Chapter 71: Tome Ochiai①
My shoulders were stiff.
Apparently, my conversation with Shikarak-san had made me more nervous than I realized.
There’d been that quiet kind of pressure. If that’s something he gives off unconsciously, then yeah—no wonder he doesn’t have many “friendly chat partners.”
But at the same time, someone who can juggle that much work on a phone or a computer while holding a conversation—how can a person that dexterous not control their own pressure? Maybe that’s unfair of me.
It’s not impossible he’s the type who’s good at the job but not so great at communication.
Still though…
Back when Usui once said “the Public Security negotiator’s got their hands full with other things,” he was definitely talking about Shikarak-san.
I guess I was scared exactly the way I was supposed to be. Damn it. I’m still just a rookie.
As I walked down the hallway to the next place I’d been told to go, a familiar face came from the other direction.
The instant we saw each other, we both showed surprise.
“Professor Tsukishima!?”
“Huh? Inori-san.”
Tsukishima Souichi is the professor who’s been taking care of me all through college.
My face went pale.
This is Public Security. I’m not saying everyone here is, but a lot of the staff have special abilities. Of course, Public Security also employs non-ability users. Mio, who once hid his powers, was one of those.
Could it be… he is too?
Nobody told me. After years of developing treatments together as a sort of colleague, I can’t help but feel a little betrayed.
Professor Tsukishima stopped near me and tilted his head in that relaxed way of his.
“Hmm? I didn’t hear that you were with Public Security, Inori-kun. Must be that famous Public Security secrecy?”
“No, I’m not actually with them…”
“Really? That’s a relief. This place doesn’t look all that nice.”
By “this place,” of course, he meant Public Security.
“Sorry, but I can’t really say what I’m here for today. Might get my head chopped off by some scary person, haha.”
I could only hope “getting my head chopped off” was a metaphor for getting fired.
“Um, so when you say it’s not such a nice place, does that mean, Professor Tsukishima, you’re not actually affiliated here either?”
“Hm? Yeah. I don’t have any special powers or anything.”
I let out a small sigh of relief.
So Professor Tsukishima isn’t secretly some kind of mutant. And he’s not a Public Security agent either. Th-th-thank goodness.
“I’m just cooperating with them as someone in the medical field.”
“Isn’t it more like you’re being made to cooperate?”
“Well, haha…”
—That was unsettling.
Dodging the question like that is basically the same as admitting it.
My already-low opinion of Public Security dropped another notch.
“Me too?”
In other words, I asked if our joint research—regenerative medicine using special abilities—was also being directed by Public Security.
“That one’s definitely just cooperation. You can’t research special abilities behind Public Security’s back.”
I managed to swallow my sigh.
I’d been so desperate to develop the treatment drug, I hadn’t realized something so obvious.
God, I’m an idiot. Of course.
The reason Public Security hadn’t said anything about my research into special abilities—Professor Tsukishima had been pulling strings for me all along.
"I seem to have caused you a lot of trouble without even realizing it…"
"It's fine, it’s fine. That’s just part of an adult’s job."
Professor Tsukishima smiled with the same carefree air he always had back in the lab.
Since he’d already called Public Security “not such a nice place,” he had to know at least part of their darker side. And yet he could still keep that kind of composure. I wish I could learn that.
“My abilities are limited, but if you’re ever in trouble, come talk to me.”
“Thank you very much.”
Finally, Professor Tsukishima said this:
“No old man anywhere in the world has the right to decide a young person’s future. Live as you like, Inori-kun.”
He gave my shoulder a light pat before walking off.
…So cool.
I want to grow into that kind of old man someday.
Thinking that, I found myself standing in front of the room I’d been assigned to.
Today has just been one thing after another, throwing me off balance.
For me, it’s unusual to be shaken this often. Maybe I’m being played. If all of this is part of Shikarak-san’s design, that’s terrifying.
Beyond this door is the “villain” that Shikarak-san said I should “absolutely get along with.”
I can’t even begin to guess what kind of person I’ll meet.
I knocked, then opened the door.
Inside was a cluttered room. Lived-in, full of things. The complete opposite of Bitvine’s nearly empty quarters.
There was someone lying in a hammock.
Head resting on a cushion, she was reading a paperback.
A quick glance at the title showed it was a piece of popular fiction that had been making waves recently.
She was a refined elderly lady.
I’m not sure if that’s the exact right word.
In addition to her elegance, she carried a sharpness like a honed blade. A woman like a well-kept katana—still deadly sharp even now.
The moment I entered, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, breaking away from the words on the page.
Through her glasses, I caught the glint of pale gray eyes.
She slipped a bookmark into her novel and closed it.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she tossed the book onto the side table. From the way she did it, either she was irritated by me, or the book just hadn’t been all that interesting—please, God, let it be the latter.
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