Once upon a time, there was a great demon who did all kinds of evil, and people called him "the choking man." ”

He has a body of nearly two meters, and his strength is immense, and he often wears black clothes from head to toe, and hides his creepy and hideous face with a hood and mask. He likes to hide in the toilet and attack lonely little girls, covering their mouths and noses with white cloths, strangling their necks, and hanging them from the beams of the house. The girls who were attacked by the choke man would smell a pungent smell the moment he pulled out the white cloth, and when the sinful white cloth covered their faces, the demon's black eyes would shed pure black tears to mourn the loss of the little girls' lives......

The black, sinful tears were the last sight these little girls saw before they died.

- BY Saotome Natsu

A hoarse child's voice echoed in the quiet hospital room, accompanied only by the clattering of the clock. The pale girl spat out the last word, and lowered her eyes to regain her composure.

"Really, really funny story......"

“…… Natsu, are you—Are you really awake?"

The two who hurried to the Natsu ward looked at each other, the corners of one mouth twitching, and the other sliding into a cold sweat. The little girl, who had woken up from a coma and was still very weak, lay on the bed, her clear green eyes looked at her sister hopefully, and tears of fear rolled in her eyes.

"Yes, is it true...... Natsu bit her lip aggrievedly, "that man's tears are really black, and he has no legs, and he walks without a sound...... Otherwise, Natsu wouldn't have been scared by him, woo......"

"It's okay to walk on tiptoe without sound, and it's normal that you're washing your hands and not hearing. Nao couldn't bear to touch her sister's head, "You were stunned by the anesthetic at the time, and you may have seen a hallucination in a daze." ”

"Natsu is not mistaken! cough cough cough...... Really, ahem, there is a ......" The girl's reaction became intense, and large tears dripped from her clear green eyes, "He really has!

"Okay, okay, little Natsu, don't say anything if your throat is uncomfortable. My sister and this brother Nioh believe in you," Aiko Matsuda on the side patted Natsu's head gently, turned her face sideways and smiled at the two people standing, "Isn't it?"

"You, you're right......" the two nodded like pounded garlic.

"Ahh Aiko clasped her palms together and patted it gently, her eyes narrowed into crescents opened slightly, and a hair-thin gap appeared under her eyelashes, "So, that's the end of the questioning case, okay......?

"Ah, ah, I'm tired after a busy day today, Natsu, I'll go back first, and I'll come back to see you in the evening. ”

"Then I'm leaving, take care. ”

The two teenagers bowed and retreated, squeezing out the half-open door at the speed of light comparable to ape, and rushed back to Nao's hospital room with rolling and crawling.

“…… It's terrible......" Nao gasped and leaned against the door, wiping a handful of sweat beads from her forehead, "Grandmother Aiko was obviously smiling, but I felt a strong murderous aura...... Compared to the teachers of the Okinawa dojo, it is even better!"

"It was unexpected. Nioh took a deep breath and rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans, "I feel a little sympathy for you when you live with such a dangerous lady every day, Miss Detective." ”

"It's worth sympathizing with Jinping, who has lived with his beloved grandmother for more than 20 years...... Or don't think about it anymore. Nao sat on the hospital bed and shook his head, picked up a document and looked at it, trying to suppress the creepy feeling, "Although Natsu is awake, there are few clues given. Do you really believe that the prisoner is a two-meter-tall, legless demon with black tears?"

"What do you say?" said Nioh, who glanced at her and sat down on the edge of the bed, "But Miss has been emphasizing the 'black tears', and the others are not to be said for the time being, but I don't think this one should be fake." ”

"Black ...... Tears...... Eyes ......," Nao thought as she bit the thumb of her right hand, "the prisoner was wearing a hooded trench coat and a mask, and I couldn't see his face above the mask from the angle I entered the door. However, Natsu's height is relatively low, so she may not be able to see it from the perspective of her looking up. But black tears, will the tears that ordinary people shed be black?"

"The point is—why is he crying?" Nioh pulled up the pigtail at the back of his head and swept it lightly across his cheeks, "The greatest possibility that a person weeps when he sins is guilty or fearful." But judging from the viciousness of the choke-necked man's attack on the little lady, it shouldn't be fear, if it's guilt...... Isn't it often that kind of situation where the prisoner kills his relatives or friends, and sheds tears of regret or unbearable tears when committing the crime. ”

"Is it psychology again?" Nao pouted, "If you say that, it's possible that the prisoner knows Natsu, or ...... Because you want to kill elementary school students, you can't bear it?"

