Chapter 109
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Stalker (2)
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Today's chapter contains some unpleasant content, so if you'd rather not read it, we recommend skipping to the latter half.
Takuya had been walking home with Momiji day after day, and it was starting to feel like just another part of their routine.
"Hey, kids~"
As we were walking along the road, someone—specifically, a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties—called out to us.
Souta, Momiji, and I all bristled with caution at this stranger suddenly approaching us.
Momiji was being stalked, after all, so it was only natural to be on guard when someone just came up to us like that.
The woman who had greeted us looked a bit flustered by our over-the-top reaction.
"Wha— kids, your big sis isn't a weirdo or anything~"
Of course, words like that fell on deaf ears.
"Suspicious person!"
Souta, who was clinging tightly to my side, shouted.
The woman shook her head vigorously at Souta's words.
"N-No, that's not it~ Your big sis is a cop~"
"Hmmm, still looks suspicious..."
I eyed her with the most skeptical look I could muster, and the suspicious woman who claimed to be a police officer rummaged around in the collar of her jacket, pulling something out.
And whatever it was, it did seem like something that could prove she was a cop.
『Sato Miwako』
Unfortunately, though, that wasn't enough.
Anyone else might have bought it, but I knew better than most how easy it was to forge something like that, so I wasn't about to let my guard down over one little ID.
That's why I asked for something else that could verify her identity.
"Got anything besides that? Like a business card, maybe?"
"Business card? Uh, hold on a sec?"
At my words, the woman named Miwako looked flustered for a moment before patting herself down, then unzipped a pocket near her chest and handed me a card with a triumphant expression, like she'd finally found it.
"H-Here."
And sure enough, it clearly stated Investigation Division 1, Sato Miwako.
I stared at the clear markings for a moment, then at Sato Miwako—no, Officer Miwako—and said,
"I'll check it out later, and if it's fake, I'm reporting you."
"Argh! You're such a stickler! So, do you know anything or not?!"
Unable to hold back against my wariness, Miwako snapped in frustration, but I casually slipped the card into my subspace pocket without a care and said,
"So, what was the question you wanted to ask earlier?"
Snapping out of her anger at my response, Miwako got her head back in the game and said,
"You know about that PE teacher kidnapping that happened recently, right?"
"Yeah, I do. I actually saw the cops show up at the time."
Technically, I was the one who called them, but whatever.
Miwako nodded at my answer and continued.
"Then, on the day it happened, did anyone you know go near those mountains?"
"Someone who went to the mountains..."
I pondered how to respond for a second before a good idea hit me.
'That was before I got hit with the body penalty, so if I describe my build from back then, it shouldn't raise any flags.'
I could've just said I didn't know to make it easy, but I figured it'd be better to throw them off any potential suspicion by playing along.
"I've seen someone like that."
"What?! Really?!"
Miwako's eyes went wide at my words, and she grabbed my shoulders, begging for details.
She even pulled out a notepad to jot things down, making me instantly regret opening my mouth, but I gave a rough description of the guy's appearance and clothes anyway.
"It was dark, so I couldn't see great, but he was definitely around 160cm tall, short hair, wearing running clothes? Something like that, anyway."
Miwako scribbled it all down furiously in her notepad. Once she'd gotten every last detail, she tapped the page with her pen, closed it, and said,
"Thanks for cooperating with the investigation."
"No problem. But why are you looking for him? Is he involved in some crime?"
Miwako shook her head at my question, then answered casually, like it was no big deal.
"Just checking if there might be any other connections. Anyway, don't worry about it anymore—head on home."
'Looks like she hasn't figured out who I am.'
She might suspect something, but they clearly didn't have a solid profile yet.
For some reason, that left me feeling like I'd shot myself in the foot.
I could've wrapped it up quick by saying I knew nothing, but now it felt like I'd blown it out of proportion.
Regret hit me late, but what was done was done. I nodded at the female officer's words.
"Sure."
With that, I watched her walk off to question more people and gave her a little mental cheer.
'Good luck, though you're probably barking up the wrong tree!'
