Would that be a problem?"

"Hm?"

Those three sentences made Oreki stop in his tracks.

For one thing,

this time, he'd really brought it on himself.

Of all the things he could've done,

he'd gone and helped Sakayanagi recruit another girl.

And the worst part was...

Sakayanagi had taken a dislike to him too.

What a misfortune.

"It's almost five. Where are you going now?"

Oreki sounded a little exasperated.

Playing tennis took a lot of energy.

How was he supposed to recharge without a nap?

"To the library."

"I heard you right?"

"You did. Get on. I have something else to do afterward."

"Uh..."

Oreki looked at Kamuro Masumi on the motorcycle.

It was his first time riding with a girl driving.

Wait...

Had they got their roles mixed up?

Shouldn't it be...

Unfortunately, Oreki didn't have his license yet.

Kamuro Masumi did, though.

"Are you getting on or not?"

"Coming."

Oreki stopped hesitating.

He climbed on.

A few minutes later,

near the library.

"Get off."

"Yeah."

Oreki climbed off with composure.

He glanced at the sign up ahead.

"No honking."

That made sense.

The library was for reading.

Even if it was soundproofed,

that didn't mean people outside could make as much noise as they pleased.

"Second floor, Section B."

Kamuro Masumi left after saying that.

She seemed to have something important to do after all.

I'm always the one who has to go to her...

Oreki grumbled inwardly.

It was true that Sakayanagi was the chairman's daughter.

So she could abuse her authority like this?

There had to be limits, though.

Expecting him to come running whenever she called...

Oreki wasn't Sakayanagi Arisu's butler.

That was what he'd thought until just now.

"Five million yen?"

"Yeah, same as before."

"Sounds good, sounds good... Ahem, I mean..."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

Sakayanagi smiled as she closed her book.

She took out a picture.

It showed a famous painting: Girl Under Moonlight.

"Well? Are you confident?"

"I'll have to see the scene before I can say."

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

"What about you?"

"I'll come along too."

Oreki nodded.

He didn't know whether this was a setup by Sakayanagi's Father or an actual incident...

But he had only one job.

Find the person who had stolen the painting.

If it was an elaborate setup, he'd have to catch the culprit to earn their trust.

But if it was...

He only had to deduce the truth, right?

Catching people was better left to the professionals.

This school was something else, though.

They'd just hung a famous painting in the art gallery without a care.

And someone had managed to steal it.

He didn't know whether to call that stupidity or carelessness.

"Let's talk about you."

"Me?"

"Who else?"

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

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

"We're just using each other."

"Oh?"

"...It's not like you're the only one who can have followers."

"You could, I suppose."

Sakayanagi rested her hands together.

She was curious.

What would happen if Karuizawa Kei started to fall for Oreki, only for Sakayanagi to step in and defeat her?

Just imagining it sounded fun.

Oreki had no idea what Sakayanagi was thinking.

He hesitated for a moment.

"Let's get straight to it. What do you think of Kiyoko from Class D?"

To be continued...