Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 4: The Serial Killings in Nagawa City

His gaze drifted toward the window, where a massive commercial building sparkled in the deep night, like a blazing torch against the darkness.

In this weather, leisurely sipping hot coffee in Onee-san’s room wasn’t so bad… if one could ignore the corpse lying behind them.

“Duanmu-kun, have you heard of… ‘the Nagawa Killer’?”

Miyagi Aki produced several old newspapers from somewhere, carefully folded, and spread them across the table.

Though well-preserved, the newspapers had yellowed slightly with age.

“No, I haven’t.”

Duanmu Liang shook his head.

This woman seemed to be bringing up an irrelevant topic. But he had no intention of interrupting. He knew Nagawa City was the neighboring city, just an hour away by train.

“Well, it was eight years ago. The landlord probably wasn’t even in Japan then.”

Miyagi Aki’s expression turned ambiguous.

The front page featured an old photograph.

Though the central content was censored, one could still make out a human form lying beside a drainage ditch. Police and reporters surrounded the scene.

…This was what they called a “murder scene.”

“On March 18th, a body was discovered under an overpass in the central shopping district. The victim had wounds all over their body from a sharp weapon, and the cause of death was blood loss.”

Miyagi Aki’s voice seemed to drift from far away, ethereal and distant.

“The victim was Suzuki Rie, 28 years old, single, employed as a shop clerk, living alone in a city far from her hometown. She was the first victim of the ‘Nagawa City Serial Killings.'”

“A month later, on April 20th of that year, 45-year-old Miyamoto Asahito was murdered in the warehouse of his own auto repair shop. When his apprentice discovered the body, it was already early morning the next day.”

“On June 3rd, along a small path in Nagawa City Central Park, a cleaner discovered the body of a young girl. According to police investigation, the victim was a second-year student at Haruka Girls’ Middle School, named Asami Yu.”

“On August 15th, Fukuyama Jin, a 25-year-old architectural designer who had been missing for several days, was found near a drainage ditch in a residential area. The scene at the time is what’s shown in this newspaper photograph… Landlord-san, you can understand, right? How much attention such incidents would draw from society and the media. They say this single candid photo of the scene alone increased the newspaper’s daily sales by 14%.”

“Then, on September 7th, the final victim of the Nagawa City serial killings was an ordinary employee at an advertising company. He was killed by the perpetrator on his way home from work late at night.”

“In less than half a year, there were five victims total, yet there was no sign of the culprit being caught. Moreover, the police hadn’t even found any substantial clues.”

“…No clues?”

“Yes. Because the perpetrator’s fingerprints, footprints, roadside surveillance cameras—nothing left any trace… Or rather, they were deliberately erased.”

Miyagi Aki held up one finger.

“Additionally, what troubled the police investigation was the abnormal aspect of the perpetrator’s crimes—the inability to determine his motive.”

“Even up to the fifth victim, the perpetrator hadn’t taken anything from the victims’ possession, ruling out robbery as a motive. Furthermore, there were no signs of sexual assault.”

“The victims’ ages, genders, appearances, and occupations had no commonalities, and they didn’t know each other. In other words, the perpetrator had no particular grudge against them.”

“The only common point among the deceased was that they were all killed by cruel methods. The perpetrator had no purpose or external drive, almost as if… he was ‘purely killing’ for its own sake.”

“…”

Duanmu stared at the victims in the newspaper.

“Then why assume they were connected? Couldn’t it have been coincidence?”

“The perpetrator always used a sharp weapon. But your thinking isn’t unreasonable, Landlord-san. In fact, some media suggested the possibility of copycat killers, group activity, or coincidence.”

Miyagi Aki leaned closer to him.

Being more sensitive to scents than most people, he could clearly detect the faint perfume emanating from her.

“Hey, what do you think? Do you believe such people exist in this world?”

“…Probably.”

Duanmu Liang mumbled vaguely, hiding his expression behind his teacup.

But Miyagi Aki quickly gave a definitive answer.

“Killing without purpose, killing just to kill… Such people do exist, but the ‘Nagawa Killer’ was different. I don’t believe he harbored such pure intentions. He must have killed for some purpose.”

Ah, is that so.

He actually had no interest in the killer’s motivations.

“…What happened after?”

“The perpetrator was eventually caught. However, instead of being sentenced, he was committed to a mental hospital.”

“I see.”

Wonderful. Congratulations, all’s well that ends well.

“…However.”

Aki’s voice deepened.

“Just days ago, he escaped from the hospital.”

— At that moment, it felt as if even the room’s temperature dropped.

“Miyagi-san, you’re not suggesting…”

Duanmu stared at her in shock, feeling his throat go dry.

“The one who killed this person is…”

“That’s right! Duanmu-kun, you’re so perceptive. That guy has apparently fled to this city recently!”

Her tone was as casual as if discussing a new shop opening in the neighborhood.

“If we don’t find him, there might be trouble. Why do I say this? Because this guy is completely useless waste of space. His mind isn’t clear, his body is disabled, and although he has the instinct for killing and hiding… he’s not some remarkable being. Plus, he’s a coward, the kind of social scum who should have died in the sewers long ago.”

“The reason he wasn’t discovered was simply because someone helped cover his tracks. Someone wanted to use him… or rather, use those serial killings to accomplish something more important. Such a disappointment, isn’t it? The serial killer who caused such an uproar turned out to be like this!”

Duanmu Liang listened in silence.

Though many questions arose in his mind, he had no intention of asking further.

“Miyagi-san, let’s end this detective game here. This kind of thing should be left to the police.”

He prepared to leave.

Continuing would just be a waste of time—

However, at that moment.

“Detective game…?”

Miyagi Aki, sitting cross-legged on the tatami, tilted her head in confusion, then showed a look of sudden realization.

“Landlord-san, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not some detective from a mystery novel. To be precise, I suppose I’m a person involved in this incident.”

She spoke with a smile.

“Eight years ago, after seeing him, I completely understood that he was a useless man. He wasn’t at all what I had imagined. So, because I felt deceived, I became a little angry… and decided to ruin his life.”

Aki’s pupils appeared dark and deep under the fluorescent light.

“And so, I personally had him committed to a mental hospital.”