Chapter 99: Connecting the Dots

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

On the way to the editorial office, I clenched my hand tightly in my pocket. It was faintly sweaty. Even though it was winter and the cold wind should have been brushing against my cheeks, something deep in my chest felt strangely warm.

The conversation on the rooftop kept spinning in my head.

“…Where did Suz-chan die?”

My voice, which had sounded almost like someone else's, now caught in my chest. I hadn't paid any attention to it before, but I had spoken as though I had been seeking the truth all along.

Konatsu-chan had been staring at me. There seemed to be emotion in her eyes, but it was intangible. After a moment, she let out a small sigh and, hesitantly, opened her mouth.

“…Suz committed suicide.”

“…Huh?”

I gasped at her sudden words.

“She jumped from the rooftop of the abandoned hospital in Nishikeoka. You didn't know the cause of death, did you?”

“…Suz-chan… committed suicide?”

The words echoed in my mind over and over. I instinctively took a step back. There's no way. The kind, bright Suz-chan would never have taken her own life.

“That’s a lie…”

I muttered in a hoarse voice. But Konatsu-chan's expression didn't waver in the slightest. In fact, her eyes were cold, as though she were watching my reaction.

“It's not a lie. Suz fell from there. …Do you wonder why?”

A pain shot through my chest. I didn't have the answer. But Konatsu-chan's eyes seemed to say that she knew.

“If you want to know, you'll have to investigate it yourself.”

With that, Konatsu-chan quietly walked away.

Miyabi and Aoi were there too, but neither of them said a word. They simply watched silently as Konatsu-chan and I exchanged words.

“Nishikeoka, huh…”

I muttered to myself, but it still didn't feel real. Yet one thing was certain—I could no longer turn my back on this.

Before long, I saw the building of the editorial office in front of me. I had visited this place many times for novel meetings, but today's purpose was different from usual.

“Alright…”

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

“Sensei, why do you look so serious today?”

After passing through the reception, I arrived at Hizaki-san's desk in the corner of the editorial office. She looked up from her computer monitor at me. Normally, when I came here, we would start with light conversation, but today wasn't the time for that.

“…There's something I want to investigate.”

“Something you want to investigate?”

Hizaki-san stopped typing and raised an eyebrow, looking at me curiously.

“It's an incident from a few years ago—the suicide of a girl at the abandoned hospital in Nishikeoka. I want to find articles about it.”

The moment I said that, Hizaki-san's expression tightened slightly.

“…You want data on the incident? Is this a personal matter?”

I nodded slowly.

“There's something I absolutely have to know… If I don't, I won't be able to move forward. Please, I'm asking you!”

I bowed deeply. Asking for something like this was probably wrong, but still…

“Wait a minute, Sensei…!”

Hizaki-san crossed her arms and looked down thoughtfully.

“Sensei, it's against the rules to show our internal database to an outsider.”

That was the obvious response. However, I wasn't ready to back down.

“Please, Hizaki-san. I have a responsibility to know.”

“…Responsibility, huh?”

Hizaki-san's gaze wavered slightly. Perhaps it was rare for me to ask like this, or maybe she sensed something in my words. A long silence passed.

Then, she sighed and stood up.

“…Please wait here. I'll check with the higher-ups.”

She said that and walked toward the back of the editorial office.

As I watched her walk away, I exhaled slowly. I wasn't sure if she would agree to help, but I couldn't give up without at least asking.

While waiting, I glanced around the editorial office. Monitors lined up on desks, filing cabinets full of documents, editors rushing back and forth. Being in the middle of all this felt strangely out of place today.

I was just someone who writes novels. Because of that, I wasn't sure if it was right to dig up past events like this. But the desire to know wouldn't go away.

The abandoned hospital in Nishikeoka.

The place where Suz-chan had been, in the end.

When I first heard the name, I couldn't really grasp it. It was just the name of a place. But as time passed, those words slowly began to weigh heavily on my heart.

Why had she been in such a place?

Had she really taken her own life?

Konatsu-chan knew the answer to that. Yet, I had lived all this time without knowing anything.

