Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 6 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A long time back, I once asked Hiro about the difference between infatuation and love.

Hiro was a thorough gigolo--he could be wearing a Cartier necklace from his ex-girlfriend together with the Rolex from his second ex-girlfriend and Arnami clothes from his third ex-girlfriend, driving a BMW from his fourth ex-girlfriend, and then have a lover's tiff with his fifth ex-girlfrien. To be expected of a men amongst men (though there are people who call him a scumbag).

“You're in your Sophomore year of high school, Narumi, and you showed more talent than I did. I really want to teach your some skills here!” Hiro once said that when I was holed up at the usual gathering spot outside the back door of the kitchen, wolfing down the salt-flavored ramen.

“Let's promoto the way of the gigolo and rope in more buddies!”

“That'll cause a distrubance to society as a whole, so please don't. And having gigolos as buddies isn't really a good thing, right? Won't you be troubled if there's more of them?”

“That won't be the case. Didn't Motonari Mori once say that it's easy for a rope to snap, but difficult for three to break?”

“It's easy to break 3 too!” He's talking about arrows, not ropes!

Because of Hiro's personality, he had a unique viewpoint on relationship between males and females.

“In the trade of being a gigolo, the most important thing is how to control a girl's feelings!”

“You're talking about how to make her think of you as a boyfriend at one moment and a partner in another, dependiing on the time and place?”

Hiro widened his eyes, his lips quivering with emotion.

“I didn't teach you anything, and you already understood the ultimate skiill behind this...you are a genius after all! There is nothing else I can teach you!”

“Didn't you tell me that when you were drunk!?”

“No, I guess that this definitely is something I learned from you!”

This guy's starting to make up memories now!

“How do you make a girl treat you as a boyfriend? Don't you often stay over at a girl's place and take their money, Hiro? That makes you look like a lover there, you know?”

“This has nothing to do with money! The target of infatuation is a boyfriend, but for love, it's a lover.”

“Oh, so anyway, what's the difference?”

“You're saying that there's a difference in infatuation and love?”

I guess the only one I know who would say such a disgusting line unabashed would be Hiro. It was too embarrassing, and I decided to lower my head and not look at him.

However, Hiro answered without a second thought,

“There's nothing different. Both of them are lust.”

“That was unfiltered.”

Then what was with that tall talk?

“For example, no matter how you look at me, from right or left, I'm still Hiro Kuwabara, you know? That's the case. Infatuation and love are just two sides to lust. My job is to show women the side they want to see.”

He was able to round things off so perfectly. Of course, there was a likelihood that all of it was nonsense he believed.

Thinking about it, the words Hiro added on at the back was probably his true feelings.

“So...I'm unable to face them directly. If I meet someone I can face directly, I probably wouldn't be a gigolo.”

 

The reason why I thought of this was because Hiro's eyes were ever so serious when he said this.

Hiro went about at an abrupt speed, trying to convince everyone who was at the meeting at the bed in the NEET detective agency...he asked us to wreck the marriage, but how are we supposed to do that? What if that Huang Hong Lei has already set up a sweet trap for Min-san to fall into? If us getting involved was to be found out by her, she'll definitely ignore you, right? There's no meaning to this. Min-san only intended to be a replacement and didn't want to marry for real. In that case, shall we spread rumors of Min-san's flaws to the old heads of the Huangs? Like how her hands are hands and feet aren't clean, or that she can't hold her liquor? No, that'll make Min-san very pathetic. Shall we barge in on the marriage like Dustin Hoffman and swoop away with the bride! Idiot, they're mafia! We'll just end up getting carted out with holes all over us...

I stared at the sidelong face of Hiro wordlessly, and was only able to listen to their passionate discussion quietly. I didn't have the strength to interrupt. Why wasn't anyone retorting about this? Why was Hiro being so seriously?

Finally, Yondaime spoke,

“So basically, master was forced to be the substitute because of the debt her dad owes? In that case, can't we just find her dad and tell him to clean up his own mess?”

The surrounding stares gathered upon Yondaime, and the echo of the air conditioning temporarily overwhelmed the silence that filled the room.

“Our specialty is in finding people.”

Major nodded.

“But wait.” Tetsu-senpai interrupted. “So that means we're handing Masaru-san over to the mafia? He'll get killed, you kno?”

