Mission Accepted
Please don't let the culprit be watching me
August 22
The moment of truth had finally arrived.
Before we entered, Shin quietly told me...
"Stay close to me."
...
Don't worry.
I definitely will.
It's honestly creepy knowing there's already a culprit among us.
When we arrived at the lodge...
Ikki, Kent, and Rika were already there.
The same guests from the day of the accident.
I wondered if Ukyo would show up too.
...
And then...
He did.
Ukyo finally arrived.
Everyone had gathered.
After that, we were assigned to the same rooms we'd stayed in before the accident.
Looks like I'll be sharing a room with Sawa again.
Before I could even settle in...
Shin started lecturing me.
Again.
Apparently I was moving too slowly.
...
Here we go again.
Can you not see the giant bag I'm carrying?
Then he turned his attention to Sawa.
He claimed she and Toma spoiled me too much.
That was the reason I moved so slowly.
...
Seriously?
Now you're dragging them into this too?
Stop it.
You're embarrassing me.
You sadist.
After Sawa left the room, Shin finally got serious.
We talked about today's plan.
I asked him what exactly I was supposed to do.
His answer?
Gather information.
...
Well...
Obviously.
But how?
It's not like I can just walk up to people and ask...
"Excuse me. Are you the culprit?"
I've already talked to almost everyone here.
Except...
Ukyo.
Then Shin gave me one more instruction.
If he asked me to do something...
I had to make absolutely sure nobody saw me doing it.
...
I'll do my best.
Hopefully the culprit isn't secretly watching me.
Because if they catch me...
...
Straight to heaven I go.
Shin also warned me not to trust anyone.
Not even Sawa.
Not even Toma.
...
I hesitated.
Just a little.
But...
He probably knows what he's doing.
So...
I'll trust him.
Let's finish this.
Find the real culprit.
And finally bring this whole nightmare to an end.
Before we headed downstairs, I finally asked Shin about Ukyo.
I never really got the chance to talk to him properly.
Shin said he wasn't sure what kind of person Ukyo was either.
Apparently, the only thing Ukyo ever told him was a warning.
"The forest is dangerous at night."
...
Well...
Obviously.
If someone almost dies once, I'd be watching out for a second accident too.
But...
What exactly did he mean by that?
...
The more I think about it, the weirder it sounds.
We eventually headed downstairs.
To my surprise...
Everyone decided to play air hockey.
The teams were Shin and Toma...
Against Kent and Ikki.
...
I quietly cheered for Shin in my head.
Rika was already cheering loudly for Ikki anyway.
Besides...
I don't even know if Shin would want me cheering for him out loud.
He'd probably just tease me afterwards.