Chapter 85 - Actual Name and Reality 8 {Combined 15/16} (34–35, 36–37: Learning a New Interpretation of 'Abe' in Taro)
That night, the two men took lodging at an inn in Miyako and remained in their room after dinner without going out. Since the situation wasn't tense, it wouldn't have been particularly forbidden to head out to the entertainment district for a single drink, but they somehow weren't in the mood. Or rather, Yoshimura might have been in the mood, but since Nishida wasn't, Yoshimura likely sensed it and held back. He didn't utter a single word like "Let's go out for a drink."
Nishida paid no mind to Yoshimura, who was watching television with the volume turned down out of consideration, and instead looked through several notebooks containing past investigation data he had brought along. Based on the new information about Kuwano Kinya, he began constructing a character profile.
Kuwano was an elite, as expected or perhaps even more so. While his conversational skills were unclear, he was at least proficient in reading foreign languages. Nishida had previously thought that Kuwano had eventually been reduced to the status of a day laborer due to the global depression, but Amai believed that even with the depression, an elite of the level to attend Second High School wouldn't have fallen that far just because he dropped out.
The last time Amai met Kuwano was during the summer vacation of Showa 7 (1932). He had seemed perfectly healthy. After that, he was presumably spotted in Taro after the tsunami, at which point he reconstructed his washed-away family register. He reappeared in the records of the world in Showa 16 (1941) as a gold panner in Ikutahara.
Amai speculated that Kuwano's socialist or communist ideologies might have led him to place himself in such a position. Also, Amai remembered Kuwano having excellent penmanship during his school days, but noted that Kuwano's signature on the bond gave a different impression. However, Amai admitted his memory on this point was fuzzy.
Furthermore, not only from Amai's testimony this time, but also from the letters of Sada Toru (Minoru's second older brother) and the letters from Hojo Masato to his younger brother Masaharu, glimpses of Kuwano's popularity could be seen. At the very least, judging by the phrasing of the letters, if he had shown a contemptuous attitude toward Hojo Masato—who seemed to have no education at all—Masato wouldn't have held the impression left in the letters to Masaharu.
Even having fallen into such circumstances, he had maintained his noble qualities. Indeed, if one assumed he had placed himself in that position somewhat intentionally, his attitude became understandable. Of course, even if it had happened regardless of his will, a noble person might not have become corrupted...
For Nishida, after receiving the contact from Takagaki about the photograph, he couldn't lie and say he hadn't dreamed—even a little—of a miracle story. A story where Amai would testify that Kuwano was in the photo, leading to a skeletal match with Tadokoro Yasuo (alias Oshima Kaiji) through scientific analysis, thereby "throwing down" the theory that they were different people which had persisted since the fingerprint mismatch. However, more than the fact that Kuwano wasn't in the photo, upon hearing Amai's specific testimony regarding Kuwano's character, Nishida began to steel himself—while glancing at Yoshimura laughing at the TV—that he should probably give up on such "miracles" from here on. After all, there were simply too many points of discrepancy between the current Oshima Kaiji and the image of Kuwano Kinya.
The next day, Friday, May 24th, shortly before 9:00 AM, the two men walking from their lodging toward Miyako Station were shivering from the cold. The temperature was below 10 degrees Celsius (Author's Note: Confirmed via the Japan Meteorological Agency website), and it felt considerably different from the previous day in Ofunato, perhaps partly because they had visited there at midday. Even in Kitami at this time of year, it would be nearly 15 degrees, but the thermometer in front of the station showed it was indeed below 10.
"Is this the work of the Yamase..." Yoshimura muttered.
To which Nishida replied somewhat dismissively, "Isn't that a summer thing?"
However, by the definition of Yamase, it is a "cool northeasterly wind that blows from the Pacific Ocean from spring through autumn," so Yoshimura's statement wasn't actually wrong. But the general image was strongly that of a "wind" that brought cool summers, and Nishida was influenced by that.
They arrived at Taro Station in about 20 minutes via a local train on the Sanriku Railway Kita-Riasu Line. From there, they walked about one kilometer toward the Taro Town Hall (as of 2002; following the 2005 merger with Miyako City, it is now the Miyako City Taro General Office). A massive wall appeared to their right.
"Is that the sea 'wall' for dealing with tsunamis?"
Yoshimura let out a voice of admiration while gazing at the seawall, which looked to be at least 10 meters high. It wasn't exactly right in front of them, but looking at it gave a considerable sense of intimidation. The sea was completely out of sight. It was a structure that could be called the crystallization of wisdom for a town that had suffered great tsunami damage in the past.
By the way, during the previous investigation seven years ago, Takeshita and Kurosu, who had come to Taro, had received cooperation from the local Taro Police Substation. However, Nishida and Yoshimura visited the town hall directly by themselves. This was because this visit to Taro was for the purpose of "confirmation" rather than a new investigation, and they didn't want to make a big deal out of it.
The family register of the Kuwano family, including Kinya, had been reconstructed after being washed away by the tsunami while Kuwano was still alive. However, because the family register of Kuwano's father prior to his marriage (which would have created a new register) could not be confirmed, there was a possibility that relatives who couldn't be identified in Kuwano's current register (now a struck-off register) might still be living in the town, despite not being investigated seven years ago. If people with the same surname lived in the same town, there was a good chance they were blood relatives. If blood relatives were found, new testimony regarding Kuwano Kinya might emerge. To that end, Nishida had requested the Taro Town Hall to check if there were any households with the surname Kuwano. However, the results had been known immediately, two days before Nishida and his partner arrived in Iwate. They were told that not a single household with the surname Kuwano currently existed in Taro (strictly within the fiction of the novel). Therefore, it wasn't much of an exaggeration to say they had come to Taro almost solely to confirm that fact.
Naturally, there would normally have been no need to visit Taro at all. However, at the stage when they received the report from the town hall, they had requested a re-investigation into whether such people had existed in the past, and they had come to hear those results directly. Still, there was almost no point in visiting in person just for that. Since it was certain that no relatives with the same name lived there now and that they wouldn't be able to conduct actual door-to-door inquiries, they could have finished the matter over the phone if it were just for the investigation results.
Even so, there were two reasons why Nishida did not cancel the visit. One was a somewhat wicked thought: he had a "scheme" to return to Sapporo that day, stay at his own home, and return to Kitami the next morning on the Okhotsk express. Since being posted to Kitami, he hadn't returned to his home in Sapporo. Furthermore, Yoshimura's parents' house was also in Sapporo, so there was no need for lodging fees. He was thinking of making a bit of a "detour" to earn time for a legitimate "homecoming." If he took the night Okhotsk, he could make it even on the last train, but he wouldn't go quite that far.
