Chapter 123 - JK-Eating Old Man
By the time I arrived in front of the station, it was past one in the afternoon.
It was a slightly later arrival than planned, but it wasn't like I was late.
That's because Sugitani-san hadn't specified the meeting time in detail.
'For now, I want you to wait in front of the station. I think I can meet you around noon.'
He had sent me a rather vague instruction like that.
When I replied that I'd be in trouble if he couldn't decide on a more specific place and time,
'I apologize. Due to the nature of my profession, it's standard practice for me to be vague about where and when I'll be. I will definitely find you and call out to you from my side.'
He said.
He's a spy disguised as a policeman, after all.
As someone constantly walking a tightrope, he must be highly vigilant.
Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped, I thought, and so I obediently followed his instructions.
"...So, what am I supposed to do?"
For the time being, I sat down on a bench next to the bus stop and looked around the area.
Directly in front was a stall selling imported goods, to the east an intersection, to the west a commercial complex integrated with the station.
Families and young couples were walking around in droves, but I couldn't see anyone who looked like Sugitani-san.
Maybe he hadn't arrived at the station yet.
Just as I thought I might have come a little too early and took out my smartphone, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.
Could it be? I turned around, picturing that dandy face in my mind, and it was bingo.
"I've kept you waiting a bit."
My current employer, Sugitani-san, had made his appearance.
Apparently, today he was disguised not as a police officer, but as a businessman.
He wore a gray suit with a navy blue tie, and held a briefcase in his left hand.
"That's amazing, I didn't notice you at all. Just how long have you been there?"
When I honestly praised him, the kind-looking Public Security Intelligence Agent laughed bashfully.
"It's not that I was erasing my presence. I just naturally have a faint presence."
He was being modest, but he didn't seem entirely displeased. I could tell his voice was lilting.
...What are we doing, creating a good atmosphere between two old guys?
I pulled myself together and suggested, "Shall we go into a shop somewhere?"
"Yes. ...Actually, I've already decided. Look, there's a cafe over there."
Sugitani-san's finger pointed at a small, cozy cafe.
It was probably privately run, and the faded sign read "Tanida Coffee."
"It's a shop I make sure to stop by whenever I come here. Let's go."
I hurriedly chased after his back as he walked briskly away without waiting for a reply.
"Are you a regular? It must be a really delicious shop."
"No, the taste is average."
"...Then is it cheap?"
"The prices aren't that kind either."
"Then why do you frequent it so much?"
I didn't miss the sharp glint that flashed in Sugitani-san's eyes for an instant.
"I'll tell you once we're inside."
Is there something about that shop? Feeling suspicious, I moved my feet forward.
Sugitani-san's stride is long, so I have to consciously walk fast or I'll be left behind.
"I'm acquainted with the master here."
While giving vague responses like "Is that so?", we arrived in front of the entrance.
A black-painted wooden door with a gold knob. BGM faintly leaking out. The atmosphere wasn't bad.
"Let's take a seat in the back. It's usually open."
Sugitani-san wore a gentle smile, but he was radiating an air that could only be described as battle-ready.
He seems to have quite the history with this shop.
I stared intently at his suited back as he opened the door, emitting a tense aura.
I feel like I'm going to get on edge too, just by association.
Feeling strangely bewildered, wondering why I was so nervous just entering a coffee shop, I slipped inside.
A bell rang with a jingle-jangle, announcing a customer's arrival.
Apparently, a bell was attached to the top of the door.
"Welcome."
A small old woman greeted us with a smile.
She looked around seventy years old; was this person the owner?
"Ah, hello."
We both bowed our heads slightly at the same time and headed toward the back of the shop.
(The interior is quite elaborate.)
Is this what they call antique style? At first glance, it gives an impression of considerable elegance.
Well, I don't really understand what antique means, though.
It feels like an era advanced a few centuries from the other world I was in. A pre-Industrial Revolution European style, I guess?
A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and several expensive-looking plates were lined up on the walls.
And in the numerous flowerpots placed everywhere, countless flowers.
The chairs and tables were wooden and thoroughly polished.
The music playing was classical without lyrics (so there's no worry of being laughed at by my Language Comprehension skill).
It was a tasteful shop with a calm atmosphere flowing through it.
I became even more puzzled about what element of this shop made Sugitani-san radiate such pressure.
Could it be that he actually dated that old lady owner when they were young?
"Here, have a seat."
As I was thinking such rude thoughts, Sugitani-san's movement stopped abruptly.
It was a corner seat, far from both the restroom and the counter.
"It's about time you tell me. Why is this place your favorite?"
I asked as I sat down on the chair.
I had intended it as casual small talk, but Sugitani-san's eyes weren't smiling at all. His gaze moved quickly left and right, seeming to probe the surroundings.
