"So that's it.

Does anyone have any questions?"

I have plenty of questions.

This could easily be one of those well-planned pranks.

What I heard is just that extraordinary.

But right now, it's a bad idea to ask questions just out of curiosity. That would be a waste of time.

Mion has already explained everything about the events surrounding Rika-chan.

"Well, I have a few things to ask myself, as the successor to the head of the Sonozaki family,

because all this has something to do with the series of mysterious deaths.

But I won't go into that for now.

All in all, it was a good idea to come to my house.

You can survive a nuclear war here in our basement.

There's electricity and a telephone there too.

Of course, we have plenty of food, too!

If the Mountain Dogs are really that tough, then this house is the only place in this village that's safe from them."

"......I'm sorry to have involved all of you in this..."

Rika-chan apologized from the bottom of her heart.

Rika-chan has been dealing with this strange disease, this Hinamizawa Syndrome, as well as all these suspicious Tokyo people, all by herself, until today.

She's been trying not to get us involved, and that's why she dealt with them all by herself.

We can all imagine what she must have been feeling, so none of us can even think of anything to say.

The silence went on for a while, but then Hanyuu clapped Rika-chan on the back.

"Rika, you've been apologizing so much since yesterday.

If you apologize one more time, you'll have to treat me with a cream puff every day!

Au au au!

Besides, we all feel bad, don't we?

Am I wrong, Keiichi?"

Hanyuu suddenly addressed me.

...I could tell from her eyes that she was expecting something from me.

Right. My role is to act as the flint for the other club members.

It's my job to burn strong and bright red to get everyone excited!

What have I been doing, just sitting around?

"Heh heh heh!

That's right, Rika-chan.

We'd never even thought all of this could be true, so we were just shocked for the moment.

But we're all thinking that things are getting interesting, right, guys?

Satoko, this right here is the real deal.

You've got some good traps lying in wait, don't you?

I know you've been hiding amazing ones for special occasions like these.

Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!!

This is a perfect chance to try them out, don't you think?"

"Oh ho ho ho ho!!

You should be grateful for my presence!

I don't know who they are, but if it's all right to get serious, then I won't hesitate to launch the countless, miraculous traps I refrained from using on our club members!!"

"Ahaha, that's right!

Your traps come with Mii-chan's seal of approval!

They can chase away even a real army!!"

"Well, Satoko aside, you're pretty merciless yourself, Rena.

You're usually so easygoing, but I know your true power.

Yeah, when you get serious, you might be the most powerful of us all.

You sure are something.

...I don't even think I can defeat you."

"...Oh, stop.

Your explosive impact is incredible too, Keiichi-kun.

Your power can defeat a fate that I'd have no chance against."

"......If Keiichi is a furious red flame, then Rena-san is a quiet blue one."

"Hey, that's a good one!

Heh heh, the Burning Red Ranger, Keiichi Maebara!!

The Burning Blue Ranger, Rena Ryuugu!

This is our chance to show the world what we've got!!

We're a powerful team with a powerful leader.

Heh heh, right, Mion?

We're already powerful individually...

And when gather, we're invincible!!

That's our club, right, guys?"

"...Heh heh heh heh.

You know,

...I kept quiet, thinking it might be imprudent, but actually I've been thinking...

...this is getting super interesting!!

I appreciate this, Rika-chan.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity!!

Heh heh heh, how dare they even think of stepping into Hinamizawa without saying hello to us!

I'll make sure to teach them some manners!!"

It had only been five minutes since Rika-chan apologized to everyone and brought the mood down, yet our morale was already at its peak again!

...We're up against such an absurd conspiracy, but if we're together, I think we can defeat it.

...This is the best feeling ever!!

Hanyuu is the one who started all of this.

...She's quite the promising newcomer.

She knew exactly whom among us to get motivated first.

...No, moreover, while even our senior members were hesitant about taking on such a huge opponent somewhere in their hearts, she alone remained unflinching and raised our spirits.

She's likely to grow even more formidable in the future!!

"Th... Thank you, everyone.

Thank you for believing me..."

"Of course we believe you. I told you that already!

If we didn't, we wouldn't be your friends.

There's no need to thank us, Rika!"

"Yeah, she's right!

