So I was standing at the back of the class, lazily looking around the room that was full of my classmates. My gaze stopped at the black-haired, glasses-wearing guy in the front seat who was reading a book at the moment. He's the smartest student in this class. And I approached him.

"Hey," I said as I stood beside him.

He glanced at me and responded, "Yes?"

"Can I borrow your pen?" I asked, smiling. "Just for a moment. I just need to fix my homework."

"Of course," the glasses guy said as he handed me his pen. He didn't suspect a thing. I tried hard not to grin because of that.

"Thanks, man," I said as I walked back to my own desk.

I sat down and grabbed my book from my bag. About fixing my homework, it was actually a lie. Look, I haven't filled out a single one yet. I grinned. But not for long.

With that pen in my hand, I can do it now. No, the pen is not special, but I am. I'm special.

Holding that pen, I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them, activating my power.

My surroundings, which were once filled with desks, chairs, and classmates, suddenly faded away and disappeared. Hundreds of floating, box-shaped objects appeared around me. They looked kind of like transparent boxes, like the holographic images you see in movies. Or like the status panels in isekai anime. On their surfaces, I saw images of past memories.

As you can see, I have a special ability, an unusual talent. I can see other people's memories by using objects as a proxy. And with this pen in my hand, I can see the memories of the glasses guy, including the memory from last night when he filled out his homework.

Do you understand what that means? With this, I can easily cheat.

I smiled and quickly filled out my book with answers.

***

I yawn, and walk home alone. My hands are buried in my pockets as I stroll down the deserted street. My mind wanders as I reflect on my life. It's far from perfect, with its fair share of hardships and difficulties, but overall, I consider myself lucky.

Although I have this remarkable ability, nothing significant has ever come of it--well, except for that one time with Pluto. But that's okay, I can just relax and live a quiet life. Sure, there are moments of boredom, but peace is priceless. Especially for a lazy guy like me.

Until that happened.

I was minding my own business when a figure in a black jacket came rushing towards me at full speed. Before I knew it, we collided and I was sent tumbling to the ground. The person also fell, but instead of apologizing, he quickly jumped back up and took off without a second glance.

"Hey!" I called out, but the figure just kept running. I sat there, stunned, as I watched him disappear into the distance. I couldn't believe it. He just took off without so much as a sorry. I let out a sigh and shook my head. 

As I was getting up, I wasn't paying attention and my hand brushed against something. In an instant, my surroundings vanished and I found myself surrounded by floating boxes.

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I was shocked as I gazed at the floating box in front of me. There was a bald teenager, who looked to be around my age, holding a knife covered in blood. Beside him was a blonde girl who appeared to be in pain and was whispering, "Mars... why?"

As I gazed at another floating box, I saw a scene that was all too familiar to me: a school corridor. I immediately recognized the classroom board with the label "2-H" written on it. And there was the figure in the black jacket and mask, sneering.

After taking in the surreal scene in front of me, I looked down and spotted an object lying on the ground. A bloody knife. I accidentally touched a murder weapon.

***

"Dammit, we lost him!" the man with a police uniform said, there's a scar on his face.

"Are you sure he ran in this direction?" the other policeman with beard, who appeared to be in a higher position of command, asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm not sure," the policeman with the scar replied.

And then, they noticed me.

I was taken to the police office and put into a small room, where a bearded policeman sat in front of me with a table in between.

He asked, "So, what's your name?"

I answered, "Geo."

"You know how bad this serial killing case is, right?" he started. "So we need cooperation from all parties, including you as a witness.

I tried hard not to sigh. I thought the police were stupid, just like in the movies, that's why I answered without thinking.

It happened a few minutes ago, when they found me.

"Sir, look," the policeman with the scar said, pointing at a bloody knife lying not far from where I was standing. "Isn't that the killer's weapon?"

They looked at me and I knew this was trouble.

"We are from the police department," the bearded policeman said. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Someone collided with me and dropped it," I said.

"That's the serial killer!" the policeman with the scar said. "Can you tell us more in detail?"

"I think his name was Mars," I replied. "He goes to the same school as me. He's a student in class 2-H."

After I said that, they started suspecting me and ended up bringing me here.

"But I already did my part," I complained. "I already told you everything I know."

"Then tell me, how do you know all of that?" the bearded policeman asked. "The killer wore a thick jacket with a hoodie and a mask, it's hard to identify his identity in these kinds of situations."

Yeah, if it was a normal person, they wouldn't have known anything. But I'm not a normal person. 

"Just in case, I already asked my subordinates to check your claims," the bearded policeman said. "But if it turns out he has nothing to do with this, you might end up as a criminal yourself!" 

He slammed his hand to the table. 

"Now do you see how serious it is?" the bearded policeman asked.

"I guess," I said.

He stared at me in disbelief. "But you don't seem to understand," he said.

No, I do. I'm just not worried because I'm not wrong. 

"Seriously, what problems do you have with this Mars guy?" the bearded policeman said, scratching his head. "To the point where you're willing to accuse him as a serial killer?"

"Nothing," I said. "I don't even know him."

"Hey," the bearded policeman said, looking frustrated. "If you're going to lie, make it a little more believable. You clearly know his name and his class. How exactly don't you know him?"

"So what?" I said. "You don't believe what I said anyway."

Yeah, at this point, whatever I say doesn't matter. Even if I told him about my power, he'd just say it's just another lie. 

Well, not that I would do that. I don't trust them, even though they are police. 

There was a knock on the door and the policeman with the scar from before entered the room.

"How is it?" the bearded policeman asked.

"Sir, I'm done checking," he said. "And this is the result."

About a month ago, the discovery of the dead bodies of young girls who had been stabbed shocked the community. Then, just a week ago, another victim was found, dead from the same cause.

People began to realize that this was a serial killing and the killer was a bald high schooler named Mars.

Based on the my memory I gazed, Mars' first kill was accidental. It's not clear, but it appears that Mars and the victim got into an argument, and the girl suddenly pulled out a folding knife and threatened him with it.

As he tried to disarm her, he accidentally stabbed her instead. This event seemed to awaken something inside of him, and as he stared at her dying face, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction. His smile was so wide, it looked like it would split his face in two.

At first he tried to hold back for a few weeks, but the urge get the best of him and he killing for the second time.

At first, Mars tried to resist the urge to kill for a few weeks, but eventually, he couldn't hold back anymore. He felt exhilarated, not only by the act of killing itself, but by the fact that the police were unable to catch him.

It was as if he was a superior being.

But that overconfidence led to his downfall. During his third murder attempt, he was caught in the act by the police, causing him to flee and made his worst mistake, colliding with me. 

That's what led to the current situation.

"Mars," the police with the scar said as he glanced at his small notebook, "male, 16 years old. He doesn't have a criminal record, but he can't be considered a good student either. He likes to skip class and has been in a few fights with other students. At this point, just a typical delinquent." 

The policeman with the scar flipped his notebook. "But what's interesting is his relationship with all the victims. The first victim was his childhood friend. People noted that they were not really on good terms and often fought."

He flipped his notebook again. "The second victim was Mars' classmate when they were in middle school. And the third victim, they knew each other not long, but people noticed that they were seen together a lot lately."

"I see," the bearded policeman said. "That is indeed interesting."

"There is not yet proof that he is connected to this case," the policeman with the scar said, "but he is suspicious."

"Yes," the bearded policeman said. "It's worth looking into more."

With a winning smile, I said, "So I'm right, or what?"

The bearded policeman didn't look too happy, but he finally said, "Fine, kid. You can go home for now."

"Can you just admit that I was right?" I said.

"Just go!" he said.

***