Chapter 204: Shiratori’s Lie Always Blue

「Maybe Hikaru’s not going to make it」

The time is midnight.

I look up from the screen of my phone in the front passenger seat of a mini-car parked in the parking lot of a bowling alley.

I had called the Tateoka’s siblings and Hikaru, but Hikaru had sent me a message saying that she couldn’t go tonight because she was with Junichi-sama.

She politely added, “Junichi-sama needs me to be with him tonight”, like a typical Domestic Violance victim.

「She can’t come?」

「Yes, I guess so」

I nodded back at my sister, whose brows furrowed, and threw my phone into the pocket of my windbreaker jacket.

It’s the middle of summer, but the air conditioning from the bowling alley is so strong that it’s quite chilly.

Regarding Hikaru, she’s the sister of a false suspect, and I thought she might be useful, so I brought her on my side, but she’s even more useless than I imagined, and I can only laugh.

（I can’t rely on my allies…）

Speaking of allies, then there are the Tateoka’s siblings.

The sister is a good and honest girl, but that’s all.

The brother has a grudge against the kidnappers, so I can trust him, but he’s not particularly good at anything except communication. Also, he’s overly being too friendly.

In the end, I can only rely on my eyes and my(Onee) sister(-chan).

（Well, enough is enough…）

It’s always been the two of us. There are a few informants and helpers in Tokyo, but basically, my sisters and I have relied on each other to get here. That won’t change in the future.

「It’s time to go」

「Yeah, let’s go」

We get out of the car and walk into the bowling alley. The bowling alley was deserted late at night.

In a corner lane, an elderly couple was bowling in full gear, even wearing arm guards.

Looking at their scores, both of them had strikes all the time. They may be the old veterans of the bowling era.

As we watched them, we went to the game corner.

There was Tateoka with his long hair tied back, and his sister, Kizuna. In addition, there was a girl there.

She must be the new partner that Tateoka had mentioned.

A girl with a very sullen look on her face.

She was dressed modestly in a gray summer parka and tight half-length bottoms. Her hair is shoulder length and medium straight. She seems to have a reasonably good face, but her sullen expression makes her look about 30% ugly.

（Do I know her from somewhere?）

While I was thinking about this, my sister suddenly opened her mouth.

「Shiratori?」

Yes, that’s right.

I remember seeing her when I went to observe the track and field club, and I remember her name was Shiratori.

She’s the one my sister always complains about being difficult to teach.

「…Hello」

Shiratori-san bows her head with a sullen expression.

Her mouth curved into a lopsided smile. For some reason, she’s holding a ballpoint pen, clicking it restlessly.

Even though she looked unhappy, the clicking sound doubled her irritating atmosphere.

What is it? Is she trying to show her sullenness?

「Good evening!」

Kizuna greeted, and Tateoka, who was leaning against the air hockey table, raised his voice as if he understood something.

「Oh, yeah… that’s right. Sakkii, you said you were in the track and field club, so it’s no wonder you know them」

「Tateoka… what you mean by a new partner…」

Tateoka replied in the same casual tone as before.

「Yes, Sakkii. The new partner is Saki Shiratori-chan」

I involuntarily pressed my fingers to my temples.

「…You idiot」

My sister and I both agree that almost all members of the track and field club are under the control of the devil. How dare he drag her into here?

But perhaps she sensed what I was thinking.

Kizuna hurriedly interrupted me.

「Don’t worry! Shiratori-senpai is a good friend of mine, and you can trust her」

「You say that, but… Kizuna」

I chuckled, and this time, Shiratori-san opened her mouth with a sullen look on her face.

「There’s no need to be so cautious」

She continues to click the ballpoint pen in her hand continuously.

Maybe she’s nervous because she feels restless? Or Is it because she’s trying to trick us? That’s what I can’t help but think.

「How can I be sure you’re not our enemy?」

「Why don’t you see if I’m lying? Detective JK can see through people’s lies, right? I actually enjoy bullying idiots on a huge bulletion board, but I’ve heard rumors about Detective JK for a while now」

「Heeh~… that’s a good hobby」

By the way, everything she just said is blue. She’s not lying.

