Yamada , a 35-year-old single man, wants to build his ideal second home in the village of another world. A life that combines the best of both the other world and reality - Episode 9

For the first time in my life, I was asked to come in for voluntary questioning.

And to top it off—it happened in a bathroom.

“Right now?”
“Yes. It won’t take much of your time.”

Even if you say that…

“Sorry, but can I make a quick call? I’ve got a little kid waiting for me at home.”
“Go ahead.”

That was my roundabout way of refusing…

Since I had no choice, I took out my phone and called the old man’s house.

After a few rings, the line clicked.

『Hello, this is Yamada?』

It was a girl’s voice.

I never told her how to answer, but she seems to know how.

“It’s me, me. You know, me.”
『Is this Tatsuya-san?』
“Yeah, that’s right.”

I’ll have to teach her how to deal with suspicious calls later…

『What’s up? Oh, tonight’s simmered fish, by the way.』

Oh, nice!

“Thanks. But something came up, so I might be a bit late. You can go ahead and eat first.”
『I see. You must be busy, Tatsuya-san. Good luck.』

What a good kid.

She and Miriam are my sources of comfort.

“Yeah, I’ll be home as soon as I can. Bye.”
『Okay. I’ll be waiting.』

I hung up.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No problem at all. My apologies, actually. Tachibana, I’ll leave the rest to you. Call for backup.”
“Eh? Me?”

Tachibana pointed at herself in surprise, and Kirigaya gestured toward the unconscious woman.

“It’s better if you stay here. You understand why, right?”

Well, if the victim’s a woman, it’s better to have another woman around.

Still… you should change out of your uniform.

“Ah, yes, understood.”
“Good. Well then… uh, excuse me, I didn’t catch your name earlier.”
“Oh, I’m Yamada.”

I handed him my business card out of habit.

“Thank you. I’m Kirigaya. Well then, please come this way.”

He glanced at my card, slipped it into his br3ast pocket, and left the restroom.

I followed him out, where a sleek black luxury car was parked at the park entrance.

Kirigaya was walking toward it.

“…Yamada, I’ll tell you this now. That girl from earlier—and this man too—they’re both mages. Be careful.”

Eh?

“What’s wrong?”

I snapped out of it and saw Kirigaya smiling at me.

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking, wow, that’s an expensive-looking car.”

I quickened my pace toward him.

“Ha ha. It’s nothing special.”

Even I, who knows nothing about cars, could tell it was special.

When we reached the car, Kirigaya opened the rear door for me, so I got in.

Once he took the driver’s seat, we set off.

I stayed silent, looking out the window, until about 30 minutes later we were back in the business district.

“Yamada-san, you work around here, right?”

It was the first thing he’d said since we got in the car.

“Yes. It’s been over 10 years now.”
“That must be tough. Any complaints?”
“Of course. The pay’s too low.”

Everyone has at least a few complaints.

“You’ve got a kid, right?”

Ah, from that phone call earlier…

“I’m looking after a relative’s kid. But yeah, with her around, I’d like a bit more pay. A section chief’s allowance of only 10,000 yen is ridiculous.”

Make it at least another 10–20k.

“Ha ha, I get it.”

Do you, though?
I bet police get paid more.
Though I suppose they do face more danger.

We drove into the basement parking of a certain building and stopped.

“After you.”

Again, Kirigaya opened the door for me. I got out, and the two of us (plus one cat) took the elevator.

It quickly reached the designated floor, and we stepped out.

“Let me take your bag.”

He held out his hand, so I handed over my business bag.

“Thanks. Please wait in that room.”

He smiled as he gestured for me to enter.

Inside, my first thought was interrogation room.

A cramped space, a bare desk, and—why is there a mirror on the wall?

I walked over and touched the mirror.

“This could be a one-way mirror, you know.”

I fussed with my hair a little, then sat down.

“…Don’t react. It really is a one-way mirror, nya. There are two people—a man and a woman—on the other side. And right now, Kirigaya just entered and is looking this way. By the way, when you were fixing your hair earlier, there was a woman right in front of you laughing.”

Seriously…?

I kept my face neutral as I waited, and soon Kirigaya entered the room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He sat across from me.

“No problem. This place feels like an interrogation room.”
“At this time of day, this is the only room available. Sorry about that.”

You could at least deny it…
So it is an interrogation room.

“No worries. It’s a rare experience.”
“I’m glad you see it that way.”

He smiled.

I was joking…
His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, and that’s kind of scary.

“Well then, could you tell me what happened in the bathroom? Even the smallest details are fine—please be thorough.”

So I went over it chronologically.

Naturally, I left out anything about magic or demons.

I just said I went to the bathroom, was attacked, and fought back.

“I see… Talk about bad luck.”
“Yeah. Should’ve just waited until I got home.”
“Why didn’t you?”

Eh?

Saying “I couldn’t hold it” sounds bad—after all, it’s been almost an hour since then and I haven’t gone again.

“Well… remember how I said I’ve got a little girl at home? I didn’t want her thinking I smell bad, so I thought I’d use the restroom outside first.”

For the record, I did buy deodorizing spray and air freshener out of genuine concern.

“Ha ha ha. How old are you, Yamada-san?”
“Just turned 35.”
“Ah, that’s when you start caring about that stuff. I’m almost 40 myself, so I get it.”

Huh?

This guy’s older than me?
He looks like he’s in his twenties.

“Yeah… so that’s why—”
“I understand, I understand… Hm?”

A knock came at the door.

“Excuse me.”

He stood up and stepped out of the room.

“…For the record, I don’t think you smell bad, nya.”

Good kitty.
I’ll give you some Churu when we get home.