This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 74. Borrowing Records

Chapter 74: Chapter 74. Borrowing Records

The clearing of vines and branches at the entrance didn’t take Beichuan Si long, especially during the winter when most of the tree branches were dry enough to easily snap or chop off.

Beichuan Si quickly cleared a path wide enough for one person to walk through.

He glanced at the towering glass doors in front, his dead energy materializing in his hand, then placed his palm on it.

Accompanied by a sizzling sound, a small hole was quickly burned through the door.

Beichuan Si decisively kicked the solid glass, shattering it with a loud crash!

The glass pieces that fell to the ground were tightly bonded and not very sharp at the edges; they couldn’t harm anyone.

So, Beichuan Si did not care, holding a flashlight in his hand, and ducked his head to enter the library.

The layout inside the library was simple; to the left of Beichuan Si was the lending desk, and directly ahead was the storage for books, with scenic walls on both sides of the storage area, hiding old desks and chairs, probably the reading rooms used by students back then.

Behind the lending desks on both sides, there were elegant, small spiral staircases leading to the second floor.

Fortunately, the library had been constructed with wind and rain resistance in mind, so most of the bookshelves remained as they were originally, only some had fallen due to insect damage and humidity caused by temperature variations.

As Beichuan Si had expected, Xucha High School had closed abruptly, and there was no time to move the books out of the library.

It was like a building forgotten by everyone, unvisited for ten years.

Whether it was ghost hunters livestreaming or thrill-seekers exploring Xucha High School, they only focused on the main school building, paying little attention to the secluded library.

People often seem to be drawn to fleeting wonders, yet they often overlook corners that might hide the truth.

But fortunately, in recent years, most enthusiasts of psychic spots had focused on the main building of Xucha High School. There were no traces of outsiders entering Xucha Library, which benefited Beichuan Si’s investigation.

Beichuan Si walked to the lending desk, where a large borrowing register lay.

This borrowing register differed from the spiritual remnants, diary remnants, and paper remnants found earlier; it could be captured and photographed by a cell phone.

He reached out and flipped it open.

Surname, class, student number.

The register looked to be about half a finger thick at a glance, starting from January 2008.

The records were still visibly clear.

"Student XXXX borrowed books on this date and returned on this date..."

Generally, that was what the record showed.

Within that year, several librarians had changed, and the handwriting had varied several times.

But Beichuan Si didn’t pay attention to those; he directly flipped to the records between September and October 2009.

This was the month when Ishikawa Kaoru’s murder case and the fire incident intertwined.

"Let’s see what the borrowing records reveal."

"September 1, 2009, Class 2-B of Shan Island Yangzi borrowed ’The Sherlock Holmes Detective Collection’... September 2, 2009, Class 2-B of Yuki Yamazaki borrowed ’Proper Techniques for Sanshou Combat’..."

Beichuan Si went through each page and line and surprisingly found the name Sakura Yuki on the borrowing register.

Sakura Yuki mostly borrowed collections of essays and ancient literature.

So, this girl was a literary type?

Beichuan Si raised an eyebrow, pausing his fingers instinctively. There wasn’t a single student from class 2-B who came to borrow books between September 10 and September 17, 2009.

Moreover, during that period from September 10 to September 17, 2009, not a single second-year student came to return books either.

The closest record was a second-year student returning a book on the 18th.

"September 10 to 17, 2009?" Beichuan Si took out his phone, flipping through the memos.

Just as suspected.

After September 17, 2009, the class 2-B fire incident occurred, and a week later, Xucha High School was closed.

"So what happened between September 10 and 17, 2009?" Beichuan Si put down the register, pondering in his mind.

The entire sophomore class hadn’t borrowed any books for a week, which was strange in itself. After all, in Japan in 2009, other than club activities, reading was the only way for students to pass the time at school.

Beichuan Si’s eyes twinkled as he delved into deep thought.

What exactly had the whole sophomore class been up to during that blank week?

Was it that no one borrowed books, or that no one could borrow books?

If I had been a sophomore at Xucha High School back then...

If I were a sophomore...?

As he pondered, a thought struck Beichuan Si, and he instantly grasped his own feeling.

He made a swift decision and started searching the annual schedule of Xucha High School on his mobile phone.

"Exactly as I thought." Beichuan Si murmured to himself as he put down his phone,

"It’s not that no one borrowed books; it’s that there was no way to borrow books."

From September 10th to 17th, 2009, what might have seemed like a regular week to others, was an unignorable period of time for the sophomore students at Xucha High School!

"The school trip," Beichuan Si’s eyes sparkled.

Yes, during the latter part of their sophomore year, Japanese high school students would go on a school trip intended to relax students so they could engage in the intense learning atmosphere of their upcoming senior year more effectively. Hence, no sophomore had any library borrowing records.

Beichuan Si felt he was one step closer to the truth.

As Beichuan Si pondered deeply—

A cold breeze swept into the doorway, stirring the white curtains of the library.

The spirits of Xucha High School seemed to celebrate in the shadows...

...

What exactly happened during the school trip that led Sakura Yuki to murder her classmates, with whom she spent day and night?

Beichuan Si didn’t want to delve deeper into this point.

After all, the current evidence was too scant, and this line of thought might even be incorrect.

"That girl could carry away a dead person’s arm without changing her facial expression; she might inherently have psychological issues, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she killed her classmates."

Beichuan Si didn’t linger at the entrance; he walked straight into the book stacks.

The flashlight’s beam swept across, and vertical light floated across the bookshelves.

Literature section.

History section.

Science fiction section...

Beichuan Si swept through each section but couldn’t find the area he was looking for.

"Since it’s not on the first floor..." Beichuan Si subconsciously cast his gaze to the second floor.

A circular dome, the entire second-floor platform in a curved arc, the floorboards jutting toward the center, leaving an atrium, with handrails around.

The only access to the second floor was that spiral staircase.

Therefore, Beichuan Si had no reason to hesitate and decisively stepped onto the spiral staircase.

The spiral staircase was quite sturdy and presented no other issues.

With Nishijou Kurenai alongside him, Beichuan Si walked up, lifting the flashlight again.

Health education section, other categories...

Finally, Beichuan Si found in a corner what he was looking for.

School history section.

This place might just hold the records of what had happened—

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