The key slid into the lock, turned, and the door opened onto a cramped rental apartment.
Inside, there was only a single bed. The quilt had not been folded and was lying in a careless heap.
Several books were strewn messily across it, along with a stack of papers and even a few folded candy wrappers for paper cranes.
In short, it was a room with plenty of lived-in warmth, but very little to do with the word tidy.
“Come in.” Yuki Mu turned back, looking at the man at the doorway, who was leisurely taking in the room’s interior. His eyes showed open impatience, and he was not even bothering to maintain his usual unreadable calm. “Do I have to invite you?”
“So this is where you live?” The man’s tone lifted slightly. His amber eyes curved as, before Yuki Mu’s face could fully darken, he swiftly stepped into the room and smoothly replied, “My honor.”
Click.
The door seemed to be shut as casually as if it were nothing.
Inside the narrow, enclosed apartment, only two grown men remained facing each other.
For a moment, the atmosphere turned subtly tense.
The system was amazed. 【...You’re still acting even when there’s no one around?】
【Of course.】 Yuki Mu sounded entirely justified. 【Otherwise how could this be called immersive roleplay? I have to stay dedicated and professional, without leaving even the slightest flaw.】
The system was persuaded. 【All right. By the way, how did you... the two of you, get back this quickly? I thought you’d stay at the scene longer and farm a bit more Recognition Level before leaving.】
—Not long before.
After [Hawaii], Palmer Gary, had given the alias “Fick Naim,” he had very politely said, “Since the case is already over, I’ll be taking him with me now.”
Inspector Megure had hesitated. “But the statement...”
“Ah, although I didn’t witness the scene myself... I trust he must have explained the case thoroughly from beginning to end, yes?” the man said lightly. “I believe your country’s police are capable of summarizing and organizing things.”
After speaking, he paused slightly. His amber eyes curved, and the faint sharpness from a moment before vanished without a trace. “You officers have worked hard as well. The improving public safety in Beika Town is inseparable from your efforts.”
When the words “Beika Town” slipped from his tongue, they carried an indescribably intimate tenderness. Hawaii maintained his polished smile and calmly accepted the icy glare coming from beside him.
Inspector Megure felt that something about this was oddly off, yet he could not quite put his finger on what. He rubbed his stomach. “Oh, not at all, not at all. We only handle criminal cases... Ahem. Then Mr. Fick can take Yuki with him first.”
After all, there really were no further doubts left in the case...
Only Hagiwara Kenji, who was extremely sensitive to emotional currents, and Kudo Yusaku, whose powers of observation were exceptionally sharp, watched the two figures gradually walking away with thoughtful expressions.
Back in the present.
Yuki Mu spoke to the system with solemn patience. 【You can’t overdo farming Recognition Level either. That would be trying too hard. It’s enough for [Hawaii] to show his face in front of them for now. As for what his relationship with [Beika] is, and who exactly Fick Naim really is, let the smart ones figure that out for themselves.】
He motioned for the system to look at the notification panel. 【See?】
The display was steadily filling with 【Recognition Level Increased】 messages, and a few of the gains even reached several hundred points.
Yuki Mu sighed with feeling. 【Let me say it again: I like smart people.】
—His entire Recognition Level completion progress depended on other people overthinking things. Wonderful!
And with two identities, there was double the Recognition Level!
Although [Hawaii] had only appeared for a very short while, the amount of Recognition Level earned had still been considerable... Was this the joy of running two accounts at once?
Even the system seemed faintly emotional. 【True. The Recognition Level really is rising quite quickly... But [Beika] and [Hawaii] actually didn’t start fighting the moment they met?】
【? Of course not. Beika is far too fragile.】 Yuki Mu imagined the scene for a moment and silently covered his stomach. 【No matter what, these are city consciousnesses. They’ve lived for so many, many years... Their relationships aren’t something as simple as “start fighting the moment they meet.” Humans have their own personalities, preferences, things they hate, and complicated interpersonal relationships. City consciousnesses, even more so.】
The system still wanted to say something else, but Yuki Mu had already begun seriously controlling the [Character Card] again.
“Your stomach still hurts?” Hawaii arched a brow, looking at the hand Yuki Mu had pressed over his stomach. He casually swept his gaze around the interior of the rental apartment, then—judging by the other man’s living habits—walked naturally to the bedside cabinet, opened it, and took out the medicine box and the stomach medicine beside it.
After setting down the medicine box, he went to pour a glass of water with such ease that it looked as though he were in his own home.
Once he had checked that the temperature was just right, the man handed over the glass together with the stomach medicine. “Use your left hand. You shouldn’t be putting strain on your right one right now.”
The clock hands on the wall crept slowly over the dial. The tiny apartment was silent.
The man’s hair, cut in that wolf-tail style, fell to a slightly longer length.
As he lowered his head, strands slipped down beside his face. Hawaii bent over, attentively applying ointment to Yuki Mu’s hand while the latter sat on the sofa, unapologetically enjoying the service.
After wrapping the bandage, Hawaii lowered his head first to admire his handiwork.
