５．Ｓｕｎｄａｙ Ｍａｒｃｈ ２４， ２０１９
文字数 8,190文字
The clues to the case went so deep into the cocoon that they were beyond reach. Maruta did not have dinner with Kira, but simply followed the route he had come that day in the opposite direction. Since the time was not yet 6 p.m., he did not feel like eating anything.
Maruta watched the PC screen with abandon. Only one station handled Asumi's case. Only that managed to push his observational skills to the line of entering the active zone.
On the screen, a man in a suit and red tie, with a panel of 'UMORE' advertisements behind him, was answering a reporter's question. It was not a press conference to apologize.
For as long as he could hear it, it was exactly what 〈Captain〉 had told him a few hours earlier. 〈Milley〉 was driving drunk that day and caused a property damage accident, but UMORE was not really aware of that fact. He repeatedly emphasized that the cover-up was led by Asumi and that it was 'A bolt from the blue' for UMORE personnel.
"We completely believed her testimony at the time that she fell down the stairs."
"We never dreamed that she had died as a result of a drunk driving accident."
"It is difficult to provide a clear company statement until the investigation into this matter is completed."...
Maruta did not care one bit if anyone could be blamed for the scandals of the dead. Then he stopped the TV viewing software.
Checkmate.
Maruta did not know the rules of chess, but it seemed the perfect way to describe his own feelings at the time.
It is no longer in all directions. Neither the knowledge he possessed, nor his own physical body, had found the right direction to head.
There is a lie somewhere in their story. Marta's conviction is unshakable. But trying to figure out where the lie was was tantamount to trying to pick up a tool that had been dropped in the ocean.
〈Tokyo Spread〉 had not yet uploaded any new videos. He felt a little better thinking that he didn't have to let a new stimulant -It's a fool's errand again anyway- touch his tired mind.
Maruta still doesn't even think about preparing dinner. It's not like he get a request to cut a giant meteorite approaching the earth in half. No famous historical actress would visit him with a condom. If so, there was nothing for him to do except scour the videos that flooded the Internet.
In 'All the Goals of the World Cup in Russia,' a tough white player took a hopping, trajectory shot into the corner of the goal. In 'Incredible Sights,' an elephant used its nose to open the lid of a plastic bottle. In 'Flaming Videos compilation,' a group of high school boys at an amusement park carried a costumed character and threw him into a fountain.
Maruta was tired of the daily routine of watching the 'extraordinary' from all over the world. But as we all know, it takes a lot of effort to erase that 'routine' from our body. His fingers holding the mouse also did not deviate from the routine that day.
〈Silva〉, holding a bottle of champagne, says in a taut voice, "Five, four, three, two, one." Next to him, 〈Shaggy〉 and 〈Kirvy〉 are covering their ears as they huddle their bodies to the edge of the screen. Immediately afterwards, the cork was supposed to pop out with a mighty bang, but it snapped in half at the tip of his finger. Completely relaxed, the three laughed in unison.
"What are you doing at the beginning of the New Year?" 〈Shaggy〉 said, showing his white teeth.
I haven't seen this one.
The video is titled '[In Memoriam] Silva Summary'. The date of that video was posted this month. Maruta stopped the video once.
Looking at the screen, he immediately realized that it was not from 〈Silva〉's channel. This is probably a compilation of videos that have either already been removed or were put up on another site. Finding something he had not yet seen, he felt the heat return to his body only a little.
When it was played again, the scene quickly changed. This time, 〈Silva〉, 〈Captain〉, and 〈Mont Blanc〉 are sitting on a sofa in the room. All three are wearing the blue uniforms of the Japanese national soccer team. Maruta knew immediately that the location was 〈Silva〉's room, having watched his videos many times.
"Hurry up. Japan's game is about to start!" 〈Silva〉 calls out to the outside of the frame. When 〈Number 4〉 entered the living room, everyone burst into laughter.
"Hey you, Number 4," 〈Silva〉 pointed to 〈Number 4〉's buttocks.
〈Number 4〉 was wearing a T-shirt and pants, with toilet paper extending out from between them like a tail.
"Don't come out with that paper stuck up your ass." 〈Captain〉 laughed and slapped his knee.
"I didn't have time. I was in a hurry." When 〈Number 4〉 tried to sit down, 〈Mont Blanc〉 said, "No! Go flush that."
The three laughed again.
Sounds like fun. As he was watching the video with a sense of melancholy, a thought occurred to him. Couldn't we make 〈Silva〉 popular even now? Nowadays, a million channel subscribers is seen as a milestone, but it doesn't matter how many he has. Wouldn't it be a kind of memorial service if more people supported 〈Silva〉's dream?
