The rough sound of motorbikes stopping in front of a building stopped many passers-by. Parking, seven figures made their way into the building, passing by the large plaque where the title ‘Lectio Caritate’ was written.

Entering through the front doors, people dropped books from their hands in fear, moving out of the way in a hurry.

Nodding to her colleague, a girl at the front desk dropped the books from her hands and had a telephone in her hand, already meaning to press 911.

Yet the figures were getting closer.

Arriving at the front desk, the tallest of them pulled down his mask, a wry smirk upon his face. “Good to see you again, Ai. We haven’t been here lately; we were very busy. Right now, I need to ask you a favor.”

The librarian, Ai Dokusho, sighed in relief, putting down the phone. “Good thing you still remembered to whisper, redhead brat, since you’ve made your grand entrance like this. I hope you’re not bringing the police or the mayor with you.” She said with a raised eyebrow.

Yoru chuckled. “Glad to see you still have your sense of humor.” Taking her white blouse and corset in, covered by white bolero jacket, he whispered, “Having plans after your shift?”

“I had some, but then I was called in to cover for a sick colleague in the last minute. So I’m here the whole night. My date was rather disappointed, but he understood.”

Yoru nodded. “Good that he did, otherwise I would have a talk with him.  But now, all I’m asking of you is a larger room with a table. Maybe tables, if possible. Somewhere where we’ll be left alone in peace and quiet, where we won’t get interrupted. We’ll be hanging around here for a while now, we have some work to do and some papers to read.”

“What have you done now? Oh wait, I don’t actually want to know. If it’s important to you, here; you can stay in your old study, I assure you nobody will come to search for you there.”

“Thank you so much. I won’t bother you with anything else, maybe to bring me a book if I won’t be able to find it.”

Ai raised an eyebrow. “You? Won’t be able to find a book? You’ve been here almost every day ever since you were six, I’ve heard stories from my older colleagues. If anyone knows this place by heart, then it’s you. But of course, if there’s anything you need help with, I’ll gladly help you.”

Taking the stock of papers from the counter, Yoru let the others go before him towards the study, before following them himself.

Settling inside the room, the team took the documents out, sorting them out by relevance. There were some papers regarding the previous mayors, and the others were all about Mayor Takeshi. Yoru smirked.

“Oh, you better prepare yourself good, old man. You won’t know what hit you once I read all of this.”

Going through the documents, it’s been several days since they started studying. Shutting yet another book, Ryo sighed. “Just statistics in this one as well; the mayor had quite a lot of paid jobs to do, as well as handing out paid jobs to others. Just as we’ve guessed, he ran some dirty work behind everybody’s backs, mostly shutting down companies that stood up to him. But there’s nothing beside that.”

“Come on, there’s got to be something else as well. He must’ve written it down here somewhere, it’s not possible he guarded those like his own head from me just for statistics. I know these are important, but what I’m looking for has to be here somewhere as well. It has to be here.”

Luna and Shion looked at him with sympathy in their eyes.

“You’ll find it eventually, Yoru. I think you need a little break from this now. You’ve been over those papers without any rest for a few days now, even an engine brain like yours needs a pause. I don’t want to see you at this desk anymore. Go to rest.” Luna said sternly, pouring tea into the teacup.

“Here, it’ll help you relax a bit.”

Staring at the teacup, Yoru thanked her, leaning back into the chair. Rubbing his eyes, he watched as his best friend left the room, his mind seemingly wandering around. It irritated him. “I can’t focus at all. This is utter bullshit.”

Throwing one last look at the paper, Yoru stared at the words written down, his mind refused to understand any of it, yet it was also intrigued by what was written. So he picked it up again, and started reading that part, the part that seemed so utterly unimportant.

Taking a sip of tea, Yoru frowned. “Hold up, this is…”

Reading the lines, he’d noticed a typo, and a number by that typo. “147… what could 147 possibly mean? A page? Let me see it.”, he whispered.

Flipping through the pages, he found the page and started reading it. Yet nothing in the story made any sense, at least to Yoru it didn’t. The story changes its course from money statistics and the mayor’s supposed clients to a list of ingredients. “But ingredients for what?” Yoru’s mind worked through the chemical compounds. Many of the ingredients were something you’d usually find in medicine, but Yoru carefully examined it, finding an odd one out. Ethylene Glycol, a sweet-tasting, odorless chemical. Why would a medicine contain something like this?

