The Logmaster - Chapter 33

The investigation into the “problem advice website” began as a result of Kuroishi’s harassing pressure.

At first, Mitaka Tadashi dismissed it as a childish urban legend, but the painful confession from the boy and the final moments of his friend who committed suicide, in which he “seemed to have been manipulated,” weighed heavily on his mind.

As he collected testimonials from users of the site, he found it increasingly difficult to ignore the possibility that the site possessed some mysterious “power” that could not be dismissed as mere rumor or coincidence.

(…If we don’t find out what this site is, a similar tragedy will happen again…)

Misumi decided to get serious and begin investigating this mysterious site.

The first step is to visit the site yourself and find out what it’s really like.

The other day, I entered a URL that a high school student had given me into my smartphone browser.

What was displayed was the same simple page.

── The symbol “♾️,” which appears to be the administrator’s name, followed by a creepy greeting.

“Your worries, suffering, and pain that you can’t tell anyone about — the administrator of this website, Mugen (♾️), will break all of these chains.”

There is also a form where you can write your name, attach a photo, and details of your concerns, and a submit button.

(…Hmm? That’s a little different…)

Mikaku noticed a subtle difference from the screen that the high school student had shown him the other day.

A new field called “Name (furigana)” has been added under the name input field. Does this mean the site is constantly changing?

(…Maybe I should give it a try.)

It wasn’t that Sankaku was trying to be mischievous.

I just wanted to get a sense of how the site works.

Name: “Akira Tsunoda”

Furigana: “Kakuta Akira”

Content: “You’re just a hypocrite who always thinks he’s in a good mood.”

In the photo attachment section, I attached a picture I took the other day of Kakuta dozing off with a silly look on his face. There’s no particular deeper meaning to it.

I simply remembered Kakuta’s carefree face and typed out the words that suddenly came to mind.

And then I tapped the Send button.

A message appeared on the screen saying, “Thank you for your consultation. I hope your concerns reach ‘♾️’.”

(…Now, what will happen now?… Well, I guess nothing will happen.)

Mikata closed the site and went outside again.

They resumed their steady investigation by asking questions. They expanded their scope beyond students to include ordinary adults and began to gather information about site users.

Then, one surprising fact after another came to light.

The site’s user base was no longer just a student phenomenon.

Even adults who initially dismissed the site as a childish urban legend learned of its existence through word of mouth and online rumors, and, either grasping at straws or out of curiosity, began to access the site one after another and post their problems.

And there were several common characteristics found in the stories of people who testified that their worries had been “resolved.”

All of them said that as their worries were being resolved, they experienced a sort of clouding of memories and a strange sense of “mission” that was almost like an obsession.

For example, a novelist who had been struggling with a writing slump for many years posted on the website that he wanted to write a masterpiece. For several days, he was so absorbed in writing that he forgot to eat or sleep, and finished his manuscript with such ferocity as if possessed by something that he ended up winning a literary prize.

However, he said that his memories of that time were vague, and that he was simply driven by a strong urge to write.

In addition, a woman who suffered from extreme social phobia wrote that she wanted to be able to talk to people normally. The very next day, she became like a completely different person, very sociable, and began to actively enjoy interacting with others.

However, she says she has no memory of why this suddenly happened or what triggered the change.

(…This isn’t just solving a problem. It’s something more fundamental… a force that acts directly on the human psyche. It’s like a limiter has been forcibly removed…)

The more he broadened the scope of his inquiries, the more astounded he became at the extent of the site’s influence and how quickly it had spread.

What’s even more eerie is that those who testified that their problems had been solved all began to worship the site’s administrator, “♾️,” as if he were the leader of a new religious cult.

They all spoke enthusiastically, saying “It’s all thanks to ♾️” and “♾️ will save us,” and tried to spread the word about the site to those around them.

Before you knew it, the stories of people who had supposedly committed suicide because of the site had stopped being heard, and the public had begun to believe only in the “miracle” aspects of the site, as if such incidents had never happened in the first place. Dead men tell no tales.

Voices warning of the site’s dangers were drowned out by voices of fanatic faith.

Information about users of problem-solving sites snowballs.

However, there was still no information linking the identity of the essential “♾️”, the site’s operator, or its purpose. Time just passed mercilessly.

–One day, the door to the Unidentified Consultation Room was slammed open as usual.

“Senpai! Cheers! Thank you for your hard work!”

As always, Kakuta’s voice rings out, bright as the sun and boisterous.

Mikata looked up from the pile of documents and let out a deep sigh.

“…It’s you again, Kakuta. What do you want? I didn’t call you here today.”

As he brushed him off, Sankaku thought to himself, “This guy’s carefree attitude might be a bit of a relief to me right now.”

“Huh? Is that so? I thought I had something to ask of you, senpai…huh? Why did I come here?”

Kakuta had a genuinely puzzled look on his face as he scratched his head.

“…Hey hey, are you okay? Are you still half asleep? Lol”

Mikaku couldn’t help but smile wryly at Kakuta’s stupidity and gave him a light smack on the buttocks as a joke.

However, Tsunoda didn’t budge.

He shows no reaction to the slap on his bottom or Sankaku’s words.

“Oh, hey, Tsunoda…??”

Sensing something strange, Mikata looked up completely from his documents.

Then, when I saw Kakuta’s face, I was shocked.

His face was no longer pale, but was strangely pale, like a wax doll, and had lost all its colour.

And his eyes, unfocused and with a hollow light in them, were simply staring straight at the triangle.

The next moment, Kakuta spoke in a cold, emotionless voice, as if he had been possessed by a different person.

— “You are the hypocrite. … Triangle.”

That voice, that way of calling. It wasn’t the usual Kakuta’s.

Mikata was overcome by an intense chill and fear that made the bl00d in his entire body rush backwards, and he fell off his chair.

At that moment, Kakuta’s creepy expression disappeared, and he burst out laughing.

“Whoa! Senpai, what are you doing all of a sudden? Are you okay? Ahahaha!”

He’s back to his usual carefree self.

“Hey, Kakuta! What was that just now… what on earth was that just now?! Are you out of your mind?!”

Mikaku’s voice croaked with confusion and fear, his hands on the floor.

“Yes? What is it? Eh, did I do something strange? Actually, why did I come here in the first place? I can’t remember at all…”

Kakuta seems to honestly have no recollection of anything and looks down at Mikata with a puzzled look on his face.

(…Could it be…that site…?! The message I posted under Kakuta’s name…?!)

A flashback came to Sankaku’s mind as he remembered what he had posted on the site a few days ago.

“You’re just a hypocrite.”

And then there was Kakuta’s strange transformation…

It’s too much of a coincidence.

At that moment, the police radio that Kakuta was wearing on his waist received an emergency call along with a loud static.

“The Metropolitan Police Department is calling all bureaus! Urgent! A mass suicide by multiple men and women has occurred at a glamping facility in the mountains of Tokyo! Based on the situation at the scene, it is highly likely that this was a planned crime by a suicide group! There are currently over 30 people unconscious and in critical condition! All investigators in the area, rush to the scene immediately! I repeat! …”

Tsunoda gasps.

Then, Mikaku falls off his chair and listens to the radio in a daze.

The incident surrounding the “problem advice website” was finally about to become a reality in the worst possible way. And Mitaka couldn’t help but sense the ominous shadow of “♾️”.