Regardless, Ane-go’s involvement was likely just a coincidence. Tsukiyomi Ruri had no intention of doing anything to her either, so she simply turned around and left with The Faceless.
Ane-go, still lying on the ground, waited for a while. Hearing no further sounds, a few question marks popped up over her head.
“Hey, are you still there?” Ane-go asked.
Her question went unanswered.
That made Ane-go immediately start struggling. She then discovered that the rope binding her had somehow already come undone; a little force was all it took to break free.
After shaking off the ropes, Ane-go tossed aside the burlap sack covering her upper body.
She looked around. Once she confirmed she was truly safe, Ane-go breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a question involuntarily occupied her mind.
Since the Mental Hospital had assessed her as normal, confirming she was a sane person, could she go back now?
She had been hiding outside precisely because she feared being labeled insane. With that worry gone, there didn’t seem to be any reason to keep wandering the streets, right?
Though night had fallen, the three members of the Urban Legend Club were still out wandering.
Calling it “wandering” wasn’t quite accurate. Their goal was to investigate the disappearances of Ane-go, Gounon, and Fukuyama Shoichi, but they hadn’t uncovered any results.
The night wind grew increasingly chilly, blowing from one end of the street to the other.
“Seems like we won’t find anything tonight either. Let’s head home for now,” Izumi Shirayuki said, turning to Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko, who were following her.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki nodded.
Inoue Keiko was about to nod along when she suddenly spotted something and pointed in a direction. “That… that…”
Seeing Inoue Keiko’s reaction, Izumi Shirayuki and Mizuhashi Yuzuki both turned to look. They saw a person they found rather familiar passing by at the intersection ahead, then disappearing around the corner.
“Isn’t that that yankee Ane-go?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki’s eyes widened.
“It really is her! We actually found her. Quick, follow her,” Izumi Shirayuki urged.
The three of them hurriedly followed.
Late at night, the streets weren’t as crowded anymore. As Ane-go walked, she even entered a dark, deep alley.
This seemed like a perfect opportunity to the group.
“Do we strike directly?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked, looking eager.
“Wait. We still aren’t one hundred percent sure she’s a Reincarnator. Recklessly revealing our Reincarnator abilities could cause problems. We need to test her first,” Izumi Shirayuki stopped her, glancing at Inoue Keiko.
No further explanation was needed; Inoue Keiko understood her role. At this point, she was responsible for verifying whether others were Reincarnators.
Without hesitation, Inoue Keiko unleashed 【Demon Head Burst】. A demon head, invisible to ordinary people, immediately lunged at Ane-go and circled her several times.
“No reaction. She’s not a Reincarnator,” Inoue Keiko stated.
“Strange, she isn’t a Reincarnator?” Izumi Shirayuki looked troubled. “But the disappearances of Gounon and Fukuyama Shoichi should still be connected to her, right?”
“What should we do?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked Izumi Shirayuki.
“Let me think it over carefully,” Izumi Shirayuki pondered.
“If you keep thinking, she’s going to leave the alley. Once she’s out, there might not be another secluded alley like this outside,” Mizuhashi Yuzuki urged.
“Oh? Then we have no choice. Knock her out first,” Izumi Shirayuki quickly said.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki shot out like a gust of wind, swiftly reaching Ane-go from behind. A single chop to the neck sent Ane-go’s vision darkening as she collapsed on the spot.
Izumi Shirayuki and Inoue Keiko ran over as well. The three of them lifted Ane-go’s body together and swiftly relocated.
Before long, they arrived beneath a bridge spanning a river.
“This spot under the bridge looks pretty clean, almost like someone was here recently. Let’s put her here,” Izumi Shirayuki pointed to the space under the bridge. The group placed Ane-go there.
“How should we interrogate her next?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked.
“Will she even answer honestly if we interrogate her?” Inoue Keiko was also doubtful.
That was the problem they currently needed to solve.
Ane-go’s head felt heavy and groggy. In a daze, she opened her eyes.
The familiar space under the bridge, the familiar night.
Memories from before she passed out surfaced in her mind, leaving her somewhat bewildered.
‘I was heading toward the Mental Hospital, wasn’t I? Why did I suddenly lose consciousness? And why am I back in this place after waking up?’
Ane-go couldn’t understand. She moved her body, pushing herself up.
But just then, she heard some commotion outside.
She turned her head, peering stealthily outside.
Three figures stood there, all wearing black cloaks and masks. In a modern city, the sight was exceptionally bizarre, successfully disguising their appearances and genders.
“I want fifty percent of the money this time,” a hoarse voice came from the figure on the left.
“You’re going too far! There are three of us, and you alone want fifty percent? Do you think that’s possible?” The middle figure immediately looked toward the left one, expressing displeasure.
The instant the middle figure’s attention was drawn to the left one, the figure on the right lunged forward. A dagger in hand gleamed coldly under the moonlight, plunging fiercely into the middle figure’s neck.
Before Ane-go’s eyes, a massive spray of fresh blood erupted.
The middle person collapsed with barely a struggle.
The left figure was unsurprised, laughing coldly. “Of course I can take fifty percent. Because now, the money is only being split two ways.”
“Enough talk. Let’s dispose of the body,” the right figure said.
Watching the two outside deal with the “corpse,” Ane-go, hiding in the space under the bridge, felt cold all over, her pores standing on end.
Murder?
A murder case had unfolded right before her eyes?
‘What is going on? Was I knocked out and brought here by them too? These people… they kill so casually. What do they want by capturing me?’
Ane-go couldn’t help but feel panicked and disoriented.
And this was precisely the effect Izumi Shirayuki and the others wanted.
How do you get someone to confess honestly? By scaring them, of course. Once sufficiently frightened, interrogating them and getting answers would become much easier.
Thus, the three-person performance began.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki, playing the murderer, suddenly faced Ane-go’s direction. “This one’s awake. The body is yours to deal with now.”
Inoue Keiko, playing the other accomplice, said, “No problem.”
