Chapter 9 Chapter 04 Nonspecific

"——What's wrong with you, Xiaotu?" Senior Piaobao, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced at me, "Why are you frowning so tightly? Are you hungover? Or did you eat your stomach?" I'm not a senior, I originally wanted to respond as easily as usual, but the voice that came out was so dark that even I was startled: "...No!" July 27th, Xiao Ru's birthday. Now we are heading to Professor Shirai's house.There were seven participants in total.Because the senior's car couldn't fit so many people, I borrowed Mr. Koike's car and divided them into two groups of three and four.It would not be a big problem if there is one more person, so at first I wanted to take this opportunity to invite Mr. Koike (by the way, he is also a student of Yasutsuki University), but he himself declined because he was too busy, so he just borrowed the car. gave us.

When deciding on the candidates for the team, anticipating the situation in case of being lost, I let Jiang Zai, who was the only one among everyone who had been to Shirai's house, and Senior Piao Piao, who was very familiar with the surrounding geography, be divided into two cars.Of course, Carpenter himself doesn't remember the route very clearly as he said yesterday, but as long as there is a map, there is no problem for human navigation.The car that Jiang Zai took was driven by Gao Qian.In this case, it is a matter of course that Xiaoxi is sitting in the passenger seat (the owner of the car, Mr. Koike, declared that if she is not allowed to drive, he will not borrow it).There are three people in the car driven by the senior, including me and Hua Yin.There are Xiaoxi, Xiaoru, and Jiangzai in the car driven by Gao Qian, a total of four people.

In fact, according to the plot last night, Xiaoru and Hanyin, who had just become roommates, should ride in the same car.In fact, Xiao Ru really planned to take our car at the beginning.But before setting off, Xiao Ru and Jiang Zai talked happily about the topic of literature lectures, and things about the team became ambiguous. Now, we are following behind the car driven by Gao Qian.Can clearly see Jiang Zai and Xiao Ru sitting side by side in the back seat of the car ahead, talking about something all the time... The senior is worried that I am the frown of a hangover—if my brows are really frown then If tight - the reason must be in the front.

Forget it, stop lying to yourself.It seems that I am a little dissatisfied with Xiaoru.It's not because there is anything wrong with her personally, but because she hates seeing her with Jiang Zai.It just doesn't feel right to see them together.I don't know what's going on.Just thinking of Xiao Ru by Jiang Zai's side makes her angry.Why?I hate myself for being like this, but I can't suppress my feelings.Is it because Xiaoru looks a bit like Miss Yakube?But, what does Miss Yabu make me uncomfortable? I don't know, I don't know anything.It's just that looking at Carpenter sitting next to Xiao Ru, I just feel very annoying... Once I realized this, I became even more anxious.On the other hand, I feel terrible that I have such an inexplicable disgust towards others, and I feel very sorry for Xiao Ru.But I can't suppress my anger, this kind of contradictory feelings is really, too messy.

I'm already in a mess.Looking back, I always feel like I've been in a mess these past few days.Of course, I don't intend to just speak out the chaotic thoughts that I can't even sort out myself. "No, that's not the case—" I took out what I just heard from Hanyin and changed the subject, "This morning, Xiaoru's apartment building was put up again." "Huh? Why did you put it together?" "Actually, seeing seniors," probably waiting for me to take the initiative to bring up this topic, Hanane leaned forward from the back seat, "Student Takumi also mentioned a little bit last night, in fact, the back door of the hallway parking lot , was caught by a small stone again."

"Is this just before we left this morning?" "Yeah, in fact, it just happened." After eating and drinking in the small shop "Yi" yesterday, usually I would go to the home of the seniors to continue drinking, and then huddle together and sleep all over the floor, but for today's event, everyone restrained themselves a little. I went home and rested.Since it was already late at night, everyone walked and sent their companions to their residence one by one.After sending all the girls home, if it was normal, Senior Piaopao and Jiang Zai would definitely return to the senior's house, and the two big men would drink together until morning.But because of Gao Qian's strict order in advance: the person who will drive tomorrow must sleep well tonight, so only last night, the two of them went back to their homes to sleep honestly.However, these things don't matter.

Of course, Hanane went back to Xiaoru's apartment together with Xiaoru. On the way everyone sent the two of them back to the "May Apartment", Xiaoru still looked like she was afraid of something, and said nothing. Just snuggle up to Kanon tightly.Probably because she was very concerned about her appearance (there is also the automatic lock of the door), Gao Qian instructed Jiang Zai to send the two of them from the entrance of the apartment building to the door, which left a deep impression on me .It seems that there is a faint premonition of uneasiness. It was the morning after this happened.Huayin appeared in the parking lot of the university where we had agreed to meet, and whispered to me: "Actually, when I went out this morning...", her whispers seemed to come true last night's uneasy premonition .It's just that at that time, it was impossible to judge why he was disturbed.

"However, how do you know about the back door? It doesn't seem like today is the garbage collection day in Xiaoru's community?" Ah, it sounds like it is.I heard that the days of clamping the door with small stones are limited to the garbage collection days of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. "Actually——" Hanon seemed to be a little confused looking for the right words to express, "Kinoshita-san seems to be a little concerned... how should I say it, that is to say, it seems that I knew it would be like this from the beginning , or as if it was expected that this would happen.”

"Xiao Ru deliberately went to the back door to check if her prediction was correct—is that so?" "After all, this is just my feeling. When I was about to walk out of the apartment building in the morning, she asked me to wait for a while, and I thought there was nothing wrong. When I looked back, it turned out that she was walking towards the back door. I felt a little strange, so I quietly followed, and then I saw—” "What time did this happen?" "It's time to go out just now, just after eleven o'clock." In other words, the incident of clamping the back door with small stones is not limited to the time period of 7:40 in the morning.

