Night had fallen, right around dinnertime.
A white Citroën CX crawled through the rush-hour traffic. Hiro had no idea how many times he had stepped on the brake pedal. Seeing yet another red light ahead, he gave up on accelerating altogether.
Glancing at his wristwatch, he sighed.
"Class Leader, why don't you have Kenji order for us first? We're probably going to be late."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Wataru was chatting with his girlfriend, Natalie Kuruma, on LINE. He nodded and replied,
"Okay. Traffic jams during rush hour are normal. Just take it easy."
...
Meanwhile, someone who was already waiting at the izakaya had long since run out of patience.
After hearing Wataru's message that they would be late, the naturally curly-haired man resembled an irritated black cat with its fur standing on end.
"We hardly ever get together, so why are you guys always late?! Seriously! We don't even meet that often to begin with!"
"Jin-chan, are you lonely or something?" Kenji flipped through the menu at the Yamata no Orochi Izakaya while memorizing everyone's favorite dishes before preparing to call over a server.
"If you're lonely, why not leave the Bomb Disposal Unit? With your talent, wouldn't the First Investigation Division be a better fit? I've actually been considering a transfer myself. The higher-ups keep nagging me, saying I shouldn't continue wasting my potential."
"Hah?! What kind of stupid nonsense are you talking about?!" Jinpei clenched his fists.
"Do you seriously not know why I'm still in the Bomb Disposal Unit?!"
Wasn't it all because he wanted to catch the bastard responsible for that tragedy? That was why he had stayed.
Kenji didn't answer immediately.
After finishing the order and waiting for the waitress to leave, he finally spoke in a serious tone.
"Jin-chan, it's precisely because I know that I think you should leave. Did you forget?"
"Forget what?"
"The last time you barely escaped death. If Ritsu-ya hadn't shown up in time, you'd be dead."
Jinpei froze.
He opened his mouth, intending to argue back, only to realize he had no rebuttal. Because at that time, he had already prepared himself to die.
Kenji wasn't wrong.
If not for that guy, he would have died inside the Ferris wheel gondola.
Kenji sighed and gave a bitter smile. "Next time, nobody's going to save you. He's already—"
"Ken." Jinpei lowered his eyes to the steaming mug of barley tea in front of him. "You don't need to finish that sentence."
"I'll consider leaving the Bomb Disposal Unit. Just... not yet."
He fell silent after that. The quietness felt strangely unlike him.
Kenji watched everything unfold. He knew exactly what his childhood friend was thinking.
Jinpei had always blamed himself. He believed he had been unable to help at all and knew nothing about that hidden world.
Kenji himself had felt the same regret.
If only he had been more meddlesome.
Maybe he could have obtained information about the Organization. Maybe he could have saved the person all of them cared about.
But now, no matter what they thought, it was too late.
Ritsu wasn't coming back.
The sound of the door interrupted their thoughts. Hiro pushed it open and entered.
"Sorry about that. Class Leader and I are late."
As Wataru put his phone away, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere inside the private room felt off.
Judging from the mood, the conversation before their arrival had undoubtedly been about Ritsu. Exchanging a glance with Hiro, Wataru decided to change the subject.
"Jinpei, have you been busy lately?"
"Hah? Not really. Nothing much to do these days."
Wataru pulled a toothpick from his mouth and tossed it into a nearby ashtray. Grinning broadly, he said,
"I thought your dark circles were so bad that you had to wear sunglasses indoors. Looks like that's not the case though, right, Hiro?"
Hiro played along. "Maybe Jinpei is worried about maintaining his idol image. I heard he's quite popular in the Bomb Disposal Unit."
Kenji immediately burst out laughing. "Hahahahaha! Popular in the Bomb Disposal Unit? That's practically all men over there!"
"Jin-chan, so you're into—hahahaha! I can't believe it!"
"Oi Kenji, you asking for a beating?!" Jinpei ripped off his sunglasses in exasperation.
