Chapter 32 - Interrogation
What on earth happened to this girl?
I have a terribly bad feeling.
Because.
Ayako-chan's clothes, visible from the collar of her coat, are torn.
From Ayako-chan's perspective, the collarbone on her right side is exposed.
And yet, the left side is properly hidden by a thick sweater.
The clothes are ripped right down the middle.
I feel my chest tightening.
Disordered clothing, a crying girl, a jumping suicide.
What is associated with those?
"No way..."
Anyway, I have to get away from here.
This is quite a spectacle.
I leaned my mouth close to Ayako-chan's ear and asked if she could walk.
"..."
She shook her head silently.
I had no choice but to pick her up and move her.
"You're light."
"...Ah..."
Pushing through the crowd, I headed back to the ticket gate.
I went to the window and explained the situation to the person in charge.
The one who responded was a young station attendant.
He was so humble it made me feel apologetic.
"No, you really helped us out. If a body turns up, we're busy all day."
The station attendant, who came out from the door beside the window, offered to guide us to the railway police station.
...Is something like an interrogation going to start?
It's not like I did anything wrong; in fact, I might be thanked.
But it will take up time. I have a variety show recording starting now.
Should I tell the staff I'll be late?
"This way."
While I was hesitating, the station attendant started walking. He was incredibly fast.
I didn't have time to take out my smartphone.
I hurriedly chased after the back clad in a navy blue uniform.
Turning through maze-like passages many times, we proceeded deeper and deeper.
Eventually, a red lamp and a poster that said 'Groping is a crime' came into view.
Beyond the glass door, several police officers were waiting.
It looked like a police box had been forcibly fitted inside the station.
I asked Ayako-chan, "Can you explain for yourself?"
"..."
She nodded slightly. It should be okay to put her down now.
Ayako-chan, the station attendant, and I—the three of us stepped into the police station at the same time.
As soon as the officers looked at us, they sharply asked, "Is it groping?"
It seems that with a combination of an old guy and a weakened girl, that's the first thing they suspect.
"No, this person rescued her after she fell from the platform."
The station attendant explained in a flustered manner.
Suddenly, the officer's expression softened, and he pulled out a folding chair, saying, "Please, have a seat." His tone was calm, but his eyes weren't smiling. Since his job involves doubting people, it might be a kind of occupational hazard.
I first had Ayako-chan sit down, then sat in the chair next to her.
I'll probably be bombarded with questions.
It looks like it'll take a while.
I'd like to contact the show staff, but unfortunately, it's not that kind of atmosphere.
"Was it an accident?"
An elderly officer said. But his eyes, which held a light that shouldn't be underestimated, were silently saying, 'It was a suicide attempt, wasn't it?'
"It was an accident. Right, Ayako-chan?"
I thought I'd try to steer things in a peaceful direction as much as possible.
I've heard that if you stop a train with a suicide attempt, they take your money. If it's an accident, wouldn't she just be treated as a victim?
"...Please don't tell... the school."
Ayako-chan whispered in a voice so small it was hard to catch.
The officer prompted, "I can't hear you. Could you say that again?"
"...Please don't tell... my home, or the school."
The officers looked at each other and began to talk in low, rustling voices.
After a while, they addressed me.
"You were calling her by name earlier; are you two acquaintances?"
They included me in the questioning. They probably decided that would be quicker.
"Yes. She's the daughter of the bookstore I go to."
"Then you know her identity. Could you tell us the name of that shop?"
Otsuki Books... I was about to say, when it happened.
"No...!"
Suddenly, Ayako-chan stood up and covered my mouth.
"Please absolutely do not let my mother know."
I don't want to cause trouble, Ayako-chan pleaded in a desperate voice.
The look in the officers' eyes changed.
I could see their gazes moving up and down, observing Ayako-chan's body as if crawling over it.
It was a purely businesslike, emotionless look. They would probably look at a man's body or a blood-stained blade with the same kind of eyes.
"...Her clothing is in disarray."
I'll call a female officer, the elderly officer muttered.
After that, Ayako-chan was surrounded by several female officers and was saying something in a hushed voice.
As for me, even though I was told I could go home now, I'm waiting outside the station like this.
I can't just leave her, after all.
I told the TV station that I got caught up in a person-related accident.
It's not a lie, so I hope they'll forgive me with that.
I hope it doesn't affect my future workload.
Looking at my phone, it's already almost 10:30 AM.
Even if I went to the studio now, I wouldn't make it to the recording anyway.
As I was walking around in circles on the spot, that young station attendant came out.
Since Ayako-chan stubbornly refused to give her contact information, he apparently had something he wanted to tell me.
"No matter the reason, if you stop a train, we collect money. In the form of sending an invoice at a later date."
He explained that since there was no damage to the train and the time it was stopped was short, it would be an amount less than 100,000 yen.
"If you know her contact information, could you tell us?"
If we don't get this, we can't send her home, he pleaded.
"What is Ayako-chan saying?"
"She's just insisting 'absolutely don't tell my mother.' Well, I understand not wanting her family to know, but..."
A payment of less than 100,000 yen.
Ayako-chan, who can't go home unless she gives her contact information.
My steadily rising performance fee.
Sigh.
I'm not called a Hero in another world for nothing.
I really am a soft touch.
"Fine. I'll tell you her home address and phone number."
To the station attendant whose voice brightened with relief, I gave my own contact information.
It's a painful expense.
I went back inside the station and spoke to Ayako-chan.
"They said you can go home now. Let's go."
I'm an acquaintance of this girl's parents, so I'll take her home, I told the officers.
"Any way to prove it?"
