It appeared they really had gone shopping together—to buy children’s clothes for Masamichi.
“O-oh, sorry! Um, I’ll take that bag.”
Masamichi was flustered to hear that Shino and this person he was meeting for the first time had gone out to get him clothes. He tried to take the bag from the man’s hand, but he politely stopped him.
“No, no, I can carry it; it isn’t heavy. Now, watch your step so you don’t trip.”
“…?!”
The man’s tone of speech and his mannerisms were gentle and sophisticated—elegant, even. One minute, he was tapping Masamichi lightly on the shoulder with a fingertip, and the next minute, Masamichi realized he had turned all the way around.
As I thought, this is no average person…!
Even if Masamichi was in the form of a five-year-old, it was no ordinary technique for the man to change the direction Masamichi was headed without him realizing it. And with a finger or two.
Oblivious to Masamichi’s surprise, he smiled and encouraged him to move on.
“Hurry up and get going.”
With a scary face, Shino also urged him on. In a state of mild panic, Masamichi turned back down the corridor he had just come and returned to the tea room.
Shino and the man followed behind.
Masamichi dusted the cushion he had been using as a pillow and offered it to the man.
“Here you go! I’ll get you some tea… Oops. I can’t do that now.”
He slumped his shoulders and looked at the man. Unlike Shino, who was still wearing his short coat, the man had a trench coat slung over his arm. It was a cold December day, but he must have taken it off before entering Bougyoudou.
He has impeccable manners. I wonder what kind of person he is. He isn’t a favored customer of Shino’s…is he? Shino usually speaks with his customers using polite language. They went shopping together, and he even had him carry a bag. Could they possibly be friends? No, they don’t strike me as being friends, either.
Could he be a worker at a store where Shino had bought something expensive? Masamichi wondered as Shino threw off his coat, put it on the floor near his cushion, and said to the man, “I’ll make tea. You get him changed.”
“Huh?!”
In contrast to Masamichi, who was wide-eyed at Shino’s attitude, the man smiled even more deeply, lifted his cushion to kneel on the tatami mat, and said, “Certainly.”
“Huh?! What?!”
“It must be difficult to change in your current condition. I’ll assist you if you don’t mind. May I borrow a pair of scissors? Any type will do.”
“Huh? I couldn’t ask you to— Oh, I mean, y-yes, sir.”
Masamichi tried to say he couldn’t have a client go out of his way to help him, but the words and the concept were too complicated for his young mouth, and he got tongue-tied again. He ended up doing as the stranger said, going to a cabinet, pulling out a pair of embroidery scissors, and handing it to the man.
“Will this do?”
“Yes, of course. Now, let’s have you stand over here and… Oh, excuse me. Mr. Tatsumi told me your name, but I haven’t introduced myself to you yet. My name is Chitaru Hayakawa. Will you please raise your arms?”
The man had Masamichi stand in front of him and introduce himself as he pulled up the hem of his oversized sweatshirt with practiced hands.
Once the sweatshirt came off, Masamichi had nothing on, not even underwear. Even if his master had ordered this, he couldn’t bear to have a stranger see him naked…and he began resisting, but the man was no longer a stranger since he’d introduced himself.
“Oh, um, right. Uh, Mr. Chitaru Hayakawa?”
More focused on the man’s unusual name than anything else, Masamichi automatically raised his arms as prompted, and his sweatshirt, the only layer of armor he had on, was gently yet mercilessly taken from him.
“Eep!”
It wasn’t cold since Shino had turned on the heater, but he still felt chilly here and there since he was naked. The man smiled as he took underwear out of his paper bag and tore off the price tag.
“Ah, it looks perfect for you. Mr. Tatsumi was very accurate in describing your size. Now, please put your hands on my shoulders and lift one leg at a time.”
“U-um, I can manage on my own.”
“I heard that you suddenly became smaller. You can easily lose your balance when something like that happens. Please allow me to help you since this is your first time getting changed.”
Hayakawa spoke gently, but his words were logical, methodical, and smooth, leaving no room for Masamichi to argue.
With no other choice, Masamichi placed his hands on his shoulders as he stood on his knees in front of him.
“All right, let’s start with your right foot. Slowly, now… Yes, that’s good.”
“M-my feet…feel wobbly.”
“Of course they do. At a time like this, you shouldn’t hesitate to seek help from others. Consider your situation rationally.”
“Rationally,” Masamichi repeated, admiring Hayakawa’s fluid movements.
He had helped his dad get dressed for a while when he’d injured his hand while working on his farm. So Masamichi knew it was surprisingly difficult to help someone put on and take off clothes.
But the man in front of him—Hayakawa—didn’t show the least bit of hesitation in his movements.
“My name, Chitaru, is unusual, isn’t it? The kanji characters mean knowing contentment,” he said as he helped Masamichi slip into a pair of pants, which would be followed by a pair of socks.
“‘Knowing contentment’?”