Amongst everyone, Tetsu-senpai was the only one who saw Hanada Masaru's face. Yondaime shrugged.

“He gets what he deserves, I guess.”

“Can't say that now? He's master's dad.”

“Definitely can't let Min-san shed any tears.” Hiro tersely stated.

“You idiot, how can master probably cry? Her dad's practically nothing to her, or even a load.”

“That's impossible. Min-san has tears and blood unlike you, Yondaime.” Hiro said. “And Masaru-san's going to be my sparring partner in the future!”

I felt a bowling bowl hurled right at the back of my head. Hiro's...for real. He's serious about Min-san. How's that possible? Wasn't he someone who was called a gigolo by everyone? Nobody actually retorted him. Does this mean everyone knew?

“Is this the time for such nonsense? This is your request, right? Calm down!” Yondaime lashed back.

“Eh, erm, wait—”

I was finally able to interject, yet Alice, who remained silent all this while, suddenly spoke up.

“No, let's do this.”

Everyone turned to look at Alice. The petite detective had her blanket draped over her shoulders, looking at me, before staring at Yondaime opposite her, and then to Hiro at her left.

“Let's do as Yondaime said. We'll look for Hanada Masaru.”

“...Why? Didn't you hear? Hiro said not to.”

“Don't you understand. I'm helping Hiro with the request, to look for Hanada Masaru.”

Alice's eyes were filled with starstreams that filled that night, that might break upon contact. I did see such eyes before, and so, I did not know what to say.

 

Work was quickly allocated, and once that was done, everyone left the agency. Alice and I were the only ones left in the cold server room. Dejected, I sat in front of the bed, staring blankly at the closed door.

“What are you spacing out for?”

“Ah—erm.”

This series of sudden scare rendered me unable to speak clearly. Hiro suddenly revealed his true feelings, and Alice's reversal of the request caused me to feel as though I was lost in a world of mirrors. Well, I would say that Hiro's reaction wasn't completely unexpected. Without knowing, he suddenly became an employee of Min-san at 'Hanamaru', but...

“Hurry up and work! Move 20 cans of Dr. Pepper over here. No need for them to be chilled.”

“20 cans...” Was she planning to drink them all? 7 liters of Dr. Pepper is about the total amount of blood within Alice!

“It might be fatal for me if I leave the bed now. This is an all out battle.”

“...All out battle/”

“Yes. I'm hacking into Huang Xiao Ling's system.”

I was shocked, and stared at the black hair covering the back of Alice's figure. Huang Xiao Ling, the one who came immediately to the office to put in a request after receiving contact from Min-san's dad, but her motivations and thoughts were still vague.

“You started to realize something too, right? That woman's hiding something.”

“Hm...I guess so.”

“She's probably still in some form of contact with Hanada Masaru. Probably knows where he is right now.”

Where Hanada Masaru was.”

And so, this became the current objective of our NEET detective agency. Alice made a request that Hiro agreed with.

“...What was that all about?”

I could only ask her. Typically, it was illogical for the detective to be the one asking.

“I'm not an ordinary detective. I'm a NEET detective.”

“I know that...”

“Once I receive a request, I can become the all-seeing eye that oversees the ends of all 3,000 worlds. Without receiving a request, I am merely an empty, silent window.”

“I...know that too.”

“This matter is a little strange. There are too many words shrouded in darkness, and Hanada Masaru is hidden at the center of it. I'm afraid that everything might be buried along with him, slowly rotting in the mud. Without receiving a request however...”

Alice's voice seemed to be yearning for something, only to vanish in the strong cold breeze.

I sighed, and went back and forth between the fridge and the bed, moving a large number of Dr Pepper, and stacking them in a pyramid.

She couldn't help if there was nobody who made a request.

A request would be the reason why this NEET detective would take action, and the shackle that bound her down. Alice said many times that the detective had to be limited to the position of a representative. The power of words is too powerful, it can shred, , carve, sculpt, or even shape a person's heart.

But despite this, I often saw her leap beyond that boundary, and got deeply hurt as a resukt. As I was as useless as a tattered plastic umbrella.

