Then night came, and most of the police were about to leave the scene.
At that time, Akirito was with Mr. Jhone, one of the officers.
They were inside the university's nurse room, searching for clues.
Akirito asked,
"Um, sir, did you find anything?"
Mr. Jhone replied,
"Not yet. But the teachers said the boy came to the nurse's office before the suicide."
Akirito thought for a moment.
"Then… does that mean the boy was mentally broken?"
Jhone answered,
"Probably. But—"
Just then, Jhone noticed a paper lying on the nurse's bed.
He picked it up and looked at it. A few letters were written on it:
"D R F"
Jhone stared at it and muttered,
"D R F? What does that mean… hmm."
Akirito, looking over his shoulder, said,
"I think it's some kind of hidden message."
Jhone replied,
"Maybe. But it also looks like it could be an abbreviation… maybe someone's initials."
Hearing that, Akirito thought to himself,
"Initials? D R F… that sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it before."
Afterward, the two left the nurse room and walked over to the spot where the boy had jumped to his death.
Jhone sniffed the air and said,
"Hmm. There's a strange smell here."
Akirito asked,
"You mean the smell of his body?"
Jhone shook his head.
"No. If you smell carefully… it's something different. Kind of like perfume."
Akirito's eyes widened slightly.
"Perfume?"
Jhone nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes. I believe it's women's perfume."
"Women's perfume?" Akirito echoed. Then his expression changed to shock.
"Wait… are you saying the culprit might be a girl!?"
Jhone replied,
"We can't be certain without solid evidence. But yes… it's possible. Either a girl forced him, or he talked with a girl shortly before he jumped."
Akirito began thinking,
"Hmm… if 'D R F' is an abbreviation, could it be a girl's name? Or maybe each letter stands for a word…"
Suddenly, Akirito paused the story and said aloud,
"Oy, are you listening to me?"
Fiona's voice echoed softly,
"Yes. Need anything?"
Akirito smirked.
"I know it might be cheating, but still… is there really a culprit in this story?"
Just then, the background turned green, and Fiona's voice became clear and serious:
"As the one who created this story, I assure you… there is a culprit.
And I, Diana Rosee Fiona, am telling you the truth."
The green backdrop faded, and the story resumed.
Akirito chuckled to himself.
Jhone noticed and asked,
"What's funny?"
Akirito quickly replied,
"Ah, nothing," with a smile.
Then he thought to himself with a smirk,
"Tch… Fiona, you're such a moron. That 'D R F' obviously stands for your name—Diana Rosee Fiona. Heh."
Meanwhile, in Fiona's domain, she was watching with an impressed expression.
"Wow… that boy really has a sharp mind. Hehe."
She took a bite of her biscuit and added with a sly grin,
"Then I won't let you find me that easily, darling."
Akirito looked at Jhone with urgency in his eyes.
"Sir, I think I've found a clue," he said. "The letters 'D R F'... I believe they stand for Diana Rosa Fiona."
Jhone raised an eyebrow, visibly intrigued.
"Huh? How did you figure that out?"
Akirito scratched the back of his neck, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
"Um… I guess I just remembered the name. I mean—I think I heard it before, somewhere."
Jhone muttered thoughtfully, "Diana Rosa Fiona... That sounds like a girl's name. Do we have any female students here with that name?"
Akirito quickly shook his head.
"No, sir. I haven't heard of any."
But deep down, his thoughts were in chaos.
"That's Fiona's full name! But why would she insert her name into this mystery? Does that mean she's the culprit? Or... did she force that boy to kill himself? But she said the real culprit exists. Wait... wait a second…"
Suddenly, Akirito stepped back from the scene and paused the story's progression again. The world turned grey, and time froze.
He looked up at the invisible sky and called out, "Oi, Fiona! Can you also participate in this story? Your full name showed up, after all!"
Fiona's voice echoed playfully in the frozen air.
"Who knows? Use your brain~"
"Tch. Just answer clearly! Can you interfere or not!?"
A bright yellow filter swept over the paused world. Fiona's voice, this time more mysterious, responded softly:
"I refuse to tell."
The yellow glow vanished. The world unpaused, colors returned, and time moved forward once again.
Akirito gritted his teeth.
"She's definitely hiding something. But why? I need to write this story better than her… I have to find the truth."
He turned to Jhone.
"Sir, I think the culprit was there... when the victim jumped."
Jhone's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying a girl pushed him? Or made him do it?"
"I'm not completely sure," Akirito admitted, "but there was a strong perfume scent at the scene. That, plus the name 'Diana Rosa Fiona'... It suggests a woman was involved."
Jhone nodded, thoughtful.
"Hmm... not bad. We should interrogate the boy's classmates. Maybe someone knows more."
"Yes, sir," Akirito replied.
Jhone checked his wristwatch and exhaled.
"It's already 10:24 p.m. You'd better head home. Come with me—I'll give you a lift. Too risky to go alone."
"Thank you, sir," Akirito said as he followed him to the car.
On the ride home, Akirito stared out the window as the city lights blurred past.
"I already lost the romance stage… I can't lose again. I need to be careful. I will win this one."
His eyes narrowed with quiet determination.