Collapse, the Ordinary Daily Life of the Valkyries

"Oh, sir. Please give me some change~"

Suddenly, Sasayama began to beg for money from Gana. Perhaps to stay true to the role he was playing, he also had a strong body odor.

"Well? Now that's not strange, is it?"

"...Sasayama-senpai, please be serious."

"I'm serious. If you're so nervous that you freeze up, you won't be able to do anything when the moment comes. If you make some stupid mistake, you'll be scolded by your superiors."

As detectives for their area, Kano and his team were assigned a position slightly away from the statue of the loyal dog. Elite investigators carefully selected from the Special Criminal Investigation Division of the Main Agency were stationed at the delivery site, keeping watch. Kano and his team were to provide backup in the event of the criminal's escape.

"After all, our job isn't to arrest and detain prisoners. To avoid making mistakes, it's best to relax a bit."

Just as Sasayama was saying this, the sound of a radio came to his ears.

"...The designated time has arrived. All investigators, please maintain strict vigilance and be on the lookout for any suspicious individuals."

The voice coming from the headset belonged to Kusase Koji, the administrative officer of the main police station. Until last year, he had been the head of the Criminal Division at Shibuya Police Station and had once been Kano and the others' superior.

"We don't know when the prisoners will make contact, so we must not be careless."

After saying that, the wireless call was disconnected. However, Kusanagi's deep and magnetic voice seemed to still echo in my ears.

"Sounds like you have more than enough energy, Mr. Kusase."

After hearing Sasayama's seemingly joking remarks, Kana couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Although the designated time had passed, no suspicious individuals had appeared. Garner couldn't help but slap his thigh. Beneath his dark blue striped suit, he concealed a muscular body built from his rugby days as a student.

(The criminals are likely to be a gang.)

(This is not the behavior of a professional kidnapper.)

(Although the possibility of personal vendetta is low, the perpetrator appears to have met with the victim's family.)

This is the judgment made by the investigation headquarters based on the preliminary investigation results.

Depending on whether the criminal's motive is personal vendetta or profit, the response plan must be tailored accordingly. Currently, the Investigation Headquarters has decided to apprehend the suspect immediately upon arrival. This is because if he manages to escape after receiving the ransom, the hostages' safety could be endangered.

"But, there's absolutely no movement..."

At the moment Sasayama muttered to himself—

"Here it comes! Here it comes!"

A sharp, shrill, sissy voice suddenly rang in my ears.

"He's a man in his twenties, wearing a blue tracksuit!"

Although Kusase was usually calm and taciturn, his tone suddenly became effeminate when he was nervous. Although there were rumors that this way of speaking was due to his slow career advancement, Kana and Sasayama immediately tensed up when they heard Kusase's serious voice.

The person who came over was a man dressed rather shabbily, and was talking to Tong in a leisurely manner.

"Listen up, investigators! Get ready to capture the criminal!"

Hisase was currently in a command vehicle slightly away from the intersection, giving orders by observing the live feed from the camera team.

The man talked to Tong for a long time, then tried to push something like a flyer into her. He looked more like a salesman than a criminal. Tong ignored him from the beginning, and after a while, the man seemed to give up and left her.

"…As a precaution, the tracking team must question the man after he leaves Shibuya Station."

Hisase's originally high spirits also became very low.

Garner couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't let his guard down for the next while. His mind felt like it was on fire from the prolonged tension, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to remain calm.

"That guy just now, I think he was just trying to flirt with me?" Sasayama said in a lighthearted, almost joking tone. "After all, that lady was pretty."

Although frustrated by his lack of nervousness in his speech, Garner still took another look at Tong's figure. Indeed, she had a very handsome appearance and exuded a noble aura of wisdom.

"Of course, my wife is still not as good as my Xiaomei in terms of material things."

Sasayama had just gotten married last month, and Xiaomei was his wife's name. Lately, Garner had been semi-forced to listen to him brag about his wife.

"Garner, getting married is really great! I think you should get out of your single life as soon as possible!"

Sasayama doesn't need to elaborate. If possible, Kano would certainly like to marry his current girlfriend. After all, his father died in an accident when he was a child, and his mother, who painstakingly raised him single-handedly, passed away from illness five years ago. The loneliness brought on by this loss has made him yearn for a family of his own. However, there are still some complex issues that prevent him from getting married right away. Because the thought of this makes him depressed, Kano tries not to think about marriage.

