Not a detective

Page 50

Chizuko hummed twice, not understanding what was going on, and opened the door to the activity room: "Come in, this is the safe house."

The safe house... This is the activity room of the mystery club, still that familiar cramped and narrow space, with a table and two chairs, a blackboard and stacks of books placed together.

It is said that the electric lights are still not fixed, so in the late afternoon when dusk is approaching, there is always an eerie and unsettling atmosphere, with the light dimming and the atmosphere becoming unstable.

Especially after autumn arrived, with the slight chill of the evening breeze and the shorter daylight hours, Asakawa Riku felt he had gotten even darker than before.

"Reading in such a dark place can damage your eyesight. Senior, you're not wearing your glasses, are you?"

He pressed the switch twice, and sure enough, the light was still not fixed. Should he report it to the school janitor, or should he bring his own tools to fix it next time?

Chizuko, however, seemed unconcerned and had already sat down in her president's reserved seat (which was actually just a chair with a small cushion), and started flipping through a book on her own.

"It's okay, I'll light candles if it's too dark."

Chizuko didn't look away from the book; instead, she moved her chin to indicate that there was a bag of candles among the pile of junk behind her.

Lighting candles... Asakawa Riku imagined a dark and eerie activity room with flickering, rootless flames, and a girl as delicate as a doll that could be vaguely seen.

Add to that the established rumors surrounding the mystery club, and you'd probably be scared to death by just one glance at it from any passerby in the hallway.

"No wonder it's a safe house."

Asakawa Riku smiled and sat down as well.

At least here, I don't have to worry about being harassed.

"President, what are your plans for today?"

"Just read freely." This was indeed an extremely relaxed club; it's a miracle it hasn't disbanded.

"Ok."

So Asakawa Rikuya pulled a book out of the bookshelf. He didn't look at the cover, but Chizuko-senpai's collection was usually quite good.

The activity room of this mystery club is not actually that cramped. If it could be completely emptied, it would be enough for the entire club to sit down. But now it can only accommodate him and Chizuko. The culprit is that huge bookshelf, with each shelf crammed full of different books, covering all kinds of new and old classics from various fields.

Asakawa Riku even witnessed Chizuko pull out an obscure, unheard-of book during a conversation, which seemed to have a richer collection than the school library...

In another year or two, he'll probably become an expert in detective novels and folklore.

But before I could even sit down and open the book, Chizuko spoke again:

"...You took good care of my younger sister this summer. Did Yuki cause you any trouble?"

She seemed unable to contain herself from asking that question.

The girl's face was half-covered by the book cover, revealing only her eyes, which were staring at him.

Aoandon's Autumn: Chapter Two - The New "Seven Mysteries"

Since the blizzard this summer, Yukie has been living in his house.

Although it was Kazamatsuri Akihisa's meddling that led to this, Asakawa Rikuya really couldn't bear to kick the poor girl out of the house.

The couple visited Xuehui several times during the summer vacation, saying they wanted to see if she was adapting to life outside, and they also brought her living expenses and rent money.

Therefore, Yukie basically covered all of Asakawa Riku's food expenses this summer.

Her cooking skills are in no way inferior to those of Chizuko-senpai... This is something you can't tell from her venison soup.

So, Riku Asakawa actually came out on top, especially in the sense of living with a beautiful girl.

To avoid arousing suspicion from the neighbors, he claimed that Yukie was his distant cousin. Yukie also called him "brother." She was very polite and knew how to communicate properly, so she quickly got used to life outside. In fact, the neighbor aunt thought she was more worthy of being the master of the house than Asakawa Riku.

Asakawa Riku just found it absurd... His parents disappeared, and suddenly he had a younger sister. Over the past year, he felt he was getting closer and closer to the life of a "light novel protagonist".

"Actually, it was Yukie who took care of me... I'm really sorry."

Asakawa Riku sincerely said that he felt like he was going to become a useless person if he continued to receive hot breakfasts every morning.

Chizuko still didn't pull her face up from behind the book, tilting her head slightly: "So what does she usually do at your house...?"