"Xiao Ru's reaction after seeing it?" "How should I put it, she fell into deep thought all of a sudden. It's as if she didn't know anything all of a sudden." "Yep……" "Actually, regarding this matter," I turned my head, and turned from Hanyin to the senior, "I have an idea. That is to say, after Xiao Ru talked with Jiang Zai, she first had a hypothesis about the little stone. .Then in order to confirm whether this assumption is correct, even though the vacation was originally scheduled to work, she temporarily changed her plan and returned to her hometown. Then she felt that her assumption was correct for the time being. So she agreed to go to Professor Shirai's house together invitation."

Senior, stepping on the brake slowly, turned to look at me, "And then?" "For Xiao Ru, she should have been convinced that the incident of the little stone clamping the back door cannot happen again. Because after seeing this happened again this morning, she was very surprised, and then became very annoyed gone." "That is to say—" The senior who stopped the car because of the red light took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.Gao Qian's car was parked in front, and Xiao Ru and Jiang Zai were sitting side by side in the backseat—Jiang Zai seemed to notice my gaze and waved to me. "The reason why Xiao Ru thinks that the little stone pinching the back door will never happen again is because she has already taken some kind of precautionary measures about this matter——Does that mean you, Xiao Tu?" The "yes" signal light turned green, I waved my hand in response to Jiang Zai who had already taken a step ahead, and saw a stiff smile on my face from the rearview mirror, "That's what I mean." "Ignore the specific precautions she took, if she went back to her hometown to deal with this matter, then there is this possibility: a series of incidents of small stones clamping the back door are directly related to Xiao Ru's hometown. " Yes, that's true, it always feels like you can imagine what kind of connection it is: something that is not very honorable for a family member or something. "But, but, the notion that she was sure it wouldn't happen again because of some precaution she had taken, turned out to be wrong." "It's probably like this. So she started to worry again-not so much worry, it's better to say that she has begun to be afraid." "Yep." "I—" Kanon's voice seemed very thoughtful, "I saw her appearance, and I always feel that Kinoshita-san is so pitiful—" When Hanyin said this, in fact, Xiao Ru just said sympathetically that Hanyin was "so pitiful" yesterday.It's kind of weird that these two people express the same feelings for each other in unison. "So, Xiao Ru has been so depressed since last night?" "I can feel that she is trying to act like nothing is wrong. This is even more distressing. She came to my room when I was sleeping last night, as if she had a nightmare and wanted to sleep with me." What kind of nightmare did I have——saying that, it seemed like I could really feel being cornered. "Then we were lying on the bed together, but she didn't seem to be asleep. I could feel her wanting to turn over from the insomnia, but she kept still because I was sleeping next to her. I really felt that. She is so poor." Hanon, who knew about these things, probably didn't fall asleep all night because she was very worried about Ruu. "Well, it seems a bit late to ask now, but—" Hanyin seemed to have made up her mind, and looked at me and Senior Piaopao in turn, "What is the matter about the little stone? I don't know the details at all. .” "Well, in fact, we don't know very well. Xiao Ru asked Jiang Zai to discuss this matter, and we only heard it from Jiang Zai—" So my senior and I took turns explaining to Huayin what we heard from Carpenter Zai yesterday. "...In other words, this is how it happened." Kanon repeated, wringing her fingers, "First: Someone put a small stone in the crack of the back door of the apartment building in order to be able to open the back door from the outside at any time. .Second: Mr. Kinoshita noticed this when the new year was just over.Third: On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the weekly garbage collection day, there must be small stones caught around 7:40 in the morning The back door. Fourth: The small stones seem to be specially used to clamp the back door, and the shape and size are just right. Fifth: Even if Xiao Ru throws away the small stones every time she throws out the garbage, it will be used in the next garbage collection. There's bound to be a new little rock caught by the back door tomorrow—" Huayin's head turned really fast, and she sorted things out in no time.In the past, from the appearance, I felt that she had a well-developed motor nerve, and gave people the impression that she was a person with fast hands and feet.Looking at it now, maybe she is still a very capable secretary-type talent.A little