Confinement King

Chapter 233: Fumio Tutankhamun

Two updates + three additional chapters…

Thanks Deathmorphe for the support…

Originally, I was supposed to come to Tokyo not with the real Fujiwara-san, but with a devil doll, but somehow, the day before, I got a message saying, “Sorry, I have something to do!”.

I asked Lili about it, and she said there was no problem, and to be honest, I didn’t want to go with the devil doll either, so I was rather relieved.

After we arrived in Tokyo in the afternoon, there was no rehearsal. So, I decided to go to the studio after a short detour, since they said they didn’t mind if I came in at the last minute.

Although Fujiwara-san insisted that she wanted to go to “Marukyu(⑨)”, it was too much of a challenge, since I was alone on the outside.

I persuaded her with my knowledge that “Marukyu(⑨) is no longer a sacred place for gal” and forcibly changed the destination to Nakano. Having been longing for this place personally, I decided to enjoy strolling along Nakano Broadway.

Although the tour was a bit otaku, Fujiwara-san, who was “boo boo” at first, ended up enjoying it with a lot of cackling, so I guess it’s okay.

At Nakano Broadway, I bought as many manga and figures as I could with the money I had saved up for the occasion.

Then, while Fujiwara-san was in the bathroom, I summoned “the door”, threw the purchased items into “the room”, and explained to her that I had sent them home by courier.

I was satisfied. Confinement King is very satisfied.

The only problem was that when I went to the bathroom, Fujiwara-san tried to follow me into the men’s room, taking advantage of the fact that other people couldn’t see her.

「How dare you hide something from me!」

「No, let me hide that part!」

Fujiwara-san seemed to like this exchange, and to be honest, it was annoying to have to repeat it every time I wanted to go to the bathroom.

Finally, we arrived at the Roppongi studio, holding a map in my hands, at 6 p.m., an hour before the start of the broadcast.

At the reception desk, I told them the name of the program I was going to appear on, and a young man who looked like an assistant director came running out to show the way to the dressing room.

On the door of the dressing room, there was a piece of paper with “Kijima-sama” written on it with a magnet. Apparently, one room could be used by me alone.

Inside the dressing room is a Japanese-style room, with bento and tea on the table. There was a rather old-fashioned TV near the wall.

「Well, I’ll send someone to call you when we’re about to start, so please relax until then」

With that, the Assistant Director left in a hurry.

（As I thought, Assistant Directors seem to be absurdly busy…）

After taking off my shoes, I sat down on the cushion,

「Nya~n!」

Fujiwara-san lays down on my lap as if to say sweetly.

「I’ve walked a lot, my feet hurt…」

Anyway, the California gal in the Japanese-style room looks strange. Her lemon yellow bikini doesn’t match the scenery at all.

I chuckled, and Fujiwara-san suddenly let out a worried voice.

「Hey, Fu~min, are you sure you’re okay?」

「What?」

「Because, I don’t know if it’s just a random thing or not, but they can say all they want that Fu~min is lying, right? That detective JK. For example, “Fu~min was the culprit!”, would be better for the ratings…」

I involuntarily rolled my eyes.

（Oh(Ara), my(Ma), it’s unexpected. She has a good understanding of the situation）

This was quite a surprise to me, as I’ve always assumed that Fujiwara-san is an idiot.

She knows exactly what the risks are in this performance.

（…I guess that’s right. If Claudia-san insists that this guy is lying, anyone can be framed as a criminal）

Of course, Claudia-san’s ability has already been figured out by Shiratori-san.

Lili told me that she will make sure that Claudia-san can’t mislead the truth of her readings, but I’m not without my worries.

I was skeptical about appearing on this show in the first place.

I didn’t think it was necessary to take such a risk.

However, Lili said with a rather serious face, “For the future of Fumi Fumi, this is the critical moment, Devi”. And if Lili is that serious, I have no choice.

We’re already on the same side. We’re destined to be together.

「Don’t worry. Actually, Detective JK, whose real name is Claudia-san, is a friend of mine」

「Eh! Really!?」

「Yeah, that’s why this has been a farce from the beginning」

「Heh~? I see, I’m sorry for worrying」

She said, and smiled as if she was relieved.

We spent the next few hours flirting, and just before 7:00 p.m., I turned on the TV and the live special of the program “World Surprise Phenomenon” in which I was to appear started.

It’s not that I don’t know about this program.

The contents of the program are very fishy, but it is quite popular.

Every week, the show has been attracting attention for its aggressive plans, such as a contest between psychics to get rid of spirits, a contest to drain the water of Loch Ness, and a contest between psychics to incite each other to take psychic pictures.

In particular, the first words of the psychic when he conjured up the spirit of Oda Nobunaga was, “Ossu, Oda Nobunaga!” is still often seen on social networking sites.

That’s why the public’s perception of the show was that it was mostly a joke.

As I stroked Fujiwara-san’s hair and watched the screen in a daze, the host began to introduce the commentators.

