Episode 141: Nishikawa Eri

「The problem is how we’re gonna corner Yamazaki. I’ve looked into a lot of things too, but I couldn’t find anything that’d definitely work. Have you found anything?」

By the time I’d gotten used to Hanako-san’s blunt tone, the conversation finally turned to the main topic.

By the way, most of the talking up to this point was between me and Hanako-san, while everyone else just listened.

「I’ve basically just got a photo and some RAIN logs that might show Yamazaki has a connection to a criminal.」

「A photo of a connection to a criminal?」

She seemed to react to the story about the photo I got from Yuji.

It’s only a「might」have a connection… it probably won’t be much help in the final showdown.

「Here, look at this.」

When I showed her my phone screen, Hanako-san, who’d been expressionless until now, showed a look of surprise for the first time and stared at my face.

Was it really that shocking…?

「Hey, where’d you get this photo?」

「My best friend apparently got it from an acquaintance.」

After hearing my words, she made a thinking gesture and then nodded.

What’s with that reaction?

「I see. It’s all connected. Tachibana-kun was looking into Yamazaki for your sake, Takanashi-kun.」

!!!

I never expected Yuji’s name to come up here.

That means Hanako-san was the woman Yuji mentioned who was looking into Yamazaki.

In that case, I have to thank her for everything today!

「So Hanako-san was the one who gave Yuji that data! Then let me thank you. Thanks to that data, I was able to take down one of Yamazaki’s associates today!」

I briefly explained what happened today and told her the photo was helpful.

I also showed her the RAIN logs I got as a result.

「I see. I’m glad it helped. But these RAIN logs are like the photo; they don’t move past being a possibility. We can’t use this as it is.」

I think so too. This just shows they’re acquaintances. In fact, it almost feels like they’re claiming they’re not involved in the incident.

When I nodded, Hanako-san started operating her smartphone.

「On my end, this probably won’t help either, but it’s a photo of the woman I think is his main target right now. She seems like a total high-class lady.」

With that, she handed me the smartphone showing a photo.

The woman in the photo with Yamazaki was dressed like she was in a formal gown, with long black hair like Sara-san’s. You could tell at a single glance that she was a beauty.

Well, she can’t beat Sara-san, though.

「Let’s see, show me.」

「Kazunari-san, show me too, please.」

I turned the smartphone toward Sara-san so that Natsumi-senpai, who’d come up behind me, could see too.

「So this is Yamazaki… and the girl is… wait?」

「Oh, could it be…」

The two of them reacted when they saw the woman in the photo.

Do they actually know her?

「Hey Sara, this is Eri-rin, right?」

「Eri-rin」is a pretty friendly way to call her.

「Y, yes, it’s Eri. Why her…? She’s definitely a lady, no doubt about it.」

It looks like they definitely know each other.

From Natsumi-senpai’s reaction, they seem close, but I’ve never heard that name since I met Sara-san.

Does that mean she’s not at our school?

「Sara-san, is this woman an acquaintance?」

「Yes. In fact, you’re indirectly related to her too, Kazunari-san. That flowerbed we’re always taking care of? That’s the one Eri left behind.」

WHAAAAT!!??

I just received the biggest shock of the day.

「There now, Kazunari-san. Have you calmed down?」

I only meant to be normally surprised, but Sara-san suddenly said「Please calm down」and pulled my head into her chest, giving me「good boy」pats.

I’m fine, so please stop… like I’d ever say that.

I’m sorry, I let myself be pampered without even considering where we are.

「…Hey, is it always like this?」

Hanako-san asked Todo-san with a slightly fed-up expression, while Todo-san gave a polite smile.

「Heh. I’ve got no choice but to put up with it to take down Yamazaki.」

Hanako-san’s pretty harsh.

Well, I’m the one at fault here, so I can’t say anything.

「So, is it safe to say she’s an acquaintance?」

Natsumi-senpai was the one who answered Hanako-san’s question.

「Yeah. Her name’s Nishikawa Eri, and she used to go to our school. She’s one of Sara’s few close friends…」

「Shall I shut that mouth of yours that keeps saying unnecessary things?」

Natsumi-senpai went quiet after receiving a pressure from Sara-san that was far too cold to be a joke.

