Operation Cheating Scene Paparazzi

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?” I asked, cutting straight to the point.

“Yes. Thanks to your update, I think I have a lead on where they might be meeting. I wanted to verify it with you.”

Toko-senpai pulled a tablet PC out of her bag. She displayed a route map of the Tokyo metropolitan area and placed it on the table.

“Our university is located between Nakano and Koenji. Tetsuya, Karen-san, and the two of us all use Nakano Station.”

I watched in silence as the map was spread out on the table.

“Tetsuya’s apartment is in Kinshicho, which is a single trip on the Sobu Line. Karen-san lives with her family in… Koshigaya, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. She said she usually commutes by transferring from Koshigaya to the Tobu Skytree Line at Kita-Senju, then to the Hibiya or JR lines at Akihabara to get to school.”

Toko-senpai nodded upon hearing this.

“I believe Karen-san has three possible routes between school and home. The first is the one you just mentioned. The second is via Ikebukuro and Shinjuku. The third is taking the Hanzomon Line from Koshigaya and transferring at Kinshicho.”

“She told me that transferring at Kinshicho is easier but takes a bit more time, so she sticks to her current route.”

“Right. But since Tetsuya’s apartment is in Kinshicho, I thought ‘just maybe.’ However, after hearing your story today, Yu-kun, I think that possibility is slim.”

“Toko-senpai, where do you think they’re meeting then?”

“My guess would be somewhere around Nippori.”

Toko-senpai pointed to the route map.

“According to my research, out of the areas they are likely to go—in this case, along the Yamanote Line—the order of places with the most love hotels is Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku/Ikebukuro, Nippori, and then Shibuya/Uguisudani.”

As expected of Toko-senpai. She had already gathered an immense amount of information. She didn’t have the reputation of being ‘top of the class in the second year of Information Engineering’ for nothing.

“Of these, I’m excluding Shibuya. It’s not on their commute. Also, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro carry a high risk of running into other students from our school. If they were seen walking through a love hotel district together, it would start rumors instantly.”

“I see. So, given that Kamokura-senpai transferred at Akihabara today, there’s a high probability it’s Nippori or Uguisudani.”

“Exactly. Since they are both students and don’t have much money to burn, I don’t think they’d go somewhere that costs unnecessary transit fees.”

“Between Nippori and Uguisudani, which one do you think they’d pick?”

“I can’t be sure… but if it were me, I’d choose Nippori. Somehow, Nippori doesn’t feel like it’s only for love hotels. It’s often featured as a gourmet spot too.”

“Alright, let’s narrow the focus to Nippori for now. What’s next? Should we wait at Nippori Station this coming Monday, since that’s the next day they’re likely to meet?”

“But Nippori Station has a North Exit and a South Exit. The South Exit only goes west, but the North Exit leads to both the west and east sides. Even if the two of us keep watch, one spot will be left open.”

Toko-senpai operated her tablet again and displayed the floor plan of Nippori Station. Indeed, the station had three main exits.

“How about we keep watch right at the ticket gates?”

Toko-senpai shook her head.

“That’s a bad idea. Watching people come through the gates is too conspicuous. If someone is standing right in front of the gate, people subconsciously look at them. If it’s someone they know, they’ll definitely be caught.”

Is that how it works? I hadn’t really thought about it. At that moment, I remembered Ishida’s face.

“Toko-senpai. I told you before that I mentioned this to Ishida, right? What if we ask him to help with the lookout? I trust him, and I think he’d be willing to help.”

Toko-senpai thought it over for a while.

“That might be our only option. Fine. I’ll talk to Kazumi as well. Depending on the situation, let’s ask the two of them for their cooperation.”

She agreed.