"That's it," Nioh snapped his fingers, "None of the schoolchildren who were attacked in the previous incidents were harmed, except for the little lady, the prisoner wanted to kill her! ”

"Well, that would have been the motive for killing Natsu. Let's reorganize the whole case. Nao nodded approvingly, and took the materials on the bed in his hand one by one, "First of all, the incident that happened two weeks ago, the fourth grade elementary school student of the private green garden in Kakudo Town was found unconscious in a park about two hundred meters away from the school. She was wrapped around her neck with a white nylon rope with a diameter of 2cm, but instead of being strangled, she was comatose because she was anesthetized with ether. ”

"The next cases occurred on the third, eighth, and eleventh days after the first incident, and the facts of the cases were much the same. Nioh looked at the information from the side of Nao's neck, "The people who were attacked were all elementary school students, and the time was between 4:55 and 5:40...... The most incredible thing is that the primary school students who were attacked were all studying in private schools, and they were schools with secondary and higher divisions. ”

"Yes, I've thought of that, too, but why is it a private school?" Nao tapped on the information uncertainly, "And the time is strange, the prisoner only committed the crime within this hour. What does that mean?"

"There are two possibilities. First, the prisoners were those who were only free during that time, and second, Nioh curled the corners of his mouth and gestured two fingers, "The prisoners were aiming at those who were left alone after the club activities. ”

"According to the keywords above, 'private school', 'club ended', and 'single' all fit the characteristics of the attacked, so the next thing is the case of Natsu. Nao nodded approvingly at him, "Let's say the prisoner was going to attack Natsu, but in the process of stuning her with ether, she saw something she shouldn't see, so the killer wanted to strangle her to death." ”

"That can be understood," Nioh said, "and none of the other victims saw the back of the prisoner, but the young lady screamed when she saw the prisoner approaching her in the bathroom mirror." The prisoner is determined to kill her for fear of attracting attention from her screams, so he sheds tears of guilt in the process of stuning her, and this process happens to be witnessed by the young lady who is still a little conscious. ”

"Then, after I heard Natsu's screams and broke in, the prisoner fled without confirming her death, leaving the citrine behind in a hurry and causing the little hole. Nao curled the corners of her mouth confidently, "So as long as you wait for Kawako-san to figure out the true face of the hole and the crystal, you can narrow down the investigation circle very much." ”

"I think I hear someone talking about me!"

The door to the ward was opened, and a delicate woman in a purple suit walked into the room with a smile. She took off the pink sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, her red lips curled up happily, and she shook her hand at Nao, who was suddenly stunned, "Hi~ Are you thinking about me?"

"Chuan, Chuanzisan?" Nao swallowed and looked at the woman in front of him who exuded a mature temperament, how could she not connect her with the weak and elegant "bone girl" on the Kaihara Festival. Although Nao doesn't know any brand-name clothing or brand-name jewelry, Chuanzi's whole body shines with a light called "brand-name temperament".

"Good afternoon, are you feeling better?" Kawako walked to the hospital bed in a straight step, bent down to Nao's face, and stroked her cheek with her slender fingers, "Well, except that my face is a little pale, it seems that I have recovered my spirit." You can't do this kind of dangerous thing anymore in the future, Nao-chan~"

"Hi, hi......"

Nao looked at such a beautiful big sister, as if she had grown four arms, she was at a loss, and she could only nod mechanically, but her face involuntarily flushed with two clusters of redness. Nioh on the side remained silent, watching the interaction between the two with great interest, but when he saw Nao's sluggish appearance, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I said Miss Detective, what kind of face are you! saliva, saliva!" the silver-haired boy could barely sit still, and fell on all fours on the hospital bed shaking with laughter, "Hahaha!

"Nioh Masaharu ——!!!"

Nao reacted immediately, and the fiery red color burned from the bottom of the sea to the neck. It's nothing to see a beauty in a daze, but that beauty is of the same sex, and the person who watches the drama is a guy who is afraid that the world will not be chaotic? Nioh grabbed a pillow to block Nao's attack and stretched out a hand for help to Kawako, who was smiling so happily.

"I said big sister...... Whoa, are you just going to watch your own brother get killed?"

"My own brother?" Nao suddenly stopped his attack, and turned his head with one hand raised, "......What the hell are you?"

"Ahh The beauty in the suit raised her eyebrows, raised her arm and removed the wig that was exactly the same color as Kawako's, and then stretched out her right thumb and wiped it from the corner of her right eye, and a tear mole appeared in front of everyone's eyes as if by magic. And at the moment when the disguise was removed, the quality of her voice became unfamiliar. The woman with long silver curly hair gracefully put her hands in front of her legs, and Okinao nodded slightly, "First time we met, I am Nioh Masaharu's sister, Nioh Miku. ”

"This is, I'm Saotome Nao, please advise. ”

"Heh, eldest sister, what's today's topic?" Nioh sat up straight, habitually pulled up the pigtails at the back of his head, and raised an eyebrow at his sister, "TokyoDoll?" or OLfactory?"

"Tut-tut, it's nothing," Nioh Mirai shook his finger and stroked his long hair amorously, "Today's theme is the theme of 'Pretending to be a mature sullen woman Morikawako'. ”

"Hey, Hey, ......"