Listen to Hanyuu!

You've got great spirit! I like you!"

"Au au au au!"

I rubbed Hanyuu's head.

She laughed as if I was tickling her.

"Okay then, let's huddle!

We have to get things organized.

First, Rika-chan and Satoko are supposed to be absent from school because they're sick. But in reality, they're hiding here.

This is just a preventive measure.

Nobody would even guess they were hiding here.

Thanks to a certain Akasaka!"

"How nice of him.

He came because of the promise he made five years ago... that's kind of cool.

...Hauu, I'm a little jealous..."

"...He isn't my type, but I'm a little jealous too..."

"M-Meep, it's not like that though..."

"He works for Public Safety at the Police headquarters in Tokyo, and he belongs to a secret unit, right?

That sure sounds reliable!

Being part of a secret unit makes it sound even better too!!"

"Akasaka is very strong.

He's definitely reliable!"

"But Akasaka-san's role is more of a protective one, in case of emergency.

Tomitake-san has the more important job of finding out things about our enemy.

He's our true attacker.

Plus, he's the only one who can call in the Bloodhounds to take out our enemies.

In other words, Tomitake-san is our key to victory.

...Hmm!

It's a bit unsettling to think that so much is riding in the hands of some dumb cameraman!"

Everyone teased her...

by saying they're going to tell Tomitake she called him that.

"...It's not that I don't expect him to succeed, but I think we should come up with another tactic, just in case."

"......But Hanyuu, what else can we do other than count on Tomitake?"

"No, Hanyuu's right.

Tomitake-san is a key factor from the enemy's point of view too.

If they find out he's investigating them, they might even have him killed.

This is enemy territory for him too, after all!

I think we should come up with something else, instead of just depending on Tomitake-san."

"Very true!

It's hard to score with just one trap.

I usually set many traps to deal with many different possibilities. That's basic trap tactics, you know!"

"That's true.

There's no need to limit ourselves to just one angle of attack.

We should look into other methods besides what Tomitake-san is doing."

"But we don't know anything about Tokyo, do we...?"

"Well, if one of Tomitake-san's important jobs is to summon the Bloodhounds...

I'd like him to teach us how to call them.

Then even if Tomitake-san is taken out by the enemy, we can still meet our victory conditions!"

"Yeah, that sounds about right.

Tomitake-san is really important.

At the same time, he's our Achilles' heel.

...Let's talk to him and make him tell us how to contact the Bloodhounds.

...Problem is, he's holed up somewhere in the city and there's no way for us to get ahold of him."

"I think that's a great idea, though.

The next time we get a chance to talk to Tomitake, let's ask him.

So that's the first plan.

Is there anything else?"

Before we knew it, Hanyuu was making sure we moved along with our proceedings.

Rena noticed that too, giving a pleasant smile to the girl trying to be a part of our group.

"This one is just insurance in case something happens to Tomitake-san.

...Let's think of a different angle of attack.

What about something that would help his investigation?"

"Oh, how intriguing.

We'll launch some kind of trap, grab them by the tail, and thrust proof they can't talk their way out of in their faces!

My, what a perfect trap situation!!"

"......If I'm the one they want...

why don't you use me as a decoy?

It's dangerous, but Takano and the others need me, so they'll definitely fall for it."

"That really is dangerous...

But that would prove Takano-san is after Rika-chan."

"Have them see her and make them chase her...

Hmm.

That could lead to something interesting!

Heh heh heh, and that's where Satoko's hills come in!"

"Au au au!

Once they go up there, they'll be in big trouble!"

"You said it!!

Heh heh heh!

Boy, will that be a sight to see!!

This is gonna be great!!"

"That should be the final method we use, though.

Once we're barricaded in the hills, the situation will change quite a bit.

This should be our last resort."

"She's right.

The traps in the hills are great as a defense measure, but that's all they can do.

They can't attack the enemy for us."

"Hmm.

The barricade on the hill is our last resort, huh?

The very final resort

for when the enemy attacks this location, and we have no other choice but to leave.

By the way, we have an underground tunnel leading out that's connected to a well in the back."

"Wow!!

Your house is amazing, Mion!!

Oh shit, this is really getting crazy!!!

