New Case (1)

"Is Ryou bored with the club?" Iwasaki asked, pointing to the absence of Ryou and Chibana.

Resting my head on my crossed arms on the table, I pondered for a moment before answering, "I don't know... maybe."

Iwasaki remained silent, staring into space with a bored expression on his face.

"We need a case..." I said with a sigh.

He looked in my direction and replied, "Well... you have to be more patient. This is a high school, not a police station."

I gave him a less than friendly look and silently turned away. He wasn't entirely wrong, but my impatience gnawed at me. I NEEDED a case.

I started this club almost as soon as I enrolled in this school. I was lucky that the student council and the principal gave me a room. However, it was difficult to find new members who didn't ask too many questions and would listen to me despite my whims. Each club needed a minimum number of members to exist, and despite my best efforts, I had not been able to find even one more member. Even though Iwasaki only joined the club because he had a crush on me, I willingly accepted his friendship as a means to an end.

There were rumors that the school was affiliated with that company, and that fueled my hopes of finding clues at the school. So far, however, only students with boring romantic stories had come to us for help. Maybe it was naive to expect a real case so soon.

Still, those love stories kept me busy and distracted me from those thoughts. So even if another student came in with another love story, I wouldn't protest too much.

I heard Iwasaki's voice pulling me out of my reverie, "Wanna play that game?"

I raised my eyes to him again.

He was still looking at me with his calm gaze from above, but now he was holding the phone in his hands.

"I already deleted the game."

A look of disappointment appeared on his face in response to my reply. "Really?" he asked.

"If you're bored here, you can play somewhere else," I replied dryly, looking away.

To my cold reply, he only responded with a calm silence.

Within seconds, familiar sounds and melodies filled the room. Looking up, I saw that all of his attention was now on the phone. Despite the intensity of the game, his face remained calm.

As if he noticed my gaze, without taking his eyes off the phone, he said the cringiest thing he could say, "It's boring playing without you."

He always said the weirdest things at the most random moments.

I lifted my head from the table and sighed, "Uh... Alright… Let's play your stupid game."

"Didn't you say you deleted it?"

"I lied," I replied calmly, "Send the invite."

He finally looked up at me, his lips lifting slightly in a smile.

Jeez.

I just gave him an annoyed look and pulled out my phone.

"And why do you need me? You're at a much higher level than me," I said, focusing on my screen.

"I'm using a new character with the same level as yours."

Um… well, that wasn't an answer. But I guess it doesn't matter.

"Speaking of which, you promised to help me with this mission, remember?" I reminded him.

"I remember. We can start right away."

"And give me some gold."

"How much?"

"Hmm... And I need better weapons."

"..."

"And some armor."

"I've been grinding for them, you know."

"Do you want me to play or not?"

His gaze lingered on me for a moment before he gave up, "Okay, okay..." And soon, the room was filled with the sounds of combat.

Our fingers move deftly across the phone's screen. With each tap of the smartphone screen, colorful animations appear - sword swings and slashes, flashy magic attacks, combos, and other elements that once confused me now seem ordinary.

"Please, stay back," he said.

"What? I'm trying to help you."

"And I'm trying to keep you alive."

"Gosh. Just don't freak out."

"And you're a mage, so keep your distance and attack him when I tell you. Stay on the other side."

"Yes, of course, that way you can die without my healing," I replied sarcastically.

When we played this game, sometimes we would banter, which made the game more interesting. We laughed, explored the game's worlds, and fought bosses. Honestly, I couldn't deny that it was a little more fun than I expected.

"Eh... we lost again," he sighed.

"Maybe our level is too low?"

"Nah."

"Should we invite someone else?"

"No."

"You're so stubborn."

The boss was too hard to beat, and now we were just fooling around. Or should I say, I was the one bullying him. My character just stood there while his character lay on the ground, helplessly waiting for my help, while the boss approached him with a huge sword in his hand.

"Can you heal me?"

"Say the magic word."

"I'm gonna die, you know."

"Say the magic word."

He paused, as if weighing his options, but finally gave in, "Please?"

"Again."

"Please..."

"That's a good boy. Here we go."

I cast a healing spell on him, not immediately realizing what I had said.

Wait… What did I just say?

I glanced at him, but he seemed too focused on the fight to notice my words.

Sometimes, for some reason, I acted more freely during the game, perhaps because my brain was too absorbed in the game to stop me...

Pretending everything was fine, I continued to play, trying to forget about my cringe comment.

At one point, when I was fully immersed in the game, a light knock on the door broke the immersion. At first I thought it was my imagination because of the loud sounds in the game, but the knocking persisted.

"Yes?" I exclaimed, shifting my gaze from the phone to the door.

In response, the door slowly opened to reveal a girl standing outside. She had short, curly brown hair and wore glasses. She walked in boldly and looked around the room.

Struggling to recall her name, I remembered that she was the president of the drama club.

"Oh? Where are you, Senpai?" I asked.

I quickly left the game even though we were in the middle of a battle, catching Iwasaki's eye. Ignoring him, I put the phone down on the table.

"I heard..." she began, looking at me, "I heard that you help solve various mysteries?"

Oh, great! Looks like she had a case. Just in time.

"Hmm, yeah."

Crossing my legs, I rested my chin on my palms and met her gaze, ready to listen.

Without waiting for an invitation, she took a seat at the table.

I definitely know she's told me her name before, but I can't remember it. Maybe I should ask her. Hmm, no, if she asks me mine, I'll ask hers, she probably forgot my name too.

