“For now, please warm up by the stove. Are you alright?”
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. I warmed up during the questioning, so I’m alright, really.”
Why is it that the more someone says they’re fine, the less fine they actually seem? I wonder…
For the time being, I offered Maito-san the prime spot by the stove. Even though we’re all the type who want to hibernate when it gets cold, we’re not cold-blooded enough to not offer the stove to someone with wet hair!
“So, what happened here?”
“I was walking in the courtyard when I got splashed with water. That’s all from the scene.”
“That’s one useless scene.”
Hagasaki-kun is as blunt as ever today. His quick-witted insults are really something.
“Uh, to be a bit more specific… A hose that an art club kid was using to clean buckets in the courtyard went out of control, and I got splashed with water. But… ah, it’s a pain to explain.”
“Don’t be lazy with something so trivial.”
Why is it that Hagasaki-kun’s quick insults are often directed at Maito-san? Do they have good chemistry? Does Hagasaki-kun’s power of insults have a special effect on Maito-san…?
“… You know how the courtyard is visible from most places in the school, right? And there were quite a few onlookers… So it turned into a big deal.”
Ah, I get that.
This school is designed with the courtyard in the center, surrounded by a four-story building running north to south, with corridors, the library, and a multipurpose hall arranged east to west… so the courtyard is visible from most places in the school. Well, of course, it’s limited to classrooms facing the courtyard. This chemistry lab doesn’t face the courtyard, so we can’t see it from here.
“The art club kid didn’t splash me on purpose, and I didn’t get that wet, so it wasn’t a big deal… But the girls watching turned it into a big deal… and after a lot of fussing, I ended up getting even wetter. At that point, it felt almost intentional. What the heck was that about?”
“Is it that your explanation is bad, or is it just inherently nonsensical?”
“It really was nonsensical…”
Maito-san seems unusually disheartened. Aloe is worrying, but Maito-san is also concerning. She’s going to catch a cold at this rate.
“And did that take up all this time? Must have been rough.”
“No, it wasn’t the water that took up time… I appreciate their concern for me, but… I don’t think it was the place for third parties to force the art club kid to apologize…”
Ah, there are those types of people. Mainly online. I know a lot about them. I’m familiar with this stuff!
“And it wasn’t like that girl was my friend, nor was she a friend of the art club kid…”
Ah, I understand, I understand. Those people exist online too!
“If anything, she was in the home economics club, so maybe she could just barely be considered a friend of a friend…”
“Isn’t that the club where the girl who quit the chemistry club went? Home economics?”
“That’s practically a stranger.”
Yep, those people exist online too! Most ghost stories are told by a friend of a friend!
“…Well, while we were arguing about that, I was called over. They told me, ‘Maito from the chemistry club is in trouble, so go help her.’ I was wondering what was up, so I went to the courtyard… and there was Maito, getting soaked by the hose, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
“The so-called ‘good Samaritan’ turned the faucet for confirmation, but I was standing right in front of the hose…”
“That was definitely malicious.”
“I think so too…”
Maito-san looks dejected! This kind of bizarre situation is rare even online. Though, maybe not that rare…
“…So, well, we all ended up in the staff room. At first, we went to the infirmary so Maito could warm up and change clothes, but after that, we had to explain everything in the staff room, where we were questioned… In the end, it was all treated as an accident, but because Maito was the one most affected, they suspected bullying, and it turned into a big deal…”
Oh… oh no… Just looking at the situation, it really might seem like Maito-san was being bullied!
But Maito-san wasn’t being bullied! It’s not that she’s being isolated; she’s the type who isolates herself! It’s like how a pill bug isn’t hiding under a rock because it’s being bullied, but because it feels comfortable in the dark, tight space under the rock!
“Well, luckily, Hibiki-sensei came in and vouched for me, saying, ‘Maito being bullied? No way,’ and that eased the other teachers’ suspicions. The well-meaning girls who were worrying excessively about me were told off by the teachers and left. I was just cold.”
So now we understand the situation. Maito-san, you’ve really had a rough time…
“Maito-san, can I use Kimwipes to dry your hair?”
“No. Kimwipes are too thin. Let’s get the Kim Towel.”
“Kim Towel!? No, no, no! Kim Towels are expensive! How can I use such a high-class item on my hair? There’s a new rag in the bottom shelf of the cabinet in front of the chemical store; use that instead!”
“…You’re okay with wiping your head with a rag?”
“What!? A new rag is basically just a towel, right? Isn’t it fine?”
“Well, if you’re okay with it…”
…So, with that settled, Maito-san started wiping her hair with the rag that Hariu brought (it’s new!). It feels kind of strange seeing this.
“So, did something happen here? Everyone was gathered.”
“Aloe and the Thanksgiving Cactus were damaged.”
And so, I began explaining what had happened on our end as well. I gave a full explanation.
