Nishino Fuyu had lost all sense of time. Every day, she curled up in the corner of her bed, waiting for her brother to return. Her only entertainment was chatting with the little mouse, comforting each other. Sometimes, she would share bits of cookie crumbs with the mouse.

As Minamoto Tamako listened to her disjointed narration, her heart was full of mixed emotions—sympathy for Nishino Fuyu and anger towards that 'guest'... Clearly, that person had brainwashed the Nishino siblings, making them believe zombies had appeared outside.

She hugged Nishino Fuyu's shoulders, soothing her softly, "Listen to me, Fuyu, there are no zombies outside..."

"If you don't believe it, then never mind," Nishino Fuyu curled up on the bed, hugging her knees. "When I told the uncle at the convenience store, he didn't believe me either and even made fun of me."

"It's true, there are absolutely no zombies!" Minamoto Tamako relentlessly tried to bring her back to her senses.

"Then what about my brother?" Nishino Fuyu asked, raising her head in return.

Minamoto Tamako was momentarily at a loss for words. She stammered, unsure how to respond, and could only look towards Fujimura-kun for help.

Fushimi Roku was touching his chin, leaning against a basement pillar. His right hand, wielding a knife, was hidden behind his back, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing Captain Tamako seeking his help, he snapped out of his thoughts, cleared his throat, and asked, "When did your brother leave the house?"

"About... a few days ago, perhaps," Nishino Fuyu replied, looking bewildered.

A few days ago?

Minamoto Tamako recalled that the face-biting case had occurred over a month ago, which meant Nishino Fuyu hadn't been exposed to sunlight for a month and was unaware of the time changes outside.

"Is that so..."

Fushimi Roku touched his chin, sizing up Nishino Fuyu, whose uncomfortable expression only deepened from his scrutinizing gaze. She buried her face in her knees.

"Why are you staring at people like that!" Minamoto Tamako frowned, waving her little hand in front of his eyes.

Fushimi Roku ignored her and continued questioning Nishino Fuyu, "Can you describe what the zombies' cries sound like?"

Nishino Fuyu seemed reluctant to answer, but this big brother appeared a bit intimidating, and the policewoman seemed to be listening to him, so she forced herself to say, "It's like... Awoo? Something like that... I don't sound like it."

Minamoto Tamako thought it indeed didn't sound like it. Her cry was more like a little kitten's, which only seemed cute, not frightening at all.

Acting much like how Minamoto Tamako felt, Fushimi Roku persistently asked, "Since you haven't left the basement, how do you know it's zombies banging on the door?"

"My brother and they saw it," Nishino Fuyu whispered.

"Really? Did they explicitly say, 'There are zombies banging on the door outside'? Or did you deduce that from their tone?" Fushimi Roku asked.

Minamoto Tamako finally realized. Her subconscious believed children wouldn't lie, so she trusted Nishino Fuyu's narrative. But after thinking about it carefully, she noticed many contradictions in what Nishino Fuyu had said... Children might not lie, but they do say their perceived 'truth.'

Nishino Fuyu timidly said, "I-I don't remember..."

Fushimi Roku asked, "Are you sure you shot the zombie?"

Nishino Fuyu answered, "I'm sure."

Fushimi Roku feigned curiosity, "Can zombies die too?"

Nishino Fuyu explained, "Zombies can also die if shot in the head."

Fushimi Roku asked again, "Previously, didn't you leave the house? When you went out and came back, did you see the zombie's body?"

Nishino Fuyu said, "The zombie was at the front door. I left through the back door and came back through the same."

Looking as if he understood, Fushimi Roku said, "That means the zombie is still in the yard, right?"

Minamoto Tamako thought there was such a thing? Why didn't she see it when she came in?

Nishino Fuyu shook her head, saying, "By now, it should have been eaten by other zombies. They aren't picky with food; they'll eat anything that's meat."

Fushimi Roku asked, "What about the bones?"

