Part 78: Episode 70: Intruder

The scarecrow-man draws closer, dragging its long, ungainly metallic arm behind it.

Sakuya, watch out!

Its arm slices through the air, smashing the window into tiny shards, which scatter across the hallway floor.
We don’t know what it is, but apparently it isn’t friendly!

Sakuya, we have to run!
I am well aware!


We both ran as fast as we could until we reached the stairwell, when we could no longer hear the metallic screech of its arm on the floor.

Did we… lose it…?
…I think so. Lucky it moves so slowly…
What WAS it? Surely no one could devise a prank as bizarre as that!
It looked like a biped… It was humanoid, but I don’t think it was a human.
I’ve never heard of a human made of metal and burlap.

For now, we have to get back to the lab. We need to warn Mr. Nanaki!


We cautiously made our way down to the chemistry lab, but luckily we didn’t run into that… thing again.


I-is this really the time!?
We cannot afford to relax now, professor.
Hmm… So, I take it something happened?
Uhh, the headmaster! He must’ve been hiding from the scarecrow--it smashed the window!
Calm yourself, Kawara! You’ve become incoherent!
S-sorry…

A scarecrow…?
Yeah. Like the ones humans used to make… It attacked us, and we ran back here.
It was slow, but… its arm was heavy and dangerous.
Are the other students still in the gymnasium?
Probably not all of them…
If there’s something dangerous in here, we should probably tell everybirdie to stay together in the gym.
Y-yeah…

I wonder what the scarecrow-man’s connection to all this is…
A scarecrow-man, you say?
D-doctor!

I had almost forgotten that he was here in my haste to talk to Mr. Nanaki about what we had seen.


Have you finished the autopsy, doctor?
Yes, for now.
I was awake here the whole time, don’t worry.
Thank you, Mr. Nanaki.
Hmm… You two may well have a right to know what I’ve found, given your efforts towards the investigation.

……
Control yourself, Kawara. Falling out amongst ourselves would only do us harm.
…I know.
Hoho. Anyway, we lack the tools for a proper examination, but…

She was dismembered after death, then, doctor?
It would appear so. There is little evidence of bleeding, so we may assume that she was cut up some time after death.

Goon was one of the healthiest people I know. She couldn’t have become that sick that quickly.
Meaning, someone poisoned her.

Why…?
For the sake of the grotesque, or to make her easier to carry, or for some other reason… Disgusting, either way.
I suppose I should also tell you the estimated time of death. Obviously I cannot be completely certain, but…

In the evening, then.
Precisely. And she was found this morning.
In other words… Unless she was seen yesterday afternoon, she may have been here all along.
Kawara, her house was near yours, was it not? Did you see her yesterday?
After school? Umm…
……
…No, I didn’t. My mother asked me to run some errands, so I went straight home yesterday.

That’s right. I went home alone.
It’s too late to regret it now, but maybe if I’d just asked her to walk home with me…

I see. Perhaps we should ask any other students with whom she was close.

Don’t worry. We can outrun the scarecrow, if it shows up again.
Incidentally, I went home early yesterday, too. I left as soon as class ended…
So, I only know what Ryouta has told me. I wish I had some useful information, but…
I was in the infirmary right up until I returned home, as usual. I know nothing of what happened in the rest of the school, sadly.

So, neither Mr. Nanaki nor Dr. Iwamine saw Goon yesterday afternoon…

Oh, right! Could we ask a favor of you, Mr. Nanaki?
A favor?
The headmaster’s office is locked. We think he might be hiding in there…
If there’s a spare key to his door, could we use it?

Thank you, sir! We’ll be back soon.
Be careful out there.
You too, sir!

Once again, as I left the room with Sakuya, I heard the two of them chatting. I never expected the two of them to get along…
The music stops.









I wonder why he lied about going straight home…?
……