The enemy is a mysterious organization,

we have a secret operation, a secret base,

and now a secret underground tunnel...

Wooooooow!!

This is just the sort of thing that gets a guy excited!"

"Au au!

I'm not a guy, but I'm excited!

Okay, now we have two ideas.

We'll come up with more! Can anyone think of anything else? Au au au au!"

"Let's see.

We want at least one more.

That last one is a rather defensive tactic too.

Isn't there something more aggressive that's perfect for our club?

...You know!!

Some way to hit them real good! An awesome blow that'll set back their conspiracy!"

"......Can we pull off something like that?"

"Yeah.

I'm sure we can. We're not as powerless as you think, Rika-chan, and it's not like we don't have cards to play.

You're their ultimate objective, and you're with us.

That's one crucial card on our side.

And not just in the sense of using you as bait."

"That's true.

It's a huge disadvantage for them that we have the queen carrier.

...I mean, what's their goal?

Kill Rika-chan, trigger this emergency manual to eliminate the whole village, and use that chaos in their internal faction wars!

Right?"

"Yeah.

To them, Rika is like the fuse on a stick of dynamite."

"...They want to set that dynamite off, cause chaos, and use that to gain something for themselves."

"So if we keep it from exploding, we win...

That's gonna be pretty tough."

"You're right.

We have to continue defending her, but all they have to do is kill Rika-chan in any way.

It's like a soccer game with a goal on only one side..."

"To denounce this unfair game for what it is and call in the Bloodhounds is the point of the Tomitake operation, right?

...Isn't there a goal for us, though? Where we defeat their conspiracy?

...There must be something!

Sometimes it works to think from the opposite point of view.

............Oh?

Oh ho!

Heh heh heh, there is one!"

Mion started to grin in a weird way.

...Here she goes.

The winds are blowing stronger on her side, and she's getting into better than top form!

Mion is pretty smart.

She is great at analyzing situations.

That's why, when Rika-chan first told her everything, she immediately decided that there was no way for us to win and became depressed.

However, while Mion's easily crushed, she's also able to exhibit incredible power when the wind's on her side.

We created that tailwind, and now her sail is receiving the push it needed.

"Let me confirm this one more time, Rika-chan.

That emergency manual was designed to prevent all the villagers from going insane within 48 hours of your death, right?"

"......Yes,

that's its purpose."

"Au?

Rika has never died before, so how do they know something like that will happen within 48 hours?"

"Sh-She's right...

Yeah, that's really strange.

How can they say for sure all the villagers will go crazy within 48 hours?"

"Well, according to Takano, something similar apparently happened in another country, and that's where they got the '48 hours' from.

I have no idea, though.

Actually, Irie said he doesn't understand it either."

"...Ah!!!

Could it be... I see...!

Oh ho ho ho ho!!

I know, I know their weak point!!"

".........!!

Ah, I see it too!!

Yeah, yeah, that's right!

This is their blind spot!!"

"......Eh?

...Eh?

Wh-What are you two talking about?

I don't get it..."

"I don't get it!

I don't get it either!!"

"Heh heh heh!!

Hey, Rena and Rika-chan, don't you understand?

Why don't we put the last person to figure it out through a punishment, huh?

Heh heh heh!

How about you, Hanyuu?

Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Yes, I have!

That's why Rika is important to Takano.

Au au, that's a hint for you too."

"Oh ho ho!

Here is a hint from me as well. The enemy's intention is to cause a disaster in Hinamizawa.

They intend to do so by using this emergency manual.

In other words, this manual is, in fact, the enemy's Achilles' heel."

"Eh, ehh, hmm, hmmm!!"

"...M-Meeeeeep,

I don't get it..."

"Au au auuu~☆.

Rika, if you apologize for everything you've done to me, I'll tell you."

"No way!

Stop that au-au-ing, I want to concentrate!"

"What? Haven't you figured it out yet, Rena?

Listen,

our attack depends on Tomitake-san, and that's our Achilles' heel. On the other hand, the enemy's attack depends on the emergency manual.

So if we destroy the foundation of the emergency manual...

Do you see?

We just have to make the emergency manual lose its function!"

"Au au!

What is the meaning of the emergency manual?

It's supposed to hide the existence of the syndrome by making it look like a disaster.