"Forget it, let's not talk about whether you're getting married or not for now...it's already past ten o'clock."

Sasayama glanced around casually. A few minutes had passed since the man handing out the flyers appeared, and Hitomi's expression was becoming increasingly distressed. Five thousand ten-thousand yen bills weighed about six kilograms, and on top of that, the weight of the briefcase. It would certainly be difficult for such a delicate girl to carry all this weight. However, Hitomi refused to put the box down—her attitude alone revealed her desperate desire to save her sister.

"That kid is really hardworking." Sasayama muttered softly.

Garner nodded slightly in response, his mind replaying the moment he first met Tong.

This kidnapping incident occurred around 7pm yesterday evening.

"Metropolitan Police Department communication: A missing person case suspected of kidnapping has occurred within the Shibuya Police Station's jurisdiction. The crime scene is a hotel near Midoriyama Gakuin University. The victim is Maria Ozawa, a 19-year-old student at the university. She was reportedly forced into a car and abducted by a man near the hotel. All officers on duty in the vicinity are requested to proceed to the scene immediately."

Upon hearing the order, Kana and Sasayama, who were investigating a theft in front of the shrine, rushed to the scene. At 7:15 PM, they arrived at the "LLDINNER!" restaurant to find the person who reported the case, Hitomi Ōsawa, standing there, pale and stunned. Other investigators from the area soon followed, and access to the restaurant and surrounding roads was restricted from that moment on.

"Could you please tell us the whole story of how Miss Maria was taken away?

Kanono asked Tong in his best possible calm tone.

"I...was originally scheduled to attend a party with my sister today."

Tong's emotions seemed a little shaken, and her voice seemed a little hoarse.

"The party was supposed to start at six o'clock... but I didn't arrive at the venue until seven."

Maria was attending a party held by Green Mountain Gakuin University to foster exchange between its students and international students. Hitomi, arriving late at the hotel, witnessed Maria being forced into a car and abducted through the window. The van was a blue van, its license plate obscured by tape.

"...Why...why did this happen to my sister..."

Although she tried hard not to cry, her body kept shaking.

"Did you see the prisoner's appearance?"

"That should be a middle-aged man...but I didn't see his face clearly."

Tong bit her lips as if she was unwilling.

"All I saw was the prisoner's back."

There was also a male witness to the incident - a foreigner named Leland Palmer, a lecturer at Green Mountain College. It is said that several lecturers and professors also attended the party.

"Because Miss Tong made a surprised sound, I immediately went to the window and looked outside. I thought the culprit must be alone."

It is said that he has not been in Japan for long and does not speak Japanese fluently.

"Why do you think the prisoner is a man?"

"Because I saw the criminal first push Miss Maria into the back seat of the car, and then turned around and sat in the driver's seat..."

Indeed, if this was a gang operation, someone else would have been behind the wheel. While this was a layman's opinion, it was a reasonable assumption. In the end, the only information they could extract from the two men was that the perpetrator was likely a lone middle-aged man. As they continued questioning, Garner's phone rang.

"The investigation headquarters has been established. Once you have confirmed the situation at the scene, please return to the police station immediately."

It was a call from senior detective Yoshio Kajiwara. The time between the filing of a case at the 110 police station and the establishment of the investigation headquarters was generally around thirty minutes, and by then it was already eight o'clock in the evening. By the time Kana and Sasayama returned to the police station, all the detectives from the main office had gathered in the conference room, and the countermeasures team responsible for monitoring the victim's home had been established.

As if anticipating the establishment of the investigation headquarters, the victim's home immediately received a threatening phone call from the criminal. It was 8:05 pm.

"April 28th, 10:00 AM, in front of the loyal dog statue in Shibuya. Tell your second daughter, Hitomi, to bring 50 million. If you don't, the hostage will die."

Maria's mother, Ai, answered the phone. The voice on the other end was that of a middle-aged man, consistent with the witness's information. However, Maria claimed she had never heard that voice before. At 8:30 p.m., investigators disguised themselves as employees of a courier and moving company and entered the victim's home. The countermeasures team prepared to reverse engineer the call and awaited the suspect's second call.

However, after that, there was no further contact from the prisoner.

Twenty minutes had passed since the agreed time for payment, and the prisoner still hadn't sent any contact.