I felt guilty for not knowing.

I exhaled once more. Just then, I saw Hizaki-san returning from the back room.

“Sensei, it looks like it's okay.”

She returned to my side, smiling with a hint of exasperation.

“The higher-ups said, ‘If it's the great Hajime-sensei, it's special' and actually told me, ‘Don't just stand by, help him!'”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really. Looks like the editorial office can't say no to you, Sensei.”

With that joke, Hizaki-san led me to the archives room.

When we entered, the quiet hum of the air conditioning filled the room. We passed rows of bookshelves stacked against the walls, and Hizaki-san sat down in front of a computer.

“Well, the internal database has past articles and documents, so we can search from here.”

“Please.”

Hizaki-san nodded lightly and started typing on the keyboard.

“So, what keyword should I search for?”

I briefly thought to myself before speaking.

“Nishikeoka, abandoned hospital, suicide, incident… and 200…”

Since it's a case involving a minor, the name probably wouldn't appear. But if I have the location and the year, there should be some record of it.

When Hizaki pressed the Enter key, several articles appeared on the screen.

“Number of results… Ah, here it is. The suicide incident at the abandoned hospital in Nishikeoka…”

I gasped.

“I'll open it.”

When she clicked, the article's body appeared on the screen.

“Girl's suicide by jumping off the building, 200…”

Those words felt as if they were weighing heavily on my eyes.

“Girl's suicide by jumping off the building, 200—year.”

The words seemed to press down on me.

I gripped the scroll bar tighter, my fingers filled with tension.

The article's content was matter-of-fact. It was probably a past news article that had been digitized. It listed the date, location, and a brief overview of the incident. The name of the abandoned hospital in Nishikeoka, where Suz-chan had died, was clearly written.

However, what I most wanted to know—why, how Suz-chan had been there—there was no answer to that.

“…No suicide note, no signs of foul play.”

Hizaki quietly read aloud from the article.

“According to the police, it was ruled as a suicide due to family issues…”

It felt like a cold, finalized statement, just a sequence of mechanical words.

Something felt off, but I didn't know how to put it into words.

“…Sensei, there's nothing we can learn from this, is there?”

I slowly nodded in response to Hizaki's voice.

“Is there any other related article?”

At my question, Hizaki once again began searching.

Then—

“…There's another related article.”

A new article appeared on the screen.

“Girl found to be pregnant… Was this the cause of her suicide?”

I involuntarily gasped.

“…Suz-chan… pregnant?”

I murmured without realizing it.

My throat went dry. That couldn't be true. After all, Suz-chan was—

From deep within my distant memories, Suz-chan's smile from when she was little appeared.

[I want to be a mom as soon as possible…]

[Why?]

[Because babies are so cute. If I'm a mom, I want to take care of my baby.]

She had said this with earnest eyes, laughing shyly.

—Could it really be that Suz-chan, who had dreamed of raising her own child, had given up on a future where she could hold her own baby?

“No… there's no way Suz-chan would kill herself…”

Before I knew it, my voice was trembling.

“Se-sensei…?”

Hizaki looked at me in confusion.

But I couldn't answer her voice.

My gaze remained fixed on the words on the screen.

“…Sensei, there's another article that might be of interest.”

Hizaki continued scrolling, and another article appeared before my eyes.

“A sudden tragedy befalls two close sisters.”

The content of the article was brief. A few days after the incident, the family had scattered, and the younger sister had been taken in by her mother's side, it was written.

“…Younger sister?”

I couldn't help but say it aloud. A stirring feeling rose in my chest.

The family had scattered? The younger sister had been taken in by the mother's side?

I read and reread the brief sentence in the article as something began to connect in my mind.

“Could it be…”

Konatsu-chan's words, actions, gaze, and the reason she had been fixated on Suz-chan's death.

They all formed a single line, bringing a previously unnoticed answer into view.

“Konatsu-chan…?”

Could it be—

“You… were Suz-chan's younger sister…?”

My fingertips trembled. My gaze remained fixed on the screen as my thoughts sank deeper.