The other reason was a teaching from a senior detective: "Always properly understand the background of people who seem to be involved in a crime." Along with the words "Investigate thoroughly even the most trivial things that bother you," it was a memorable admonition for Nishida.
"Involved in a crime" naturally meant not just suspects, but victims and surrounding figures as well. Since there was now an extremely high probability that Kuwano Kinya was a different person from Oshima Kaiji, he was strictly a "surrounding figure" in the investigation. Regardless, Nishida felt that seeing Kuwano's birthplace with his own eyes might be one way to thoroughly probe his background.
The Taro Town Hall was located on a small hill up a flight of stairs. The location was likely chosen with tsunamis in mind. They visited the Resident Registration Division and waited in the reception area for the staff member in charge, Senior Staff Sasaki. Being early morning, Sasaki appeared immediately.
"I'm sorry you had to come all this way," he said, sitting down before them with a kind-looking smile.
"About the investigation we promised..."
"I apologize for the trouble on such short notice," Nishida apologized, but Sasaki gave a friendly laugh.
"No, no, it's a depopulated town like this. It wasn't much trouble."
He spoke self-deprecatingly, but contrary to his words, there was no doubt he had been busier than usual.
"So... I looked into various things... regarding the Kuwano surname, the conclusion is that we couldn't find any records remaining in our town's registers, other than those of Kuwano Kinya-san's family, even going back quite a ways..."
From his hesitant tone, Nishida could mostly imagine the result, and there was no betrayal of that expectation in a good way.
"I see..."
"Yes... it's unfortunate. Originally, the Kuwano surname isn't common in Iwate. It seems to be more common in Aomori than Iwate, at least from what I've heard around... And, as expected, the fact that the major tsunamis of the Meiji and Showa eras caused many deaths and the registers themselves were washed away might be a factor. Of course, that's no excuse after the Showa Sanriku (tsunami)."
"Hmm..."
Yoshimura also let out a small sound after finishing the tea he had been served; he seemed to feel a fair amount of regret.
"Since I had the chance, I also tried looking it up on the internet. Looking nationwide, it seems to be a surname common in places like Tokushima or Fukuoka. In Tohoku, it seems to be seen only here and there in Fukushima, the inland and southern coastal areas of Iwate, and Aomori. Perhaps they were originally from the southern Sanriku coast of Iwate? Based on what you said beforehand, Nishida-san, Kuwano Kinya's father's occupation was a fisherman, or rather a shipowner, right? If so, isn't that possibility even more likely?"
Nishida felt keenly that they were now in an era where such things could be easily looked up on the internet, but he also reflected that he should have checked it himself. It wasn't that he was technologically illiterate, but the idea of using the internet for an investigation hadn't really occurred to him.
"Even if Kuwano Kinya had relatives other than his immediate family, I suppose the current understanding is that they were basically washed away along with the registers by the tsunami."
To Nishida's helpless question, Sasaki had no choice but to answer, "Well... I suppose that's how it is, looking at these results."
"I see, I understand... By the way, that embankment? It's incredibly high. Is it to hold back tsunamis?"
Nishida changed the subject to the seawall, which had nothing to do with the investigation, as if to change the mood of the place.
"It's a so-called seawall. It's the best in the world. It's 10 meters high and surrounds the town in an X-shape. The total length exceeds two kilometers. People even come from overseas to inspect it. It's the guardian deity of our town, built based on the lessons learned from two past tsunami disasters."
Sasaki puffed out his chest. Perhaps conscious of the fact that "public works" had been criticized a lot in recent years, Nishida felt that Sasaki, like a town hall employee, emphasized that it was "useful."
"However, it's a shame that with a wall like that, you can't see the beautiful Sanriku sea," Yoshimura said. He likely meant no malice, but it could be taken as finding fault.
"As for that, you can see as much as you want once you go to the other side of the seawall. Besides, the top of the seawall is a regular road, so the view from up there is quite something," Sasaki said with a laugh.
"Then maybe I'll go there later..."
Nishida, given the result that they would have quite a bit of time left over, was forced to think of a way to kill time. Of course, he had been prepared for that to some extent...
"Oh! Do you have time?"
"Yes, well... I suppose I have until around noon."
As Nishida scratched his head awkwardly, Sasaki said, "If you like, shall I show you around the town? I think I can guide you to most of the famous spots by noon."
Just as he said that, a young female employee, who could be called an Iwate beauty, entered with tea and sweets.
As soon as the female employee placed the bowl of sweets in front of Nishida and his partner, Sasaki spoke to her.
"Hey, these police guests seem to have some time to spare. Could you show them around our famous spots?"
It was a conversation with a heavy accent, typical of locals.
"Then wouldn't around Sanno-iwa be good? But I have work too, so the afternoon is impossible."
"Don't be so noisy. It's not the afternoon, it's the morning."
"Then that's fine. But am I going alone? Sasaki-shunin, you abe too."
"Understood. I'll abe too."
"Then it's settled."
The two of them, both being locals, had been speaking with a strong accent the whole time, but Yoshimura had glanced at the female employee's chest area two or three times.
"Ah, this guy likes women with big breasts. Plus, she's a beauty."
Nishida watched his subordinate, thinking to himself the reason for those glances.
"Let me confirm once more, you said you have time until noon, meaning around 12:00, right?"
"I think I can make the last flight from Hanamaki Airport if it's around 1:00 PM," Nishida replied after the female employee finished speaking and left.
"Then I and the lady from just now will guide you to a scenic spot called Sanno-iwa. Let's also climb the seawall we're so proud of! It's not much of a distance, so it won't take that long to see Sanno-iwa. If we stop by the seawall afterward to kill time, it should be just about right."
"I see. Then I'll take you up on your kindness... Thank you for the guidance. By the way, what is this?"
Nishida pointed to a small, round, cracker-like thing in the sweet bowl and asked.
"This is a karintou (Author's Note: 'Taro Karintou' from Tanaka Kashi-po, which seems to be a somewhat famous sweet) from a famous confectionery shop in our town. It looks quite different from regular karintou, but it is karintou."
"Ho... so this shape is a karintou. Then I'll try some..."
So saying, he put it in his mouth. It certainly tasted like karintou. And it had quite a crunch. He savored the fragrance while making loud crunching sounds, but when he noticed that Yoshimura, who usually had an insatiable appetite, hadn't touched it yet, he thought it strange. Then Yoshimura suddenly spoke.
"Excuse me, that woman from before, looking at her name tag, she seemed to be a 'Oikawa-san'?"
Hearing this, Nishida reflexively choked. He thought his married subordinate was trying to fish for the name of a woman he liked. He hurried to swallow the karintou still in his mouth to stop him immediately.
