Chapter 109 – 109화. Stalker (2)
Today’s content includes an unpleasant story, so I recommend skipping the latter part if you don’t want to see it.
***
Takuya and Momiji had been walking home together repeatedly, and now it was becoming a part of their daily routine.
“Hi, everyone~”
While they were walking, someone, specifically a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s, spoke to them.
Takuya, Sota, and Momiji were immediately on guard against the stranger who suddenly approached them.
It was only natural, considering Momiji was being stalked.
The woman who had greeted them looked slightly flustered at their overreaction.
“Uh, h-hey, kids, I’m not a weirdo~”
Of course, that didn’t work at all.
“Suspicious person!”
Sota, who was clinging tightly to Takuya’s side, shouted.
At Sota’s words, the woman shook her head and said,
“N-no, I’m not~ I’m a police officer~”
“Hmm, suspicious…”
Takuya looked at her with an expression of utter suspicion, causing the suspicious person claiming to be a police officer to rummage through the inner pocket of her jacket.
And what she pulled out was definitely something that could prove she was a police officer.
『Sato Miwako』
But unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.
Unlike others, Takuya knew that forging something like that was the easiest thing in the world, so he wasn’t reassured by just that.
That’s why he asked for something else that could verify her identity.
“Besides that, do you have a business card or something?”
“A business card? Uh, just a moment?”
At Takuya’s words, the woman named Miwako looked flustered for a moment, then rummaged through her clothes before finally finding something. She opened the zipper near the chest of her jacket and handed Takuya a business card.
“Here you go.”
And there, it was clearly stated that she was from the First Investigation Division, Sato Miwako.
Looking at the clear indication, Takuya stared at Sato Miwako, or rather, Ms. Miwako, for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll check it later, and if it’s fake, I’ll report it.”
“Oh, come on, you’re so picky! So, do you know anything or not!”
Ms. Miwako, unable to contain herself at Takuya’s wariness, burst out in anger. However, Takuya, with an indifferent expression, put the business card in his subspace pocket and said,
“So, what was the question you were going to ask earlier?”
At Takuya’s words, Ms. Miwako, who had been angry, regained her composure and said,
“Do you know about the physical education teacher kidnapping case that happened recently?”
“Yes, I know. To be precise, I saw the police when they were dispatched.”
To be precise, Takuya was the one who called the police.
At Takuya’s answer, Ms. Miwako nodded and said,
“Then, do you know if anyone went near that mountain on the day the incident occurred?”
“Someone who went to the mountain…”
Takuya pondered for a moment on how to answer, then a good idea came to mind.
‘If it was back then, before I received the physical penalty, I can just describe my physique from that time, and they won’t suspect anything, right?’
Of course, it would have been easier to just say he didn’t know, but he thought it was better to play it safe to avoid any suspicion.
“I saw someone.”
“What?! Really?!”
At Takuya’s words, Ms. Miwako’s eyes widened, and she grabbed his shoulders, asking him to explain in detail.
Seeing her even take out a notebook to take notes, Takuya wondered if he had said something unnecessary, but he gave a rough description of the person’s appearance at the time.
“It was dark, so I couldn’t see well, but they were definitely around 160cm tall, had short hair, and were wearing running clothes? Something like that.”
At Takuya’s words, Ms. Miwako quickly wrote in her notebook, and after writing down his last words, she tapped the notebook with her pen and closed it, saying,
“Thank you for cooperating with the investigation.”
“It’s nothing. But, why are you looking for that person? Are they involved in some crime?”
At Takuya’s question, Ms. Miwako shook her head and replied as if it was nothing.
“We’re just investigating to see if there might be more people involved. So, don’t worry about it and go home.”
‘It seems like my identity hasn’t been exposed, thankfully.’
To be precise, he seemed to be under suspicion, but it seemed like they hadn’t formed any concrete leads yet.
Thinking that, Takuya felt like he had lost out.
He felt like he had made a big deal out of something that could have been easily resolved by just saying he didn’t know.
A belated regret washed over him, but he quickly thought that what was done was done and nodded at the policewoman’s words.
“Okay.”
After answering, Takuya watched the policewoman walk away to gather information from other people and cheered her on.
‘Well, there’s no way they’ll find me, but good luck!’
That day, Takuya had thoroughly checked to see if anyone was watching him, and his physique had completely changed due to the penalty.
In this state, there was no one who could recognize him.
