Chapter 10

Heh-heh. She truly did have a scary face and voice. She’d completely glossed over my unique dinner, though. Her frosty gaze and quiet fury could make an infant faint. “It’s simple—I wanted to give our promising young people some experience, is all.” “…‘Experience’?” “Yes. Those girls have many things to learn as they run through the springtime of their lives, after all.” Setbacks and regrets, failures and blunders. Failing to do something you thought you could do, stumbling on familiar paths and falling dramatically. That’s what makes young people into adults. “Discovering things you didn’t know. Observing countless opposite sides of the same coin. That’s how people grow up.” “Is that the official policy of the organization you belong to?” “No. I’m the school nurse as long as I’m on the premises. And as an adult, it’s my job to be a role model to the children. You, however…” “Huh? Spit it out.” “You’re being surprisingly overprotective, considering you’ve ended countless lives of the people on our side with your fists or knives. Is Fuyuko Shirahama that important to you?” I asked. She spat out a short “ha!” and crushed her cigarette. “She was definitely my masterpiece. In just a little over two years of training, she easily surpassed the theoretical limits of what a human could achieve. And her physical prowess was pure talent.” “Was she more talented than the other agents you trained?” “Yeah. She could hold her own. She was crap at handling a gun, but her close-combat skills were exceptional, almost abnormal. Even I would’ve been in trouble if I weren’t more experienced.” Then, childishly, she added, “Unless weapons were involved. Then it was like taking candy from a baby.” “If you regarded her so highly, why did you let her go?” “I told you, because of her physical prowess. She was a hopeless idiot and a romantic. My subordinates have to be ruthless, cruel, and realistic.” “Meaning she wasn’t?” “If you were on our side, you would understand. People who take actions they shouldn’t and incorrectly think that all lives should be saved equally are of no use. We don’t need kids who are so sweet and kind you could puke.” “Indeed. Children like that would easily die in a life-and-death struggle.” In other words, she was a failure. Even with all her talent, she couldn’t advance. The detective took out a lightly sweetened canned coffee from her car and took a sip. “That’s why I’m pissed off that you had her up against Mosquito. If the two of them had been killed, the return-blood would have fallen into their hands, crossed the ocean, and been spread across the globe.” “And that would have ultimately meant more work for you.” “Right. Which is why I’m pissed off.” “Meaning you didn’t approve of my actions as an enforcer of justice, correct? However, I believed that Miss Natsunagi and the Miss Shirahama you recognized…would be able to save Miss Agarie.” “Ha. You’re spouting those ideals now, after all the blood and lies?” “I suppose. But I’m an idealist now. I’m so kind and sweet you could vomit. Just like that canned coffee you’re sipping.” When I pointed to it, she wrinkled her nose and retorted, “They were out of black coffee.” Oh, she was adorable. “The return-blood increases a person’s biological strength. If someone compatible obtains the blood, their physical strength, intellect—everything—would be more than human. Especially now, some people want that kind of thing.” “You mean those people you call ‘seeds.’” “So you did know about that, you piece of shit. Your organization is full of scum who like to snoop around. It’s obnoxious.” “Oh, please don’t misunderstand. We’re definitely good at information gathering, but your organization once approached us to cooperate regarding the seeds.” “…What did you say?” “Apparently, the person from your organization in charge of the seeds fell ill, and they were left hanging for a time. Those people in black clothes were speaking to my superiors.” “Tch…I can’t believe the higher-ups reached out to you guys at the Mediation Association.” The Mediation Association. That was the name of the organization I belonged to, and our main purpose was to deal with those on our side. Meaning, when the people who preserved world peace were busy, they called on us. “Even heroes of justice want to be intimate with their loved ones or go have popcorn and laugh at the movies. But while they’re enjoying their pleasure and leisure time, there are people in back alleys being subjected to violence and malice.” “That’s where we come in. We monitor crises in the world, but those with a lower priority are postponed. The ‘Humanity Serum’ people who tried to take blood from Haruru Agarie were on our radar as a dangerous organization, but…” “The people on our side in Japan tend to be overlooked because they’re not considered much of a threat.” In the past, Japan had many vicious individuals as well, but nowadays, even those lurking in what normal society calls the underworld couldn’t be called “our side” anymore. The country had grown in the right direction and become far more peaceful. “And? Why did the Mediation Association refuse the request to subjugate the seeds?” “No special reason. My boss said we didn’t need to get our hands dirty wiping the mud off the world’s justice. Heh.” Plus, there were people in her organization who had that role already—those who nipped the evil flowers that spread death, the enemies of the world, before they could bloom. If we at the Mediation Association had chosen the wrong path and enemy…I might have wound up in a death match with this wonderful lady in front of me. “You make an annoyingly sound argument. That’s why, when it comes to the seeds, I’ll—” She started to say something, then retreated into silence. She was as bad a conversationalist as ever. Just like a high school boy. But that was what made her so cute. “I went off topic. I’ll continue to leave Humanity Serum to you guys—but if you screw it up, I’ll go and destroy the Mediation Association.” “Would that be for your job?” “No, it would be private. Like when I have ramen on the way home on my days off.” “You’d spend your precious days off destroying organizations?!” Was this country really okay if a woman who loved violence so much was a police officer…? “We’ll take care of Mosquito for now. I’ll tell my subordinates to make it look like the police took care of this incident and notify the school staff myself.” “Thank you. Then I’ll handle the media cover-up.” “Yeah. Mosquito probably doesn’t have much viable information, but I have to give them payback for bullying my cute apprentice. Heh-heh.” “Well, this one…she had a really evil look on her face. Though, I bet she didn’t think so herself. Wait, are you leaving already?” “Public servants don’t have that much free time—especially detectives like me. Or how about we go at it for the first time in a while? I still haven’t forgotten you punched me in the face.” “But you made my body go snap in return. That was why I had to take a step back from the front lines, you know? But this isn’t about that.” Now that we were grown-ups, what suited us better was… “Would you like to get some cheap sake at a dive bar?” Her eyes widened in surprise at my invitation, but after a brief call on her phone, she opened the door to the driver’s seat. “Just one drink. I won’t have any more than that, Utsugi.” “…Yes, yes! Of course! We’ll have one drink and talk a lot.” “Just so you know, you’re covering the drinks and the ride.” I sat in the passenger seat of the unmarked police car, heading toward the city with a woman I’d once fought with until we were both bloody when we were young. I was conscious of how much we’d both grown up. We’d clashed with enormous emotions, worn our souls down to nubs, and experienced a lot of pain and suffering when we were young and immature, and that was why we were able to grow up. That’s why I keep preaching to my cute students… …the preciousness of youth and the importance of the bonds we nurture with all our might, even when they hurt.