Not a detective

Page 127

He was lying on the beach... being scorched by the midday sun, the burning sand stinging his skin, which was very uncomfortable.

Asakawa Riku quickly stood up, looking around blankly, trying to regain his senses and find his way back to reality.

--what happened?

He didn't trigger [Time Reversal]?

This indicates that the shockwaves from the series of explosions did not kill him.

Perhaps because he was in the water, the power of the bomb's explosion was weakened, just like in the first reincarnation, there were no obvious wounds on his body.

No obvious wound?

Asakawa Riku immediately sensed something was wrong. The rag on his hand had come off, but his skin was intact; the previous burns and lacerations had completely healed.

How could this be... He remembered that injury; even with his current strong self-healing ability, it wouldn't have recovered so well in such a short time.

So, the "time reversal" wasn't triggered?

Has the "time reversal" been triggered already?

With his thoughts in complete disarray, Asakawa Riku felt a bit of a headache.

Could it be that his self-healing ability has improved again?

Or perhaps he was swept away by the tide for a long time after he fell into a coma, and more than just a day or two had passed?

That's all possible...

In any case, the recovery from his injury was great news for him. Not only that, he also felt that the exhaustion and overexertion had disappeared, and he had almost returned to his full strength.

“Very good…” Asakawa Riku clenched his fist. This was his most reliable weapon. As long as he had the strength, he was confident that he could deal with any unexpected situation.

However, speaking of which—

"Why did we return to this island?"

Asakawa Riku looked at the familiar beach. Needless to say, this was the place he had visited for the first time, and it was that strange deserted island again.

The beach, the jungle behind it, the tall trees—everything was familiar. He even knew how much further he had to go before he could see the village.

...So, it seems that we still couldn't prevent the brainwashing and kidnapping incident from happening?

Are the students already in that village?

Asakawa Riku instinctively felt resistance; he didn't want to confirm it, didn't want to admit his failure.

How is this possible! He clearly did it all over again! And he did it to the best of his ability!

Why did it still come to this?

A deep shadow flashed in his eyes. He sensed that what was happening on this island seemed to have exceeded his limits, as if something terrifying was shrouding him.

"Summer of the Crimson Ray...Summer of the Crimson Ray, that's right, Summer of the Crimson Ray! That book!"

He had his head down, then suddenly remembered something and abruptly raised his head.

Although what happened was so bizarre and incomprehensible, Asakawa Riku remembered that he was not without a chance of winning; he still had a chance. He had found the book!

That crucial book, the book that records everything! Last time he only flipped through half of it, and he had no idea what was written in the other half!

...What happened on the night of the Red Stingray Festival?

...The truth behind the villagers' belief in the sea god, the red stingray.

...The identity of the mastermind, his methods and tricks, and his motives for doing all this.

Since this is a mystery novel, all the mysteries will definitely be revealed at the end. Once you read the book, you will definitely be able to find the solution!

Asakawa Riku's breathing quickened. He couldn't help but feel excited. This was the chance to turn the tide. Fortunately, he remembered the key item at the most critical moment.

It was worth risking his life to dive underwater and bring it back—

Bring it back—?

Asakawa Riku picked up his right hand and realized that he had been holding a crumpled piece of paper in his hand all along. Had he selectively ignored it?

They still refuse to acknowledge this tragic truth.

In the violent explosion, he was unable to save the entire book, "Summer of the Red Ray." After repeated tearing and destruction, he could only manage to grab one page, while the rest sank to the bottom of the sea.

The printed words on the paper were barely legible after being soaked.

The events that occurred on that island remain unforgettable to this day, especially that night (which is now unrecognizable). Every time I think of it, it becomes unrecognizable.

[After returning to modern society, I would occasionally stick my head into (unidentified) until I choked and couldn't breathe, and I couldn't control (unidentified).]

The truth is so ridiculous; the entire island was (unrecognizable). Haha, those (unrecognizable) people aren't crazy; I'm the crazy one.

That night, I (unidentified) clearly killed the village chief, but the self-proclaimed (unidentified) detective exposed all my schemes.

After that, I was cursed (unidentified), and I suppose I can never escape (unidentified).

Therefore, by writing these last few words, I will (unrecognizable) end that sinful memory and forget that (unrecognizable) island.

[Unidentifiable].

This page has only a few lines of text, and there is no content on the back. Judging from the page number, it should be the last paragraph of the whole book.

Asakawa Riku stared blankly at these sentences.

That's it? After all that effort, this is all the ending we managed to preserve?

The despair and pain of the protagonist in the book seemed to erode his emotions as well.

"……hateful!"

After a few seconds of silence, he let out a long, angry shout, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it forcefully into the sea.

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Twenty-Five: Rampage

After venting his emotions, Asakawa Riku began to think about his next steps.

He was shirtless, being scorched by the midday sun. The heat and ultraviolet rays at the equator were extraordinary, so he decided to go to the shade of the trees in the jungle first.

"Who are you...outsider?"

Sure enough, he encountered Hirata Hirokichi, who had been brainwashed, along with two other people who were with him.

They said the same lines again and went through the same things.

The only difference was that Asakawa Riku, who was walking behind them, had a somewhat gloomy expression.

...He made his decision.

So, when he visited the village chief's room this time, he broke the original plot and chose a different path.