That really was one word too many…

「A, anyway, we were friends. But she moved away and transferred schools. Sara, are you still in touch?」

「I contacted her once right after we moved up to second year. But she seemed busy, so we only talked for a bit.」

That means if we want to talk to her, we can.

We were stuck in a dead-end situation, so I’m hoping we can hear something that’ll turn things around.

「Then, can you get in touch?」

Hanako-san seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, looking like she wanted to find a way out through this unexpected development.

But Hanako-san is amazing for talking so casually to Sara-san. If it were someone from our school, they’d be too scared to ever do that.

「Sara-san, from me too…」

I started to say, but Sara-san’s index finger lightly covered my mouth.

「If it’s for your sake, Kazunari-san, I’ll gladly do whatever I can.」

She said that to me with a kind smile, then pulled out her smartphone and started making a call.

I wonder if she’ll pick up… if she’s busy, I’d like to talk to her as soon as possible, even if it’s another day.

「Hellooo? It’s been a while. What’s up, Sara?」

She must’ve used a RAIN video call, because Nishikawa Eri-san was on the screen.

「It’s been a long time. I’m sorry for the sudden call. I have something urgent to discuss with Eri. Is now okay?」

「I’m fine today! Sorry about last time. I was just about to head out then.」

Great, it looks like she has time to talk.

Now I just hope we get some good information.

「No. To get straight to the point, do you know Yamazaki Kazuma?」

Sara-san went right for the throat.

Hearing Yamazaki’s name, Nishikawa-san showed a slightly surprised expression.

「That’s a bit of a shock. To think you’d know Yamazaki-san, Sara.」

「As I thought, you do know him. There’s something I want to confirm before we talk. What kind of person is Yamazaki Kazuma to you? Please be blunt and give me a straight answer.」

It’s true, we have to confirm Nishikawa-san’s connection to Yamazaki before we know how much we can say.

If they were engaged or something, we might have to think about how to explain things.

Nishikawa-san gave a smirk with a deep meaning behind it.

「I don’t need to play nice with you, do I, Sara? To put it bluntly, Yamazaki’s an eyesore. I basically know what he’s thinking, but it’s a pain because I can’t just ignore him due to his business relationship with my father.」

YES!

With this, it looks like we can talk without hiding anything.

Hanako-san’s expression looked relieved, and Tachikawa-san and Todo-san were high-fiving.

「I see. Then I’ll say it without holding back. Yamazaki is…」

「You should just dump a piece of trash like that already, Eri-rin!」

Natsumi-senpai cut into the conversation by squeezing halfway into the screen next to Sara-san.

「Natsumi! It’s been ages. You look as energetic as ever, but try to keep the trouble you cause Sara to a minimum, okay?」

Pfft.

Natsumi-senpai, who was suddenly told that, puffed out her cheeks and started to argue back.

「I don’t cause her any trouble! In fact, I’m the one listening to Sara’s problems and helping her out…」

「Both of you, we have an important conversation right now, so please save that for another time. Anyway, about the piece of trash named Yamazaki.」

Sara-san brought the topic back after it started to veer off.

I’m pretty interested in their conversation too, but we’ve got the Yamazaki thing right now.

「Then, please tell us why Yamazaki has been approaching Eri.」

Yamazaki’s goal… besides Hanako-san’s talk about her being the main target, I’m hoping for some material we can use.

「It’s a simple story. Yamazaki’s father has known my father for a long time. Then, a while ago, the management state of Yamazaki’s company got bad, and they’ve been receiving personal loans and job referrals from my father. That’s why it seems Yamazaki is trying to suck up to me.」

That guy, even though he was bragging so much about being rich, he’s actually in debt…

He suddenly looks pretty pathetic now.

「It’s annoying because he approaches me so familiarly. I can see right through him, it’s not just one ulterior motive, it’s several. To be honest, he’s disgusting.」

The atmosphere suggests she might even be willing to cooperate.

As expected, when a decent person looks at him, that’s just the kind of evaluation Yamazaki gets.

I guess I’m not the crazy one after all.