Thin dark circles hung beneath Kotoha's eyes from being awake since before dawn. The delivery log analysis data displayed on the PC screen. GPS tampering evidence assembled through the night. Timestamp discrepancies. Update intervals aligned perfectly at exactly 6-second intervals in a straight trajectory—data no human could have actually run. Too perfect. Which meant it was fake. (If I can just get the pre-overwrite backup from the company server…) Kotoha closed the snack bag and stood. She pocketed the C-017 key. The curtain had been left slightly open since last night. Thin morning light spread across the direction of the Misono River. First, to Flower Shop Tsubaki. --- The shopping arcade was in its morning prep hours, steam and oil smells leaking from each storefront. Passing Sakura-do, Kotoha heard the sound of a steamer from the bakery workshop in back. She slowed her pace just slightly. Flower Shop Tsubaki was in the middle of opening preparations. Yoshiko, arranging flower buckets at the entrance, looked up at the sound of Kotoha's bicycle. Tsurumi Yoshiko—silver short bob, memo pad hanging from her neck. Someone who always knew something. "[surprised]I thought you'd come! When I got your message yesterday, I just knew!" "Do you know anything about Miyauchi Takuya?" Yoshiko flipped through her memo pad without hesitation. "[serious]Been bothered by it since last week. Three times on my way back from early morning restocking, I saw him" "Going into the prefab at the collection point. Alone." Kotoha's mind moved. "What time?" "[serious]Between 5:30 and 6. More than an hour before the delivery staff show up. And—" Yoshiko lowered her voice. "[whispers]He had a notebook PC with him. A work one. Second time I saw him, I could see inside through the window." Kotoha instantly connected that information with last night's analysis in her mind. Late-night access to the company server. Direct terminal login. Pre-overwrite backup of delivery data. (It's still there. Still on that terminal.) "I understand." "[excited]That's it? You're not gonna tell me the plan or anything?" "It's not at a stage where I can talk about it yet." Kotoha straddled her bicycle. While pedaling, she arranged the steps in her head. I can't do this alone. I need a decoy to keep Miyauchi outside. (I have to ask.) She hated asking. But just this once—. She pulled out her phone. Displayed Souta's number. Stopped for 3 seconds. She called. He picked up on the second ring. "[surprised]…You calling me? That's a first, isn't it?" "[serious]That doesn't matter right now. Can you come to the collection point prefab this afternoon? I need you to be the decoy." A short pause. "[serious]…What's the situation?" "I'll explain. But if I can secure the evidence, I can prove your innocence." Another pause. "[gentle]Got it. I'm coming." Kotoha hung up. Something stirred in her chest. Before she could think about what it was, she pushed down on the pedal. --- Early afternoon. Behind Misono Station rotary. Hakobell's temporary collection point—the prefab shed where C-area delivery staff picked up packages—sat quietly at the edge of a coin parking lot. Navy blue with the logo, a dull metal door. Souta was already there. Ash-brown hair, bright green eyes. The tips of his gloved fingers were cut. He saw Kotoha and nodded without saying anything. His face today wasn't a forced smile—his eyes were serious. "[serious]I contacted Miyauchi. Said I wanted to apologize directly about the service suspension. He texted back just now—said he's coming." "Keep talking to him outside. As long as possible." "[serious]How long?" "10 minutes. That's all I need." Souta laughed a little. "[gentle]You're definitely calculating this down to the wire, aren't you?" Kotoha didn't answer. She checked the back of the prefab, memorized the back door's position. Five minutes later, Miyauchi Takuya appeared in the alley. Thirties. Suit. Hakobell Logistics employee ID. The man with the smooth voice who'd been reading documents in the shopping arcade. His eyes were different today. Cautious. Souta stepped forward. "[serious]Miyauchi, thanks for coming. I really wanted to talk properly." "…In a place like this?" "[gentle]Standing's fine. I really am sorry about what happened—" Souta started talking. The moment he did, Kotoha slipped around to the back of the prefab. Back door. Unlocked. (Lucky.) She went inside. Dim. Stacks of cardboard, delivery lists, and—a work terminal on the desk. The power lamp glowed blue. Still running. Kotoha pulled out a USB drive. Inserted it. Searched for the backup log folder. She could hear Souta's voice from outside. "The worst delivery failure I had was when I left a package at the rotary and ran back at full speed, but while I was gone a pigeon landed on the box—" She heard Miyauchi's "…What?" too. Copying. 40%. Kotoha's knees started trembling slightly. (Why now?) Usually her body obeyed. But today her hands were cold, her legs weak. She was standing operating the terminal, but everything felt floaty. The USB slipped from her fingers. It made a small sound. Kotoha crouched and picked it up. Inserted it again. The copy was—60%. Souta was talking again outside. "That pigeon, it didn't react at all. Even when I pulled the package, it just sat there. In the end I had to get another box." Miyauchi said, "What are you talking about?" "[gentle]I thought if I told you embarrassing stories, maybe you'd feel better." "…I don't need to feel better." "Then can you listen to my second failure story?" "[sarcastic]Why?" "[gentle]Talking about it helps me calm down." Copy complete. 