With the idea in mind, Maruta maneuvered his mouse and immediately went to 〈Silva〉's channel. The channel currently has 280,000 subscribers. It is safe to say that little has changed, although there has been a slight decrease since 〈Silva〉's death. Maruta wrote the following in the comments section of the last video raised.
"Tangentially, why don't you encourage people to spread the world about this channel? As is well known, Silva-san was killed in August 2018 by someone's wiles. The culprit has not yet been caught. With time, his memory must disappear like bubbles on the surface of the water. The footprints of a young man on the verge of grasping his dream are never meaningless to those left behind. Let's continue to remember him. If he is surprised to see his memory twinkling all over the earth, it may also be meaningful."
A few minutes later, the first reply came.
"Good idea."
After that, the echoes continued to arrive one after another on the screen.
"Let's try it."
"That's nice. I'd like to see the number of subscribers hit the million mark."
"Before dead, Silva-san was fond of saying, 'I will be a video-creator star.' I agree."
"I still believe he was a man who deserved to be a star."
"Let's make him popular, even now."
"I want to make his dream come true."
"I don't want Silva to be forgotten."...
Losing track of time, Maruta continued to read the comments that arrived one after another. It was right after the revelation of the truth about the 〈Milley〉's case, so perhaps many people remembered 〈Silva〉.
The next time he looked at the clock, it was already 20:30. Perhaps because he felt he had done something a little more constructive, he also felt more empowered to procure food.
The core of the case is still far away.
Maruta got up from his chair to turn on the light in his room.
Chronology of Chapter 7
April 2015 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Choice〉 were dating.
December 2015 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Choice〉 broke up.
January 2016 〈Silva〉 begans posting videos as 〈GING〉.
Around March 2016 〈Choice〉 uploaded the video showing her in a half-crazy state.
January 2017 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Milley〉 began dating.
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 contacted with 〈Silva(GING)〉?
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 joined the offline gathering of 〈Milley〉.
May 2017 〈Milley〉 caused an accident due to drunken driving.
June 2017 〈Milley〉 died of injuries sustained in the accident.
August 2017 〈Silva〉 began to go by the name 〈Silva〉.
August 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 appeared in 〈Silva〉's videos.
August 2017 Kira has started considering enrolling in a technical school.
August 2018 〈Silva〉's body was found.
Maruta watched the PC screen with abandon. Only one station handled Asumi's case. Only that managed to push his observational skills to the line of entering the active zone.
On the screen, a man in a suit and red tie, with a panel of 'UMORE' advertisements behind him, was answering a reporter's question. It was not a press conference to apologize.
For as long as he could hear it, it was exactly what 〈Captain〉 had told him a few hours earlier. 〈Milley〉 was driving drunk that day and caused a property damage accident, but UMORE was not really aware of that fact. He repeatedly emphasized that the cover-up was led by Asumi and that it was 'A bolt from the blue' for UMORE personnel.
"We completely believed her testimony at the time that she fell down the stairs."
"We never dreamed that she had died as a result of a drunk driving accident."
"It is difficult to provide a clear company statement until the investigation into this matter is completed."...
Maruta did not care one bit if anyone could be blamed for the scandals of the dead. Then he stopped the TV viewing software.
Checkmate.
Maruta did not know the rules of chess, but it seemed the perfect way to describe his own feelings at the time.
It is no longer in all directions. Neither the knowledge he possessed, nor his own physical body, had found the right direction to head.
There is a lie somewhere in their story. Marta's conviction is unshakable. But trying to figure out where the lie was was tantamount to trying to pick up a tool that had been dropped in the ocean.
〈Tokyo Spread〉 had not yet uploaded any new videos. He felt a little better thinking that he didn't have to let a new stimulant -It's a fool's errand again anyway- touch his tired mind.
Maruta still doesn't even think about preparing dinner. It's not like he get a request to cut a giant meteorite approaching the earth in half. No famous historical actress would visit him with a condom. If so, there was nothing for him to do except scour the videos that flooded the Internet.
In 'All the Goals of the World Cup in Russia,' a tough white player took a hopping, trajectory shot into the corner of the goal. In 'Incredible Sights,' an elephant used its nose to open the lid of a plastic bottle. In 'Flaming Videos compilation,' a group of high school boys at an amusement park carried a costumed character and threw him into a fountain.
