The Logmaster - Chapter 25
For Omiichi, Saeki had become a convenient killing machine.
Taku Saeki (history added)
Date: [midnight tonight]
Event: At night, a flashy-dressed woman is found collapsed on a bench in the park.
–And we’ll also add Ichinose’s history.
Maki Ichinose (history added)
Date: [midnight tonight]
Event: He gets so drunk at a company party that he loses control and falls asleep on a bench in a park near a tent village on his way home.
Omiichi was remembering Saeki’s dark past, which was recorded in his history.
Uncontrollable urges for violence against women.
Once ignited, there is a danger that people will lose their sanity and commit violent acts.
He was worried that if he saw Ichinose in a drunk, defenseless state, he would repeat the same mistake as he had committed in his previous crime.
Omiichi woke up earlier than usual this morning and headed to the park where the incident was planned to occur that night.
I then set up the camera in a position overlooking the park benches and set it to timer recording mode.
It was recorded on film. And exposed to the world. The miserable fate that awaited her, Maki Ichinose. Omiichi’s goal was not to “get” evidence of the crime. It was to “expose” everything in the light of day. He believed that this would be a memorial for Yoshi-san.
(Saeki will not be able to resist and will defile that woman. But this time, he will expose it in the light of day.)
In Omiichi’s heart, there was a cold certainty and malicious expectation.
And just as Omiichi had added, at the company drinking party, Ichinose, receiving praise and attention from those around him, got carried away and drank too much wine.
He staggered around trying to hail a taxi but wasn’t able to grab one, so he staggered into a nearby park, collapsed onto a bench, and lost consciousness.
Her flashy designer clothes, messy skirt, and defenseless arms and legs… she was far too dangerous to be in the park late at night.
After a while, Saeki appeared in the park, as if drawn there.
When he found Ichinose asleep on the bench, he gasped for a moment and just stood there frozen.
After struggling for a while, Saeki seemed to make up his mind and tried to approach Ichinose.
However, when he noticed a group of young people approaching, he hid himself to see what was going on.
The group of young people found Ichinose, took a picture of him with their cell phones, and then, grinning, closed in on him and tried to touch him.
At that moment, Saeki shouted, as if to put up a show of bluff.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing? I’m calling the police!”
The young people clicked their tongues and left.
Saeki breathed a sigh of relief, and looking at Ichinose, who was still sleeping, with her clothes in disarray, hesitated for a moment, before gently putting the dirty jacket he was wearing over her body.
Then, as if afraid of getting involved, he quietly tried to leave the scene.
That was when it happened.
Ichinose woke up to a noise and, seeing the dirty homeless man in front of him and his disheveled clothes, for a moment, he was unable to comprehend the situation and went into a panic.
Then, driven by fear and disgust, he quickly took out his smartphone and took a picture of Saeki as he tried to escape.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
Saeki panicked and ran off.
Ichinose was left alone on the bench, her head still half drunk, and she took several selfies of her disheveled appearance, posting them on social media right then and there before heading home.
“It’s the worst… I think I fell asleep in the park… When I woke up, I was about to be attacked by a homeless person… It was scary… I managed to escape but… Everyone, please be careful on the streets at night… #dangerousnightwalks #scaryhomeless”
The Next morning.
Omiichi wakes up at his usual time, completely unaware that such a thing has happened.
And today, too, I calmly check the history.
(Huh? Saeki is running away? What happened??)
Omiichi was a little surprised by this unexpected turn of events, but after looking at Saeki’s history and understanding his state of mind, he understood.
History: “Saeki (I want to rape this woman! What should I do, but what should I do…)”
History: “Saeki (I can’t resist! I’m going to do it! Oh, hey, someone’s here…)”
It was simply a case of people coming and then stopping at the last minute.
What interested Omiichi more was Ichinose’s history.
When Omiichi searched social media to check the post by Ichinose that he had seen in his history, it was quickly spread by her followers and amusing internet users, and with the recent series of suspicious deaths, it sparked further speculation.
“Beautiful career woman in grave danger on a dark street!”
“The Dangers of Homelessness”
“Maybe he was almost killed?”
A few days later, the incident was picked up by an aggregator site, and eventually it was reported as a “warning” on variety shows and news programs.
Ichinose suddenly became known as a “tragic heroine” and a “courageous accuser,” and attracted public sympathy and attention.
While Ichinose proudly talks about everything from the incident to her career and beauty, as if she were the representative of women, Omiichi coldly watches the public’s reaction. After all, he has the conclusive “evidence video” on the recovered camera in his hands.
When the public was filled with sympathy for Ichinose and criticism of the homeless, Omiichi took action. He created an anonymous account and posted the video recorded by the fixed camera on major video sites and social media.
Ichinose is sleeping in a disheveled, drunk state. Some young men approach her.
Saeki shouts at it to chase it away.
Then Saeki puts his jacket over Ichinose and quietly prepares to leave.
Everything was depicted vividly, from the scene where Ichinose woke up and took a photo of Saeki in a panic, to the scene where he then took a selfie of his disheveled appearance.
The video quickly spread across the Internet and changed public opinion.
“Huh? That was a lie?”
“This wasn’t an attack, it was a rescue…”
“This is what they mean when they say you repay kindness with evil.”
“So you were pretending to be a victim and telling a heroic tale? That’s disgusting.”
“Homeless people, that’s so sad…”
A sudden wave of criticism was directed at Ichinose Maki.
Social media went into a frenzy, and her account was forced to be shut down.
All of his television appearances were canceled, and sponsors with whom he had advertising contracts announced their withdrawal one after another.
Argus Inc., the company she was signed to, was forced to post an apology on its official website. The career and reputation she had built up had been reduced to dust with just one video.
At Argus Co., Ltd., whistle-blowing, fraud, bad reputation and other baseless accusations were spread on social media, exposing the company’s affair with Noguchi and its secret rendezvous with Akiyama, and the company’s credibility was hit to the ground.
An apology press conference was held, and Ichinose was, of course, forced to resign, Director Noguchi was dismissed, and Akiyama also resigned.
Although it was different from what he had imagined, it was still a good thing, and feeling a little refreshed from the darkness he had been feeling recently, Omiichi read up on Ichinose’s subsequent history again today, got a glimpse into the depths of despair, and fell asleep chuckling to himself.