Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Come to think of it, Sakuradamon was the location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Asami Yuko’s intention was to rush there immediately after ending their date. It seemed that Senpai’s situation wasn’t as relaxed as she made it appear.

On the road toward the subway station, the two passed through bustling crowds and pathways divided by stainless steel railings. The ground and walls of the passageway gleamed with a cold, hard luster. It was like walking through the interior passages of a dead giant serpent.

“By the way, Senpai, why did you choose to become a detective?”

While maneuvering around pedestrians, the Novelist’s fingers inadvertently touched the subway passage wall, his fingertips becoming coated with cold droplets of water.

“Hmm… can’t Assistant-kun guess?”

“…Something like following in your father’s footsteps…?”

A tentative answer.

The Novelist remembered that when Asami-senpai introduced herself, she had mentioned having a family inheritance-style cooperation with high-ranking police officials.

“…It’s something like that.”

Asami Yuko nodded slightly. After leaving the coffee shop, she had reverted to her usual drowsy demeanor, looking as if she might collapse by the roadside at any moment.

Seeing Senpai wobbling forward like a disheveled yokai, the Novelist, as an observer, couldn’t help feeling concerned. But based on previous experience, the high school girl detective generally had contingency plans in place. She wouldn’t easily put herself in dangerous situations.

It was like how cats often disobediently run to dangerous heights, sometimes causing worry; yet these little creatures frequently leap down steadily in the blink of an eye, not even glancing at people as they depart with light steps; making one feel that previous concerns were laughable, leaving one with nothing to do but sulk to oneself.

“To be precise, it was my grandfather.”

“…Eh?”

Asami Yuko lifted her head, her gaze fixed on the dome of the underground station, that dark void.

“My grandfather was a famous private detective at the time. He had traveled to many places before and knew many friends…”

Senpai fell silent for a moment before continuing in a faint voice.

“…And my father was a criminal investigator.”

“No wonder.”

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t curious about Senpai’s background. But the Novelist only uttered such bland remarks, without probing further.

The reason was naturally her unnatural silence. Senpai’s mood seemed quite low. Only a fool would continue discussing sensitive topics at such a time.

“Senpai, shall we go out on another date when you have time?”

He stated with a serious tone but frivolous words a proposition that seemed somewhat difficult given the preconditions. Humans are creatures who tread forward through thorns, so one should follow the mood at times like this!

“Sure, let’s set a time for next time right now… Ah, right, let’s exchange email addresses now, so we can stay in touch after I get home.”

Senpai yawned—”Haaah”—completely without poise, tears involuntarily welling in the corners of her eyes. She took out her phone with a cute charm hanging from it from her handbag.

“Next, I’m going to attend a meeting. It’ll be perfect for catching up on sleep. Oh right, Assistant-kun—”

Asami Yuko, as if suddenly remembering something, her pupils beneath her bangs began to shine brightly.

“Would you like to come along?”

“Where to?”

Of course, to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters—Senpai said openly.

“…Would it be appropriate for an ordinary high school student like me to go to such a place?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I do have this level of privilege—”

Asami-senpai’s tone seemed to have brightened somewhat. Her mood elevated. Was Detective-san feeling happy? If so, as her assistant, he had no reason to refuse.

Just as the Novelist was about to leave the passageway, being pulled by the girl, he suddenly felt someone pushing against his back.

“Ah, sorry about that!”

He turned his head to find a female high school student wearing a school uniform. She gave the Novelist a somewhat embarrassed smile, sincerely apologizing to him.

Several other female companions, linking arms with each other in a friendly manner, were standing on the stairs watching him.

“…No, it’s fine.”

It seemed to be a simple accident.

Due to the narrow distance on both sides of the underground passageway and the crowded people, and also…

The Novelist looked up and found that there were quite a few female high school students who appeared to be her companions, about a dozen or so probably coming from the same place, standing together in twos and threes.

Were they a group of girls moving together after finishing a gathering? It was normal to bump into people.

The girls, similar in age to him, simultaneously stopped in their tracks. Holding hands, they stood above, quietly looking down at the Novelist.

They had been chatting and laughing, but in an instant, they all stopped. Their calm gazes uniformly gathered on the two of them.

Huh…?

The Novelist sensed something subtly abnormal in the atmosphere. As wariness arose within him, he instinctively pulled Senpai behind him.

“Are you alright?”

The girl’s attitude remained friendly as she asked with a hint of concern.

“…No, I’m fine.”

…

Afterward, the Novelist and Asami Yuko watched as the group of girls brushed past them, noisily heading down the stairs. Soon, they could only see the backs of a few trailing figures.

They all seemed to know each other, yet were dressed differently, wearing different uniform styles. They must be from different schools?

In any case, nothing happened. It was truly a relief—

“…Something’s not right.”

Asami Yuko murmured.

“…?”

The Novelist brought his attention back.

The girl’s expression was unprecedentedly serious.

“What’s wrong…?”

At this moment, Senpai’s slender hand suddenly grabbed over—clutching the Novelist’s palm with great force. For her strength as a fragile high school girl, she was probably exerting all her might.

Asami Yuko’s anxiety was so intense that she couldn’t even control her strength, causing her nails to dig deeply into the flesh of his hand. But the Novelist merely frowned slightly, asking in a calm and reassuring tone.

“…What do we need to do?”

“We must stop those people… Assistant-kun… hurry! We’re running out of time!”

Senpai tried to drag him away from where they stood. But she used too much force and almost tumbled down the stairs. It seemed like she wanted to catch up with that group of high school girls… was that it?

“Alright.”

The Novelist pulled Yuko back up with his other hand. Supporting the girl’s shoulders, he spoke calmly and quickly.

“I’ll go find the patrol officers and subway security personnel. Senpai, go after them and try to delay them as much as possible. Okay?”

There was no need to ask “why we should do this.”

Only deciding “how to do it” mattered.

“…”

Asami-senpai nodded.

The two immediately left, heading in separate directions.