The Sword Deity in Tokyo

When Chiba Shiori saw the message, she thought for a while.

 “You can stand up and have a look. How’s the view from the arbor?”

 “It’s amazing.”

 Kimura Kazuki was standing right now, overlooking the surroundings. Just by standing at the arbor was enough to give him a pleasant feeling as the gentle breeze caressed his face. Most importantly, the arbor offered a clear view of almost half of the Kobayashi Village. If Daisuke Kojima were to do sketching, then he would definitely pick this location.

 He could not think of any other location that would be better than this arbor. Just as he took out his phone to snap a photo for Chiba Shiori, his expression changed all of a sudden upon hearing something.

 With his phone well kept, Kimura Kazuki left the arbor calmly and hid behind a tree.

 Other than Team X themselves, who else will come here at this late hour? Could it be true as Chiba Shiori said that Daisuke Kojima was being murdered by someone instead of a wraith or a monster? Just as Kimura Kazuki sank into his thoughts, he saw someone coming.

 There were two of them. Though the night was dark, Kimura Kazuki managed to recognize these two figures at a glance. Ryoto Amagasaki?

 Kimura Kazuki was startled. If he was not mistaken, Ryoto Amagasaki was Daisuke Kojima’s roommate.

 But of course, according to what Ryoto Amagasaki said in the morning, he went for a bonding trip with his dormitory gang and his girlfriend’s roommates as well. However, Daisuke Kojima rejected his invitation and they ended up running into each other in Kobayashi Village coincidentally.

 

Their encounter was indeed a total coincidence.

 Hold on… Ryoto Amagasaki is the leader of this bonding trip. If he already knew that Daisuke Kojima would be visiting Kobayashi Village in advance, he could actually make up this so-called coincidental encounter. But why would Ryoto Amagasaki want to kill Daisuke Kojima?

 Obviously, at this very moment, Kimura Kazuki had subconsciously treated him as the murderer… Looking at the person next to Ryoto Amagasaki, Kimura Kazuki could not stop wondering. Did this fellow bring his roommate along during the murder? Or perhaps his accomplice?

 The name of the guy beside Ryoto Amagasaki was Hayato. According to Amagasaki’s statement to the police in the morning, Hayato was his roommate as well as his best friend.

 Kimura Kazuki did not further his thoughts anymore. He continued to keep a close eye on both of them and tried to figure out what they were up to.

 “Ryoto, I have a question.” Hayato who was in his white casual clothes kept on rubbing his arms. Although the day was hot during summer, it was already midnight at this point in time. Besides, it was indeed chilly with the dense vegetation in the surroundings. Even so, instead of staying too close to Ryoto Amagasaki, he kept quite a distance from him.

 “What is it?” Ryoto Amagasaki was not aware of this detail at all for he seemed to be overwhelmed with anxiety.

 “Did you kill Daisuke?” After a long silence, Hayato began to ask slowly. As he spoke, he took a step back once again. “You can just tell me the truth. Don’t worry, even if you’re the murderer, I will not report you to the police.”

 “What the hell are you thinking?!” Ryoto Amagasaki turned ghastly pale upon hearing his words and his dreadful expression looked like sh*t.”If I’ve killed someone, why am I bringing you along? Hey you! Why on earth are you staying away from me?”

 Apparently, Ryoto Amagasaki felt rather uncomfortable when he realized that Hayato had kept a distance of at least five meters away from him. “You don’t believe me?” he questioned coldly.

 Hayato frowned slightly. “If I don’t believe you, why will I tag along with you in the middle of the night? To come here together with you? I just want to find out the truth. But if you choose not to be honest with me, it’ll be hard for me to treat you like how I used to do so. Put yourself in my shoes then! Don’t you feel strange if I ask you out at this hour?”

 Ryoto Amagasaki went speechless for a while before nodding. “Yeah, you’ve got a point.” He took a deep breath, trying to soothe his uneasiness. The missing of Daisuke Kojima had made him feel anxious for the past two days. He calmed himself down and said, “I’m actually here to find the bug.”

 “The bug?” Hayato was confused.

 

“The mini bug that was in Daisuke’s wallet.” Ryoto Amagasaki gritted his teeth. “I have no idea how did Daisuke Kojima go missing. What I know is that if Daisuke Kojima’s really dead and his body is to be found, I will be suspected once the police get their hands on the bug. By that time, I will be charged with murder even if I’m innocent due to the bug.”

 “Why did you put a bug in Daisuke’s wallet?” Hayato was puzzled.

 “To eavesdrop on his secret of course.” Something seemed to cross Ryoto Amagasaki’s mind as his face turned slightly sinister. Deep inside, he was agitated and disturbed. Since he had already spoken out, he decided to just spill the beans. “Daisuke… That fellow had been stalking me and took photos of me sleeping with other girls. He then threatened to send these photos to my girlfriend.”

 Hayato knitted his eyebrows. “It’s not a big deal. Just break up with your girlfriend as this is not your first time changing girlfriends after all.”

 “It is different! It is different this time!” Ryoto Amagasaki tugged his hair fretfully. “You have no idea how wealthy Kyoko is and on top of that, she is the only child of the family. If I were to marry her, I will not have to worry about my future. And I can tell that Kyoko really likes me. But if she finds out that I’ve been cheating on her, she will definitely break up with me.”

 Stunned, Hayato could hardly believe what he heard and realization began to hit him hard. “No wonder you insist on being together with her. Yes, no doubt that Kyoko is hot, but to be honest, she is merely a plain Jane. Now I see it.” Followed by a weird expression, he blurted, “So, it seems like you did have a good motive for murder.”

 Ryoto Amagasaki nodded his head dispiritedly. “That’s the whole story. If the police were to find out about this, not only will I be in trouble, Kyoko will also walk away from me. Thus, I need to find the bug or else I’ll be ruined.”

 Initially, when he was being threatened by Daisuke Kojima, he was reassured when he saw Daisuke Kojima deleted the photos with his bare eyes. However, he did not expect Daisuke Kojima to keep a backup of the photos at all. At that instant, he felt like killing him. However, he was also well aware that if his crime went exposed, he would be doomed. Thus, after further deliberation, he decided to put a bug in Daisuke Kojima’s wallet to eavesdrop on his secret. In case Daisuke Kojima tried to threaten him again, at least he had something to threaten him back as well.

 But at the end of the day, Daisuke Kojima went missing in Kobayashi Village unexpectedly.

 He knew that Daisuke Kojima would be coming over here for sketching. Of course, it was not that Daisuke Kojima had told him about this place personally. What happened was that Daisuke Kojima asked the chief for places on Kanayama which were suitable for sketching and the chief told him about the arbor…

 He happened to overhear it and that explained why he got to know this place.

 “Do you think you can find Daisuke?” Still, Hayato remained skeptical about what Ryoto Amagasaki told him and said, “Daisuke had been missing for two days. Everyone in Kobayashi Village and police had turned the entire Kanayama upside down but to no avail. And it’s late at night now. I almost slipped over several times as I was walking just now. You ask me to find Daisuke together with you. I’m afraid that I might get bitten by venomous snakes or insects and end up dying here.”

 Certainly, there was something that Hayato did not speak out.

 If Ryoto Amagasaki really wanted to find the bug, then he could have just come here himself. Why would he bring him along? This was the reason why he kept a distance from him.