So that's why they have to wipe out the entire village within 48 hours.

That's what the enemy intends to do, at least."

"Hmm, hmm,

so you're saying, hmm,

we just have to stop them from executing the manual within 48 hours?

Ehh, ehh, hmm!!"

"...But those 48 hours don't start until I'm killed, so...

...Hmm, so I need to outrun them for those 48 hours?

Meep, meeeep..."

"Hey, you two are already saying the answer.

Heh heh heh!

You good?

Let's say the answer out loud.

Everyone ready?

Here we go!!!"

"""Rika-chan has to die 48 hours prior!!"""

We all said it in unison.

...Boy, we're good at this!!

We never mess it up.

"...I-I know, I got it!"

"I got it too...!!"

Rena and Rika-chan clapped their hands together.

They finally figured it out.

Why did it take so long for us to come up with this?

"Au au.

We finally got it.

We should've come up with this on the first try.

We've been speaking only in defensive terms, so I thought you might never think of this idea.

Au au au!"

"Ohhhhhhhh?!

Listen to you!!

I love you even more, Hanyuu!!

In recognition of your achievements, I'll award you our club's special-order cross medal later!

Anyway, let's talk about the operation.

Their goal is to execute the emergency manual.

Hidden in that goal is actually a huge weak point.

The foundation of the manual is the notion that the villagers will go crazy within 48 hours of the queen carrier's death.

In other words,

if nothing happens in the 48 hours after Rika-chan's death, then the foundation of this emergency manual collapses!!"

That's it, to say the least.

Nobody really wants to do such a terrifying thing.

But if they don't execute the manual, the villagers might go mad and spread to the surrounding communities.

They're hesitant to execute it, but they want to keep the damage to a minimum.

But what if they find Rika-chan's body 48 hours after her death?

The major premise that the villagers will lose their minds within 48 hours of the queen carrier's death will collapse.

"Fortunately, Rika is hiding here, so it's possible for us to lie about her death."

"The last time Rika-chan was seen was yesterday at school.

It will be 48 hours after that in the early morning of the day after tomorrow. It'll be perfect if her body is found around that time."

"...I see. It's possible to fake Rika-chan's death with the help of that Ooishi-san!!"

"Indeed!

We'll ask Ooishi-san to send out an announcement that Rika's body has been found, and that it has been at least 48 hours since her death!!"

"Well, it might create some issues if he announces it publically, so we can just let the Irie Institute know.

Coach is on our side, so it should be possible to deceive them."

"......That is...

Hee hee.

What an idea...!"

"Once the emergency manual loses its credibility, such a horrible operation will never be approved.

In other words, their weak points are the emergency manual and Rika-chan!"

"Ooishi hasn't agreed to help us yet...

but I know he will.

Au."

"Oh ho ho ho ho!!

This will be such an amusing trap!!

I can just picture Takano-san running around in a panic!"

"......Takano believes Satoko and I are sick in bed with a cold.

But as she hasn't actually seen us, she's just assuming it's true.

...But as it turns out, we were somewhere else, and suddenly my body shows up, having been dead for over 48 hours..."

"Ahhhahahahahaha!!

This is going to be super thrilling!!"

"The masterminds will have to accept the failure of the emergency manual and withdraw.

That's when the hunters become the hunted!!

By that time, Tomitake-san will have found out something about the enemy."

"And he'll call in the Bloodhounds to defeat them!!

That's our goal!!"

"All riiiiight!!

I can smell our victory from here!!!

Man, how perfect is this!!

This is all gonna work out, I'm sure of it!!"

We all encouraged each other with a hip, hip, hooray!

This is definitely getting really, really, interesting.

Still, what's key is that the claim of Rika-chan being dead for 48 hours is believable.

For that, we'll need Ooishi-san's help.

And right as we thought about asking him,

he arrived at the Sonozaki residence.

Ooishi-san knows that Rika-chan is hiding here.

He also knows that some members of the Mountain Dogs have infiltrated the police station.

...They've even wiretapped Rika-chan's home phone.

So the safest way to contact her, he figured, is in person.

"I saw Dr. Irie earlier.

He told me to tell you that Akasaka-san is doing just fine.

He's grown a lot in the past five years.

