If you haven't, don't forget to read the first part or the previous one!
We have been through our first Self-question segment and chosen our next action: to wait for the chain mailer's reply. Now, let's continue the investigation.
The next day---
Inspector Indou is glued to the TV, watching a talk show. Mr. Kogure, despite not being good at it, is diligently doing desk work. Everyday life is the same as usual.
However, my heart is restless. When will I get a call from her again? I keep thinking about it.
Mr. Kogure gave me a fleeting glance. He seems to be interested in the woman on the phone too.
A ringtone suddenly sounds.
The moment I heard my phone ring, I picked up my phone by conditioned reflex. On the LCD screen was "Withheld Number".
I paused, caught my breath, and answered the phone. "Hello?"
??? - "...Hello..."
Same voice as yesterday's call. There's no doubt. It's her.
??? - "...If you leave it like this, another woman will be killed again soon..."
Following yesterday's accusation, now she comes with a criminal notice.
Even if that was true, how could she know that? A simple question arises.
I...
>Ask "Who are you?"
>Point out "The culprit, is you!"
>Ask "Who are you?"
As much as I want to choose the second option, I think I'll play smart today.
"Who are you?", it's a very simple question.
This woman knows the name of the criminal and their next murder. Of course, I would want to know who she is.
??? - "...I can't tell you over the phone."
"Then, how are you going to tell me about the culprit?"
??? - "That is..."
From the other side of the phone, mumbling and incomprehensible words flowed out.
I'm making no progress.
Frustrated, I decide to---
>ask to meet with her.
>reprimend her for prank calling.
>ask to meet with her.
Finally, we can get somewhere! This will probably work, right?
I decided to meet with her to listen to her story. I need to hear more information.
"Okay then. How about we meet right now? Please, let me listen to your story." [Too straightforward, Junya...]
??? - "Eh...?"
It must have been a very strange proposal. She suddenly came back to her senses and asked me back.
Maybe she didn't expect the police to take serious action.
"I still can't believe your words 100%."
"But that's why I'd like to meet with you, so I could hear the full story, please...!" These were my honest feelings.
After a long silence, she decidedly answered.
??? - "...Alright. Where should we go?"
(Tutorial "Inference Logic")
During the course of an investigation, keywords necessary for deducing the case will be automatically picked up. For example, {Souichirou Kogure}...
...like this, keywords will be gathered while proceeding through the investigation. These keywords are used for "Inference Logic".
By pressing the △ button and selecting the "Inference Logic" option, you can enter the Inference Logic Mode at any time.
Characters are automatically included. But, the fields connecting people and important information are left blank, you will have to fill in the blanks with keywords to arrange the case.
Please note that there will be a final check of the Inference Logic at the end of the case. This will affect your case rating. To make sure you do not forget, remember to organize your Logic regularly.
A list of keywords that can be inputted will be displayed. Select a keyword with the up and down cursors and confirm with the ⭕ button.
The game gives two options, fan or rival. I choose the obviously correct answer, fan.
You can skip forward to the next blank if you press the R button while the cursor is in a blank.
Move the cursor over a person's panel and press the ⭕ button to display that person's profile. Please use it as a reference.
You can also check every person's profile by pressing the R button continuously while the cursor is on a person's panel.
Now, let's actually organize the "Inference Logic" here.
Okay, now that we're free, let's see what we could do.
The blank connecting 'Miyuki Kawahara' and 'Erisa Hattori' gives every keyword we've found yet (except fan, since it's already used), I choose none for now.
That's all it seems. But, let's check the profiles then!
(Souichirou Kogure) He looks like a veteran detective but is only 27 years old. His rank is Sergeant. He is a 3-dan judo, 3-dan kendo, and 2-dan karate enthusiast. [Making him a black belt in all of them.] Despite his appearance, he isn't good when it comes to blood or ghost stories.
(Ranko Indou) Our boss. Her rank is Inspector. She speaks with an Osaka accent. Every day she watches TV or devotes herself to legal gambling. She is seldom seen working.
[Legal gambling here refers to government-controlled/allowed gambling.]
(Erisa Hattori) The real name of Miyuki Kawahara, a nationally popular singer.
[Very simple, let's check Miyuki's profile then.]
(Miyuki Kawahara) A nationally popular singer. Her real name is Erisa Hattori.
[Oh... Okay. Let's just continue the story.]
In a family restaurant not far from the MPD, we were waiting for the lady on the phone.
Mr. Kogure looks a little annoyed as he looks at the watch wrapped around his thick arm.
"Sir. Is the suspect coming?"
The appointed time was 1:00 PM, she's already 40 minutes late.
"The suspect, you say... Mr. Kogure, we still don't know anything about her, do we?"
"No! But anyone who lies about Miyuki-chan deserves to be arrested!"
That would be abuse of authority.
"Now now, Mr. Kogure, let's wait a little longer."
"Yes, sir..."
Mr. Kogure's expression looks exactly as if he was trying to push himself to endure.
We arrived 15 minutes before the meeting. So I can understand Mr. Kogure's feeling, considering we've been waiting for almost an hour.
??? - "Um..."
I turned around once I heard a beautiful voice, standing where it came from, a young woman was there. She looks to be very mature, but must only be around 20 years old. [I wonder who she is... lol]
With wine-red sunglasses and a denim casquette worn pulled over in her eyes, she seems to be a woman who pays a lot of attention to her clothes.