I knew how useless I was, but I tried saying to her,

“I once had a thought, I was sure that NEETs had to be either like this or that. Isn't it stupid that NEETs have to take action only when they're asked? That'll only make things complicated. I don't know how to stop Min-san from being coerced into getting married, and I don't know what we can do if we find Hanada Masaru...bu-but, we can't just leave this aside, right? He's Min-san's dad after all, you know? Isn't that enough reason to help him?”

I said that unabashedfully, and lowered my head, rubbing my palms on the pants of my uniform. I didn't spill anything, yet there was a moist feeling. Maybe it was the humidity from the depressing words I said?

What was the point of saying such words? I could not help but wonder, and I did not dare look up at Alice's face.

“...Sorry for getting too carried away.”

“Whoosh!” a little air could be heard rushing out. It was the sound of a Dr. Pepper can being opened. Following that was Alice's unexpectedly gentle voice.

“It's fine. That's your job!”

“...Eh?”

I lifted my head. The stars were no longer to be seen in Alice's eyes, just a white moonlight at the cusp of dawn.

“Us NEETs are too used to not knowing what to do, and too used to thinking that all will be fine if we do this. A car without a steering wheel needs a rear view mirror.”

Then isn't it useless even if there's a rear view mirror? I wondered, but I nodded silently.

“One day—one day, I might be able to break out of this prison, overcome the tall walls I built up, and step out to the vast lands without having to protect anything. Until that day arrives, only you—”

Alice swallowed her words, and I still remained silent.

“Just take it that I didn't say anything,” Alice shook her head, and wrapped herself in the blanket as she turned her back on me. The tapping of the keyboard again separated us.

“So what do we do once we find Hanada Masaru? Any way other than to hand him over to the Huangs?”

Alice did not answer immediately as she merely gulped down an entire can of Dr. Pepper. The gulping heard from her throat seemed to change the tense atmosphere in the office.

“Right now, I don't know. Maybe there's another way.”

The detective lowered her head, putting her fingers together as she said this.

“We know too little about this incident, so there are a few points I can't accept. Amongst them, the strangest part is Hanada Masaru's motives. Why did he run away? If Huang Xiao Ling's words are to be trusted, Hanada Masaru's murder was on accident, right?”

“Uu...”

That was the case.

A man acting as a bodyguard shot an intruder, and unfortunately killed Huang Xiang Yu who protected that intruder. If this statement was correct, Hanada Masaru's sin was not unforgivable, but taking the two corpses away would be really suspicious. Was it because he ran away that others suspected him, and wanted his head, and even his daughter Min-san got involved? Why run away?

“Maybe...even if it's out of carelessness, the mafia will continue to persist until the very end, so he can only run away?”

“Maybe, but that's just a guess. Anyway, the truth lies in Hanada Masaru himself, and we have to find him. Listen, our aim is ultimately to prevent master's marriage, and there's no need to settle the entire incident. We just need master to understand that she doesn't have to oblige with the Huangs.”

Dejected, I sat on the floor in front of the bed. So that's it, that's how it was. In that case, we needed to know the truth, and then we figure out the rest once we sort everything out.

“In other words, once we find Hanada Masaru, the real battle follows. Right now, we don't know who the enemy really is, and even Hanada Masaru himself may be on the same side as us...”

I nodded firmly.

Right, there's a chance the Hanadas will be reunited! I suddenly thought. But does Min-san really want to see her dad, or not? She likes to act tough aft all. However, Hanada Masaru had a promise with his daughter. In April, when he slipped back to 'Hanamaru', I saw the words he left us. “Next time, let me try out the ice cream you made as well.”

Finally, I thought of a future development that might be a little better, and my lips could not help but curl into a smile. Min-san probably wanted to let her dad taste her ramen, and not just the ice cream. Maybe she might even tell him that she found a reliable partner who would make ramen with her? No, I seemed to be imagining too much. But if this keeps up...

“What? Why are you leering away?”

Alice's voice caused me to cover my mouth in shock.

“Ah! Just had a thought, the one who'll ask everything from Hanada Masaru, might be Hiro.”

“Hm? Why's that?”

“Eh? No, well, you see, didn't Hiro just say that Min-san's dad will be his sparring partner in the future?”

“Speaking of which, he seemed to have mentioned it before. What does that mean? Does Hiro have some grudge with Hanada Masaru?”