Nishino Fuyu said, "I don't know. You can go and check."

Fushimi Roku spread his hands, saying, "But we didn't see any bones when we came in."

Nishino Fuyu wasn't surprised and casually said, "Then maybe a dog dragged them away."

Upon hearing this, Fushimi Roku stopped asking questions and instead beckoned to Minamoto Tamako. She glanced at Nishino Fuyu with some concern but still approached Fushimi Roku, curious to hear what insights he had.

To avoid alarming Nishino Fuyu, the two retreated to the stairs, and Fushimi Roku lowered his voice to say, "Did you notice anything?"

"Notice what?" Minamoto Tamako asked, "Are you saying she has serious mental issues? I did see that."

"What I mean is, she can justify her own story," Fushimi Roku scratched his nose, "I guess we're in trouble to take her away, so we'll have to have a doctor come over."

Minamoto Tamako didn't really understand, but as a captain, she couldn't display incompetence to her team, so she had to subtly ask, "Is there any cause-and-effect relationship in all this?"

Fushimi Roku didn't answer, instead directly asking, "How are we two supposed to take her away right now?"

Minamoto Tamako thought they could reason with her, and if that didn't work, they could take her outside to see the world for herself. By then, the lies would be self-evident.

Fushimi Roku, after listening, sneered and said, "It's not that simple. Did you forget? In her belief, most of Tokyo's people are unaware of the zombie virus outbreak and are living as usual. So even if you take her outside, she'll only grow more panic-stricken and anxious... She might even stab you in the back, trying to escape from the 'clutches.'

Minamoto Tamako thought it was absurd. She wanted to retort but found Nishino Fuyu's logical chain flawless, unable to explain the truth from her perspective.

"Moreover, the supposed door-banging by zombies is probably the community property management urging for utility payment; the zombie howls should be dogs barking, many in the countryside have dogs; as for shooting zombies, I guess she might have shot some animal..."

Fushimi Roku shrugged, "That's the optimistic guess. If we assume the worst, Nishino Fuyu might have shot and killed a person, and subsequently, the 'guest' and 'stranger' disposed of the body."

Minamoto Tamako felt a chill down her spine and couldn't help but ask, "Even if she's young, she should still be able to distinguish between a person and a zombie, right? She's already twelve!"

"Even adults can experience cognitive distortion. When the people around you repeatedly assert something that never happened, over time, you'll take it as a fact, and corresponding memories might even emerge in your mind. Moreover, ordinary people instinctively choose to believe what they want... Haven't you ever encountered situations where memories differ from reality?" Fushimi Roku asked with a sidelong glance.

"No, I haven't," Minamoto Tamako said, looking confused.

"Are you sure? Like those times you wet the bed as a child, isn't it true in your memory that you never mentioned it to me?" Fushimi Roku casually made up.

Minamoto Tamako was genuinely shocked, the hair on her head stood up as she frantically searched her memories, unable to recall ever telling Fujimura-kun about that.

What on earth?

Could it be that even she experienced cognitive distortion once?

Seeing her expression, Fushimi Roku thought she really had wet the bed as a child. He had just said it casually...

Before Minamoto Tamako could respond, Fushimi Roku continued his Demon whispering, "Think carefully... On that afternoon... when we were at home..."

Minamoto Tamako vaguely had a bit of recollection and tentatively asked, "Was it the day A-jun fell into the ditch?"

"Uh-huh, you're getting close," Fushimi Roku nodded.

Minamoto Tamako slapped her forehead and said, "I remember now, that day, I massaged your feet, you went down to walk the dog, A-jun fell into the smelly ditch, you bathed him, and I was talking about grandfather's stories beside, accidentally revealing it..."

"No, you didn't. I made it all up just now, just to illustrate that everyone lies to themselves," Fushimi Roku paused, then with a mischievous smile, said, "But now I know the famous future detective and police chief wet the bed as a kid."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.