Thinking that, Takuya, Momiji, and Sota started walking again.
They safely headed home again.
And there was one person who was displeased with the sight of Takuya’s group.
“What were they talking about?”
It was the culprit who was stalking Momiji.
***
October, when the winter cold was starting to set in.
At a logistics warehouse of a certain mart.
There, a person with disheveled hair and thick glasses was organizing the logistics.
“Tsutomu-ssi! Please come here for a moment.”
“Ah… yes…”
Asagi Tsutomu.
In his early 30s, he was a freeter who had been fired from his job three years ago and had been living on part-time jobs ever since.
Or rather, to be precise.
“Can you not come in from tomorrow?”
“Yes? Why so suddenly…”
“The economy isn’t doing so well~”
“……I understand.”
He was a man who had just become unemployed.
After receiving his dismissal notice, Tsutomu left the mart that day, carrying a plastic bag filled with fruits and meat, a farewell gift from his dismissal, and headed to his old apartment.
Swoosh~ Swoosh~
When he arrived in front of the apartment, the landlady was sweeping the floor with a broom.
“Oh my, young man, why are you home so early? You usually work later, don’t you?”
“They told me not to come in from tomorrow, so I came home early.”
At his words, the landlady patted Tsutomu’s shoulder with a look of regret, encouraging him.
The problem was that Tsutomu’s expression soured at the landlady’s physical contact, but fortunately, the landlady didn’t see it.
“Cheer up, you’ll find a good place again. Oh, but don’t be late on the rent, okay? Hoho!”
“……I understand.”
After the perfunctory words of comfort, Tsutomu nodded as usual and entered his room. Or rather, he tried to enter.
“Tsk, you’re still young, why don’t you get a real job instead of part-time work.”
At the landlady’s voice that he heard before closing the door, Tsutomu quickly closed the door and threw his bag into the room.
“Damn hag!!”
He said that and stomped towards the refrigerator.
After reaching the refrigerator, he opened the door and took out a container hidden in the corner, then opened the lid and smiled as if he had forgotten the anger he had felt just a moment ago.
“Haa… you guys are my only solace…”
To anyone who saw him, it might have looked like he was looking at a secret dessert, but what was inside was not something so gentle.
What Tsutomu saw when he opened the lid were the brutally preserved, severed heads of the young girls he had killed, specifically.
“Mimiko, Ruru-chan.”
He looked at the heads, feeling relieved as if he was being healed, then carefully put the heads back in the refrigerator.
Then, he sat in front of his computer, using the tatami floor as a chair.
After sitting in front of the computer, Tsutomu turned it on and went into a certain file folder.
And in that file folder were.
[Mimiko]
[Ruru-chan]
.
.
.
Files containing his gruesome acts, including what looked like stalker photos of the girls who were now corpses in the refrigerator.
If anyone else saw those photos, they would have called for this man to be executed immediately without any evidence.
“Hehe, they’re all captured so well.”
But to Tsutomu, they were more precious than anything else.
Tsutomu looked at the girls he had killed or followed with a satisfied gaze, then scrolled down and found the name at the very bottom.
[Momiji]
When he found that name, Tsutomu momentarily gritted his teeth.
The reason he was grinding his teeth was simple.
“If it weren’t for those guys, Mi-chan would have been mine a long time ago!”
It was because of the kids who were guarding the little girl he was targeting.
To be precise, it was because of the plan he couldn’t execute because of them.
Originally, the girl named Momiji was supposed to have fallen into Tsutomu’s hands a long time ago, but he couldn’t because of those kids.
No. If it was just because of the kids, it might have been okay.
But when he saw the police there, Tsutomu was filled with fear.
It was just a coincidence that he had spoken to them while passing by, but Tsutomu’s delusional brain took it as a warning.
That if he approached Momiji any further, he would be reported.
It was a thought that Tsutomu, who was already so guilty that his feet were about to break, would have.
Thanks to that, Tsutomu was biting his nails and shaking his legs in anxiety as he looked at the monitor.
“Damn it, damn it!”
Tsutomu, who had been shaking his legs in anxiety, regained his composure and muttered as he looked at the three of them walking together happily.
“Yeah. Am I, am I going to be scared by something like this?! Absolutely not!”
He muttered like a madman with bloodshot eyes, then quickly got up from his seat, put on his clothes, and headed somewhere.
Momiji, or rather, the snowball that Takuya had rolled was growing bigger and bigger.
