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墨書 Inktalez
Yeluo Tan seemed not to have heard his words. After a long silence, he finally spoke up, "Now I will present my statement; please correct me if there are any inaccuracies."
Seeing the seriousness on the other person's face, Zekawa couldn't help but sit up straight and nodded.
"On the morning of June 21st at nine o'clock, Matsushita Kazuya left his home to meet his girlfriend Ueno Jun at Haruka Station. On his way downstairs, he saw you heading out and decided to take you along because he needed your opinion as a design major to buy a ring at a jewelry store before reaching Haruka Station. They had agreed to meet at eleven-thirty, so there was plenty of time.
They arrived at Fukuyama Station at ten twenty, and about three hundred meters from the station, they stopped at Ito Jewelry Store to look for a ring but found nothing. Just as they were about to transfer, Matsushita Kazuya suddenly remembered that his brother Matsushita Toshiya had mentioned the day before, on June 20th, that he would start coloring a certain piece of work at eleven o'clock and hoped Kazuya would see the uncolored original. He immediately decided to turn back and called Ueno Jun, but there was no answer. So he called his friend Fujita Kiriyama to pick up Ueno Jun.
The return journey took until ten forty. After arriving at the station, they rushed upstairs, and as soon as they entered the door, they heard Kazuya's voice. They found Matsushita Kazuya holding his brother Matsushita Toshiya, who was covered in blood, with a bloody knife about twenty centimeters long lying beside them. After calling their neighbor Dr. Nohara Osamu for help, they noticed that Matsushita Toshiya's mouth seemed to form the name Ueno before he fell unconscious. Although the rescue was effective, he never regained consciousness. Meanwhile, Fujita Kiriyama never saw Ueno Jun; she has been missing since then, correct?"
"That's roughly how it went. Ueno... there has been no news of her until now. From what I can see from the police's attitude, they seem to consider her the perpetrator."
"Tell me about their relationship."
"I met Kazuya in my freshman year; we shared a dorm room and quickly became familiar with each other. I often invited him out, but he always declined. That was when I learned he had a younger brother named Junya. Aside from his time at school and work, Kazuya spent most of his time with Junya."
Zekawa hesitated slightly and said, "Junya is somewhat like... Yi Shi."
He glanced at Yarou and noticed Yeluo Tan's hand tremble slightly, though his expression remained unchanged.
Zekawa continued, "From what Kazuya told me, Junya studies art. I study design myself, so I can sense that art students have their own quirks. Junya rarely goes out and is not very willing to be disturbed. In the five years I've known Kazuya, I've seen Junya no more than ten times.
At the beginning of last year, Kazuya met Ueno at a school social event. Ueno really liked Kazuya and actively pursued him; that was when we also got acquainted. Earlier this year, they got engaged; if nothing had happened, they would probably have already walked down the aisle."
Zekawa felt a wave of helplessness regarding the situation of his two friends.
He couldn't tell if it was the mention of a certain person that had triggered Yarou, who had fallen silent for a long time.
Just as Zekawa thought their conversation was coming to an end, Yarou began to ask again, “Is there a bad relationship between Matsushita Toshiya and Ueno Jun?”
“It's safe to say it's quite bad.”
Zekawa thought for a moment, and Ueno's complaints immediately resurfaced in his mind: “It's utterly unreasonable! Every time they go out, Kazuya either cancels at the last minute or has to go home early. It's all because Junya is too willful; he wants someone with him when he's unhappy and also when he's happy! Kazuya caters to him everywhere. Are we supposed to bring that burden along after we get married? He doesn't study, has no job, and spends all day at home drawing some nonsensical things. I really don’t want to see him anymore!”
Zekawa clearly remembered Ueno's expression at that time, though he never imagined things would turn out this way. Had Ueno's words ultimately come true?
After recounting Ueno's grievances, Yarou raised an eyebrow. “It seems like the motive is quite reasonable; wanting to make the person you love belong entirely to you by removing obstacles…”
“But—” Zekawa grew anxious. He hadn’t come here to prove that point, but he struggled to articulate what he wanted to say next.
“But if she really did that, it would only backfire. What seems like a reasonable motive is actually the most unreasonable one.”
Yarou nodded, and Zekawa continued, “The police said something similar at the time, but they couldn't find any other suspects. Junya's circle is very small, and aside from Ueno, there’s no one else who holds a grudge against him. Moreover, Ueno hasn’t been heard from at all.”
Noticing a slight change in Yarou's expression, Zekawa couldn't help but ask, “What’s wrong? Is there something off?”
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