"Isn't your description a bit too concise?" Ai jotted down the identities, feeling that the conditions Hiko had provided weren't extensive. His previous descriptions had been so detailed, yet now they had suddenly become concise.
"It's a feature of being concise and clear. Didn't I come up with it hastily because you were rushing me?" Hiko glanced at the math teacher already lecturing and whispered, "If I described it more vividly, I'd get scolded later."
"Even if it was rushed, didn't the plot change?"
Ai recalled the plot and felt something was off. "Didn't you say Aquamarine swore to get revenge? How come now it sounds like the old nun is getting revenge?"
"Don't mind the details. I just thought about it, a four-year-old child seeking revenge spans too much time. It's better to tell the story through the old nun, the guardian. That way, the revenge comes quicker."
Hiko modified the plot. After all, if you add a reincarnated person who doesn't tell their guardian what they know, and decides to investigate alone instead of immediately having the suspect punished, it seems absurd no matter how you look at it.
That would only give the culprit time to escape and grow stronger. What was the point of being reincarnated then?
A setup like that, acting like an idiot, was better left out.
"So this is just a short story?" Ai listened to the details and asked, "At first, when I heard you describe it so well, I thought it would at least be a medium-to-long story. But if the old nun is the one seeking revenge, it'll definitely end quickly, right?"
"And with the identities you've given, the earlier clues won't even be used, will they?"
"You don't need to worry about those details. I decide how long I want to write."
'Hasty story adaptations are never good. What's more, the prologue of that story was something I read and then adapted. I haven't even read the rest, so how am I supposed to make it up?' Hiko thought with a somber expression.
"You said this story is entirely logical, so I should be able to guess. But then, why did you name the children Aquamarine and Ruby, only to not use them?"
"Because I originally intended for them to be the protagonists of the revenge." Hiko answered her confusion. "Just think according to the existing conditions."
Ai nodded, then began to think, writing "Nun," "Letter with no name," "Struggling financially," and "Dislikes children," "Worried about identity being exposed?" in her notebook.
After writing these phrases, she shifted her gaze to the notes about the priest, the young monk, and several fellow monks from the same period.
"You never intended for me to guess who the real culprit is!" Ai angrily put down her pen.
"Oh? Did I?" Hiko recalled the identities he had just mentioned, then fell silent.
When he said it earlier, he changed what should have been the answer "the young monk from the same period' to "several young monks from the same period".
"The most likely option is the young monk. But you added 'several young monks from the same period' without giving them individual identities. Isn't that cheating?" Ai said, pouting.
"I'm not cheating. Are you sure your chosen answer isn't there?" Hiko feigned composure, hiding his guilt.
"Are you really not cheating?" Ai asked again.
"You told me to make the true culprit appear, so I really put the culprit among these identities."
Hiko said calmly, "Since you think I might change the answer, I'll write it down now. That should be fine, right?"
Ai heard Saito Hiko's firm tone and assurance, so she nodded. "Mm, go ahead and write."
Hiko took his pen and wrote 'several fellow monks from the same period' in the notebook.
Ai watched him write down the truth, once again inferring the possibility that the introduced identities were the mastermind.
She thought and thought, still feeling that the most likely suspects were the priest from the same monastery, the young monk, and the fellow monks from the same period.
She wrote these three options in her notebook, her pen tip moving back and forth, considering which one was the real answer.
Due to Hiko's misdirection, she paused her pen on 'the young monk from the same monastery.' "I choose the young monk from the same monastery."
"Are you really choosing that one?" Hiko saw that his words had influenced Ai, and to avoid getting hit when the truth was revealed, he guided her. "The answer you think is impossible might just be the correct one."
"The impossible answer?" Ai listened to his words, thought for a moment, and asked, "You're not trying to mislead me, are you?"
"This is guiding you," Hiko replied guiltily.
"I'm still choosing this identity."
"Then shall I reveal the answer?"
Hiko finished speaking and looked at Ai. Seeing her nod, he showed her the notebook with the answer written on it.
"You're just playing dirty!" Ai was furious after seeing the answer.
According to the story Hiko had just told, there could only be one culprit, and 'several fellow monks from the same period' was definitely an impossible option.
"Ahem... Actually, you should have noticed that the options I gave you were identity cards, not exact names."
Hiko took back the notebook, wrote down all the identities he had mentioned, and then continued, "Didn't I just discuss the killer's motive with you?"
Ai, hearing this, felt there was nothing wrong with it, so she nodded and waited for him to continue.
"Precisely because I hadn't decided who the killer was, and you insisted that the killer had to appear."
Hiko paused. "I also wrote down the answer beforehand, so actually, your line of thinking was wrong, which is why you chose that answer."
Ai looked at the identities on the paper and then recalled Hiko saying, "The answer you think is impossible might just be the correct one."
"...You misled me from the very beginning! You gave detailed traits for the first five identities, making me think they absolutely weren't just 'identities,' but actual individuals in the story who could be the culprit." Ai grew more and more indignant as she spoke.
"In mystery novels, arranging fake culprits to mislead readers is perfectly normal," Hiko said, self-righteously.
"You two students over there!" The math teacher on the podium yelled at the two who were speaking louder and louder. "Don't talk so loudly!"
"Yes." ×2
Hiko and Ai responded in unison.
Even after being warned by the teacher, Ai still disagreed with Hiko's sophistry. She picked up her notebook, turned to a blank page, and wrote: "Even in a mystery novel, the author wouldn't give a correct answer with such a clear difference between an individual and a group!"
After writing, she waited until the teacher was no longer looking their way, then placed it on Hiko's desk.
Hiko, who was pretending to concentrate on the lesson, saw the notebook suddenly placed in front of him.
He read the words on it.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up his pen, wrote a paragraph, and found an opportunity to place the notebook back in front of Ai.
Ai, seeing the words in the notebook, glared fiercely at Hiko.