“My work is as good as ever, after all.” He smiled. “But this isn’t free, you know~”
The other man lifted his eyes coldly. However, paired with his pale complexion, his faintly trembling lashes, and the cold sweat beading at his temple from the pain, the look held no intimidation whatsoever. Instead, it only made him seem even more... fragile.
...Was Beika’s body really this weak now?
A strange pleasure flickered in those amber eyes. The man took Yuki Mu’s uninjured hand and performed an impeccably formal hand-kiss. His voice was low and pleasing, like a cello sounding in a quiet room.
“As an FBI agent,” he said with a smile, “—my services are only free for Mr. Public Security.”
Exactly as expected, he received an utterly exasperated “Get lost” in reply. Hawaii obligingly stepped back a little, but made no move to leave. Instead, he walked over to the bed.
Quite calmly, under a gaze that was practically murderous, he bent down and thoughtfully gathered up the scattered books and papers, straightened them, and put them away. While he was at it, he even folded the messy quilt into a perfectly neat square—
“Sweetheart.” It was a near-flirtatious whisper. Very Western in manner, Hawaii casually let the cloying endearment slip from his lips, and successfully achieved his goal—if Yuki Mu’s stomach had not been hurting so badly at the moment, he probably would already have snapped and made a move.
Hawaii slowly adjusted his suit, making sure that even after his brief cleaning work, it still remained impeccably sharp, before curling his lips into a smile. “Remember not to forget to report in to Public Security. Your time skipping work... I mean, your leave of absence, seems to have gone on a little too long.”
“Heh.”
The man gave Yuki Mu another look, as if considering something.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“It looks like our Lord Beika really is feeling awful at the moment~” Hawaii moved closer again. As a special agent with psychology maxed out, he now acted as though he were completely blind to the warning signs.
He lightly placed a hand over Yuki Mu’s stomach, then began pressing and kneading with professional ease.
After all, the 【Stomach Pain Buff】 was an innate condition. Commercial medicine did not really help much against it. Most of the time, he simply had to endure it on his own.
Yuki Mu closed his eyes and stopped looking at Hawaii, but he did not voice any objection either.
The warm palm kneading neither too hard nor too lightly truly did miraculously ease the burning pain in his stomach.
Watching this scene, the system was dumbfounded. 【—What is Hawaii even doing? Did he really pull all that just to make you report in at Public Security?】 Why is he actually taking care of you now...?
Yuki Mu selectively ignored the fact that, in a certain sense, “Hawaii” was also himself, and merely restored his usual cold expression. 【Who knows.】
They were both him anyway. One character card easing another character card’s pain a little—what was wrong with that?
Yuki Mu kept his eyes closed as a trace of drowsiness crept over him.
...Hawaii was a very complicated person.
Though outwardly polished and charming, always wearing that frivolous look that made it seem as though he gazed at everyone with deep affection, no one could ever tell what calculations were really turning beneath the surface.
Take today’s inexplicable behavior, for instance. No one knew what his true purpose actually was.
You must never believe the sweetness shown by a thousand-faced agent. It might only be the numbing prelude before a venomous snake strikes.
He looked the most affectionate, yet in truth was the most heartless.
The dark green-haired young man sat on the sofa, utterly without shame using the other man as a free massage device. As his consciousness drifted into sleep, the final thought to cross his mind was—
Tch. Public Security... Fine.
That would make it easier to deal with the FBI too.
—Such as having them deported.
*
The next day.
“...Wait, Little Jinpei, am I seeing things?” Hagiwara Kenji, on his way to work at the Metropolitan Police Department, suddenly stopped short.
Matsuda Jinpei followed his gaze.
A familiar figure—one they had now already seen for three straight days counting today—was standing not far off, that dark green hair especially easy to recognize.
The corner of Matsuda Jinpei’s mouth twitched, and he instinctively glanced around.
...Mm. All was calm and peaceful. Nothing about the place looked as though trouble was about to happen.
After coming back to himself, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei exchanged a look.
The National Police Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department were actually not that far apart geographically. Travel between them was even fairly convenient.
It was just that most officers in the Metropolitan Police Department did not have any favorable opinion of Public Security. After all, how many people could tolerate having a case they had been handling perfectly well suddenly halted, only to be told upon asking that Public Security had taken it over— and Public Security would not even bother giving an explanation!
What serious, dedicated police officer could possibly stand that feeling?
It was not exactly hatred toward Public Security. It was more a deep and thorough irritation.
Oh, you’re Public Security? So you think that makes you impressive?
Hagiwara Kenji double-checked that the figure really was Yuki Mu. After all, there were not that many people in the world who looked alike... Though then again, there truly were not many people who would boldly dye their hair green.
Hagiwara Kenji fell into thought.
If there was no mistake, then the direction Yuki Mu was heading was—
—the National Police Agency???
That was not a place just anyone could enter.
The same question surfaced in both their minds.
If someone like Yuki Mu were already inside the police system, there was no way he could be entirely unknown. And they had not heard of any major stir at the police academy either... so it probably was not work-related.
Not to mention that, barring special circumstances, people within the system were generally not permitted to dye their hair such conspicuous colors after joining.
So if Yuki Mu was heading toward the National Police Agency... what exactly was he going there for?