"You are...?" I had secretly named Mr. Kogure as the landmark so she could find us.
"Yeah. I'm sorry, I had a hard time scheduling this with my work..." [Had to get this one from the game itself, so no red glow.]She bowed her head apologetically.
"This, too, is our work. You are one hour late, you youngsters are not up to snuff these days."So says Mr. Kogure, who is also a 'youngster', but clearly, once you consider his appearance and preachy tone, he must be part of the middle-aged or elderly groups.
Anyway, the first thing we did was show our IDs to prove we are real officers.
Until now, she seemed to still have doubts if we actually were police officers.
A few words leaked out of her mouth, "Huh, he really was from the police."
In any case, she did show up.
Mr. Kogure, after regaining his composure in front of the person he was 'going to arrest immediately', thankfully did not go as far as doing that.
We decided to enter the family restaurant and listen to her story there.
This establishment is rather large for a restaurant in a busy district in Tokyo.
I asked the clerk to guide us to a table surrounded by relatively few people, but that seemed to be a tall order in this crowded shop, even though the typical lunchtime for office workers is already over.
"W-well then, let's introduce ourselves again. I'm Junya, and this is Detective Kogure."
She didn't even open her mouth when I introduced myself.
I thought she would be wary if I suddenly ask her to come to the MPD, so I chose a family restaurant as the meeting place, but did it have the opposite effect of what I intended?
In this establishment full of cheerful voices, this is the only table maintaining an unpleasant silence.
Or maybe she's just on guard. There are few people who can face up to someone with the special occupation of a detective.
"I'll ask frankly, you have witnessed the serial killer, haven't you?" I didn't make any unnecessary preambles and went straight to the point. [Or 'played a straight ball game' as in the original text.]
"I would like to hear more about it."
"......"Once more, the atmosphere became heavy. Her expression took on a deep melancholy that could neither be sadness nor hesitation.
"On the phone, I told you that the culprit was "Erisa Hattori", but by that..."
"...you meant Miyuki Kawahara, didn't you?" It seems like she already calculated we had figured out who "Erisa Hattori" truly was."For the record, Miyuki Kawahara is not a murderer." She firmly asserted.
"Of course! There's no way Miyuki-chan could have been the culprit!" Mr. Kogure followed suit.
"...Detective, could it be that you're a fan of Miyuki Kawahara?"
Unexpectedly, she stared down the face of the fearsome detective.
"Yes, miss! Fanclub member No. 0023! That is Souichirou Kogure!"
Mr. Kogure proudly salutes. I knew he was a fan, but being part of the Fanclub was an unexpected development...
"Hmm. Then, do you know what this is?"
Saying that, she took off her wine-red sunglasses.
"Aaah!?" We screamed in amazement as if we had witnessed an alien. [That's what it said.]
Surprised by our voices, the customers all turned their attention to us. Mr. Kogure and I were the only ones who noticed what had happened. It was only for a moment but the mischievous smile on her face was definitely familiar.
"Miyuki Kawahara...?"
"Correct. Fufufu" [A mischievous giggle to go with her smile.]
Sitting in front of us is that Miyuki Kawahara, the genuine article.
Even I, who isn't interested in entertainment, can't hide my shock. So it's not hard to imagine the impact it had on Mr. "Fanclub Member No. 0023" Kogure.
Since a while ago, he has become a resident of another world with his mouth agape.
"Fufu. Mr. Kogure, wasn't it? Are you really one of my fans?"
"Y-yes, madam! Of course I am! Here is my Fanclub membership card!"
As he said, he pulled out of his breast pocket a membership card, which should have contained his police ID instead.
I know it's important to you, but in the unlikely event of it being mistaken for your ID, what were you going to do?
"Huh. It's real. Thank you for always supporting me."
She smiled as she said that, yet there seemed to be a tinge of loneliness to it.
Be that as it may, the issue is her testimony. The serial killer terrorizing young women all over Japan...
This nationally famous singer has been indicted as an eyewitness to their crimes.
"Could you tell us again in detail what you spoke of on the phone?""You know about the serial killer that appeared in the Tokyo area, right?"
"Yeah. I know."
"Who are they?"
"......"
"You previously said that the culprit was "Erisa Hattori", correct? Your real name apparently is Erisa Hattori as well, but is there any connection between you two?"
Perhaps out of impatience, I ended up inquiring with the tone of a cross-examination.
"Sir! Miyuki-chan is not the culprit!" Mr. Kogure protested.
"Mr. Kogure, I don't want to think that she is the culprit either."
"That's why I want her to tell me more about the criminal."
"Y-yes, sir..."
However, Miyuki Kawahara remained silent and refused to answer. Mr. Kogure bowed his head and begged her.
"...Miyuki-chan. Please tell us about the killer. If they are left alone, there will be more victims."
"And, if you feel you are in danger, this unworthy Souichirou Kogure will represent your fans all over the country and protect you, even if it costs me my life!"
Miyuki Kawahara hesitantly stopped him, maybe because his feelings had reached her.
"...Thanks, Mr. Kogure."
"...Okay. What I saw... I'll tell you everything." The color of determination flashed in her eyes through the sunglasses.
Thus, Miyuki Kawahara began to tell the account of when she saw the serial killer...
Anyway, see you then!
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