Dumbfounded, I stared at Alice. Right, this girl seemed to be very dull about this aspect, I guess?

“Eh, erm, anyway, that's it. 'Dad, please hand your daughter to me!' or 'who'll marry his daughter to someone like you!' and something like that...”

Speaking of which, Hiro himself never admitted that he was serious.

Alice was dumbfounded, her mouth agape for a while, and then, she sighed with much reluctance.

“That's an exaggeration. A daughter doesn't belong to a dad! And no matter what Hiro thinks of master, eh, no matter how much he likes her, he doesn't intend to get married with her, right? That guy's an unanchored playboy by nature.”

“Bu-but he started work recently, and it seems that he was already learning how to make ramen for a long time already. I'm thinking that this, well, he intends to run the ramen shop along with Min-san?”

Alice was dumbstruckt, unable to say anything.

“...Hiro? Umm...impossible...no, but...”

All kinds of inexplicable emotions were flashing on Alice's childish face.

“Erm Alice, don't tell me, that you don't know Hiro's serious about Min-san?”

“Hm? Wh-what are you saying!? I knew that already! I could tell from his demeanour!”

For some reason, there was some obvious panic in Alice's answer. She should have known about this, right? She knew Hiro for a longer time than I did. Tetsu-senpai and Major, and even Yondaime never showed much shock. Was it because nobody was shocked about this? Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered something. When Min-san was attacked by the yakuza and got hurt, I remembered Hiro panicking, right? Maybe there had been many similar cases of such incidents.

“In that case, why hasn't there been any development between those two?”

“Development? What do you mean?”

“Haven't they known each other for a long time? If he likes master, can't he just confess to her? Don't you find Hiro to be a little useless?”

“Hm? U-uu?”

“Does the one being crushed on not know anything at all? Even though they were together for a long well...”

“Mmmmmm...”

“And they're still buddies! They probably assisted each other in many ways, not just in work alone, but if she didn't realize her buddy's feelings for her, isn't that too much? Eh, is it that Min-san's very sharp when she is, but very dull at boy girl relationships. What's wrong Alice? Your face's red.”

Alice's fingertips were quivering, and it appeared that she was crushing the empty can of Dr. Pepper. However, because of her feeble strength, the can showed nary a budge. And at that moment, Alice suddenly threw the empty can in her hand right at me.

“D-do you have the right to talk about others like that?”

What's with that? I hurriedly ducked my head as I evacuated to the back of the fridge.

“Someone without senses like you can't determine the difference between a male peacock and a female, and you're gleefully talking about relationships between men and women? Unforgivable!”

“I-I get you! That's not something I should be yapping about, but you don't have to be so angry, right? This has nothing to do with you.”

“You're saying that it has nothing to do with me?”

“...Probably not?”

“Uuuuu, fo-forget about it!”

Alice turned her face to the monitor on the screen, and the hill of plushies fell.

“Anyway, I'm going to go through a long battle of endurance on the internet. Get out and stop disturbing my work!”

“Do you have to be so agitated?'

“Our opponent's Huang Xiao Ling, the developer of the Zodiac Group's Security system.”

Alice's voice was rather agitated, her eyes flickering with dangerous excitement. One of the monitors right in front of her showed the portal site of the Zodiac group, the Chinese Astrological Signs that signified the group's name. The logo of the website was showing different signs based on the month, and right at this point, it was Libra. I was already well acquianted with it. It was said that there was a daily increase in the number of people using this site as a search engine, currently closing in on yahoo and google.

It's true that till this point, Alice was invincible when it came to the internet, and only in this case did she finally meet a formidabole opponent. If the other party was deliberately hiding some message, it would likely be a troublesome one.

In any case, and I started to doubt, if Xiao Ling-san already knew Hanada Masaru's whereabouts, what was the reason for her witholding it from us? If she told us directly, the matter would have been a lot easier, and we would be able to help Hanada Masaru. Thinking about this, I started to wonder if Xiao Ling-san really didn't know anything.

“Enough. Stop thinking too much and do what you're supposed to do.” Alice seemed a little peeved as she said that. “Also, listen up. I'll keep reminding you this. You might end up dealing with more than Huang Xiao Ling. The opponent is the Chinese mafia. We don't know what'll happen if they got their eyes on you. That dangerous man especially, Huang Hong Lei, don't ever get near him.”

