“First of all, we can’t completely rule out the possibility of a ‘thrill-seeker’… but, well, the most likely scenario, or rather the one that makes the most sense, is…”
“Just get on with it already.”
And so, with Hagasaki-san urging her on, Maito-san began to lay out her reasoning.
“First, I think the timing of the crime was probably right after Suzumoto was called away from the chemistry lab.”
“Oh?”
“And the motive for the crime might be… ‘because they got injured in a way that they couldn’t let the teacher find out about.'”
“An injury that they couldn’t let the teacher find out about…? I see, a fight between students, perhaps? I believe that’s against school rules and could lead to suspension.”
“No, no, no, I don’t think that’s it.”
President quickly started to get excited, but Maito-san held him back.
“Well, we can’t completely rule out the possibility… but in that case, everyone who witnessed the incident would have to agree to cover it up, which would make things much more complicated. I don’t think they’d resort to such a drastic solution. And if it was that kind of fight, they’d probably want to destroy the evidence before treating the injury.”
Ah, that’s true. Fights… well, if it was just a fistfight, the worst would be bruises. In that case, they could just go home instead of bothering with a trip to the nurse’s office or using aloe. That’s what I’d do.
“Besides, there are very few injuries that would require someone to steal aloe like this. The injury would need to be urgent enough to require immediate treatment but still something a student could handle… and if we’re talking about that kind of injury…”
“Oh, a burn?”
“Exactly! Burns vary, but if it’s severe enough to blister, you’d need medication, right? Otherwise, there’s a higher chance of scarring.”
Ah… indeed, now that you mention it.
A small cut could be pressed with a tissue or toilet paper, and a bruise could be ignored and just dealt with at home… The only injury that would need immediate, hidden treatment is a burn.
“…So, does that mean the culprit is a girl?”
“Well… probably.”
If the reason for urgently treating the burn is because it could leave a scar, it would make more sense to think the culprit is a girl rather than a boy. Not that boys don’t care about scars, but girls tend to be more concerned about these things.
“Well, let’s put aside whether it’s a boy or girl for now… if the motive is treating a burn, then it’s a very specific case.”
“Right!? I thought the same thing! There are hardly any places where you could get burned!”
“Exactly! There are too many students at this school who can’t possibly get burned! Because, well, there are almost no places in school where you’d find fire!”
…I see. It’s true that getting burned at school seems like it would require very specific conditions.
“Uh… the places where there’s fire… well, first, here, right?”
Yes. There are plenty of flames in the chemistry lab. There are gas burners, lighters, and matches, and in the adjacent chemistry prep room, there’s a gas stove for the teachers! When a teacher makes instant noodles there, the smell wafts over to the chemistry lab and makes everyone hungry! That’s practically terrorism!
“Oh, and there’s also a burner in the art room, right? I think there was a student in the art club who made glass beads.”
“Yes. I think there are tools for making fires in the art room too. But I wouldn’t know since I didn’t take art.”
Speaking of which, Maito-san took music as her elective, so she’s never been to the art room. Just like how I, who took calligraphy, have never been to the music room…
“And… well, the cooking classroom has fire too, right? We used it during cooking class, so there’s no doubt about that!”
Yes, we all took cooking class in home economics, so there’s fire there too! The cooking classroom and our chemistry lab are usually the main targets during fire drills!
“Then there’s smoking, right?”
And… yes. Hagasaki-kun is right; that possibility exists too. After all, you can buy lighters at the 100-yen store, and if someone wanted to, they could easily bring one to school.
“Wow, Hagasaki-kun, you brought up something we were trying to avoid thinking about…!”
“If you think about it, if they had to hide from the teachers while dealing with something, it’s a reasonable assumption. Why would you try not to consider it?”
“Well, smoking is against school rules!”
“It’s also illegal, beyond just being against school rules.”
