Chapter 70: Thread of Blood③

――He was a man bizarrely tall in the vertical sense.

I’d gone to Public Security again, facing one of the higher-ups. I’d braced myself, wondering what kind of person would show up, and my first impression was simply that.

The reason I could tell his suit was custom-made was obvious. The sleeves—there were several of them. Which meant the man had more than two arms. And not only that.

Four pairs of eyes turned toward me, narrowing all at once as he introduced himself.

"Well, well, an honor to meet you. My name is Yatsuzuka Shikarak."

Two legs. Six arms. Eight eyes. He looked to be in his forties. The eyes varied in size, the largest being the pair set in the most humanlike position. His glasses—also obviously custom—had six lenses total, three on each side. The lowest pair of eyes went uncovered.

In short, he was basically a spider.

But when my childhood friend is a fox-eared loli and I’ve got an octopus buddy, things like this don’t shake me. Bitvine’s reversed eyes, Ratlord’s mouse ears—those are just “huh, okay” to me.

So the only thing I really wondered about this guy was:

"That lowest pair of eyes—do they work fine on their own?"

"I only wear contacts in those ones, actually. Nahaha."

Six lenses on his glasses. Eight eyes in total. Still not enough coverage. I’d assumed the uncovered pair were sharper, but no—he just used contacts.

"Why not put them in the others too?"

"Too much trouble."

"Yeah, makes sense."

Putting in eight contacts every morning would be hell. And if they were daily disposables, the burn rate would be insane.

At that point, I was already warming up to him. He could hold a normal conversation and seemed reasonably down-to-earth.

So what the hell. Usui-chan had made it sound like he was bad news, but he was perfectly approachable. I’d come prepared to get killed on the spot, but I guess I didn’t need that resolve. I let my shoulders ease slightly and gave the introduction he probably already knew.

"Katagiri Inori. Nice to meet you."

"I apologize for not being able to greet you with all my hands free."

Shikarak had six arms. One of them reached out for a handshake, and I gladly took it.

He wasn’t just someone with extra limbs—he was dexterous enough to use them all at once. At that moment, two hands were working two smartphones, one hand was holding a laptop, and the other two were typing on it. The only free hand was the one he offered me. In practice, he was using every arm simultaneously.

That workload was ridiculous. How many people’s jobs was he doing at once? If it turned out those phones were just for scrolling social media, I’d crack up—but somehow, I doubted it. And yet, if he told me he gathered intel that way, I’d believe it.

The larger eyes in the second row from the top stayed fixed on me, while the others moved independently, busy scanning his screens. I assumed he only had one brain, but his multitasking was inhuman.

"Doesn’t bother me. As long as your mouth works, that’s all I need."

I mean, I’ve dealt with D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. and Nemunemu before. Just being able to talk in ordinary Japanese—do you know how much of a relief that is?

Shikarak narrowed all eight eyes at once—though a few still kept flicking over their screens—and smiled brightly.

"But so it really is you! Katagiri Inori, Kudara’s precious hidden treasure!"

"What’s with that nickname? First I’ve heard of it."

Kudara—that’s the name of my hometown. My family’s there, as is Sudama’s shrine. My father’s still around, and besides Sudama, the rest of my childhood friends probably live there too.

But I was never some “hidden treasure.” Don’t go making me the poster child of the countryside on your own. Maybe because I’m the only one who left, I end up looking like the local representative?

What, did everyone else just hole up? Sure, it was a comfy countryside, but still.

It’s not like they couldn’t leave. It wasn’t a prison. I left for Tokyo normally, with my dad and friends happily seeing me off. If it turns out Naname-san and Sudama came along as a form of surveillance, and I’m basically on probation—wait, hold on. Is my hometown… not a backwater, but a prison?

I was about to sink into the sea of my thoughts when Shikarak spoke, pulling me back.

"Meeting you was something I very much wanted, Inori-san, so I forced some time out of my schedule. I’m honored you’ve been getting along with my daughter."

—Well, that changes things.

I thought I was talking to one of the powers of the age, but suddenly the guy had turned into a friend’s dad.

That’s the kind of thing you should say up front.

Humans adjust their behavior depending on who they’re dealing with, right? That wasn’t the mode I was in.

I asked, a little cautiously.

"…And your daughter’s name is…?"

"Bitvine."

—Bitvine.

Yeah, I guess they do both have that tall, stretched-out build.

Bitvine was tall. She was smart too—probably got that from her parents. And the rest… yeah.

"Sh-she… kind of looks like you, maybe?"

"Hahaha. As you guessed, Bitvine takes after her mother."

So that’s why Bitvine never gave her surname? Family issues, maybe.

