Confinement King

Chapter 236: A Lone Battlefield

It would be unbearable if the situation were to become so ridiculous that another swapping is required.

I saw exactly how Junichi Kasuya was placed inside the statue that was originally supposed to hold the Confinement King, and how he was carried into the studio where Detective JK was waiting.

（This is where my battlefield begins）

I rushed up the steel spiral staircase beside the studio to the audience booth.

Overlooking the stage, there was a mezzanine overhanging the ceiling of the studio. It was a VIP seat, so to speak.

I had asked Chihiro Kijima to set up a simple sound system there.

It consisted of a microphone and a small mixer, which was wirelessly connected to the headphones Kasuya was wearing.

Next to the mixer, I rolled up the original procedure sheet and threw it behind me.

（He is a troublesome master, isn’t he? He never makes things simple for me）

I chuckled to myself in my heart.

When I remembered that unreliable look on his face, even though he had powers beyond human comprehension, a sigh of dismay, “Yare yare”, escaped from my lips.

（Well then, Claudia, don’t get your hopes up. I will deceive you happily）

According to the original plan, Fumio Kijima was not involved in the mysterious disappearance case. That’s how it was supposed to end.

However, that plan had to be changed.

Detective JK will reveal the true culprit in the mysterious disappearance case. But the true culprit is Junichi Kasuya not Fumio Kijima, and that’s the way it has to be.

I’m sure Claudia will feel happy to be in the spotlight.

After all, she will reveal the truth in front of the TV cameras.

Well, what fate awaits the girls after that, it goes without saying.

I first became aware of Detective JK’s ability to “detect lies”, and how to deal with it, not from Claudia’s edited videos, but from watching some videos on the Internet, where onlookers had taken hidden pictures of Detective JK with their smartphones.

Among the videos, there was only one.

The video was about where the detective JK declared it was a “lie”, but in fact it was not.

The author of the video claimed that the video was a fake, but of course it was not. It’s not that simple.

The guy in the video is the same scammer who was in the video that Claudia edited.

Apparently, this scene was cut.

『Your collaborator is Aiko-san, right?』

To this question, the cornered scammer replies, “This is ridiculous”. In other words, the answer is “NO”.

In response, Claudia shrugs her shoulders and says, “I guess he’s not lying”.

However, according to the comment of the poster of the video, the collaborator who was finally arrested was a person named Kimihiko Aiko.

At this point, I came up with a hypothesis.

Detective JK’s ability is not “the ability to detect lies”, but “the ability to know whether a subject is telling the truth or not from their perception”.

For example, a person named Aiko is misidentified as another person named Aiko. Or the person named “Aiko” gave a false name to the scammer, etc. Claudia may have read the situation where the scammer’s perception was not a lie.

Then, when it turned out that the scammer victim’s wife’s name was Aiko, I was convinced that this was the case.

That’s why, during my first interview with Detective JK, I kept two voice recorders in my pocket, one connected to my right earpiece and the other to my left earpiece via Bluetooth.

In the left earpiece were questions to which I could answer “YES”. The right earphone had a voice recorder that played questions to which I could answer “NO”.

In other words, I did not answer any of Detective JK’s questions.

I just answered a completely different question that came through the earphone.

There were four patterns of questions and answers.

1） Yes to a yes question = appears true to Detective JK.

2） No to a no question = appears to be true to Detective JK.

3） No to a yes question = appears to be a false to Detective JK.

4） Yes to no question = appears to be a false to Detective JK.

Although it is easy to put into words, this was a very nerve-wracking task.

After all, I had to choose the answer I wanted to show to the detective JK instantly by pressing the left and right buttons. If the buttons are pressed wrongly, I will be immediately suspected.

And not only was I tired, but I also had a miscalculation.

That is, the quietness of the bowling alley.

Because I had a pre-judgment that bowling alleys are noisy, I did not pay particular attention to the sound of the voice recorder being pressed.

And in fact, there was only one elderly couple playing bowling leisurely at the end of the lane.

Although there was the occasional sound of pins being knocked down, it was otherwise quiet.

Indeed, when I pressed the button before the two detectives arrived, I heard a loud click.

Therefore, I hurriedly borrowed a knock-off ballpoint pen from the receptionist and kept ringing it deliberately.

Of course, the sound of the ballpoint pen is not the same as the sound of the button on the voice recorder, but if I kept clicking the ballpoint pen in front of them until then, they would not be able to notice if the sound changed slightly during the process.

As a result――I succeeded in gaining the trust of Detective JK.

Claudia was so confident in her abilities that she never doubted me once I was in her pocket, and of course, I did not behave in a way that would make her doubt me.

Once again, I looked down at the sound system in front of me.

The light indicating the status of the headphone connection is green. No problem.

Then I switched on the microphone.

「Good afternoon, I’m from the sound staff. From now on, I’m going to ask you a few random questions. Think of it as a diversion. Answer yes or no. Please do not say anything else, please cooperate」

The outside sound is completely blocked by the headphones. All Junichi Kasuya can hear now is my voice.

（I realize how reckless this is…）

Again, I think so.

As Detective JK’s questions are going to be asked to Junichi Kasuya in no time at all, the difficulty level can only be described as Hell Mode.

I repeat, there are four cases in total.

1） Yes to a yes question = appears to be true to Detective JK.

2） No to a no question = appears to be true to Detective JK.

3） No to a yes question = appears to be a false to Detective JK.

4） Yes to a no question = Appears to be a false to Detective JK.

I assume which of these four patterns Junichi Kasuya will answer, and then have him answer in such a way that the desired landing point is reached.

I feel my consciousness boosting. My mind is already running at full speed.

In order to be able to respond to any question that comes along, I keep considering, loading, and stocking up on questions corresponding to these four patterns, anticipating Junichi Kasuya’s answers.

My brain started to consume glucose at an abnormal rate, instead secreting narcotics in a steady stream. My nerves are sharpened, and I feel my concentration increasing.

Suddenly, I remembered an interview with a strong hitter in a magazine I used to read.

In response to the reporter’s question, “How can you hit so hard?”, the hitter replied, “I think about how I can hit until my head gets fuzzy”.

At the time, the phrase “fuzzy head” was simply amusing, but now I can understand the phrase a little.

Looking down through the glass over the microphone, I could see a crazy scene of an Italian mafia-style detective JK confronting an Egyptian-style statue.

Claudia has given a list of planned questions, but I decide to ignore them.

If the questions are different from what is expected, I am sure to be confused and get stuck there.

What I should have is the image of shooting down each question.

I am the Aegis-warship, and Junichi Kasuya’s question is is an interceptor missile.

I must shoot down JK’s questions one by one, which were being asked to Junichi Kasuya to achieve the desired result.

『In this statue, we have a person who is believed to be involved in “the mysterious disappearance case”. Now then, Detective JK-san! Please ask your questions』

When the the host announced this, the lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on Detective JK and the statue.

And then…

『Please answer with a simple yes or no. About the mysterious disappearance case. You know who did it, don’t you?』

As soon as Claudia asks that question, I switch on the microphone and immediately fire off the question.

Now, my one and only battle has begun.