Chapter 10: The Reaper Who Cannot Be Outrun

"Amamiya, here is your pay. Let's stay in touch if there's another opportunity."

"Thank you, Manager."

After accepting the envelope stuffed to the brim and offering a sincere word of thanks, Ren Amamiya turned and left.

The female manager watched Ren Amamiya’s retreating back, unable to stop herself from sighing with emotion.

"What a decent kid."

Having received his pay, Ren Amamiya did not leave Tropical Land immediately.

Although he detested unnecessary trouble, as long as his own safety wasn't at risk, he was curious to see the iconic scene involving that "Reaper" elementary schooler.

There was no need to get close to the roller coaster; he just needed to sit in a vacant spot nearby and wait for the outcome.

It was the perfect time to fill in his diary.

[My luck was truly terrible today. I came to Tropical Land for a part-time job, thinking there wouldn't be any issues, but who would have thought I'd run into trouble at the very end.]

[The Roller Coaster Murder Case... I never expected to actually encounter the very first case during today's shift. That Reaper is practically the source of all the crime in Beika City.]

[Though I suppose I won't be able to avoid them much in the future.]

[As a resident of Beika City and a student at Teitan High School, I probably won't be seeing a shortage of murder cases from here on out.]

[It’s not my business; better not to get involved.]

"If only I could take photos or record videos at a time like this."

Ren Amamiya couldn't help but think this as he wrote.

Suddenly, a new line of text appeared in the diary.

[Diary content can now be supplemented with photos and videos.]

Ren Amamiya was stunned for a moment.

"Huh, I didn't expect the diary's functions to require my own contemplation before they could be added."

"It seems this diary really has no guidance function at all; I have to dig it all out myself."

This was a problem he could have anticipated.

The fact that it had sat idle for a year without any reaction proved that the diary itself wasn't some kind of mandatory mission.

However, once he had made contact, this diary was no different from a mandatory one—after all, the benefits were simply too great.

Once one experiences benefits, one subconsciously wants more.

Humans, at the end of the day, are greedy.

Putting aside those idle thoughts, he began to study the photo and video functions.

[Camera Mode]

[Video Mode]

There were no buttons to enter these modes; as long as he willed it, the diary would enter camera mode, allowing him to capture whatever his eyes saw, including full-angle shots.

Honestly, this function was quite impressive.

Photos and videos captured could be stored directly in the diary without needing to be pasted onto the pages, and he didn't have to worry about memory space—this feature was incredibly useful.

Sitting on a roadside bench, Ren Amamiya locked his gaze onto the building housing the roller coaster, which was now guarded by police.

With a shift of his intent, a photo that looked almost like he was standing right at the scene was captured.

The photo was then pasted beneath the diary entry.

[The camera function is good, and the clarity of the captured footage is very high. This feature of the diary is truly excellent.]

[Now, it’s just a matter of waiting.]

About an hour passed, and the police team inside the roller coaster area finally emerged, though not all of them left; a small number of officers remained to handle the aftermath. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====

Regardless, the roller coaster shouldn't be expected to operate again today.

After waiting outside for a while longer, Ren Amamiya noticed one boy and two girls walking out from the roller coaster area.

The two girls looked terrible, even dry-heaving from time to time, while the boy appeared completely indifferent, looking full of energy.

"What a rotten day. Coming to an amusement park and seeing a headless... *hurl*..."

As she spoke, Sonoko Suzuki recalled the headless corpse she had just seen, and the head that was finally retrieved from the roller coaster tunnel; she felt acid churning in her stomach and nearly lost it again.

"Sonoko, please stop..."

Ran Mouri, who had been right there at the scene, felt just as nauseated.

Sonoko might not have seen the corpse with its head severed and blood spraying everywhere, but she had personally felt the sensation of blood splattering onto her neck.

Ran Mouri couldn't help but cover her mouth; she had already vomited earlier, but the urge to retch wouldn't stop.

"Is it really that dramatic?"

Shinichi Kudo looked at the two of them with a helpless expression.

"Wouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"I'm telling you..."

That line, "Wouldn't you be used to it by now," really struck a nerve with Sonoko Suzuki. Who could get "used to" seeing a corpse? They weren't police officers or forensic pathologists; how could they possibly get used to something like that?

"Hm?"

Before Sonoko Suzuki could finish her sentence, Shinichi Kudo’s peripheral vision locked onto a man wearing a black suit and a round hat.

"That man in black is the one from the roller coaster, but where is the other one?"

A detective's intuition told him those two were extremely dangerous. When they saw the deceased, they didn't look terrified or nauseated like Sonoko or Ran; those cold eyes seemed completely indifferent to who had died.

"Those two are suspicious."

The moment that thought was born, Shinichi Kudo immediately began running toward the man.

Only then did he remember Sonoko and Ran, glancing back as he ran.

"Ran, go home with Sonoko today. I have something urgent to attend to, I'm leaving first."

"Eh..."

Sonoko Suzuki’s eyes widened.

"That guy, you've got to be kidding!"

Leaving two girls behind in an amusement park where a murder had just occurred, and just running off because he had "something urgent"?

Her temper flared, and she grabbed Ran’s hand.

"Ran, let's chase after him and teach that idiot a lesson!"

"Eh?"

Before she could react, Ran Mouri was dragged along into a run.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, the laces on their sneakers suddenly snapped, causing both of them to stumble and nearly fall.

"No way..."

Sonoko Suzuki noticed her own shoelace had broken, and it seemed Ran’s had snapped as well.

Ran Mouri stared blankly at her shoelace, then at Shinichi, who had almost disappeared into the crowd, a sudden, ominous premonition rising in her heart.

This scene was captured in its entirety by Ren Amamiya.

PS: New book, seeking data. ===== CHAPTER 20 =====