“Poisoning?” Yoru guessed. “Whom did the mayor poison? Oh. Oh, I have you now, mayor!” Reading more, he flipped through the document, for what it seemed like hours.

Until he’d finally reached it. Something he’d hoped to find. All scribbled down in the mayor’s handwriting. The ugliest handwriting he’s ever witnessed.

“The previous mayor? Anzai poisoned him? I remember correctly, the previous mayor had died abruptly, and nobody had ever found the reason. They thought it was a natural cause, a cardiac arrest. Pulmonary edema maybe? Though those are all symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning, and he couldn’t have died out of nowhere. So that’s why dad…”

Stopping in his tracks, Yoru gulped. “Let’s just continue.”, he thought. Reading further and further, Yoru’s eyes have become wider and wider. No, he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Let poisonous gas into the house of the ex-mayor’s family? What else did the psycho do?”

“’Running for the mayor, I’ve had many enemies, countless fools who thought they could oppress me, outrun me, take me down. I’ve proved them all wrong. They’ve paid for their mistake. Those who would keep their mouth shut, have continued having a good life, and those who didn’t, have met their ends in the darkest depths of the city. Too bad, the water was always just slightly out of reach…’”

Yoru continued reading, whispering the words written on the papers to himself, not wanting to believe what he is reading. Poisoning the people in the dungeon, the mayor seemed to keep a detailed diary of the effect the poison had on the victims’ bodies. Delightful words describing the side effects and symptoms, relishing in pain and vomiting all over the dungeon floor.

At one point, Yoru shut the document book, throwing it on the table.

“Are you okay, Yoru? Do you need anything else?” The concerned voice reached him from behind. Inhaling, Yoru let the mental images he created disperse.

“I… need a break from this. I honestly can’t continue, for now, Yuuma. This is just so disturbing.”

Yuuma nodded, bringing the stack of papers and labeling them as “read” upon Yoru’s table. “We’ve highlighted and annotated the important information we’ve found in our parts of the document, so we’re going to leave it here.”

“Thank you for your help, all of you. You’ve done such good work these past few days.” Said Yoru, leaning upon the chair and covering his face with palms.

“You gotta take a rest now. Go walk around the library or something. I don’t want to see you with docs in your hands anymore.” Ryo appeared behind Yuuma, glaring at Yoru, who laughed.

“Alright, I’ll get lost in the library somewhere. See if I can find something new to read.”

Ryo and Yuuma nodded in unison.

Deeply in thought, Yoru passed by Ai who carried a stack of books. “Do you perhaps need any help with those?”

Ai smiled. “No, thank you. I can do it myself. Have you finished your work already?”

Yoru denied. “The mayor is too much of a psychopath to handle at the moment.”

“Well, you know what will help you the best. Go to the fantasy section.”

He chuckled. “You know me best, Ai.”

Picking books out randomly, Yoru read a part of each, none of which piqued his interest. But that was what he loved to do, that was what relaxed him the most. The smell of books, the golden-edged hardcovers, that’s an experience Yoru had craved ever since he was a child.

His long fingers tracing the titles of the books stopped at one title, one all too familiar. Yoru let out a small gasp, widening his eyes at the sight of an old fairytale collection.

A flash of a young man crossed his mind, the man with the kindest expression Yoru had ever seen in a man.

The man who read that book to him every night when he was little, the man who taught him to cook in small steps, the man who watched over him, raised him, loved him.

“Dad…”

“Hey, dad, can you read it to me again?”

Putting the pesticide away, Kazuhiro wiped away his brow. Smiling, he looked at his small child holding up a fairytale collection, the crooked, mischievous smile upon the child’s face.

“Yoru, why don’t you help me with these plants instead? We’ve agreed that I read to you when it’s bedtime.”

Yoru pouted. “I like it when you read to me.”

Laughing, Kazuhiro tapped the wet soil around his newly planted sunflowers, pushing the pot into the corner of the backyard. “Then, how about you help me water the plants first, and then we’ll go to the beach, and I’ll read the stories to you. Okay?” He added with a smile.

“Yes!” Yoru said, grabbing a little spade, already digging into the ground of a pot to plant a flower.