bit of makeup and a uniform and you're going to stand out. "But now, it is uncertain whether it is only on garbage collection days. In addition, it is also uncertain whether it is only during a fixed time period in the morning. Maybe we have to revise the statement on this matter. Recognition, maybe it didn’t follow any rules from the beginning——this should be the general way of things.” "No, wait a minute, Hanyin, it's too early to make such a judgment." "Eh? What do you mean?" "It's also possible that this rule was indeed followed in the past. But for some reason, it has changed now—that is, it might be better to discuss this matter in two stages." "It's getting more and more complicated." Maybe she couldn't understand why she wanted to make things so complicated on purpose, Hua Yin stretched her lower lip forward a little bit dissatisfied, "Is there any reason why this matter must be divided into two parts?" Discuss in two stages?" "Of course there is." Probably because she didn't expect the senior to answer with such certainty, Huayin blinked and was stunned for a while. "According to Jiang Zai, because Xiao Ru threw away small stones more than once but the next time there would still be small stones, so she went to the apartment manager to talk about it." It was the old man I saw yesterday. "At that time, Xiao Ru also told the administrator that the people who would do this would be the new residents in the building. However, no one actually moved into the apartment building. The problem is that , after that, the administrator did not mention anything else." "Huh? What does this mean? What do you mean by other things?" "Supposing that another resident other than Xiao Ru found out that the small stone was clamping the back door, what would that person do? It should be the same as Xiao Ru did. Let's discuss it with the administrator." "It's not possible——" I looked away from the rearview mirror, "Because Xiao Ru is serious about her work, she will report this matter to the administrator and discuss it with him. Even if ordinary people see this Little Shitou, as long as he doesn't suffer any loss from it, he will turn a blind eye." "There is indeed such a possibility. However, basically all the residents who use the hall parking lot will notice that there are small stones clamping the back door, and at least one or two of these people will think of reporting the situation to the administrator." "That's right, well, it makes sense." "However, for Xiao Ru who came to report this matter, the administrator didn't seem to have said that other residents had also reported the same situation. If so, Xiao Ru should have mentioned it when talking with Jiang Zai Bar." "Eh—that's not certain. Regardless of whether Xiao Ru will mention it, before that, whether the administrator will tell her that someone has reported the same situation, it is not certain." "It's possible. However, if the administrator has received reports of the same situation from other residents, then when Xiao Ru talks to him, I think he will definitely mention it." "How could this be?" No matter how you say it, you can't say it in such a sure tone, Hua Yin snorted as if she wanted to tease the senior, "Is there any basis for the senior to say that?" "On other matters, this administrator has provided Xiao Ru with detailed information." "Eh? Something else means...?" "It's about using the name of the daughter of the chairman of the self-government association to ask someone to help open the door's automatic door lock." Kanon blinked again. "After Xiao Ru reported the incident, the administrator and the chairman conducted a door-to-door investigation in the entire building. The results of the investigation showed that most of the residents in the building had been deceived by the same means in the past few months. Yes, the administrator told Xiao Ru about it in detail, so we all know about it too.” "If you say that...it seems to be true, but..." "This administrator probably has this kind of thinking: it is natural to report the investigation results to Xiao Ru, the person who responded to the situation. Then the thing about Xiao Shi should be the same, right. If there are other people after Xiao Ru If the resident came to report the same situation, it is unlikely that the old man would not have told Xiao Ru about it. But even so, there is no sign that he provided such information.” Kanon looked at me silently.Judging from her expression alone, I can't tell whether she admires the senior's reasoning, or she is guarding not to be deceived by the senior's rhetoric. "Of course, as Xiaotu pointed out just now, it's also possible that it happened that I didn't tell Xiao Ru this time. I wanted to tell her, but it's also possible that I forgot later. So I can't say for sure now. Although I can't say for sure, but Since the administrator did not come to tell Xiao Ru that there was a similar incident, it is