9 Chapter 9: Stranger at a not so Familiar Place
Emory's POV:
What previously was Caron's room had now become... a completely different place. The properties were colorful and eye-blinding. It was the complete opposite of what it was.
"So what did you try to steal? My dot patterned TV?"
The TV had lots of dots. It became difficult to spot where the buttons were. Who in the world would want to steal it?
"Or maybe my seven-colored clock?
The clock was very colorful, making it difficult to see where the clock's hands pointed. Where was this even sold?
"Was it the tiger carpet?"
The tiger carpet was fake, but still, the pattern looked nice.
"Everything is here. Isn't it obvious that I didn't steal anything?"
The man just shook his head at my answer while looking at me with... pitiful eyes?
"What was that for?"
"I'm surprised at how easy you let strangers walk all over you."
"What can I do? You pointed a gun at me..."
My arm was broken, and I got no weapon... Whatever I do, I would still be disadvantaged...
"Good, you understand your position. Wait a moment, and don't try anything funny."
The man went to another room, leaving me alone in this room. I could run away, but he could easily catch me in this state. I should talk it out to clear the misunderstanding.
While waiting for him, I observed the room a bit more. I noticed that even though the furniture was different, the setting didn't change much. Everything was different but somehow familiar.
"I'm back, glad to know I don't need to play cat and mouse."
The man put a first aid box on the table and took out some stuff... Wait, first aid box?
"Give me your arm, the injured one."
It was for me? I was confused, but I did as how I was told. He then started to treat my injured arm. But why? What did this have to do with anything?
"Uh..."
"What's the matter? Does it hurt?"
"No, not that... but..."
"Then, stop talking. I can't concentrate like this."
"Ok..."
I was a bit afraid about what he might do, but he didn't harm me this far. Still, I had no idea why did he do something like this...
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Sometime later, he finished treating my arm. It was not perfect, but much better than before.
"Thank you..."
"Glad you like it."
"...But why?"
"Why what?"
"You thought I was a thief, didn't you? That's why you wanted me to prove that I wasn't one."
"That's right, and what's the problem?"
"You did nothing but treat my injury... I don't understand what you're trying to do..."
He was threatening me with a gun some time ago, but he didn't seem to care about it now. He just casually answered me...
"I knew you were not a thief from the start."
"What...?!"
"Nobody would rob a house with a broken arm unless they're stupid or desperate."
"Then?! Why did you do this?!"
"You were suspicious. I wasn't sure what you were trying to do, so I pulled a small joke to find it out."
"Oh god... You wasted my time just for this..."
"Let it slide, will you? I treated your injury as a sorry."
So that's why he treated my injury. It turned out well, so I couldn't even get angry at that... I was still annoyed, though...
"May I leave now? I wasted my time enough."
"You are searching for the one who used to live here, aren't you? If I remember her name right, it was Caron... I'm not sure how to spell her last name..."
"...How did you know?"
"Why else would a victim visit the house of his attacker? You are Emory Livell, aren't you? I wasn't sure at first, but now I'm sure of it."
"I see, you knew me from the news. But how did you recognize my face? The newspaper didn't include my photo."
"Maybe we read different ones. The one I read had your photo."
I didn't check every other newspaper for the same news, so I wasn't aware of that. I was afraid of how a stranger could easily guess my identity, but that explained it.
"So, are you trying to get revenge? You want to kill her?"
"There's no way I would do something like that! The news didn't mention it, but actually, Caron was innocent..."
"Are you drunk or what? You almost died because of her."
"I got that reaction a lot, but it was true... After all, I was the one who asked her to kill me..."
The man's expression seemed to be deep in thought before he told me to continue.
"...Go on."
"I... killed all her friends... So, I..."
"Felt guilty for it?"
I nod.
It was a story I had told countless times for the last few days. I had to keep doing it until Caron's innocence was proven.
"Is that a murder confession I heard? Do you think it's fine to admit that to unrelated people?"
"It was the truth."
"Whatever, I don't want to get involved in your mess. I regret that I asked at all... Pretend you never said that to me."
He was very cautious, so this apathetic attitude was unexpected. I almost forgot that normally people tend to avoid trouble.
"That aside, there was something peculiar left in this room when I moved in. Do you want to check it? It might belong to the person you're searching for."
"I'm not sure, but I'll take a look at it."
He went for a bit and returned with a box in his hand. He put the box on the table and pushed it towards me.
I opened the box and inside was...
"This is... my gun..."
"It's yours? Even though this was Caron's place?"
"I gave it to her when I asked her to kill..."
"No murder confession."
"Oh, sorry..."
I wanted to prove Caron's innocence, but maybe just like what he said, I shouldn't involve unrelated people...
"I'm grateful that you keep it safe, but why did you keep it instead of... doing anything to it?"
"I wasn't sure what to do with it. Throwing it away didn't feel right, but I didn't want any extra headache to get it to the police either..."
It was the gun that Caron used to shoot me. It would be bad for Caron if it fell to the wrong hand... I was lucky that he was being apathetic about it.
"At least, I don't need to keep it anymore since it turned out to be yours... convenient, isn't it?"
"Once more, thank you for keeping it safe."
"Sure, is there anything else you need to do here?"
"No, that's it. You helped me a lot, but I haven't know your name yet. May I know your name?"
"No, I don't want to get involved with you. Pretend we never met."
"Oh, Okay... Still, thanks for everything..."
I glanced at the window and noticed that it was still raining outside, but still, I should go home now. I had no umbrella with me, but I was already soaked before arriving here, so it didn't matter.
Just as I was about to walk outside, something poked me from behind. It was... an umbrella?
"You don't have any, do you? I have extras."
"Huh? There's no need to..."
Before I could reject it, the stranger closed the door with a thud, leaving the umbrella in my hand.
"Keep it. Just don't come back here."
The stranger said. His voice faintly could be heard from behind the door.
Even though he said he didn't want to get involved with me, he still helped me a lot this far. Someday I should pay back his kindness... If he allowed me to do so...
However, I shouldn't get used to this. Most of the time, getting involved with strangers could end up badly. I was lucky that everything turned out fine for now.
I opened the umbrella. It was difficult to do it with one hand, but I managed to do it.
The umbrella opened, and the shade of green, red, with a tint of black appeared... The umbrella had the color of watermelon...
Why were his belongings looked so weird? Still, regardless of how it looked, it was functional as a normal umbrella. I was already soaked, but it was nice to have an umbrella since the rain was heavy.
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When I arrived at my apartment, the first thing I did was check on my gun. I was going to need it soon, so I should give it maintenance.
I disassembled the gun piece by piece, checking the condition of every single part... with only one hand. I was going to be stuck doing it like this for a while, wouldn't I?
Huh?
Something slipped out when I pulled out its magazine. It was a small piece of rolled-up paper.
I unrolled the paper and found a written message on it.
'If you regret your betrayal, take down the one who made you do it.'
It was... Caron's handwriting.
