“……”
Ramihi stared at the document I handed over for a long time.
I wondered if it was okay to show such a document to someone else, but since Seo-A didn’t stop me when I passed it to Ramihi, it seemed like it wasn’t a big deal.
As Ramihi carefully flipped through the pages, his eyes lingered on a corner of the paper for a while. More precisely, it was at the bottom right corner, the part that gets touched the most when flipping the pages.
I wasn’t sure how many people had read this document, but since it came from the education department, it couldn’t have been just one person. If there were any fingerprints, they would have been smudged or erased long ago.
Even if some remained, it would take a lot of expertise to collect and distinguish them, something we couldn’t handle.
“Teacher.”
Finally, after examining the stack of papers thoroughly, Ramihi spoke up.
“Among those who read this document, is there anyone who wets their finger to flip the pages?”
“Wet their finger?”
Seo-A’s slightly rough, yet beautiful eyebrows furrowed a bit.
“Well, at least I don’t think there’s anyone around me who does that.”
“What about the Principal or the Vice Principal?”
“Well…”
Seo-A crossed her arms and closed her eyes, briefly searching her memory.
“I don’t recall seeing either of them reading anything in front of me, so I doubt the Principal would do that. They didn’t show that behavior just a moment ago while reading the document.”
“Is that so?”
Ramihi looked at the stack of documents he held before handing it to me.
“If we look closely, we might find some genetic material.”
“Genetic material?”
As I replied while receiving the bundle, Ramihi nodded.
“If you look closely at the document, there are a few pages where the bottom right corner is slightly curled inwards. Of course, someone could also produce a similar effect if they held it with wet hands or prepped to flip pages while reading, but on the back… around page 12,”
I fluttered the document and opened the corner of page 12.
“Do you see those pinched marks? There are even two of them.”
Indeed, there were pinched marks. Rather than being marks made to indicate a page, they seemed more like parts that had been tightly pinched and then unfolded, just as Ramihi said, two of them.
“That indicates there was an older person who read the document. As people age, their skin becomes dry and flaky, making it easy for pages to slip when held. To hold the paper, they need to exert pressure, which leads to mistakes or pinched marks from holding too tightly. And if all else fails, they wet their fingertips.”
As I flipped the paper back, I noticed some irregularly slightly creased marks or curled spots.
“If it had been handled with moisture, the areas with such traces would appear consecutively focused on one part, and if someone held the edges of the pages for a long time, every part would be slightly curled.”
Thus, Ramihi was arguing that this was a distinctive mark of a single person.
“But there could be several middle-aged people among those who’ve read this document.”
When I asked like that, Ramihi shook his head.
“If there’s someone wetting their finger to flip pages, what would you think of that?”
“……They would probably really dislike receiving that document.”
At least if there was someone like that around me, I could imagine they would react that way. Such people often treat not just their own documents or books, but also any stack of paper in their hands with disdain. They would mind if they borrowed my book or notebook and behaved that way—of course, that would feel extremely unpleasant.
“Exactly. So, it’s highly likely they’re in a position where they wouldn’t be stopped by others nearby.”
Someone who could act in such a way even right in front of them.
“…But that’s obvious, isn’t it?”
Indeed. After all, this document would be one passed down from above. There must be someone who approved it and someone who handed it down. In that process, all those middle-aged employees would necessarily be included, making it questionable if finding such traces had any meaningful significance.
“Well, who knows.”
Seo-A, who had been listening, said with a smile.
“Even if there are quite a few people who wet their fingers while flipping pages, if you’re asking to narrow it down to ‘several people,’ then the story changes. Some do it, others don’t. Some may wet their fingers on every page, while others might do it unconsciously when they’re really struggling to turn a page. Gathering distinctive features and narrowing down the suspects is basic investigation work.”
“While that may be so…”
As I trailed off, Seo-A clasped her hands, resting her chin on them while smiling brightly.
“Almost no criminal gets caught just based on a single clue. Particularly, if the incident isn’t severe, it gets even harder to pinpoint. Especially if you’re trying to find out who read a document, it would require cutting-edge technology to uncover it.”
As I showed a tired expression, Seo-A chuckled lightly.
“There’s one good thing about it, though. It’s certain that not many people have read this document, at least.”
“Excuse me?”
“Take a look at the very first page of the document.”
Following Seo-A’s words, I looked back at the document. The very first page had the title of the document on it. Usually, a document like this would indicate which organization sent it to whom, and which person approved it.
However, this bundle of papers had one peculiarly distinctive feature that made me wonder why I hadn’t noticed it before.