It's normal for an older sister to care about her younger sister, so Asakawa Riku patiently gave her a reply:

To be honest, after spending these past few months together, he didn't really know Yukiko that well. Yukiko was just a perfectly normal "common sense person." Of course, they slept in separate rooms, and after showering, they would put on their clothes properly. There were no exaggerated "lucky pervert" incidents. Over time, they got along like real siblings and family.

When he's at home, Asakawa Riku's hobbies are exercising and learning boxing, while Yukie will help him by handing him towels and water bottles.

As for Yukie's hobbies, we only see her occasionally reading novels, watching TV dramas, doing crafts, and painting, just like an ordinary girl.

"I see. It's pretty much the same as being on the mountain."

Chizuko paused, then asked, "So, she still isn't going to school, right?"

Chizuko was naturally aware of the "Yuki-onna and Kuroyuki" incident, as Asakawa Riku had already told her about the "dream therapy" incident.

“Hmm.” Asakawa Riku nodded. At this moment, Yukie was probably still at home cooking and waiting for him to come back. “Your father said that it’s not good to temporarily enroll in junior high school. Let her adapt to life outside first, observe her experiences over the past few years, and make sure that her abilities are no longer going out of control before letting her go to school.”

“I have the same thought,” Chizuko agreed.

Kazamatsuri Yukie's true identity is a "Level 5 user," possessing the abilities to create blizzards, freeze objects, mold ice, and lower temperatures, making her quite dangerous even among Level 5 users.

Although Riku Asakawa successfully erased the Black Snow Personality, which represented "evil," in the dream, the Snow Woman, as a "yokai," did not completely disappear.

Yukie herself doesn't seem to be aware of this; it's a helpless lie. She can only proceed to the next step after she can control her abilities and ensure stability and safety.

"In any case, this is a positive development."

Chizuko smiled; she was genuinely happy for her sister's transformation.

Then, she asked a few more questions, which Asakawa Riku answered one by one. Although Yuki didn't go to school, she bought textbooks and studied junior high school courses at home. To repay the kindness of cooking for her every day, Asakawa Riku would tutor her, just like a private tutor. Yuki was a diligent and serious child when she was young, so she caught up with the pace very quickly.

"I can't think of anything else."

"...Let's leave it at that for now." Chizuko closed her notebook with satisfaction.

"Do I need to record this too?"

"Of course, these are my investigation notes. Please report them on time every week from now on."

She smiled slyly: "Asakawa-kun, don't you dare lay a hand on my sister, or this will be evidence to arrest you."

“I understand…” Asakawa Riku pursed his lips.

He thought that the conversation would end there. That was how their club activities usually went: they would chat about things that interested them and then each read their own books.

However, today, Chizuko-senpai's desire to chat didn't seem to end so quickly; she suddenly put down the book she was holding.

"In return, I will also tell you some information."

"Oh?"

"Aren't you wondering why so many people have been bothering you since the beginning of this semester?"

"Oh right." Asakawa Riku almost forgot about the important matter. Chizuko was a senior who loved playing detective games and was very smart, often giving helpful advice.

He quickly explained his recent troubles to Chizuko:

"...What exactly is going on? I haven't done anything out of line recently."

Asakawa Riku even recalled everything he had done recently. He had always played an inconspicuous role in class, with above-average grades. Even at the sports meet, he didn't deliberately try to stand out, always controlling his desire to perform. His only friend was Hirata Kokichi, and he hadn't exposed Matsuyama-sensei's scandal...

He didn't know how he suddenly became a prominent figure.

Chizuko didn't answer immediately, but asked, "Asakawa-kun, have you heard of our school's 'Seven Mysteries'?"

"Um……"

Asakawa Riku felt that the word sounded familiar, and he immediately remembered where he had heard it before:

"Ah, the previous 'Mystery Club Paranormal Disappearance Case' is one of the Seven Mysteries!"

"...Haha, I really don't want to hear that word if I could."

Chizuko shrugged helplessly, but after all, she was the one who started the topic: "Our school has seven mysteries, which are simply seven incredible, bizarre and suspenseful supernatural events. The 'Mystery Club's Supernatural Disappearance Case' is the seventh one, which refers to the incident where my lovely club members were kidnapped by Tsuchigumo... You should already know that."

