February 6
Weather: Somewhere between clear and sunny
Recorder: Kariya
Humans aren’t great, right?
Well, that might sound misleading, but if I had the choice, I would’ve preferred to be born as something like a water flea, a cat, or even a plant.
Humans have it tough in so many ways. For someone like me, who’s introverted and socially awkward, every day is a struggle!
In that sense, plants are amazing. They don’t talk to you. They don’t get creeped out if I laugh weirdly. Give them water, and they grow just fine. Even if I talk to them like “Listen, Aloe Lina♪”, they don’t find it weird. In fact, they say talking to plants actually makes them healthier. They won’t think I’m strange if I play a little fairy who nurtures them. See? Plants are gentle in so many ways!
I’m pretty sure every socially awkward person has had their spirits lifted by a plant at some point. That’s probably why there are so many plants in our chemistry lab!
…That’s right. Our chemistry lab is filled with plants. For some reason. Even though it’s not a biology room. There’s a bunch of them by the window next to the blackboard. They’re just everywhere.
Let’s see, there’s Aloe, Thanksgiving Cactus, Aloe again, some ball cactus, more Thanksgiving Cactus, some unknown succulents, and more Aloe.
…Well, they’re the kind of plants that survive just fine even if left alone. We occasionally water them during summer break, but despite being largely neglected, they’re thriving. Even though we haven’t given them any nutrients, they’ve multiplied so much that now more than half of the potted plants are Aloe.
…So today, I came to the chemistry lab thinking I should water these cute plants. But then.
“Kariya, it’s terrible. We’ve got a situation.”
“Huh? What’s wrong, President?”
I ran into President, who seemed unusually tense. Wondering what was going on, I peeked into the lab and…
“This would be considered an assault if it were done to a human.”
President showed me the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus pots. …They had traces that looked like several leaves had been cruelly cut off!
“Oh no, what on earth…”
“Who could do such a thing to our Aloe!”
As more club members gathered, we all looked at the wounded plants.
“Were they cut with a knife…?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look like they were torn by hand.”
“Besides, Aloe leaves are too thick to be torn by hand, right?”
The victims were three Aloe pots and two Thanksgiving Cactus pots. All the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus pots had been targeted.
“So it wasn’t an accident, but an incident. Someone intentionally cut these leaves off.”
“A knife… yeah…”
…Yes. This was clearly a deliberate act.
It wasn’t like someone accidentally dropped a pot and damaged the leaves, or bumped into them and broke the leaves. It looked like they were cleanly cut with a knife, and especially with the Aloe leaves, the cut edges were clearly visible. This is unforgivable. Why would someone do something like this?
“Well… at least the ball cactus wasn’t harmed, right?”
“Yes, that’s fortunate. The Copiapoa takes a long time to grow, so I’m glad it wasn’t damaged.”
Oh, this ball cactus is called a Copiapoa, huh? Copiapoa, Copiapoa… what a cute name!
“And it seems the mysterious succulent over here wasn’t harmed either. I wonder why.”
“The Echeveria is safe too. Well, Echeverias have strong regenerative powers, so even if they were slightly damaged, they would’ve probably been okay…”
Wait, this succulent is called an Echeveria? Echeveria, Echeveria… that sounds a bit like a girl’s name!
“So, Aloe and… what’s this one called again?”
“It’s a Thanksgiving Cactus.”
“Right, Thanksgiving Cactus. Their leaves were clearly cut with a knife. …It’s strange, isn’t it… hmm…”
Next to Katori, who was tilting his head in thought, Kadomi-kun was poking the cut end of an Aloe leaf with his finger, saying, “Wow, it’s sticky…” Hey, if the cut end of the Aloe leaf hasn’t dried out, does that mean it hasn’t been long since it was cut? Hmm…?
“Let’s organize the situation! First, all the plants were fine as of yesterday!”
“Heh.”
“It’s true! I watered them!”
This should help narrow down the time of the crime. As of yesterday evening, the plants were still fine. So, the crime must have happened between yesterday and today.
“Um, who was the first to arrive here?”
“Well, I think the first to arrive at the lab were Hariu and Kadomi. I joined them afterward.”
I see. So President wasn’t the first one here. That helps narrow down the time frame!
“Kadomi and I arrived a little after 1 PM and had lunch here!”
Oh, by the way, today is Saturday. Since it’s Saturday, classes end in the morning. Classes end at 12:05 PM. But…
“There was a guidance session divided by humanities and sciences today, right? The science one ran long.”
Yes, our classes ran long today! We had a third period LHR, followed by a lecture for graduates separated by humanities and sciences, and then more guidance afterward. The science side ran late, finishing around 12:50 PM! That was the schedule from the start, but it still took longer than expected!
“So, Kadomi and I came here right after the guidance session ended. Oh, we stopped by the restroom.”
“Yep.”
“I was delayed because I went to the store to buy some food.”
“…The store’s bread is mostly fried, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Oil is a source of energy, and it tastes great. The store’s bread has just the right amount of salt and oil, making it very good.”
…Setting aside President’s food preferences, so far we have Hariu, Kadomi, and President…
“And I was the first to notice something was wrong with the pots.”
“So, does that mean Hariu and Kadomi didn’t notice anything?”
“Yep!”
“Well, yeah…”
“Are you guys blind?”
Well, well. It’s hard to imagine the culprit arriving after Hariu and Kadomi were already in the lab, so it seems the crime was committed before they got here!
“Then after that, I, Hagasaki-kun, and Katori joined you after finishing lunch in the cafeteria!”
“When we arrived, Kariya wasn’t there yet. What were you doing, Kariya?”
“I was working as a library committee member before I came…”
I see… It turns out I was the last to arrive among us! But, well, not everyone is here yet, so at least I wasn’t the very last. Besides, I was delayed because of my important duties as a library committee member! It’s not a bad thing!
“So, where’s Maito? Suzumoto isn’t here either.”
“Oh, right. Hmm? What’s up with that? The humanities side dismissed earlier than us, didn’t they? So why aren’t they here?”
Exactly! Maito-san and Suzumoto aren’t here yet!
Those two are planning to pursue humanities, so their schedule should’ve been different from ours. I mean, the hallway was already noisy while we were still in the guidance session! Curse those humanities students! They’ll be fooling around in college, while we science students remain gloomy! That’s just how it is!
…Just as I was getting angry at the imaginary humanities male students.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
Suzumoto arrived. Quite a bit later than expected.
“What were you doing? You’re late.”
“Well, you see…”
Suzumoto said, somewhat awkwardly, and then…
“It’s freezing. Feels like I’m home.”
Maito-san also entered, but…
“This isn’t your home… huh?”
Hagasaki-kun, who rarely shows surprise, was left speechless. We were too. Only President, staying calm, remarked, “You’ll catch a cold.”
…Maito-san’s long hair was soaking wet.
Wait… Did she take a shower in February!?