"Can I ask you something?"
Even while Nishida was swallowing, Yoshimura tried to ask something more.
"You! Cut it out!"
Yoshimura looked surprised as Nishida suddenly slapped his thigh to stop him from speaking.
"Eh, is something wrong?" he asked back. Since it was embarrassing to state the specific "reason" right here, Nishida hesitated.
"There's no problem, right? Then... I was listening to the conversation between Sasaki-san and Oikawa-san just now, and something caught my attention... I'm not familiar with the dialect, so I apologize if I'm wrong. It didn't sound like a person named Abe-san was involved in the story just now?"
Nishida didn't quite understand what Yoshimura wanted to say, and it seemed it hadn't been conveyed well to Sasaki either.
"I don't quite understand the meaning..."
After starting to say that, Sasaki suddenly let out a cry of "Ah!" and then laughed.
"I see, I see! Certainly!"
"It's the 'abe' part, right? What you're talking about?"
"Yes."
Yoshimura nodded deeply at Sasaki's confirmation.
"You see, 'abe' is a word in this dialect that means 'let's go' or 'shall we go.' I'm sorry it's confusing. I suppose someone who isn't a local wouldn't know."
Ignoring Sasaki's wry smile, Nishida finally understood that Yoshimura had hit upon a crucial point. It seemed he had been glancing at the female employee's chest because he was checking her name tag. Yoshimura, who had finished asking and turned his face toward Nishida, was clearly excited.
"Can I confirm a bit more about that?"
"Yes? Go ahead."
Since Nishida had suddenly cut into the conversation, Sasaki once again wore a bewildered expression.
"Is 'abe' a dialect commonly used in Iwate? Or is it a dialect only around Taro?"
"I don't know the reason, but you're really digging into it. I don't know why you two are so obsessed with it, but I think there are several patterns like 'aabee,' 'aebe,' or 'eebe.' Also, I'm not an expert so I don't know for sure, but I think it's used not just in Miyako and Taro, but probably in Iwate Prefecture as a whole."
Hearing that much, Nishida whispered to Yoshimura, "This might just be it."
"We might have hit it..." Yoshimura replied briefly.
"Are we finished? If you don't mind, I'll go get ready to head out."
"Ah, no, sorry! Let's go right away! Or rather, 'Let's abe right away!'"
Nishida tried to respond with his makeshift knowledge.
"Yes, yes! Something like that."
Sasaki was likely exasperated inside, but he played along amiably.
"Then I'll go prepare. I'll be right back."
As Sasaki said that and left the room, the talk of sightseeing no longer mattered to the two of them. They immediately called Team Leader Onga in Kitami and obtained the phone number of Section Chief Sudo of the National Police Agency's Organized Crime Department. Naturally, they contacted Sudo immediately.
After the involvement of the deceased Kagami was discovered, when they asked his relatives if the person shouting "Hurry up and abe together" on the tape was Kagami himself, they had received the answer: "It doesn't quite sound like him, but it might be him. To be honest, I don't really know." Unfortunately, due to the fact that the recording conditions for the late Kitamura were not such that clear audio could be recorded, and the fact that neither of the two perpetrators had distinctive voices, the investigation at the time had not linked this to the negative theory that "the one shouting abe was not Kagami."
However, if the meaning of "abe" was not the other person's surname but the dialect for "let's go," then the sense of wrongness felt by Kagami's relatives who heard the tape and the reason why no one named Abe surfaced in the investigation could be explained very easily. Of course, that wasn't all. The meaning of "Hurry up and abe together!" would also make perfect sense. And the subsequent remark about "my bad habit coming out" would also connect to him thinking of his own dialect, which came out unintentionally and wouldn't be understood by others, as a "bad habit."
Of course, that wasn't the only thing that started to make sense. In the testimony of the hostess who killed Kagami, the words Kagami uttered while having nightmares after the incident were almost identical to the ones recorded at the scene: "They say it's at the outlet, hurry up!" However, in the flow of the conversation, if it were a line shouted by the person being called "abe," then under the previous assumption that abe was a surname, it would mean Kagami was being called abe, which didn't make sense. But if abe was not a surname, that point also ceased to be a problem. It could be said that a new path for the investigation had truly come into view.
"This is Nishida from the Kitami area!"
"Yes, yes. Hello again."
It was a standard greeting, but it felt slightly cold, perhaps because they didn't have a very good impression of each other.
"Regarding Kagami's accomplice, something has come up that I want you to check urgently. Can you look into it?"
"I don't mind doing that, but... I assume it's worth investigating?"
Sudo suddenly threw a cautionary pitch, but just then, Sasaki returned, so Nishida gave a light nod toward him and continued the conversation.
"I don't know if it's worth it, but it might be something."
In Nishida's mind, it was already close to a conviction, but he ignored Sudo's remark—made with a click of the tongue—that "That's a problem, because we're not exactly idle here," and got to the main point.
Chapter 86: Actual Name and Reality 9 {Combined 17/18} (38–39, 40–41: Return from Iwate; Takeshita Forced to Correct an Article)
"Well, for now, just listen to what I have to say. I'm currently in Iwate for the investigation, and that 'Abe'—it might not have been the surname Abe, but a word in the local dialect meaning 'let's go.'"
"Let's go!?"
To Sudo, it might have sounded like a sudden, contextless remark, but Nishida had said it in English because he thought that just saying "ikimashou" wouldn't distinguish between "let's go" and "let's live." Having no choice, Nishida carefully explained the circumstances leading up to the call.
"I see. We hadn't even considered anything other than a surname, but it's true that 'Hurry up and abe together' makes sense as dialect, and if 'my bad habit coming out' refers to the accent appearing, the logic holds up..."
Sudo showed agreement with Nishida's story for the first time.
"Until now, we've been obsessed with the surname Abe and ultimately no confirmed person surfaced. But if we filter for people from Iwate, something might come up."
"True, now that it's become this tangled, it seems worth a try. However, the problem is how much to narrow it down... Listing everyone in the Aoi-ikka from the start would be too inefficient."
While agreeing with Nishida's idea, Sudo thought ahead and complained slightly.
"I can't say for sure how far to go, but at the very least, if they're going to commit a major crime together, wouldn't it be unlikely they were complete strangers? As before, wouldn't it be appropriate to first narrow the scope to those with some kind of relationship?"
"Hmm. Even if they didn't just meet on the spot right before the incident, having them commit such a crime together after only meeting a few days prior would carry considerable risk... At the very least, they should be able to converse by phone before coming to Kitami with Kagami, or ideally, they should have had direct acquaintance. On top of that, we'll smoke out those from Iwate."
"On our end, investigating that is difficult in terms of information volume. Can I leave that entirely to you?"