He'll hold down the fort."

Ooishi-san loosened his tie while drinking his barley tea.

...I bet he never thought he'd end up drinking a glass of barley tea at the home of his old enemy, the Sonozaki family.

"So, Ooishi!

What do you think of our 48-hour operation?"

"I think it's a pretty good idea.

It'll shake them up quite a bit.

In their panic, they'll make mistakes for sure,

and that'll give Tomitake-san the chance to get a drop on them.

No, it's really a great strategy! They say two heads are better than one, but with all your young minds together you've come up with a fantastic idea!"

Ooishi-san laughed in admiration, and assured us that the operation would definitely make an impact.

However, he hesitated a little, too.

"...This is pretty sink or swim, you know?

Whether we win or lose, I'll have to take responsibility.

I'll do my best to pull out the splinters, but if I don't do a good job of it, I'll end up in pretty deep.

...I have to resign myself to that."

In our 48-hour operation, Ooishi-san ends up bearing most of the responsibility.

...And the police are a strict organization.

There's no guarantee they won't investigate.

Ooishi-san is planning to retire this year.

...He needs his pension in order to pay off his mortgage.

He's at a very delicate point in his life.

...While this is a big deal for Rika-chan, it's a lot to ask of Ooishi too. He has to risk throwing away everything for our sakes.

"Shit...

This operation is a great idea, believe me!!

But

...I just can't..."

"......Ooishi.

If it's too much, you don't have to accept the part.

We don't want to win by using you as a sacrifice."

Nobody knew what to say to him, but Hanyuu broke the silence.

...She's full of energy au-au-ing during our club, but... at times like this, she also has the power to heal the hearts of those who are hesitating and growing weak.

...It's like being enveloped in a mysterious embrace.

If her appearance matched her level of maturity, Hanyuu would probably look like a mother.

"Besides!

We're members of the most powerful club in the world!

Even if the 48-hour operation can't work, we're sure to come up with another idea straight away!!

Right, Mion?!"

"Ah... ah, yeah, that's right!

Ooishi, you can say no, okay?

We shouldn't have gotten all excited over this without even considering your situation!!"

"...Yeah, that's true.

I'm sorry, Ooishi-san."

Rena whispered to me while watching them talk.

"...Hanyuu-chan is good at this.

Who could say no when a cute little girl says stuff like that to them?"

"Eh?

...What?

Do you mean... is that what Hanyuu's trying to do?"

"......Meep.

She's even more sly than I am."

As Ooishi-san moaned and groaned, Hanyuu looked over and grinned (wickedly?) at us.

I take it back...

...Th-This girl... she really is sly!!

Hanyuu is more dangerous than I thought!

Next time we do a club activity, I'll really have to watch out!!!

"Hnnn...

please let me sleep on it.

...There's someone at the station I really trust, so I think I'll discuss it with him.

Don't worry, he wouldn't rat me out.

If I agree to do this, I can't make any mistakes.

So before I do, please let me think over the chance of success."

Ooishi-san never makes promises unless he's sure he can keep them.

That's why he speaks cautiously, but considering his position, it was certainly a decision that required courage.

"Don't worry, Ooishi.

Even if you lose your pension, Mion will take care of it.

Won't you?

Au au au!"

"......Meep.

If he is going to help us, we have to do that for Ooishi.

...Meep."

"Huh?

Ah, ahahahahahaha!!

Well, you know!

Despite how this old man looks, my family is pretty rich!

Ahaahahahahahahaha...!"

We've got two sly foxes...

Our club's going to be the epitome of a free-for-all in the future...

The meeting ends with that.

We'll find out if we can go ahead with the 48-hour operation or not by tomorrow, depending on Ooishi-san's answer.

We haven't heard from Tomitake-san yet, but I'm sure he's started his investigation on Takano-san.

The coach and Akasaka-san have to wait patiently, each surrounded by the enemy.

They're both in very dangerous positions,

so I'll just have to pray for their safety.

And then, there's Takano-san.

I'm still having a hard time believing she's involved in such a vast conspiracy. If someone told me the whole thing was a lie, I might even believe them.

That's why I want Tomitake-san to investigate.

She's mysterious and a bit cold, but she can be fun to be around too.

