Wednesday, August 1st.
It was fairly rare for that person to personally assign him a mission. In a sense, this counted as revisiting an old place, except this time the identity he carried was no longer Macallan, but Augier.
Dressed in a black tactical outfit he had personally designed. It was not only fire-resistant but also offered a certain degree of bulletproof protection, and could even cleverly reduce the impact of blade attacks.
Ritsu lowered the hood of his sweatshirt. Resting both hands against the railing, he gazed out across the endless ocean horizon, letting the sea breeze mess up his hair.
Not far behind him, several high school girls whispered among themselves. After chatting for a few minutes, one girl with a ponytail finally gathered the courage to walk over.
"Excuse me… are you traveling alone?"
Ritsu hadn't expected to still attract high school girls at his age. After all, today he was using his real face, not the disguise with the cross-shaped scar.
Even though the face itself was handsome, the scar really did affect people's impressions, didn't it? It naturally made people think, 'this guy probably isn't a good person.'
"Yeah. Is there something you need?"
He wasn't narcissistic enough to assume every girl who approached him was flirting, so his first thought was that they wanted a favor from him. Maybe asking him to take a group photo, though his photography skills were fairly average.
"Well…"
The girl swallowed the words she originally wanted to say. Lowering her head timidly, she asked carefully,
"Could you help us take a picture?"
"Of course."
Ritsu accepted the phone she handed over. He was about to use the default camera app when he suddenly remembered Vermouth's complaints about his photography. After a brief thought, he opened the beauty camera app instead and took a surprisingly decent group photo of the five girls.
"Here."
However, the girl didn't immediately take back her phone. She glanced back at her friends, and after receiving encouraging looks from them, she took a deep breath. Yet the more embarrassed she became, the quieter her voice got.
"C-Could I add your LINE account?"
So it really was flirting after all.
Ritsu felt a bit helpless. He truly hadn't expected someone "halfway to being an old man" like him to still attract the attention of high school girls.
"Sorry, I can't give it to you."
"Why?"
The girl clearly hadn't expected her courageous confession to end in rejection. Tears welled up in her large eyes, not from sadness over being rejected, but from the emotional release after finally gathering the courage to ask.
"Because I already have a girlfriend. Ojou-chan, you should focus on school."
'So he had a girlfriend after all… Well, that made sense.' A handsome and charming man like him probably had plenty of mature women pursuing him.
"S-Sorry for bothering you."
"It's fine."
Ritsu smiled faintly as he watched the girl leave. He then turned his attention back toward the sea. Listening to the whispers behind him, he curled his lips in self-mockery and murmured,
"…I'm not a good person at all. You really shouldn't get close to me."
The last time he came to Tsukikage Island had been six years ago. He hadn't expected that by the time he returned, things would have changed so much.
The main purpose of this trip was to contact the new person in charge. The previous overseer, Kameyama Isamu, had died a year earlier, and thatperson was worried the business on Tsukikage Island would be monopolized by the locals. So he had specifically sent Ritsu to establish contact with the new overseer.
Ritsu pulled a photograph from his pocket. The man in it had slicked-back hair, a thin mustache, and a harsh-looking face. Just from appearances alone, he clearly wasn't a good person.
Kawashima Hideo, the wealthiest man on Tsukikage Island. Though despite that, he still hadn't become village chief. Apparently, he had lost the election again this term.
After putting the photo away, Ritsu headed toward the community center with familiar ease.
In six years, Tsukikage Island hadn't changed much. Even the location of the community center remained the same.
Just like six years ago, he stood on the beach behind the community center, waiting for Kawashima to appear.
Whether Kawashima feared Ritsu's identity, or whether the pressure from the Organization truly was that terrifying, Ritsu heard hurried footsteps nearly twenty minutes before the appointed meeting time.
Turning around, he saw Kawashima's flustered expression. The man jogged over while rubbing his hands obsequiously.
"My sincerest apologies, sir. I didn't expect you to arrive this early."
"It's fine. I'm simply don't like to be late."
Kawashima hadn't expected the Organization's representative to be so easygoing. Kameyama had complained more than once about the cold black-haired young man despite his age.
"I'm the current person in charge. I assume you already know my identity, sir? Or should I introduce myself again?" Kawashima asked. Even though Ritsu seemed approachable, he still acted extremely submissive.
"No need. I have one question for you. How did Kameyama die?"
"Kameyama-san died of a heart attack."
Kawashima pursed his lips and looked toward the piano room behind him. "He died inside the piano room."
'The piano room, huh?'
Back then, Kameyama always retrieved the gold hidden beneath the piano there. It seemed his death wasn't that simple after all. Was it really a heart attack?
Most likely just another case of criminals turning on each other. Ritsu wasn't particularly interested. As long as these people continued working for the Organization, he couldn't care less who became the new overseer.
"Looks like he wasn't fated to enjoy his wealth. Kawashima-san, I wonder if you are? The current village chief isn't you either, right?"
Kawashima froze briefly. Once he understood the implication behind the words, he gave a bitter smile.
"Actually, the current village chief is also one of our people, so please don't scare me like that, sir."
"Good. Let's hope none of you try anything funny. You may leave."
Ritsu waved his hand dismissively, giving the order to leave. Naturally, he already knew where the goods were hidden. Once Kawashima departed, he easily entered the piano room and retrieved the gold bars hidden underneath.
Carrying the heavy bars, he walked leisurely toward the harbor. As he passed through the residential area, he happened to encounter a female doctor giving instructions to a little boy.
With only a single glance, Ritsu sensed something strange about the doctor in the white coat. As someone skilled in disguise, he could see through lower-level disguises fairly easily, like the one in front of him.
The doctor clearly noticed his probing gaze and tilted her head in confusion. "Sir, is there something you need from me?"
Without a word, Ritsu quietly pulled his hood back over his head. "No. I just thought you looked rather feminine."
The doctor had been about to respond before suddenly realizing the hidden meaning in his words. The smile on her face stiffened instantly. Subconsciously, she reached toward her neck.
She was wearing a high collar today, so there shouldn't have been any obvious flaws. How had he figured it out?
"Um…"
"I have no interest in exposing your hobby. Goodbye."
Honestly, this was the first time he had met a cross-dresser in person.
Ritsu chose to respect other people's unique preferences, and he certainly didn't have enough free time to expose the side of someone they wanted hidden. Still, the guy's feminine voice was impressive, it was almost indistinguishable from a real woman's.
Back when Ritsu practiced voice imitation himself, he had run into countless difficulties. Because his natural tone was too low, at best he could only imitate the voices of mature women.
Carrying the heavy gold bars, he boarded the return ferry. He was about to find a seat and rest when Hayasaka called him.
A bad feeling crept over him.
'Don't tell me he'd have to solve another case the moment he landed in Tokyo?'
"Just say it. What case is it this time?"
"There's no case. More importantly, where did you run off to? Aren't you supposed to start your vacation tomorrow?"
"I had something to deal with. I'll be back soon enough. What did you need?"
Looking at the plane tickets in her hand, Hayasaka narrowed her eyes.
"My dad gave me a villa in Hokkaido. Since it's midsummer right now, I thought I'd invite you there to escape the heat. I already bought the tickets."
'A villa in Hokkaido.'
Ritsu's eyes twitched into a deadpan stare. Was she casually showing off her wealth right from the start?
'Come to think of it, what kind of business did the Hayasaka family run in Kyoto? Giving away a villa worth over a hundred million yen so casually was honestly terrifying.'
"Sure. I've never been to Hokkaido before anyway."
"Then I'll contact you tomorrow morning."
"Alright."
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