Confinement King

『W-What a surprise! In this studio, not just a collaborator, but the main suspect in the mysterious disappearance case has now been revealed! It has finally been revealed!』

A close-up of a dumbfounded Jun fills the screen. The next moment, Jun suddenly grabs the presenter.

『What the hell! Who's the main culprit, you idiot! I don't get it! Hey! What the hell is this?!』

Jun's shout echoed through the PC's speakers in the dark room.

I don't know how many times I've seen it.

It was a video of the Detective JK special that had been uploaded to a video sharing site.

It starts with Detective JK pointing at the Tutankhamun statue, and ends with the goat-bone-headed devil that appears to protect Jun and Teruya, killing the guards in an instant.

As expected, the killing scene was mosaicked, but even so, the number of views was about to reach four million in just a few days.

「There's no way... that Jun is the culprit」

I've known Jun since we were first-year students.

I can tell if he's acting or not when I see him.

Jun said he really didn't know what was going on.

I don't get it either.

Judging from how confused the detective JK was when Jun showed up, it's not like they were working together to blame him.

They must have prepared so carefully to push Kimo-jima into a corner, but how did it happen... I still don't know.

I heard that Jun and Teruya-chan are wanted all over Japan, but I haven't heard that they have been caught yet.

Meanwhile, Detective JK was treated as a hero in the media, but somehow disappeared.

On the Internet, there's a bunch of idiots who say that he was killed by the devil or that he went underground to escape from the devil, but there is no doubt that he is still alive.

And the day after the special program, I received a message from Detective JK's sister(Ane).

She said, "Don't do anything unnecessary right now".

But no matter how many messages I tried to send her, she never responded.

The news on TV is terrible, and it is reported as if Jun and Teruya-chan are confirmed to be the culprits of the series of kidnappings since Misuzu-chan's kidnapping.

Teruya-chan's sister is a gangster, so the news report is merciless. Jun, too, is being exposed as if his privacy is irrelevant, from his background and everything.

For god's sake, I hope they don't expose his collection of essays and writings from his middle school days.

It is too painful to be told that those things are about personality development.

What's worse, some of the weekly photo magazines.

They exposed the fact that Misuzu-chan and Jun were lovers, and wrote a series of delusional articles about a love triangle involving Teruya-chan.

I thought Misuzu-chan would be in trouble, but she seemed to have gotten a very good producer, and her popularity skyrocketed as she was marketed as a tragic heroine.

And finally, she made her debut as an actress.

Apparently, she has been chosen to play the lead role in a drama next spring.

Everyone in the group knew that Misuzu-chan was aiming to become an actress, but it seems like she's using Jun as a stepping stone.

I couldn't bring myself to congratulate her honestly.

When the video finishes playing, an arrow draws a circle with the words “Replay” in the center of the screen is displayed.

Turning to the recommended videos section on the right side of the screen, I saw a thumbnail of a video I had never seen before.

The title is “Detective JK Special ―― The Great Chaos in the Scene”.

（What is it? Someone just posted a new one?）

Clicking on the thumbnail, the video starts with a vertical screen that looks like a personal smartphone.

It's very realistic, but the camera shake is very bad.

On the beginning, I heard screams from all over the place, and I saw a butler-like devil carrying a sword.

At the feet of the devil, there should be Jun and Teruya-chan, but they were hidden by the shadows of the fleeing people.

Apparently, the image was taken from far behind the studio, after the TV image had been cut off.

One after another, fleeing people passed by the camera.

It is indeed a terrible chaos.

Occasionally, the image was distorted, as if the fleeing people hit the shoulder of the person holding the camera.

『Oh, my~ it’s amazing. Hey, President Chihiro~. This is CG, right~?』

『Yes, yes, of course, CG, CG! Hurry up, let's get out of here!』

In the midst of the chaotic scene, the image of an actress with a gentle expression appeared for a moment. It was Aoi Umidori, an actress who was appearing on the program as a commentator.

The person pulling her hand must be the President Chihiro mentioned earlier.

**b

「...If she really thinks it's CG, she's amazing all over again」

The video itself is not that long.

I thought I might be able to find a clue, so I kept hitting the pause button and looked at the screen as if my eyes were saucers.

For a moment, I saw two figures of Detective JK behind the crowd of people running away. And I saw a short woman pulling their hands as if to say, "Let's run away!"

As the screen continues, a person who was not in the previous frame suddenly appears on the screen.

A silver-haired woman who appeared as if she had suddenly sprung up and was walking in the opposite direction of the people running away.

「...Maid?」

　I don't know what this has to do with anything, but I'm curious.

Considering her sudden appearance, she might be a devil too.

I saved an image of the maid's image and transferred it to my phone.

It doesn't matter. I need a clue now.

From there, I check the video repeatedly, but find no more information.

So, I closed the browser and leaned back on my chair.

「...What should I do?」

I want revenge for myself, but I also want to do something about Jun and the others if I can. They're my friends.

Detective JK's sister has told me not to move, but I can't get anywhere if I just sit here.

Actually, there's one more thing that's bothering me.

No... it's more than just a concern.

There is a possibility that it is a sort of trap.

Actually, the other day, my sister Kizuna came into contact with Kimo-jima.

I doubt that it was a coincidence, or even a real coincidence.

I'm not talking about Kizuna.

It's Saki I'm suspicious of.

It seems that Kizuna went to see a movie with Saki-chan and her friends, and when they were at a fast food restaurant before the screening, Kimo-jima passed by the restaurant.

If he had just walked by, it would have been a coincidence, but Saki stopped him on purpose.

This is... strange, no matter how I think about it.

She had told Detective JK that she remembered being kidnapped by Kijima.

Would such a person stop the criminal just because she saw him on the street and invite him to eat with her?

Of course not.

So, I have a conclusion that Saki-chan -- Saki Shiratori had been in the group with Kimo-jima from the beginning.

That would be more natural.

If I think about it, she is the one who came up with the plan for the TV special, and she is the one who negotiated with the TV station.

It would make sense to think that we were being played by her, but if that is really the case, then Detective JK's ability to detect lies was fake.

Detective JK believes that she is not lying. So, she trusted her with all her heart.

The other way around is Saki-chan betrayed us and is trying to get into Kimo-jima's good graces, realizing that she's no match for him. I guess that's about it.

I think that I should refrain from letting Kizuna work with Saki-chan, but on the other hand, I'm hoping that we can get some information that will help us get out of this situation.

（Now then... what should I do?）

Just as I was thinking this, I heard the door unlocked and someone going out.

（Again...）

Recently, Kizuna has been going out late at night more often.

If I ask her, she is running to lose weight.

She will be fine because she has a security alarm, but...

• It’s been a while Tachioka-kun’s chapter.

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