Well, I mean, if they were caught smoking, at the very least, they’d probably get suspended. I’d like to think no one at our school would be stupid enough to do something like that… but there are always people like that everywhere… I don’t really have much faith in humanity!
“Well, the possibility of smoking can’t be completely ruled out, just like you can’t rule out the possibility of someone bringing a flamethrower from home…”
“Of course you can rule that out, you idiot!”
“Maito-san. If we’re being thorough, you could also get burned if you stick your fingers into a stove.”
“President, do you want to stick your fingers into a stove…?”
“Oh! I once got burned in the gym! I fell on the gym floor and scraped my knee so badly that the friction melted my track pants and burned my knee!”
“Well, in that case, someone from the sports club would almost certainly have seen it, and it wouldn’t be a situation where you’d have to hide to treat it. So, let’s rule out burns caused by friction for this case.”
Well, while we can’t completely rule out the possibility, it seems like we’ve narrowed it down quite a bit when we consider what’s reasonable.
“So, Maito-san. Does that mean the culprit is from the art club, the home economics club, or perhaps someone who was smoking?”
“Yes. Probably around there. And… well, it’s also likely that they knew there was aloe in the chemistry lab and that aloe is effective for burns.”
Ah, this feels a bit like déjà vu. It’s just like that time when 2,000 yen went missing from the club funds.
‘You can’t steal something you don’t know is there.’
This time with the aloe, it’s the same. Burn or not, if someone was injured and needed to use the aloe, they would have come to the chemistry lab. And the only people who could do that are those who knew that aloe was in the chemistry lab!
“…I think every student in this school has been in the chemistry lab at least once.”
“Yes, of course. We use it for classes. But that’s not what I mean, Suzumoto-kun. Would you see aloe and think, ‘Ah! Aloe! I’ll remember that!’?”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
…While I think aloe is cute, most of the students at this school… no, most people in this world probably just see it as a trivial houseplant.
“And by the way, I bet there are people here who didn’t even know aloe could be used for treating injuries. Kadomi-kun, did you know?”
“Uh… no, I didn’t. How do you even use it?”
There are probably a lot more people who don’t know about aloe’s medicinal properties. In fact, even if they knew aloe had medicinal properties, many might not know how to use it.
“I knew about it.”
It’s not surprising that President knew, but I don’t think your average high school girl or boy would know much about it.
“So, given that, we’ve narrowed it down quite a bit…”
“…Hey, Maito.”
Just as we were getting to the heart of the matter, Hagasaki-kun raised his hand with a somewhat exasperated expression.
“Aren’t you starting with the assumption of who the culprit is and then reasoning from there?”
…Well, yeah. I kind of had that feeling too!
“Well, you know… with such suspicious behavior, it’s only natural to wonder why.”
When Maito-san said this, Hagasaki-kun glared at her with a displeased look. Maybe he thought it wasn’t fair. But let’s cut Maito-san some slack—after all, she’s almost as much a victim in this as the aloe!
“I am almost certain that the culprit is someone from the home economics club!”
And this is where Maito-san being soaked comes into play!
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
Suzumoto sighed deeply as he spoke.
“It was suspicious from the start. It’s also strange that they came to get me after you got soaked.”
“Right? Normally, you’d think they’d call a girl instead.”
“Huh? But aside from the seniors, there aren’t any girls in our chemistry club.”
“Wasn’t Maito-san a girl…?”
Whether Maito-san is a girl or not aside, it’s definitely strange. There’s no reason to call Suzumoto just because Maito-san got soaked. Even if it was to say, ‘Your friend’s in trouble,’ it’s odd to call a guy for a situation like that. It’s usually the other way around.
“Well, that’s why I ruled out the art club. In the end, it was someone from the home economics club who sent Suzumoto to me and got involved to complicate the situation and buy time… so it’s unlikely that the art club and home economics club are in cahoots…”
Well, that would be too large of a conspiracy. It’s almost certain that someone from the home economics club is involved.
