I’d already tried to go there and see what they could tell me about Akito on the 5th, but they were closed for the day. I definitely needed to take care of that before the next Rollback, or I’d have no way of knowing if the notes I just wrote down for myself were even accurate. I recalled that the Asuka Tavern opened at five o’clock most days, which would leave me an hour before the next Rollback would occur. Plenty of time to ask a few questions; there was no need to rush. I decided to take it easy for a while and just try to get myself mentally prepared for April 1st.
I checked my phone—it was 4:30 p.m.—and then slipped it back into my pocket. I grabbed the handle on the sliding door to the Asuka Tavern, pulled it to the side, and it rattled right open. The bar didn’t open for another thirty minutes, but I figured there might be someone here early to set up for the night. I walked inside. It was a cozy little joint, with just five or so tables aside from the bar counter seats. Hearing me enter, an older gentleman in an airy kimono-style top and loose-fitting trousers sprang out from the kitchen to greet me. Presuming him to be the proprietor of the establishment, I apologized for the intrusion and stated my purpose.
“I just wanted to ask a few questions, if that’s all right with you…”
“Questions?” he asked. “Look, I gotta get ready to open up shop here at five, kid.”
“It won’t take long, I promise. Please hear me out,” I begged, bowing my head.
“…Fine, fine. Just make it quick,” he said impatiently, so I got straight to the point.
“Well, it’s about Akito Hoshina…”
Immediately, the man frowned, and his voice grew deeper and darker.
“…Were you a friend of Akito’s, kid?”
“Y-yeah…” I faltered unconvincingly.
“…Well, I sure don’t recognize you,” he grumbled after looking me over for a moment, then turned away from me. “Sorry, but I already answered a bunch of questions for the police, and I don’t feel like talkin’ about it anymore. Gonna have to ask you to leave now.”
“W-wait a minute!” I cried out as he walked away. “Just one or two questions, I swear!”
The man refused to listen and disappeared back into the kitchen. What was with that attitude shift? The moment I mentioned Akito’s name, it was like he turned into a brick wall. Maybe he was still reeling from the death of a regular like Akito, and that was why he got irritated when a stranger like me came sniffing around asking questions about him. If that were really the case, I wasn’t about to back down now. I wasn’t some rando; I’d taken Akito’s death as hard as he had. I exited the bar temporarily, waited around outside for its standard business hours to begin, and then went back inside the moment it turned five o’clock.
“Hey, come on i—Oh, you again. Don’t you have anything better to do, kid?” the owner said from behind the counter, visibly annoyed from the moment he saw me. I remained undeterred and walked right up to the counter to sit down directly in front of him.
“No Akito talk this time, sir,” I said. “I’m here as a customer. One iced oolong tea, please.”
I was very glad I brought my wallet—the only question now was how long I could ride this bluff. The man sighed, then silently poured my iced tea into a beer mug and clunked it down on the bar in front of me. I grabbed it by the handle and downed it in one go, so fast that I couldn’t even taste it. It just cascaded straight down into my stomach. I wasn’t even thirsty in the first place. The barkeep looked at me in silent awe as I slammed the empty mug down on the counter in front of him.
“…Gimme another one,” I said.
The man frowned but poured me a refill all the same, albeit while watching me very dubiously. He set the new glass down in front of me. I chugged it in one go again, though this time, it was a lot more painful and took me about twice as long to glug it all down. I slammed the mug down once more.
“A-another one…” I burped.
“All right, all right. Don’t hurt yourself, kid,” he said, scratching his head with a heavy sigh. “What was it you wanted to ask me about?”
Phew, he caved. I was very grateful that I hadn’t just forced down two full mugs in vain. I gulped down another burp, as my stomach threatened to return its contents to sender, then asked what I’d come here to ask.
“Was Akito here on the night of April 1st?” I asked.
“Yeah, he was. Got here around nine and stayed till about midnight. Kept to himself, just drinkin’ alone the entire time. Not sure if it was exactly nine o’clock or not, but I know for a fact he left at midnight, because that’s when we always close. Had to kick him out so I could go home for the night,” the man explained. Then his face turned grim. “Probably would’ve tried to reach out to the poor guy if I’d known this was how things were gonna turn out, but I guess hindsight’s always twenty-twenty…”
Now I understood why he’d been so initially hesitant to talk with me. He was probably feeling pretty guilty for having served Akito all that alcohol. I felt bad for asking, but at least now I knew for a fact where he would be and when. Thinking that should be more than enough to save the man’s life, I decided to hold off on asking any further questions.
“…Thanks for answering, sir. That’s all I needed to know.”
I looked up at the menu posted on the wall and saw that the cost of one oolong tea was three hundred yen, tax included. Pretty pricey, but I stood up in front of the register and handed the man six hundred yen regardless.
“Just three hundred’s fine,” he said. “I know you didn’t want to drink that second one.”
“Wait, but…” I protested, yet the man had already finished ringing me up for a single glass. He was a good person, I could tell. I wasn’t exactly rolling in money, either, so I took him up on his kind offer and told him I really appreciated it.
“Don’t mention it,” he said. “I mean, what’s another three hundred yen, right? That’s like chump change compared to the massive tab your boy Akito racked up here.”
“Huh?” I replied, seizing up. Akito had an unpaid tab here?
“Here’s your change, kid. Have a nice night.”
“S-sorry, just real quick… Did you say Akito had an unpaid bar tab here?”
“Oh, you bet your ass he did. Hate to speak ill of the recently deceased, but boy, did that guy love to string me along. Same thing happened the night he died, actually; told him it was time to pay up, and he sorta shrugged me off. So I told him again, more firmly this time, and he totally blew up, actin’ like I was saying he wasn’t good for it, et cetera. It was all I could do to talk him back down.”
“Wow, seriously…?”