It Can’t Be That Awkward
I had known Akemi Miyano earlier, but I had a closer relationship with Miyano Shiho.
Naturally, although Akemi Miyano and I were the same age and had met once when we were six, we hadn’t seen each other more than ten times in total afterward. It was only after I went to study in the United States and became close with Miyano Shiho that I reconnected with her.
Then, because I had more freedom of movement than Miyano Shiho, and Akemi Miyano wasn’t my sister, I ended up meeting with Akemi Miyano more often than with Miyano Shiho afterward.
Still, I was quite surprised to hear that she had a boyfriend.
Although Akemi Miyano, unlike Miyano Shiho, didn’t have outstanding research talent and lived an ordinary life, she was still under the Organization’s surveillance… So, does that mean this behavior was approved or even allowed by the Organization?
I maintained a smile on my face and shifted my gaze to the person beside Akemi Miyano.
He was quite tall. The similarity Shiho had mentioned between him and Gin was mainly a visual impression—Gin was 189 cm tall, and this guy looked about the same height.
The second similarity was the hair. Gin had waist-length long hair, and this guy’s hair was similarly long.
This Moroboshi Dai also had a long face with high cheekbones. Judging by his facial features and eyes, he probably had European ancestry… A mixed-race background?
If you really started looking for similarities, at first glance, there was indeed a certain sense of déjà vu.
If it weren’t for the fact that this guy was Akemi’s boyfriend, and the fact that I had sworn to find a substitute for Gin—something only Gin and the recently informed Miyano Shiho knew about—I’d almost suspect this was a honey trap targeting the Organization and aimed at me.
Ah, it could also be a roundabout method Gin came up with to get rid of me.
“Hello, I’m Natsume Natsuki,” I greeted with a smile, casually linking arms with Miyano Shiho beside me.
No particular reason—I just felt like holding her arm.
Perhaps because this “brother-in-law” was different from what she had imagined, Shiho didn’t pull her arm away, her attention not on me. Instead, she greeted him coolly, “Hello, I’m Miyano Shiho.”
Although the start was a bit awkward, as long as the other party didn’t know we were awkward, we could pretend the awkwardness didn’t exist.
Akemi Miyano was quite considerate, and it seemed like she had really just intended to introduce us. From her interactions with her boyfriend, their relationship seemed good—at least on the surface, nothing seemed off.
Shiho and I acted as dutiful background characters, keeping a low profile.
Shiho was habitually aloof with people she wasn’t familiar with, while I was simply hungry and wanted to eat.
However, this man who called himself Moroboshi Dai was quite adept at handling the situation and even struck up a conversation with us.
“I heard from Akemi that Shiho works at a research institute? Is Miss Natsuki also Shiho’s colleague?”
Although it was a bit forward to call her Shiho on the first meeting, given his relationship with Akemi and the fact that Shiho was still several years away from adulthood—an age where elders could call her by her first name—it wasn’t overly familiar.
To this question, I replied, “You could say that.”
Akemi Miyano smiled from the side and added, “Natsuki and Shiho studied abroad together. Natsuki is quite impressive too.”
I quietly pushed the carrots on my plate to the side and looked up, declaring with a righteous expression, “That’s right, you can call me doctor.”
Moroboshi Dai’s eyes showed understanding. “So you’re a doctor…”
I replied without changing my expression, “The other kind of doctor.”
Moroboshi Dai: “That’s still impressive, especially at your age.”
I nodded: “Well, because I’m a genius.”
Moroboshi Dai: “…Yes, indeed.”
Overall, the meal proceeded quite normally. Perhaps because he was the eldest present, Moroboshi Dai made conscious efforts to lighten the atmosphere.
I felt a slight sense of incongruity, but since he was brought by Akemi Miyano, and with the Miyano couple absent, Shiho and I were essentially Akemi’s only remaining relatives – Shiho being the blood relative while I was the additional attachment… Thinking of it this way, it made sense that he’d want to curry favor with the bride’s family, so I temporarily set aside that feeling of oddness.
However… While his attitude wasn’t problematic, there were plenty of other issues.
“And what about you, Mr. Moroboshi? What do you do for work?”
“I used to run a small business, but currently I’m looking for new employment,” he answered in a steady tone, glancing at Akemi Miyano beside him with gentle eyes. “Since I’m dating Akemi now, I feel it’s time to settle down.”
