"Slowly. Try not to register the bottle on top of your head."
"Ugh... that's way harder than it sounds..."
Crash!
"...Again."
I was extremely, profoundly unsettled.
Just as promised, I had gone to Tojo's research lab at ten o'clock that night.
Of course, I was fully aware that Tojo might jump me tonight, so I had Mukuro, Akamatsu, Saihara, and Amami waiting outside as backup... and yet, for the past two hours, I'd been receiving perfectly orthodox butler training.
Thanks to that, all the tension I'd been bottling up for one reason had now twisted into a completely different kind of tension.
"Slowly... don't focus on the bottle above you..."
Crash!!
"....."
"Th-this is harder than I expected...? Hahaha..."
"....."
"I'm sorry."
Tojo, who always looked at the others with such warm eyes, was now staring at me with a chill so sharp it made me shrink on instinct.
No, forget that—Tojo was going to commit murder soon, wasn't she? The moment I remembered that, the fear doubled.
Maybe... maybe I should try to persuade her somehow, even now...
"At this rate... I think I'll have to bring that out."
"U-uh?"
Without warning, Tojo started rummaging through a drawer.
'Wh-what is it...? A weapon? A knife? A gun? What the hell is she—'
Smack!!
"...If you break it again, you'd better prepare yourself."
".....!?"
I had been bracing myself to signal the others outside, expecting some vicious murder weapon to appear from the drawer—but what came out was vicious in its own way, just not the way I'd expected.
"Th-that's... a leather whip..."
"Put the bottle on your head and walk over here. If you drop it again... you understand, don't you?"
"...Gulp."
Tojo normally gave off this refined older-sister aura, so seeing her hold a leather whip while glaring at me with those icy eyes was... something. It was definitely... doing something.
Smack!!
"Focus."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
.
.
.
.
.
"Good. You finally succeeded for the first time. Well done."
"Th-then you're not going to hit me... right?"
"I only held this to make you tense. In practice, I never struck you, did I? I only hit the floor."
"Haha... r-right. True..."
Honestly, when Tojo was holding that leather whip and staring me down with that glacial expression, I wanted to run out of there on the spot. But I needed to build some kind of relationship with her, so I endured it and kept training.
As a result, after dozens of attempts, I somehow miraculously completed the "walk with a bottle balanced on your head" exercise.
But... why exactly does a butler need this?
"Um... Tojo, why were we doing this, exactly...?"
"That's enough for today's lesson. Then... let's meet here again tomorrow."
"Ah, wait, Tojo?"
After saying that, Tojo quietly smiled and headed for the entrance to the research lab.
"Wait! Hold on! There's something I want to say!"
"...Hm?"
At that, Tojo paused and turned back toward me.
"...Something you want to say?"
"R-right, so... um... that is... uh..."
But the instant the opportunity actually arrived, I started agonizing over what I was even supposed to say.
I couldn't exactly blurt out, "I know what you're going to do," or ask her point-blank why she was trying to kill someone. That would be insane.
In the end, after hesitating for a moment, I decided to start with what I'd wanted to ask all along.
"Why do you work so hard to serve other people, Tojo?"
"...Because my principle in life is selfless devotion to the public good. To cast aside personal desire and dedicate oneself to others."
"Was there... some reason you became like that? Some incident, or..."
"It's late. I should be going now."
"....."
I tried to keep the conversation alive somehow, but Tojo cut me off firmly and turned back toward the door.
"...Tojo, if you try to carry too much by yourself, you're going to fall."
"...What?"
"Even a superhuman has limits. If you're carrying that much responsibility on your back, eventually you're going to hit a wall."
"....."
"So let me help carry some of that weight. What do you say?"
After I finished speaking, an awkward silence settled between us.
"Then... I'll see you again tomorrow."
"...Yeah."
In the end, she avoided answering me, said her goodbye, and left the room. Just like that, our meeting was over.
'Well... it can't be helped.'
Even if I supposedly had the talent of a counselor, with all my memories gone, expecting that talent to manifest properly was probably impossible. It didn't feel like I'd had much effect on Tojo at all.
And it wasn't as if I could push harder by force. I had no justification, and no idea what kind of disaster that might trigger.
Without evidence, anyone looking in from the outside would obviously think I was just accusing an innocent person out of nowhere.
So my only options were to get closer to Tojo and persuade her somehow... or storm the crime scene itself and stop it before it happened.
"...What exactly happened in there?"
"Huh?"
I was thinking that as I stepped out of the research lab, when Amami looked at me with a thoroughly disturbed expression and asked the question.
"...You definitely asked us to wait here tonight because Tojo might attack K, didn't you?"
"I did... yeah?"
"Then why was there no signal telling us to storm the room... and only the sound of a whip and heavy breathing echoing through the hallway?"
"Th-that was..."
When I trailed off, Akamatsu and Saihara, who had been standing beside him, each decided to add their own commentary.
"Maybe she already attacked you, but you liked it more than you expected, so you didn't send the signal? What do you think, Saihara-kun?"
"...It's entirely possible. I secretly looked at Tojo's face when she came out, and she was smiling the whole time, so maybe..."
"Hey, guys... why are you two doing this too...?"
Akamatsu and Saihara had spent so long being battered by the bizarre phenomena constantly happening around me that, apparently, they'd finally given up on thinking like normal human beings.
