Chapter 23: Ōgami Yōsuke’s Illusion
"It's so terrifying. Why do these kinds of cases keep happening in recent years, and why do they always involve students? I’m too scared to go out on weekends now," Nakamura Manatsu complained. Then she noticed the bandage on her friend’s right thumb. "Tsuko, what happened to your hand? Did you get hurt at the inn?"
"No," Tetsuya raised his right hand, his thumb wrapped in gauze. Up close, the faint smell of disinfectant was noticeable. "I just cut myself while cooking yesterday."
"Eh? Is it serious? Will it leave a scar?" Nakamura looked concerned, but Tetsuya quickly moved his hand away.
"It’s fine. Let’s not talk about that. I need to go to the club first, so you can head to class on your own," Tetsuya said, stopping at the school gate.
"Is it something important?"
"One of our club members is missing. I need to report it to the teacher. You go ahead."
After successfully deceiving Nakamura, Tetsuya lightly pressed the gauze on his right thumb. He wasn’t actually injured—he had simply wrapped his perfectly fine finger. The reason was to cover up the sudden change in handwriting. Changing one’s writing habits was extremely difficult, but if he could roughly mimic his senpai’s handwriting and use the injured finger as an excuse, he would have about ten days to perfect it.
Since he had mentioned going to the clubroom, he decided to head there. After making sure Nakamura was far enough away and no one was paying attention to him, Tetsuya went to change his shoes. It took him about three rows of lockers to finally find the one labeled "Yomikawa." After changing his shoes, he arrived at the clubroom, only to find Ōgami Yōsuke there as well.
"Ōgami-kun?"
"Senpai, good morning," Ōgami immediately stood up. "Um… is there still no news about Kagehara-kun? I went to his class, but he wasn’t there."
"I’m not sure about the details, but as of yesterday, I haven’t heard anything from the police about finding him."
Ōgami lowered his head, deep in thought. "Could it be that Kagehara-kun is really involved in the murder at the inn?"
Tetsuya set down his bag. "After giving your statement at the inn, did the police question you again?"
"No," Ōgami shook his head, then sighed. "To be honest, Kagehara-kun’s insights into the story of Lord Mask-Taker really intrigued me. I was hoping to discuss it more with him."
Let’s not do that. Tetsuya didn’t want the story of Lord Mask-Taker to attract attention from those around him. "Well, it’s just an ordinary story. Don’t get too obsessed, Ōgami-kun. But after what happened at the inn, I’ve been thinking that maybe we shouldn’t have held the outdoor trip there. From now on, let’s just stick to school for our club activities."
"Eh? Really?" Ōgami looked disappointed. He seemed to enjoy discussing his interests in atmospheric settings, but as a kouhai facing a decision made by his senpai and club president, he had no choice but to accept it. "But I guess holding activities at school is fine too."
In truth, Tetsuya wanted to stop the club activities altogether to avoid further contact with them, but doing so abruptly would be too suspicious. He decided to take it step by step, believing that restricting the activity location would eventually bore them.
After chatting for a while, it was almost time for class. Tetsuya made his way to the third-year hallway and entered the classroom just as the bell rang.
The first day of disguise had gone smoothly, and he felt the immediate danger had passed.
From the LINE chat history, it seemed his senpai wasn’t the most prominent figure in the class, nor was she part of the core social circle. This was likely due to her excellent academic performance and her unique hobbies.
The common interests in the class were things like games, gossip, fashion, and romance. Influenced by her parents, senpai’s main hobby was reading, mostly introductory and beginner-level works in various professional fields, as well as some popular literature and social science books.
When hobbies didn’t align, there was little common ground for conversation. Even though senpai occasionally discussed music, it was only about what to listen to while reading—hardly enough to call her a music enthusiast.
As a result, despite her striking appearance and affluent background, she didn’t have many close friends. From the chat logs, it seemed she had never received love letters or confessions.