“Plus! There’s no other reason for someone who doesn’t even know me to get so involved! And they knew I was in the chemistry club despite barely knowing me, and when they called Suzumoto, it became clear! Also… most importantly…”
…And then, Maito-san, looking a bit dejected, added:
“One of the people in the home economics club knew that there was aloe in the chemistry lab, that I and Suzumoto were the only liberal arts students, and that the seniors are often holed up in the information room…”
“…So it was someone who quit?”
“Yeah.”
Feeling a bit down, Maito-san glanced over at the pot of aloe.
“And… I once taught them how to use aloe.”
The aloe plant, with its leaves cruelly cut, looked sad.
“…Well, it’s obvious it was someone from the home economics club based on the situation, but we don’t have any solid evidence, right?”
“That’s right. Even if the home economics club members were ‘kindly’ making a fuss because I was soaking wet, the courtyard is visible from almost anywhere in the school. So, anyone inside the school who knew I was in the chemistry club could have taken advantage of the commotion created by the home economics club to steal the aloe.”
While we have a general idea of who the culprits might be, we don’t have any conclusive proof.
“If I had to guess, they probably got burned while using the kitchen without the teacher’s permission or something like that.”
“Or smoking.”
“…Well, in any case, even if we report them, it’s unlikely to amount to much.”
They could easily deny it, and while we might be able to hold them accountable for unauthorized use of the kitchen or smoking, we probably can’t charge them with any crime for harming the aloe plant.
“I believe that those who commit wrongdoings should face appropriate consequences. Otherwise, society’s order can’t be maintained.”
“I get that logic, but… what should we do?”
President was as strict as usual, but practically speaking, it’s a difficult problem. What should we do…?
“Oh. What’s going on with you guys, huddled around the stove like that?”
…And then, a strong ally appeared in front of us.
“Hibiki-sensei!”
“That’s right! We have Hibiki-sensei!”
“Yay! Sensei! We were waiting for you!”
“Sensei! Sensei! It’s rare for you to show up at such perfect timing, usually, you’re like a kite that’s lost its string!”
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Sensei!”
Despite us calling him a kite with a broken string, Sensei seemed to grasp the situation and brought over a chair to sit with us. So, we immediately began our consultation!
…I’m gradually realizing how lucky we are to have such a good advisor.
+ Today’s Record +
The aloe and Thanksgiving cactus were cut. The culprit’s goal was likely to harvest the aloe for treating an injury (probably a burn), and the Thanksgiving cactus was likely cut to cover it up.
We consulted Hibiki-sensei, suspecting that the culprits were likely members of the home economics club. Hibiki-sensei, who often visits the home economics teachers for tea, immediately went to discuss it with them.
I hope the wrongs done to the aloe and Thanksgiving cactus are avenged.
* Postscript *
I’ll take good care of the aloe and Thanksgiving cactus. For now, I’ll make sure they don’t rot from their wounds, and come spring, I’ll divide and prune them to get them back in shape. Both plants are hardy, so I think they’ll be okay!
By the way, although Maito-san got soaking wet, it seems she didn’t catch a cold. She’s got a lot of vitality too. That’s a relief.
* Postscript 2 (Hibiki) *
Here’s a report about the home economics club.
As expected, there were traces that they had used the kitchen without permission, so the home economics teacher gave them a stern warning.
I also subtly asked them about the aloe, and as I suspected, it turns out they were the ones who cut it. It was those who had quit. Thanks to it, their burns have healed without leaving any scars.
Well, you guys might feel a bit conflicted, and what they did was wrong, but I’d like to acknowledge that they remembered and applied what they were taught.
So, Maito, don’t be too down. If you hadn’t taught them, the aloe would have been safe, but because you taught them, they were able to make use of that knowledge. Knowledge can be both poison and medicine, and if you fear the poison, you won’t be able to spread the medicine.
* Postscript 3 (Kariya) *
What!? Does Sensei write in this notebook too!? And does Sensei read it too!? No way!