“Right. Got it.”

I heaved a sigh, and dragged my feet out of the office. It was the night of a slightly breezy early winter, but due to the frigid cold in the office and the difference in temperature outside, I felt as though I was surrounded in a warm sense of security. Far away, I could see the bright lights of the skyscrapers in fron the of the station. It was late.

 

I went down the emergency staircase to the back door of the kitchen, and just so happened to encounter Min-san moving the beer crate out. There were the sounds of drunk customers in the shop, and Hiro being a listener. I nodded to Min-san, and intended to step on the bicycle. We made a decision during the meeting not to let Min-san know that the NEET agency would be taking action, because if she knew, she would be utterly furious, and would yell at us, why are you getting involved with the mafia, you brats.

However, Min-san put down the beer crate by the wall, and turned to call me.

“What are you plannin again?”

I held the handles of the bicycle, rooted to the ground. This is bad.

“Why are you anxious to get away? You don't want to answer my question?”

I was about to get onto the seat of the bicycle, only for my belt to be grabbed from behind.

“N-nothing? Nothing at all!?”

Even I realized that nobody would believe such nonsense. Min-san dragged me to the back door, grabbing me by the collar.

“Those useless guys, and even Sou came by. How's it possible that there's nothing? Is it something to do with the Huangs again? Don't you guys ever learn? Listen, they're the Hong Kong mafia, you know? They'll chop limbs and tongues without warning, without flinching!”

“Erm, well.”

Min-san's furious glare was right in front of me, and I could only think of what to say. She would definitely find out, so I guess I should tell her mostly truth? Just hide the critical matters first.

But before I spoke, I had to be sure.

“...Did you hear anything from Hiro? Well, the request this time is by Hiro, so I have an obligation to keep it a secret for him.”

Min-san glanced aside, through the back door that was ajar, at the kitchen. Hiro, wearing a black apron around his waist, was drinking with the regular customers. I didn't know if he noticed me, or if he pretended not to.

“That guy never said anything.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I expected that.”

Hiro probably wouldn't be that careless,

“Though he did tell me to get married with him.”

“Ehhh!?”

“Saying that he'll run the ramen shop with me forever, and got Alice and Sou involved to woo me. Stop trying to pull a fast one with such unimportant stuff.

Hiro...you're really serious! You were being honest all the way, and she wouldn't believe you. Well, it's an outcome to be expeted, but even you proposal was ignored completely. That's too pitiful. Was that karma for fooling around with the hearts of so many girls?

However, since this was the current situation, I probably knew how to continue. Taking a deep breath to calm myself somewhat, I spoke up again,

“Well actually, he's being completely serious.”

“Hmm?” Min-san frowned.

“Min-san, you're going to be a substitute for the wedding ceremony, right? But that guy called Hong Lei might be using this chance to force a marriage with you. That's why everyone's worried.”

“Are you guys idiots? How's that—” Saying that, Min-san stopped herself.

Then, I saw something very rare. Min-san looked aside, and even curled her lips. Was she embarrassed?

“You probably had an idea about that.”

“No...but that was when we were kids. Back then, Hong Lei and I were still brats in middle school.”

“See, I guessed so.”

“Like that's the case, you idiot.”

I got flickered on the forehead. I couldn't see very well due to the dim lights all around, but I got the feeling Min-san was looking red.

“Me getting married has nothing to do with you guys anyway?”

“Well, you've been taking care of us all this while, so nobody wanted to see you being harassed by some strange guy and be in some unhappy marriage. That's why we needed to investigate in many ways. Like whether he has other women, whether there'll be domestic violence, things like that...”

“That's enough already.”

Min-san pushed my chest heart, and entered the kitchen without looking back.

“I said that they're mafia. Someone died, and my dad's on the run. If you're going to investigate such useless stuff, what'll happen if Hong Lei and his cronies set their eyes on you? Stop butting in!”

Min-san's tone was like a master telling off a pet cat, and I reached out to close the back door, heaving a sigh. It looked like I managed to get through somehow.