possible that no other residents except her have reported the same situation. Therefore, regarding the matter of Xiao Shitou, the status quo is: among all the residents, it is very likely that Xiao Ru was the only one who noticed this." "Then, at least in the initial stage—if you divide the matter into two stages as Mr. Hisami-senpai said—there is also a possibility that the small stones are only collected on the morning of the garbage collection day. Is it caught in the back door?" Hanane regained her spirits and organized the senior's statement into her own words, "Moreover, the reason why only Kinoshita-san noticed this is because it is very likely to use small stones to clamp the back door Someone in the back door deliberately chose to do it during the time zone when she used the back door—you can think of it that way?" "Perhaps there is such a possibility. It's just that there is a question that must be clarified before reasoning to this step. If the law really changes because of the different stages of development of things, then specifically, when started to change?" "When? What day?" "No, it refers to the approximate stage from which the distinction was made." "For example, Xiao Ru went back to her hometown once, and then went back to the apartment-like this stage division?" The senior nodded to me: "Maybe it was because of this situation that there was a change." "So this change, is it related to some kind of precautionary measures that Xiao Ru took because of the little stone?" "Perhaps, according to the previous reasoning, there is indeed such a possibility. Anyway, let's look at this matter in two stages according to what I just said. At the beginning, it is about this matter. What kind of assumptions, and then what precautions are taken against them - so far called 'Phase 1'." "However, Kinoshita-san's original assumption turned out not to be wrong? So—" "No, that's not certain. As for whether the original assumption is correct, anyway, I reserve my opinion for now." "why?" "Because there is another possibility: Xiao Ru's assumption at the beginning was correct, and then she took corresponding precautions against it, so in order to deal with these measures, the other party also made some changes accordingly." "I see." Now Hanano nodded submissively.No, maybe it's not appropriate to say that she is persuasive, it's better to say that she has finally figured out the reasoning of the senior, and can vaguely detect her decision: now she can think of a way to fight back.Obviously, her character is really too unwilling to admit defeat. "Then, in order to make it easier to distinguish, let's call the stage after Xiao Ru returned to her hometown the 'second stage', let's discuss it in order. First of all, in the 'first stage', what does Xiao Ru think about this stage? In fact, there have been hints before, and the hints are not in other places, but in what she said to Jiang Zai herself." "The man with the pebble clamping the back door couldn't have been without the key—is that what you mean?" The senior nodded to Kanon reflected in the rearview mirror, "Well, in order not to make the discussion more complicated, the person who clamped the back door with a small stone, let's call him K." "K? Ah, the first letter of the little stone." "Who the hell is K? Xiao Ru probably started his reasoning from this question. If it is assumed that K is a person in the apartment building, and he only clamps the back door with a small stone because he doesn't want to go out with the key, then when he goes out The door of my own room must also be unlocked. Of course, this matter itself is also possible, but—” "It is very likely that K lives with his family. If there are people at home, then he does not need to lock the door, and he can also use the doorbell to call the family to open the door, so it is not at all for K to go out without the key." Not surprisingly." "Yes. But Xiao Ru always throws away the small stone that clamps the back door. If you don't want to go to the front door and ring the doorbell to ask the family to open the door, then it is more convenient for K to bring the key himself. In addition, every time the small stone seems to be specially found for the purpose of being caught in the crack of the door. If it is just because I don’t want to take the key to go out, it is impossible to think about it. Suppose K is If K is a person in the building, then it is unlikely that the reason why he did such a thing was to go out without a key. After this discussion, he should be able to make such a judgment. If it is determined that K is a person in the building, the conclusion It is that he should have the key with him, and there is no need to do something like clamp the back door with a small rock." So far we are reviewing yesterday's discussion.Having said that, some parts of it always feel as if what is based on what conclusion has become more complicated