Touko-senpai, the Great Detective (Part 2)

Touko-senpai had suddenly choked on her words.

“What’s wrong?”

With a deep, grim frown on her face, she held out the phone to me.

“I don’t want to say it. Look for yourself.”

They had sex in a multi-purpose restroom in a park near the university.

“In a place like that… these two…”

…They’re animals!…

Tsk.

I actually don’t know what to say…

As I was left in disgust, Touko-senpai was once again pondering something.

It’s like she’s a great detective or something.

“But if you really think about it, that place also fits the conditions I mentioned.”

“Really? I don’t think so.”

“So, did you know beforehand that the park has a multi-purpose restroom?

“No.”

Sure, I had been to the park once in a while for a change of scenery. However, since it was in the opposite direction of the station, I rarely went.

“Well, it’s a park after all. It’s bound to have a restroom somewhere.”

“Yes, that’s true, but most people don’t use the restroom in the park in the middle of the day or at night. Besides, the park is in a completely different direction from the station, so the students from our school don’t go there often. Even if they met someone they knew, they could blow it off as a coincidence.”

I see. Then, Touko-senpai is probably right.

“Got it. They’d probably be there on Monday or Thursday after school. Because from the station, the two of them would only be specks in the distance, and because there’s a hotel nearby. Something like that?”

“That’s right. But if you’re going to investigate Karen, you’ve got to be extremely cautious. The probability that she notices you following her is tens of times higher than the chance Tetsuya notices me investigating him.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Even when a married couple cheats on each other, the husband usually doesn’t notice their wife’s cheating right away, but the wife would immediately. That’s how sensitive women are to the minor changes in their daily lives. They can sense an oddity from the slightest of gestures, words or actions.”

I couldn’t refute that, as I didn’t realize that fact before she mentioned it.

Certainly, Touko-senpai’s reasoning made complete sense. 

I was sure Touko-senpai was right, considering it was her.

“So, you shouldn’t investigate Karen-san. You also should never ask her what she did for the day. Just keep an eye on any weird or out-of-place behavior she has. If she suddenly mentions a restaurant you two have never been to before, or if there’s a place she’s really reluctant to go with you, let me know.”

“I will.”

“Also, from now on, we’ll use a different social media account for our communication, and I want you to create a password-encrypted folder in the cloud to store all of the photos, evidence, and whatnot.”

“Alright. I’ll put these photos of their message history in the cloud right away.”

The more our conversation progressed, the brighter my mood got.

Touko Sakurajima—with her, I felt that I could deliver that powerful, vengeful counterattack that I so longed for.

But, nearing the end of our meeting, she had a sad expression on her face.

“You know, I’m having a hard time too. I’m still wondering about the possibility of this being a lie and fraudulent. I also want to believe in Tetsuya. But after you’ve shown me that evidence, my feelings are becoming more and more unclear to myself. So, first of all, I want to see with my own eyes whether or not the two of them are having an affair.”

That was the first time Touko-senpai had shown her weakness today.

It was natural, though.

When confronted with their partner’s unfaithfulness, there was no way one could not be upset. 

Especially after that the smiles, the kind words, the considerate attitude, and the many memories that their partner had shown them up until now—it was all deception.

If the premise of “He/She only loves me!” collapses, what the hell are we supposed to do? Believe?

Despite this, Touko-senpai managed to keep her cool and explain our plan, all without getting visibly upset.

Even as a man, I felt so weak and distraught.

…Why did Kamokura cheat on her, of all people?…

My anger against Tetsuya Kamokura only grew stronger.

Simultaneously, I began to feel my desire to support Touko-senpai.

“Thank you for today, Touko-senpai. In such a short period of time, I feel like I’ve been enlightened. And I look forward to working with you as your comrade in arms in this mess.” I held out my right hand.

Touko-senpai looked up.

Is it my imagination, or are her eyes a little red?

“‘Comrade in arms’, huh? That doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s work hard together.

Touko-senpai reached out her right hand and squeezed mine.

I have to do this. I’ve got to!

I’ll get my double payback against that cheating couple!