Chapter 7

I anticipated the door to be locked, yet with a twist of the knob, it opened effortlessly. I took a quick peek inside to see if Kazunari-san was there and naked, but instead I saw something that traumatized me.

Her body was swimming in crimson, bloody water in the bathtub. When I saw it, I rushed into the room, disregarding her naked body, to get a better look.

I placed two fingers on her neck, nervously looking for a pulse, but I couldn't feel one. I didn't want to accept that the girl in front of me had died. So I put my fingers in front of her nose to feel for any wind caused by her breathing. I couldn't feel anything.

My heart dropped in anxiety. Was she really dead?

I was uneasy; my stomach was uneasy; my entire body was uneasy. When I looked down at her, I discovered not one or two but seven slashes on her right arm. And it explains the crimson water because her arm was buried in it.

My stomach couldn't take the sight of a real dead body in front of me. The urge to vomit came back after years, and I hurried to the toilet bowl and vomited all over. The delicious waffles were all a waste.

I heard a knock on the front door just as I finished barfing my breakfast.

"Noa? It's me, Takashi! Are you in there?" I stepped out slowly, still feeling quite apprehensive and Takashi was concerned when he saw me.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Call 110," I said after a brief pause to wipe the vomit from my lips.

"Why? Where's Kazunari-san?"

"She is dead."

"What do you—?"

I gagged and dashed inside to the bathroom while he was still asking a question.

Being the first witness to discover a deceased corpse was not what I expected from this camp. It horrifies me.

Takashi, still perplexed by what I was saying and believing I was kidding, followed me into the bathroom and instantly discovered Kazunari in the bathtub.

It terrified him just as much as it terrified me, and he dialed 110 with quivering hands and a shaking voice.

The cops arrived an hour later. We alerted the school administration of the tragedy, and they instructed us to remain in our rooms while the police investigated what had occurred.

We were inside our dorm room, sitting on my bed, and I sighed heavily. This power of mine can be quite frustrating and pointless at times. I'm doing everything I can to forget, but it won't let me.

Every time I close my eyes to relax, it comes back to torment me in every detail. It makes me want to vomit again.

Takashi could tell I wasn't feeling well since my movements had become rigid. He sat next to me, caressed my back, and took my hand in his. I raise my eyes to him. He offered me the most comforting grin, which helped me relax a little. Another thought entered my head at this moment, and I can't stop thinking about how fortunate I am to have this kid by my side.

After a few moments, one of the police officers in charge of the investigation entered. We rose and bowed in response to the officer's bow.

I was then asked to describe what I saw at the crime scene as well as my reason for visiting Kazunari Miu. Because I was the sole suspect here, I had to prove my innocence, even though I knew I was innocent.

"Have you discovered what killed Kazunari-san, officer?" I said it hesitantly.

"It might be suicide, but it could also be murder by the suspects."

"Suspects?"

"That would be you, for now."

Again, I was aware of it. Because I am the founder, I could be a suspect. Despite my calmness, Takashi couldn't accept the accusations.

"That's absurd! Noa can't be the suspect; she's completely innocent!"

"Every killer says that."

Takashi was enraged by the police officer's attitude, and he'd had enough. But I stopped him and helped calm him down before he could say anything further. It wasn't easy, but I managed to convince him to sit quietly.

Seconds later, I heard a voice coming from the front door, and in came Minoru Inoue. Why was the guy I met at the horseback riding activity yesterday here?

The officer I was speaking with saluted at him as he removed his headgear.

"Inoue-san, you've arrived."

"I was one of the students elected to this camp," he said, turning to face us. He snickered in astonishment when he realized who we were. "We've met before."

"Why is he here, officer? I thought students were not allowed to approach crime scenes," Takashi wondered, and I agreed.

Inoue pulled an ID from his pocket with no protestations or verbal explanations. He was a part of the police inquiry since he was the chief detective, according to his ID.

"A detective? Students can be detectives?" I wondered.

"Of course. I'm the evidence," Inoue said as he reinserted his ID into his wallet. I was nervous for some reason. These cops are after me because they believe I am the one who murdered Kazunari.

Inoue saw my trepidation.

"There's no need to be afraid, Murase-san. I know you're not the murderer." Our faces lit up with relief, while the officer seemed perplexed.

"However, sir, there is still a chance she could be the murderer."

"I doubt that," Inoue said, "since there were vomit marks in the toilet and there are stains on her shirt collar, which means she vomited when she saw the body. No murderer would not get rid of any evidence. Plus, I viewed the CCTV film, and her actions seemed clean.”

"But what about the employee lobby testimony? She stated, ‘Murase Noa was inquiring where the victim was’."

"I was asking because Kazunari-san was more than five minutes late for breakfast; I came only to pick her up. However, when I didn't hear from her the first time I checked on her, I asked the staff lobby where she was, and she said Kazunari-san hadn't left her room since yesterday afternoon," I explained.

"Isobe-san, Ichikawa-san, and I can back up her testimony because we were there for breakfast with her," Takashi continued.

"I'll look into it more, but for now, there's something on my mind: where or how did you acquire the passcode for the victim's dorm room?"

As they all stared at me, the room fell quiet. These two will never believe me if I tell them the truth. But I couldn't just lie since it would make them mistrust me even more, and I'm exhausted from being in this position.

"I happened to observe Kazunari-san outside typing in her passcode as Takashi and I were walking to our assigned dorm room."

"How could you remember that in such a short amount of time?"

"Please speak the truth," the cop said, and I huffed, expecting this reaction from the beginning.

"I'm not expecting you to believe me, but I have a photographic memory."

"That's ridiculous—"

Inoue shuts the policeman up with his index finger in front of his lips.

"I want to trust you, but you have to present evidence for us to know you're speaking the truth." He says.

"She's the top of her class—the whole school rather—and she's received several prizes thanks to her power," Takashi argued, but their blank expressions revealed that that wasn't enough evidence to prove my power.

Takashi huffs in frustration as he thought of other ways to help, and an idea clicked. He grabs a whiteboard and pen and gave it to Inoue and said, "Write as many items as you can fit on the board, and have Noa perform an exam,"

Inoue and the cop decided it would be a good idea to test her honesty. Inoue drew not only numbers but also letters and doodles on the whiteboard.

"I'll give you 10 seconds to learn everything," Inoue continued, "beginning... now!" He spun the whiteboard around to face me, and it was a complete mess! An ordinary person would struggle to remember all of this in a matter of seconds, but I believe in my abilities, in myself, and in my ability to succeed.

"Time is up!" Inoue flipped the board as the officer spoke. I felt nervous despite having everything in my head. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for my response.

"4...5...1..." I replied slowly. However, because of this, they assumed I was having difficulty memorizing.

"It was a lie after all."

"Shush, let her finish!" Takashi silenced the cop. He then gave me that reassuring look he had shown me a while ago. And again, it helped calm me.

I huffed the nervousness away with a deep breath. I restarted, but this time at a faster rate.

"45117829083654671973836f6hkahu8ypq5289gajslq61hr;42!@"-*+gaulwp619374)(a dog, The emo S, a cross, a happy face" the expression on their faces made me proud of the power I beheld, but I wasn't finished. "And four of the corners seemed to be colored as well."

"No, it isn't," the officer objected.

"Not the whiteboard corners, but the four corners of the black tape on the whiteboard."

"How do you know?" Inoue questioned. He was surprised; he was certain I wouldn't realize.

"The shade of black utilized by both of them is distinct from each other, easy peasy!" I said it cheerfully as Takashi applauded my accomplishment in the test.