Chapter 53

Even I, a child, get excited. But when you think about it carefully, it's also the epitome of bad taste.

It was a peephole. A rather large hole that looked like you could fit five fingers in. Through it, I could see him sleeping peacefully in front of the sliding door in Room 201.

I was truly relieved that we weren't causing any trouble for Mr. Kamakiri. Then I quietly told the President.

"You knew about it pretty well."

"Or rather, I'm the one who opened it."

"Eh... Does the President's grandmother know?"

"Only Yachiyo-san and Kamezaki-san know... Kamezaki-san drops by to peek pretty often. Seems like she's got a thing for Mr. Kamakiri."

"Why would the others know and Grandma not know?"

"Well, Grandma'd be scary if she found out, but I still wanted something to talk about."

"Ah... I see... Just how important is having something to talk about..."

I decided to accept it, since he'd managed to keep the secret all this time. I tore my eyes away from the peephole and tried to start cleaning seriously again. The President was still peeping into Mr. Kamakiri's room.

He'd let out an odd voice from time to time. What was he expecting to see?

"Whoa... He rolled over. Looks like he's having a nightmare."

"Is peeping into someone else's house really that much fun?"

"Sometimes I even catch Kamezaki-san changing clothes here on the sly."

"...Let's get back to cleaning, okay? Otherwise I'll do something irreparable with the broom you left lying around, President."

I grabbed the broom and jabbed it at the empty air several times to show I meant business. Sensing my murderous intent, the President finally looked my way and said, "All right."

He'd finally gotten motivated.

Then, "Hey, everyone! Come outside!" a man's voice I didn't recognize called out. Wondering what was going on, the President and I stepped outside to find Kamezaki-san from Room 203, Yachiyo-san from Room 103, the President's grandmother who was also the landlord and lived in Room 105, and Detective Chikage all gathered in the apartment yard.

One more young man with a double chin was looking down at us from the second-floor hallway of the apartment, beckoning.

"Ah, you two come too! Something terrible's happened!"

"Y-yes!"

"You bet!"

I replied uncertainly, while the President answered as if he'd expected this. While heading down the outside stairs, I asked him for an explanation.

"President? Who is that?"

"Mr. Uriki from Room 205. Could be the biggest reason this apartment's so cheap."

"Reason?"

"He keeps pet cockroaches, and they escape pretty often..."

So we'd been drafted into searching for escaped cockroaches? But when I thought about it, it was important. If the other residents didn't understand, they might accidentally kill an escaped cockroach.

Maybe having an event like this where all the residents made a fuss was fine once in a while. These days neighbors were so cold they didn't even exchange moving greetings.

"This morning the cockroach I was raising escaped in the yard... Sorry. I know you're busy cleaning, but this guy's super important! Please! You two help too!"

I nodded at Mr. Uriki's request.

Detective Chikage was standing in front of the dump trembling, but all the other residents were raring to go. I didn't have the courage to refuse.

Even Yachiyo-san, her hair all messy, was waving her arms around searching in the grass. Kamezaki-san was searching the flowerbed with the President's grandmother.

"Grandma... Wasn't it the smell of mint that cockroaches hate?"

"Unfortunately I haven't planted any mint. Since they're omnivorous cockroaches, maybe they're eating the flowers..."

Mr. Uriki was searching the first-floor hallway. We were trying to think of where else the cockroach might go, and I glanced at the area near the dump's net. Something that looked like a shield bug was moving.

I was thinking "No way, it couldn't be that," when Mr. Uriki pointed this way and shouted.

"Ah, cockroach!? Near the dump! Everyone, don't step on it!"

Had I overlooked it? Detective Chikage, who'd been in front of the dump, turned pale and screamed.

"Noooooo! Get it, get it, get it!"

She ran straight from the dump to the edge of the apartment yard, grinding her teeth. She must have been truly terrified. The mere fact a cockroach was nearby.