"Hmm." This spring, everything that happened stemmed from that incident, and it was as if I could still smell the rotten, foul odor from that cellar.

It was called the "murder-prediction love letter incident" back then.

"Since we solved the case and rescued the hostages, and the incident was reported in the news, all the students at this school saw it. As a result, the 'spell' that had been attached to this word was completely dispelled and lost its power. It is no longer an unsolved mystery and has therefore been removed from the list of the Seven Mysteries."

Chizuko was also freed from this ordeal. The mystery club became a normal club, no longer feared by people, and she herself was no longer stigmatized as a "cursed witch."

"However, the number seven is necessary for the Seven Mysteries... In other words, if there is a gap, a new mystery will fill it."

"The name of this ghost story is—【The Super Strong Boy in the First Year of High School】."

Aoandon's Autumn: Chapter Three Is Not a Love Letter

"This……"

Asakawa Riku's expression became incredibly interesting, alternating between green and blue, leaving him speechless.

Chizuko, clutching her stomach, laughed smugly and tastelessly: "Hahahaha..."

He slammed his hand on the table in displeasure and glared at her.

"Could it be that you, senior, spread this rumor? To cover up your own rumor, you made me the scapegoat...!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't wrong me. I would never do such a despicable thing. I know how bad it is to be ostracized, and I would never let you suffer the same fate."

Chizuko covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with laughter: "But Asakawa-san, your situation is much better than mine. I'm the one who's isolated, you're the one who's popular, isn't that great?"

"It's absolutely bad—"

Asakawa Riku sighed heavily.

The senior student probably didn't do anything to frame or slander him; ultimately, it was probably just that he wasn't careful enough.

He might accidentally dig a hole in the track while running, he might accidentally take down the pull-up bar, or he might accidentally jump out of the sandpit during a long jump...

Well, although his original intention was to be a low-key, ordinary high school student, Asakawa Riku would imagine himself running while pulling a crane during PE class, but recently he found that it was still not enough.

Next time I'll have to get something heavier.

"Even if I'm wrong, this name is just awful! 'Super-strong Man' and all that...!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha." She laughed again: "It's okay, you're only a first-year high school student after all. Maybe you'll be fine by your second year."

"……never mind."

Asakawa Riku put down the book, ultimately blaming himself for his own bad behavior; he had lost all interest in reading.

Let's try to clarify this rumor, but the question is, how do we do that...?

——Bang, bang, bang.

sudden.

There was a knock on the door.

Asakawa Riku turned around instantly, and Chizuko was clearly startled as well. Her eyes widened as both of their gazes were drawn to the knocking sound.

Why would someone knock on the door?

This "Detective Club" has always been a "haunted place" that others avoid like the plague. Even though it has gradually lost its mystique, the atmosphere still makes it difficult for people to approach.

In the past six months, only Chizuko and Asakawa Riku have used this place. No one else has ever entered. They even consider it a place for solitude.

——Bang, bang, bang.

The two exchanged a glance. As the younger one and closer to the door, Asakawa Riku stood up to open it.

"Ah...that." As soon as I opened the door, I saw a petite girl.

She clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands, her long bangs obscuring her eyes and making her expression impossible to see. She kept her head down, too afraid to look up, and spoke timidly:

"Hello, excuse me... Is this the Mystery Club?"

"Ah, yes, yes—"

Before Asakawa Riku could answer, Chizuko squeezed past him, and the company president's eyes lit up as if he had spotted long-lost prey.

"You're a freshman, right? How about visiting our club? Or joining us?"

Do you remember how to distinguish the different grades in this school's uniforms? The bows on the collars were red for first grade, yellow for second grade, and green for third grade.

Strangely, this introverted girl wasn't wearing a uniform skirt, but rather men's trousers...

She seemed startled by Chizuko's fiery enthusiasm, quickly taking two steps back, her throat dry as she spoke:

"Ah...no, no, I'm not here to join. I'm here to find Asakawa...Asakawa Riku."