“There’s only one person who approved it.”
Before I could speak, Ramihi said, almost as if he already knew before I even looked at the front. Well, given that he had been staring at the document for a long time, that made sense.
“And not only is there no name listed, but there’s just a barely legible signature.”
Seo-A added, backing him up.
Indeed, below the summary of the document’s contents and the ensuing pages, there was neither the organization’s name mentioned nor a person’s name. The section where that information should have been was empty, with just one hastily scribbled signature beside it. What did it say? I could tell it started with a C, but the latter part was so tangled that I couldn’t make it out.
“To add, it’s possible that only one person physically read the document. Since documents are originally typed on a computer, printed out, and then submitted for approval, if it’s an employee, they’re more likely to just verify while typing and then check if the pages are in order and the print quality is consistent rather than reading everything. So, if only one person confirmed this, then perhaps the reader may indeed be the one who approved it.”
That made sense. Of course, I didn’t know how things worked statistically or how most companies operated, so I couldn’t jump to conclusions.
As I pondered over this, Seo-A continued her explanation.
“I checked and confirmed that this document is indeed one that the government officially sends out. I verified the number on the paper and checked to see if it was genuinely sent out. However, they didn’t tell me who wrote and sent this document. Related universities remember that they’ve heard about it and know they submitted the related documents, but they aren’t aware of whom they sent it to. All they know is that it was received by the 21st District Education Bureau.”
“But if it’s a document written in such secrecy, wouldn’t it be even more important not to be revealed as to who authored it? Leaving traces like this makes no sense.”
This was all evidence left behind, not just about who sent it, but the actions taken through the Education Bureau as well.
“The staff might have thought that way.”
Seo-A acknowledged with a nod at my remark.
“But organizations don’t always operate so rationally and logically. Once a person has power, they tend to think, ‘This much is fine,’ or ‘They won’t find out about this,’ you know? A person who has gradually become lax in their judgment might casually overlook their employees’ comments.”
Still, this was all conjecture. Seeing that I looked still unconvinced, Seo-A asked me.
“So, if it’s possible that someone left saliva on that section, is there anyone here who could perform a genetic test? For private tests, the subject’s consent is necessary, and the government requires a warrant from the Ministry of Justice. If you’re going to follow the law, you wouldn’t be able to find anything out from merely a document.”
When Seo-A added the condition of ‘if you intend to follow the law,’ Rina glanced over at me, but I intentionally ignored it.
“So, that person likely brushed it aside, thinking it would be fine.”
…Really?
They created a situation where the other party might suspect and thoroughly hid themselves, leaving such absurd traces behind?
Seeing my puzzled expression, Seo-A laughed as if she found it amusing.
“The government generally deals with demons or beasts. Do you think those entities are out there tracking human fingerprints and performing genetic tests to find evidence?”
“Ah.”
“Of course, there are often violent crimes, like murders, occurring in society, so there are definitely people tracking them down. But most of those with the technologies to do that are from the Ministry of Justice, meaning their inclinations are likely very different from those who would write this document.”
It wouldn’t be that extraordinary if they were so fixated on certain adversaries that they continued to adhere to that old method even when their targets and methods had changed.
In the end, I could only nod in agreement.
“The outer cover of the document I received previously and this one is the same. Of course, I lack any ability to remember the contents like a camera, so I can’t tell whether only the back has changed or if the entire document has been replaced. Well, judging by the bound area, I think the whole thing has changed, but if they were incredibly meticulous, it might differ.”
The documents were stapled together in two places at the topmost part. If someone had taken it apart, there would definitely be traces left.
“So what I can do is…”
“Hmm, maybe you could investigate one by one the people who might have participated in writing the document? After all, it’s unlikely that there are hundreds of people who touched that document, so you’d need to narrow it down gradually while finding the individuals who exhibit the behaviors Ramihi just investigated.”
In the end, that meant I’d just have to conduct a thorough investigation one by one!
As I rubbed my forehead, Ramihi stared at me in confusion.
“If you want to catch someone, you have to close in on them by investigating one by one. There’s no shortcut to tracking.”
I suppose that makes sense…
Well, if I couldn’t find out who was lurking in the school, that would be the best approach.
“If I were to give you advice, the first place to investigate would be the 21st District Education Bureau since the document came through them. Honestly, I should have suspected it ever since it arrived and wasn’t sent by fax.”
Seo-A yawned loudly as if she were tired, stretching her arms above her head and said.
“Starting an investigation from a point of nothing can also be a valuable experience. It will help you pick up something useful next time a similar situation arises.”