...Also, I've always thought of her as one of the villagers.

It hurts more than a little to suspect one of your own.

I can understand what Tomitake-san is going through.

...This doesn't have to be an investigation to confirm her guilt.

...Instead, I want him to prove that she is not guilty.

It's too painful for people to doubt one another.

"Hello.

Ah, sorry for making you call me so often, First Lieutenant Tomitake!"

"That's okay. Anyway, did you find out anything?"

A background investigation usually takes a few months.

It can't be rushed within a day or two.

But Tomitake sensed that something huge had started to make its move after what Rika and the others told him.

And it was definitely getting closer.

...But once it was close enough to see, it would be too late.

That was why he was checking on their progress so frequently.

"We're still investigating Major Takano as we speak.

When she took a position in the Alphabet Project, her background was already investigated by a different department, so we've requested those documents to be handed over.

The entire team is investigating what she's been doing since the time she joined the project.

Please give us a little longer."

"I understand.

However, the situation is urgent, so please work as quickly as you can."

"Yes, of course.

By the way, we got an emergency order to investigate the Irie Institute today, unrelated to your request.

It's our top priority now.

The Chief of Staff requested it."

"...The Chief of Staff?

And it isn't related to my request?"

"Yes.

Well, it's supposed to be a separate matter, but from what I can see, I think this is a powerful boost from the top towards your investigation."

"...The Chief of Staff is helping out...?"

What does this mean?

The only thing I can assume is that the top members of the JGSDF have realized the danger of the conspiracy surrounding the Irie Institute.

Like Rika-chan said, if this conspiracy's intent is to execute the emergency manual...

then the opposing camp will try to stop that from happening.

My request for an investigation is the first step in putting a stop to their plans.

...So if the masterminds were influencing the Chief of Staff, he'd probably try to shut my investigation down.

...But he's supporting it instead...

which probably means that the Chief of Staff isn't my enemy.

...In fact, he might belong to the opposing camp.

...No, it's hard to say if he belongs to them or not.

He might just be under order from the ones pulling the strings for the opposing camp.

...If that's true, then the enemy has already noticed something, and it's possible that they'll start exerting pressure soon enough.

...So how much can I find out before that happens?

...I don't know much about the top brass.

Still, for the Chief of Staff to get involved...

Putting aside if Takano-san is guilty or not, I'm certain that something extremely big is starting to happen around the Irie Institute.

"We're making progress on investigating the Institute.

We haven't analyzed the data yet, but some of the financial records are suspicious.

We don't know if it's just a simple paperwork mistake, or if someone is actually trying to juggle funding, but I have an expert looking into it."

"What do you mean by suspicious?"

"Well,

as you know, there's an account for the funds supplied to the Irie Institute.

But the numbers don't match up.

It's possible that there's inflows or outflows of money that haven't been recorded.

Besides that, there are questionable dates on some receipts. We're suspecting forgery."

Funds are usually supplied annually.

For example, if a budget of one million yen is approved, one million is supplied in April and the facility manages those funds so they can keep things running for one year.

So depending on how they use the money, it's possible to have some left over at the end of the year. If they only use 900 thousand yen, they will have 100 thousand left.

Then for the following year, they'll be told that as they only needed 900 thousand yen, 900 thousand should be enough.

Furthermore, there should be 100 thousand yen left over, so they should only need 800 thousand the following year. Therefore, they then only get 800 thousand yen when April comes around, which is 200 thousand yen less than the previous year.

As some of you have already noticed, the more leftover money you have, the fewer funds you receive the next year.

...Therefore, it's smart to use up your entire budget.

But some people try to get by until the end of the year,

and if there is 100 thousand yen left, they try to make it look like as though they've used up the money, even when it's, in fact, in a safe somewhere.

They report that they've used exactly one million yen, and they get another one million for the following year.

Yet, there is still 100 thousand yen sitting in a safe.

This 100 thousand yen is called a "pooled fund" or a "slush fund".

If they keep running with only 900 thousand yen per year, then 100 thousand will be added to the slush fund in the safe annually.

And only a handful of people will know about that money.

This is how public funds get embezzled or turned into private money.

As we previously mentioned, the Alphabet Project is using this exact trick, and certain masterminds are pulling in huge amounts of public funding.