For Tetsuya, this was ideal. If his senpai had been a social butterfly with a wide circle of friends, maintaining the disguise would have been exhausting.
"However, the gap between first-year and third-year knowledge is way too big."
This was perhaps the most challenging issue for Tetsuya. If his senpai had been a poor student, it wouldn’t have mattered much, but she was one of the top students in her grade. Teachers focused on the school’s college acceptance rate would undoubtedly keep a close eye on her. Coupled with her parents’ academic backgrounds, a sudden drop in her grades would raise serious suspicions.
"It looks like I’ll need to plan my time carefully. I’ll have to self-study the first and second-year material."
Fortunately, the first semester from April to July was already more than halfway over. Once summer vacation arrived, he would have 30 to 40 days of free time to make up for the academic gaps.
Overall, the first day of disguise had gone without any major incidents. After classes ended, he went to the clubroom, where only Takada Shōji and Ōgami Yōsuke were present.
"I heard Tanaka Kana took a leave of absence today. Ueno came by earlier and said she’s going to visit Tanaka’s house, so she won’t be joining today’s activities," Takada said.
"Is that so? Kana must be really shaken up. Poor thing," Tetsuya noticed Takada seemed distracted and suddenly suggested, "If there’s nothing urgent, let’s cancel today’s club activities. The police might come to question us again, and with Kagehara-kun missing, I have a bad feeling. Everyone should be careful on their way to and from school."
Takada was startled. "Eh? Senpai, are you saying that guy might attack us? Could he be the one behind the murder at the inn?"
"I’m not sure about the details, but it’s better to be cautious," Tetsuya sighed, then put on an apologetic expression. "I was too reckless inviting Kagehara-kun to join the club. I’m sorry. This is my fault."
Takada scratched his head. "Well… it’s not really Senpai’s fault. You couldn’t have known something like this would happen. And you had good intentions, so…"
He trailed off, his face turning slightly red. "It’s all that guy’s fault. Not only did he ruin our trip, but he also dragged us into a murder case. If I ever see him, I’ll definitely teach him a lesson!"
Takada made a fist and swung it dramatically.
Tetsuya smiled faintly. "I’m glad you understand, Takada-kun. Let’s call it a day then. I’ll head back first. See you."
As Tetsuya left, Ōgami couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
"Does anyone else feel like Senpai is acting a bit strange today?" Ōgami muttered to himself.
He had felt it earlier in the clubroom but had dismissed it as the awkwardness of reuniting after the break. But now, after hearing senpai’s conversation with Takada, that sense of unease returned.
As Takada was about to leave, Ōgami grabbed his arm. "Wait, wait. I need to ask you something."
Takada turned back, confused. "What is it?"
"Senpai was the one who invited Kagehara-kun to join the club, right?"
Takada nodded. "Yeah, you hadn’t transferred here yet, so you wouldn’t know. Honestly, I was shocked when senpai invited him. That man’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Senpai shouldn’t have trusted or pitied him."
"Senpai invited him out of pity?" Ōgami was stunned. "Didn’t you know about the rumors surrounding Kagehara-kun back then? Did you tell Senpai and the others?"
"Of course I did," Takada said, looking exasperated. "In fact, everyone knew about Kagehara. The rumors were everywhere. It would’ve been weird if they hadn’t heard."
He thought for a moment, then added, "But Senpai insisted it. She said rumors were just rumors and she didn’t believe them. She also said it was sad that no club wanted him after he entered high school. We had no choice but to agree since it was her club."
"Eh?" Ōgami was silent for a few seconds. "But if Senpai believed in him so strongly back then, why is she suddenly suspicious of him now? Even suggesting he might attack us?"
"Obviously, after what happened at the inn, even Senpai can’t trust or pity that guy anymore," Takada said dismissively, then gave Ōgami a suspicious look. "Why are you so hung up on this? Don’t tell me you still think Kagehara might be innocent?"
Ōgami was silent for a while before finally shaking his head. "Maybe I’m overthinking it. Let’s go."
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