『First up was the leading UFO researcher, Shunichi Yagamo-san! The most powerful psychic, Aiko Ginowan-san! Professor Omura, who claims that all mysterious phenomena can be explained by science! Our favorite idol who like psychic poltergeists phenomenon – Kumi Tanaka-chan of the idol group MMR108! Mike Hasegawa-san, a comedian who thought he was tied up late at night, but found himself underneath his wife who weighed over 100 kilos! Aoi Umidori, an actress who is so natural that she is rumored to be almost UMA herself! The above are just a few of the unique members who will be joining us』

Immediately, Fujiwara-san sat up and pointed at the screen.

「Ah! That’s Etsuko-san! Look, there’s that Aoi Umidori! She’s Yui-chan’s mother(Okaa-san), and she was our maid for a while!」

「Oh, so that’s her?」

「Yeah, I’m glad to hear she’s doing well. My stepfather(Ogifu-san) is probably watching her right now. Fu~min, I think Etsuko-san will become more and more visible on TV」

「Why?」

「Because stepfather(Ogifu-san), he’s going to make a phone call to someone high up in the TV station」

「Oh…」

While I was thinking that the powerful old man might do something like that, within a few minutes, the camera started to focus on Aoi Umidori.

（That’s absurd, that old man…）

This live special seems to be a special feature on psychics.

Every time there’s a commercial break, there’s a message at the bottom of the screen saying “Detective JK vs Confinement King――Detective JK investigates a case of mysterious disappearance! Coming right after this!” is shown.

While saying “right after this”, the program is dragged to the end, which is quite a cruel move.

Except for the detective JK part at the end, the program proceeds almost the same as the regular episode.

After showing videos of psychics from all over the world, the commentators start to discuss them.

In all the videos, the flow is roughly the same: UFO researchers claim that aliens are responsible, psychics say that spirits are playing tricks on them, and university professors deny all such claims.

While the professors and other commentators argue, a comedian tries to make a joke, Aoi Umidori makes a natural joke, and finally an idol adorably says “I-don’t-know(Wakannai)”, and when things get out of hand, the host says “Let’s move on” and the screen changes.

The time passed while I was absentmindedly watching, and when it was almost 8:00 p.m., there was a sudden knock on the door.

『Stand by, please!』

I heard such a voice from outside the door, and I replied, “Okay”

「Then, Fujiwara-san, I’m going to go, so please stay here and watch TV」

「Yeah, good luck! Fu~min!」

「I don’t know what I’m going to do, though」

With that, I kissed her and walked out of the dressing room into the hallway.

In the hallway was a different Assistant Director from the one who had come to meet me at the reception desk.

“Well, please follow me”, said the Asssistant Director, and I followed him to a room that looked like a bleak warehouse.

「Then, I’ll show you to your costume here」

（Costume?）

As I tilted my head at the Assistant Director’s comment, three men carried a statue of a pharaoh from the back of the warehouse.

「It’s the costume」

「Huh!?」

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the Assistant Director who said without hesitation.

Because that’s Tutankhamun! No matter how you look at it, it’s a golden statue.

Apparently, he wants me to enter it.

「No, it’s not a costume. It’s a set, right?」

But my protests were completely ignored, and the Assistant Director continued his explanation without hesitation.

「It looks pretty hot, but we have a small fan running inside. Also, please put on these headphones. You’ll be given instructions through the headphones, so just follow them and you’ll be fine」

「No, I’m afraid I can’t move…」

「Then. When it’s time to shoot, the staff will push you to the studio. This costume has wheels underneath」

（What’s a costume with wheels?）

◇ ◇ ◇

It’s been a long time since Fu~min left the dressing room.

On the TV screen, two women wearing dance masks, called “Detective JK”, are giving a demonstration.

（It’s amazing… seriously, they seem to know whether someone is lying or not）

I was watching it with my eyes fixed on the TV.

Whenever one of the commentators answered Detective JK’s question, the lamp projected on the edge of the screen would light up red or blue instantly.

It turned out that the ufologist really believed in UFOs, and the moment the psychic answered “of course” to the question “Do spirits exist?”, the red light came on, indicating that he was lying.

The psychic said, “This is bullshit!” hysterically but someone shouted, “Oh, it’s real”.

Ironically, the psychic’s attitude made it seem more true.

Finally, Fu~min appeared!

But then came the exaggerated music and lighting. In the midst of heavy smoke, a golden statue of Tutankhamun was brought in.

（Why, Egypt!?）

Etsuko-san’s comment, “My, it’s gorgeus, maybe on his own” was still puzzling to me.

「In this statue, there is a person who is believed to be involved in the case of the mysterious disappearance. Now, Detective JK-san! Please ask your questions」

The host announced, and the lights dimmed, revealing Detective JK and the statue (apparently containing Fu~min) in the spotlight.

And then–

「Please answer with a yes or no answer. A case of mysterious disappearance. You know who did it, don’t you?」

（Suddenly, such a question!）

As I gulped, I heard a muffled “No” from a man.

Immediately, a red light came on at the edge of the screen.