There were no other customers besides us.
No staff were nearby either.
It seemed he intended to discuss something that would be bad if overheard.
"This shop is under my surveillance."
"Huh?"
"The master here is from the Zenkyoto generation. In her university days, she made a name for herself as a radical activist. ...She spent her days absorbed in left-wing activities bordering on terrorism, and because of that, she was unable to find proper employment. So after dropping out of university, she opened this cafe with the man she was dating at the time."
Come to think of it, I had heard something like that from Oyaji before.
He said that in the past, a cafe master had the image of someone from the baby boomer generation who had been a bit wild in their youth.
"That kind-looking old lady was a terrorist?"
"People aren't always what they seem. Despite how she looks, she's a dangerous individual who spent most of her twenties making Molotov cocktails. She also surrounded a police officer with her comrades and assaulted him. She served about three years in prison."
We will continue to monitor her until she dies, Sugitani-san murmured quietly.
"Normally, this isn't a topic to be discussed inside the shop, but fortunately, she's become quite hard of hearing. We've already confirmed her hearing ability. At this distance and with this tone, she shouldn't be able to hear anything. ...And there's music playing as well."
Please keep your voice around this volume too, Nakamoto-san, he cautioned me.
"...So that's how it is. Sugitani-san wants to discuss work with me while also keeping an eye on the surveillance target."
"That's right. It's killing two birds with one stone."
"What will you do if the owner makes a suspicious move?"
"I will shoot her dead."
He stated it definitively.
There was no hesitation whatsoever in his tone.
"Well, I think it's unlikely, though. She's old now. She probably doesn't have the stamina to run wild anymore."
"And yet you continue to stake out the place like this."
"Even if she can no longer act herself, there's the possibility she might indoctrinate someone. That's the most frightening action an aged radical can take. If she brainwashes her children or grandchildren, it becomes unmanageable."
"I see."
"Since we never know when this shop might become a training ground for far-left terrorists, it's necessary to keep a sharp eye on it. Now then. I'll go order some drinks. Coffee is fine, right?"
"Ah, yes. ...But it's bad to make you go, Sugitani-san. I'll do it, since I'm younger."
"No, please don't trouble yourself. Or rather, please let me do it. I want a pretext to talk to the owner."
"A pretext?"
"I want to order drinks while casually observing her. I can probe her mental state by looking into her eyes."
If that's the case, I reluctantly nodded.
For Sugitani-san, this is a chance to openly approach a potential criminal, so it must be necessary.
"Well then, please do."
As I gave a slight bow, Sugitani-san quickly stood up from his seat.
I could only admire how busy the public security profession is.
If I'm going to be made to help with this from now on, my workload might increase too.
The time I spend with Angelica and the others might decrease, I thought, feeling a little disheartened.
Perhaps because I devoted my teens and twenties to adventure, I've become a person with a thoroughly weak desire for career advancement.
If I can get enough wages to make a living, I want to secure as much free time as possible.
I wonder if I could consult with him about that?
I gazed at the menu on the table, lost in idle thought.
Organic salad, seafood pasta. A sandwich with homemade bacon.
The menu devised by a former terrorist accurately bombed my appetite center.
After all, I hadn't had lunch yet, so the more I looked, the hungrier I got.
...I wonder if we can talk while eating.
But if Sugitani-san has already finished lunch, I'll end up being the only one eating. That would be a bit awkward.
Just as I started to become defiant, thinking I'd just order something regardless of appearances if I reached my limit, Sugitani-san returned with a sullen look on his face.
He didn't look to be in a very good mood.
Could it be he saw some bad sign in the owner's face?
"..."
"Are you alright? ...May I ask what happened?"
"...It's something trivial."
Sugitani-san said, furrowing his brow.
"That owner has been convinced for a long time that the reason I frequent this shop is because I have feelings for her. ...To think she'd get flirtatious with a man over ten years younger than her. Every time I talk to her, she strokes my hand."
"...Well, you have my condolences."
He's a stoic handsome man like a Showa-era silver screen star, and he has an air about him that seems like he'd be popular with mature ladies.
This person seems to have his own share of hardships... especially with women... I suddenly felt a sense of affinity.
"It's always been like this for me. Only older women approach me. My wife is also three years older, actually."
"A older wife, huh? I hear that's not bad."
"I'm completely henpecked."
Women get stronger every time they give birth, he said with a wry smile.
"In that respect, Nakamoto-san, I envy you. You seem to be popular only with young women."
"No, no. My fan base seems to be housewives over thirty."
"That's not the scent of a housewife, is it?"
"...Scent?"
"You probably don't notice it yourself. ...I have a daughter who's in high school, and she sometimes brings friends home. When that happens, a sweet, glamorous fragrance hangs around the entrance. From your face, Nakamoto-san, a scent very similar to that is wafting strongly."