To avoid this kind of situation, there is an audit of accounts performed every year, and oversight to ensure no one's fattening their pockets or creating slush funds.

By the way, it's been said that the reason why civil engineering projects tend to start up at the end of the year is so they won't have that 100 thousand yen left, but that's not relevant right now.

The point is that they have to work hard to get the funds they want.

...Well, that's an example of having some money left over, which is certainly not bad.

...However, it can also be possible that there isn't enough money.

After all, they're only granted one year's worth of funds, so they can't delve into a savings account like we do in our lives...

That excess money just doesn't exist.

Therefore, an estimate report should never show more expenditure than revenue.

If that happens,

that means there is some extra money other than what was supplied.

...That's how slush funds are discovered.

Tomitake was told that it was still under investigation, but the Irie Institute's suspicious financial records could be either case.

The former would be fine.

It's quite common, after all.

...But if it was the latter, there could be something quite nasty lying beneath the surface.

In other words,

it was quite possible that funding was coming into the Irie Institute from someone other than the formal sponsors.

...To be more exact...

There was a chance someone was interfering with the Irie Institute by supplying funds.

Tomitake was having his men look into the possibility of Takano and the Mountain Dogs rebelling against Tokyo.

While it was certainly possible for Takano to do so, because of her personal investment in their research project, it was hard to believe that the Mountain Dogs could betray their employers out of sympathy.

For the Dogs to take part in Takano's conspiracy, a huge amount of money would have to be involved.

And the discrepancy that Tomitake's men had identified could be a sign of such.

"Ah, hello?

Sorry, I just received a report.

You know Koizumi-sensei, don't you?

The head of the old Koizumi faction.

He passed away recently, which led to the faction breaking up.

Do you know anything about a personal relationship between him and Major Takano?"

"Yes.

I've heard about that."

"But did you know that Koizumi-sensei and the late Dr. Takano had a personal relationship?"

"...Eh?

No, I...

I see...

Now I know why Koizumi-sensei doted over Major Takano."

"...Hmm,

this is very interesting.

As a matter of fact, after Koizumi-sensei's death, his private accounts were liquidated,

and they found some withdrawals made by Koizumi-sensei himself, instead of the attorney who took care of his finances.

It happened about half a year before the Irie Institute's establishment was approved by the Alphabet Project."

"Didn't Koizumi-sensei use the money to make necessary arrangements beforehand in order to establish the Institute?"

"No, his attorney took care of the money for that.

So the withdrawal wasn't made for that purpose.

It must have been a very personal expenditure, considering that he bypassed his trusted attorney."

...So could that involve the relationship between Koizumi-sensei and Takano-san?

"Does that mean Koizumi-sensei supplied funds to Major Takano personally?"

"Yes.

That's what we think, and we are trying to corroborate that as we speak.

We think Koizumi-sensei gave money to Major Takano for purposes other than the necessary arrangements for establishing the Institute."

"...So you're saying it's possible that Major Takano has a huge amount of cash at her disposal to help instigate a revolt?"

"To establish the Institute, Major Takano adjusted things with various organizations, but she did all that through legitimate means.

So if she didn't use any of her personal supply for that, she should still have the whole amount at her disposal."

"...I'm sorry, but what is that amount?"

"One billion yen."

"Wh... What...?!"

I'm very close to Takano-san, but... I had no idea she was so rich.

Actually, she's rather tight with her money.

She never acted as if she had a billion yen just sitting around...

......But then, that money isn't just money to her.

It's a form of support from her dear grandfather's friend.

...So she'd have to save it for when she needed it the most.

If the new board of directors had even a little interest in her research, she would have used the money on them, but they simply laughed at her.

...So Takano-san gave up on bribing them.

Instead... she decided to use it now,

because her research project was going to be terminated anyway.

With a billion yen, it might be possible to bribe the Mountain Dogs.

If she has sponsors, it'll be even easier.

...Her grandfather couldn't complete his life's work.

But she's planning a magnificent conclusion for it.

............Shit.

Those can't be her true intentions.

Someone has to be deceiving her!

...Takano-san...

...I'm sorry...

I'm sorry I didn't notice your sorrow

even though I've been right beside you.