In the second-floor room of Doi Takki, where the magic enthusiasts' meetup was in full swing, Tsune crouched beside a black duffel bag. He pulled out a sleek, compact crossbow, accidentally dragging out some colorful… undergarments.
"Not bad, Kid. Stealing even underwear?" the repairman chuckled, glancing at the chubby, seemingly harmless Doi Takki.
The bag belonged to DeceptiveChild—aka Tanaka Kikue. Whether she'd noticed it was missing was anyone's guess.
After all, it was packed with her planned crime tools. Even if she realized it was gone, she'd probably keep quiet.
Kid ignored Tsune's teasing, staring out at the silent forest beyond the window. "I also found some marks in the woods outside," he said. "Arrow holes in tree trunks. She's definitely planning a murder disguised as a magic trick."
With Kid's smarts, it wasn't hard to piece together her intentions after spotting those telltale signs.
"I've got some bad news," Tsune said, shaking his head as he tossed the crossbow back into the bag.
Kid turned, his expression heavy. "EscapeKing's already dead, isn't he?"
As the chatroom leader, his absence and unreachable phone were ominous signs.
"Yeah. This ShadowMage has a serious vendetta," Tsune replied, pulling a deck of cards from his pocket. "Check this out. Any flaws in the magic trick I'm gonna perform later?"
"This? Now?" Kid frowned, staring at Tsune's bizarre card-shuffling with disbelief. "Is this really the time?"
And what even was this trick? Cutting the deck like that—what was he trying to show?
"I don't care if she's a killer or not. I'm not in the mood to play justice warrior," Tsune said, acting like nothing was wrong as he picked up a card that had fluttered to the floor.
Back when Harui Fuden hid his identity in the chatroom, he'd chatted about old-school escape tricks. Everyone was hyped, urging him to perform again. But when he made his comeback and died on stage, those same people mocked him.
Some even sent smiley faces.
(^^;)
Now his granddaughter was coming for them, metaphorically crawling through the internet to deliver her blade.
"I can only do so much," Kid said, shoving the bag under the bed.
Like Tsune said, the rest was up to the police.
That said, if VanishingBarney survived and ever ran into the repairman on a dark night, he'd probably still get a beating.
"Come on, pick a card!" Tsune fanned out the deck in front of Kid.
Kid: …
"Why were you two up there so long?" Sonoko asked suspiciously as Tsune and Doi Takki came downstairs.
Was Tsune bro that chummy with this Doi guy?
The post-dinner magic show was about to start, and she had no idea what they'd been sneaking around doing.
"I just learned an awesome magic trick," Tsune said, pulling out his deck of cards, ready to show off.
Kid, hearing this, silently stared out the window, refusing to engage.
The guy barely knew magic, yet insisted on learning some flashy, high-skill, flawless trick.
Let's not do this lesson again. If we must, pick someone I can actually call an idiot without consequences.
As Tsune performed his card trick in the living room, most of the group reacted with enthusiasm—except Tanaka Kikue. She seemed preoccupied, barely clapping.
She didn't know who'd picked her room's lock and taken the bag from her cabinet. It held tools for her upcoming "performance," but since the trick hadn't happened yet, whoever took it probably couldn't guess her plan.
More than that, she was starting to suspect there was a pervert in this villa!
"How'd you do that, Sonoko? Any ideas?" Ran asked, baffled by Tsune's card trick and turning to the magician's apprentice for answers.
Compared to Sonoko's car trick—something so basic even kids could see through it—Tsune's trick, learned from Kid, was a dimensional leap. No need to knock anyone out; it was pure, mind-boggling magic.
"I've got no clue…" Sonoko flipped through the cards on the table, unable to crack the technique.
Clap clap clap!
Aragi Yosuke, the middle-aged host, was the first to applaud. "That was a great trick! Did you teach him, Doi Takki?"
Tanaka Kikue gave a strained smile, eyeing the guy who'd skipped dinner claiming a cold. "Did you?"
Her gaze was sharp, scrutinizing.
This RedHerring guy had guessed her grandfather's identity and even emailed him good luck the day before his fatal performance. Was he the pervert?
Or… did he already know what she was planning?
"Heh, I actually learned it from someone else," Doi said, scratching his head sheepishly.
Better slip out of here soon.
"What?! The bridge got burned down?" Kuroda Naoko gaped at Tsune.
Just moments ago, they'd tried contacting EscapeKing again, only to find the phone line cut and tossed who-knows-where. Now, the calm-as-ever repairman dropped the bombshell about the bridge.
"Yeah, probably someone's prank," Tsune said with a nod, turning to Aragi. "Hey, Mr. Aragi, when's supper?"
"Uh… maybe a bit later?" Aragi replied, dazed.
Supper? At a time like this?
"Tsune, everything okay?" Dr. Agasa whispered, glancing at the murmuring group. "This doesn't feel like a prank."
Something big was brewing.
Tsune glanced at Tanaka, who was trailing Doi Takki upstairs, and smiled. "Nah, I don't think anything's gonna happen."
"But we could go check out someone's cool-guy act!"
(End of Chapter)
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