"It's over!"
When the bell signaling the end of the exams rang and the papers were collected, Yanami slumped onto her desk, shouting without a care for her image.
"The way you say that makes it sound like your life is over, not just the exams..." Asakura said with a smile as he packed up his things.
"I managed to stay within the range of a 'low-altitude flight' at least. We did have that study session, and Yukinoshita-san's predictions for the questions were incredibly accurate..."
Yanami picked up her scratch paper, looking at the problems she had jotted down and muttering things like, "It feels like she saw right through the teacher's thoughts..." "Mind reading?", and "It wouldn't be strange if that girl actually had mind-reading powers."
"Predicting the questions correctly doesn't guarantee your final grade will be good..." Asakura said with a smirk.
"Why do you suddenly get competitive over such a weird thing?" Yanami looked at Asakura, feeling a bit helpless.
"Don't you think Takuma-tan is unexpectedly cute like this?" Yuigahama Yui said, appearing beside them at some point.
"Can this guy really be described as 'cute'?" Yanami looked Asakura over again.
The latter seemed to be reviewing the solutions to the last few major problems. Feeling her gaze, he gave her a bright, oblivious smile. Yanami instinctively looked away, her face flushing slightly.
Then, she locked eyes with a very meaningful-looking Yuigahama Yui.
"It's not what you think..." she explained dryly.
"Well, I get it, I get it." Yuigahama Yui patted her shoulder, speaking in the tone of someone who had been there. "It's just that once you realize Takuma-tan's charm, it's hard to find happiness... because other boys just won't measure up anymore."
"No, no, no, it hasn't reached that level yet..."
Yanami wanted to protest, but then she dazed out for a moment—when was the last time she had talked to Sosuke? More importantly, when exactly did she start feeling like Sosuke didn't matter anymore? She used to care so much...
Am I actually such a fickle woman?
Yanami clutched her head, falling into a moment of self-loathing.
Just as the classroom was getting rowdy—with students looking ready to cut loose, skip the class meeting, and head straight for after-school freedom—Hiratsuka Shizuka walked in.
Normally, this older (unmarried) female teacher was quite casual and easygoing, making for a relaxed atmosphere with the students. However, today her expression was unusually serious.
Everyone likely feels this way: when someone who usually jokes around and lightens the mood gets serious, they seem even more stern than those who are always po-faced. So, even though she didn't explicitly demand silence, the festive post-exam atmosphere was dampened like a bucket of cold water. The entire room went quiet instantly.
"I know everyone is happy the exams are over and some of you plan to hang out after school, but for now, I want everyone to head straight home..." Hiratsuka Shizuka said.
"Huh? What about club activities?" a student asked.
"Cancelled for today..." Hiratsuka Shizuka replied flatly.
"Why?!" the students who loved their clubs began to wail.
"Because a wanted fugitive was spotted in the vicinity of Sobu High..." Hiratsuka Shizuka tapped the blackboard to quiet them down. She said sternly: "The suspect is a dangerous criminal who likely has the blood of more than one person on his hands. In short, do not wander off alone! Go home immediately! The school is organizing a teacher patrol. If we catch anyone loitering on the streets, it won't be as simple as losing credits... If you want a summer vacation with little homework, no troublesome practical studies, and no extra safety lecture makeup classes, you'd better do as I say."
The students grumbled, but under Hiratsuka Shizuka's forceful suppression and the threat of a murderer, no one actually protested.
After Hiratsuka Shizuka left, Yuigahama Yui approached Asakura with a worried look. "Are we not going to do anything?"
Yanami also looked at Asakura, who was finishing packing his bags.
"What?" Asakura blinked, then realized she was talking about the fugitive Hiratsuka mentioned. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?" Yanami was stunned, but quickly realized she was being too loud and lowered her voice. "Didn't she say he's a dangerous fugitive on the run?"
"Pretty much..." Asakura nodded.
"What do you mean 'pretty much'?" Yuigahama Yui muttered.
"It means he has indeed killed people. And as far as I know, he's committed other crimes and was planning some big stunt to threaten the police into releasing his accomplices from prison. But none of that matters..." Asakura said.
"It doesn't matter?" Yanami muttered, unable to let it go, then looked at Asakura with a sudden realization. "How do you know about the fugitive's details? Hiratsuka-sensei only just said..."
"Because if we don't hurry up..." Asakura pulled out his phone to check the time.
"Then what?"
"That guy will probably die from snake venom, foaming at the mouth."
Asakura shrugged.
"...Huh?" Both Yanami and Yuigahama were speechless.
The school's reaction had painted the fugitive as some terrifying monster, and now he was telling them the guy was already down? This was way too anticlimactic.
"What are you guys thinking? Sobu High is the base of our Magic Club; how could we let someone like that just wander around?" Asakura said as if it were obvious. "The moment the first sighting report came from the shopping district, he was already finished."
It would be one thing if they didn't know what he looked like, but once his appearance was exposed, he was done for. In an area crawling with Asakura's eyes, how could a living person hide? Unless you can burrow better than a snake!
In fact, dozens of minutes ago, Asakura had known through the snakes he dispersed that the fugitive had been bitten. He had collapsed while trying to crawl to a hospital.
While it wouldn't be bad to just let him die from the venom—especially since Asakura found it stupid that Japan rarely executes even proven murderers—he was actually quite interested in the reason why this incompetent man had managed to evade capture until now. It felt like something was protecting him.
Besides increasing the KPI for the Chiba police station, he might find some unexpected surprises on the guy.