by arbitrary reversal.Forget it, after all, it is a comprehensive judgment, and there is no need to be so serious.Besides, Senior Drifting is driving now, it's not necessary, it's better not to let him get into chaos. "—In short, I think Xiao Ru's reasoning is probably following this line of thought. If so, then she will come to the same conclusion as Gao Qian yesterday: she thinks that K is someone from outside the apartment building." "In other words, someone who doesn't have a key to the apartment building. In other words, K has to think of various ways to enter the building—" Hanano raised her voice loudly, "This, this way, pretending to be the chairman of the board The daughter is also for this purpose, it must be like this. Right, it must be like this, if this happened in the past few months, the time is right." "Yes, there is such a possibility. However, regarding this matter, let's put it aside for now." "Huh? Why?" "Because, when she was in the so-called 'first stage', Xiao Ru didn't know about it. She just found out about it yesterday. When we reasoned, we ignored this information and followed Xiao Ru's Thinking about it in terms of thinking makes it easier to judge.” "That's true." As if she really felt admiration for the first time, Huayin's eyes lit up, "I see." "As Gao Qian said, in the apartment building in the morning, residents come in and out very frequently, people who go to work, go to school, and go out to throw garbage. As an outsider, K wants to take the opportunity to sneak into the building. It's very easy. Xiaoru probably thought so too. The problem is that after entering the building, K clamped the back door with a small stone, so that the back door can be opened and closed freely even from the outside. So, what is the reason for this? " "I think there are two possibilities, one is to allow another person other than myself to enter the building." "Yes, there is another one?" "In order to be able to return to the building again after I go out." "It's roughly one of these two possibilities. So, in this case, which one is it?" "In order for someone other than myself to be able to enter the building, I don't think it seems possible." "Oh? Why is that unlikely?" "After all, the main premise of our discussion is that K himself does not have the key to the building, but sneaked into the building at the right time, so this other person can sneak in with him." "Hmm—not necessarily. For example, this other person may be a person who would be troublesome if others see him when he enters the apartment building." "But, Yuko, since everyone has already entered the building, it means that this person himself is in danger of being witnessed by the residents of the building sooner or later." "So, as soon as you enter the building, you need to hide in a certain room... Ah, this is impossible. If it is possible to do this, then from the beginning, you only need to let the occupants of that room open the automatic door. Just lock it." "That's right, then there's no need for K to use that small rock to clip the back door." "Well... It seems that if you think about it in this way, the problem is here." At another red light, the senior tapped the steering wheel lightly with his fingers.Flipping the unlit cigarette in his mouth between his lips.This is his habitual action when thinking about things.The senior was originally a heavy smoker, but since Gao Qian said that he hates men who smoke very much, as long as Gao Qian is present, the senior will not light it but just hold the cigarette in his mouth and endure the addiction (but I think this is more painful) strange habit.Even if Gao Qian is not present, sometimes he will make this kind of action unconsciously. "Even if K or the other person entered the apartment building, they couldn't get into any room—that's the main premise. Because if you want to get into a room, since you don't have a key, you have to let it go. One way is for the resident to open the door and greet them in. However, if this is the case, as Xiaotu said just now, it is enough to let the resident open the automatic lock of the door from the inside. Therefore, K has no way to enter any part of the building. A room. But even so, what on earth did he want to enter the building for?" Could this be just to pick up a small rock by the back door?I was thinking about saying this, but I thought about it or forget it.Because once you think about it, what is the purpose of holding the small stones?This is, of course, to be able to enter the building from the outside.Then why do you want to enter the building... So the question comes back again.Like a snake biting its own tail. "If we can understand his motives, then we will gradually be able to grasp the portrait of K, Mimi-senpai." "Maybe, maybe that's it." "It doesn't seem like you're going to steal something." "If it's for stealing things, then there are only things like firefighting equipment