Chapter 44 - Solo Infiltration
I walk through the town in the morning, alone.
My destination is, of course, Saeki's house.
Since this investigation is being conducted during my precious time off, I want to achieve some kind of result.
The reason I chose to act alone this time was to consider what might happen if I fell into combat.
It would be troublesome if Angelica were taken hostage again. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to defeat even opponents I could normally beat.
Angelica had clung to me persistently, saying she wanted to come along, but it couldn't be helped.
I move forward while checking the map on my smartphone.
It's almost here.
I pass a dental clinic and turn left. A few dozen meters ahead, a single private house comes into view.
It is a small, two-story residence.
Neither wealthy nor poor.
It gave me the impression of a home maintained quietly by a lower-middle-class person burdened with a mortgage.
When I look at the nameplate, it says Saeki.
This is it.
I apply Concealment Magic and stand before the entrance.
Right now, I am invisible to ordinary people, and if anyone were able to see me, they would be an esper.
If someone were to peer through a smartphone camera, I'd be caught instantly, but the probability of someone accidentally filming me moving around at seven in the morning is virtually non-existent.
Even if I take somewhat bold actions, there won't be a problem.
That said, I can't exactly go and ring the doorbell quite so brazenly, so for the time being, I decide to trespass into the garden.
I leap over the wall and land in the flowerbed.
It is a well-maintained garden. Saeki's parents must have a hobby for gardening.
Should I jump onto the roof from here to scout the second floor?
A child's room is usually located on the second floor.
Saeki doesn't attend high school. If that's the case, there's still a possibility he is sleeping in his own room.
However, if he is also someone who returned from another world, his lifestyle cycle would likely be a morning type.
If you live in a medieval-style world, it naturally becomes that way.
If so, he might already be in the living room.
The second floor or the first floor—which should I check?
As I am hesitating, I hear the sound of the front door opening.
Could he have noticed me? Or did a family member just happen to come out?
Just in case, I brace myself.
Depending on the situation, I might enter combat right here.
"I'm heading out!"
However, it was a needless worry.
The owner of the voice is a girl.
This must be Saeki Yuta's younger sister, Kana.
She is a teenage girl, around the same age as Rio or Angelica. Dressed in a blazer uniform, she hunches her shoulders as if she's cold.
Her appearance is average.
If her immediate family is like this, I speculate that Saeki's appearance is likely average as well.
This is convenient; since the door opened, I might as well intrude.
Taking advantage of the fact that I am invisible, I sneak into the Saeki residence. I slip past Kana and enter the entryway.
As for the shoes... I decide to take them off, for now.
I thought it might be inappropriate to walk in with outdoor shoes before the opponent was confirmed to be the culprit.
As I am lining up the shoes, a middle-aged woman crosses in front of me.
She is likely this house's mother.
Being a weekday morning, she was running around busily.
She is slightly plump with hair pulled back tightly. She looks to be around fifty.
I pass by her carefully to avoid a collision and head up to the second floor.
Immediately after climbing up, I see two doors.
One is likely Saeki's room, and the other is his sister's room.
I head toward the closer door first and place my hand on the knob.
I thought it would be a hassle if it were locked, but fortunately, it was open.
It might be a house that follows a policy of not putting locks on children's rooms.
I slowly open the door.
"...Not this one."
With one glance, I am certain it's the wrong one.
After all, pink items fill the entire room.
On the bed, there are countless stuffed animals, likely collected from crane games.
It is definitely the sister's room.
I close the door and approach the other room.
I softly place my hand on the doorknob.
As expected, this one is also unlocked.
Since I don't know what might come out, I first open it just a little bit.
I poke only my face through the gap and cautiously observe the situation.
It's not as if Saeki is standing there with a sword drawn—
I breathe a sigh of relief.
It is empty.
While feeling a bit let down, I swing the door wide open.
The interior is dark, and both the curtains and the carpet are blue.
