Gray Life (3) - Bonus Chapter -

Evening.

Around seven o'clock.

Oreki woke up in a daze.

Even though he had slept for less than two hours.

He had already recovered enough energy.

At least enough to go out for a meal.

The cafeteria was out of the question.

Since he had plenty of money on hand, he might as well choose a decent restaurant.

But just as he reached downstairs...

"You again?"

Oreki walked out, wheeling his bicycle.

"My apologies for being me again."

Kamuro Masumi put on her helmet.

She gestured for Oreki to get on.

"I'll pass. It's more convenient for me to ride my bike."

Oreki declined Kamuro Masumi's invitation.

"Is that so?"

Kamuro Masumi didn't force the issue.

She quickly started her motorcycle and rode off.

"...She really left."

Oreki sat on his bicycle, feeling helpless.

Forget it.

Compared to riding that flashy motorcycle, his bicycle gave him a greater sense of security.

Since Kamuro Masumi hadn't specified a location.

It must be the same place as last time.

The library.

"Take it slow."

Oreki pedaled his bicycle nonchalantly.

It ended up taking him several dozen minutes to reach the library.

"Is it outside this time?"

He parked his bicycle by the roadside.

"I apologize for calling you out so late."

Sakayanagi stood up from the bench.

She looked quite pleased.

"If it's an important matter, then it's fine."

Oreki walked up to Sakayanagi.

"Hmm, I wonder if it counts as important."

"Don't tell me... it's not that Kiyoko has already provided an answer, is it?"

"Correct."

It really is like that...

Oreki grumbled inwardly.

He had just said it offhandedly.

He hadn't expected Kiyoko to actually be the one to submit an answer first.

However, the condition for victory was the correctness of the answer.

Not the speed.

"So? Who is the suspect she named?"

"The sponsor's daughter."

"The reason?"

"Coveting the value of that painting. Although it's not considered very expensive, I heard it's worth several hundred million yen."

--And this is what you call not very expensive?

Oreki didn't know what to say.

The young lady's perspective on money was clearly different from that of an ordinary person.

"And the modus operandi?"

"Using a timer to short-circuit the electrical box in the staff lounge, thereby causing a blackout in the main exhibition hall."

"And then swapping the famous painting?"

"Yes."

"That's quite a stretch."

Oreki said, bored.

He had expected her to come up with some brilliant deduction.

And this was the result?

A huge disappointment.

"It seems you have a better insight, then."

"I wouldn't go that far... but at least it's more reasonable than that."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Sakayanagi smiled.

To her, perhaps this was just a game.

But Oreki didn't think so.

Because he vaguely sensed that the truth would exceed everyone's expectations.

Even...

It might be better not to reveal the truth.

Oreki thought to himself.

"Could you help me gather some things?"

"What is it?"

"It's..."

He leaned close to Sakayanagi's ear and whispered.

Once Sakayanagi finished listening.

"Sure... I'll send it to your phone around eight o'clock."

"Right. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Please do."

Sakayanagi said calmly.

And so, Oreki left the library.

Under Sakayanagi's influence, Oreki decided to attend to his real business first.

Some time later.

The school post office.

Thankfully, this place didn't close early.

"Sorry to bother you—"

Oreki knocked on the door.

The owner, lying on a recliner, opened his eyes.

"What is it? If you're here to buy stamps..."

"That's not it."

"Then to buy stationery or something else..."

"Not that either."

"?"

The owner stood up from the recliner.

He eyed Oreki with some suspicion.

A literary-looking boy.

His clothes were clean and tidy...

He didn't look like one of those punks looking for trouble.

"If there's nothing, leave early."

"There is something."

Oreki showed the image on his phone to the other person.

It was the anonymous letter mentioned by the art museum curator.

There was no stamp on it.

Therefore, someone must have dropped it into the museum's mailbox in person.

As mentioned before, the handwriting was peculiar.

It was likely written by a left-handed person.

Although they tried their best to disguise it as right-handed...

It would only fool an ordinary person.

Anyone with slightly keener observation skills would notice the subtle discrepancies.

What remained was the stationery.

Oreki had already investigated this point.

It was purchased right here.

"Excuse me, do you sell this kind of stationery?"

"Let me see..."

The shopkeeper took Oreki's phone.

He examined it carefully for a moment before handing it back.

"Third row from the left, second shelf."

"Thank you."

Oreki followed the direction he pointed to search.

He found it very quickly.

This is the one.

He picked up a sheet of the stationery and compared it to the image on his phone.

They were exactly the same.

With this, it was certain that the person who sent the anonymous letter to the art museum had been here.

Since the person had been here...

Checking the surveillance footage will reveal new clues.

Oreki took a sheet of stationery and went to the front desk to pay.

"One hundred yen."

"Mm."

After paying, Oreki walked out of the campus post office.

It was always better to buy something when asking questions.

Otherwise, it would be troublesome to come back later.

Besides, it was only one hundred yen.

It was already past eight o'clock.

But Oreki still wanted to go to the surveillance room first.

It was better to get some things cleared up sooner rather than later.

"Haa..."

After parking his bicycle downstairs.

Oreki jogged to the door of the surveillance room.

"Is anyone there?"

He knocked on the door briefly.

Suddenly, the sound of a chair moving came from inside the room.

"Just a moment!"

It was the voice of the security team leader he had met earlier.

After the door opened.

He apologized with a smile on his face:

"Sorry, sorry, just now I was a bit... it's you?"

Seeing that the visitor was not a school official, he wiped the smile off his face.

"What are you here for? It's so late, a kid should be back in the dormitory sleeping."

A kid?

Oreki frowned.

What a joke.

Did they think he was some toddler?

"Let me see the surveillance footage."

"No."

The security guard refused firmly.

He said sternly:

"You can't just watch the surveillance whenever you want; you need to go first to..."

He rambled on with a whole lot of nonsense.

In fact, it could be summarized in one phrase.

That is...

Passing the buck.

No one wanted to take responsibility.

If you compare the buck to responsibility.

Passing the buck is just shirking responsibility.

"So, slacking off and playing games in the surveillance room..."

"Is something you can just do whenever you want?"

"Right?"

Oreki countered.

It was obvious that this security guard had already been scolded for this once.

He was feeling a bit emotional.

"A mere student..."

"Most people who come here are from prominent families. You'd better think clearly about the consequences."

"..."

"Besides, our conversation just now has already been recorded."

Oreki took his phone out of his pocket and showed the screen to him.

"That's not all."

"I also have records of you bullying others in your daily life."

"You're Uehara Akimizu from Security Team Two, right?"

Oreki opened a file on his phone.

Inside was a video over thirty seconds long.

"Impossible... where did you get this stuff!"

He lunged to grab Oreki's phone as he spoke.

But there was no need to even think about it.

That certainly wouldn't succeed.

As mentioned before, Oreki's physical fitness was quite decent.

"Don't get so worked up."

Oreki dodged quickly.

He shook the phone in his right hand.

"Solving this is simple."

"Just like I said before."

"I just want to borrow the surveillance room for a moment."