or family name tags. But first of all, I don't think anyone would go to such lengths to steal these things. Secondly, if these things are really stolen If it was stolen, it would have become a topic of conversation in the streets and alleys." "Then thinking about it the other way around, is it for secretly putting something?" "Put what? For example, what?" "Leaflets that slander a certain resident, let's find fault." "Then just put it in the other party's mailbox." "It's probably too big to fit in the mailbox. For example, it's the kind, isn't there often, the corpses of small animals or other strange-shaped things are put in the box, and placed directly in front of the target's door .” "It's fine to mail the package directly or call a courier to deliver it." "Be careful not to reveal your identity. If you use a package or courier, the person who comes to pick it up will remember what it looks like." "K is really a cautious guy. However, if there is such an incident of deliberately finding fault in the apartment building, the autonomous group or the administrator should remind the residents to be careful. Recently, there have been suspicious people in the building. Putting strange things in front of everyone's doors, please be careful at the door—and other notices. However, Xiao Ru didn't mention such a thing." "That's because the situation has not been clarified. Due to some special reasons, even if strange things are placed at the door of the house, the family who was found fault cannot make the matter public. It must be like this. So they didn't call the police, and quietly Get things out of the way." "It turns out that there is such a possibility." "am I right?" I don't know if it's because she convinced her seniors or because she was very happy, Kanonbi made a victory gesture, but—— "However, this hypothesis cannot explain all the problems." "Huh? Really?" "Then, since we've already entered the building, why make another effort to clamp the back door with small stones?—How can this be explained?" "For example, K got into the apartment building among the people coming in and out at work. At this time, in order to avoid being seen by the residents, he was holding the box—I don't know if it is a box, but it was used to hold things for finding fault anyway. ——that’s why I didn’t bring it with me. Because if I did, then this kind of eyewitness testimony might appear later: Ah, it seems that I saw someone with a long appearance enter the building with this box .So in order to avoid such a situation, he was very cautious. First sneaked into the building empty-handed, then went out after getting ready, took the box and came in again, just to be on the safe side—” "But didn't you just say that the other party's family cannot disclose the truth for some reason. Of course K also knows this, or even if he didn't know it at the beginning, he will notice it later. After all, he has been finding fault for several months However, there is still no indication that the target intends to open up the situation and cause riots." "Even if this is the case, K will not let down his vigilance. After all, his character is very cautious. Moreover, if this is not the case, then the mystery of why K entered the apartment building twice cannot be explained clearly!" "Regardless of whether you use a box or not, in fact, as long as you use a larger bag or wrapping paper, you can easily carry it in and out. First go to the building, and then get the prepared ones for going outside. I really don’t see the need to do such a hassle.” "Well... that's true." Huayin scratched her head like a naughty boy, "This question is really difficult." "—Well, could it be that," I pointed to the car in front of me, "is there any information that Xiao Ru knows, but we don't? I think if we don't know this information, we may not be able to solve this mystery. .Because Xiaoru probably came back to her hometown because she knew the portrait of K. Then, K is likely to be a person who has something to do with her family. If this is the case, then of course we, as outsiders, cannot imagine Who the hell is K." "No, you can't say that." "what?" "If K is someone related to Xiaoru's family, I see. Then, who is related to her family?" "Wait, wait, wait, senior, are you listening to me? So, this is the information we don't know." "Even if we don't know it at first, we can imagine it if we imagine it. This chain of events all took place in the May Apartment. So assuming that the key person lives in this apartment building-or is It’s not impossible for a character who used to live in this apartment building. Also, don’t forget the fact that K seems to be haunting around New Year’s.” "Huh? If you say so..." "In other words, one of the people involved just moved out of the apartment around Chinese New Year. Because he graduated from college—" "...Could it be, senior, are you talking about Xiao Ru's brother?" "you