The Logmaster - Chapter 26

Omiichi watched Ichinose Maki’s social downfall in front of his PC monitor at home, with a cold beer in hand.

A woman who was once hailed as a “beautiful career witch” is now being slammed as a “liar,” “ungrateful,” and “evil woman,” and thoroughly criticized.

Saeki, whose face had been revealed in Ichinose’s post, experienced a complete change in public opinion when Ichinose’s lie was exposed in a video leaked by Shinichi. He was praised as a “homeless hero” and other such things, a stark contrast to the initial criticism.

It seems that people who praised and supported him have been visiting the tent village every day, delivering food, clothing, and small amounts of money.

(…Hmm, a hero, huh. Makes me laugh.)

Omiichi snorted. The man who had killed Igarashi, Aizawa, and Suzuki was now the one receiving public sympathy and praise. How ironic.

A few days later, on his way home from work, Omiichi decided to visit the tent village on the riverbank for the first time in a long while. He wanted to see what Saeki was like with his own eyes.

When we arrived at the tent village, the atmosphere was different from before.

In the center of the city, several brand new tents have been set up, and several people who appear to be volunteers are busily moving around, presumably in preparation for serving food.

And at the center of the circle was Saeki, looking cheerful and completely different from before.

There was no trace of the frightened, servile attitude he once had.

Rather, he exudes a somewhat arrogant air, as if he is trying to say that he is some special being.

As Omiichi approached, Saeki gave a slight bow as if it had been a long time since they last saw each other.

“It has been a while.”

“Oh…thanks…”

Omiichi invited Saeki to a bench a little way away. Once they were alone, they started talking.

“Wow, Saeki-san, you’ve become quite famous. You’ve even been called a ‘homeless hero’ among the public!”

I try to praise him in an overly cheerful voice.

“Yeah, well, yeah… hehehe…”

Saeki blushed, looking embarrassed, but not entirely opposed.

That expression made Omiichi feel a slight sense of disgust.

“Even so, Ichinose-san… was it? You were just trying to attack me…”

Omiichi casually uttered words that touched on the essence of the matter.

Suddenly, Saeki’s expression stiffened.

“Wh-What are you talking about?! Don’t be rude! I was just trying to help…!”

Saeki, visibly upset and angry, tried to get up from the bench.

Omiichi looked at him with cold eyes and then quietly but confidently continued.

“That’s right. My apologies. By the way, how did it feel to kill Igarashi-san, Aizawa-san, and Suzuki-san?”

“……!!”

Saeki froze. The color drained from his face, and he collapsed and sat back down on the bench.

“I-I-It wasn’t me…! I didn’t know anything…!”

His panic was a clear indication that he was the culprit.

“Fufu, I was just kidding, Saeki-san. Don’t make such a scary face.”

Omiichi smiled at Saeki with a fake smile.

But his eyes aren’t smiling at all.

Saeki’s whole body was shaking violently, and he was no longer able to react properly.

At that moment, a calm, yet commanding voice called out from nearby.

“Excuse me. I’m from the Metropolitan Police Department. Can I speak to you for a moment?”

When Omiichi looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a man standing there.

I guess he was in his early 30s.

With his sharp eyes and immaculate posture, he is no ordinary police officer; he exudes a unique aura.

And his gaze was directed not at Saeki, who was trembling next to him, but at Omiichi himself.

There was no particular reason to panic. He had done nothing wrong, he said. So as not to reveal his inner turmoil, Omiichi answered calmly.

“Ah, yes. Are you from the police? Is there something I can help you with?”

(…It’s clear that you’re looking at me, not Saeki…)

Feeling his opponent’s searching gaze, Omiichi waited to see what his opponent would do.

“Excuse me, but could you please cooperate with our police investigation? If you have any form of identification, please let us see it.”

The man spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

(…Convenient. Now I can add this guy’s [history] to the list. I can find out his true intentions and goals later.)

Omiichi calculated this in his mind and responded obediently.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Would you like your driver’s license?”

He took his driver’s license out of his wallet and handed it to the man.

The man receives his driver’s license and checks the information on it.

“Ummm… are you Homaru Omiichi?”

(…Again? As always, explaining this name is troublesome…)

Omiichi corrected himself with a good-natured smile, even though he was feeling annoyed inside.

“No, my name is Ayumaru, which is written as ‘walk’ and ‘circle’. People often tell me it’s hard to read.”

(Now, it’s my turn. I need to find out his name.)

“No, no. So, um…excuse me, but may I see your police ID?”

Omiichi looked the other man in the eye and made his demand.

The man raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not seem particularly surprised. He took out a black leather notebook from his br3ast pocket and opened it to the page containing photographs and affiliations.

“I’m from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Unidentified Persons Advice Center.”

“Sankaku-san?… Hehe, excuse me, but that’s a very interesting name. Thank you. I’ve heard some scary stories recently about scams where people pretend to be police officers, so I just wanted to be sure.”

Omiichi couldn’t help but smile at how unusual the other person’s name was.

(… Triangle, huh. Well, I can’t speak for other people. I’m sure this person, like me, has had the same trouble with correcting their name…)

As I thought this, I felt a strange, slight sense of closeness to the detective in front of me.

But you must be vigilant. There is nothing good about having the police on your radar.

Detective Mikata asked him a few inoffensive questions, but Omiichi replied that he was taking a walk after work when he happened to see Saeki, whom he had spoken to briefly before, and that he was just making small talk with him.

Waiting for a suitable opportunity to end the conversation, Omiichi pretended to look at his watch.

“Oh no, it’s already this late! Sorry, I have an appointment, so I’ll have to excuse myself!”

After saying that, he quickly left the place.

I felt the man’s sharp gaze piercing my back, but I didn’t turn around.

(…I guess it’s best not to go near here anymore…)

That detective may become a troublesome obstacle in the future.

With this premonition, Omiichi blended into the darkness of the night.