I hurriedly started explaining before the academy's insanity could erode their common sense any further.
"I just... got butler training, that's all... Like I said before, I had a bad feeling about Tojo, so I called you guys in... and besides, tonight wasn't the only time we were supposed to meet, so I don't know when something might happen..."
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"And what's your problem now...?"
Mukuro was glaring in the direction Tojo had gone, growling viciously.
"I told you not to imitate a dog unless it was absolutely necessary anymore..."
"Killing intent..."
"Huh?"
"I felt killing intent... from her, when she passed through the hallway."
"...."
Apparently, I might have been in far more danger than I'd realized just a moment ago.
.
.
.
.
.
The next morning, when I entered the dining hall with Ikusaba acting as my escort, Angie was holding Yumeno in her arms and whispering something to her.
"Squeeeze~"
"N-ngh... ahh!"
"...What kind of situation is this now?"
Yep. Just another breakfast at Saishu Academy, where a colorful assortment of lunatics gathered to greet the morning with fresh insanity.
"K-K! This is terrible! Angie is brainwashing Yumeno!"
"R-right... yeah, that does sound serious..."
"Don't say that so lifelessly! Hurry and use your counselor powers to bring Yumeno back! She doesn't even listen to a word I say anymore!"
"I see... so Himiko wasn't scared. She was lonely, wasn't she? You had complaints, anxieties, worries... but no one to share them with, right?"
"Th-that's..."
"...But it's okay. Himiko isn't alone."
"Y-yeah... ahh..."
At Chabashira's frantic shouting, I quietly listened to the two of them for a moment, then turned back to her.
"...Angie's better at counseling than I am. What's the problem?"
"Listen to the end! Listen to the end!!"
"...Because the handsome god is always watching over Himiko forever and ever."
"A-a handsome god..."
"Look at that! That's a total scam! She's a cultist!"
"Ngh... weird. Suddenly I don't feel scared at all anymore."
"No, Yumeno!! Once you fall into a cult, there's no end to it!!!"
"...Good grief."
As I watched the whole skit with the enlightened expression of a man who had simply given up, Angie and Yumeno whispered to each other for a moment, then made an announcement to everyone.
"...And thus, it has been decided... [Yumeno Himiko's Magic Show] shall be held!"
"Um, could we maybe not do that?"
"Ngh?"
A magic show? In the middle of a killing game? That was practically the same as holding a ritual and begging for a murder to happen.
I would stake my life on it: if a magic show happened, it would absolutely become part of a trick, or get tangled up in a murder somehow. It was just too painfully, absurdly cliché.
"A-assistant... why are you saying that...? D-don't tell me... you hate my magic too...?"
"No, that's not it... wait, since when was I your assistant—"
"Nyahaha~! If anyone interferes with Yumeno's magic show... divine punishment will rain down on them~!"
"Hey... could you at least listen to what I'm—"
"...I think it's a good idea. In a situation like this, stress management is important too. I'm sure everyone will be delighted by Yumeno's performance."
"....."
I had been fully prepared to stop the magic show no matter what—but the moment Tojo stepped in to support it, my thinking changed.
If she was taking the lead like that... then maybe Tojo was planning to set up some kind of trick while helping prepare the show.
And if that was true, then if I uncovered it, I could finally get my hands on actual physical evidence.
If I had evidence, I could use it as leverage to persuade Tojo. And if that failed, I could tell the others and have her restrained.
So I needed to help her prepare for the magic show alone and wait for my chance. Even if I failed to secure evidence, maybe I could at least raise our affinity enough to earn another opening to persuade her.
Of course, I'd need to prepare my own safety measures very, very carefully too.
'Well... if I throw Ikusaba at the problem, it'll probably work out somehow.'
"Well... if Tojo says so, then I'm in favor too."
With that thought in mind, I switched sides and cast my vote in support.
"Nyahaha~! Good choice!"
"Yes, yes! That's my assistant! A wise decision indeed!"
"So when's the show happening?"
"The show will be held tomorrow morning! Once the morning announcement is over, come to the gym!"
After saying that, Angie and Yumeno left the dining hall first. Soon the others finished eating as well and scattered in all directions, until only Tojo and I remained.
"...You're staying in the dining hall quite a while today."
"Because I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal?"
"Once you're done cleaning up here, you're going to help prepare for the magic show, right?"
"...And?"
"I'll help too."
"There's no need for—"
"I told you yesterday, didn't I? I'd help carry the burden. Refusing is not an option."
"....."
"And when are you planning to clear all these dishes by yourself? I'll help with this too... so let's do our best together. If you keep trying to do everything alone, you're going to collapse one day. Okay?"
"...Thank you."
'Oh... that's a better reaction than I expected. If this keeps up, I might actually be able to persuade her...'
Once she showed signs of agreeing, I cheered inwardly and started clearing the dishes in the dining hall.
After all, by getting permission to work alongside someone who had always kept everyone else at arm's length, I felt like I'd taken one step closer to neutralizing the second murder case.
But maybe I was just too happy—too thrilled that I'd finally managed to draw out the first meaningful change from Tojo, who had kept her guard up so relentlessly.
"........"
Busy excitedly clearing the dishes, K failed to notice Tojo's cold gaze resting on him for a moment before she quietly turned her head away.
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