Part 3: Episode 3: Investigation Day 1 End, An Ominous Late Night Operation

Ryouta and I decided to finish off the day with a quick trip to the Torimi Café, to see if any clues had been left there.



We searched around where we had the tree, but we couldn’t find any clues… I’m sorry, Mr. Urushihara.
You didn’t see them either, Mr. Urushihara?
Correct. By the time Mr. Kawara and I got outside, the tree was already gone.
That said…
Was there something else?

The music stops.

Please, look at this. Mr. Rabu sent it to me a few minutes ago.

Mr. Urushihara proffers his cellphone. A smartphone! Fancy!
Mr. Urushihara pulled up a picture on his phone and pointed it in our direction.




Y-you mean, these shadows are…!
Mr. Rabu said he took it just before he was rendered unconscious.
Suspicious shadows carrying away the tree… They must be the culprits!

Those silhouettes look awfully familiar… But maybe it’s just my imagination.
Probably nothing! I wouldn’t have gotten this far in the vicious food chain if I worried about little things like that.
There were a few things that we could learn from the picture, however.

There are two of them, then.
They’re awfully small… Though, it’s a little hard to see in this picture.

That does seem like him.

This will help us a lot, Mr. Urushihara. Thank Mr. Rabu for this, too!
How is he doing right now?

That makes sense; Azami always seemed the most capable of the two.
Rabu always seems a little bit incapable, or like he’s in a subtly bad position… Sort of like he’s always stuck being a background character.
It’s not much, but we’ve found a clue. We’ll pick up the trail tomorrow morning!
And so Ryouta and I headed home, in order to prepare for the coming day and a new investigation.
The music stops.











…You’re still here, Sakazaki Yuuya? Haven’t you been instructed to leave with the other students, excepting emergencies?
There is a little something going on, actually.
Aside from the usual? And what would that be?
There have been orders to investigate the Christmas Thieves. High priority.
That’s the string of thefts involving Christmas trees, isn’t it?
It’s not as if they’re growing legs and walking away, after all. And it’s a little hard to imagining them spontaneously disappearing.

I’m quite happy to take up the job to defend everything the ladies and gentlemen of the town have worked so hard to prepare for this special season.
You certainly seem eager enough. It’s good to have a little zeal, but don’t go letting your guard down just because the case in question is completely idiotic.
We never know who may have laid traps for us where.
Roger that. I’ll carve it into my heart, Mr. One.
I’ll go take a look at a few things, then. There is a tree here on campus, after all.
First I’ve heard of it. Where’s it set up?

Sakuya must want to show off with his big, fine, all-natural tree. He doesn’t let anybirdie touch it, but you can always see it in his window.
It’s really quite childish.
Nothing wrong with a little vanity while he’s still young. To a point, at least.
Anyway, I’ll go take a look at the council room and then head into town. I’ll send my report to HQ later. Adieu!

The music stops.


Stealing the town’s festivity is hardly an admirable pursuit. I suppose I’ll see if I can rustle up any gadgets to give Sakazaki a hand…



But this is him I’m dealing with. It looks like sneaking in is going to be hard, but knowing him he’ll have overlooked something obvious…

As I chuckled to myself, I heard a loud explosion coming from upstairs.

!?
What… was that!?


I ran as quickly as I could up to the student council room.

I don’t know what I had expected to find when I arrived, but it definitely couldn’t compare to what was before my eyes.

Wh-what—