are right." "However, shouldn't it be the other way around?" Kanon pointed out sharply, "Assuming that K has something to do with Kinoshita-san's older brother, if K started to move around when his older brother started living in the apartment, then I can still understand, but now the situation is reversed, it always feels weird." "That's true. However, K's activities happened around the time when my brother moved out, so I'm always very concerned. Maybe it might be—" "What could it be?" "Well, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe K doesn't know that his brother is no longer living in the 'May Apartment'." "I don't know? What does this mean?" "For example, assuming—it's just an assumption, if Xiao Ru's brother and K were lovers before..." "It's jumping like that all of a sudden." "Listen first. K is sincere, but my brother is just playing around. He ended the relationship between the two while graduating from university, and K was abandoned just like that." This nonsense is still said as if he saw it with his own eyes.And the senior also said that he was upright and not shy at all, and the more Kanon and I looked at him like suspicious people, the more excited he seemed to be.Huh?Speaking of which, it looks like this—— "Senior, you look like a craftsman now." "Ah? Is that so? Well... well... this is really scary. Could it be that because we have been drinking together, we even think in the same way?" If it is scary because the two people are too imaginative, it should be the craftsman, right? "Anyway, for some reason, K didn't know that his brother had graduated from college. Not to mention graduated from college, he even found out that he lived in the 'May Apartment' only recently. After finally finding his place, So I found it." "Himami-senpai, no matter what, it's very unlikely. If you have to assume that K has something to do with Kinoshita-san's brother, I think it's better to assume that it's his, rather than his former lover. Characters with lovers and relationships are more reliable." "Is it related to his lover?" “也就是说，这位女性被哥哥抛弃以后失意到极点。于是她的兄弟，或者说也有可能是单恋她的另一个男性，实在看不下去她的这种样子，义愤填膺地觉得无法原谅木下某某某之类的——” 我不禁感叹到，原来花音的想象力（或者说妄想力）完全不输给匠仔。 “如果是这种假设的话，那么K不知道木下同学的哥哥已经大学毕业了，而且还误以为他现在依旧住在'五月公寓'，所以冲到住处来的这种行为就能够解释了。” 学长一幅被说服的样子，“原、原来如此，那么就顺着这条线推理下去。K是暗恋被小瑠的哥哥甩掉了的以前的恋人的男人。恩，这样假设的话，这一连串奇怪的事情背后能够嗅出一点阴谋的味道了。” “阴谋？什么样的阴谋？” “对小瑠的哥哥的复仇，总不外乎是这种危险的事情吧。” “恩，确实是这样。” “而且，如果这一连串的行动是以木下家为目标的话，那么K就很有可能会监视着木下同学的行动了。” 确实有这种可能性。如果假定K和小瑠的哥哥有什么关系的话（至少在所谓的“第一阶段”先这么假定），那么在垃圾收集日的时候特意瞄准小瑠出来扔垃圾的时刻用小石头夹住后门就很自然了。当然K为了摸清她的生活习惯肯定在周围调查了很久，在小瑠实际出来扔垃圾的时候他也肯定在附近监视着。 “就算是这样，只是K到现在还没有察觉到木下同学的哥哥已经不住在那幢公寓楼里了这件事，实在是无法想象啊。这实在是有点太扯了。” “恩，这样啊，好像确实如此。”失去了自信的学长，摸着那昨天刚刚剃掉拉渣胡子的下巴，“……那么，这样也不对啊。” “你放弃地也太早了点吧。”花音居然做出一幅完全掌握住了学长的弱点的样子，引导着议论的方向，“逆向思维一下的话怎么样？” “逆向？怎么逆法？” “不如说其实K早就知道哥哥已经不住在那里了。所以K的目的是为了把哥哥给叫回来。” “叫回来？” “也不知道是因为他不知道木下同学老家的地址，还是因为有什么其他的理由让他认为事件的舞台必须发生在'五月公寓'，总之，K希望哥哥能够回来，于是就做出一系列盯上作为妹妹的木下同学的动作，悄悄地给哥哥下了个饵——” “这个饵就是瞄准了小瑠出来扔垃圾的时间，用小石头夹住后门这件事吧。” 小瑠的性格就是一丝不苟的，如果观察一阵子的话，有充分的可能性能够知道她肯定会在垃圾收集日的早上七点四十分左右从后门出来。 “但是，如果照花音所说的这种假设的话，对于K来说，他就是预计到小瑠看到后门夹着小石头的话一定会联想到自己的哥哥咯。” “一定会联想到吧。结果，实际上木下同学不就是为了见哥哥一面而回老家去了一趟了嘛。” “但是为什么会预测到她有这种联想呢？小石头和哥哥之间有什么因果关系吗？” “就是这个，这就是我们没有办法知道的情报啊。用扑克牌做比喻的话，这就是作为王牌的鬼牌啊。” “这种王牌到底握在谁的手上啊？” “当然是在木下同学手上啊。” “真的是这样嘛。” "Is not it?" “如果小瑠真的握有这种王牌的话，那她就不会去找匠仔商谈了，而是马上就看破真相了啊。” “这可不一定哦。边见学长，你可不要忘了一点哦。木下同学一开始是认为公寓里的某个住户为了方便能够不带钥匙出去扔垃圾而做这种事的。想到这个K很有可能是外部的人，那是在找匠同学商谈之后的事了。” “这确实是没错啦。但是啊，这已经持续了那么长一段时间了啊。小瑠也应该隐隐约约感觉到这小石头并不是为了方便扔垃圾而夹的了吧。如果她真的握有花音所说的这种王牌在手的话，那么在一开始怀疑的阶段，也就是在找匠仔商谈之前，就应该能够想到这是外部的人所做的了。既然她没有想到，那么就意味着她根本就没握有这种王牌在手上，我是这么觉得的啦。” "That's it..." “或许是我想太多了吧——”学长害羞地笑着，“不行不行，这大概也是受到匠仔的影响吧。” “听边见学长这么说，就好像你确信小瑠也只有凭我们现在所持有的这些情报来进行推理一样，这也太奇怪了吧。毕竟他们是一家人啊，关于她哥哥的事情，只有她知道而我们无法得知的一定多到数不胜数吧。” 说的一点也没错。无论调查地多么清楚，观察地多么仔细，也不可能知道其他人的一切的。这话完全正确。关于这一点，我也不得不承认是花音赢了。 “确实如此。”学长也爽快地承认了。 但是，虽然我不得不承认花音说的非常正确，但是就是无法心服口服：“……但是，如果这样的话，那么用小石头夹住后门这个行为本身不就没有任何意义了吗？也就是说，这只是K和哥哥之间的某种暗号之类的吗？” “一定就是这样的。” 但是，如果真的是这样的话，那么就应该像学长刚才所说的那样，小瑠不可能从小石头就联想到她哥哥。而如果有情报能够让她联想到哥哥的话，那么在找匠仔商谈之前她就应该会注意到……啊，这样下去，只是在原地兜圈子嘛。 “——那个，我刚才一下子想到了，可以说吗？” “什么嘛，别介意，说吧，小兔，反正现在又是动都不动了。” 好像从刚才开始路上就是大塞车，明明离盂兰盆节的假期还有一点时间。虽然说同样都是在安槻市本地，但是我对这个地区的风气完全不了解，照现在这个样子，看起来要比预定时间迟到很多了。 “其实我总觉得我们现在所想的全都没有任何用处。我想说的是把我们到目前为止的讨论、假设全都忘掉从头再来一边——而且，我觉得，以'K是外部的人'为前提来考虑这个问题，到底对不对呢？” “这当然不会错啦，如果有钥匙的话，自然没有必要做这种事。” “问题就在这里，我只是突然觉得，说不定就算是有钥匙的人，也有可能会做出这种事呢。” “咦？咦？这是怎么回事？” “假设K是内部的人，也就是说是'五月公寓'的住户。出门的时候就一般地走出公寓，当然自己家的房门也上好锁，带好钥匙。就算如此，在走出一段路之后再折回来，在后门夹好小石头。这是因为K回来的时候将会处于没有办法使用钥匙的状态。” “没有办法使用钥匙的状态是指？” “比如说，两手都拿满了东西之类的。” “如果两手拿的东西满到连钥匙都没办法使用的话，那连自家房门都没办法打开吧。” “这只是假设而已啦。我的意思就是能不能换一种其他的思考方式：假设K是内部的人，出门后再回来的时候处于没办法使用钥匙的状态。” “等一下，由子，如果K是内部的人的话，那么K是哥哥过去的恋人或者是其相关人员的假设不就全都不成立了吗？” 所以我不是说了先把我们到目前为止的讨论全都忘了再说了嘛——我刚想这么说，没想到学长插进话来支持我的说法。 “不对，这也说不定。哥哥过去的恋人或者其相关人员正好也住在同一幢公寓楼也是有可能的。” “这……要是只是从理论上来说的话，那不是随便什么假设都可以了嘛。” 明明已经得出了大致的结论了，有什么必要把之前的讨论全部推翻再提出新的论点呢？花音大概是无法理解这点吧。不过，大概是被这种新奇的说法刺激到了好奇心，她把头伸到前座，从侧面紧盯着我的脸。 “明明带着钥匙，却是处于无法使用的状态——打个比方的话，这种状态是指？” “让我想想，比如说，出门后把钥匙交给了另外的某个人之类的。” “另外的人？谁呢？” “这当然是外部的某个人吧。