Based on the address she heard from Mayuki-kun, the professor got into her beloved Aston Martin and headed to the destination ahead of us, while I took Mayuki-kun and followed her in a taxi.
Considering the destination, it would have been natural for Mayuki-kun to navigate, but we couldn’t have a victim of her rough driving, which was like a writhing giant snake.
In the first place, the professor’s beloved car is a two-seater.
After a short while, we arrived at the designated meeting spot. The professor, who had parked her Aston Martin in a parking lot in a corner of a residential area and was waiting in the driver’s seat, was leisurely settled into the reclined seat, sipping coffee while exuding an air of nobility. Though what she was holding was a 100-yen convenience store coffee.
When the driver’s side window opened, the professor, wrapped in the scent of menthol, showed her face.
“You’re late. This is my last one. For now, get in.”
“You were too fast, Professor. How many kilometers per hour were you going?”
“What are you talking about, Himari? The speed of vehicles on public roads is determined by law.”
“Please don’t force a change of subject. It’s awkward to just stand here, so we’re getting in, okay?”
Exasperated, I guided Mayuki-kun to the passenger seat, then squeezed in after him. It was originally designed for two people, so we were packed in tightly, but thanks to him being slim, the three of us somehow managed to sit. Hard rock was echoing from the car stereo at a low volume. But we left the university at almost the same time, so I wonder just how fast she drove to get here.
This kind of disconnect in perception was also part of Shirasagi Reika’s standard operating procedure.
“Wow… Is this a sports car? It’s the first time I’ve ever ridden in such a magnificent car.”
“Hmph. I recommend you get your driver’s license right before you graduate. Cars are great. They become your own limbs and take you wherever you want to go. They are a great invention of mankind that gives form to romance.”
In response to Mayuki-kun’s words of admiration, the professor’s speech became passionate. I rode that wave and casually tried to start some small talk.
“Going for a drive with your lover in a magnificent foreign car like this, that’s something to dream about, isn’t it?”
“Cutting through the wind by yourself is also quite a chic thing to do, you know? Do you have that kind of experience, Himari?”
“…That’s why I dream about it.”
“Why do you jump on a landmine you can clearly see?”
“I didn’t think I’d get a counterpunch heavier than one in a real fight…”
I can’t help but hang my head.
“By the way, um…”
Mayuki-kun interjects apologetically.
“I missed the chance to ask earlier, but what is a citizen’s arrest?”
“It’s when a civilian catches a criminal.”
“Professor, you’re skipping way too much of the explanation.”
To supplement her words, I spoke softly to Mayuki-kun, who had a question mark floating over his head.
“Normally, an arrest, you see… First, you have the court prepare a paper called a warrant, show it to the suspect, confirm the charges, and only then can you put them in handcuffs and take them to a detention center. Because it involves taking away a person’s freedom, the regulations are very strict.”
One of the three principles of the Constitution of Japan, respect for fundamental human rights.
Naturally, even criminals have human rights.
If the idea that you can do whatever you want to bad people were to spread, order itself could collapse. There’s the term ‘ally of justice’, but ‘a person with justice on their side’ is very aggressive. To take a suspect into custody, one must be fully prepared.
However, on the other hand, there are exceptions.
“A flagrant offender. In other words, if a crime actually happens right in front of you, the charges are clear, and it’s deemed highly urgent, then anyone can arrest the criminal.”
For example, a salaryman catching a groper on the train.
Or a high school student tackling a purse-snatcher and receiving a letter of appreciation.
Mayuki-kun nods along to my explanation with a “hmm, hmm” (cute).
“Um… and how does that relate to us coming all the way to my house?”
A little under an hour by taxi from Yamabuki University. A residential area beyond the mountain road that separates the city from the suburbs.
Where we arrived was none other than Mayuki-kun’s own home.
“The professor, you see, is planning to stake out the area around your house and, as a civilian who just happens to be passing by, catch the stalker red-handed as they’re trying to cause trouble.”
Mayuki-kun’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I-Isn’t that dangerous?”
He panics with an anxious look on his face. That was also as expected.
It’s been almost two years since I first met the professor.
That’s why I can understand.
That even if the conclusion she reaches is a wildly eccentric idea, there is always a definite intention behind it.
The professor replied nonchalantly.
“If you’re asking whether it’s dangerous or not, then of course it’s dangerous. However. The situation you’re in is even more urgent. Before an irreversible mistake happens, we need to cut off the root of the evil, don’t we? A fundamental solution is the shortcut to resolving this. Besides, if anything happens, Himari is here.”
Mayuki-kun looks over at me. His gaze was pleading, ‘What does she mean?’
However, I put my index finger to my lips. Because he’ll find out eventually.
“Mayuki-kun, is that your house over there?”
“Yes, the one with the blue walls.”
Mayuki-kun gives a small nod to the professor, who is pointing at a detached house several tens of meters away.