When Nishida made the request, Sudo readily approved, saying, "Understood... I have no objection to leaving that to us. However, since it involves place of birth, it might not be something we can get from the database immediately. Give us a few days to a week for the first report."
"OK. I'm counting on you. Oh, by the way, the idea that 'Abe' is a dialect used throughout Iwate is just something I heard from a layman, so it might be better to confirm it with a researcher who's familiar with Iwate dialects."
"A researcher? That's a pain... Well, as you say, I'll check first."
Sudo seemed to agree to this only reluctantly.
(Author's Note: Since this usage is not limited to Iwate—for example, in Yamagata Prefecture, "let's go" = abeha, and in Miyagi Prefecture, "let's go" = abe—the accurate fact is that it's not exclusive to Iwate. I will keep it centered on Iwate for the novel's setting, but I will correct it as a matter of fact.)
When Nishida finished the conversation, Sasaki and Oikawa, who had already returned, asked, "Are you finished now?"
"Sorry. I was just making a business call."
"Yes, I heard from Yoshimura-san."
"I see."
While Nishida had been absorbed in the conversation, Yoshimura had apparently explained to them that it was a call regarding investigative work.
"Well, since your call is finished, it's okay to depart, right?"
At Oikawa's question, Yoshimura interrupted, ignoring her words, "But man, this is delicious."
He gave his impression while putting the unusual karintou into his mouth as he stood up to leave.
Oikawa had no choice but to give a polite laugh. "Ah, it's delicious, I like it too. Then shall we depart after Yoshimura-san finishes eating?"
It might have been a miracle that a man so obsessed with food hadn't touched it until now, but if Yoshimura hadn't noticed the "Abe" hidden in the conversation, they might have made a terrible mistake. In that sense, Nishida felt that Yoshimura was, as always, a man who had something special. Of course, the fact that the meaning of "Abe" was truly dialect hadn't been confirmed yet, but it was also true that Nishida already felt a sense of conviction.
Afterward, guided by Sasaki and Oikawa, they went to see Sanno-iwa in the northern part of Taro Bay. They were taken aback when they were told it was on foot rather than by car, but taking the promenade, it wasn't actually that far. Sanno-iwa, which soon came into view, was indeed a rock with a considerable sense of intimidation; Sasaki told them it was 50 meters high. The strange rock standing tall by the shore was reminiscent of Ganbo-iwa from Nishida's days at the Engaru Station. Of course, this one was on the coast, while Engaru was inland.
Sanno-iwa reference: http://amby.but.jp/kitatoho/tarou.htm
Ganbo-iwa reference: http://pucchi.net/hokkaido/trippoint/ganbouiwa.php
"What a spectacle!"
Nishida let out words of admiration as he looked up from below.
"The lower part of the striped pattern is a Cretaceous stratum. It's from around a hundred million years ago," Sasaki explained.
Even hearing the explanation, it didn't quite click for the two of them, but Nishida said, "In our hometown, we have natural rock formations like Sounkyo or Ganbo-iwa, but a rock towering this thick to this height from the sea surface... even in Hokkaido, there's almost... no, probably none."
"Indeed, there probably aren't many large masses of rock standing this high from the sea surface in Japan," Sasaki said with a slightly proud tone.
After spending time strolling around with the two guides, the four of them climbed to the top of the seawall on the way back to the town hall. There was a way to go up the stairs, but they climbed the slope like a mountain trail. On top of the seawall was a small path wide enough for one car to pass, similar to a river levee. However, since it was 10 meters high, the view of the Sanriku sea from up there was quite good, even though it was a cloudy day. It was a bit of a shame the temperature was low, but fortunately, the wind wasn't very strong, so the perceived temperature didn't drop further.
"From Taro Station to the town hall, I couldn't see the sea well because of the sea 'wall,' but climbing up like this, it feels like I can see quite far," Yoshimura said, stretching his arms toward the sky, looking very comfortable.
"Thanks to this seawall, we can live in peace. During the Chilean earthquake, when a great tsunami came from the other side of the earth, while other municipalities around Sanriku suffered damage, this seawall completely shut out the tsunami. It was built with a long-term perspective from before the war; it's often criticized lately, but it's a classic example of a public works project that truly benefits the residents."
Perhaps conscious of the frequent criticism of "public works" in recent years, Nishida felt that Sasaki's words emphasized "useful," as one would expect from a town hall employee.
Even so, as Yoshimura said, there was a difference between before and after visiting the town hall—the obvious difference between before and after climbing the seawall—but Nishida felt that the difference in the scenery reflected in his eyes symbolized the change in their situation. The "wall" from before they visited the town hall had now turned into a high ground with a good view. To Nishida, it felt strangely consistent with the state of the investigation.
Afterward, they did not return to the town hall but headed directly to Taro Station. At the station, Sasaki and Oikawa each gave them a bag of the karintou as a souvenir. Seen off until the end, Nishida and Yoshimura returned to Miyako Station via the Sanriku Railway Kita-Riasu Line. They had lunch in front of Miyako Station.
During that time, their conversation was exclusively about the new development regarding the "Abe" remark left on Kitamura's tape. For the past seven years, they had taken the meaning of Abe to be a surname, but at the same time, the investigation had not progressed at all and had hit a wall. However, if that perpetrator's remark was a word born from the accent of his birthplace, the situation was clearly different. While it depended on Sudo's investigation, there was no doubt that a new hope had appeared.
Then, they boarded an intercity bus from Miyako Station to Morioka Station. Shortly after departing, Nishida finally told Yoshimura what had been on his mind.
"But man, you really noticed the Abe thing from that remark. I was focused on tasting those weirdly shaped karintou. For someone as greedy as you, that's almost too good to be true!"
"Well, normally I'd be interested in the food, but the girl who brought the karintou was quite a beauty, and I was more interested in her. Plus, she was busty, so my eyes were completely on that. Then I saw her name tag said Oikawa. Despite that, I heard the word 'Abe' twice in their conversation. It felt strangely off. To be honest, I didn't quite understand the content of the conversation itself, so there was a possibility that a third party named Abe was involved... Still, I thought it was better to ask..."
When Nishida heard that much, he was aghast and half-exasperated that the "concern" he had initially held toward Yoshimura had actually been correct.
"What, so that's what it was... Man, I wasted my praise!"
So saying, Nishida took an eye mask from his bag, reclined his seat, and began to sleep in a huff.
"Oh? Section Chief Senior Staff, are you angry?"
Nishida didn't respond to Yoshimura's words and settled into his sleep. Needless to say, Yoshimura's achievement this time was not of a level that would be shaken by such a thing, and Nishida was more satisfied with the result than he was disappointed in his subordinate's pathetic nature, but he kept quiet for later.