Guiding his child’s hands around the flower, Kazuhiro talked. “Remember Yoru; when you bury a body, always plant endangered plants on top of it so it’s illegal to dig it up.”

“Aren’t you a politician, running for the mayor or something? Should you give me such advice even?”

“I hope you never find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to defend yourself against somebody. But if I win the elections, I fear that some people might go after you. I’m aware some people don’t like me, and people who would want me gone if I won the elections. I don’t want them to go after you if that happens. I’ll protect you from them if something like that ever happens. Remember that in the world of politics, nobody’s hands are clean. People lie, steal, and kill to get what they want. I want to change that. The people in charge of this city have taken it way too far.”

“I want to give you a normal life, but if that fool Anzai wins, our lives are going to change for the worse.”

Yoru listened, his amber eyes wide. “Is he a bad person, dad?”

Kazuhiro looked at him, his face softening. His son’s eyes were the same as his beloved wife’s, who passed away shortly after giving birth. “He is a cruel man, who only seeks to benefit himself. I’ve had a chance to meet him, and I don’t like him. People like him always present themselves as benevolent, peace-loving individuals, but the truth is far from that. You never know what they did in order to keep their head on their shoulders.”

“I don’t want him to do something to you.” Yoru said, a worried expression on his face.

Kazuhiro’s eyes softened. “Yoru, don’t worry about me.” He said, taking his son in his arms and making soothing noises. “Dad will make sure nothing happens to us. He won’t do anything to you, even if I win the elections. I promise you.”

Yoru gripped his dad’s upper arms, rubbing his head against his chest. Feeling his worries disperse, oh, if only that feeling lasted.

Driving from a science fair, Kazuhiro looked in the rear-view mirror, Yoru reading the book with a dopey smile on his face, his father’s red scarf wrapped around his neck. He’d been cold, Kazuhiro scolding him for not bringing a scarf with him, before giving him his own.

“Do you like that collection so much?”

Looking up, Yoru said, “Yes, it’s so interesting to read.”

Concentrating on the road, lights flashed upon Kazuhiro’s face, blinding him for a moment. “What is that…?” he whispered, slowing down.

An old-timer suddenly changes its direction, turning around and moving towards Kazuhiro’s car. Honking, Kazuhiro pressed on the brakes, slowing down. But the old-timer hadn’t stopped moving. No, it only seemed to speed up.

“YORU, GET OUT! NOW!!” Kazuhiro bellowed, startling Yoru. “NOW!”

Jumping out from the car, Yoru turned around, yelling “Dad!” But it was too late.

The car crumpled from the impact, Kazuhiro’s head slamming forwards and backwards rashly, and he didn’t move anymore.

“Dad?” Yoru called, and Kazuhiro seemed to move his head slightly. Looking down, Yoru saw golden liquid flowing from the car and onto the asphalt. A door slamming and grunting made him look up.

“Mister, help! My dad is still inside!” he yelled, yanking the man’s sleeve.

The old man looked at him, pushing him onto the ground. “Get off me, little pest!”

“Ouch!”

His head thundering, Yoru looked up to see the man staggering towards the car, Kazuhiro slowly moving his head up. Trying to get out, his face filled with panic, yanking the doors and trying to restart the engine.

The old man prowled closer, and closer, Kazuhiro widened his eyes. He seemed to have said something, but Yoru couldn’t comprehend it.

Laughing, the man took a lighter out, Kazuhiro panicking in the car, trying to break down the window.

The lighter was dropped.

Fire spread where the gasoline had evaporated, reaching the car. Flames engulfed it, loud wails echoed from inside, and tears filled Yoru’s eyes. “Dad! Dad, run! Run!” he pleaded, he cried. But his father couldn’t hear him.

Breathing hard, Yoru turned to the man, his eyes wide at the delighted expression upon his face.

Maniacal laughter echoed the empty road, out voicing the burning fire and the dying screams. “You got what you deserve, Azuma Kazuhiro! Burn!”

Profanities and insults echoed the empty road, Yoru numbly staring at the large fire in the middle of it.

Flashes of lights and braking sound screeched behind him, but he couldn’t focus on it. His eyes were locked upon the burning car; the body couldn’t be seen anymore. Warm hands dragging him away, he fought against them, reaching towards the burning car.