That day, I'd made damn sure no one saw me, and with the penalty, my body was completely different now anyway.
No one would recognize me like this.
With that thought, Momiji, Souta, and I resumed our walk home.
We made it back safely.
And there was one person watching Takuya and his group walk off with clear displeasure.
"What were they talking about?"
It was the culprit stalking Momiji.
October, when the winter chill was finally starting to creep in.
In the warehouse of a certain supermarket.
A man with shaggy hair and thick glasses was sorting inventory there.
"Tsutomu! Come over here for a sec."
"Ah... sure..."
Asagi Tsutomu.
A guy in his early thirties, fired from his job three years ago and scraping by on part-time gigs ever since—a total freeter.
Or rather...
"Can you not come in starting tomorrow?"
"Huh? Why so sudden...?"
"Business is rough these days~"
"...Understood."
He'd just become unemployed. Again.
Tsutomu grabbed the plastic bag of fruit and meat they'd given him as a "retirement gift"—more like severance—and headed to his rundown apartment.
Rustle~ Rustle~
When he reached the front of the mansion, the landlady was out there sweeping the yard with a broom.
"Oh my, kid, you're back early? Don't you usually work later?"
"They told me not to come in starting tomorrow, so I left early."
She patted his shoulder sympathetically, but his face twisted in disgust at the contact—thankfully, she didn't notice.
"Hang in there. You'll land something good next time. Oh, but don't fall behind on rent, okay? Hehe!"
"...Got it."
After the awkward pep talk, Tsutomu gave his usual curt nod and headed inside. Or tried to.
"Jeez, he's still young—should get a real job instead of all these part-time things."
He slammed the door shut at the landlady's parting shot, then hurled his bag across the room.
"Damn old hag!!"
Muttering curses, he stomped over to the fridge.
He yanked it open, pulled out a container hidden in the corner, popped the lid, and suddenly, all his anger melted away into a creepy smile.
"Haa... You girls are my only sanctuary..."
To anyone else, it might've looked like he'd unearthed some secret dessert stash, but what was inside was anything but sweet.
Tsutomu gazed lovingly at the severed, gruesomely preserved heads inside.
"Mimiko, Lulu-tan."
The heads of the little girls he'd killed.
He stared at them as if they were soothing his soul, then carefully tucked them back into the fridge like treasured relics.
Using the tatami mat as a chair, he plopped down in front of his computer.
Tsutomu booted it up and navigated to a certain folder.
And inside that folder...
[Mimiko]
[Lulu-tan]
.
.
.
It was packed with files documenting his horrific deeds, including what looked like stalking photos of the girls whose heads had just been in the fridge.
Anyone else seeing those pics would've screamed for the death penalty on the spot.
"Hehe, got some great shots of you all."
But to Tsutomu, they were priceless treasures.
He happily browsed the folders of girls he'd killed or stalked, then scrolled down to the very bottom and spotted one name.
[Momiji]
The moment he saw it, Tsutomu ground his teeth.
The reason was simple.
"If it weren't for those damn brats, Mi-tan would've been mine ages ago!"
The kids hovering around his target like bodyguards.
More precisely, he hadn't been able to carry out his plan because of them.
Momiji was supposed to have fallen into his hands long ago, but those kids had ruined it.
No, it might've been manageable if it was just the kids.
But seeing the cops there had filled him with terror.
It was just a random passerby striking up a conversation, but in Tsutomu's paranoid delusions, it was a warning.
A sign that if he got any closer to Momiji, they'd report him.
The kind of thought someone as guilty as he was—practically crippled by paranoia—would have.
Staring at his monitor, Tsutomu bit his nails, legs trembling with anxiety.
"Damn, damn!"
Pulling himself together, he muttered while glaring at the photo of the three walking happily together.
"Yeah. Y-You think I'm gonna back down over something like this?! No way in hell!"
His eyes bloodshot like a madman, he jumped up, threw on some clothes, and rushed out somewhere.
Momiji—no, the snowball Takuya had started was growing relentlessly.