They arrived at Morioka Station in about two hours and immediately transferred to a bus for Hanamaki Airport. By the time the plane that took off from Hanamaki Airport landed at New Chitose Airport, it was already dusk.
From the airport, they debated whether to enter Sapporo by JR or highway bus, but since JR would arrive faster, the two took the JR. However, neither of them rode all the way to Sapporo Station; they transferred to the Sapporo Municipal Subway Tozai Line at Shin-Sapporo Station and headed for their respective family homes.
Nishida got off at Maruyama Koen Station, while Yoshimura rode on to Nijuyonken Station. Since it was slightly off the rush hour, neither the subway nor the bus from Maruyama Koen was very crowded, but he still felt the presence of more people than in Kitami.
At home, his wife Yuka was waiting with dinner prepared. His daughter Mika was in a difficult period, being in her adolescence. She said "Welcome back" with a sullen face and went straight to her room. Thinking there was no point in reacting to every attitude of a rebellious daughter, Nishida devoted himself to listening to his wife's complaints while having a drink with her.
Apparently, women have a special ability to relieve stress just by having someone listen to them. Men, on the other hand, don't get stress relief just from being listened to. In fact, just chatting with almost no meaning can sometimes be stressful.
After acting as a listener for a while, he looked through the morning edition of the Doho before seeing the evening paper. Needless to say, he first looked at Takeshita's article. Today's article explained the events of the day the naval mine accident occurred, from the morning until the time of the incident, in chronological order.
According to the schedule, the series would continue until Sunday, as stated in Monday's article, so after today, it would end with two more installments: Saturday and Sunday, May 26th, the anniversary of the accident.
The next day, Saturday, May 25th. Nishida and Yoshimura, who met at Sapporo Station, were about to board the Okhotsk No. 3 bound for Abashiri. Nishida had slept soundly until after 8:00 AM when his wife woke him, likely due to fatigue, so he had hurriedly wolfed down breakfast to make it in time. Consequently, he had no time to read the newspaper and bought one at the station before boarding the limited express.
Since it was Saturday, the train was more crowded than on weekdays, but Yoshimura, perhaps still not having slept enough, surrendered himself to the pleasant, regular micro-vibrations of the tracks and dozed off occasionally. Nishida read the newspaper while trying not to make noise when turning the pages so as not to disturb Yoshimura's sleep.
The content of the article written by Takeshita before the final installment was that, in addition to the 112 officially announced victims, there might have been one mysterious additional victim.
The article began with the story that for the demolition work, blasting technicians were called in from the "Kitano-o Gold Mine" in Ikutahara and the "Konomai Gold Mine" in Mombetsu. While the Kitano-o technician, who was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon just before the demolition, escaped harm, the Konomai technician, who had been there since the morning, was caught right in the middle of it.
The problem was the content after that. At the scene of the horrific explosion, where the beach was stained with fresh blood and filled with cries of agony, it was natural that most of the bodies involved were not in a normal state, making individual identification extremely difficult. The death toll might have been handled simply by treating those who were at the scene at the time and did not appear afterward as deceased.
On the other hand, among those at the scene, one of the group of four Konomai technicians had actually remained missing after the accident. Perhaps the death toll was not the official record of 112, but 113; that was the gist of the article.
Of course, when he met Takeshita in Kitami, he had heard most of the general content of the reporting, so he should have known most of the article's content, but a fair amount had slipped from his memory.
"Hmm... Unlike now, there was no DNA testing, and there probably weren't many dentists, so identification from dental records would be tough. Even if you said to collate with fingerprints left in the house before they died, there wouldn't be enough personnel. It must have been hard," Nishida muttered to himself with such commonplace impressions as he moved his eyes to other articles.
After passing Asahikawa, Yoshimura woke up and said he wanted to read the newspaper, so Nishida handed it over and moved to the adjacent seat across the aisle, which happened to be empty. He killed time by looking at the scenery out the window while sitting comfortably. After passing Kamikawa, the train continued to run through a sparsely populated, dense forest and mountainous area.
After crossing the Kamikoshi Signal Station—the summit of the Sekihoku Main Line, a single-track station provided for passing trains—the Okhotsk No. 3 proceeded down a gentle slope toward Engaru, weaving through the small settlement of Shirataki Village (as of 2002; now the Shirataki district of Engaru Town due to a merger) and the river that seemed to carve away the cliffs.
And finally, as the train slid into Engaru Station, the direction of travel would reverse, so Nishida and Yoshimura each rotated their seats to face the new direction.
"I'm going down to the platform for a bit!"
Calling out to Yoshimura, Nishida took advantage of the somewhat long stop to get off the carriage. There was no particular meaning in stepping out, but he somehow wanted to breathe the outside air, and perhaps influenced by the "Sanno-iwa" he saw yesterday, he felt like looking directly and carefully at Ganbo-iwa, which was clearly visible from the Engaru Station platform, rather than through a window.
When he left Sapporo, it was a pleasant coolness, but immediately after stepping out the door, he shivered slightly. The temperature was probably about the same as in Sanriku yesterday. It was chilly with just a suit jacket.
Even after transferring from the Engaru Station, he had passed through Engaru several times, but he hadn't gazed at Ganbo-iwa as carefully as he did during his days of service. Perhaps because of that, the view from the edge of the platform gave the impression of considerable height. The natural "lookout" that the Ainu were said to have used to scout for enemies was still there, unchanged from when Nishida saw it daily. Before the flow of eternal natural time, seven years is but a momentary event. The fifteen-year statute of limitations for a murder case is likely not much different. However, for the current Nishida, even that moment was a time he could not overlook.
While immersed in such thoughts, the few minutes of stopping time also passed in a flash. He couldn't afford to be left behind, so as the direction of travel changed, he jogged into the carriage that would now be the front instead of the rear.
"Section Chief Senior Staff, eh? You didn't buy anything? I was sure you were going to buy an ekiben."
Yoshimura was surprised that Nishida had returned empty-handed... or rather, he was clearly dissatisfied. Come to think of it, it was indeed past 1:00 PM, a perfect time for lunch.
"Ah, I messed up!"
He clicked his tongue reflexively, but it was already too late. That said, he could buy something from the onboard sales, and since it would take less than an hour to reach Kitami, he decided it would be fine after returning to Kitami.
"It's fine even after we get to Kitami, right?"
"Well, I'm not that hungry, so that's fine, but..."
Even as Yoshimura said that, his tone suggested he wasn't convinced. Afterward, after getting off at Kitami Station and finishing lunch at a restaurant in front of the station, the two went straight to the Kitami Area Headquarters.
"Good work, everyone."
