Chapter 220 - Psychopath
The interrogation room was a cramped space.
It was at most about six tatami mats in size, with a window installed near the ceiling.
And in the middle of the room, two desks were arranged facing each other. Surrounding them were four folding chairs.
With three police officers and me, the suspect, entering here, the capacity was pretty tight.
Incidentally, there was no desk lamp. Though you often saw those in old detective dramas.
It would be sitting there on the desk, and the tough-guy cop would use it to beat up yakuza.
...I guess they stopped having them to prevent that kind of trouble.
Violence during interrogations had been a problem since I was a kid, after all.
As I was admiring how the police these days consider the human rights of suspects too, the most senior officer spoke up.
"Well, make yourself comfortable."
He pulled out a chair and urged me to sit. Choosing the seat farthest from the entrance was probably to reduce the chance of escape even a little.
...Same with the window position, they were on high alert against the suspect's escape on multiple levels.
It came through from every angle that I was being suspected.
As if I could "relax" under these circumstances.
Letting out a sigh as I sat down, the end of the waist rope was smoothly connected to the folding chair.
Next, the youngest officer sat down and flipped open a laptop on the desk.
My statements would apparently be recorded on that.
Finally, the remaining two officers sat down facing me, and the interrogation was about to begin—but now, what should I do?
Let's see, I need to infiltrate the Tokyo Detention House, right? Sugitani-san is being held there.
In other words, it would be bad if I were found innocent here.
The female officers outside seem to be arranging things, so I might end up in the detention house without doing anything, but just in case, I'll pretend to be a dangerous sex offender.
As I was thinking in the exact opposite way of a normal suspect, the tough-looking officer asked in an intimidating tone.
"Why'd you make something like that?"
A man with a bad face.
Age-wise, he was right in the middle of the three officers, around his mid-forties. If he stood next to Gondo, you wouldn't be able to tell which one was the yakuza.
Maybe dealing with criminals all the time drags your atmosphere in that direction.
Well, for someone who's faced bandits and monsters in another world, a modern Japanese civil servant isn't scary at all.
So I answered in a completely normal tone of voice.
"Because I was interested in girls' bodies."
"...That's a surprisingly normal motive. Or rather, it's sensible for what you made."
Huh, seriously?
At this rate, I'll just be dismissed as some weird old guy who flashes his junk on the street?
That kind of thing seems like it'd be forgiven with a "Don't do it again, go home for today," and that's a bad trend.
Think, think.
How can I look like a depraved sex offender who deserves to be thrown into the detention house...?
I desperately used my not-so-great brain to squeeze out every pervert word I could.
"Hah. You don't get it, officer. When I say I'm interested in girls' bodies, I don't mean boobs or butts, you know? I'm only interested in the uterus. That's the place I'm supposed to return to. It's my home."
"O-oh? So that's why you had those 'Uterus Knocking Tickets' made?"
"Obviously. I like knocking on the uterine doors of young, innocent girls, forcing them open, and door-to-door selling my love. I'm a sex salesman."
I spread my arms wide, ranting like it was some kind of political speech.
"...This guy's off his rocker... how much darkness is he carrying... don't screw with me, you pervert! If you have a desire to return to the womb, go cry to your own mother! Why do you have to mess with innocent little girls!?"
"Aren't all younger girls mothers? Don't you get that after working as a civil servant for so long? Besides, there's nothing fun about relying on older women. Listen up? Older sisters are the ones you should be pampering. You put diapers or striped panties on them and treat them like little girls. That's what gets me going, why can't you understand that? You rely on younger ones, you pamper older ones. That's the right way to love a woman."
The latter half felt like my true feelings leaking out, but for now, I should look like a genuine sex offender.
"This is a bit... too much for Gen-san to handle. I'll take over."
The most senior officer offered. This man had a gentle face, with the look of a typical family man.
Probably, the original plan was for the tough-looking officer to play the bad cop, and this gentle one to play the good cop.
That way, the suspect would open up to the kind officer and spill everything.
It's a basic interrogation technique.
But since I turned out to be a more depraved pervert than expected, they probably changed the plan on the fly. To a plan for dealing with psychopaths, where the veteran takes on the burden alone.
"Nakamoto-san, I've been in this world a long time. I can usually tell what kind of person someone is by looking into their eyes."
"What do I look like to you?"
"...You've killed someone before, haven't you."
The interrogation room fell silent.
"Who would have thought the cheerful young man I always see on TV was a hardcore abnormal..."
As he spoke, the good-cop officer took a small plastic bag from his pocket.
A nylon bag with a zipper on top. Inside were the confiscated Knocking Tickets and a black pubic hair.
Hair?
"Huh, what's with this pubic hair?"
"Looks like human pubic hair. It was found wedged between the Uterus Knocking Ticket and the Nipple Knocking Ticket. It must be from the girl who made these tickets, right? I never thought you had such a fetish. ...By the way, is the owner of this hair still alive?"
It seemed this officer thought I was some kind of serial killer.
Being suspected of serial girl murders was a bit much, so I'll deny that.
"No, no, officer, I've never killed any girls."
"Never killed any girls?"
"Besides, this is my pubic hair. It must have gotten in there by accident."
"How can you be so sure it's yours?"
"Because Ayako-chan's pubic hair is a bit thinner and softer in texture, Rio's can't fall out since I shaved it days ago, Chloe's is a slightly brownish black compared to pure Japanese when you look closely, Angelica's is gold, Philia's is silver, and Erin never had any to begin with. If it's such a thick, firm black pubic hair, it can only be mine."
"Just how many girls' pubic hair are you keeping track of? And aren't there foreigners mixed in there too?"
This might be an international crime case, the officers nodded.
"Gold pubic hair aside, silver? That's an unnatural color in the natural world. Are you making them dye their hair down there? For what purpose?"
I'm not making them dye it, but for now, I'll fabricate a motive that sounds perverted to increase my chances of getting to the detention house.
"Gold pubic hair, silver pubic hair, slightly brownish pubic hair. That's gold, silver, and bronze, right? I'm recreating Olympic medals with girls' pubic hair. You know, with the whole Olympic mood going on?"
"Y-you should probably get a psychiatric evaluation, man...!"
The dumbfounded officers immediately decided to send me to the detention house.
Alright, it looks like I can successfully infiltrate Sugitani-san's location.
...I feel like I've lost something important as a human being, but if I rescue Sugitani-san, he'll probably cover it all up later, so I'll just think of it as a necessary sacrifice.