I couldn't help but cough violently.
I have to say, the numerous atrocities committed with Rio would make even a radical activist run away barefoot.
If the state authority old man in front of me were to find out about that...
"...You are still young, and your appearance isn't bad. There will be times when women approach you. However, this is far too blatant. ...What must one do to be cloaked in such a thick scent of young girls...? Surely, Nakamoto-san, you didn't rub your face against a teenage girl before coming here, did you?"
"—Huh?"
"You didn't, did you?"
"No, I have absolutely no recollection of doing that."
I merely had my face scrubbed vigorously with a teenage girl's bra; I didn't rub my body against her face.
Therefore, I'm not lying at all.
Feeling unpleasant sweat trickle down my back and armpits, I played dumb with all my might.
"...Hmm."
Sugitani-san placed his hand on his chin and stared intently at my face.
"...You certainly aren't lying. I can tell by looking at your eyes."
"R-right?"
"But you're hiding something. Those are the eyes of someone doing that. ...There's no doubt you had some kind of contact with a girl."
He's a sharp man. Or am I just too easy to read?
"...I had wondered why someone like you had a connection with Gondo, but so that was it. You shared the commonality of being a JK-loving old man..."
"That's a misunderstanding. I've loved married women since I was a newborn."
"Everyone is like that. A mother is basically someone's wife, so most male infants start life as lovers of married women."
"That's a novel interpretation, isn't it?"
"But as they age, their eyes start to shift to girls of the same age. When they get even older, their eyes go to women younger than themselves. That's how most men in the world are made. It seems many men have their preferences fixed particularly around the high school age. Like you and Gondo."
"Wait, please. I have no interest in high school girls."
"Does the name Rio Saito ring a bell?"
"I'm sorry. I did it."
Sugitani-san isn't a police officer, but I am a man who turns himself in cleanly.
I bowed my head deeply and held out both hands.
It was a pose saying, please put the handcuffs on.
"Please forgive me... I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. I got swept along. I'll come quietly, so please give me a suspended sentence."
"Won't you calm down? I told you before that I don't have the power of arrest."
He urged me to raise my head.
"I'm not blaming you for your sexual preferences."
"...No... my preference is really for married women around thirty... but Rio, how should I put it, resembled a woman from my past..."
"I, too, have conducted various dealings on the underside of society. I like to think I have the capacity to accept both good and bad."
"...But come to think of it, I've handled dangerous events with teenagers other than Rio too... maybe I really do have the disposition of a JK-eater...?"
"Please listen to what I'm saying."
"Yes."
I straightened my posture and looked directly into Sugitani-san's eyes.
His pitch-black pupils pierced through me. That gaze, as if the embodiment of society's common sense, was painful for someone who is a mass of guilt like me.
"It's a good thing to have desires. It's preferable to a person with no desires. As long as you give them suitable compensation, they won't betray you, after all."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"How about this?"
Sugitani-san lowered his voice slightly and said.
"If you carry out the jobs I request, how about I use the authority of Public Security to offer you a young policewoman? I have some leverage over the police organization. They should comply."
"...W-wait, that's a bit... huh? What is this? Do I really look like the kind of guy who lives for young women?"
"I'll prepare a policewoman with as youthful a face as possible, matching Nakamoto-san's tastes. If you have specifications for hairstyle or chest size, please don't hesitate to say so. I'll take them into consideration."
"What kind of shop is this!?"
A voice loud enough that the owner might hear it escaped me.
Sugitani-san warned me to be quiet, but this wasn't a situation where I could easily calm down.
"There's still time, so please think carefully about what kind of girl you'd like."
"...I-I'm not lending a hand to Public Security because I want to be provided with a woman..."
"Coming from a person whose face is emitting the scent of a teenage girl, that's not convincing at all."
"Ugh."
"Or perhaps, could it be you'd prefer an active high school student? Even I can't accept such outright depravity."
"...Couldn't we switch to some other form of compensation?"
"Middle school age or younger is impossible."
So I want to say I'm not a lolicon, but the fact that I flirted with a sixteen-year-old girl doesn't disappear.
The cross deeply embedded in my chest dulls my eloquence.
"...It is possible to arrange a policewoman who only looks about middle school age, though."
That's not it, I retorted with my eyes.
"You seem dissatisfied. ...Then do you desire a policewoman who looks about elementary school age?"
Is there such a person!? I reflexively opened my eyes wide.
It was simply from astonishment, but that was a mistake.
Sugitani-san interpreted my action as "biting at the proposal,"
"Ah, a good reaction. As I thought, Nakamoto-san likes young women. Well then, I'll immediately contact an exceptionally innocent-looking policewoman."
And so, he formulated a plan that was criminal in itself...