Chapter 24 Section ten

In the afternoon, I go to class on time and go home obediently after school. As for the weather, it is still cloudy and rainy from time to time, there is no certain number.The family also closed the rain windows early before dinner, which felt a little strange.The district office repeatedly broadcasts the storm warning from the local weather station. After the dining table was cleared, my sister returned early, and the whole family planned to make a cup of royal milk tea taught by an expert. We put the Assam tea pot and the Darjeeling tea pot side by side on the table like twins.At this moment, the phone in the next room rang.

After my sister said a few words, she put down the receiver and went to the kitchen to call me.She put her hands around her mouth as a megaphone, but deliberately lowered the volume, "It's a man calling——" The eyes of the parents changed, as if hearing the news of a bolt from the blue.I couldn't think of a man, maybe a salesman, so I answered the phone in a panic. "Sorry, is it convenient for you to talk now?" It turned out to be Mr. Asai. "yes." "That is indeed Tsuda's handwriting." For a while, I didn't know how to reply, I just felt that the sound of the rain seemed to get louder.The teacher continued: "Mr. Iijima——is the head teacher I mentioned before. I explained this to him, and he gave me the student information card and the admission questionnaire for further study. Because those were filled out by the students themselves, the results were as follows: Check, the handwriting is exactly the same. If it was imitated by someone else, the note at the bottom of the copy is very small, and there are difficult Chinese characters mixed in. If it is not written by her, it is impossible to look so natural. For the sake of caution, I also Let Yuuki see it." It was the student council president who was said to be very capable. "Turns out, she remembers that mischievous scribbled 'Mrs. Smith'."

"Is it the one in the upper right corner?" It was a deformed version of "Adam Smith".According to the characteristics of the British classical economics master, it is transformed into the appearance of "Madame". "Yes, the comic style she said is undoubtedly Tsuda's masterpiece." It is impossible for others to "create" to that extent. "If that's the case, then there's nothing wrong with it." "right." "So, what about the textbooks?" "I've confirmed that too, just as what Izumi said."

"Among the three books that were burned, are you sure there is "Political Economy"?" "Yes. Iijima-sensei was entrusted to Tsuda's room and handed over the selected textbooks to her mother. I heard that Izumi seemed to have watched Tsuda's mother put the books in the coffin." I suddenly thought. "The textbook, could it be that Izumi-sister sent it to Tsuda's house after the incident, along with other things that Tsuda left in the school locker." If so, you can secretly photocopy a copy first. "I've thought about that too. But it's impossible. Everything that Tsuda left in school was sent to her home by Teacher Iijima, and I heard that they were packed in paper bags and placed directly in the corner of the room. Including" Including "Political Economy", the textbooks selected by Mr. Iijima are all taken from Tsuda's bookshelf."

"So, it should be taken by someone at an indeterminate time before the incident." In this case, the "invisible hand" should not be printed for a special purpose.Because it is impossible to know in advance that an accident will happen. If you know it in advance—it's too scary to make such an assumption. "If you think about it carefully, there are other doubts. When I announced Tsuda's death, several students cried, but Izumi didn't cry, her eyes wandered, as if she was looking into the distance. At that time, I thought she was in a state of trance, but later Thinking back carefully, she did not shed a single tear at the funeral. Of course, it is not necessary to cry to be considered sad, and not crying does not mean that the friendship is shallow. I think she was too sad to cry. However, given the children of their age For me, this way of expressing sadness should be quite rare. What's more, Izumi is a rather weak child compared to Tsuda."

When the teacher said this, he fell into silence for a while.He seemed to be hesitating, not sure whether to say the next sentence. "Is there anything else wrong?" I finally couldn't help asking. "Well, last time, I only started to pay attention after I met you. It shouldn't be of any special significance. Didn't I say that I scolded them both that day?" "You mean?" "You forgot, it was the spare time that night, the two of them were fighting..." "Ah, I remembered." "At the time, they were doing a strange thing."

"What's up?" "They are dueling." "duel?" "Yes, it's imitating a costume drama." "Do you use a broom or something like that?" "No, speaking of that, I don't know where I got it..." The teacher paused: "...it's an iron pipe." I couldn't help calling out in a low voice.As far as high school girls are concerned, it would be too out of place to hold such a thing. "They were holding that thing, yelling 'bring the horse over' and 'fight', and they were going around in circles, right in front of the faucet in the restaurant. They were sending their schoolgirls to work, and they were playing that kind of game. Every time the iron pipe When they touch, there will be a clang."

I find this onomatopoeia ugly.However, at that time, the two were holding metal rods, which did make harsh noises. "Isn't that dangerous?" "Of course it's dangerous, that's why I cursed people. They said 'I'm sorry' at the same time, and bowed their heads obediently to admit their mistakes. I was going to patrol other units, so I just said 'Put it back to its original position immediately' and left. I thought It was just a student being naughty, and I forgot it when I turned around. But once I think about it, I always feel like I saw it in a dream, so strange."

At that time, presumably autumn night had already arrived.At the same time, the lights that are automatically sensed due to the weather also slowly spread out a halo like a long skirt around the slender lamp post in front of the restaurant. Why did two high school girls in tracksuits, Tsuda-senpai and Izumi-senpai, stage a duel like the last scene of "Hamlet" on that white stage?