Suddenly, her earlier words came to mind.
—‘My parents are divorced, and I live alone.’
It wasn’t exactly a mansion, but it had a cute design and appearance.
There were no lights on, and even from a distance, there was no sign of anyone being there.
I heard he lives alone, but to think he lives in a detached house like this…
Just as I was thinking that, I came to my senses and asked the professor the question I had been saving.
“Please tell me. How can you deduce that the culprit is a teacher at the affiliated school?”
“Hmm.”
The professor regretfully puts what she said was her last heat-not-burn tobacco stick in her mouth.
Then she holds up three fingers and folds down her ring finger.
“One. The time frame in which the stalker surfaces and is active matches the life cycle of a typical working adult. The activity times were calculated from the posting and message sending times and the candid photos of Mayuki-kun.”
“…A normally working adult… is it?”
To Mayuki-kun’s question, the professor answered, “That’s right.”
“In the first place, people who plot things by linking the internet and reality tend to have a certain level of literacy. For example, data shows that people who make personal attacks in the comment sections of social media or online news, or participate in flame wars to escalate a situation, tend to have relatively stable social positions. They work diligently during the day, have a spouse and children to go home to, and their income and livelihood are stable. It’s these people with high self-esteem who have obtained a certain status who then try to exercise justice online to influence the actions of others, resulting in flame wars.”
“Ah… I remember that becoming a topic of conversation before, how it was revealed through a study.”
I know about that too. Because I saw it in a news article a little while ago.
“And the reverse is also true. It also applies to people who plot things with malicious intent.”
“So it’s quite possible for someone who has blended into society to become a stalker like this?”
“It’s something you’d understand if you think about it. To begin with, being able to grasp information on the internet and direct your emotions at it requires a certain level of skill as an absolute prerequisite. At first glance, it may seem like it’s teeming with idiots, but in reality, it’s a tool that true idiots cannot handle. That is what the internet is.”
“…I just summarized it as ‘there are a lot of idiots on social media’ a moment ago.”
“That would be a view regarding virtual feelings of superiority and functional illiteracy. There is a world of difference between ‘being able to read characters’ and ‘being able to read the meaning from sentences’. These do not contradict each other.”
Next, the professor folds down her middle finger.
“Two. In the first place, why did the stalker target Mayuki-kun?”
“Ah… that’s true… isn’t it.”
The one who let out a voice of understanding was Mayuki-kun. I had been listening with the overly simple thought of “Isn’t it because he’s cute?”, but I wonder if there’s some other implication.
“Normally, I don’t think anyone would be interested in my usual appearance…”
“Right?”
“Um, excuse me, what are you talking about?”
I think there are all sorts of reasons to be targeted by a stalker…
“In other words, the culprit is interested in the everyday Mayuki-kun.”
“I see… That’s right… I was scared because I didn’t know who was stalking me, but if I think of it as Nakamura Mayuki being stalked… then indeed…”
“My question is lost in a labyrinth!”
“Don’t make such a fuss, Himari.”
“I’m sorry…”
The conversation that had been proceeding without me seemed to have concluded with a mutual understanding between the professor and Mayuki-kun.
…I kind of feel like I’ve been left behind.
And then the professor, while folding down her remaining index finger.
“Three. When posting the items, where did the culprit get Mayuki-kun’s address?”
The professor brings her face close to Mayuki-kun’s.
“I’ve checked all over the net, but there’s no sign of your address having been leaked. Rest assured.”
Mayuki-kun is relieved for but a moment, then casts his eyes down and lets out a small voice.
“Is… that so… In that case, it must be…”
“The school has a student roster, doesn’t it? The quickest method would be…”
“True, now that I think about it, the staff room is a den of personal information, isn’t it?”
Hearing that, I too was convinced by the professor’s words.
And then the professor, while dropping her last, finished stick into the car’s ashtray.
“By the way, Mayuki-kun, there’s something I want to confirm, just in case.”
“…Yes.”
“I heard you started being stalked in early April. Did anything unusual happen at school around that time?”
”…”
Mayuki-kun was silent for a while, but eventually let out a hoarse voice.
“The school year changed, my class changed… and a classmate I was close with dropped out of school.”
“Hmm.”
Seeing Mayuki-kun’s sad expression as he said no more, I also made sure not to pry further.
“I’m just looking for something that coincides with the time the stalking started. I mean no harm. Now then, if my assessment is correct, he should take action today, but I wonder what will happen?”
“If you say so, Professor, I have a strange feeling that’s what will happen.”
Even without certainty, I have strong trust. That’s why I said it.
—The deductions of the professor I respect must surely be correct.
I spoke to Mayuki-kun, who was showing an anxious face right next to me.
“It’s okay, don’t worry. Your onee-chans will help you.”
Inside the air-conditioned car, we wait for a stalker who may or may not appear.
The time for perseverance had begun.