As soon as they entered the Violent Crimes Unit room, they exchanged greetings with colleagues and subordinates.
"How was it, Iwate?"
Since Team Leader Onga was off, Senior Staff Kusaka was the first to speak from the same investigation team.
"Even though it's Honshu, it was actually quite cold. About the same as here today, I guess."
"I see. Since it's northern Tohoku, I suppose that's not so strange."
"No, the first day was quite nice, balmy weather... it was a bit cloudy, but it felt like that."
Nishida said this while handing souvenirs to his subordinates. Even calling them souvenirs, they were things he had hurriedly bought at Hanamaki Airport, and it was debatable whether they could be called souvenirs in the true sense. However, considering that the famous Ofunato specialty "Kamome no Tamago" (Seagull's Eggs) was from Ofunato City, he held an internal excuse that they were indeed local sweets, just bought in a different place...
He thought after boarding the plane that he should have bought more of the karintou he received in Taro, not just the ones he was given, but since they weren't sold at the airport, it was a very late regret. Since Nishida and Yoshimura had each left the one bag they received at their family homes, there were none left to give to their colleagues in Kitami.
Sunday, May 26th. On this day, exactly the 60th anniversary of the "Yubetsu Mine Accident" that occurred on May 26, 1942 (Showa 17), Takeshita and his colleagues' serialized articles reached their final publication. Takeshita had been at the Monbetsu branch office since early morning. Today, he and Hamada were scheduled to cover the memorial ceremony itself. He had come to the branch office partly to prepare for that. And he was checking his own article in today's morning edition.
Today, the final day of the series, was a summary of how the accident 60 years ago connected to the present, a fitting conclusion. Faced with the fact that an incident not widely known to the general public was fading further into obscurity, the content concluded by considering how to pass it on across generations, including other events during the war. The article about today's memorial ceremony itself was to be published separately in tomorrow's morning edition.
While he felt he had summarized it well from Monday to Sunday, Takeshita also felt a bit dissatisfied. As a reporter, "fact-checking" should always be a "basic of basics" action when reporting, but he felt that it was weak this time.
This was because, not only was the incident not very well-known to begin with, but due to the barrier of 60 years, testimony and the grasp of facts had not been sufficiently obtained. Also, because it was a branch office with few reporters, he had to write various other articles and couldn't concentrate solely on this one.
Even so, he felt uneasy about proceeding with the writing of such a large article centered only on information from Professor Ouchi of Kitami Seiyo University. After all, it wasn't information Professor Ouchi had investigated directly himself, but merely inherited from the research results of his predecessor, Professor Takada, from decades ago.
Tossing the newspaper lightly onto his desk, Takeshita stood up from his chair and looked out at the Sea of Okhotsk from the office window. Although the temperature was quite low for the end of May, the weather was good, and he could see far.
"The weather seems fine."
As he stepped toward the window, he suddenly put his hand to his chin. The stubble that he should have shaved with an electric shaver while washing his face in the morning pricked the pad of his thumb. He thought he had shaved properly, but it seemed he had missed some.
"As I thought, a rush job on shaving is no good... I have to do it properly with a T-shaped razor..." Takeshita muttered, checking his chin by rubbing his finger back and forth several times.
"Takeshita-san, shouldn't we head out soon?"
When Hamada prompted him, Takeshita slung his bag strap over his shoulder. "Right. Let's get going."
Monday, May 27th. Takeshita was off this day and was idly watching the late-morning news on commercial television. However, he suddenly received a call on his mobile phone from Desk Kumada.
"Did some accident happen in the jurisdiction?"
When he answered hurriedly, he was immediately rebuked. "Hey, apparently a complaint came to the head office about your serialized article!"
"Eh—is it about my mine accident piece?"
"Yeah, of course it's that!"
"I see... regarding what?"
"Explanation later! Anyway, come here right now! Got it!?"
So saying, the call was cut off unilaterally.
"I guess my bad feeling was right..."
With a grimace, he immediately began preparing to go out. Fortunately, the branch office was only about a five-minute walk away. That was a help.
When he entered the room, Hamada was already standing in front of Desk Kumada's desk. Since he was working today, he must have been called long ago.
"Hello."
After greeting the other reporters and going in front of Kumada, the Desk tapped a paper on the desk with his finger, prompting him to "take a good look." Receiving it, Takeshita took the paper in his hand. At a quick glance, it seemed to be from the head office's City News Editor.
"Well?"
Kumada asked suddenly, but Takeshita hadn't grasped the essential problem yet.
"I haven't seen the contents yet."
"Read it quickly!"
Kumada's irritated voice echoed in the room.
Chapter 87: Actual Name and Reality 10 {Combined 19/20} (42–43, 44–45: Igarashi Conducts a Confirmation Interview at Sanyu Metal Mining Headquarters)
However, being told such things was something he was actually used to on a regular basis. Takeshita lightly brushed it off and skimmed through the main text. Apparently, a complaint had come from someone who worked at the Konomai Mine at the time, stating: "The missing person dispatched from the Konomai Mine was confirmed safe after the explosion, so he shouldn't be considered 'missing' in the sense of being dead."
"What, it's about the article on the 25th..."
To be honest, since it was called a complaint, Takeshita had thought he might have published direct erroneous information about personal details, but since it was just a request for correction of a "hypothesis," he felt a little relieved.
In the first place, for anyone other than "public figures," he hadn't put any personal information, including names, in the paper without permission from the bereaved family or the person themselves. At the same time, since he had harshly criticized the Engaru Station Chief at the time of the accident, he had considered a complaint from that side, but it wasn't that either.
"No, it's not 'What, just this,' Takeshita..."
Kumada snapped at Takeshita's remark, albeit gently. However, Takeshita also reconsidered that his remark was not at all a sincere attitude for a reporter, so he apologized profusely.
"That's exactly right. I'm truly sorry."
Hamada, who was watching, apologized as well, but Takeshita didn't want to make a rookie take responsibility.
"No, you're fine," he told him quietly.
"By the way, how about it? You have some idea about that content, right?"
"Desk, to be honest, I can't deny that the fact-checking was weak... I wrote it by layering Professor Ouchi's story from Seiyo University onto the established theory of 112 deaths. However, since it wasn't Professor Ouchi's own investigation but something he took from his predecessor, there's a possibility that Ouchi-san himself didn't understand it well. I was careless."
"In other words, the fact-checking was weak."
"Frankly, I have to admit it."
"I see, I understand... Well, fortunately, it's not something like libel against an individual, so the correction won't be a major undertaking. But still, we have to do the fact-checking properly. After all, this was the featured serialized article for our City News Department as a whole this week."
Kumada had calmed down a bit and was speaking in a cool tone.