She didn’t seem to hold any bad feelings toward the grandfather who named her, but as for her father… who knows.

"I apologize for not hiding my busyness. I had to make time suddenly, so I had no chance to tidy things up."

"I don’t mind, but do you actually talk with your daughter? Workaholics get hated by their families, you know."

I was a busy person too.

When he showed me how his many arms and eyes could all work independently, multitasking without missing a beat, I couldn’t help but envy it.

But honestly, it was the kind of playstyle that risked losing sincerity in pursuit of efficiency.

I didn’t care since I was treating Shikarak as just another important official, but if this was my own parent or sibling, I’d probably find it unbearable.

Like, are you even listening when I’m being serious? It’s not about whether you can hear—it’s about showing that you’re trying to listen. That kind of attitude.

At the very least, I could see Bitvine snapping over something like that.

Shikarak pressed the hand I’d shaken earlier against his chest.

"Wonderful! Never before has someone pierced my heart so deeply on a first meeting!"

"…Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course. I don’t want to make an enemy of you, Inori-san. I’d rather not hear any more words that painful."

I hadn’t meant it as an attack, just honest advice. But it seemed to have hit him harder than I expected.

Which meant I’d nailed it. Their family ties probably weren’t that great.

"Now then, regarding the matter of bringing villains over to our side—would it be all right if I introduced them in the order I’d most like you to get along with?"

Since he steered the conversation back, I switched from my “friend’s dad” face to my “dealing with a big shot” face.

"Fine by me. Just don’t expect me to guarantee I can win them over."

"Naturally, we understand. We also can’t guarantee your safety entirely—how would you like to proceed?"

"As long as you’re willing to make the effort, I don’t mind."

"Of course—we’ll do our very best."

I don’t know… Even if it was a lie, I liked hearing someone say that sort of thing.

At least right now, I didn’t feel like he was lying.

Though, to be fair, this guy didn’t show much in the way of emotional ups and downs to begin with.

"All right, then let’s get started—ah, wait. You look busy, so let me just say this now. You interested in medicine? You know I’m working on a treatment right now, right? Could you throw me some support—funds, manpower, whatever?"

"I assumed by quietly lending you Usuzumi, I was already giving you some assistance. Has that not been enough?"

…So then, does that mean Flux was also being lent to me in the same way?

I really didn’t like that idea. I deliberately decided not to dig deeper.

"It’s not enough. I don’t have time. But if I get this done, I think it’ll benefit you too."

When I pointed to my own right wrist, Shikarak blinked all four pairs of eyes and then started clapping with one pair of hands.

It was a kind of clap made by tapping the wrist of his free hand against the one holding his phone.

"Sharp eye!"

I didn’t think it was anything worth that much praise, but well, I don’t dislike being complimented.

And somehow, knowing that someone this busy had actually stopped what he was doing—if only for a moment—to clap for me made it feel… kind of nice.

What I’d pointed out was Shikarak’s prosthetic hand.

Specifically, the bottom-right arm—the one currently holding up his laptop. Its hand, from the wrist down, was prosthetic.

Because Shikarak wore white gloves on all his hands, it had been hard to tell, but I do specialize in regenerative medicine.

In its current inactive state, it looked just like a normal hand at first glance.

The biggest giveaway was the sound.

A faint mechanical whir, masked by the laptop’s cooling fan.

At first, I thought it might be a wristwatch, but the only thing he wore was a smartwatch on his upper-left arm.

A person with many arms and many eyes is bound to draw stares.

So noticing something even stranger about them on a first meeting… that’s no small feat.

Shikarak placed his free hand thoughtfully against his chin.

"I have plenty of hands, so it’s not much trouble, but yes… This concerns the survival rate of my important subordinates, so I’ll certainly give it serious consideration."

"Yes!"

With six arms, maybe losing one wasn’t a big deal—or maybe that was just bravado. Hard to say.

Anyway, that was the end of our talk. Neither of us had time for small talk.

Shikarak quickly moved to say goodbye.

"Well then, Inori-san. I truly pray that we’ll meet again."

"That’s practically a pun."

"I’m glad you’re such a delightful person, Inori-san. You see, I’m so busy I rarely get to talk casually with anyone. Always being suspected of hidden motives, always bargaining and maneuvering—it’s exhausting. People like you, who I can speak with openly, are a treasure."

"Oh, then maybe we can be friends. I’m bad at reading people’s moods too. Let’s have a proper talk next time."

"Ah… I wonder how many years it will take before that’s possible. Please lend me your help, Inori-san—so that I might grow more hands."

Even six arms weren’t enough, apparently.

Being a public servant must be rough.