I went to the front of the ramen shop, and exchanged looks with Hiro who was moving some ramen out of the shop. He waved at me with a wry smile, and I too raised my hand in return, before stepping firmly on the pedals. The chilly night breeze tickled my neck.

 

Of course, I did not go home. During the prior meeting, I was assigned only one job, to obtain more information from Xiao Ling-san. Thus, I went up the Meiji Street, towards Shinjuku.

Behind me was a tall standing skyscraper, and the right side was the Shinjuku garden. I cycled for approximately 3 minutes, and a 7 level building appeared at a cross junction with little traffic. All the lights from the 4th level and above were lit, and they looked as mysterious as a UFO floating above. The name of the company was printed on the glass panel, Zodiac.

I parked in front of the building, and took my cellphone up. I wonder if she would be willing to meet at this time.

“How did you obtain my cellphone number?”

Xiao Ling-san's voice stabbed at my ear through the speaker.

“Well, actually, I guess it's better to find some intel that's not really hard to find, and easier to talk about proper business. No, it wasn't me, it's the detective.”

I inadvertently lifted my head, trying to find someone from through the windows. I got the feeling someone was looking down, glaring at me, though I did not tell her that I was at the ground floor.

“Haven't you heard the rumors about the Huangs? This isn't a place where a high school kid can just snoop around!”

It's my job to provide the retorts. I nearly spat out those words, but I guess this person probably wouldn't bother with this lame joke of mine.

“We aren't here to obstruct or influence the Huangs. Please understand!”

There was a deep sigh from the speaker.

“Erm, sorry to disturb at such a late hour, but I'm actually in front of your company. There's something I'll like to request, so I'm wondering if you're available at the moment?”

Saying that, I realized very well that this job was tough to deal with. The one most suited for this job would be Hiro himself, but he could only be asked to be an obedient employee so as not to let Min-san find out, and I was in charge of asking.

“What's wrong? Didn't that kid already reject the request?”

“Actually, you should know where Min-san's dad is now, right?”

“Didn't I say that he didn't tell me?”

She denied it immediately. Unlike me, it looked like everyone knew how to ask. What do I do? Try talking to her again? Erm...

“Well, as you know, that detective's a hacker, and she managed to hack into your cellphone and obtained the call record from Hanada Masaru-san.”

After saying that, I immediately regretted it. Nobody would record a phone conversation, right? That would certainly be seen through.

However, something unexpected happened. Xiao Ling-san did not speak up for another 2 seconds, and clearly she was startled by my bluff.

“How's it possible to record a phone conversation? Stop spouting nonsense.”

Did she really record the converation? If Alice was able to hack into her phone, we'll find some clues. After hearing those words from me, I guess she probably deleted it? Alice at this point should be tussling with the security system, so I'll continue talking. I summoned my courage, saying,

“How about you consider exchanging information with us? Regarding Hanada Masaru-san, I know some things even you don't know about, Xiao Ling-san. That man came back to 'Hanamaru' this April, and said a few things.”

Those words were completely made up, but Hanada Masaru did show up a few times in Spring, and Xiao Ling-san knew about that. Within this lie was 80% fact.

At that moment, while looking up, I spotted a figure at the windowside of the 6th level. Due to the backlight, I could not see clearly, but the profile appeared to be female, and she's holding the phone by her ear. I could even sense her lowering her head, looking down at me.

A sigh came from the cellphone, followed by a hushed voice.

“Continue on in the phone. There's nothing much to answer since what I know isn't any more than what I didn't.”

Baited. So, did I realize my true potential as a con artist? For a moment, I was really amazed, and then I clenched a fist and punched my thigh to recover, switching my phone to the left hand.

“Before exchanging iintel, tell me your group's motives. What do you intend to do? Will it not affect the Huangs at all?”

I gulped. Right, this was the point, the hardest one. Alice mentioned this in the meeting. How much information you want to inform Huang Xiao Ling of, that'll depend on your talent as a con artist.

“Actually, I want to know more about your motives, Xiao Ling-san.”

I hushed my voice as I said this. I really could not help but feel that it was inconvenient not to be able to see her expression at this moment, but at the same time, she couldn't see mine.

“Alice and I couldn't interpret your feelings, since you don't seem worried that Hanada Masaru will be killed by the mafia. When you made the request, you never mentioned the need for us to help hiim, did you? I don't know what your true intents are? You probably don't want Masaru-san to get caught, right?”