“I see…” I drew out the syllable, maintaining a friendly smile while unable to completely conceal the calculating look in my eyes.
Left-handed, impeccably careful with his words, appears to have a good relationship with Akemi – at least Akemi clearly seems to be in love… Just a coincidence? But occasionally, there’s this feeling of deliberateness…
Well, Akemi herself isn’t some naive, brainless person. She has basic discernment. If there are problems, they’re her troubles to deal with. At most, I’ll remind Shiho about it later.
Having made up my mind, I withdrew my probing gaze and finished the meal as if nothing was wrong.
“I’ll take Shiho back to the research institute later, Akemi, so don’t worry about it,” I said while leaving. As a test, I extended my left hand toward Moroboshi Dai. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Moroboshi.”
Moroboshi Dai subconsciously began to extend his left hand, but paused mid-motion and withdrew it, instead offering his right hand for a brief handshake with a polite smile. “The pleasure was mine.”
…Although I knew there was something fishy, this was just too obvious. It’s hard to pretend not to notice.
So I calmly… extended my other hand. “Let’s shake with this hand too.”
Shiho Miyano, standing nearby, frowned and shot me a questioning look.
I turned to her and began fabricating: “It’s a mysterious fortune-telling ritual I saw before.”
Shiho’s mouth twitched, giving me a “you’re just making this up” look before turning to the dark-haired man opposite who showed hesitation. She said calmly, “Just humor her. Her mental age is only three.”
I showed a disapproving expression: “Hey!”
Shiho: “Five years old.”
Me: “Fine.”
Moroboshi Dai: “…”
Moroboshi Dai’s smile froze for a moment, while Miyano Akemi beside him showed a worried gaze… looking at her boyfriend, she replied softly, “Just do as she says.”
Moroboshi Dai couldn’t help but glance at his girlfriend before turning back to me, this time finally extending his left hand openly for a handshake.
The moment our hands clasped, I immediately felt a sense of familiarity – the position of the calluses on his hand most likely came from gun use.
What a coincidence, Gin is also left-handed.
…This really isn’t a trap set specifically for me, is it?
No, thinking more carefully, it’s more likely targeting the Miyano sisters. I must be overthinking it.
I released his hand and withdrew mine, giving him a fake smile.
So… combining what he said during dinner, was this guy previously engaged in work similar to a private cleaner and now hiding it for Akemi’s sake? Or was there another purpose?
Never mind, it probably doesn’t concern me much.
“So… do you think there’s something wrong? That man.” Miyano Shiho suddenly spoke up during our leisurely return journey, breaking her long silence.
“Hmm… it’s hard to say.” I kept my hands in my coat pockets, withdrawing my gaze and looking ahead. “Let’s observe a bit more. Anyway, the intelligence division will handle it. It’s not our business.”
Miyano Shiho fell silent for a moment before suddenly showing a puzzled expression. “But Cocoa Wine, aren’t you also from the intelligence division?”
Me: “…Ah.”
Damn, I’ve been slacking off for so long that I almost forgot.
This was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Moroboshi Dai thought to himself.
Moroboshi Dai’s real name wasn’t Moroboshi Dai, but Shuichi Akai, an FBI investigator whose target was Miyano Akemi, whom he had deliberately approached two months ago. The FBI had previously discovered Miyano Shiho’s existence during their investigations in the US, which led them to Miyano Akemi. They wanted to use this connection to get close to Miyano Shiho, who held a certain position within the Organization, with the goal of infiltrating the Organization as an undercover agent.
However… Shuichi Akai hadn’t expected that there would be another person present during his first meeting with Miyano Shiho.
Since Miyano Akemi had previously only described Natsume Natsuki as a friend, he hadn’t initially considered the possibility of her being connected to the Organization. After all, during his investigation of Miyano Akemi and their relationship, he had discovered that although Miyano Akemi was monitored by the Organization, it was because of her sister. She herself didn’t participate in any Organization activities and lived like an ordinary person. This was precisely why he chose her as his entry point.
Naturally, he wouldn’t have assumed from the start that her friend was an Organization member.
But… the probing and covert scrutiny from Natsume Natsuki today gave him some clues about her identity.
