Not a detective

Page 26

He was taken to that basement by the Spider Woman, and only later did he learn that it was a full 20 kilometers away from his home.

Distance is secondary; the main issue is the lack of a precise location. If it were just an abandoned building, it wouldn't be so difficult, but Asakawa Riku was imprisoned underground. This is probably why the "student disappearance case" was so difficult to solve. Who would have thought the hostage was imprisoned underground with no exit? Even the King of Heaven himself probably couldn't find him.

But then, Chizuko-senpai appeared out of nowhere, suddenly showing up there.

How did she know where it was?

Spider Woman might think that Asakawa Riku called for help, but in fact he didn't have his phone with him at all; it was still at home.

“It’s very simple, I’ll have the mountain boy follow you.”

Chizuko smiled and answered quickly.

She lifted her right leg; today she seemed to be wearing very short boat socks, hidden inside her leather shoes.

Her smooth, fair calves were so slender that it was easy to forget they were prosthetics.

She was referring to the little monster hidden under the sole of the shoe, a secret known only to Asakawa Riku.

"That day, you let the mountain boy hide under the sole of my shoe?"

"Well, it's good that I was careful. After all, you could be kidnapped at any time. Fortunately, I found out your location from this."

"So that's it."

Asakawa Riku nodded. This explanation made sense, since he couldn't touch the monster, so he couldn't sense the presence of anything strange under his feet.

He looked troubled: "Hey, wouldn't I be under your surveillance all the time? That's terrifying."

"Don't make me sound like a stalker, I'm just thinking about your safety."

Chizuko pouted in dissatisfaction.

Asakawa Riku laughed: "Then let's not talk about my business, let's talk about that Vtuber group."

"Vtuber?"

"It's what I told you about before, the weaving bead bead, and the virtual streamer."

On the day the incident was resolved, Riku Asakawa and Chizuko shared the known information, including how the Spider Woman manipulated the seven students to broadcast live online.

To be frank, he might have a bit of a boastful thought, like, "Your reasoning is wrong, the culprit isn't the monster Tsuchigumo, my reasoning is right."

At that moment, Chizuko-senpai wore an expression of unprecedented confusion: "Vtuber?"

It seemed she didn't understand this, so Asakawa Riku had to explain it to her.

“A Vtuber is—”

As I was talking, I suddenly felt a bit like when Chizuko-senpai was talking eloquently about "monsters" and folklore.

But Asakawa Riku felt it was strange that he was introducing this in such a serious manner.

Chizuko probably noticed his expression and said with a smile, "It's okay, Asakawa-kun, I have no problem with otaku culture either."

"You already exuded a strong 'norm-loving' aura when you said that."

"I watch anime too, you know, like Jujutsu Kaisen...!"

"Please stop talking..."

...

Back to the present.

Asakawa Riku said to the newspaper clippings, "Although the media did not mention the name of that 'virtual anchor group,' it just so happens that Orisaku Tama and her group have stopped broadcasting these past few days. The year-long rotation of broadcasts has been interrupted here. It's too coincidental. So people online have guessed who it is, and now there's a lot of discussion about it."

Whether it's fans who feel betrayed or onlookers who are just watching the drama unfold, the number of views on related videos and clicks on related posts have topped the trending charts.

However, in contrast, the secondhand price of the "engagement ring with Zhuzhu for a lifetime" actually increased, and the auction price even exceeded 100,000... This strange change left Asakawa Lu completely puzzled. He thought that after this incident, the ring would be sold at a low price.

It seems he still hasn't fully grasped the internet.

But Chizuko-senpai seemed even less concerned about what was happening online. She glanced at Asakawa Riku and said:

"Asakawa-kun did a great job this time. I didn't even notice the Vtuber clue. How did you find it?"

"Um……"

Asakawa Riku was taken aback. It was really just a coincidence. If he hadn't gone to the detective agency for a job interview by chance, he wouldn't have met Ms. Takagi. If he hadn't met Ms. Takagi, he would never have imagined that someone in this world would kidnap a hostage not to demand a ransom, but to make them a virtual streamer.

He thought about it and felt that revealing the detective agency's involvement with the Takagi family would complicate matters further.

"It just happened."

"Mmm..." Chizuko nodded, not pressing the matter further.

Silence fell over the room, and no one spoke for a moment.

Asakawa Riku remembered there was still one thing he hadn't made clear:

"By the way, president, what happened to the kidnapped student? What's the situation now?"

Chizuko looked at Asakawa Riku and said, "Asakawa-kun, I thought you would ask this question earlier. I heard that these students have received medical assistance, and the government covered the medical expenses. Perhaps they were worried that the social impact would be too bad, so they compensated these families. They are in a hospital in Tokyo, and the preliminary diagnosis results are the same as those reported in the news: no serious injuries and no sequelae."

Asakawa Riku interrupted her: "What you mean by 'I heard' is..."

"Of course, it was heard by monsters, and it was the gossip and rumors among classmates."

Just as I suspected, she is truly the most formidable intelligence agency.

Chizuko continued, "However, they were also imprisoned by the Spider Woman for a whole year. They are physically weak, malnourished, and need to recuperate in the hospital. Some have even forgotten how to walk and talk and need systematic rehabilitation. Their minds have been severely damaged, which is not mentioned in the reports. They need psychological treatment. It is said that most of them have amnesia and selectively forget what happened during the year. Conservatively speaking, it will take at least six months for them to return to school."

"Hmm." Asakawa Riku's expression was grave, and he expressed sympathy for their plight.