因为对方没有钥匙嘛。” “这个外部的人拿了K的钥匙后，又会做什么呢？” “用这把钥匙进入公寓……大概这是不可能的吧。” “当然不可能。如果K要协助这个人进入公寓楼的话，完全没有必要做的那么麻烦嘛。从内部解开自动门锁不就行了嘛。” “但是——”我完全没有好好考虑过自己刚刚冒出来的想法，而是直接就从嘴里说出来，说不定我和匠仔也有点相似呢，“说不定有什么原因不能这么做。” “什么原因啊？” “比如说，顾及到家人的目光之类的……” 学长和花音惊讶地对望了一眼。就在这个时候，堵塞的车流动了，学长慌慌张张地转向前方。 “——顾及到家人的目光……”大概是为了让学长能把注意力转回到驾驶上，花音隔了几分钟后才这么问道，“这是什么意思？” “比如说这个外部的人——老是这么说太麻烦了就简称为G吧。K需要让G悄悄地进入到公寓楼里，但是又不想使用门铃呼叫解开大门自动锁这种办法。这样的话门铃会响吧，门铃一响就会被家人——到底是不是家人也不一定，总之是一起生活的人——听到，这样就会很麻烦。” “为什么会很麻烦？” “这是因为——” “再说，如果K要悄悄地给G帮这个忙的话，也没有必要把钥匙交给G啊，对吧？K出门的时候不是在后门夹了小石头了嘛，让G从后门进来不就行了。” “恩，但是，说不定G仅仅进入楼里还不够呢。” "Eh?" “刚才也讨论过这个问题吧，进入楼里之后，到底准备干什么这个问题。既然已经进到了公寓楼里，如果不再进到某个房间的话，好像也没有什么别的目的可以达成。但是如果没有钥匙的话也没办法进到房间，如果叫人开门的话一开始就没有必要耍小石头夹门这种花招。这个疑问，如果照现在的推理的话，说不定就能够解决了。” 从后视镜里看到花音嘴巴紧闭着，不过好像有什么话想说。 “也就是说，事情是这样的：早上，K大概对同居的人说了要出去扔垃圾的借口，从后门出去到外面。这个时候，为了之后方便自己能够再次回来就用小石头夹住了后门。” 顺便说一句，在这个假设的前提下，在垃圾收集日的那天一定会有小石头夹住后门的规律也就不成立了，也无视了瞄准小瑠从后门出来的时间段的这种解释。不过说出来太麻烦了，我也就没说。 “大概是在垃圾收集点或者别的什么地方，K把钥匙交给了G，之后也不知道G是从公寓的正门进入公寓楼，还是从小石头夹住的后门进入公寓楼的，总之，既然钥匙是必须的话，那么G要进入的房门就只有那一个。” “K住的那个房间……？” "right." “但是，由子，这么想的话，就算K没有其他家人，也有一起生活的同居人吧？而且K为了避开这个人的目光还做了那么多小动作，自然，G……” “恩，悄悄地进入房间。事情的发展就会变成这样。” “如果这样的话，迟早会被K的同居人发现吧。” “大概是有不会被发现——至少是不会轻易被发现的理由吧。” “那到底有什么样的理由呢？” “比如说，K和G长的完全一样，之类的——” "what?" 花音好像下了一跳，其实说出这句话的我自己都吓了一跳。我很怀疑我到底是怎么会有这种想法的。大概是说着说着，自然而然就想到了吧。对了，昨天晚上匠仔说的事，现在已经去世了的他的双胞胎哥哥……好像是突然就想到了这件事。 “也就是说，K和G有可能是双胞胎。总之，两个人长的非常像，不是轻易就能分辨出来的。” “但是啊……”车流又停滞了下来。 “像这样瞒着同居人交换身份的理由又是什么呢？” “比如说，虽然不知道K和G的性别，总之，先假设为女性吧。” 其实我想他们应该是男性吧，不过，都是男性的话总觉得这件事就会变得有点恶心（不对，不管是男是女都有点恶心），总之先就这么假设着吧。 “先不管K在法律上是不是已经结了婚，总之她和某个男人生活在一起。而这个男性在他自己也没有发现的前提下被K和G这对双胞胎姐妹给共享了——说不定事情是这样子的。” “由子的想象力实在是太丰富了，好像看到了你的另一面哦。” 对于花音这惊讶的声音，我有点不知所措。大概是还没有习惯别人的这种反应吧。如果是学长他们的话，先不管他们嘴上会怎么说，总之他们不会先发出揶揄，而是先检证这种假设到底值不值得讨论下去吧……就这么想着想着，突然间就有一股因为高千和匠仔不在这个现场而产生的难以形容的寂寞感。 “这好像有点奇妙啊。”虽然他不可能察觉到现在我心里的这种想法，不过漂撇学长用简直让人哑然失笑的认真口吻说道，“原来如此。为了能够共享同一个男性，一对双胞胎姐妹悄悄地互换身份——这个想法本身非常有趣。但是，仅仅是为了互换身份的话，缺少特意瞄准早上的时间带做出用小石头夹住后门这种花招的必然性。K只要用适当的理由外出和G碰面，G代替K回到公寓，这样就行了。是吧，完全没有必要用扔垃圾为借口，慌慌张张把钥匙交出去吧。” 原来如此，这也对。 “对啊，就是这样，而且，”花音大概是受到学长的影响，表情变得非常奇妙，“既然用小石头夹住后门，也就意味着用不了多少时间K就会回来吧。毕竟，就像木下同学所做的那样，说不定什么时候小石头就会被其他住户给扔掉吧。但是，如果K那么快就要回来的话，事情就会变成：好不容易交换好身份了，G却没有时间能做任何事。而且，之后，G必须要把钥匙还给K吧，当然两个人要在外面再碰一次面，这样的话，就算是为了回到房间里，K也完全没有必要用小石头去夹住后门嘛。” 说的一点也没错，我没任何反驳的余地。 堵塞的车流又动了起来。 “……我脑子好像稍微脱线了一下。”貌似我被自己提出的假设给摆了一道，“静下心来好好想想，我们需要推理的应该不是实际发生了什么，而是小瑠到底建立了怎么样的假设，之后采取了怎么样的行动吧。” 不过，这个问题的结论已经出来了。看到夹着小石头的后门的小瑠，得出了这是跟哥哥有关的人干的，所以回了趟老家，尽可能的做了某种防范措施。其实，重点在于，关于其中的详情，我们却什么都不知道。 “对啊。我也差点忘了这点了。这个问题的重点就在于小瑠到底是认为K是外部的人，还是内部的人啊。” “边见学长，这当然是外部的人啊。既然这个人利用小石头，向已经不住在公寓里的哥哥强调自己的存在，那就肯定是……” “这也不一定啊。刚才也说过了，就算假定K是哥哥以前交往过的女朋友，也有可能是住在同一幢公寓楼的女性。” “但是，如果是内部的人的话，用小石头夹住后门这行为本身到底有什么意义，完全无法理解……” 花音突然紧闭双唇。用小石头夹住后门这个行为仅仅只是哥哥和Ｋ之间的某种暗号，其行为本身并没有什么合理的其他意义——提出这种主张的不是别人，正是她自己，她终于自己也认识到了这点吧，然后吐了吐舌头，害羞地笑了笑。 “恩……也就是说，难道只要我们没办法从这个行为本身看出有什么意义的话，就没有办法进入到'第二阶段'吗？” 说不定就是这样。小瑠回老家做了某种防范措施（应该是这样），然后这个措施（大概）起了某种作用，用小石头夹住后门的行为模式和其规律发生了变化（又或者是什么都没改变），如果无法对“第一阶段”做出某种解释的话，我们是完全无法了解这里面到底是怎么样的一个过程的。 “——我也想到了一件有点奇怪的事。” 花音自己大概也被这接近于妄想的假设方法给传染了吧，带着难以说出口的自嘲表情苦笑着。但是，她的眼里却闪耀着活力的光辉。 “我能说一下吗？” “当然，当然，不要有什么顾虑。” “K既不是内部的人，严格来说也不算是外部的人——这种可能性又如何呢？” “诶？既不能说是内部的人，也不能说是外部的人？” 果然是有冲击力发言啊，学长明明正在开着车，也忍不住回头看向花音，很危险的啊，喂！ "What does it mean?" “我们现在讨论的前提是：K是和木下同学的哥哥有关联的某个人，或者是和这个有关联的人有所关联的某个人吧。” “对啊，然后呢？” “会不会K其实就是木下同学的哥哥本人呢？” “……咦？” “好好想一想，毕竟木下同学是回老家去做这防范措施的，说是防范措施这种表达也不知道是不是恰当，总是她预计她所做的事会对夹小石头这个行为产生某种效果——这样想应该没错吧。那么，最简单明了能够奏效的对策就是木下同学找夹小石头的那个人本人当面谈判吧——能够这么解释也是理所当然的吧？” 居然从花音嘴里说出如此大胆的假设，这要比这个假设的奇怪程度本身更让我不知所措。不过，的确。如果K是小瑠的哥哥的话，那也就解释了为什么从他大学毕业从公寓搬出去之后，K才开始出没的理由。 “当然，就像刚才所说的，这只是在'第一阶段'时木下同学所得出的假设，说不定与事实并不一致。” “哥哥就是K啊。不过，先不管小瑠是怎么从小石头夹住后门这个行为联想到这是自己哥哥干的，如果真的是这样的话，那么她又有什么必要必须回老家一趟呢？的确，因为小瑠为人非常认真，所以她要回去拜托哥哥不要做什么奇怪的事引起公寓楼防范方面的问题，这一点我能理解，不过仅仅只是为了这件事的话真的有必要必须回老家一趟吗？打一个电话不就行了嘛。” “这也不一定啊，哥哥为什么要夹小石头的动机说不定是个非常深刻的问题呢。” “深刻的问题？” “如果K真的是木下同学的哥哥的话，那么他明明已经不住在'五月公寓'里了，还瞒着妹妹悄悄地进出公寓。他到底有什么目的呢？跳跃地想象一下，说不定他和那个公寓里住着的某个家庭主妇有婚外情关系呢。” “和主妇婚外情……” “这只是假设啦，仅仅只是假设而已啦。如果真的是这样的话，木下同学应该会觉得这不是打一个电话就能解决的问题吧。只有回老家一趟，和哥哥面对面谈谈才能够解决。” “原来如此，兄妹俩面对面谈谈啊。那么对于妹妹的质询，哥哥会怎么回答呢？或许会回答考虑到公寓的防范问题，以后一定会注意自己的行为之类的——” “不对，我觉得他不会这么回答。” “咦？这是为什么？毕竟……” “我觉得木下同学可能没有提小石头这件事。总之，她只是当面指出她哥哥跟某个太太有婚外情关系——说起来也无法肯定就是这样，为了方便就先这么说吧——如果做的太过分的话，会给双方的家庭带来非常大的麻烦，大概就是提出了这种忠告吧。我觉得他们兄妹之间的谈话就这样结束了。直到最后，关于小石头的事情，木下同学——” “也没有提出来？” “对，也就是说，虽然木下同学是从小石头这件事推断出哥哥跟某个主妇有婚外情关系，但其实这只是碰巧被她猜中了而已，夹小石头的其实是另外一个人干的事。” 虽然看上去好像很复杂，其实就是严格点来说哥哥并不是K。K=哥哥仅仅只是小瑠在“第一阶段”所建立的假设而已。 “哥哥应该听了木下同学的劝说吧。所以她才会觉得这个问题已经解决了，于是回到这边来了。而实际上，问题完全没有得到任何解决。” “于是她就察觉到夹小石头的另有其人啊。”点着头的学长突然把脑袋一歪，“……等一下，根据刚才花音所说的情况来看，在今天早上的时候小瑠给人的印象好像已经察觉到自己在'第一阶段'的假设是错误的了，是这样吧？” “确实是这样，总觉得她好像有点提心吊胆的样子，还特意到后门去看了一眼，大概就像是边见学长所说的那样。” “于是在这里就出现了一个问题：明明已经暂时确信了这个悬案已经完全解决了的小瑠，到底是由于什么原因而开始对自己的想法产生疑问的呢？” “原因的话，应该就是那个吧：因为有一个人冒充自治组合理事长女儿骗住户打开大门的自动锁——由于这件事，她开始怀疑自己的想法了吧。” “说不定还有一个原因。” “咦？什么原因？” “这件事还没跟花音说过，其实昨天在穿堂的停车场里，木下家的车位上停着一辆所属不明的红色的轿车。” “……原来还有这种事啊。” “学长觉得那件事也跟这件事有关吗？” “如果夹小石头这个行为是故意瞄准小瑠平时的生活习性和活动习惯的话，那么K很有可能也会对她采取夹小石头以外的其他行动。” 也就是说，（真正的）K是以小瑠（或者说是木下家的人）为目标的——学长是想这么说吗？ “啊，说起来，边见学长，确实今天早上木下同学打开后门后，朝停车场的方向看了看。” “朝停车场的方向啊。” “不过，因为门马上就自动关上了，我觉得大概也没办法看到什么东西吧，所以直到刚才为止都没想起这件事。” 恐怕小瑠是想确认一下昨天违法停车的那辆红色轿车还在不在那吧——那么，那辆车到底