Black Black Lotus ch4

p1
>>Falling...

>I-
>I'm scared.
>But living any longer is too painful.
>That's why I posted on that site...

>Don't worry.
>I'll save you.
>I'll watch over you until the end.

>Take care now.

p2
>Even in death, Black Rose-sama's charm can't be erased...

p3
>...
>Were there any replies when your friend posted on there, Fuuka?
>Several. Most of them were either trolls or sympathisers.

>But there was just one...

>You're Fuyou students, right? May we have a word with you?

>This place is...

p4
>the park Black Rose-sama called me to...

>Who are you?
>Excuse me. This is who we are.
>Do you know anything about the late Mayuzumi-san?

>...

>...
>Aside from her name and face, nothing.

>More importantly, didn't she commit suicide
>in the park further up ahead?
>Eh...?

>That's true, but we thought we'd check to be sure.
>Look at this.
>__!

p5
>Ah...

>That's the knife I dropped back then...

p6
>...
>Is that the knife Black Rose-sama used to kill herself?

>No.
>It's the same kind of knife,

>but it was dropped here in this park.

p7
>No way...
>So what? I've never seen it before.
>What about you over there?

>I don't...

>I'm sorry!

p8
>Ah... Erm.
>Guess we scared you, huh...

>What gives?
>We're done here, right? Come on, let's go.
>!

>Hey.
>If there's anything worrying you, come talk to us at any time.
>We'll be waiting.

p9
>Two of the same knife... And they were both Black Rose-sama's?
>Black Rose-sama had a knife and called me out?

>To try and kill me?

p10
>...-na.

>Earth to Renna!

>What's wrong? You look pale.

>I need to tell Fuuka...

p11
>Hey, um,
>Fuuka.

>The truth is...

p12
>It's amazing how you live by yourself.

>The landlord's a relative of mine
>and it's close to school, so it's convenient.

>Take a seat.
>It's curious how there was a BBL card left behind in the park you were called to.
>Maybe Black Rose thought you were the one who replied to her?
>But in the end, Black Rose moved to a different park and committed suicide there...
>Maybe she was called out by a direct message from the real killer?

p13
>How do you send a direct message?

>>Black Rose
>Clicking the poster's name takes you to a message box.

>You can get in touch with the poster!?
>You can, but you need a user account
>which requires a phone number.
>An account?

>So I tried sending a message myself...

>Eh?
>What about the phone number?
>I made an account with my own one, duh.
>Eeh!?

p14
>Ah, we need to swap numbers too.
>Eeeh?

>You don't wanna?
>I will...

>...But before I could get a reply,
>my account was terminated.
>Hmm~

>I try to log in
>and...
>>Submit

>>ERROR: This account has been terminated for violating the terms of service.
>Maybe sending a message reading "did you kill her?" wasn't the best idea.
>Eh!?

>Hah~
>Pretty laughable that a site like this has ToS, huh?

>...But if you need a phone number for an account, wouldn't they be able to find out who you are?
>Hmm~
>I guess only the admin would know?

p15
>Admin...

>I see. Even a site like this has someone running it...

>However, there is someone supsicious.
>The one I sent a message to.

p16
>>Understood. Will kill you.
>>name: Pale Pink Bud

>>I can't jump by myself, so I want someone to push me.
>>Comments (2)

>Fuuka, isn't this your...

>...Yep. And this is the one I sent a message to.

>A single emoji.... A troll?

>No, that's not it.
>>I wanna die. Somebody die with me.
>>Please get in touch. I'm serious.
>>no good either.

p17
>They resolved everyone's cases...?

>Yep. On top of that, their reply rate is really high.
>Pretty much all of their posts are replies.

>So yeah, once they reply, the matter is pretty much solved.
>No more posts show up after that.

>You mean they all died...? This many...?
>Cruel as it sounds, suicide is pretty common among middle schoolers.
>This one didn't reply to Black Rose's post,
>but they've been on this site for a while. They're there at the very start of what remains of the logs.

>That's why...
>there's a chance this person is actually the admin themself.

p18
>>For you who wants to die, and you who wants to kill.
>>Suicide Matching Site

>>name: Black Rose
>>I want you, who will remember me forever, to kill me.
>>Comments

p19
>Just looking at this post won't "solve" anything...
>>name: Shirano
>>I hate my weak self. Somebody please save me.
>>Comments (1)

>Carelessly sending a message to *** will just result in a ban.
>So how about this Shirano-san person?

>>Shirano
>>I hate my weak self. Somebody please save me.

>>Create new account
>>Name
>>Phone no.
>>Password
>>Submit

>Fuuka's amazing.

p20
>She acts to save her friend.
>But what about me...?
>>Create new account
>>Name
>>Phone no.
>>Password
>>Submit
>What is Black Rose-sama to me...?

>Kyaaah!

>It's White Rose-sama...!
>How lovely~
>White Rose-sama...

>Orihara Mashiro-san from the second year.
>Fufu
>She's the dazzling student council president who can do anything.
>She is often called the Second Rose of Fuyou...
>Second Rose...

p22
>Ah, so by "Second Rose", they mean she was side-by-side with Black Rose-sama...

>Class is starting soon, you lot.
>Eh~?

>Right~
>We're sorry.

p23
>Kyaa
>Kyaa
>The class rep is looking cool too.

>She's so smart and lovely.

>But I still think Black Rose-sama was the best...

p26
>...I wonder if she's seen it yet.
>For now, I should discuss this with Fuuka...

p27
>Eh...?

p28
>>Nice to meet you. Excuse me, but could you tell me about ***-san?
>>**:** is typing

>>There are some things she must never know...