He originally intended to slam them dramatically onto the table, but remembering how expensive they were, he carefully lowered them instead.
The tiny gesture made both Wataru and Hiro chuckle.
Jinpei really wasn't suited for acting grumpy. An angry, hissing cat fit his personality far better.
Hiro pushed open the room's door and called to a waitress outside.
"Excuse me. Could we get a Calpis, with ice?"
The moment the words "Calpis" left his mouth, the other three men froze. After all, not a single person at the table liked that drink.
"Don't fight because of Ritsu." Hiro took the initiative to bring up their best friend.
"If he were still here, he'd be unhappy about it."
His gaze settled on the two empty seats. "What we need to do now is trust Zero. And trust that I'll be able to support him properly."
"But you never tell us anything." Jinpei's tone was filled with dissatisfaction.
Hiro lifted his teacup and took a sip. Then he curved his beautiful phoenix eyes into a smile and said,
"Need not to know. No need to know."
"Do you understand what I'm saying now?"
The expressions of all three men immediately changed. That phrase was police jargon.
Japanese police officers often used it to avoid discussing sensitive matters and conceal confidential information.
And they were certain that Hiro hadn't said it simply to dodge the topic. He was trying to convey something else.
The mysterious organization that both Ritsu and Rei had infiltrated... might already have extended its claws into the police force itself.
That was terrible news.
If it was true, things would become far more complicated. Especially for Rei, who was still undercover.
If his identity were ever exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Knock knock.
The door to the private room slowly opened. A waitress in uniform politely asked, "Excuse me, gentlemen. May I serve the food now?"
"Yes, please."
Kenji noticed that the waitress was about to remove the two unused utensils set.
He quickly stopped her. "Please leave those two there."
"Certainly, sir."
Wataru looked at the two empty seats. As the class leader, he knew he had to remain calm.
Even if he couldn't accept the possibility that members of the Organization might exist within the police force itself.
The stamens of the cherry blossoms were already gone. No matter what happened, they could not allow the number of petals to decrease.
Not one could be lost.
----
"Ah-choo!"
Ten kilometers away, Ritsu sneezed while browsing cars. Rubbing his nose, he muttered in confusion,
"That's strange. Am I catching a cold? I shouldn't be able to get sick."
Could Vermouth have lied to him?
Hadn't she said that after taking the first-generation APTX4869, the human body would become immune to illness and even resistant to all poisons?
"Sir, are you satisfied with this vehicle?"
Parked beside him was Bugatti's latest supercar, the Divo.
Its smooth, streamlined carbon-fiber body gleamed in French Racing Blue. The distinctive headlights and wheels gave it an unmistakably aggressive appearance.
Faced with such a stunning supercar, Ritsu, as an avid automobile enthusiast, found it difficult to suppress the urge to pull out his card.
Since he couldn't suppress it anyway, he decided not to bother. It wasn't as though he lacked money. A limited-production car he genuinely loved had appeared right in front of him.
There was no reason to hold back.
"I'm satisfied."
He looked at the salesman. "Can I drive it off immediately?"
"...Huh?" The salesman blinked. "Sir, are you saying you want to buy it?"
"Is that a problem?"
"N-No! Of course not!" The manager was visibly stunned.
The showroom's centerpiece vehicle had just arrived, yet it had already been sold. Even while processing the payment, his mind wandered in disbelief.
From the test drive to swiping the card and purchasing the car. The entire process had taken less than thirty minutes. And that included completing all the paperwork.
The manager couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'Being rich really was wonderful.'
----
Author's Note:
[I spent half an hour browsing supercars, comparing all sorts of options, and ultimately chose the Bugatti Divo—even though it didn't exist during the novel's timeline. But I love this car too much, so I wrote it anyway. It's fiction, so who cares!]
[Then after finishing the chapter, I suddenly realized something... Why was I being so picky in the first place? I can't afford any of them! I don't even want to drive my own car tomorrow anymore! Cries dramatically.]