Confinement King

　Inside the show pool, dolphins jump one after another in a rain of lights formed by glittering lasers.

“Wow...” cries of admiration could be heard from all over the audience, and the wetsuit-clad woman hosting the show puffed out her chest proudly.

　This is the aquarium's main attraction. A dolphin shows. And in front of us, there are Kijima and Moribe-san.

　Moribe-san seems reserved but excited.

　On the other hand, Kijima watches her with fondness.

　Occasionally, they talk to each other and smile at each other.

　Looking at the two, Shiratori-senpai let out a dismayed voice.

「How do I put this... it's like a middle school date」

「...Yes, you're right」

　And It's funny. I thought I was following a devil pawn and a girl suspected of being a devilAkuma, but what I saw is a scene that made me feel dismay, like a typical scene from youth...

「Do you ever want a boyfriend, Shiratori-senpai?」

「Not at all」

　I don't want a boyfriend either, but... would my brotherOnii-chan come with me if I asked him?

　Anyway, no luck so far. The sunglasses group, which I thought was following Kijima, was sitting far away from us, enjoying the dolphin show.

　From this point of view, the most excited people were two model-like figures.

They are taking pictures of each other with the show pool in the background, and are making a lot of fuss, saying “It's jumping” and “It's jumping again” in a calm way.

　If I look for them later on social networking sites, I may be able to find out who they are.

　Finally, the dolphins make a series of jumps, and the hostess announces the end of the show, and the lights are turned on and the surroundings become bright.

　After a round of applause, the audience started to leave their seats, and Kijima and Moribe-san also started to move toward the exit.

（They really look like a middle-schooler... they are so new to the world...）

　Moribe-san's hand, which had been holding the hem of Kijima's shirt until a moment ago, was now grasping Kijima's fingertip.

　Her face was red, and I could see that she was very nervous just by watching from the side.

When I hear her call him "Onii-chan," I get the impression that she is a girl who is really longing for a neighbourhood’s big brother.

（If this is an act, it's a big deal...）

　As I looked at their backs, I felt as if I could see my brother and myself in the same image.

（Come to think of it, when was the last time I went out with Onii-chan...）

　Probably, it was so long ago that I have to go back to elementary school. Thinking so, I felt very jealous.

（After Onii-chan started dating Minami-onee-chan, I refrained from going out with him even if it was an invitation）

　Minami-onee-chan is a childhood friend of my brother and I, who live next door to each other.

　To be honest, it was complicated for me when they started going out, but I thought it was okay if it was Minami-onee-chan.

　There were times when their relationship seemed to be tense, but they had been together for a long time, so I thought it was just a case of boredom.

　However, their relationship definitely deteriorated after my brother shut himself away.

　Minami-onee-chan, who came to see him because she was worried about my brother, ran out of the room crying.

When I asked my brother about it, he said that he had broken up with her, and when I ambushed Minami-onee-chan and asked her about it, she just said "I'm sorry" in a sad tone.

　But then one night...

　On my way home from the convenience store, I saw her sneaking out of the house.

　I had been feeling bothered for a long time, so I decided to follow her, though I knew it was wrong.

　But it was rare for serious sister to sneak out of the house at this hour. And after a few moments, she went to the back of the station, where she met a man with a hat on his head.

　It was dimly lit, so I could not tell his age, but he did not seem to be the same age.

　As I hid behind a vending machine and listened to the conversation, I could hear fragments of his words.

「Don't... do... this... thing... again」

「Spread...」

「No...」

　And then I watched as she was taken to a hotel with a sobbing face.

（P-Police... no, if I do that, Onii-chan will know. If that happens, there'll be no chance for them to get back together）

　I don't know what to do anymore.

　So, that morning, I consulted Claudia-san, who had just started working with my brother, for help.

But she kicked me out of the room, saying, "It's none of my business".

　However, on Sato-chan's recommendation, I consulted Shiratori-senpai, and the next day she was able to find out the identity of the person I was dealing with.

「It's the advisor of the Public Morals Committee, Zenkichi Kobayashi-sensei」

「How did you...?」

　It was like magic. I thought she might be making fun of me by saying something random.

　But Shiratori-senpai's face was still sullen as ever, and she said in an indifferent tone.

「If I understood the premise that she was being blackmailed, and followed Shibata-Senpai's line of sight, anyone could understand that」

（...No, I don't understand）

　But it's the only clue.

　From that point on, I continued to observe Kobayashi-sensei's movements.

　Gradually, I came to understand that this man was an unbelievable devil.

　Despite the fact that he had a young wife and a child who had just turned one year old, I found out that he had poisoned not only big sister but also the chairwoman of the public morals committee.

　During the two weeks I was observing him, he went to a hotel with the chairwoman of the public morals committee once, and with big sister five times.

　Three of those times were early in the summer vacation.

　And the last time I saw her, she must have lost her mind. She acted as if she was leaning on the teacher.

　At this rate, it'll be too late.

　I've got to do something... I thought.

「What's the matter, Kizuna? 」

「Oh, I'm sorry」

　Before I knew it, Shiratori-senpai was peering into my face.

　I shouldn't have brought this up. It made me lost in thought. When I came to my senses, there were few people in the audience and there was no sign of Kijima or Moribe-san.

「We should go too」

「Yes. Speaking of which, is Takasago-senpai okay?」

「Well, she's probably around the entrance. It's impossible for Takasago to go anywhere on her own, she's probably sleeping on a bench.」

　When we were stopped at the entrance, we decided to wait for Takasago-senpai to finish eating her crepe.

　However, as soon as she finished her crepe, Takasago-senpai took out a pack of warabi-mochi from her bag without pausing.

　Therefore, Shiratori-senpai and I gave up and decided to leave Takasago-senpai behind.

（Takasago-senpai is too free...）

　But, I am interested in the kind of family environment she grew up in, and how she can live without worrying about others.

　However, when I asked this to Shiratori-senpai, she said with a wry smile.

「As for Takasago, I don't think it's a matter of family environment」

「What do you mean?」

「Well... Takasago's grandmother told me that as soon as Takasago was born, she tried to go back to her mother's tummy」

「What?」

「"It must have been a hassle to be born", Takasago's grandmother said that like it was a funny story, but when I thought about it again, it was nothing but a horror story, right?」

「...It's a horror story」

　Indeed, it is horror enough when a 0-year-old child moves by herself.

　But Shiratori-senpai's point of view was different.

「But, don't you think it's too dangerous for a 0-year-old to try to give her own mother an incestuous lesbian skull?」

「The idea never occurred to me!?」

　But, lesbian skull. It's a word that I've never heard before, but I can almost guess what it's about.

　Oh, man.

　It's going to change the way I look at Takasago-senpai.

「Well, I guess Takasago's slothfulness is a result of her birth, not her environment」

　Shiratori-senpai, the content is so shocking that I really don't care about its conclusion.