Chapter 63: The First Confrontation (Part 7)
âWhy specifically have Kagehara Tetsuya dismember the body?â
Kishida was once again lost in thought. He had considered this question before, but as the case became increasingly bizarre, with various perplexing events unfolding one after another, he hadnât had the energy to dwell on such minor details.
âOfficer Kishida possesses some forensic knowledge, as does Kagehara-kun, I presume. Doesnât Kagehara-kun understand that if he were to dismember the body, the dismemberment marks would lead the police to suspect him?â
Kishida pondered this. Since the confrontation had progressed this far, he decided to speak his mind freely.
Even if⌠even if he was ridiculed by the girl before him, he would accept it.
So, he began, âWhat if itâs a matter of psychological fortitude? Cutting off a personâs head requires considerable mental strength, right? Perhaps only Kagehara Tetsuya possessed such ability. Moreover, besides the dismemberment, Kagehara Tetsuya also had the task of cleaning the crime scene. Perhaps you⌠in short, itâs entirely possible that the culprits decided that the same person would handle both the dismemberment and the cleanup.â
âSo thatâs what Officer Kishida thinks,â Tetsuya said, feigning sudden understanding. âSo, in Officer Kishidaâs mind, I only possess strong psychological fortitude when Iâm at the Hasebe residence.â
Kishida was taken aback.
Indeed, they were the ones who believed Yomikawa Tsuko was skilled at gaining trust, had exceptional mental fortitude, and was highly adaptable. So why wouldnât she do the dismemberment herself?
If both Kagehara Tetsuya and Yomikawa Tsuko were culprits, what reason would force only Kagehara Tetsuya to perform the dismemberment?
At this point, Kishida was beginning to grasp the girlâs line of reasoning.
At the same time, he clearly sensed the difference between her and Ĺgami YĹsuke.
Simply put, the three questions she had posed today could all be rephrased in the same format:
âHasebe Koichi knew he was at risk of being killed, yet he didnât return to his own home but hid at the Kagehara residence. What is the reason?â
âĹshima Masaki and Hasebe Koichi knew the meeting conditions were unreasonable, yet they had to comply with âAâsâ demands. What is the reason?â
âKagehara Tetsuya knew the dismemberment marks would lead the police to suspect him, yet he still did it. What is the reason?â
If these three questions couldnât be answered, Ĺgami YĹsukeâs deduction would fall apart. And it was clear that even if Ĺgami YĹsuke were here, he wouldnât be able to provide convincing answers.
Upon deeper analysis, Ĺgami YĹsukeâs deduction focused too heavily on storytelling.
The core of his story clearly revolved around three mysteries: the time-locked room, Yomikawa Tsukoâs presence in Kagehara Tetsuyaâs room, and Yomikawa Tsukoâs visit to the Hasebe residence.
Of course, he had solved these three mysteries quite well, but the other parts of his deduction were rather forced.
In other words, besides considering the âprotagonistâsââYomikawa Tsukoâsâperspective, the three mysteries, and whether the story was exciting, he had overlooked other aspects.
For example, regarding Hasebe Koichi and the others, in his story, the purpose of these âsupporting charactersâ was clearly just to make the story âseem plausible.â Therefore, during his deduction, he hadnât considered these âsupporting charactersâ as living people and hadnât considered their psychology and perspectives. The most obvious example was Hasebe Koichiâs behavioral logic, which Ĺgami YĹsuke hadnât considered at all.
But in reality, there is no distinction between protagonists and supporting characters. Everyone is the protagonist of their own story.
Looking back now, as Ĺgami YĹsuke himself had said, it was better to treat his deduction as a âstory.â
And he had been terribly wrong to treat the âstoryâ as the truth. Kishida felt somewhat dejected. He had no right to blame Ĺgami YĹsuke. Now that things had come to this, he could only accept his failure. âSo, your purpose in going to the Hasebe residence was truly just to gather information? And the notion of âquestioning in the tone of the victimâs familyâ was just wishful thinking on our part?â
Tetsuya knew that simply providing a common reason wouldnât achieve the desired effect. So, she said, âActually, Ĺgami-kunâs deduction isnât entirely wrong.â
âHuh?â Kishida looked up. âSo, you knew Hasebe Koichi might be killed?â
âI didnât say that,â Tetsuya said, taking a sip of tea and changing the subject. âItâs better to start with my relationship with Kagehara-kun. Since Officer Kishida has already asked Ĺgami-kun, you probably no longer believe the lie that weâre lovers.â
âIn fact, my acquaintance with Kagehara-kun began with the Makeup Hunter case. This case is quite peculiar, and Iâm very interested in knowing whether there were any special reasons for the way the culprit handled the victims.â
Kishida thought of the girlâs club and said, âYouâre a âritualistâ?â
Regarding the Makeup Hunter, the majority of public opinion was divided between âritualistsâ and âmaniacs.â
The ritualists believed that the culpritâs special treatment of the victims was part of some mysterious ritual with special meaning, possibly related to the culpritâs belief in gods and ghosts. Therefore, if one wanted to solve the case, one could investigate related myths and legends.
The maniacs believed that the ritualists were all obsessed with detective novels and that following their advice was a waste of time and taxpayer money. The Makeup Hunter was simply a maniac, and if one wanted to solve the case, one should start with basic clues.
âThatâs right. Iâm a staunch ritualist,â Tetsuya nodded. âTherefore, when I learned of Kagehara-kunâs existence, I became very curious. If he was the one who killed Tanaka Erika, then why did he imitate the methods of the Makeup Hunter? If he wasnât the culprit, then what were his unique views as a suspect?â
âOh? Did he tell you?â Kishidaâs interest was piqued.
Tetsuya didnât answer the question directly but continued at his own pace. âMost of what I said about the time and process of our acquaintance is true. Our specific relationship would be better described as âfellow enthusiastsâ and âenemies,â because he is a follower of the âmaniac.ââ
âFrom the moment I knew Kagehara-kun wasnât the one who killed Tanaka Erika, our exchanges became more in-depth and frequent. Naturally, although we had different views on the truth, we began to trust each other on this case.â
Kishidaâs hand trembled. âYou said you knew Kagehara Tetsuya wasnât the one who killed Tanaka Erika? Are you sure?â
Tetsuya glanced at him sideways and said, âIâm not as clever as Officer Kishida, able to arrive at answers solely through mental deduction. Therefore, I can only judge based on evidence.â
Kishida grunted at the rebuke, then suddenly realized something. âCould it be related to the video or diary mentioned in Kagehara Tetsuyaâs letter to Hasebe Koichi?â
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