2 Chapter 2: Death Prevention Measures
There was simply no way Truth could be wrong.
"When am I going to die?"
「Tomorrow」
This friend who had been by my side ever since my inception, like a brother. He would never lie to me, so I knew his words were the absolute truth.
He would not―could not ever be wrong. It was strictly impossible.
Therefore, the fact that I was going to die tomorrow was the undeniable truth.
Having only recently turned seventeen, I wasn't even old enough to drive or drink alcohol legally yet... Well, not that I had any intention to, but still.
Could it really be possible for me to die so soon?
Well, in reality, it wasn't a question of whether it was possible or not.
It was simply the cold, hard truth; an inevitable outcome.
I've dealt with so many troubles in the past just to survive, but now I've met an unavoidable fate anyway? Wasn't it cruel?
...Or at least, that might've ordinarily been the case.
However, I wasn't worried.
I knew that I wasn't going to die.
I might be fated to die tomorrow, but who said it was unavoidable?
As mentioned previously, I have asked countless questions about the future. Naturally, the wonder of 'when I am going to die' was included in that.
However, the future has not always turned out the way it was proclaimed to be.
The future is not set in stone. Rather, it doesn't even exist yet, so it's quite flexible.
If someone who knows what is going to happen acts in such a way to change that future, then of course it will change.
If my future is to die tomorrow, then all I have to do is stop what is supposed to kill me.
It was never a question about 'when', because the 'when' will never occur.
I will simply not allow it to occur.
What I should really be asking was something else.
"Why will I die?"
「Murder; first degree」
"..."
It was the same result I had received many times before.
I felt a little uncomfortable as it had been such a long time since the last attempt, and I thought everyone had finally given up on me some years ago, but I suppose that was nothing more than optimistic naivety.
Even now, I fail to recall ever doing something so heinous as to earn a wrath so fiery it warrants death, but was this forever going to be my fate?
A power like mine naturally attracts such dark-mannered people, just as is the case this time.
"...Alright, then."
With one day to get ready, I proceeded to prepare for tomorrow.
"Who's going to kill me?"
Upon asking, an image of a dark-haired youth appeared in front of my eyes. He wasn't exactly a familiar face, but I felt like I had probably seen him somewhere before.
"What is this guy's identity?"
「Benjamin Whyte. 16 years old. 177cm. 54.7kg. Class 1-C. Locker #487. One parent, two siblings; one brother, one sister. Two cats; one Siamese, one Ragdoll. Address...」
―I found out the identity of the to-be culprit and his personal information.
"What are the reasons he is aiming for my life?"
「Greed, persuasion, wealth, reward, payment, scared, blackmail, threats, intimidation...」
―I found out the to-be culprit was coerced into making an attempt on my life.
"How does he plan to kill me?"
「Trap, explosion, rubble, crushed, school classroom, after hours, love letter, knife, stabbing...」
―I found out the method he would employ was to use a fake love letter placed in my school locker to lure me into an empty classroom after school, then blow it up and bury me under the rubble.
If that failed, he would simply stab me.
"Who coerced him into this?"
「Secret organisation, international crime group "Order of the Night-Time Chrysanthemum", recent underworld uprising under orders of a new leader...」
―And quite possibly the most important thing of all: who was behind all this.
There were some other fundamental questions as well, but I couldn't guarantee their answers would be any useful. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try.
"How do I prevent my death?"
My wording was very specific. If I only asked something like 'how do I stop this guy from killing me?', I wouldn't receive any answers that would protect me in the event of a second killer coming to get me.
And, of course, I already knew that if one person was targeting me, they most likely wouldn't be alone.
Such a pattern is a recurring trend in these kinds of scenarios, you see.
Fortunately, if I take out the main guy without an issue, then usually the other one will flee to report on what happened, so I don't need to worry about that.
Put simply, a generalised question is safer when I want a more generalised answer.
Since my death can come about in any number of ways, even if I do successfully prevent the main attack, then something I might not have thought about could result in my untimely demise.
I don't want to waste time asking a bunch of questions about different ways I 'might' die or how to keep safe from various things since that's just a bother, so I asked a singular, more general question instead.
The resulting answer was rather simple.
「Elimination of all threats before there is a chance for them to take your life」
In other words, I had to kill the people targeting me before they killed me.
