“Haa, well then, shall I get started?”
“No, why are you making such a determined face like a protagonist? My work is done, I ate dinner, and I even took a bath. For me, this is where the real fun begins… Why aren’t I sitting in front of the TV right now?”
After work.
I didn’t go home and came straight to Minami’s house.
And in a sense, I got myself refocused.
I cleaned, made dinner, and finished washing the dishes while Minami was in the bath.
“Give it to me.”
The only thing left is to talk with Minami properly.
“Give it to me, you say it after looking at my outfit? If I win, it’ll be lewd, won’t it?”
Then, facing each other directly and reaching out my hand, Minami makes a pose to try and deceive me.
It’s true that saying something like this to Minami in her pajamas might be wrong, but it’s completely obvious that she’s taking that attitude intentionally.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What Jiro-san gave me must have hit the mark. Is that, after all, not a report about Amelia-san? You just brushed it off back then because Amelia-san was there.”
After doing what needed to be done, I glare at Minami, determined not to be brushed off, and stare intently at her face.
“…”
“…”
After a few seconds of staring, Minami lets out a big sigh and rummages through a nearby bag, pulling out a familiar brown envelope.
“Haa, when you’re stubborn after winning, you’re really stubborn.”
The fact that her samurai speech has dropped and her attitude has become serious means that the contents are not that dangerous.
“Here, it’s a confidential document, so please remember it in your head.”
Reluctantly, I accept the document she hands me and turn the page.
“A ‘Survey Report on Hero Candidates’?”
The title is visible. The date is recent, and it’s quite thick.
It’s suspicious based on its content, but it can’t be helped.
I resign myself to the reality of my company and turn the next page.
“That’s a survey of Amy (chan)’s classmates. It seems the company was keeping an eye on them. I thought perhaps, so I asked Jiro-san to get me some compiled documents from Evia-san. And it turned out to be a bullseye! When I showed him the photograph Katsushi took, one of them matched.”
Minami had already read it, it seems, and was sipping the cocoa she had prepared earlier, looking uninterested.
Her gaze isn’t directed at me, but she seems to be listening, so I continue.
“Suzuki, Taichi?”
The person who matched was this person named Suzuki.
Looking at the second page, it was like a resume, summarizing his current situation clearly, and I read out the name written there.
“Amy (chan)’s classmate, a boy who also knows Jiro-san. In reality, he should have had his memories sealed and been living a normal high school life.”
At first, I didn’t know who he was, but as Minami explained and I continued reading, the story connected.
However, connecting the dots also brought more unknowns to light.
“You said ‘should have been,’ so is he not that way now?”
I ask again about Minami’s words, which were said in the past tense, but Minami silently points to the document, urging me to read on.
“‘Possibility of involvement with a religious group, requires observation…’ This is…”
It was marked with red as a warning, and the explanation that followed revealed suspicious recent actions by the high school boy, Suzuki Taichi.
“This is a parting gift from the recent mess that happened at the company. He seems to have started a religious group to build a base of operations on Earth, and he was active there. On the surface, it’s disguised as a legitimate organization, but it seems like they were engaged in all sorts of brainwashing activities behind the scenes.”
“And this boy is involved?”
“He’s somewhere between dark grey and black. There’s no concrete evidence, but the situation suggests it’s true. What’s troublesome is that this Suzuki kid can now use his abilities.”
“Abilities?”
“Yes, he shouldn’t be able to use them in an environment without magic power, but for some reason, he seems to be able to.”
“You say ‘seems to’? Isn’t it definite?”
“After all, it’s an ability that’s hard to notice.”
Saying so, and at Minami’s prompting, I continue reading and see the words “Lie Detection.”
“An ability to tell if someone is lying?”
“Combined with Jiro-san’s story, it seems to be an ability that only tells you whether the other person is lying or not. It’s not an ability that tells you how they are lying, but only judges whether they are lying or not, in black and white.”
I tilt my head, not quite understanding how this relates to anything.
I don’t think an ability that just tells you if someone is lying would have that much influence, but Minami seems to be saying this ability is dangerous.
“What’s dangerous about it?”
“It’s dangerous because it’s *not* a dangerous ability. Furthermore, an ability that you can’t even tell if it’s being used, but which yields considerable results when used. He’s left us with something troublesome.”
Minami leans back into her recliner with a heavy sigh, as if cursing.
For her, her expression unusually shows signs of exhaustion.
“His own power isn’t much, but depending on how it’s used, this lie-detection ability can be a trump card that deals fatal damage to our company.”
“Fatal damage?”
“Yes, it’s a fatal blow that could sever the relationship between our company and this world.”
Minami puts her hand on her forehead, complaining of a headache, and sighs deeply again to calm herself.
“Our company and this world’s interaction has only just taken its first step. But just because it’s the first step, there are still mountains of secrets between us. We’re slowly approaching each other, hiding the parts that are inconvenient for each side while searching for common ground, being careful not to step on any landmines. Naturally, there are opposing forces. But this negotiation holds together only because of a fragile balance that’s just barely keeping them suppressed.”
This man has the power to make Minami lose her smile?