Iwasaki, who had put the phone down, finally turned to her as well.

Oh, wait, I need to clarify something first. "Wait," I interjected with an outstretched palm, "I hope this isn't another love story?"

Blinking, she looked at me in confusion. "Another?"

Without answering, I let Iwasaki intervene, "Just ignore her..."

Still a little perplexed, she turned her attention back to me. "Well... no, it has nothing to do with romance, I guess?"

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, letting her know that I was ready to hear her out.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Ahem... You know the drama club is making a short film, right?" she asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, we heard about that."

"Anyway, our movie is a story about a princess... And of course we needed costumes for the movie. So we decided to work with the fashion club," she paused briefly, "It took us practically a month! Just for a few costumes!" She raised her voice slightly, stood up from her chair, and put her hands on the table.

I started to guess what she was getting at, but before I could fully formulate my thoughts, she confirmed them, "All these costumes are usually kept in the storage room, but yesterday when I went to get the princess costume, it was missing," her voice trailed off with a note of sadness.

"So the costume is gone?" Iwasaki asked.

Was it stolen?

"Yes! But the thing is, the storage room was closed, and we were the first to open it yesterday!" Her voice rose again, and she looked at us a little impatiently.

I just looked at her quietly, taking a moment to think. I need more information first.

"When did this happen?" I inquired.

Hearing my calm tone, she sat back in her seat and began to explain, more calmly this time. "We noticed it was missing yesterday... and then we started looking for it, but we couldn't find it. We've been looking for it all day today as well."

If they searched everywhere and couldn't find it, it wasn't lost by accident... It's hard to believe that it was lost by accident. This suggests that someone stole it. But who and why?

"Hmmm..." I hesitantly put my fingers to my lips. "I don't know..."

She seemed to take my words as doubt. "Please help us! We don't have time to make another costume!" she exclaimed, desperation flashing across her face as she pleaded with me.

"Ok, let me ask you a few more questions first."

"Sure!" The look on her face instantly brightened when I realized I was willing to help. "Anything!"

"Are you sure the costume was there the day before it disappeared?"

"Of course! We were shooting a scene that day, so I know for sure."

"Did you personally take the costume to the storage room?"

"No… It was another club member, a first-year student. She's usually in charge of that."

Hmmm… Interesting…

"How many people are in your club?"

"Five, including me. Besides me, there's a third-year girl, the first-year girl I just mentioned, and two second-year guys. And there was another guy, but he left the club."

Someone left the club, huh?

"Are you the only ones with access to the storage room?"

"You mean the club members?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah... We only have one key."

It was missing from a storage room that was supposed to be locked. Maybe someone was trying to sabotage the drama club?

Well, the student who left the club and the girl in charge of the storage room ... I'd like to question them. But if it's been a day since the costume went missing, they've probably already discussed and thought about all the possibilities a thousand times. They must have questioned them by now?

"I see. What about the guy who left the club? Why did he leave the club?"

She looked at me unsurprised, as if she expected my question. "Nakazawa? Well... He was flirting a lot with the members of the club, and... Well, one of the girls rejected him, and then he left the club. To be honest, he didn't take it seriously anyway, so we're even better off without him."

Hmm... suspicious. Revenge, perhaps?

I wanted to ask her, but before I could, she began to explain: "He was lazy and hardly participated in the club's activities. Each of us has a role in the club. I assign roles to each member and direct the movie. Rina wrote the original script..." Her gaze dropped, her expression becoming focused. "Her sister added some interesting elements... Both of them and everyone else play their part in the movie. But he wasn't involved in anything and didn't want to be! It pissed me off so much!" She raised her voice slightly at the end of her sentence.

From her face and tone, it looked like she was apologizing to me for something, though I couldn't figure out why.

Finally meeting my silent gaze, she smiled awkwardly. "Oh, sorry, I tend to get carried away talking about the club."

I smiled slightly in response. "That's okay. Any information is helpful."

"So why did you ask? Do you suspect him?"

"I'm not sure... What do you think? You've spent a lot of time with him."

She hesitated, "I can't say... Honestly, I'm a little suspicious of him... But I don't want to make direct accusations."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to accuse anyone baselessly."

Does she think he is guilty, but wants proof before confronting him? Or is she just wary of making unfounded accusations, as she said?

"And even if he is the one who stole the costume, it's unlikely he'll admit it if I ask..."

Hmm, that's a good point.

"Is that why you came to us?"

"Well… Yeah… Kinda…"

"Hmmm... Have you had any conflicts with other clubs or students? Maybe someone has a grudge against your club?"

"No, not really… We always try to maintain good relations with everyone," she replied firmly.

If it is true, the culprit is probably someone in the club or the person who recently left.

I could go directly to this former club member and ask him, but first I want to get the opinion of the current members.

"I think I need to visit your club and talk to the members," I announced.

"Hmm... We don't have a club meeting today. Can you come by tomorrow? I'll introduce you to everyone."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

When she left, Iwasaki looked at me in surprise. "You seem very interested in this case."

"Well... Why wouldn't I be? We are a mystery club after all, right?"

It was an interesting case, not quite what I expected, but still preferable to anything romance related.

"So, tomorrow then?"

"Yup."

He looked at me seriously. "Then let's get back in the game."

I gave him a slightly judgmental look, but he was unfazed, already immersed in his phone, silently making it clear that this was non-negotiable.

God...