You Came with the First Spring Breeze... - Episode 6: The Fun Stops Here

Episode 6: The Fun Stops Here

At the food court of Aeon Mall, I bought the crepes that Nao loved, along with her phone, and delivered them safely.

“I definitely think Mita is cheating, but he seems to be obsessed with you too, so be careful. You should block his calls and messages on LINE,” I warned her.

Nao nodded firmly, replying, “Okay, I understand,” as she ate a strawberry that was probably out of season and not very tasty.

“So, what did you do?” she asked, and I hesitated as I tried to come up with an answer.

“Well, I set something up,” I said.

“Set something up?” she asked, confused.

“Yeah, I don’t want him wandering around here,” I replied, and Nao seemed to understand, licking the cream off the side of her mouth. “I see,” she said.

“Alright, then,” I said, as I headed for the door. Nao chased after me and pulled on my shirt.

“Where are you going?”

“It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“You’re not coming back tonight?”

“No.”

She glared at me with a resentful look. What was that expression supposed to mean?

“How long am I supposed to stay here?”

“Well, you can stay until you find a new place. Just make sure Mita doesn’t find you,” I said.

Nao mumbled something, her lips moving as though she had something to say, but she turned away. Back when we were together, that was a sign that I needed to pay attention and ask her what was on her mind, or to just understand what she meant. But now, I didn’t need to read between the lines and preempt her feelings. It was a bit sad, but I freed her hand from my sleeve and left through the door.

I heard a thud as something hit the door behind me. Maybe it was her shoes?

She’s so self-centered, I thought, muttering to myself as I got into the car and prepared to carry out my next plan.

The fun ends here. The real work starts now.

I set the air conditioning to 18°C and cranked the fan up full blast as I made the call.

It only took one ring for the call to connect.

“Hello, this is IS Services.”

“Good afternoon. This is Ikeda from the Sales Department. Is Kido from the Investigations Department in today?”

“Oh, Ikeda-san, good afternoon. Kido is here. I’ll connect you.”

IS Services’ motto is “Time is money, and life,” so internal communication is efficient and direct.

“This is Kido. Good afternoon.”

I was quickly connected to the person I was looking for: Hitomi Kido. She was a kind, older investigator who had helped me out when I first joined the company, and a contact through Yoshii.

“Have you ever taken on an investigation for a company called Mita Corporation? Do you have any documents on it?” I asked.

“Mita Corporation? Let me check. Is it urgent?”

“If possible.”

“I’ll check and get back to you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Also! I’d like to look into a video production company called Jules.”

“Huh? You want to investigate them? Is this not a work-related request?”

“Yeah, it’s personal, sorry. If you could just prepare any documents, I can do the rest.”

“What exactly are you looking into?”

“Connections to organized crime.”

“I see. Got it! I’ll get the materials ready. It should be Monday before I can get it to you. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine. Thanks so much.”

As expected, Kido was quick and efficient.

Although it’s generally forbidden to use company resources for personal matters, everyone at the company does it anyway. As long as you don’t take photos, share information, or talk about it outside, you can access any document.

I just hoped Mita Corporation had been investigated in the past.

It was already after 3 PM. I ended the call and drove towards Aki’s apartment.

I parked and grabbed a big bag filled with cat food, milk, and toys, as well as a suitcase with my personal items. Sweat was already dripping as I entered the building.

Once at her door, I pressed the intercom, and Aki opened it right away.

“You’re late,” she said, her voice high-pitched.

“I had trouble with shopping, and I also had to grab my stuff,” I replied, showing her the cat supplies and the suitcase.

“Thanks.”

“Hey, come inside quickly. You need to see this,” Aki said with an expression that seemed to combine fear with something strange.

“What’s going on? What happened?” I asked, setting the bags down and sitting next to her on the sofa as she showed me her phone.

It was her Twitter timeline.

Back then, Twitter was filled more with short videos than images, and the video Aki was showing me made me freeze.

There were three stray cats around a black Lexus. They were sitting there, staring at the car. Meanwhile, a tough-looking man was trying to chase them away, sweating profusely.

He was crouched on the ground, poking under the car with a thin stick.

The video was taken from behind, so the man’s face wasn’t visible, but it was undoubtedly Mita.

It was over 38°C outside, and the cats were probably too hot. They had found shade under the car and weren’t moving.

The caption said, “A luxury car loved by cats,” and I nearly burst out laughing.

I didn’t take this video, nor did I upload it. It was probably a completely unrelated person using the home center at the time, who decided to film the odd sight and upload it. It already had over a hundred retweets.

“That’s Mita, right?” Aki asked.

“Yeah, that’s definitely Mita,” I replied.

“How did this happen? Which parking lot is this?” Aki asked with an expression that suggested she was trying to solve a mystery.

“Who knows? Looks like it’s going viral,” I said, pulling out the things I bought.

Aki kept watching the video, while Hal stretched and played with her skirt, occasionally yawning.

End of Chapter 3

To be continued in Chapter 4…