Part 91: Episode 83: The Old Hall

Do you have an idea?
I… feel like I should…

I thought about the description of the bird Okosan saw again.
It’s not something I’d encounter normally, but for some reason… Don’t I know somebirdie like that?

Vague, as always. We do have a time limit, here. We must not fall behind!
I know, I know. If I remember what it is I’ll say right away.

Would anyone else have seen this bird yesterday? My mind turned to one other bird…

Maybe Yuuya was still in there? Let’s go ask him again.

He said that he saw nothing out of the ordinary. If what Okosan said was true, then he was lying.
Which would mean that the doctor was lying, too.
……
…Hmph. Very well.

I could tell he didn't like that idea, but right now it was the only possible lead we had. We made our way to the lab once again.




Salutations! How goes the investigation?
Well. Just who do you think I am?
Yeah, yeah. Unlike me, you’re a very capable bird.
Yuuya, we wanted to ask you something.
Oh? I’ll answer anything that doesn’t violate my privacy, so ask away.
Did you really not see anything yesterday after school?
…I’m not sure what you mean.

We talked to San earlier. He said that he saw a blood-stained stranger going to the infirmary yesterday.
Did you see anything like that?
Umm… Nope, sorry.
Could you be the blood-stained bird yourself?
Yikes! No, as you can see, I’m not hurt anywhere at all.

…Yeah, he did.
Anyway, I didn’t see anything. There’s not much more I can say. Right, doctor?
…Yes, that’s right. No one came yesterday.
I don’t think we’ll find anything more here, Sakuya. Let’s move on.
…Indeed.
The music stops.



But I had no evidence to make that sort of claim, so I kept quiet as Sakuya and I left the lab.




Indeed. Where is it?
That’s the problem… I’d never heard of it before, either.
It sounds rather large. I wouldn’t expect it to be that hard to find.
The record book said the fire broke out in the basement… and if the building was burnt to the ground, it would have said so.
It should still be here, then.

Unused buildings…? Hmm…
Oh, yeah. That old hall!
Old hall!?
That’s what we call it. It’s by the back gate, and it’s not used for… What’s wrong?

Sakuya had scrunched his face in thought.


!
Now that you mention it, that is kind of strange.
Come, guide me there!


I led Sakuya out of the building and across the courtyard to the old hall.



It doesn’t really look like a medical center…
It’s pretty much the same as the main building, yeah. Looks like the door’s locked.
Then we shall break it down.
You’re starting to sound like a delinquent, Sakuya.
What? What did I say?
Don’t worry about it.

We’d probably be suspended for breaking in here, but… this is an emergency. We don’t have a choice.
The two of us charged at the door, and our combined force was enough to bring the door down.



It has been left unused for five years. Hmm… It appears that they didn’t leave much behind.
Everything’s empty… I wonder if they cleared everything out when they seized the building?
…This all looks pretty much the same as in the main building.
Bah! Did we come here for nothing!?
Let’s look around a little more.
…Look, this door still has a sign on it. I guess it was the reference room.
I do not relish the prospect of wandering about this mausoleum of schoolrooms, but very well.



The shelves are marked with dates… perhaps they once held medical records. There’s nothing left now, though.
And… Operation Hatoful?
Huh!?

Among the rows of dates, sure enough, there’s a shelf labeled “Operation Hatoful”.


Operation Hatoful… I wonder what it is?
Who knows? Something put in place along with the human representative business, so no doubt it was nothing good.

Is Operation Hatoful connected to this medical center? What if it’s the source of the mystery we’re tangled in now?
…My head hurts.

The only things left are… hmph, archaic medical journals.

…Huh?

It’s the encyclopedia…
An odd place to keep one.
Wait, look at the volume numbers!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12.


I saw them like this in the library, too.
A bunch of old encyclopedias?
Yeah. Can I look at these for a bit?
Do as you please.

The ones in the library had the same binding. And in the place of volume nine, there’s an extra copy of volume six…

Look! This copy of volume six has a library sticker on it.
Perhaps it came from the library, then?
Someone must have brought it here when the medical center was still open… They probably switched it with volume nine.

Yeah.

The other volumes all seem as they should.
There probably isn’t anything in the extra copy of volume nine, but maybe we should go see if it came from here.

When we get back to the main building, let’s go check the library.
Provided it isn’t a mere waste of time.