March Towards Tomorrow (6)

"I see, but wouldn't that violate the rules?"

"Not at all, not at all."

Oreki put on his headphones, listening to the recording on his phone.

Oh, and there was video, too.

He had kept his phone in his front shirt pocket the entire time.

That wasn't just any ordinary pocket.

There was a hole in it.

The size was exactly the same as the phone's camera lens.

Unless someone looked very closely, they wouldn't notice it.

Oreki looked back.

He saw the old man staring at his phone with a look of delight.

He was probably congratulating himself on his good luck.

Yes, very lucky indeed.

Lucky to have met Oreki.

Once this case was closed, not only would that guy named Sakura Tanaka be finished, but this old man would also be heading off to prison.

Time to reform himself properly.

Oreki put away his headphones and arrived at his destination.

An old bookshelf.

According to the old man, it should be on the second shelf, sixth row.

--Found it.

Oreki saw a brand-new notebook.

There was a red string tied around it.

This had to be it.

But something felt off.

So, Oreki didn't reach out to touch it right away.

What exactly was wrong?

Oreki finally picked up the notebook and flipped it over.

There was almost no dust.

The same went for the shelf itself.

...No wonder he felt something was wrong.

Someone had replaced the real one with a fake.

If it had been sitting here for a long time, the bottom of the notebook would definitely be covered in dust.

This was different from the one kept in the front desk drawer.

Those who came often could register at the front desk.

If you were a infrequent visitor or here for the first time, you had to register here.

--That guy got to it first.

Oreki put the fake back in its original spot.

He decided to go find Shiina Hiyori directly.

There were no more clues to be found here; even if there were, Kiyoko had likely already cleared them away.

"..."

"Come back again soon!"

Oreki didn't look at the old man.

Anyway, he wouldn't be seeing him the next time he came back.

--Where are you now?

Oreki sent a message.

Not long after.

--At the Literature Club.

--The Literature Club?

--I finished what I had to do, so I just headed back to the club room on my own. Sorry~

--Understood, I'm heading over now.

This came as a surprise to Oreki.

He had assumed Shiina Hiyori would be blocked by Kiyoko.

Looking at it now...

Forget it.

Oreki stowed his belongings into the bike bag.

He quickly pedaled to the base of the school building.

The Literature Club was in an empty classroom on the third floor.

"Is it here?"

Oreki arrived at the door.

After knocking a few times.

"Coming."

Shiina Hiyori opened the door.

She pulled Oreki by the hand to a seat.

"You look very happy, did something happen?"

Oreki asked, puzzled.

"Mm. Something very interesting."

Shiina Hiyori pressed her hands together.

"...Is that so?"

"However... Oreki-kun?"

"What is it?"

"You look a bit unhappy."

"Perhaps."

Oreki rested his cheek on his right hand.

It would be a lie to say he was happy.

After encountering such bad luck, it was impossible to feel happy even if he wanted to.

Not only had he been played by Kiyoko.

He had also been given a hard time by an old man.

The latter was fine.

Oreki didn't care about a mere 200,000 yen.

After all, that was originally just bait used to lure the other party into a trap.

But the former...

Being played by someone else would make anyone unhappy.

Especially when he had been certain of his victory.

"Please don't be discouraged."

"Never mind me, tell me about your investigation."

"Mm, most of the employees hold a grudge against Sakura Tanaka."

"I see..."

"I think the reason lies with his uncle."

"That old man?"

"Eh... has Oreki-kun met that person?"

"Barely, I suppose."

"What a coincidence."

"I'd rather not have such coincidences again."

"Mm-hmm."

"Anything else? Didn't you say you ran into Ayanokouji?"

"Right, I wanted to tell you about that just now."

"What is it?"

"A showdown."

"...Please, be more specific."

"A showdown against Kiyoko-san."

"Kiyoko?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"...Who is that?"

"Eh, isn't it just Ayanokoji Kiyoko?"

"Ayanokoji Kiyoko?"

"Mhm."

"It's not Kiyotaka..."

Oreki covered his face and muttered.

So, he had been getting her name wrong the entire time.

How incredibly awkward.

But why hadn't Karuizawa Kei told him?

Could it be that she was just like Oreki...

And had remembered Ayanokoji's name wrong too?

How strange.

"Oreki-kun, you're being strange."

"What's strange about it?"

"Would a normal girl be called 'Kiyotaka'?"

"That's true."

"Then Shoko... no, never mind."

That must have been a nickname Sakayanagi gave to Ryuen.

It had nothing to do with "Kiyoko" here.

Oreki felt that if he kept talking about this topic, it would never end.

Therefore, he brought the conversation back to where it started.

"So, what exactly is it that has you so happy?"

"Well, about that..."

"I know. I'm curious..."

"Mhm, the complete first edition of Sherlock Holmes."

"That, huh..."

Oreki nodded.

It wasn't that he thought it was bad.

It was just...

Was this really okay?

Seeing Shiina Hiyori genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart, Oreki couldn't bring himself to say anything.

The first edition?

That guy really has everything.

But why is he in Class D?

Could it be that some novelist, in order to play the pig to eat the tiger, forced him into that position?

Talking about controlling his scores.

In reality, it was just an excuse found for the sake of narrative logic.

If it were really about distributing people with character flaws...

Who doesn't have a character flaw?

Following that logic of his, it seemed like everyone would have to be in Class D.

No one is perfect.

Everyone has some shortcomings.

"I think I understand."

Oreki stood up.

He looked out the window as the sky grew dark.

"It's getting late, let's continue tomorrow afternoon."

"Mhm, goodbye. I had a lot of fun today."

After saying goodbye to Shiina Hiyori.

Oreki began to contemplate another matter of great importance.

If he had to choose between the art gallery incident and this, Oreki would choose this without a moment's hesitation.

Because...

Sakayanagi Arisu was still waiting for him to explain.

Why did he take Shiina Hiyori to that restaurant?

Everything else would be fine.

But that Chinese restaurant, in particular.

He had carried Sakayanagi there just that morning, only to take another girl there in the afternoon.

There was no way he could justify that.

However, Oreki was also quite innocent.

He had no idea that Shiina Hiyori was coming here.

He had assumed it was just a shop that served Chinese food.

He never expected that even the desserts...

Perhaps he had been too focused on being with Sakayanagi to notice the desserts on the menu.

Regardless.

Oreki still had to find a way to appease Sakayanagi Arisu.

Otherwise...

--To be continue