Chapter 28: Is She Lying?
Kagehara Tetsuya had many questions he wanted answered. Without waiting for Hasebe Koichi to agree to his terms, he adopted a playful tone and asked, "How did you manage to escape?"
What he really wanted to know was the identity of Senpai's accomplice. However, if he asked directly, Hasebe Koichi would immediately start thinking. The fact that this man had asked earlier whether he was "Yomikawa" or "Kagehara Tetsuya" already indicated that he suspected a face swap between "Yomikawa Tsuko" and "Kagehara Tetsuya."
If Hasebe Koichi realized who he was truly dealing with, it would calm him down and pull him out of his current state of panic and anxiety, which would be disadvantageous.
Hasebe Koichi's eyes darted around, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His gaze kept flicking to the fruit knife in Kagehara Tetsuya's hand, and his throat moved as if he were about to speak.
But then, something unexpected happened.
The supermarket's back door suddenly swung open, and a familiar voice, breathless and urgent, accompanied by a familiar figure, emerged.
"Over here! Someone was acting suspiciously..." It was Nakamura Manatsu. She turned her head, speaking to someone behind her, her anxious expression seemingly genuine.
Hasebe Koichi immediately reacted. He shoved Nakamura Manatsu aside and bolted back through the supermarket's back door, likely colliding with someone else inside, causing a commotion.
Kagehara Tetsuya quickly gave chase, but it was too late. The supermarket was a maze of aisles, and catching Hasebe Koichi, who was now on high alert, was impossible.
Nakamura Manatsu had been knocked to the ground. Near the back door, a man in a security uniform was bent over, picking up his fallen hat. It seemed Hasebe Koichi had bumped into him as well.
"Manatsu, are you okay?" Kagehara Tetsuya shifted the fruit knife to his left hand and helped Nakamura Manatsu up, his face filled with concern.
She had likely already seen the knife, so hiding it now would be pointless.
Nakamura Manatsu rubbed her hip, wincing as she stood up. "I'm fine. What about you, Tsuko? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine too. It's just a shame that man got away. By the way, Manatsu, why are you here? And why were you in such a hurry?" Kagehara Tetsuya asked casually, though his eyes remained fixed on her.
The timing of her appearance was too coincidental—almost as if it were deliberate.
"Ah... y-your knife... you should put it away..." Nakamura Manatsu quickly stepped in front of him, shielding him from the security guard who was now looking their way. Kagehara Tetsuya smiled and slipped the knife back into his bag.
"Hey, was that guy the pervert you mentioned? Are you two okay? Do you need to call the police?" the security guard asked.
Nakamura Manatsu bowed deeply in thanks. "We're fine, thanks to you. As for calling the police... Tsuko, what do you think?"
A pervert?
Kagehara Tetsuya smiled and said it wasn't necessary to call the police. After thanking the guard, he led Nakamura Manatsu out of the alley and back onto the commercial street. As they walked, he asked, "Manatsu, why were you there? You know it was dangerous to rush out like that, right?"
"Because... because I wanted to help. I was shopping in the supermarket when I noticed a suspicious man following you. So I called the security guard and chased after him. Thankfully, we scared him off," Nakamura Manatsu explained, still visibly shaken.
Kagehara Tetsuya studied her for a few seconds, then smiled. "I see."
"But... I saw you holding a knife earlier?" Nakamura Manatsu added timidly, as if startled by his earlier actions.
"Well, I noticed I was being followed, and in a panic, I bought a knife to scare him off. I was planning to call the police and wait for them, but he got away," Kagehara Tetsuya replied nonchalantly.
Nakamura Manatsu nodded. "You're so brave, Tsuko. I could never stay so calm in that situation. But... confronting someone like that directly is still too dangerous..."
"You're right. May be I was too reckless," Kagehara Tetsuya said, observing Nakamura Manatsu closely. Is she lying? If so, her acting is impeccable.
Nakamura Manatsu suddenly looked up at him, then stopped walking and lowered her head. Kagehara Tetsuya stopped as well, asking casually, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Tsuko... are you… mad at me?" Nakamura Manatsu's voice was soft, like a frightened animal. "Because I rushed in and let that man get away... Are you mad?"
"Why would you think that?" Kagehara Tetsuya raised an eyebrow slightly, then quickly resumed his usual demeanor.
"I... I don't know. It's just... you seem different from usual. If you're mad, I'll apologize. When I saw you being followed, I suddenly thought of that 'Makeup Hunter' case. I was so scared something might happen to you, so I just wanted to help..."