Even Yachiyo-san looked puzzled, unable to understand her fear.

Mr. Uriki approached with a bug cage and deftly scooped up the shield-bug-like creature.

I reflexively pointed it out to Mr. Uriki.

"Why... That's a shield bug or something..."

"No, it's a banana."

"Huh..."

I couldn't understand his response and froze like a statue. While everyone else looked relieved, only I couldn't accept the situation.

Mr. Uriki said, "Thank you all! I've got souvenirs from my trip for you later, so please take them," while looking at the shield-bug-like creature in the cage.

"Hey, President..."

"What?"

"Are shield bugs and cockroaches the same species?"

"What are you saying? We wasted time on pointless stuff. Let's get back to cleaning."

"...The President's motivated to clean... The world's changed... What is this. While we were looking for cockroaches... It's a lie."

I have zero resistance to magical things. The mystery before me felt like it might make my brain short-circuit.

I received the so-called souvenir banana sweets in the yard, immediately tore open the package and popped one in my mouth. The gentle sweetness of banana slightly eased the fatigue accumulated in my heart.

I also accepted rice balls for lunch, restoring my stomach's condition.

After returning to Room 202, we continued cleaning. The day began to tilt before we'd finished making one room completely clean.

Around four o'clock.

"No matter how much you beat it, the dust just keeps coming. We can't do any more today."

"Yeah... Let's vacuum the room below and call it a day."

As we were talking like that, someone pounded on the door, shouting.

"Hey! Kamakiri-kun! Wake up!"

Holding the dust cloth, I cautiously stuck my head out from Room 202. Kamezaki-san was pounding on the door of Room 201.

"Kamezaki-san, what's wrong? It's a bit early for dinner..."

"No, I have to get ready soon. If I don't go to that good restaurant by five, it's no good... Maybe he's already asleep..."

She seemed to have tried calling Mr. Kamakiri on her smartphone. But the ringing came from somewhere else.

The President's grandmother appeared below, holding up a blue smartphone.

"Kamakiri-kun... He left his phone at my place..."

"Ah dear."

Kamezaki-san put a hand to her forehead in dismay. I suggested trying the home phone, and she exclaimed, "Ah!"

"I forgot about that."

"Right... but... no answer..."

The sound reached Room 202 as well. Probably coming from the peephole. Despite the deafening noise that made the apartment seem ready to shake, it was incredible he could still be asleep...

Mr. Uriki came to complain, "My nocturnal guys are gonna wake up." Yachiyo-san, who'd been talking to him, also came to Room 201.

Then from Room 202 came another "Whoa" of surprise.

"President...?"

"I tried to check through the peephole, and something like a horsefly suddenly appeared."

"So... what's the situation? Is he awake?"

"Wait a minute... Eh?"

The President went inside the sliding door to check on Room 201. At the same time, he said something unpleasant.

"What happened?"

Without a word, the President dashed out. When I looked through the peephole, I probably felt the same thing he did.

This is bad.

A messy futon. Him lying still with a hand pressed to his chest. And in front of him, a single hornet.

This is bad. Could this situation be...!

The President, who'd run back, gave me one order.

"Looks like only Kamakiri-san had the key... So we're breaking the door down!"

"Ah, yes!"

We immediately dashed out of Room 202 and hurled ourselves at the door of Room 201. When that didn't work, Kamezaki-san and Mr. Uriki joined in.

Once more, the President and I hurled ourselves at the door with all our might.

With a clank, the lock broke off and the door opened. We rushed straight to Mr. Kamakiri.

Mr. Kamakiri wasn't breathing.

I pressed on his chest and tried artificial respiration several times. Meanwhile, Mr. Uriki went to find an AED, and Kamezaki-san called an ambulance with her smartphone. Everyone tried desperately.

The President's grandmother rode in the ambulance with the sirens wailing.

We tried. We did everything we could.

But it was all in vain. Mr. Kamakiri's death was confirmed at the hospital.

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