“Your damage is more severe than mine…”
“More severe…?”
And this was Maito-san’s reaction after the explanation.
“No, but, if you think about it from the perspective of the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus, it’s like having a finger or arm cut off…”
Well, Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus can regenerate to some extent. Especially Aloe—it’s probably overgrown, and that’s why we divided it into so many pots in the first place. Sushi.
“Hmm… If that’s the case, it was a mistake for Suzumoto and me to leave halfway through. I got caught up in an accident in the courtyard and dragged into an incident before coming here, and Suzumoto got involved just because he’s in the same chemistry club as me…”
“Don’t worry about it. If anything, I should have been paying more attention to the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus… Unfortunately, I didn’t notice this at all. We have no idea when it happened between yesterday and when it was discovered today.”
Well, it can’t be helped. It’s not normal to think that something like this would happen to the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus. If you didn’t think of it, it’s natural not to notice, so I don’t think it’s Suzumoto’s fault. It’s just that President is unusually observant. Right?
“Hmm… It’s hard to imagine a student entering during class hours, and we were here quite late yesterday, so it probably didn’t happen last night… Which means it likely happened after school today.”
“If that’s the case, we can’t narrow down the suspect. All the liberal arts students would be suspects.”
“Right… And it wouldn’t just be the first-year liberal arts students; all the second-years would be suspects too.”
That’s right. In fact, it’s more unusual that we can almost certainly rule out the first-year science students.
“Alright, let’s consider the motive. Why did the culprit damage the Aloe and Thanksgiving Cactus?”
Since it’s difficult to narrow down the time of the crime, it seems wise to follow President’s suggestion and think from this angle.
“Because they wanted to bully the plants…?”
“…Well, it’s unpleasant, but that might be the most reasonable explanation.”
Yeah. It really is unpleasant. I mean, if you want to bully something, just pull out your own hair! Seriously!
But… I know people like that exist. They’re online, and probably closer to us than we realize. In fact, the fact that something like this happened in our school means there’s someone like that here! Ugh!
As I was getting worked up, Toriumi raised his hand.
“Uh… hey, I’ve got a thought.”
And then he said,
“Maybe the Thanksgiving Cactus was just a decoy?”
…What an outrageous idea.
“A decoy…? Camouflage? So the real target was to bully the Aloe…!? My Aloerina…!?”
“Calm down.”
This makes no sense! Why would someone want to harm the Aloe!? And why hurt the Thanksgiving Cactus as well if the Aloe was the main target? That makes even less sense!
“…So, the point wasn’t to ‘harm’ the Aloe?”
“Yeah, exactly. You know how Aloe has medicinal properties?”
…Oh, right. Aloe is a miracle plant that cures all kinds of ailments, often called “the doctor in a pot.”
If you eat it, it can be used as a stomach medicine, and if you apply it to wounds, it helps with cuts, burns, bruises, and all sorts of things!
…Which means!
“Was there a food poisoning incident in the home economics club?”
“Are you an idiot? It’s way more likely they were dealing with an external injury.”
No, I get it! I was just kidding! Hagasaki-kun, come on!
“Then, maybe it was the baseball team? They slide around a lot.”
“But if it were the baseball team, they’d be wearing long sleeves and pants, so it’s less likely they’d have external injuries.”
“Then maybe the soccer team? Rugby team? Oh, the gym’s possible too. How about the basketball team? Volleyball team?”
…Hariu is listing off all the sports teams, but that just means any of them could be the culprit. There are so many teams where injuries are likely.
“But why Aloe… Why not just go to the infirmary…?”
“…Yes, it’s hard to understand why they would specifically try using Aloe.”
“If it was something like that, they could have just asked the teacher to take the Aloe in the first place. Ugh, I don’t get it.”
Hmm… Considering the possibility that someone used Aloe for treating an injury does make some sense… But then why didn’t they just go to the infirmary? Hmm.
“Then, did they eat it…? Like Aloe yogurt or something…”
“Uh, would someone really eat a potted plant from the chemistry lab…?”
“I would.”
“You’re not normal; what are you even saying?”
Huh… Well, there’s the possibility they ate it, but in that case, they should’ve asked the teacher first… And besides, you can buy edible Aloe at most large supermarkets! Just eat that instead! Seriously!
“Well, it seems hard to narrow it down based on the time of the crime or the motive. It’d be helpful if we had a witness…”
Suzumoto sighed in resignation.
Yeah, I get that. Narrowing down the suspects based on who might be injured is tough. We don’t even have a clear time of the crime. It’s going to be difficult to pinpoint the culprit.
“…It feels wrong to falsely accuse someone without any concrete evidence, but…”
As I was thinking that, Maito-san raised her hand hesitantly.
“I think… I might have figured out who the culprit is…”
…What!?