It seems she was terrible person.

「I also saw the video on the Internet. It’s cool. They had mosaics on their faces」

That’s blue too. I think she was telling the truth.

That video is one I uploaded myself a long time ago to make Detective JK famous.

In this video, we actually see through the lies and track down the scammer.

Thanks to this video, Detective JK’s name has become reasonably well known.

「If you trust me, I’ll tell you who did the kidnapping」

Blue again. She’s not lying.

She had her hands in the pocket of her parka and was still clicking a ballpoint pen in her pocket.

「As proof that I’m not lying, I’ll answer your questions with simple yes or no answers, so you can ask me anything you want」

If she insist, I’m willing to do so. There’s no need to go through the trouble.

「Are you a pawn of the devil?」

She tilts her head as if to say what the hell I’m talking about, then clicks her ballpoint pen and opens her mouth.

「NO」

The color is blue. She’s not lying. I felt a little surprised. So I ask her a series of questions.

「Are you sure you want to help us? Are you sure you’re not trying to trick us?」

Her expression, which should have been sullen, turns into a smirk, and followed by the same old ball-point pen knock, she answers.

「YES」

It’s still blue. There’s no way my eyes can be wrong.

At least, she’s not trying to deceive us. I guess she really is a partner….

「How do you feel about Onee-chan?」

「…I have said the answer is yes or no, haven’t I? Oh well. Honestly, she’s a third-rate coach. Totally useless. How can someone like that talk about coaching? She should be boiling tea with her navel showed」

The color is blue. It looks like we can trust her for now. Aside from the wrinkles between my sister’s eyebrows, which I’ve never seen before.

As I appease her, Shiratori-san asks me a question.

「Well, can I ask you a question that I’ve been wondering about too?」

「What is it?」

「Why detective JK? The coach is not a JK」

「Well, JK isn’t a high school girl, anyway. I mean Jolanda(Yolanda) and Klaudia, the detectives」

Then she opens her mouth, looking as pouty as ever.

「I think the first letter of Claudia stands for C, don’t you?」

「JC is not good, JC is bad」

I replied discouragedly, and she looked puzzled as if to say, “What the hell is she talking about?”.

「So, what do you think? Do you trust me?」

「Sort of. So far」

I shrugged, and Tateoka proudly proclaimed, “You see?” and it’s annoying.

「Look! Sakkii just like me, she wants revenge for what happened to her, she’s a revenge friend」

Tateoka, who was being so friendly, said so while holding Shiratori-san’s shoulder. With his act, her expression, which was already ugly, was tinged with a hint of disgust.

「So, Shiratori-san, who is this kidnapper you’re so sure about?」

「Suddenly to the point?」

「Well, time is precious, you know」

While pretending to be frightened, I stare at her.

「…Fumio Kijima, third year」

The name that came out of her mouth wasn’t particularly surprising. And it’s blue. No lie.

「Why do you think so?」

「Because I remember. Although the rest of the track and field club seems to have forgotten」

「Devils can take memories. But you were lucky to avoid it?」

She nodded silently.

But we already know the identity of the mastermind. We only have enough information to confirm that Fumio is the culprit.

「Fumio’s probably involved. However, he’s probably just a lackey. And my powers worked, so he’s a normal guy. The only reason I asked Tateoka to come here today is because I found out who the mastermind is」

「Wait a minute, you mean there’s someone else besides Kijima behind all this?」

「Yes, someone you know well」

「Who’s that!?」

「Mai Fujiwara」

「Huuh!?」

「Yes, she’s a devil. Fumio is probably her puppet. All that’s left is to get rid of the devil, but the problem is that it’s not very appetizing for Detective JK. Even if we get rid of the devil in secret, it doesn’t mean our reputation in the world will go up」

As I said this, Tateoka and Shiratori looked at each other. Then, Tateoka opened his mouth.

「Actually, about that, I have a proposal for you…….」