“Yes, it comes from a quote from Lao Tzu. ‘Those who know contentment are rich.’ It means that being content with what one has without wanting more than what one needs will allow one to live happily.”
“I see. That’s a wonderful name.”
Hayakawa smiled when he saw Masamichi’s face as he praised him haltingly.
“Thank you. I like it, too. Your name, Masamichi, is also lovely. Taking the correct path. I can see what your parents wished when they named you. You are, indeed, like that.”
“Huh?! Oh, no, I’m not,” Masamichi said, perplexed, as Hayakawa helped him put on a pair of socks with cute cat embroidery on them.
I haven’t been taking the right path at all. I’ve lived as a loner, failed my college entrance exams twice, messed up at my part-time job, then got hit by a car and run over…
Hayakawa responded as if he had read Masamichi’s mind.
“You met Mr. Tatsumi and are currently by his side. Whatever may have happened before, I think you’re on the right path now.”
“Oh…”
His comment warmed Masamichi’s heart.
Indeed, he enjoyed living with Shino and getting to know him little by little every day. He didn’t know if it was the right path, but his life had changed greatly, and it was undoubtedly a positive change.
As Masamichi wondered how to say that to Hayakawa, Shino, who had been preparing tea in the kitchen, interrupted in a cool tone.
“Hayakawa. There’s no need for flattery.”
“It isn’t flattery, sir. I am very happy and grateful to have made your acquaintance.”
“I’m sure you are.”
It was a brief exchange but enough to tell Masamichi about their power balance.
So Shino’s the one in a higher position. Mr. Hayakawa looks much older, but he’s very polite to him. Maybe Shino is a really important client. Or perhaps he knows Shino’s true identity… When he stepped into Bougyoudou, he said something about the sight here being as spectacular as always. He must have been here before. Is he from a related industry? Like the antique business, or something to do with artifact spirits?
While Masamichi racked his brain, Hayakawa continued to dress him…starting with underwear, a tank top, shorts, then a long-sleeved shirt that felt nice against the skin.
It appeared that Hayakawa was initiating a casual conversation to lessen Masamichi’s embarrassment.
By the time Masamichi realized that, he was fully clothed. He now looked like an average five-year-old anyone might see out and about.
“This outfit suits you well. It’s the first time I’ve dressed a boy, since I only have a daughter. Still, it turned out well if I do say so myself,” Hayakawa said as he nodded with satisfaction, staying on his knees and bending back slightly to check Masamichi’s overall appearance.
“You have a daughter… Are you the one who picked out these clothes for me?”
Hayakawa waved in the negative.
“Oh, no, Mr. Tatsumi chose everything. As expected, he has good taste. The colors suit you very well, Mr. Adachi.”
It was nice to receive praise even about something like that. Then Shino came out of the kitchen carrying tea utensils, not looking particularly moved.
“It’s only natural for a master to know what clothes are appropriate for his servant. But more importantly, Hayakawa, what do you think?”
“Shino? What are you talking about?”
“Please, Mr. Adachi, have a seat,” Hayakawa prompted, indicating the cushion Masamichi had offered him earlier. Masamichi hesitated, but he did as suggested, noting that Hayakawa’s eyes seemed to be telling him that it was wiser to hurry up and settled in.
That seemed to be the best way for him to get down to business with Shino without irritating him. Not that Masamichi had any idea what they were about to discuss.
Sitting up straight on the tatami mat, Hayakawa watched Shino pour tea into teacups and said, “From the sense I got while touching Mr. Adachi’s body as I dressed him, you seemed to be correct in assuming that a human being has cast a spell on him.”
This time, Masamichi couldn’t help shouting, “What?!”
Hayakawa spoke casually as if he was having a business meeting.
“D-did you get me dressed to—? I mean, Mr. Hayakawa! Could it be that you’re—?”
“That’s right,” Hayakawa said, calmly affirming Masamichi’s question, which had come out as a broken sentence.
“Um—”
Shino was the one who explained.
“Hayakawa is an agent for a certain organization that deals with cases involving spiritual disturbances.”
Masamichi blinked. As usual, Shino simplified things too much.
“S-spiritual disturbances…?”
“It’s an organization that deals with various types of trouble caused by the spiritual, though we don’t make it known publicly.”
Hayakawa’s additional information only confused Masamichi more.
“W-well… I imagine that it would be hard to discuss spiritual things openly.”
“That’s right. We agents engage in these matters as a side job. I have a career that you might call my cover. To put it simply, it’s like a secret organization.”
“A secret organization. Agents. A cover… This sounds like something out of a novel or a movie.”
“Heh-heh, I agree. But, Mr. Adachi, if you don’t mind my saying so, this shop and Mr. Tatsumi themselves are like something out of a novel or a drama themselves…”
“You’ve got a point there!”
Masamichi rubbed his chest, trying to calm himself down, and looked between Hayakawa’s gentle smile and Shino’s sullen but beautiful face.
“And what is your relationship with each other?”