Ayanokouji’s Guide to Using Tools at Butei High - Chapter 15

My password used to be “0429.” Even now, as phone functions have increased and four-digit passwords have evolved into six digits, I have simply added two zeros in front of the original numbers.

This password actually comes from the birthday of a Port Mafia member named Nakahara Chuuya. There are no interests exchanged between us. He doesn’t even know who I am, and I have never spoken a single word to him.

But some habits are not easily changed, especially since I am such a lazy person—too lazy to think of other numbers to replace them, and too lazy to change the password itself.

This brings us to the fact that the password for the newly acquired phone is “0619.” If I didn’t know that this string of numbers was Dazai Osamu’s birthday, I wouldn’t be so sensitive. Perhaps this string of numbers isn’t Dazai Osamu’s birthday at all, and it just happens to form the current situation by coincidence.

Or perhaps there is a problem with the software. After checking two or three times, I finally entered the password “0619.” Seeing the phone unlock successfully, I felt an inexplicable mental exhaustion and unhesitatingly changed it to “0429”; I didn’t want to keep seeing that string of numbers.

What followed naturally was the task of checking the phone’s contents. I continued to connect it to my computer via cable. There were no hidden programs; in fact, there were very few apps on the phone at all—only the default ones.

The databases were all empty, except for a single photo I discovered in the gallery.

But fearing I might see something I didn’t want to see or something I shouldn’t see, I used my hand to cover as much of the screen as possible before opening it. I carefully identified the four corners, and only after confirming it likely wasn’t the image I had imagined did I cautiously lower my hand.

The image contained only a piece of paper, and on the paper were only two lines of text—

“If you are a city, then take one step back.”

“If you are not a city, please take one step forward.”

Personally, I am not the type who enjoys playing these kinds of word games. After all, text can hide too much information, and unlocking it relies somewhat on subjective thoughts and one’s store of knowledge. If it were up to me, I would rather choose a base-26 numbering system to unlock an answer.

So, there are three questions here.

First, this phone might not be mine.

Second, what is in the photo might not be a riddle.

Third, the information here is incomplete.

What exactly is the meaning of this phone?

Was it really entrusted by ‘me’?

Seeing that I had begun to stop what I was doing, Tanizaki Junichiro, who had been waiting nearby, immediately chimed in: “Ayanokouji, do you have a moment?”

“What’s wrong?” I closed my laptop.

“I just wanted to ask you a question.” Tanizaki paused and said, “Do you have any further connection with Ms. Sasaki?”

The Ms. Sasaki he mentioned here should be the kidnapped Sasaki Nobuko. She was rescued last night by the members of the Agency who went to investigate the abandoned hospital. I heard she even stayed the night at Dazai Osamu’s house.

“What do you mean? What do you mean by ‘further connection’?” I saw that he was still holding a phone, and the call interface was displayed on the screen.

“I mean, besides taking her elective course, um, were there any other interactions?”

At that moment, a faint voice appeared in the phone. As soon as Tanizaki noticed, he quickly put it to his ear, listening and nodding. The process lasted only a second or two. While I was still watching, Tanizaki said to me: “I’ll turn on the speakerphone.”

“Okay.”

After agreeing, I felt a strange sense of unease.

Sure enough, a familiar voice came from the phone.

“Good evening, this is Dazai Osamu.”

“Can you hear me?” The voice came through the receiver.

I wasn’t particularly keen on responding, but Tanizaki kept pushing the phone toward me, so I decided to settle it quickly: “Yes, Dazai-san. This is Ayanokouji. Is something the matter? I have other things to do.”

“Do you still have to work at night?” When Dazai Osamu said this, the end of his sentence curled up, as if he were smiling. “Then I’ll speak quickly. I heard you had interactions with Ms. Sasaki Nobuko?”

I pulled myself together to deal with it, making sure not to fall into his trap: “She is a lecturer for our elective course.”

“What does she teach?”

“Criminal Psychology.”

“Is it interesting?”

“I just felt that Ayanokouji-kun, you seem very tense, so I asked casually to help you relax. This isn’t an interrogation; please don’t be too nervous, okay?”

Dazai Osamu’s attitude could be described as a breath of fresh air, provided that I didn’t understand him.

“So, do you find it interesting?”

“She is a professional.”

“A very conservative answer.” Dazai Osamu’s voice rose slightly. “I heard from Ranpo-san that he wants you to investigate this matter as well, so this is perfect. I also want to learn a bit more about Sasaki Nobuko from you.”

There was nothing wrong with what he said.

I composed myself and spoke up: “Alright, ask away. I’ll answer as best as I can.”