Game consoles and boys' magazines are scattered about carelessly, giving it the distinct atmosphere of a teenage boy's room.
A half-finished 500ml plastic bottle was sitting on the floor.
However, no other kind of trash was lying around.
That isn't what's strange. I don't care about trash. The abnormality of this room lies elsewhere.
It's quite severe.
Yuta Saeki's room had holes in every wall.
Judging by the size and shape, they were likely made with a fist.
It wasn't just ten or twenty. I feel an extraordinary level of aggression.
I don't know if this guy is just a former shut-in or the Summoned Hero.
Whichever it is, it's certain that his mental state is on the edge.
Yes. To the point where it wouldn't be strange if he suddenly slashed at someone from behind and attempted to multiply.
It would be unbearable to be caught off guard by such a person.
No matter how much I stay on guard, it wouldn't be enough.
I considered the possibility of Saeki hiding and checked under the bed and in the closet as well.
But no one is lurking there.
Yuta Saeki is not here.
I leave the room.
I return to the first floor and step into the living room this time.
Looking, I see the mother busily applying makeup in front of a mirror.
She might be heading out to her part-time job soon.
A man who appears to be the father is reading a newspaper intently.
An everyday life in the absence of the son. Where is Yuta Saeki?
As I direct my eyes toward the interior of the room, the father speaks as if something just occurred to him.
"Is Yuta out for a walk again?"
The mother says nothing, merely tapping a puff against her face.
"Just when I thought he was going to stay cooped up forever, he suddenly starts going out every day. What is with that boy?"
"It's better than him being at home."
"I wonder who he takes after?"
"...You, right? You're the spitting image."
"He might look like me, but his personality is like yours. Even after playing around at home for ten years, he suddenly starts working on a whim. He's just like you."
"Well, if you realize you've fallen off the track to promotion, you're going to go out and work."
"Huh?"
The atmosphere is hostile.
They are starting a marital spat first thing in the morning.
I somehow find myself feeling awkward as well, caught up in it.
It makes me realize... one shouldn't watch the daily lives of other people's families...
I'll investigate what I need to investigate quickly and go home.
According to the father's words, Yuta Saeki is outside.
If so, staying inside the house is a waste.
I go to the entrance and shove both feet into my shoes.
While tapping my toes against the ground, I step outside.
I lean my back against the wall and cross my arms.
All that's left is to wait for the person in question to return.
I exhale. It clouds white.
The cold wave still covers the town.
I look up at the sky and listen intently, doing nothing in particular.
While doing so, time simply passes.
Has about five minutes passed?
Since just waiting is boring, maybe I'll play a smartphone game.
Just as I began thinking such things,
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
I hear footsteps.
I also hear the sound of someone breathing heavily.
The owner of the sound seems to have been jogging since the morning.
...They are approaching here.
A thin boy in a tracksuit comes running toward me.
With unsteady steps, he stumbles into the garden as if about to collapse.
Is this guy Yuta?
"Status Open"
I perform a status appraisal on the boy who has crouched on the ground to catch his breath.
[Name] Yuta Saeki[Level] 1[Class] Unemployed[HP] 35[MP] 0[Attack] 65[Defense] 50[Agility] 70[Magic Attack] 10[Magic Defense] 70[Skill] None[Remarks] A boy who fell into becoming a shut-in due to bullying. Currently, he has made up his mind and is concentrating on building physical strength to reintegrate into society.
"...What?"
And then, I am made to realize that my intuition was wrong.
Yuta Saeki is not the Summoned Hero.
He possesses no skills whatsoever, and his physical abilities are lower than an ordinary person's.
He is just a former shut-in, a harmless civilian struggling to somehow change himself.
There is no way he could do something like cutting people apart and multiplying them with Recovery Magic.
Saeki is not the culprit of the multiplication incident.
It was the moment I realized I would have to start my reasoning from scratch.