"So, in what form will the correction be?"
"Let's see, Takeshita... It's not a problem I can easily decide here, how much volume to give it. However, at this point, it's also not good to assume your article was wrong, despite what I just said... Let's talk after confirming with the person who made the complaint. Editor Hieda wrote that too, right? Look until the end."
Indeed, toward the end, it was written to conduct a thorough confirmation interview before writing a correction article.
"Yes, you're right."
"We'll decide the extent of the correction article after that interview. If a correction is necessary, we'll decide on the volume and when to publish it after consulting with the head office. For now, that's all! Try contacting the complainant immediately. I'll report the current situation to the head office."
"Understood."
Following the Desk's instructions, Takeshita decided to call the source of information written on the paper from his seat. It seemed to be a person named "Kondo Seitarou" living in Asahikawa.
"Hello, is this the Kondo residence? I'm Takeshita, a reporter for the Monbetsu branch of the Hokkaido Shinpo. I'm calling as the person in charge of the article regarding Seitarou-san's inquiry about the article's content."
"Ah, yes. I am Seitarou."
Naturally, since he was said to have worked at the gold mine at the time, his voice sounded quite elderly.
"Ah, it's you. I heard you contacted us saying there was an error in the article."
"Yes, yes. That's right! The part saying that among the four blasting technicians from the Konomai Mine, in addition to the three who died, another one was missing and might have actually been dead because the body couldn't be confirmed—that's wrong."
His voice was that of an old man, but his speech was clear.
"Regarding that, the information we received here was that the missing person's survival was confirmed even after the explosion?"
"Yes, yes. Exactly that! At the time, I was working in the personnel department at Sanyu Metal Mining... or more accurately, Sanyu Imperial Metal Mining's Konomai Mine. When the accident happened, I received the report and went to the site immediately with several others. And man, the beach was in a terrible state... Many of the recovered bodies were such that you couldn't tell who was who."
"I see." Takeshita gave a nod.
"However, we heard from a policeman who was handling the accident—who had been at the scene but happened to be safe because he was further away—that our technician had been right next to the mine at the time of the explosion. So we prepared ourselves for the fact that probably none of them had survived. In fact, we weren't able to recover any of our technicians' bodies at all in the end."
"I see."
"But, when we listened carefully, he said he heard that our technician was by the mine from that missing technician himself. And apparently, he wasn't near death or anything; he seemed healthy and intact."
"In that case, it certainly doesn't seem like he died after that testimony or anything."
"Well, that's how it is. So, being 'missing' probably means he disappeared while still alive for some reason; that's the idea."
"Do you happen to know the name of that missing technician?"
"No, I'm sorry, but I don't remember that far back."
Kondo seemed to give a wry laugh, but this wasn't a level he could demand of the man.
"I see... Even so, the information you just gave me is enough. I understand. As for the rest, we'll investigate it here. Regardless, thank you very much for contacting us with the correct information."
"No, no, not at all! I'm sorry for being so nitpicky."
The old man spoke apologetically, but for Takeshita, those were now words from the heart.
When he hung up the phone, he reported the content to the Desk.
"It seems the reader's point is indeed correct. However, I haven't gotten the final confirmation yet. I'm sure there's still an office for Sanyu Metal Mining at the mine site in Konomai for wastewater treatment, so I'll call to see if any documents from that time remain."
Hearing this, Kumada kept his eyes on his documents without saying a word, but raised one hand in a sign of "approval."
Takeshita checked the office's phone number in the directory and called immediately. However, things didn't go quite so smoothly. It seemed the current office existed solely for "post-processing" after the mine's complete closure, and no old documents remained at all. He was told that if they existed, they might be at the Hokkaido branch of Sanyu Metal Mining in Sapporo.
Following that, Takeshita called the branch in Sapporo. This time, he was told, "We'll check with the person in charge, but it will take a few hours, so we'll call you back," and Takeshita had to wait for a while. Having nothing to do, he waited while helping other reporters, but time passed steadily, and it was already approaching 6:00 PM.
Since it was getting nowhere just waiting, he was about to head out for dinner when the phone rang. Hamada picked it up, but immediately handed it over.
"It's from Sanyu Metal Mining regarding that matter."
"This is Takeshita. Thank you for calling back."
"Hello, sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'm Asayama from General Affairs. Regarding the Konomai Mine... as you know, it's already an abandoned mine, and it seems most of the documents from that time have been sent to the headquarters in Tokyo. To be honest, it's unclear how many documents remain even there... I'm sorry, despite your inquiry..."
"Oh, Tokyo?"
Takeshita was very disappointed to hear that answer. Tokyo was not a distance he could easily travel to.
"Yes, that's right. I'm truly sorry."
"Then, do you know the department in charge at the Tokyo headquarters?"
"Based on what I've checked so far, if it's personnel matters, it might be the Personnel Department, and if it's related to an accident, there's a possibility it's the Archives. I'm not at a stage where I can say anything definitive right now, unfortunately."
Asayama's remarks went in a negative direction every time, and Takeshita felt like he was slumping further with each word he heard, but one can't be a journalist if they give up that easily.
"For now, could you tell me a place at Sanyu Metal's headquarters that might serve as a contact point for such inquiries?"
When Takeshita asked, Asayama replied, "In that case, I will give you the contact information for the head of the public relations department at the headquarters."
"Ah, yes, please do!"
Takeshita was genuinely happy that they had managed to stay "connected."
However, that joy, as expected, soon turned into a hollow one.
"I can't afford to let you go to Tokyo. Especially budget-wise!"
Upon receiving the report from Takeshita, Kumada immediately blurted this out. However, normally speaking, this was not a superior's tyranny but a natural statement. In reality, considering the current situation, for something that wouldn't become a major social issue even if it were a correction, a weak local branch couldn't afford to allocate much personnel or budget.
"Then, what happens?"
"We have to confirm it anyway, so wouldn't we have to ask someone at the Tokyo branch to go? Ultimately, it will be the decision of the head office (Sapporo)."
"If we're asking someone at the Tokyo branch, I'd like to ask an acquaintance if possible. Is that out of the question?"
"An acquaintance?"
Kumada looked at his subordinate suspiciously, but then seemed to realize. "Ah, you mean Igarashi?"
Takeshita had heard before that Kumada had also been a colleague of Igarashi at the Asahikawa branch when they were young. Kumada was two years older than Igarashi.
"Yes, Igarashi-senpai is currently in the City News Department in Tokyo, so I'd like to ask him if possible. I can convey our requests in detail too."
"True... All right. When I report the situation to the head office, I'll convey it as our request."
"Thank you very much."
Since Kumada had readily accepted his request, Takeshita felt a bit saved despite the bad turn of events.