It wasn't an unexpected answer.
It's not like I haven't committed similar deeds in the past―in the name of self-defence and survival, of course―but I had always hoped I could just lead a life that didn't require me to go through these kinds of bothersome things.
Perhaps I was naive in that sense, but since it is what has to be done, then so be it.
Just like back then, the culprits are bound to be the same kind of ambitious people who would love to use my Truth for their own personal gain.
However, also just like back then, I'll make sure they get what's coming to them.
Anyway, now that I knew what had to be done, I spent the rest of my time preparing for the next―and what was intended to be the final―day of my life.
I wouldn't let it go down the way they want.
❖─────❖─────❖
Arriving at school an hour early, I nimbly climbed the fence and made my way straight to the first-year lockers.
I took a route that purposefully avoided any security cameras just in case, but the majority of the cameras in the school were dysfunctional to begin with, so it wasn't a big deal.
[#487]
Eyeing the locker of my to-be killer, I smiled at the convenience of the fact that he attended my school. I guess that's why I felt like I had seen him before.
If it weren't for that, I'd have to go through the trouble of breaking into his house. His family members were all unrelated to this matter, so it would be a whole lot easier if I didn't have to deal with them.
It's almost always harder to sneak into the homes of people who own pets.
Setting my backpack down, I took out a vial one might find in a science lab or pharmaceutical office. What it contained was 100ml of an orchid-coloured liquid tinted so faint that it looked almost indistinguishable from water at a glance.
Unscrewing the top, I put on a white rubber glove from my pocket and, placing a drop of the odourless liquid onto the tip of my protected finger with a pipette, wiped it gently on the handle of the locker.
A minute later, and while it looked untouched if not a little glossy, the person who would come into contact with the liquid would undoubtedly not have it good once it entered their bloodstream.
This was because, once it got into your blood, it would quickly travel to your stomach and intestines and begin to liquefy them, causing all kinds of internal chaos.
I went with this method because I knew the guy already had a few scratches and light wounds on his hand from the two cats he owned; there was no room for doubt that it would work.
Sadly, I used up the last of my supplies from three years ago to make this, and it was only an emetic poison, so it wouldn't be lethal by itself, but that was for the best.
If I gave the guy a lethal poison right here in the middle of school, it'd be a disaster.
Most police forces have specialists with Measurements capable of detecting even the slightest abnormality in a corpse during an autopsy, so being able to trace it back to me is not entirely out of the question.
Of course, the prank-like trouble caused by the poison wouldn't be nearly enough to save my life as is, so I went to the nearest bathroom and put yellow tape over every cubicle except one, and inside that cubicle, I took a small black box from my backpack and hid it neatly within the cistern.
Alright.
With that all done, I waited for school to start.
Ring~!
Not long after the bell resounded to signal the school day's dawn, crowds of students entered the school grounds.
I caught a glimpse of the would-be killer Benjamin Whyte, and needless to say, he looked exactly like what I had previously seen through my ability.
Truth said he was a transfer student who belonged to class 1-C, meaning he was a year below me.
I still thought it was strange that someone younger than me was trying to kill me, but even if he was coerced into doing it by that organisation called the Order, I wouldn't show him any mercy for trying to kill me.
Not like that future has any chance of coming true now, though.
"...It's over."
The moment I witnessed him unsuspectingly grip the handle of his locker with those pasty white, grubby hands of his, I knew the mission was complete.
He seemed to take out a small, pen-sized object from within and hid it in his jacket with an obviously suspicious look on his face, but right then was when the trap I laid sprung into action.
A detonator?
I have one too, you little bastard.
"Oof...!"
Grasping the thin stick in my coat pocket, I calmly watched from afar as he clutched his belly and hurriedly fled from his unclosed locker and towards wherever the closest toilet was.
Slam-!
...Not yet.
I waited.
One second, two seconds... Only once fifteen seconds passed did I confirm that his buttocks would be firmly placed on that cold toilet seat.
"Ahem."
Softly clearing my throat, I prepared myself to not just act but to become the most convincing panicked bystander I possibly could, and without hesitation...
Click―
"Oh, no..."
―Boom-!
"...It seems like someone's had a bit of an accident..."
Like that, my "expiration date" had been postponed once more.