"Has he been discovered?" Garner pondered anxiously.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. Otherwise you'll play into the criminal's hands."

Sasayama said in a calm tone.

"...Why would the criminal choose such a location?"

Garner raised a perfectly natural question, one that had puzzled him ever since he heard the threatening phone call.

"Taking advantage of the crowd and stealing the ransom...is that your only goal?"

Sasayama gave such a straightforward answer without even thinking.

"If that's the case, then even Shinjuku or Ginza would be fine. And having a large number of people isn't just an advantage for the criminal, right?"

Criminals weren't the only ones who could blend into the crowd; the search team could also exploit it to deploy a human wave. In fact, a large number of torturers were deployed within a fifty-meter radius centered on Hitomi. If the criminals attempted to steal the ransom and escape, they would face considerable risk.

"It feels a little weird. Any criminal with any sense wouldn't ask for a ransom in front of the statue of a loyal dog."

"I'm telling you, you're thinking too complicated."

Sasayama said as if he was a little annoyed.

"There is no such thing."

Garner pulled a notebook from his pocket—something he always carried with him at work, like his police ID.

"You're here again."

Although Sasayama showed a helpless expression, Ghana still opened the notebook for him to see.

"Look, here!"

The more meaningless something seems, the more meaningful it is.

The notebook contains famous quotes from Shibuya Police Station Deputy Superintendent Kenno Kyozo.

For Garner, Takeno was a target. During this investigation, he was assigned to serve as Hitomi's personal guard—his duty was to protect her after the ransom was paid. Of course, Hitomi was unaware of this personal guard. If Hitomi were aware of Takeno's presence, the criminal would likely be aware of the investigator's presence.

"I firmly believe what Mr. Kenno said."

"Of course, he's a very capable detective. But if he keeps dwelling on seemingly meaningless things, won't it just get to the point of no return?"

Sasayama wore an expression of disbelief. But it didn't matter if others didn't understand him. Kanohana had absolute trust in Kenno, not just as a detective but as a person. Putting the notebook back into his breast pocket felt like his soul returning to his body.

The first time Garner witnessed Kenno's bravery was during the financial company siege incident three years ago.

That was when Garner was still working at the police station. A criminal had taken refuge in an office, throwing gasoline everywhere and attempting to set it on fire. With everyone at the scene at a loss as to what to do, Takeno, without hesitation, entered the building and successfully persuaded and apprehended the criminal. The memory of Takeno's actions remains vivid in Garner's mind to this day. For Garner, who had always led an ordinary life as a police officer, it was a profound shock.

"...I, too. Sometimes, I have these thoughts."

Sasayama suddenly started talking to himself.

"No matter how great a detective Mr. Takeno is, I'm afraid no one out there knows his name."

“…Yes, that’s true.”

"The only way a detective's name is released to the public is to either cause a major scandal or die in the line of duty."

After saying that, Sasayama sighed deeply.

"...Isn't that too unfair? If we have a famous chef and a famous beautician, a famous detective shouldn't be too much of a stretch, right?"

"Mr. Sasayama, do you want to be famous?" Ghana said helplessly after hearing his ridiculous idea.

"Don't you want that? Don't you want your excellent work to be appreciated by more people?"

Miscellaneous: Thoughts

When this guy says to others, "Your brain isn't very good," that's when he has a good idea.

"Ah," Teranishi muttered softly, "You just said that July 1st is repeating itself. But you haven't stopped yet, have you? Doesn't that mean it can't be called a cycle?"................-

“————Huh?”

"What I mean is that the world hasn't changed. It's probably you who's changed. If you imagine it's just you going back in time, that feels pretty real, doesn't it? I don't really feel the world changing, but from your perspective, it should be like that."

Teranishi meant that the problem was with me.

"Why is it that I am the only one who has encountered such a thing?"

"But it's impossible for the entire world to be moving backwards. What is this phenomenon that hinders preservation and growth?"

"How would I know? Anyway, everything except me has become strange."

"Hey~, idiot."

Afterwards, after getting off at Misaki Station, Teranishi and I slowly walked towards the center street while discussing.

Because it is close to the commercial street, there are usually many people in the center of the street.

"Hmm...ah, wait a minute. If you believe what you're saying...then the space and matter outside of you will regress to the past after a day, right? Isn't this a bit strange?"

"What's so strange about that?"