My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 12 - Chapter 1.4

Mizuto Irido: Armchair Detective Part 2

“So...” As I sat on the outdoor hallway, bathed in the rays of the summer sun, I finished listening to what essentially sounded like a special segment about a dirty experience someone had, and decided to sum up what it all meant. “Minami-san acted like something happened in order to make Kawanami notice her, but she doesn’t actually remember anything that happened last night?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this was all your idea?”

“Yes, sir...” Yume said, shrinking her shoulders uncomfortably. “I mean, how was I supposed to know that Kawanami-kun wouldn’t remember anything either? I thought if she could play coy, she could get the information out of him...”

“Well, in that case, the weird way he was acting definitely didn’t help clear anything up...”

“Akatsuki-san might think that they actually did something...”

Each of them was trying to discern the truth based off of the other’s reactions, but this only served to reinforce their preconceived notions about what’d happened.

“This is gonna get really complicated...” I said.

“Just don’t tell them the truth too soon, okay? Akatsuki-san’s doing her best right now.”

“Well, fortunately, it won’t be too hard to clear up the misunderstanding anytime we want.”

It was good that we were third parties in this. From our objective stance, we could tell them how things actually went down, and get rid of any misconceptions they had. I could only imagine how annoying things would be for anyone not in this position. Just as I was thinking this, my phone rang. Apparently, Kawanami was calling me again.

“Hello? Find your clothes?” I asked.

“Yeah, they were in the washing machine.”

“They were washed?”

“Probably. Not that I really remember...”

“Then how about this, is your head itchy?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Checking to see if you took a bath last night.”

“Well, now that you mention it...yeah, it’s kind of itchy. I probably didn’t take one yesterday.”

In that case... I glanced at Yume and noticed that she was wearing a doubtful look.

“Sorry Kawanami, but I’m not coming up with anything. I’ll call you again once I get my thoughts in order.”

“Please do! My sanity is on the line here!”

I waited until his plea ended before hanging up.

“Did you think of something?” she asked.

“Kawanami didn’t take a bath last night, but his clothes were in the washing machine and were probably washed. In that case, the washing machine had already run by the time he checked it. That would mean that it ran last night.”

“And...?”

“Try thinking about what kind of situation would lead to that. Kawanami took his clothes off, put them in the washing machine, and went around in nothing but his boxers instead of taking a bath.”

“Sure, but... What if the clothes got there because he and Akatsuki-san went a little crazy?”

“Kawanami saw her leaving fully clothed, meaning that her clothes were in his room. That means that when she entered his room, she had her clothes on. It sounds too ridiculous for Kawanami to be in nothing but his boxers and for Minami-san to be fully clothed.”

“True... Not much of a mood setter.”

“But who knows, really? They certainly don’t since they can’t remember anything. At the very least, at this point in time, I don’t think anything indecent happened between the two of them.”

To be honest, I couldn’t care less if they did or didn’t do anything with each other. What did interest me was that they both couldn’t remember last night. What could’ve happened for them to not remember anything? Alcohol couldn’t have been the sole cause of that, and from what Kawanami said, there was only one empty can. Sure, they were minors and didn’t have experience drinking, but there shouldn’t have been any way that they got so drunk from one can of beer that they forgot everything. At the very least, one of them had lost their memories from something other than alcohol...

“Hmm... I see...” Yume said, tilting her head, not really fully accepting my explanation. “I feel like there’s something off, though.”

“Yeah, me too. Something’s not adding up...” Specifically, there was something weird about what they both had said. Something big.

“But, well, for the time being, we’re saying that nothing happened between them, so...” Yume mused innocently. “They’re acting awkward for no reason?”

“To be clear, that’s your fault. You know that, right?”

There were some things that were better left unsaid in this world.