The group snorted and then burst out laughing. What was Ito Textile? Who’s Yamada? The scariest part was, Shou was spouting those lies with ease, without any hint of nervousness or hesitation. Mia was reminded of how utterly terrifying this man could be.
“Yes, the president has personally asked me for an estimate. Yes, yes. He asked that we get it to him as soon as possible, so I made it all in haste, but I’d like to hand it over to him in person… Oh, is he gone already? How about tomorrow? Ah, he will be away. I’ll bring it to him, wherever he is. After all, this is very urgent, you see? Haha,” Shou’s genial laughter tinkled melodically.
With his talents, being a conman might suit him better than being a policeman. It was probably his sense of justice that kept him on his path as an officer of the law.
“Yes, yes. Restaurant Kaede… In Gion, right. What a fine establishment! President Tougou has excellent taste! Oh, a first meeting with his daughter’s fiancé and his family? Why, what a joyous occasion! I feel extremely bad for intruding upon such a private moment, so I will give him the documents and be gone. Yes. No, no, that is too kind of you. Thank you very much for being so helpful! Have a nice evening, goodbye!” Shou, who had continued to smooth talk the other party without any pangs of conscience whatsoever, grinned broadly and hung up, hiding his phone in his pocket.
He quickly scribbled down the name of the restaurant in his notepad and looked it up on his tablet. “The nice receptionist lady even went so far as to tell me about tomorrow’s meeting. This is definitely the company that Sayoko’s father is managing.”
“Sometimes you really blow me out of the water. I couldn’t do that if I tried,” Ren intoned with fond exasperation.
From her place next to him, Mia vehemently nodded.
“Really?” Shou tilted his head to the side, and then frowned, worrying his lip. “I can’t find Kaede’s website. It looks like they don’t have one. …Ah, wait, I see the name on the Kyoto restaurant directory. And there’s a phone number, too!”
“We can find out their address if we call them. I’ll get on it,” Subaru said, and immediately dialed the number.
Apparently, decisiveness was a hallmark of police officers.
“We don’t know the time, but most restaurants don’t open until noon or evening. I’m pretty certain we don’t have to worry about them scheduling it for early morning. So, what are we going to do, manhandle Misaki onto the bullet train?” Aya wondered aloud, making pushing motions with her hand.
Ren knit his brows, folding his arms. “Yeah, but…bursting with regret as Misaki might be, he already gave her his blessing. He’s definitely not going to hop on that train with a smile. Even if we manage to convince him after he gets off work, it’s gonna take one and a half hours to get to Kyoto, and he’ll still have to get to the restaurant in Gion.”
There was just too little time. Moreover, this wouldn’t work unless Misaki was prepared to do everything in his power to get Sayoko back. In the end, it was all up to the two of them. Even if they tried to persuade him to go for it, there was no guarantee that he’d actually listen. Ren and the rest of the gang turned it over and over in their heads, worry etched into their features. Misaki was a stubborn person. Besides, how far could they go in meddling with another person’s love life?
Mia raised her voice sheepishly, “It’s just a suggestion, but I could take him to Kyoto?”
“Huh?”
All eyes went to Mia.
“If I fly at top speed, I should be able to go as fast as the bullet train. I have ridden a bullet train during a school trip, and I have seen it go by from the outside many times, so it would be easy for me to form an image of its speed. I can also easily spot the restaurant from up above, so I think that all in all we could get there quicker than if he were to take the train,” Mia elaborated to everyone’s astonishment.
She felt anxious that she had maybe said something weird again, but then Aya inquired, concern apparent on her face, “Mia, can you really do that? Bullet trains can go crazy fast, and it would take you at least an hour to fly all the way to Kyoto. Won’t that be too hard on you?”
“I’ve trained to fly ever since I was a small child, and I’ve studied how to achieve different speeds. Father has always told me that command of the skies is crucial in any battle. I have never actually tried to fly for a whole hour, but it can’t very well be that difficult, I suppose.” Mia explained that it would most likely feel like running an hour-long marathon.
“Okay,” Aya and the others nodded in understanding, but there was just one person among the group left scowling. It was Ren.
“…Mia, how can you be so certain you can fly a distance you’ve never attempted before?”
“Huh?”
“Um, so… Right, Mia, lemme ask you something now that we’re talking about this. Have you ever felt your magical power reserves on the verge of running out? Like, if you tried to cast any more spells, it would hurt you?”
Mia blinked in surprise at Ren’s question. Why was he asking her that, as if he was concerned for her well-being?
“I don’t know if it’s my powers running out, but I have experienced a feeling as if I could pass out from exhaustion if I continued to use magic. I’ll resort to using the marathon simile again, but it is the same sensation you get when you push past your limits when running for a long time. Father told me to remember how it feels when we were studying magic together, so I understand what you are talking about,” Mia answered truthfully despite herself.
“I see…” Ren mumbled, pondering her words for a brief moment, hanging his head a bit. Then, he snapped his head back up sharply. Everyone stared at him. “Who doesn’t have work tomorrow?”
The other Rangers shook their heads.
“I thought as much,” Ren tutted, apparently he wasn’t free tomorrow either.
“Mia, you have school tomorrow, right?”
“I do. But I want to do something about this situation so bad, it’s all I’m thinking about, so I must act upon it. …Which is why I shall have to skip classes.”
“Ugh. Normally, I’d give you an earful about this, but right now you’re the only one we can rely on. All right. I’ll leave the matter in your hands. I don’t expect that you’ll be able to convince Misaki to do it, but you can use magic, so take him there by force if you have to. But if he outright refuses to go through with it, let him off the hook. It’s his choice, after all.”
Even if she were to take Misaki to Kyoto against his will, if he didn’t want to fight for Sayoko anymore it would just end up being a waste of effort. Mia understood that much, so she nodded.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Ren added,
“When you’re headed there, if you ever feel like you’re too tired to do this anymore, stop flying, okay? If Misaki still wants to get his girl back, he can choose from any number of public transportation options if the need arises. Anyways, don’t push yourself too hard. You gotta promise me that,” Ren insisted, tightly grabbing her shoulders.
Why did he worry about her so much? Mia nodded, as if in a trance, her heart drumming against her ribcage. She shouldn’t care if she made him fret, but she couldn’t resist the earnest expression he wore on his face. Without noticing, she found herself nodding to Ren’s requests.