"Therefore, this case of the murder-predicting love letter is now officially closed."

Chizuko closed her investigation notebook and put it back in her pocket.

The media, police, prisoners, victims, medical services, and the internet—almost everything has gotten back on track.

Is this turbulent start to the school year about to end in peace?

"President, I have something else to say about this incident."

Asakawa Riku broke the silence.

Chizuko glanced at him, ignored him, and continued tidying up the books on the table.

"Today's club activity is over. If you'd like to chat some more, I'll still be happy to join you tomorrow."

"This is something I have to say." Asakawa Rikuya stood up.

He was a whole head taller than Chizuko, and when he stood up, he exuded an unimaginable sense of oppression.

But Chizuko didn't take a single step back. She raised her head and looked directly into Asakawa Riku's eyes:

"Asakawa-san, I have to go home now. My mother will worry if it gets too late."

Those eyes were crystal clear and moist, unlike the detective's ghostly gaze; these were the eyes a traditional beautiful girl should have.

Chizuko-senpai is indeed a beautiful girl.

The wall clock showed a little past six o'clock, which is usually the time to dismiss the group.

"No, it won't happen." Asakawa Riku said, "Chizuko, you don't actually have a family rule about coming home early, so you can come home later, right?"

The title he used changed.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to have subtly changed as well.

As dusk fell and the sun was about to set, the last rays of light draped over Chizuko's beautiful hair, creating a soft halo.

"oh……?"

"Kaze no Chizuko, you're the spider, aren't you?"

Taking advantage of the atmosphere, he finally said those words.

Earth Spider Spring: Earth Spider Spring AFTER3

"You... are you the spider?" The voice was deep and calm.

As far as the eye can see, there are cherry blossoms everywhere.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

The campus was still filled with the sounds of lively chatter. It was the most enjoyable time after school, with students either walking home with friends or staying at school in energetic sports clubs. Their shouts and laughter could be heard everywhere, just like the cherry blossoms in full bloom on campus, making it the most youthful time of spring.

It seemed as if they were determined to dye the world cherry blossom red.

Among them was a dark room that seemed out of place.

The boy faced the dazzling view outside the window, while the girl, dressed in cherry blossom pink, stood in stark contrast to him.

The boy seemed to be trying hard to maintain a blank expression. But was it just a facade to appease the situation, or did it reveal his truly emotionless inner self?

Even the young girl didn't understand.

The boy continued, "The spiderweb surrounds you on all sides, but you are actually sitting in the center. Beneath the tattered wings of the caught butterfly, eight long, poisonous legs are hidden..."

"What's the point of saying anything now? The matter has been resolved," the girl said.

“Even if the matter is resolved, your trap is not yet complete,” the boy said. “…An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The person who hurt you has been eliminated. But you will be hurt again. In other words, if I expose your plan, your revenge will shift to me. Isn’t that not the end?”

"Really?" The girl turned her face away.

"Once I'm eliminated, the truth of this matter will never be known again. You clearly know this, so why haven't you taken action for the past month?"

The boy shook his head: "I haven't figured it out."

A few petals from outside the window drifted onto her face and hair, blooming.

"Could it be... that you intend to cast an exorcism spell on me?"

"That's not true. I don't know any exorcism techniques at all. That was your power, senior. I'm just an ordinary student."

"Yes, you're right. I personally eliminated the monster, that's all."

"Is that so?"

The boy's eyes didn't blink: "In other words, you devised this plan in order to break free from this bound state, to realize your true self, and to find your place... is that right?"

“Yes, I want a place to belong,” the girl said. “I… have no place to belong here… so I want to become human, I want a place to live.”

"If you're going to do it, you want to get revenge on that person... right?"

"Anyone would think that way; it's only natural."

The girl spoke defiantly, while the boy stared at her coldly.

“Indeed… on this point, the method you used is truly outstanding. This trick is so ingenious that I can’t bear to let it be lost in the vast distance of time.”

"Thank you for the compliment, but I am unworthy of it," the girl said, smiling slightly.

However, the countless cherry blossom fragments swirling around blurred the girl's expression, and she seemed to be crying as well.

In fact, the girl was indeed crying.

The sadness and bitterness are real.

Even so—the girl still had to laugh, she said:

"Asakawa-san, how did you find out?"

The boy calmly replied, "The only thing... you shouldn't have gone to save me, Kazamatsuri-senpai."

...

"At first I was just wondering why the perpetrator chose seven students as targets last year, but only chose me this year."

“There must be a connection between the targets chosen by the criminals. Outsiders might think that the common point is just that the school is the only one. But as someone who is in the school, I can definitely see things more deeply.”

"Looking back, the Spider Woman kidnapped seven students to possess their bodies in order to broadcast live, but seven people should have been enough for her, since it was a seven-day-a-week broadcast."

"If that's the case, why did they kidnap me too? Is it because their club is planning a second generation project?"

"It shouldn't be such a stupid reason. The more people there are, the more trouble she will have to manage them... The real reason is probably just one thing, and it's very simple."

"I wasn't Spider-Woman's chosen target at first; I was [assigned to be the target]."

"At first, it was you who told me that I was being targeted by the criminal. The love letter in my hand was evidence that I was being targeted, and I would be killed by the criminal in seven days."

"I believed it at first, but then I realized it wasn't true."

"Actually, the culprit did not kill the hostages. The Spider Woman only kidnapped the seven students, and they are all still alive. This does not match the prophecy."