I wished to live in a place where similar situations would no longer occur, but I felt it wasn’t right to say that to a teacher working at an academy aimed to cultivate heroes, so I simply nodded.
“However, will they even meet me if I just show up out of the blue?”
Wouldn’t that make them hide even more?
“Are you joking?”
Seo-A said with a laugh.
“They’re dying to get you out somehow. Just saying you’ll ‘think about it’ will probably have them flipping out. This is also a good opportunity for you to learn how to negotiate with people. While knowing how to refuse directly is important, being able to pull off a negotiation and get what you want too is a skill.”
…That sounds a bit too shrewd for a teacher.
“…But you praised me back then for being direct in my refusal.”
“That was when you learned how to refuse, so now it’s time to learn how to negotiate.”
As she answered, Seo-A winked at me.
*
“Hmm.”
After leaving the teacher’s office, I noticed Rina pouting as if she were dissatisfied, and Aurora tilted her head in curiosity and asked.
“Is something wrong?”
Ramihi had gone somewhere first, saying he needed to think about what to do, so it was only me, Aurora, Linea, and Rina heading to the auditorium. There were hardly any students in the hall since classes had already ended.
In the academy, forming clubs was almost unrestricted, and with such autonomy respected, there were a lot of students involved in club activities. Since they could receive school support to pursue their hobbies, there were some truly diverse types of clubs, and finding at least one club related to their interests wasn’t particularly difficult. Of course, the size of that club varied from group to group.
However, there weren’t many other facilities on this floor except for the auditorium and classrooms, so most clubs were located on other floors. With three grades and not just using a mere three floors, although the total number of floors in the school didn’t even amount to half of that skyscraper it occupied.
Thus, it was only natural that there were no other students around after school, allowing us to talk relatively freely inside the school.
Still…
“I say this as someone from the demon army, but humans seem too careless.”
You can’t just say that out loud!
Before I could respond with a shocked expression, Rina quickly spoke up.
“Don’t you think shouting like that would attract attention instead?”
“……”
That’s true, but…
I spoke in the lowest voice I could manage.
“Still, that’s something you shouldn’t say out loud…”
“Say what? They’ll find out anyway. The church already knows everything. Want me to tell you what I heard from the Mother Superior and the Priest last time I was at the convent?”
…I had a fair idea of what to expect, so I didn’t want to hear it. After all, I didn’t want to be the unwilling recipient of worship.
“It doesn’t matter if the fuss explodes inside the school, since the church will protect us anyway. Not that we’d make a ruckus in front of a large crowd.”
“……”
I had no words left after hearing that. But with such a statement, wouldn’t it only embarrass Linea, who was anxiously scanning the surroundings?
Of course, Rina wouldn’t care less about that.
“If the ones who need to operate in secret are out in the open like this, they’re bound to get caught eventually. No way could witches or high-ranking demons be so foolish.”
“……”
I recalled the witches and high-ranking demons I’ve encountered up until now.
None of them seemed that clever.
“…No, it’s true.”
Sensing my thoughts, Rina said with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Even if that’s the case, if there’s a gap, it’s better to fix it sooner rather than later.”
Indeed, Rina was the living evidence of such a gap. I hadn’t heard exactly how she came into being, but she had essentially infiltrated human territory as a ‘demon.’
“I thought it would be extremely difficult to get in, but if it turned out to be unexpectedly easy, then the demons who realize that will definitely exploit that gap.”
“……”
As Rina said that, I, Aurora, and Linea stared at her blankly, causing Rina to look flustered.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that…”
I clasped my hands over my heart, wearing a gentle smile.
“Finally, you’ve started worrying about us… Truly a repentant individual.”
“No! I’m worried about me! Can you understand? Me! My concern!”
“Ah, nobly esteemed one…”
“Listen when a sentient being speaks, will you?”
Rina sighed heavily.
“Well, we really don’t need to worry that much. We’ve captured quite a few hidden demons, and the Inquisition is ramping up, after all. At the very least, those people are experts at catching demons and beasts, right?”
“…I wonder about that?”
Rina glanced over at Linea. Linea received her gaze confidently, while Rina just sighed softly.
“Anyway, when are we going to start meeting up?”
“Ah…”
Hearing that made me suddenly feel gloomy.
The reason I wanted to wait until the vacation was over was that I wanted to block any opportunity to meet with such a high-status person.
With all excuses aside, it was now my turn to seek them out.
“I don’t want to go….”
“If you don’t go, the case won’t get resolved.”
As I stared at the ceiling with a completely deflated look, Rina rubbed her forehead in frustration.
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