On the afternoon of the next day, May 28th, by decision of the head office, the Monbetsu branch's request was accepted, and Igarashi was to go to Sanyu Metal Mining for a confirmation interview. Takeshita had contacted Igarashi by phone about what he wanted him to ask.
"Man, it's been a while since I was forced to be your errand boy."
He was greeted with an immediate opening punch, but Igarashi didn't seem to be seriously complaining.
"You really helped me out seven years ago."
"Well, that's fine. But it's a shame Oshima escaped in the end, and I couldn't get the big scoop you promised."
"That... might be true, but there might still be a great reversal."
"No, I'm done with that! I'm not expecting anything!" he said, cutting off his junior with a laugh.
"Well, that's fine if you say so, Senpai. So, my request is, please find out the name of the missing person, of course, and if you can find out the circumstances of the accident at the time. If possible, get copies of the documents too."
"Yes, yes... So that will serve as the backing for the fact that the missing person was alive after the accident. But, I checked the preliminary information documents sent from the head office, and if that's the case, wouldn't the Engaru Station where you used to be have more documents about the explosion? They were the ones involved, after all."
Igarashi's question was actually quite pertinent. If possible, he should check that too, but since Takeshita was now an "outsider" to the police, it was unavoidable that it wouldn't be so easy.
"That's as you say, Senpai, but I'm not a police officer anymore, and even if I had stayed in the police, it wouldn't be easy to request documents from outside the jurisdiction unless I was an officer at Engaru."
"I suppose. All right. Anyway, I'll do what needs to be done."
Igarashi said this, then told him he had already made an appointment with the Sanyu Metal Mining headquarters for the 30th, and ended the conversation.
On May 29th, Nishida at the Kitami Area Headquarters received a progress report from Sudo. Although the investigation wasn't complete yet, they had managed to pick out two or three people from the major organizations of the Aoi-ikka in Kanto using the keyword of being from around Iwate. If they picked out everyone in the Aoi-ikka just by being from Iwate, there would naturally be more, but the "selection" was made considering the high probability that the accomplice was from an organization close to the Shiun Association, which Kagami belonged to, using the joint crime with Kagami as a key point. He said he would report the names once the investigation had progressed a bit more.
Incidentally, Nishida was told that after confirming with experts, the dialect "abe" was indeed used throughout almost all of Iwate and parts of Miyagi.
He hadn't told even Yoshimura a single word, but Nishida held a kind of resolution similar to being in a desperate situation: if the investigation in this direction didn't go well, it would probably be impossible to catch the "living" perpetrator of the shooting incident. Although it was a clue that had suddenly dropped into his lap by chance, it had also become his last hope.
"Please, let him be found."
With a prayer—no, a plea—he put down the receiver.
On the afternoon of May 30th, Igarashi was visiting the Sanyu Metal Mining headquarters located in a high-rise building in Shiodome, near Shinbashi Station in Tokyo.
A Senior Staff named Kusumi from the Public Relations Department handled Igarashi's request. Kusumi had brought more documents than Igarashi had expected.
"Regarding your inquiry... somehow, the report from that time remained in the Archives... This is it. It seems they went to the trouble of creating it because a dispatched employee died in an accident, even though it wasn't inside the mine. However, because it was during the war, the paper quality is poor or acidification has progressed, so you need to be very careful when reading it..."
He spoke apologetically, but Igarashi confirmed bluntly, "Is it okay to make copies?"
"Well, if it's done carefully..."
"I see. Then there's no problem. In that case, it might be better to look at it after you've made the copies for me."
"Understood. Then, regarding this..."
So saying, Kusumi ordered a female clerk nearby to make the copies.
"Now, separately from the report, here is this. Regarding the missing person."
So saying, he placed a single sheet of paper in front of Igarashi.
"What is this?" Igarashi asked, peering at it.
"These are documents held by the Personnel Department of Konomai at the time. This is already a copy."
"I see. Then I'll take a look and ask questions if I have any."
Since there wasn't a large amount of information, Igarashi finished reading it quickly.
"I understand. So it's correct that this person is the missing person who appears in the report you'll show me later?"
"Yes, that is correct."
While waiting for the female clerk to finish the copies, Kusumi and Igarashi engaged in small talk, and the conversation naturally turned to the FIFA World Cup opening the next day, the 31st. As the first World Cup held in Japan, the country was showing considerable excitement.
"What do you think about the Round of 16?"
"There's no way the host country won't make it past the group stage."
While killing time with such conversation, the female clerk finally appeared with the original and two sets of copies. The number of pages wasn't large, but it apparently took some time because the work had to be done carefully so as not to damage them.
"Now, let me look at the report immediately."
Igarashi began to read carefully. However, the essential content was basically the same as what Takeshita had heard from Kondo. Based on that, he confirmed with Kusumi.
"So they didn't report it to the police after he went missing?"
"Looking at this, wouldn't it be correct to say they didn't? After all, he disappeared after giving testimony to the police about his deceased colleagues. In other words, they must have seen it as him disappearing voluntarily at the time. Besides, as written in here, if almost none of the 'belongings' of the person who vanished were left in his room at the dormitory, isn't it a most reasonable story to infer that he intended to leave regardless of the accident?"
Kusumi's explanation was logical.
"Hmm... yes. But then, why did he leave... I often hear that the treatment of miners and such at the time was... well, various things. But the report says there were no problems with his treatment or work attitude. Especially his work attitude seems to have been diligent."
"Regarding his work attitude, it's written that way, so it must be true. It's noted that it was only a matter of time before he went from an apprentice to a technician. Well, he seems to have been a bright person, so that point is likely true as well. And even for an apprentice, there's no way the treatment of the dynamite technician line was bad. Besides, Konomai was a cash-cow gold mine until it was temporarily closed during the war, so I'm confident that treatment was good for the time, including for general miners, compared to others in this industry."
A glimpse of pride as an employee of a major corporation, Sanyu Metal Mining, could be seen in that statement.
"In other words, regarding the reason he vanished afterward, we can take it that the conclusion of this report is simply 'we don't really know'?"
"That will suffice. In the first place, this interview was supposed to be an inquiry into whether a missing person actually existed, so the reason shouldn't be important, right?"
Kusumi's remark was indeed correct. For Igarashi, it was enough if a missing person actually existed and could be identified. Since there were grounds for correction, and Takeshita and the others would write the "correction text" themselves, there was no need for further pursuit. However, out of a reporter's bad habit, he had been trying to fish for more information than necessary.
It was a gentle protest, but because it was a rebuttal that hit the mark, the atmosphere, which had been amicable, changed completely, though quietly, and Igarashi was forced to give up on further questioning.