Asakawa Riku stepped forward, interrupting Kato Mio's rambling praise and explanation of the absolute gods, and said:

"Excuse me, could you please give me your position as village chief?"

"……what?"

The girl was stunned for a moment.

"How dare you be so rude!" Among the elders, Master Matsuyama suddenly stood up. He was tall and imposing, and strode towards Asakawa Riku, who had spoken rudely.

Asakawa Riku ignored him and walked over to the other side. In the instant the two made contact, less than a second later, Matsuyama-sensei, who was skilled in combat, fell to the ground.

Of course, it was just fainting.

Asakawa Riku thought to himself, it seems that without the buff from the Red Stingray Festival, the villagers only have the fighting power of ordinary people.

"You...what are you going to do!"

Kato Mio trembled uncontrollably. The bespectacled girl sitting in the village chief's seat finally realized how terrifying this outsider was.

“It’s very simple,” Asakawa Riku said calmly. “I want to become the village chief.”

...

Then, he spent several hours forcibly taking control of all the villagers.

Most of them rely on the influence of the village chief, Kato Mio. As long as they threaten her and use her name to gather the villagers, most of them will fall for it.

Asakawa Riku tied their hands one by one and forced them to sit in a row in the open space in the center of the village.

Fortunately, there were many ropes in the village used for weaving fishing nets, which were just right for tying hands together, and they were also very strong and wouldn't break easily.

Of course, a small number of villagers noticed something was wrong and tried to escape in a panic, but they were all caught by Asakawa Riku one by one.

Even in the jungle, even when hiding in the stream, one cannot escape this terrifying hunter, which sweeps across the entire island like a whirlwind.

He kept collecting villagers, throwing them one by one into the crowd, and then counting their numbers.

"There are 184 students in total."

"...You scoundrel, outsider! This is a plot to seize power, a rebellion, a treason!!"

An old man with white hair was shouting at the top of his lungs in the crowd.

Asakawa Riku coldly replied, "Kishida-sensei, I know you're a history teacher, but can something like this, at the village level, really be called a rebellion? Isn't that an exaggeration?"

He thought to himself, "Sure enough, even if these people have been brainwashed, they will remember the concepts and knowledge in their subconscious, including these words, which could not possibly have been uttered by the original villagers."

"Teacher, there are six people in total."

Continue counting the number of people.

Mr. Matsuyama has not yet recovered from his unconsciousness; it seems he went a little too far.

Asakawa Riku walked slowly around the crowd. It was dusk, and his shadow stretched long, enveloping the people, who uttered fearful sobs.

Perhaps in the eyes of these villagers, this outsider who suddenly barged into the village, this outsider who brought disaster and violence, was like a devil.

But he did not regret it.

He made up his mind: this time, he would use the violent methods he was most skilled at to solve the problem.

In the previous cycle, Asakawa Riku's soft-heartedness towards his familiar classmates and teachers led to him being surrounded during the final Crimson Stingray Festival, unable to break free and ultimately perishing. Now, with the memories of the previous time, he knows how dangerous the Crimson Stingray Festival is and he must not let the villagers enter that frenzied state, otherwise he will face nearly two hundred powerful enemies, against whom he has no chance of victory.

Therefore, Asakawa Riku's plan this time was to use violence to forcibly control all the villagers and prevent the Red Stingray Festival from taking place.

"Evil outsider, you will be punished by Lord Red Ray!"

"Waaaaah... Don't do this to me..."

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! We surrender!!"

Even if this approach would incur resentment, Asakawa Riku didn't care; he decided to play the villain.

Anyway, the students are currently in a brainwashing state, and they should forget this memory after it's over.

If we can just hold on until tonight ends, if we can just hold on until the rescue arrives, everything will be over.

He remembered that before the ship sank, Hoshino sent a warning email to Shinonome Suetsuki and the police, saying that if they didn't receive a report of safety within a day, they should be sent for reinforcements. In that case, if they could hold on for a few more days, rescue would surely arrive. Even though the ship had sunk, it shouldn't be difficult to find the nearby islands using satellite scanning.

With this hope, Asakawa Riku became even more determined.

……and many more.

...Star Feather.

Where is that guy?

He paused for a moment, thinking of something unsettling, and glanced at the villagers sitting on the ground. Sure enough, he found no trace of the girl.

Asakawa Riku held his breath, carefully examining each classmate's face, looking into their eyes and features.

Not only was her blonde hair missing, but even Hoshino, who was wearing a wig, couldn't be found. Just like last time, she had disappeared on the island.

...How is that possible!

Asakawa Riku couldn't believe his eyes. His experience this time was clearly different from the last one, so why did it turn out like this?

He thought that Xingyu from the previous cycle might have drowned in the shipwreck because the iron door of the room malfunctioned and she couldn't escape, so she wasn't on the island.

However, this time, Asakawa Lu Mingming had already pried open the iron gate and rescued her, even instructing her to take a lifeboat.

I had hoped that at least I could see her on the island this time, and maybe she hadn't been brainwashed, so I could have a partner to fight alongside... but it turned out to be all in vain.

"Tsk..." He clenched his fist, feeling a sharp pain.

Was he too late, and Xingyu didn't have time to board the lifeboat?

Or is there any other reason?