Chapter 17 two

"Before you forget, write down the content of the broadcast." At the same time as I spoke, Chitanda had already taken out a notebook from her handbag.Then she took out a ballpoint pen similar to a fountain pen and turned the notebook to a blank page. Those who have bought things at Qiaobuntang in front of the station on October 31st and know what to do, please come to Shibazaki in the Academic Affairs Office immediately. Chitanda's memory is really amazing.This is probably not the same as the original sentence.Chitanda put down the ballpoint pen after writing this sentence in smooth handwriting like a copybook.I looked at the notebook on the table and folded my arms: "First, confirm the wording. Have you heard of this Qiaowentang?"

Chitanda nodded: "It's a small stationery store with a long history. Although the broadcast says it's in front of the station, it's actually a certain distance from the station. The shop is run by an old couple." "Then have you ever gone in?" "Yes, though only once." I recalled myself.Thinking about it, I haven't been to a stationery store recently.Nowadays, all kinds of stationery can be easily bought at bookstores or convenience stores.In such a situation, I would go to a stationery specialty store, that is to say—— "Are there any special products for sale there? For example, paint brushes, or the special paper that Ibara uses to draw manga."

"You mean halftone dot paper, right?...No, that store is very small, so there shouldn't be any special things for sale. Because Bei Elementary School is nearby, the store probably sells things that elementary school students usually use." I see. I read the contents of the notes again. "Is that Shibazaki the teacher?" Chitanda smiled when she heard that, "Oreki-san, you're not good at memorizing people's names, are you? Shibasaki-sensei is one of the directors of the teaching affairs." Oh, so it seems that I have indeed heard the name before the opening ceremony or when.There are two academic deans, one with thinning hair and the other with white hair.As for which one Shibazaki is, it should have little to do with this incident.

OK, so there are no words on the radio that I don't understand.Although "don't do superfluous things and keep things simple" is my unchanging credo, but this duel is of great importance and must not be taken lightly. After reading the notes for about ten seconds, I said unhurriedly: "First——" "first?" "We can see that Teacher Shibazaki is calling students." As if hearing a bad joke, Chitanda forced a stiff smile: "That's right, I know that too." I always felt that her words were suppressing dissatisfaction, so I argued: "After all, it is a duel, I think the discussion should be more rigorous."

Then I continued: "Let's name the summoned student X." "...It feels so formal." "Whether this X refers to multiple people or one person is unclear." Although "everyone who knows" or "those who know" can be used to refer to multiple people, this alone is not enough to draw a conclusion. However, the following speculation is unquestionable: "Shibasaki wants to educate and guide X, simply speaking, he wants to lose his temper." Hearing this, Chitanda looked suspiciously at the sentence written in the notebook, then raised his face, tilted his head and said, "How do you know?"

I replied confidently: "According to the inductive reasoning, it must be no good for students to be called to the office." "Oreki-san... are you serious?" "It's the first time I've been so serious since I entered school. Maybe this is the most serious time in my life." Chitanda fell silent, so I continued to add: "And if it's a compliment, the announcer doesn't have to use such confusing expressions as 'someone who has bought things at Kobundo and knows what's in his heart', and directly Just say no. It’s not limited to me, I believe that all students will not be very happy when they are called to the office. Hearing that kind of summoning method, I’m afraid that people who know it well will not dare to go.”

"It's certainly possible." It seems that she agrees, although I was mostly joking just now. Then go ahead. I analyzed the radio sentence from the beginning: "...the radio specifically said 'Qiaobundang in front of the station', which means that the store is not very well known." "Actually, Oreki-san doesn't know." "No, but X must know Qiaobuntang, so there should be no need to add 'in front of the station'." However, Chitanda immediately said, "Not necessarily. I only know of three stores in Kamiyama City that have the same pronunciation as 'Kobundo'. In addition to the Kobundo in front of the station, there is also a word 'to' near the Kamiyama Commercial High School." The well-known and well-known 'Guangwentang' Buddhist tool shop, and there is also a 'Guangwentang' bookstore, which means 'Guangwentang' on the side of the national highway."

Is it.Other than that——I put my hands on my chin and stared at the broadcast sentence.Hmm... There was a low moan in the back of my throat. How is the ordinary school-wide radio broadcast?Is there any difference other than the name of the person summoned will be clearly pronounced?While thinking about this question, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "This notice came with urgency, and Shibazaki was in a hurry." Chitanda pointed to the word "immediately" in the center with a ballpoint pen. "It's because the radio said 'immediately'." "No. A normal radio summons would say 'immediately.' That's not why."

Seeing her stunned for a moment, I said, "There should be a standard procedure for the whole school broadcast, right? However, this broadcast did not follow common sense, so I can see that Shibazaki is in a hurry." "This means……" "If you were to tell me to go to class A of the first year through the radio, what would you say?" After thinking for a while, Chitanda moved her hand to her mouth, coughed and said, "In my case, I would probably say something like this: 'Houtaro Oreki from class B of the first year, please come to Ai Chitanda from class A of the first year. Ru come here.'"