Following that, Xiao Ling-san began to ponder. This rally of guessing each other's feelings really drains the brain cells. Assuming that she already knew where Hanada Masaru was, there might be a few reasons why she wouldn't tell us, and the most definite reason would be that she didn't trust us. If she told us, there might be a chance someone would slip up, and the mafia would obtain the news. However, if she didn't trust us in the first place, why did she come to the detective agency?

“...Masaru-san, he probably won't get caught. Do you know how terrifying were his experiences? Even if all the members in the Huang Coalition is to be mobilized, it'll be useless, probably.”

There was a strange feeling in Xiao Ling-san's voice as she said this. She was quivering slightly due to some uneasiness, but there was a firm conviction. It was really paraoxical.

“There's no need to worry about Masaru-san. I just want to let things develop as he hoped, and not get Ming Li in some misfortune.”

She was simply repeating what she said in the detective agency.

I closed my eyes. Surely this person was hiding something, but her saying that it was for Min-san's sake, that she hoped to respect Masaru-san's wishes were both probably true.

Let's trust her. Or else there would not be any developments.

“Understood.” I continued. “Now then, I'll state our aim.”

I opened my eyes, searching the darkness, took a deep breath, and thought of how I wanted to start off.

“Your older brother—Hong Lei-san intended to have Min-san take over for his murdered fiancee—Xiang Yu-san. Did you hear that?”

“Yes, I heard from Hong Lei.”

“It appeared Hong Lei-san used to have some feelings for Min-san. Is this still true? Erm, in other words.”

“Will he really use this as an excuse to get married with Ming Li for real? I'm wondering if that's the case too.”

Even his little sister feels this way too? So our guesses were right?

“Erm, is such a plan really plausible? I heard that it's a politcal marriage between the main family and the branch family. Is it really alright to have someone be a substitute for such important wedding?”

“Wen Li-san—Ming Li's mother was the daughter the Dragon Head doted on. Back then, when it was known that she wanted to marry Masaru-san, it was said that the Dragon Head sent a few assassins after him.”

My jaw near dropped when I heard that. Doting on a daughter that much would be another level, right?

“However, it appeared Masaru-san took down those assassiins, and finally gained the Dragon Head's conssent. After Ming Li was born, the main family in Hong Kong wanted to take her back to raise her. So...I'm guessing the Dragon head would be really delighted with this.”

I could not help but sigh. That man called Hong Lei probably anticipated matters to such a level.

“If Min-san's to be married with your brother, I don't think she'll be happy, right?”

“About that, I don't know. I'm guessing it's up to Ming Li.”

“No, Min-san—”

At that moment, I recallled.

Before leaving the ramen shop, I had a little chat with Min-san, and mentioned the possibility of her getting married with Hong Lei.

Min-san never said that she didn't want to get married with Hong Lei.

“Masaru-san once asked me to see if Ming Li has any suitable partner, whether she's living a happy life.”

“Haa...”

So that's why Xiao Ling-san went to ask Hiro directly? That Masaru-san killed someone, and is on the run, yet he's still able to worry about this, I could not help but wonder. Maybe this is the heart of a parent. Speaking of which, there's a likely chance that he won't be able to see his daughter again.

Min-san's happiness.

That—should be up to Min-san to decide. Objectively, Hiro's in a disadvantage right now. One side's Min-san's childhood friend and the boss of a startup, and wholeheartedly devoted to Min-san (I guess). The other one's a gigolo, the number of female he caused to cry in triple digits.

I continued to slam my thigh. Wake up already. What stupid things am I thinking of now? The one requesting this time is Hiro! I don't need to think of whether Hong Lei can bring happiness to Min-san, and I don't need to worry about Hiro's gigolo antics having a high chance of making Min-san unhappy. The important thing now is to get Xiao Ling-san to trust us, to tell us the truth and help us.

I gulped, and said,

“Actually, we're looking for Hanada Masaru-san.”

I said it. There was no room for me to regret at all.

“It's unreasonable to force a marriage because of a debt her dad left behind. Right now, Min-san has her own life. That's why we intend to bring Hanada Masaru back, and have him settle the issue he caused.”

