Even You (Sakayanagi IF Route)

"It's you!"

A familiar voice came from behind him.

A hint of disgust rose in Oreki's heart.

There was only one person who could make him feel that way...

The old man he had seen at the art museum.

"No... please, spare me! I had no idea you were connected to the Sakayanagi Family!"

He grabbed Oreki's right hand and immediately dropped to his knees.

What was this about...?

Oreki wondered.

Besides, whenever he heard anyone say "Sakayanagi" now, he felt irritated.

It wasn't because of Sakayanagi Arisu.

It was because of himself.

If only he'd realized sooner... No, he'd known from the start.

So why hadn't he done anything?

He didn't know.

Did he think he'd never have anything to do with Sakayanagi Arisu?

"Please, show mercy and spare me! That Tanaka kid told me to do it. I, I... I'm completely innocent!"

Annoying...

Oreki clenched his right fist.

He was busy, and he was in a hurry.

He'd long since stopped caring about being given a hard time earlier.

Why should he care about a mere insect?

But now...

This nauseating attempt to save himself had successfully enraged Oreki.

He already had nowhere to vent the anger he'd been holding inside.

That punch he'd landed on Hashimoto Masayoshi just now had been nothing.

Not even one percent of what he had in him.

"..."

Oreki brought his fist down without hesitation.

The result was obvious.

The old man was knocked unconscious.

The world suddenly grew much quieter.

A few minutes later.

He returned to the dormitory.

The administrator at the front desk looked confused.

Of course, he knew Oreki.

He was the person the Sakayanagi Family's young lady liked.

What's more, the school board chairman had specifically told him not to interfere in Oreki's affairs.

That showed just how important Oreki was.

"Um... You're Oreki, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you come back to the dorm today because you left something in your room?"

"No, I just wanted to stay here..."

"Huh? You... I mean, surely you're joking. How could someone like you stay in such a shabby room?"

The administrator was sweating profusely.

What was going on?

Was this young master trying to give him a hard time on purpose?

But as far as he could remember, he hadn't done anything to offend Oreki...

"..."

"Oh, oh! You must have forgotten your key, right? Just a moment..."

"..."

"Found it! Here, take it."

"..."

Oreki took the keycard the other man handed him.

Never mind how the administrator had one of these.

Just his social awareness...

Was already hundreds of times better than that old man's.

"By the way, do you know that old man from the art museum..."

"I do, I do! Could he be your...?"

"No. I just happened to pass by and knocked him out."

"Is that so?"

"Over there."

Following Oreki's gesture, the administrator spotted an old man lying on the ground.

All right.

If he wasn't hallucinating, then what Oreki said had to be true.

"Don't worry. I didn't see a thing."

"That's not what I meant."

"...You want me to take care of the aftermath?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"But the people behind him, the Sakuras..."

"They've already fallen."

"What!?"

"Go on."

"Y-yes."

After watching the administrator hurry off in a fluster,

Oreki turned and headed to the Sakayanagi Family's house.

If it could still be called that...

There wouldn't be anyone in the room now.

Even though it was empty, the school wouldn't change the room.

Sakayanagi's Father had only gone away for a while.

He hadn't left for good... probably.

Oreki soon reached the ground floor.

He'd come here a few days ago and remarked that nothing had changed.

Who would've thought...

"Go on in."

He took the elevator, then pushed open the door.

Almost nothing had changed.

Except...

Oreki was the only one left here.

Loneliness.

So this was what Sakayanagi had meant by loneliness.

He checked the time.

Seven in the evening.

It wasn't too late yet.

So Oreki decided to think things through for a while.

First, there was Sakayanagi's Father.

He didn't seem to care about Sakayanagi's affairs.

No, it wasn't quite that he didn't care.

At the very least, he did his best to fulfill whatever Sakayanagi asked of him.

For instance, coming to Advanced Nurturing High School to see Kiyoko, then having a match with her.

But...

There had been no emotion in Sakayanagi's Father's voice over the phone.

Should he call it sorrow...

Or...

He didn't know.

Oreki couldn't reach an answer for now.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he'd put it aside.

Next, there was the reason Sakayanagi's Father had suddenly left that night.

It was probably that middle-aged man.

Had he betrayed them...?

No... perhaps he'd sought their protection.

Oreki hadn't seen the man at the art museum again since that day.

Had he been secretly sent to do something?

Perhaps it had something to do with the "culprit" Sakayanagi's Father had mentioned on the phone.

When Oreki suggested that the real culprit was the cleaner,

Sakayanagi's Father hadn't questioned him.

But he'd still told Oreki not to tell anyone.

So...

Had someone been made a scapegoat?

But who?

And why?

"Damn it! There are too few clues..."

Oreki punched the sofa.

Then he covered his forehead and stared at the floor, deeply troubled.

Normally, he would have figured out the answer.

But now...

Sakayanagi Arisu filled Oreki's thoughts.

He wanted to rush out of the school gates and go find Sakayanagi.

But that was impossible.

He had no connections or money. No one would tell him where Sakayanagi Arisu was.

The Sakayanagi Family owned many houses.

And a large number of them were empty.

It wasn't realistic to search them one by one.

Not to mention, even getting inside would be a problem.

He'd better start with Kiyoko.

"..."

After thinking for a while, Oreki felt hungry.

He went into Sakayanagi's room.

The apron was still there.

Oreki slipped it on with practiced ease.

"Hehe... It fits you perfectly, Houtarou."

"!"

He turned around.

He could've sworn he'd just heard Sakayanagi's voice.

But there was no one else in the room.

Was he imagining Sakayanagi Arisu because he missed her?

As expected...

It was only after losing someone that people realized how important they were.

Only then did they realize whom they loved.

--To be continued