Is it not enough that Ayako-chan is nodding her head vigorously?
"...Nakamoto-san is... really close with my mother."
"Well, we have his contact info on record," one of the officers said.
Fatigue was starting to show in his voice.
I felt that they also wanted to be released from the troublesome, silent girl.
"Then, can we leave it to you?"
Of course, I said, thumping my chest.
What am I doing?
I remembered my youth when I was used for things like the Orc Extermination Operation or the Live Capture of a Dragon because I was like this.
"...Nakamoto-san."
"What?"
"..."
I felt like I heard a "thank you."
"Don't worry about it. I'm a Hero, after all."
"Hero...?"
"Oops, that's just something I say."
I suggested to Ayako-chan, who approached with hollow steps, that we rest somewhere.
Does taking a minor around without permission count as an 'incident' these days?
Even so, I was just seen off by the police.
I want to believe it's safe.
I deliberately walked with small steps, advancing at a speed a girl could keep up with.
On the way here, I noticed a certain famous coffee chain store.
I can't quite remember the name, but if I say the logo with a white mermaid in a green circle, it should mostly get across.
They won't get mad if we stay there for a long time, and it should be a good place to calm her down.
Come to think of it, am I paying for the drinks too? I probably am.
"...Um."
"What is it?"
"...I didn't have... the kind of thing the police officers were thinking done to me."
"Meaning?"
My heart tightened, thinking she might not want to accept a harsh reality.
"I... multiplied."
...Has Ayako-chan already gone crazy?
While feeling a tinge of anxiety, we arrived in front of the coffee shop.
I had Ayako-chan sit in a seat first. It was a seat in the back, carefully chosen so she couldn't be seen from outside the shop.
It's basic etiquette when with a woman.
I feel strange, remembering when I had a meal with Elsa, as I lined up at the counter.
Since there were few customers at this time, my turn came quickly.
"Your order?"
Two drinks, please, I said, holding up two fingers.
The clerk rattled off things like 'Tall' and 'Grande,' but I didn't understand the meaning at all.
The Language Comprehension skill doesn't react to one's native language.
And even if it reacts to something other than the native language, it feels weird.
...Are 'Tall' and 'Grande' treated as native language?
If a Japanese person says them with katakana pronunciation, they might be counted as Japanese.
It's a truly unhelpful skill.
"Anything is fine, so one that a girl would like. I'll leave the other one for me to you."
I left it entirely to the clerk.
I thought it was better not to take any weird risks.
If I chose with my sense, I'd probably fail.
After a while, two cups came out. I was told names that sounded like incantations, like Caramel Macchiato and Caffe Mocha, in a fast-paced voice.
Probably, from the atmosphere, the caramel one is for Ayako-chan.
I walked slowly so as not to spill, heading toward the seats.
It was a spot with two sofas facing each other across a small wooden round table.
Naturally, it was a setup for talking face-to-face.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Ayako-chan's expression remained downcast.
"You said you multiplied earlier, but what does that mean?"
Drink up, I said, recommending the caramel-whatever.
But she didn't try to touch it. Did she not like it?
I hope it's just that she has no appetite.
"...The baseball player. And the famous shogi person. They increased, didn't they, recently? It's that."
So that's how it is, I thought while putting a straw in my mouth.
"Then, what. Are there two Ayako-chans now?"
"Yes."
"When did you increase?"
"Late last night."
According to what Ayako-chan said.
Around 11:00 PM last night, she realized she was out of mechanical pencil lead and headed to a convenience store.
While walking back looking at her smartphone, she suddenly felt a pain in her back.
A pain so intense it almost made her lose consciousness.
When she next woke up, Ayako-chan's clothes were half-torn. The right side was apparently completely bare.
The first thing she thought was the possibility that she had been assaulted.
When she checked her body in a panic, fortunately, there was no such sign.
Not a single drop of blood was shed.
When she raised her face after breathing a sigh of relief... like a mirror image, another version of herself was sitting there.
"Our eyes met."
The other Ayako-chan was bare on the left side.
It was as if one set of clothes had been cut into two.
Immediately, the multiplication incident came to mind.
The problem here was, then, which one was the one who increased?
Ayako-chan looked at her own hands. She had nothing.
However, the other self in front of her was holding a smartphone in her right hand. The familiar smartphone she had been operating until the moment she was slashed by someone.
"...That's why, I'm the fake. I'm the one who was added later."
The two Ayako-chans headed home, hiding the exposed parts of each other's skin.
Her family was already asleep and hadn't noticed that their daughter had doubled.
A discussion between the identical people began.
The argument was dominated by the Ayako-chan who had the smartphone. The conviction that she was the real one made her assertive.
'I don't think the world will accept us if we, who aren't geniuses or anything, increase.'
'Child-rearing expenses will double, so I feel bad for our parents. There's no way we can tell them.'
'Suppose we did tell them, what kind of life would be waiting for us?'
'Are we going to split all our assets between the two of us from now on? Wouldn't the quality of life just suddenly become half?'
'Above all,'
"'Because the man we like is the same too. Do you intend for us to fight over him?' she rebuked me."
What was the way for the fake Ayako-chan not to cause trouble for the real one?
The conclusion the two reached was death.
A swift, self-inflicted death.
"...I think the other me was shaken too. We were both arguing while crying."
The "this" Ayako-chan, who had run out wearing a coat, seemed to have been wandering around the station all night.
She had to die quickly, or she would be a burden to herself.
But she couldn't bring herself to do it.
She wanted to live.
But she had to die.
While she was hesitating, morning came—leading to that jumping suicide attempt.
That was the story.