I can’t imagine him being such a formidable person.
“If it’s that dangerous, we have to do something to contain it.”
But if Minami says it’s dangerous, it would be better to deal with it.
As I thought about how to respond, Minami asked me, “How?”
To my surprise, Minami, who usually comes up with solutions immediately, asked me, as if admitting defeat.
“Huh?”
I was so taken aback that I couldn’t help but stare.
Minami apologized for being mischievous, with a self-deprecating laugh, and then spoke again.
“As I said, that man is outwardly living as a normal high school student. If, hypothetically, we had informed the Japanese Government about individuals who were kidnapped to another world as hero candidates, do you think they could live their daily lives in peace?”
“…I don’t think so.”
“Exactly. They are beings possessing information and experiences about another world that would be desperately sought after in this world. If information about their sealed memories and their special abilities were to spread, their lives could easily be turned upside down.”
Minami said that the value of such information could drive people mad, and gently placed her finished cup down.
“If such beings are living peacefully, even if it’s outwardly, it’s because they are making sure not to reveal their connection with our company. Amy (chan) is also heavily disguised by the company, and they fabricated the story that they hired Amy (chan)’s mother first, and then hired Amy (chan).”
It seems that travellers to another world must be extremely cautious.
They were summoned to another world and returned.
Outwardly, it’s stated that they were almost kidnapped to a foreign country, not another world.
There’s no evidence left of our company’s involvement.
Outwardly, they are treated as victims caught up in an incident.
“That’s precisely why, if we were to carelessly try to suppress him, it would invite scrutiny. The cracks that would spread from that would likely only bring bad results.”
Even if you try to suppress a wound, that wound is a bomb and cannot be touched.
No matter how convenient magic is, it’s not omnipotent.
“Evia-san is trying to pull some strings, but we’re overwhelmingly short-handed. It’s not easy to suppress one person without the world finding out.”
Minami explains to me slowly, as if to make me understand.
“What’s more, thanks to this man’s ability to see through lies, we can’t negotiate carelessly either. It’s dangerous to honestly explain the situation and give information. So, what do we do?”
Even if we try to intervene, negotiations between governments are currently underway, so they are keeping a close eye on each other’s actions. If we were to do something superfluous, we could be tripped up.
“All we can do right now is monitor him. In case of emergency, we’ll likely resort to forceful measures, but he’s still just a student. Fortunately, even if he does something, we can suppress it. However, he hasn’t crossed the line yet. He’s acting like a normal civilian.”
Hearing that a single student stands on such an unbalanced border between nations sounds strange.
“Jiro-san is also sending guards over to Amy (chan)’s side, so I think it’ll be fine for a while. If push comes to shove, Amy (chan) can probably escape, and if she escapes to this company, she’ll be safe.”
As I listened to Minami’s voice, I continued reading through the report, which exposed a single person in detail, including their family structure, school grades, social circle, hobbies, and preferences.
“Are you a little more relieved?”
“Ah, with this, it should be okay.”
If the company has devised safety measures, there’s nothing for me to do.
I let out a big sigh of relief, thinking the conversation was over, when my eyes fell on a sentence in the report.
“Hey, Minami, do you understand what this part about ‘possibility of searching for someone among those listed’ means?”
“…Hmm, I don’t know. If the company couldn’t figure it out, there’s no way I would.”
“That’s true.”
I momentarily thought it might be a connection to the fact that Suzuki was watching Amelia-san, trying to find something, but if Minami doesn’t know, I can’t investigate further.
Is this the end of this story?
“Hmm, well then, can I play games now? There’s an event going on.”
“Don’t overdo it. You have university lectures tomorrow too.”
“Eeeh, I’m starting to feel like I could just drop out of university and get a full-time job at the company.”
“At least get a degree. The old ladies will get angry.”
“I don’t care about parents who neglect their daughters~”
Minami’s serious expression breaks, and she slumps down, utterly relaxed.
“Haa, I’m tired. Seriously, I just don’t suit being serious.”
“You’re the one saying that about yourself?”
“Since it’s about myself, I can say it.”
If she were always serious, people might look up to her more. Why does she live her life so flippantly?
No, she’s been living seriously during work lately, so she’s better than before.
“Ah, right. I should return the documents. I have to give them back to the leader tomorrow. If even one page is missing, it’ll be seriously bad.”
The fact that she now organizes documents so carefully is something unimaginable in the past.
Minami has really grown.
“Why are you looking at me with such kind eyes, like a parent, Katsushi?”
“I’m happy that you’re making an effort to organize and tidy up.”
“Are you really my parent or something, Katsushi!?”
“Lately, I’m starting to think that might be okay.”
“I absolutely forbid that!?”
“?”
This feeling might be called paternal affection.
An adult watching over a child’s growth.
As I see Minami leaving my side, one by one, I feel a little lonely, but that’s how it is.
For some reason, Minami denies that feeling, but…
“I just can’t help it!!”
I don’t understand the reason for it now.
I hope there will be a day when I understand.
“Well, whatever.”
Looking at Minami, whose face is a little red, playing games.
Today’s word:
Verify and feel relieved.
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