100%. Kotoha ejected the USB. Stood up. That's when she heard Miyauchi's voice from outside. "By the way—I think I left the key inside." "[serious]Oh, um, just a little longer—" "I'll be right back." The door opened. Light poured in. Miyauchi came inside. Their eyes met. One second of silence. Miyauchi's eyes found the terminal. Found where the USB had been. Found Kotoha. His face understood everything. "[angry]That—" His hand reached out. Trying to grab the USB. Kotoha was already moving. She pulled out her phone. Opened the Hakobell GO chat. Three registered contacts—Genichirou, Yoshiko, Masao Yoshikawa. Screenshots of GPS logs, graphs of timestamp discrepancies, IP address comparison data between resale accounts. All sent at once. "[cold]Sent." Miyauchi's hand stopped. "[angry]…What did you—" "[serious]GPS trajectory tampering evidence, timestamp forgery data, resale route connection records. All arriving on three phones right now." A voice came from outside the prefab. "[excited]It came through!! " --- People gathered at the alley entrance. Yoshiko came running—the moment she got Kotoha's data, she'd forwarded it to Genichirou and Masao Yoshikawa and run straight here. She was breathless. But her eyes were laughing. Behind her, a white-haired head. Genichirou stood quietly, holding a ceramic bowl. Masao Yoshikawa, owner of Maruyo Butcher Shop—71 years old, union chairman. A stocky man with a low, thick voice, standing in the alley looking at his phone. Souta watched from outside the circle. Kotoha stood at the prefab entrance. Miyauchi was behind her. There was nowhere left to run. "[serious]Listen." Everyone went silent. Even Yoshiko closed her mouth. Kotoha took a breath. Speaking carefully to avoid rushing, she laid out each word. "[serious]C-009—Kiryuu Souta's vehicle GPS update interval was locked at 6 seconds only during the problem delivery section. Real driving data is irregular. The trajectory's too straight—it's not data a human could have run." "[serious]During the time the package went missing, C-009 has raw data showing it was running north of Misono Mall. Data that's still in the backup I just copied. Pre-overwrite data, before it was tampered with." "[serious]The resale account's IP goes through a public Wi-Fi near the collection point, not Kiryuu's share house." Masao Yoshikawa spoke in a low voice. "[serious]…In other words—" "[serious]Kiryuu Souta didn't do it. The evidence was fabricated by someone with access to C-area data inside Hakobell." Everyone's gaze turned to Miyauchi. Miyauchi's face went white. That smooth voice from the shopping arcade didn't come out now. His lips moved slightly, but no words formed. Genichirou stepped forward. Without a word, he held out the ceramic bowl toward Miyauchi. Zenzai. Miyauchi didn't take it. Masao Yoshikawa operated his phone. "[serious]I'm calling the police." Yoshiko planted herself behind Miyauchi in the alley. Gripping her memo pad tightly, they formed a line blocking all escape routes. --- After that, something collapsed in the shopping arcade. The residents who'd been looking at Souta with suspicion until yesterday were now exchanging glances. Haruko Mishima from Harukaze Diner said, "I'm really sorry, Souta." The hardware store owner bowed his head. Souta was smiling. This smile wasn't forced. His eyes smiled too, all the way through. The moment Kotoha confirmed that, she gripped her bicycle handlebars. Gazes and gratitude were starting to gather. She hated it. Really hated it. She straddled C-017 and headed toward the arcade exit. "[excited]It's all thanks to Kotoha-chan!!" Yoshiko shouted at maximum volume. It echoed through the entire arcade. Residents turned around all at once. A circle of people formed in Kotoha's path. "…" She stopped with the bicycle. Surrounded. Her escape speed was slow. Always had been. Forever. Why was she like this? A tall figure parted through the crowd. Souta. Ash-brown hair. Bright green eyes. He carefully made his way through the circle of people one by one and came to stand in front of Kotoha. He took her hand in both of his. "[gentle]Thank you." Just one word. Kotoha's cheeks burned. Heat all the way to her ears. Before she could verify data integrity on her phone, her face was already red. "[serious]…Let go. The gratitude isn't necessary—this was just deduction." She tried to pull her hand away. But it wouldn't move. 3 seconds, frozen. Souta's eyes were smiling. She thought he'd say something—but he didn't. Just held her hand, looking right at her face. "[laughing]Isn't that more embarrassing than a confession~!!" Yoshiko got her volume wrong again. Kotoha yanked her hand free in that instant and pushed down on C-017's pedal. The circle of people broke apart. Kotoha ran toward the exit. "[laughing]Don't run away." Souta called after her, laughing. His voice came from behind. Kotoha kept pedaling. She passed the edge of the arcade roof, cleared the south end of the shopping arcade, and came out onto the road leading toward the Misono River. Autumn air hit her face. Still red. Still burning. She knew. She knew, but it wouldn't go away. She looked back just once. The circle of people remained at the shopping arcade entrance. Souta's back was visible. Yoshiko was saying something. Genichirou stood holding the ceramic bowl. Masao Yoshikawa had his phone to his ear. Kotoha turned forward and kept running. --- Corpo Mizuki, Room 201. Night. Sitting in front of the PC. She opened one snack bag. She stared blankly at her phone plugged into the charger. A video had come through on the shopping arcade group LINE—the one Yoshiko created that Kotoha couldn't leave—showing Miyauchi being taken away by police. Yoshiko had filmed it. Just before being led away, Miyauchi pulled out his phone and quickly typed something. Part of the screen was visible in the shot. Kotoha froze that frame. The recipient field. Only partially visible. "Sakaki" Kotoha stared at the PC screen. —Sakaki Food Industries. The confectionery maker from Saitama that had tried to steal Sakura-do's recipes. That case was supposed to be over. One unread message had come to her phone.