Looking at the interaction between the two sisters and brothers, Nao suddenly felt a deep sense of tiredness. She now finally understands where Nioh Masaharu's hot and cold temperament comes from. According to what he just said, this kind of disguise has become a part of their lives? If it was Nioh who sympathized with her life just now, now Nao is very sympathetic to Nioh's life. She sincerely hopes that in the future, there will be no such "guess who I am" drama in her relationship with Nioh......

Nao sighed and got out of bed and made tea very calmly, and when there was a knock on the door, she opened the door very calmly and said hello, and then sat on the chair with the belated Yanagi Hirus, and drank tea very calmly, watching the siblings complain to each other.

"Saotome-san, it seems that your body is fine. Yanagi held a cup of tea, smiled and pushed his glasses, "But bed rest is still necessary, is it okay to rest in such a noisy environment?"

"Ah, that's okay. Nao glanced at Yanagi, who was huddled in the corner with him, and took a sip of green tea, "I just lost some blood, and I didn't have much of a bad injury, I'm really embarrassed to let you come here to see me." ”

"Everywhere, we are also friends in trouble, and besides, I am also quite interested in the case of this 'chokehold'. Yanagi took a sip of tea and exhaled contentedly, "So, can you let me know about the case?"

"It's all here. Nao pulled out a stack of documents from behind him and handed it to Yanagi, "The key to making the case clear at the moment is the hole and the body of exhibit 1, if you know this, you can narrow the circle of investigation." ”

"This hole ......," Yanagi raised his glasses and spoke very calmly, "isn't it the mark caused by high heels?"

"High, high heels?!" Nao looked surprised, but she didn't expect that the traces that she and Nioh had been thinking about for a long time were seen through by Yanagi at a glance, "Is that for sure?"

"That's right, it's the heel of the heel. Yanagi nodded, "I once went with my father to treat a woman who twisted her foot and couldn't move, and she was injured because her heel stuck in the dirt and her center of gravity was unstable. It was a long time ago, so I remember it quite clearly. That trace is exactly the same as the one in the photo. ”

"...... so"

"Ah, Yanagi, when did you arrive?" Nioh, who had finished teasing each other with his sister, spoke out in surprise, finally noticing the fact that there was an extra person in the room, "Miss Detective and I were just discussing it, and there are quite strange traces in this case. ”

"If you're going to say the hole caused by this heel, then I've got it. Yanagi stood up and raised the bag in his hand, "All you need to know about is this orange granular object now." ”

"What about the case?"

"I've learned all the information. ”

"......So soon," Nao snapped.

"Of course," Yanagi smiled at her, "I'm an honor student. ”

"Wait a minute!" Nioh Mirai noticed the evidence in Yanagi's hand and walked over quickly. She took the evidence bag from Yanagi's hand and shone it into the light, her beautiful eyes with long eyelashes widened in surprise, "It's not ......"

"African citrine, we already know it. Nioh picked her up, "The key is what kind of ornament this crystal was originally installed in." Eldest sister, it's up to you!"

"This cut, this shape, this size...... It's not on any of the accessories at all!" mentioned his own specialty, and the light of Nioh's whole body radiated again. She picked up her heavy handbag and rummaged through it quickly, the books and materials in the bag rummaging through it. Eventually, her finger stopped on a full-color magazine, pulled out the magazine with amazing momentum, and spread it out in front of everyone's eyes with a bang, "It's this! Absolutely! It's the perfect collaboration between the chief jewelry designer of the Italian Mancaron Design Center and the international famous brand Christian Louboutin, and the magnificent work is released in limited edition for the first time in Japan!"

The color page of the magazine featured a pair of gold heels. The slender and long-shaped heel has an elegantly attractive shape, with six orange citrines above the heel that glows brightly in the spotlights around it. Nao, Nioh, and Yagyu, the moment Nioh Mirai took out the magazine, the sight of the three pairs of eyes was firmly captured by its unique refraction.

"Size, match. Nioh curled the corners of his mouth.

"Color, match. Yanagi nodded.

"The shape, there is no difference. Nao grinned happily, "It seems that the direction of the investigation can be determined, and the suspect is also fixed in a range - if it is really a 'limited' release as Mirai-san said." ”

"I can't be wrong with my observations!And luckily, your investigation can be narrowed down again!" Mirai stroked his long hair proudly, "This pair of Christian Louboutin's high heels is called 'Dream Broadway', which is also known as 'Broadway Dream', and its price is 19.93 million yen, and it is only available in Shibuya AT Plaza in Tokyo, and it is limited to five pairs in Japan. Without considerable strength and money, it is impossible to buy it. ”

"Five, five?!" Nao was ecstatic, "So, if the information is correct......"

There are only five suspects in the "choking man"!

The three teenagers looked at each other for a moment, and their eyes flashed with interest and determination.

"-To Shibuya!"