I paused, waiting for Xiao Ling-san to speak up, but she didn't say anything.

“In other words, we're on the same side as the Huangs, and we won't get in your way. But—”

Taking a deep breath, I continued,

“Our ultimate aim is the same as yours, Xiao Ling-san. We definitely don't wish for any unhappiness to happen to Min-san.”

Saying till this point, I went silent again.

The cars and motorcyles continued to race down the Shinjuku street, and the exhaust gases tickled my neck along with the icy night breeze. By the time I realized it, the figure at the windowside had vanished, and the lights on the 7th and 4th levels vanished.

In the end, I stated most of the truth. I thought.

After a long while, I heard Xiao Ling-san mutter,

“How are you kids going to find Masaru-san? He might not be in Japan anymore.”

“Xiao Ling-san, if you're willing to reveal what happened at the scene, or the vehicle that was used in the escape.”

“Don't be silly. If any outsider is to know of this, Hong Lei will definitely kill me.”

And so, the call ended.

 

Not willing to go through the Meiji street that was filled with exhaust gases again, I chose to cycle slowly through the Gaien West path. I decided not to think about it, but I had a feeling that if it was Hiro, he might be able to get Xiao Ling-san to help. However, Xiao Ling-san's right in that the mafia intended to handle this murder case themselves. If any information was revealed to the outsiders, that Huang Hong Lei would not spare even his own sister. It was really unwise to request her of this.

Right when I could vaguely see the massive shadow of the National Olympic Stadium on my left, my cellphone rang suddenly. I parked at the side of the pedestrian path, and found an anonymous number shown on the screen. Who's calling?

“...Hello?”

“...Are you the high school kid at the detective's place?”

The voice from the phone was as raspy as rusted metals rubbing each other, and I could hear immediately that it was Hanada Masaru. Why call me on my phone?

“Ho-how did you—where are you now?”

The sound of the bicycle toppling cut off my words. Now's not the time to panic. Calm down. I reached my trembling hand to press the record button.

“Listen. Leave the interaction with Hong Lei to Hinamura Souichiro. This isn't something to involve him with in the first place, but that guy's too obvious... ”

“Ho-how did you know of Yondaime's past?”

“The Huang Coalition has eyes around 'Hanamaru', and they saw Hinamura and the others going in and out of the agency. You guys are being too careless here!”

How? How's it possible for him to know all this so well? Did he just contact Xiao Ling-san?

“Now that he's seen, forget about it. Let Hinamura meet Huang Hong Lei. Have him say that he'll fully assist in looking for me, and tell them everything. For the time being, that will make sure they won't get suspicious.”

“What are you intending to do?”

The phone line was suddenly cut off, and a ringing continued on for a while. No matter how I tried moving my phone away from my ears, or I took a deep breath, that sound never vanished. I looked down, and found that the wheels of my bicycle were spinning loosely. I stepped on the pedal to stop it, and dialed Alice's number.

“H-Hanada Masaru just called my phone!”

The detective gasped, and immediately hung up. Hanada Masaru knew of Alice, and probably wouldn't be so stupid to have her investigate the GPS signal, but just in case, there was a chance.

I lifted my bicycle, and slowly stepped on the pedal. At the same time, I tried reaching for the swirling doubts lingering in my mind, only to find that it was in chaos. What was Hanada Masaru intending to do? Why give us suggestions? Did he wish to be caught? Impossible. If that was the case, he might as well show up intead.

Right, the first time Hanada Masaru called over, he did tell Min-san to 'wait for another week'. What's he doing now? Raise enough money and get far away? Does he intend to use the NEET detective agency to mess up the mafia's sights. You got to be kidding! I really had the urge to say that to him. I don't know what you're doing, but it's because you never showed up that things aren't developing at all! Please show up and settle this, so that Min-san won't have to worry again.

Suddenly, I thought of a possibility.

Was Hanada Masaru running around because the reason of that killing wasn't due to carelessness?

It was just a baseless feeling, but if that was the case, what we're doing right now would be making the worst case scenario even worse, and might even end up trapping Min-san further until she's unable to escape.

I exerted strength as I pedaled, accelerating the bicycle. The chilly bright grazed my ears, but it could not erase this chill in my heart.