That level of sharpness, vigilance, and suspicion matched the Organization’s image even more than Miyano Shiho beside her.
Shuichi Akai knew that Miyano Shiho was a researcher. His initial plan was to use her connections to meet other Organization members, then demonstrate his abilities and ambition to gain entry.
He never expected things to go so smoothly, with half the battle already won…
Just as Shuichi Akai was thinking about how to subtly extract more information about Natsume Natsuki from his girlfriend without making it seem like he was interested in her and causing misunderstandings, Miyano Akemi, who was checking a newly received email on her phone, accidentally laughed out loud.
Shuichi Akai noticed something amiss and smiled at her, asking, “What’s so interesting?”
“Huh? No, nothing…” Akemi Miyano put away her phone, coughing twice in an attempt to cover up, and laughed, “It’s just a funny email.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
“You wouldn’t understand the punchline of this joke, Dai-kun.” Akemi Miyano waved her hand dismissively, “It’s from Natsuki. Her sense of humor is a bit… unique.”
Shuichi Akai didn’t press further.
Of course, he took her words with a grain of salt. Such an obviously suspicious situation was something he wouldn’t overlook.
That night, he secretly checked Akemi Miyano’s phone and recovered her recently deleted emails. For an ace FBI agent with decent hacking skills, this was well within his capabilities.
However…
“From Natsuki: I think you should find someone else. Not to be harsh, but look—your guy tried starting his own business before and didn’t achieve much, now he’s unemployed. He has calluses on his hands, meaning he does manual labor, yet he tries to hide it from you. He’s almost thirty, jobless, and not even trying to find work. Clearly, he’s just looking for a free ride! And he even goes after female college students! You know exactly what kind of mindset a grown man has when he targets female students! You really need to be more careful!”
Shuichi Akai: “…” He was only twenty-seven, okay!
He silently moved on to the next email.
“From Natsuki: Oh, and another thing. Look, Shiho is only thirteen and already working in a research institute. Your guy’s first reaction wasn’t even about illegal child labor—he might be a criminal!”
Shuichi Akai: “…” This was just nitpicking for no reason! He himself was the prime suspect of being a criminal!
Recalling how Akemi Miyano had nearly burst out laughing when she read this, Shuichi Akai suddenly felt that love might just fade away.
He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and continued reading.
“From Natsuki: Speaking of which, I once thought about not losing to you and publicly announcing my relationship with Shiho in front of you two, but Shiho vetoed it. Oh well, as long as you know about me and Shiho, sis. [sad][cry]”
Shuichi Akai fell completely silent.
He thought that woman was either a member of the Organization, and not a low-ranking one at that, or she was simply out of her mind.
Oh, right, she could also be a lesbian.
Meanwhile
“Achoo!” After sneezing three times in a row, I looked up, puzzled.
Who’s cursing me? Boss Gin? But I’m not even in front of him… Oh—then it must be someone thinking about me!
I thought with absolute confidence, brushing the matter aside as I began planning out the day’s affairs.
I did give Akemi a heads-up, albeit in a roundabout way. But she replied saying not to worry, so it should be fine… Maybe being around Boss Gin has made me view everyone else from a suspicious angle?
Akemi also mentioned that the guy had spent some time in the U.S., which was why she initially struck up a conversation with him by asking about his experiences there. After all, Shiho hadn’t returned to Japan yet, and Akemi really wanted to learn more about her younger sister.
Come to think of it, if I carefully consider Moroboshi Dai’s behavior and words today…
“Well, I must be overthinking it.” I pondered for a moment before showing a relieved expression. “If they were really from the FBI or CIA, having spent years in America, they definitely wouldn’t have such stiff Japanese pronunciation! Hahahaha!”
I just don’t know if their previous work aligns with what I imagined… Forget it, no use dwelling on it.
Whether they are or not, I’m certainly not going to recommend any external talents to the Organization anyway. My position is already high enough and I’m not particularly ambitious. If any recommended talent causes problems, it would be easy to get held accountable – the losses would outweigh the gains. Better to just steer clear of this entirely.
However… quietly using this to boost my reputation is perfectly fine.
So, I took out my phone and made a call.
“Hello? Vodka? Tell Boss Gin that I’m a man of my word and a genius! I’ve already found it!”