"That's all? Apart from the one just now, have there been any other broadcasts today? If so, please recall." For a moment, Chitanda tightly shut her mouth and fell into deep thought.Judging from the bewildered look on her face at that time, it is estimated that she will not be able to digest it for a while.Feeling that there was no need to whet her appetite, I revealed the answer: "I would have said something like this: 'Chitanda Eru from Class A of the first year, please come to Houtaro Oreki from Class B of the first year...' " "Is there any difference?"

"'Repeat, Eru Chitanda from Class A, please come to Houtaro Oreki from Class B.'" Ah——Chitanda suddenly realized. "It is not limited to campus broadcasts. Generally speaking, this kind of announcement will be broadcast twice. After all, it is likely to be missed if it is played only once. However, this broadcast was only made once. I think that the reason why this broadcast did not comply with the standard The reason is that Shibasaki is very anxious." Chitanda nodded her head understandingly. The radio speaker was in a hurry——I came to this conclusion and noticed other abnormalities one after another.I didn't discuss the significance of these anomalies, but continued along the lines: "And it's not in a general hurry. I think this broadcast involves a very urgent matter." "……how do I say this?" Only then did I realize that Chitanda and I, who were leaning towards the notebook at the same time, were too close.Realizing that those big eyes were just a short distance away, I quickly moved aside.After calming down, I spoke again: "Because this broadcast is broadcast after school." Still leaning forward, Chitanda pouted dissatisfiedly: "Please don't skip the process." "Omit! What a beautiful pronunciation..." "Oreki-san!" Well, this is not good.Chitanda gave me a blank look. It's not that I deliberately want to omit the process, but if I don't show the conclusion first, I might forget my own thinking.That's why I talk so in circles.It is easier to explain than to explain.I coughed like Chitanda just now, and said: "Think about it, no matter how you look at it, the efficiency of the missing person broadcast after school is not high. It is true that the activities of the Kamiyama High School club are very active, but that is not the case. It means that all the students in the school will stay and sweat in the club. There must be a lot of guys who go home after school. It stands to reason that the missing person broadcast should be broadcast during class breaks or before and after class meetings when all students are present. Yes. On the other hand, if you want to talk about why the radio is broadcast after school..." I paused here and thought for a while. "...First of all, the reason for looking for someone is that they showed up after school. In addition, that 'reason' is an urgent matter that cannot be delayed until tomorrow. It is an exaggeration to say that Shibazaki chose to bet knowing that X might have gone home. a handful." As I said that, I felt a little nervous myself.Chitanda also gradually put away her happy smile and put on a serious expression. She lowered her voice a little and said, "Oreki-san... don't you think it smells like 'kina tree (kina)'?" Kina? "...Chitanda, 'Kinakusai' is a colloquial saying, and it cannot be separated." "Huh, can't you say 'the smell of cinchona'? Cinchona is the tree that makes quinine." "If you change the National Language Council randomly, you will be angry." It was a Satoshi-esque joke, but I was actually thinking the same thing as Chitanda.The topic is developing in a direction that is out of control. Realizing this, another doubt arises: "The next speculation. What Shibazaki wants to say to X cannot be made public. But as for whether it can't be made public at this stage or never will be made public, I don't know." "Because the broadcast didn't say why X was summoned, did it?" That's right, I can still think that way. But for the sake of face, I didn't confess the fact that I didn't notice. "There's something to that, too, but there's something more obvious." Chitanda stared at the notebook with sharp eyes, as if all doubts could be resolved by doing so.Although the lines of her face were much gentler than Ihara's, and she didn't feel oppressive, but her aura pierced through the back of the paper.However, I poured cold water on her: "This inference is not obtained from the broadcast script. No, it cannot be said that it is not at all." "Well, I don't quite understand..." Chitanda looked at me, and I nodded, "Shibasaki is the head of the 'Teaching Affairs', right?... Like high schools all over the country, the 'teaching' department should be responsible for criticizing students in Kamiyama High School." "That's right, Mr. Moriyama often calls people over." "There should be a special office in the teaching office..." "There is one room on the second floor of the general building." Chitanda answered the conversation so crisply, probably because she wanted to quickly advance the topic.Infected by her, I also sped up my speech a little bit: "However, it was Shibasaki, who is the director of academic affairs, who summoned X, and the place was the Academic Affairs Office. Isn't this exceeding his authority? The academic affairs officer who holds an important position in school management The director actually bypassed the teaching office and directly summoned the students, which on the one hand shows that the situation is serious, on the other hand it also shows that the matter has not been disclosed to the lower management." This possibility is also there - I added in my heart.Although there is also the possibility that all the teaching teachers have food poisoning, but if you consider even those special cases, the matter will be unreasonable.It's best to assume that the people involved were sane and that nothing unexpected happened.Otherwise, even if I say that everything is caused by aliens, no one else can refute it.In other words, our reasoning should assume that everything is normal. Having said that, I temporarily shut my mouth. When silence fell, Chitanda nodded repeatedly as if recalling the previous reasoning.After digesting everything, she looked straight at me. Then she lowered her voice slightly and said, "By sorting out Oreki-san's inferences, I think this X seems to be related to some bad things..." "There's nothing I don't feel or feel. To put it bluntly, isn't that the case." "That is to say—" I nodded: "From the previous deduction, it can be concluded that X is involved in the crime."