“Wonderful.” Dazai Osamu was very satisfied with this response and said, “Besides the teacher-student relationship, do you have any other connection? I heard she is very popular at school, so do you like her too?”

Why does this kind of question feel like it belongs in a gossip column? Yet Dazai Osamu’s tone was one of absolute righteousness and seriousness, not allowing anyone to think otherwise.

I shot a quick glance at Tanizaki Junichiro, but Tanizaki looked equally bewildered.

“My understanding of her isn’t particularly deep. If not hating her counts as liking her, then I suppose I could be said to like this female lecturer.”

Just as I finished speaking, Dazai Osamu seemed not to care about my answer at all and casually mentioned something else: “We found the kidnapper this afternoon. It was a taxi driver.”

Before he could finish, Tanizaki exclaimed beside me: “You guys are amazing!!! Solved it so quickly.”

“It’s not over yet, Tanizaki-kun,” Dazai Osamu said unhurriedly. “Based on his words, we discovered that there is a mastermind behind this called the ‘Azure Messenger.’ In the Port Central Building where the driver conducted organ trade, we saw a message left for the Agency by the Azure Messenger.”

Dazai Osamu paused and said: “It demands that we find the location of a bomb by 6:30 PM tomorrow, or it will be detonated.”

“Ah, no way! Why would they do that! Do they have to target our Agency?!” Tanizaki gave Dazai Osamu plenty of reaction. His mind is truly much more simple and straightforward than I imagined; he says exactly what he thinks.

“Here’s a question, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you know about the Azure Flag Terrorist Incident?”

The Azure Flag Terrorist Incident happened two years ago; it was an atrocious event that caused nationwide panic. The culprit was known as the “Azure King,” whose appearance mostly involved wearing a blue headscarf, with blue being the fixed color scheme.

He attacked the country’s military facilities multiple times and was notorious. However, on media platforms, he claimed to be an agent of justice.

The Agency had cooperated with the military police to investigate the Azure Flag Terrorist Incident at the time. When the Azure King’s hiding place was discovered, five detectives followed and infiltrated the Port Central Building. Driven into a corner, the Azure King directly detonated a bomb, dying on the spot along with the five other detectives.

So, two years later, the Agency has also become a target of revenge for the remnants of the Azure Flag.

I explained it briefly in my own way.

“So, if it’s revenge, how do you interpret the Azure Messenger’s act of sending a notice? Wouldn’t it be more successful to do it secretly?”

“I believe the Azure Messenger does not maliciously want to kill people everywhere. The reason for the public notice is likely a hope that you will successfully stop it; and if you can’t, it serves to point out the Agency’s incompetence from the sidelines. Your reputation has already been damaged today; if the Agency cannot find all the bombs tomorrow, it seems your reputation will plummet along with it.”

I spoke word by word.

“And besides wanting to emphasize the existence of the Azure Flag, I believe the reason for issuing the notice is that the Azure Messenger is very confident in their own abilities and wants to compete with you fairly.”

“It’s not ‘you,’ though.”

Dazai Osamu’s words left me stunned, and I almost let out a sound of confusion, but his next sentence made me feel a bit unable to adapt.

“It’s ‘us’.”

I said dryly: “Oh.”

“Didn’t you say before that you needed protection? As a good senior of the Agency, I kept an eye out for you. Then, I happened to find something very interesting. Do you want to hear it?”

“Tanizaki-kun, please leave the room first. I want to speak to Ayanokouji-kun alone for the next part.” Dazai Osamu’s words made Tanizaki leave the room.

I also pulled myself together and heard Dazai Osamu’s voice continue: “I found a photo of Ayanokouji-kun working with the Azure King.”

I pursed my lips and said in a cold voice: “Are you suspecting that I am a remnant of the Azure Flag?”

“I’m not suspecting,” Dazai Osamu said confidently and beyond doubt. “You are one of the accomplices of the Azure Flag Terrorist Incident.”

“Am I the only one who knows?”

“Yes.”

“And then? You think I am the mastermind behind this incident?”

“If I thought you were, I wouldn’t have sent Tanizaki away.” Dazai paused and said, “I believe the reason you said you needed protection is because you knew your identity would eventually be exposed, and the mastermind behind this incident would push you out to be the scapegoat. So you came to Fuyuki City in advance to lie low and found a ‘bodyguard’ to provide an alibi for you.”

“So, what do you want to say?”

“Ayanokouji-kun, you should have known who I was for a long time, right?”

Is this a threat, intimidation, or a warning?

“I’ll keep your secret, so don’t tell the world mine?”

Is that how it is?

Dazai Osamu.

“Are you from the Port Mafia side? Just tell me yes or no.”

As sharp as ever, Dazai Osamu…