Maruta was tired of the daily routine of watching the 'extraordinary' from all over the world. But as we all know, it takes a lot of effort to erase that 'routine' from our body. His fingers holding the mouse also did not deviate from the routine that day.
〈Silva〉, holding a bottle of champagne, says in a taut voice, "Five, four, three, two, one." Next to him, 〈Shaggy〉 and 〈Kirvy〉 are covering their ears as they huddle their bodies to the edge of the screen. Immediately afterwards, the cork was supposed to pop out with a mighty bang, but it snapped in half at the tip of his finger. Completely relaxed, the three laughed in unison.
"What are you doing at the beginning of the New Year?" 〈Shaggy〉 said, showing his white teeth.
I haven't seen this one.
The video is titled '[In Memoriam] Silva Summary'. The date of that video was posted this month. Maruta stopped the video once.
Looking at the screen, he immediately realized that it was not from 〈Silva〉's channel. This is probably a compilation of videos that have either already been removed or were put up on another site. Finding something he had not yet seen, he felt the heat return to his body only a little.
When it was played again, the scene quickly changed. This time, 〈Silva〉, 〈Captain〉, and 〈Mont Blanc〉 are sitting on a sofa in the room. All three are wearing the blue uniforms of the Japanese national soccer team. Maruta knew immediately that the location was 〈Silva〉's room, having watched his videos many times.
"Hurry up. Japan's game is about to start!" 〈Silva〉 calls out to the outside of the frame. When 〈Number 4〉 entered the living room, everyone burst into laughter.
"Hey you, Number 4," 〈Silva〉 pointed to 〈Number 4〉's buttocks.
〈Number 4〉 was wearing a T-shirt and pants, with toilet paper extending out from between them like a tail.
"Don't come out with that paper stuck up your ass." 〈Captain〉 laughed and slapped his knee.
"I didn't have time. I was in a hurry." When 〈Number 4〉 tried to sit down, 〈Mont Blanc〉 said, "No! Go flush that."
The three laughed again.
Sounds like fun. As he was watching the video with a sense of melancholy, a thought occurred to him. Couldn't we make 〈Silva〉 popular even now? Nowadays, a million channel subscribers is seen as a milestone, but it doesn't matter how many he has. Wouldn't it be a kind of memorial service if more people supported 〈Silva〉's dream?
With the idea in mind, Maruta maneuvered his mouse and immediately went to 〈Silva〉's channel. The channel currently has 280,000 subscribers. It is safe to say that little has changed, although there has been a slight decrease since 〈Silva〉's death. Maruta wrote the following in the comments section of the last video raised.
"Tangentially, why don't you encourage people to spread the world about this channel? As is well known, Silva-san was killed in August 2018 by someone's wiles. The culprit has not yet been caught. With time, his memory must disappear like bubbles on the surface of the water. The footprints of a young man on the verge of grasping his dream are never meaningless to those left behind. Let's continue to remember him. If he is surprised to see his memory twinkling all over the earth, it may also be meaningful."
A few minutes later, the first reply came.
"Good idea."
After that, the echoes continued to arrive one after another on the screen.
"Let's try it."
"That's nice. I'd like to see the number of subscribers hit the million mark."
"Before dead, Silva-san was fond of saying, 'I will be a video-creator star.' I agree."
"I still believe he was a man who deserved to be a star."
"Let's make him popular, even now."
"I want to make his dream come true."
"I don't want Silva to be forgotten."...
Losing track of time, Maruta continued to read the comments that arrived one after another. It was right after the revelation of the truth about the 〈Milley〉's case, so perhaps many people remembered 〈Silva〉.
The next time he looked at the clock, it was already 20:30. Perhaps because he felt he had done something a little more constructive, he also felt more empowered to procure food.
The core of the case is still far away.
Maruta got up from his chair to turn on the light in his room.
Chronology of Chapter 7
April 2015 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Choice〉 were dating.
December 2015 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Choice〉 broke up.
January 2016 〈Silva〉 begans posting videos as 〈GING〉.
Around March 2016 〈Choice〉 uploaded the video showing her in a half-crazy state.
January 2017 〈Silva(GING)〉 and 〈Milley〉 began dating.
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 contacted with 〈Silva(GING)〉?
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 joined the offline gathering of 〈Milley〉.
May 2017 〈Milley〉 caused an accident due to drunken driving.
June 2017 〈Milley〉 died of injuries sustained in the accident.
August 2017 〈Silva〉 began to go by the name 〈Silva〉.
August 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 appeared in 〈Silva〉's videos.
August 2017 Kira has started considering enrolling in a technical school.
August 2018 〈Silva〉's body was found.