Nakamura Manatsu spoke haltingly, as if on the verge of tears. She hung her head low, like a puppy afraid of being abandoned by its owner.
Was she lying? For the moment, Kagehara Tetsuya couldn't tell. He decided to comfort her and keep her guard down. "It's not that serious. That man's a pervert who's been following me for a while. I was planning to corner him and call the police today, but he got away. Still, I doubt he'll bother me again."
Nakamura Manatsu looked up, a mix of realization and guilt on her face. "Really? You're not mad? It's my fault he got away."
"It's fine," Kagehara Tetsuya said with a bright smile. "But I'm really happy you were looking out for me. Let's go to school together!"
For now, the only thing he was certain of was that Nakamura Manatsu wasn't Senpai's accomplice. The inn clerk had described the accomplice as shorter than Senpai, but Nakamura Manatsu was taller than him, while he was about the same height as Senpai.
However, whether Nakamura Manatsu and Hasebe Koichi knew each other was still unclear.
……
At school, Kagehara Tetsuya frequently looked out the window, scanning the surroundings for any suspicious figures. But there was no sign of Hasebe Koichi. It seemed he had given up and wouldn't be showing up again.
"Maybe he's figured out who I am."
At the time, Hasebe Koichi's question might have seemed random, but upon reflection, it was clear. If he were dealing with Senpai, she would have undoubtedly asked how he had escaped from her accomplice that night.
"Still, Hasebe Koichi got lucky."
Kagehara Tetsuya had deduced that the person following him was Hasebe Koichi. It was a simple conclusion, but if he hadn't connected the dots at that moment, it might have taken much longer to figure out.
After all, only he, Senpai, and possibly her accomplice knew about the face swap that had occurred at the inn. In other words, the person following him was unlikely to be after "Kagehara Tetsuya." Instead, he was probably after "Yomikawa Tsuko."
This might seem like a trivial observation, but when combined with the fact that "Yomikawa Tsuko" was suspected of possessing the power of Lord Mask-Taker, everything fell into place.
The person following him was likely after the power of Lord Mask-Taker.
And who would be most likely to approach "Yomikawa Tsuko," who supposedly had this power?
The answer was obvious: Hasebe Koichi.
Hasebe Koichi had swapped faces with Oshima Masaki. He was now hiding behind Oshima Masaki's face, and as time passed, his body was gradually transforming into the other person. To escape this predicament, he had no choice but to seek out "Yomikawa Tsuko."
This was a desperate and urgent motivation.
From Hasebe Koichi's perspective, after escaping from Senpai's accomplice and seeing the police report about the murder at the inn, he would have realized that Senpai was the killer and that he was next on her list.
With their relationship irreparably damaged, it made sense for him to resort to something as straightforward as stalking and kidnapping.
But what was puzzling was why he had waited until today to act.
On the night of June 9, the day of the ghost story gathering, Senpai had killed Oshima Masaki, who was using Hasebe Koichi's face, in Room 216 of the hot spring inn.
According to information provided by Kishida Masayoshi, around 6 p.m. that night, Hasebe Koichi, wearing Oshima Masaki's face, had visited the Hasebe household to ask for money but was turned down.
By then, Hasebe Koichi had already escaped from Senpai's accomplice.
In the early hours of June 10, Oshima Masaki's body was discovered.
On June 11, yesterday, Kagehara Tetsuya had officially started attending school as "Yomikawa Tsuko."
Today was June 12.
Counting the days, it was clear that Hasebe Koichi had spent two full days doing who-knows-what. Despite the urgency of his situation, he hadn't immediately tried to kidnap "Yomikawa Tsuko," which was highly unusual.
Kagehara Tetsuya believed that before today's stalking incident, Hasebe Koichi couldn't have known about the face swap between "Yomikawa Tsuko" and "Kagehara Tetsuya." Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered following "Yomikawa Tsuko," as it would have been pointless for his goal.
As for Hasebe Koichi's question about his identity during their confrontation, it was likely that during the stalking or the brief face-off, Hasebe Koichi had noticed differences in habits or physique between him and Senpai.
For someone who knew the truth about Lord Mask-Taker, combined with the police report about "Kagehara Tetsuya's" disappearance, it wasn't far-fetched for him to make an educated guess.
"Regardless, the power of Lord Mask-Taker is undoubtedly Hasebe Koichi's most pressing desire."
"Thinking about it this way, there's only one explanation: on June 10 and June 11, Hasebe Koichi might have been stalking Senpai's accomplice."
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