New Case (2)

The next day, I stood in front of the door of the drama club with Iwasaki. It was just the two of us today; Ryou and Chibana hadn't shown up. I had written to Ryou about the case, but he replied that he was busy.

Anyway, it wasn't worth dwelling on. We had to concentrate on questioning the members of the drama club.

I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was surprisingly spacious and resembled a classroom. There were various decorative items scattered around, probably for filming, as well as boxes, a green screen, lights and cameras. They were clearly taking this seriously. At the back of the room was a table and a few chairs.

The club president, who was nearby, turned to us as we entered.

"Oh! Hi!" she greeted us warmly.

"Hi, Senpai," we replied almost simultaneously.

Eh, I should have asked her name yesterday; asking it now would be awkward.

She looked at us curiously for a moment, then quickly changed her expression. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course..."

"Well, you see, they're having a little argument..." She looked at the students standing further away as she spoke.

Iwasaki and I silently turned our attention to them as well.

Besides us, there were three other students I didn't know who were standing further away from us in the room.

A girl with black hair tied in twintails sat on a chair away from the other two, absorbed in her phone with an annoyed expression on her face.

The other girl and the guy stood a bit away from her, engrossed in their tablets, presumably reading something.

The guy wore glasses and had neatly cut black hair that barely reached his ears. His face was serious and focused.

The girl next to him resembled the girl with the twintails, but she was shorter. Her black hair was cut short, barely reaching the middle of her neck.

They paid no attention to us.

What could they be arguing about?

While I was pondering, the girl with short hair turned to the girl with twintails and called her name, Rina. Rina got up and approached them, crossing her arms.

"I know you two don't really like working together..." the girl with short hair began, "but..."

Rina cut her off "That's not the point... When it comes to acting, I can even work with him, you know that."

Were they referring to the guy standing next to them?

Although both girls seemed to be discussing him, he simply ignored them, focusing solely on the tablet in his hands. Similarly, Rina, despite mentioning him, didn't acknowledge his presence; her attention was on the other girl. It seemed as if they were deliberately avoiding each other.

I whispered to Senpai, "They don't get along?"

Senpai immediately realized that I was referring to Rina and that guy, and replied, "Oh... Yeah, they don't really get along outside of filming..."

Any conflicts between members intrigued me because they could be relevant.

"Really?"

"Well... Honestly, they never seemed close. But lately, since the school year started, they've become even colder towards each other."

"Hmm... I see... Who's the girl with the short hair?"

"She's a first-year student. The one in charge of the storage room. Her name is Miyu Mizuno."

"Shouldn't there be another member?"

"He's absent today."

"Ah... I see."

So, one of them is absent.

As I stood and watched them, I began to think that maybe this wasn't the right time to question them.

Not knowing how to approach them, I hesitated, and for some reason the club president was in no hurry to introduce us.

While I contemplated, the two girls continued their conversation. "Since that's the case, let's rehearse! You're good at romantic scenes! Watch and tell me if we're doing something wrong!" Miyu exclaimed.

"I said no, we should be filming today, not rehearsing," Rina countered.

"But we can't film without the costume," Miyu reasoned.

"You've answered your own question."

"But we have to make the most of this time, even if we can't film without the costume!"

"It's pointless anyway."

"Come on, big sis, please!"

Miyu called Rina her big sis… So they're sisters? That explains their slight resemblance.

"Eh... You've rehearsed this scene a million times..."

"I have to perfect this scene."

"Then why do you need me? You two can do it together."

"I told you that you're good at romantic scenes. And I also want you two to get along!"

While their conversation continued in circles, I decided to ask senpai, "Does Rina have a good relationship with her younger sister?"

"Yes... But Rina has always been so stubborn. To be honest, I sometimes feel awkward and insecure in front of her too, even though I'm the club president."

"I see..."

I immediately shifted my attention back to the three of them so that I wouldn't miss anything.

But apparently Rina got tired of arguing and finally stepped away from them. "It's not about him. I don't want to do this until the costume is found anyway," she said.

Miyu just stood there in silence, looking a little disappointed.

Judging by Rina's slightly frowning face, she felt a little guilty and tried not to look in Miyu's direction.

The guy who had been silent the whole time finally turned his attention away from the tablet, put it on the table next to him, and started walking in our direction.

Had he finally noticed us?

But it seemed as if his gaze wasn't directed at us.

Looks like we really came at a bad time.

Noticing this, Rina shifted her gaze to him and said sarcastically to his back, "Huh? Running away? Isn't that your scene?"

He only lowered his eyes slightly and replied without turning around, "Who cares, we're not filming anything without the costume anyway, just like you said."

As he reached us, he cast a strange glance in our direction, then opened the door and left the room.

Since he didn't take his stuff with him, I thought maybe he went to the bathroom or something.

Rina stood there with her arms crossed and an indifferent expression on her face before turning back to Miyu. It seemed as if she paid no attention to our presence.

"Sorry about that," I heard senpai whisper.

"It's no big deal."

"Like I said, they don't really like each other, but when it comes to acting, they're the best."

As the club president, she must have felt a little embarrassed, especially in front of someone new. Maybe that was why she tried to explain the situation to me. I wanted to assure her that it didn't bother me. But before I could respond, my ear caught the girls' conversation. "And you like someone like him?" Rina's voice suddenly rose.

"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

"That's the only reason you want to rehearse with him all the time."

"Ugh… You know already…"

"I just don't understand why you force me to participate in your rehearsals."

"He says he doesn't want to rehearse if it doesn't benefit him, so I suggested that you watch us and help us improve..."

"Really?"

"Yes... I think he wants to improve his relationship with you! Why do you hate him so much, sis?"

Rina just remained silent.

"You could help me, you know I want to get close to him!" Miyu exclaimed.

"We should talk about it later..."

Just as Miyu was about to answer, Rina's gaze shifted in our direction. Miyu, probably noticing this, followed suit, and they both met my gaze.

"So who are you? New club members?" Rina asked looking at us.

Finally, they had noticed us. Well, I doubted they had just noticed us; they probably already knew we were here, and yet our presence somehow didn't immediately stop their arguments. I guess we really came at the worst possible time.

"Rina, don't be rude, I told you about them, remember?..." I heard senpai's soft voice.

To avoid any possible awkwardness, I decided that now was the best time to approach them. "Am I distracting you?" I asked as we approached.

"Well, not really… Is this about the costume?" Rina's tone sounded a bit harsh, and I couldn't tell if it was a result of her temper or lingering irritation from the previous conversation.

Sensing her bad mood, I tried not to aggravate it, although I still needed to ask her some questions.

"Yeah, we're from the Mystery Club," I began, "Can we talk privately, Senpai, if possible?" I spoke to her respectfully and in a calm tone.

I decided that it would be better to question each of them individually, as I believed it would allow me to get more honest answers from them. I also wanted to avoid idle chatter and try to gather the information I needed more quickly, so they wouldn't have time to try to hide anything. Plus, given the already tense atmosphere, it would be better to resolve the matter quickly.

She hesitated for a moment, but then, apparently unable to find an excuse, just nodded and said quietly, "So stupid..."

Ignoring her comment, I headed for the door and she followed.