Chapter 11: Interrogation

Looking at the electronic handcuffs binding his wrists, Yuki could only manage a helpless, bitter smile. What a mess he had gotten himself into.

He was about to protest his innocence when the barrel of a gun pressed against his back, and several officers growled at him in low voices to keep quiet.

So Yuki obediently fell silent.

Escorted by two burly officers in uniform to the roadside, Yuki saw a row of five police cars parked along the street. The spectacle had drawn the attention of night joggers and even the security guard from the yacht club, an elderly man who was stopped by two armed officers before he could approach.

As for Yuki, one of the officers draped his own jacket over Yuki’s head, the lingering smell of tobacco making him sneeze. Instantly, he felt the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against his back and waist.

No need to be so nervous—what harm could a sneeze do?

Yuki hadn’t even had time to feel wronged before he was shoved into the police car.

In the dim interior, he cast a glance at the police jacket covering him, and at the cuff, he noticed the insignia of the Department of External Affairs and Unknown Cases.

Had they set up surveillance along the port, tracking the little creature to see if any suspicious individuals made contact, then arrested everyone involved? He had to admit, the logic was sound. If not for Torekiya’s intervention, capturing the three aliens manipulating the controller nearby would have sufficed to keep the little creature docile and harmless. Provided it was well-fed, otherwise it would attack ships transporting cocoa beans or sneak ashore to raid warehouses for them.

Taken to the police station, Yuki had already prepared his explanation—why he was there and why he interacted with the mysterious creature in the sea.

After sitting alone in the interrogation room for half an hour, he feigned the demeanor of an innocent bystander and matched wits with the officer in charge.

Yuki’s account of his presence was simple—

He lived in the nearby residential district, went jogging every night, and many joggers could attest to his routine since they were all familiar with his face. As for why he ended up at the yacht club, he explained that he had noticed V-shaped ripples on the water, his curiosity piqued, and chased after them.

Because he worked for Aegis Security Company and had received a request from Officer Sakura that morning, he was aware that strange animals had previously appeared along the coast, so he paid closer attention.

That was how he ended up ensnared in the Department of External Affairs and Unknown Cases’ net.

As for why the creature interacted with him, Yuki maintained an innocent expression, claiming it seemed very friendly—it didn’t attack him, even nudged his palm with its head, much like a cat.

The officer’s face darkened, and he stood up, slamming the table and roaring that Yuki had clearly never seen it attack the cargo ships.

Yuki shrank, his neck pulled in, and didn’t dare respond.

At that moment, Officer Sakura arrived at the station from home and rescued Yuki.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble,” Yuki said, rising to bow deeply to Officer Sakura. In the dead of night, he had made this sixty-year-old officer come out to bail him.

“You, honestly…” Officer Sakura shook his head, equal parts exasperated and amused, at a loss for words.

This child was a good one! Always keeping work in mind, bold yet meticulous—he had noticed such subtle water ripples, though chasing after them so recklessly was a bit rash.

But Sakura thought, after all, he was young; some impulsiveness was only natural.

All in all, Officer Sakura was quite pleased.

As Sakura sighed over Yuki being a good kid and considered recruiting him as an assistant in the Department of External Affairs and Unknown Cases, Yuki noticed a “+1” followed by a string of Light Nation characters appear above Sakura’s brow.

It caught him off guard, leaving him dumbfounded. Fortunately, as the text faded, Yuki quickly focused and memorized the first three characters, planning to jot them down once he got home—well, a good memory couldn’t compete with a bad pen.

Just then, another officer approached, scanning a thin card over Yuki’s electronic handcuffs. With a soft beep, the cuffs sprang open.

Yuki rubbed his wrists and thanked both Officer Sakura and the officer who had come to unlock the handcuffs.

The officer who had interrogated him now emerged, having finished compiling the report. Seeing Yuki freed and standing beside Sakura, he cast a cold glance at them before turning to leave.

“That’s Inspector Aihara,” Sakura quietly explained to Yuki. “He’s always strongly opposed to outsourcing police work to private companies. We don’t want to either, but manpower is tight, and he insists the police force should expand. That’s hard to push through—it involves many departments, but there are urgent cases piling up. To solve them, we outsource some preliminary investigations, and those companies usually cooperate efficiently, so Inspector Aihara believes we’re becoming dependent on them, which isn’t good.”

Yuki nodded in understanding. No wonder Aihara’s face soured the moment he mentioned working for Aegis and being commissioned by the police.

So the matter of the little creature was still in the preliminary investigation phase.

Led by Officer Sakura out of the station, Yuki mused grimly—tomorrow, Aegis had arranged for him and Senior Ah Yu to investigate the scene, and if he remembered correctly, it was during their first visit that things went wrong.

What should he do?

Just then, footsteps echoed at the end of the corridor. Sakura and Yuki instinctively moved to the right, giving way to a group of officers approaching from the opposite direction; the others shifted left, clearing a path.

As they passed each other, Yuki glanced at the group—and abruptly halted.

In the center, surrounded by deep blue uniforms, stood a tall figure in gray.

The moment Yuki recognized the officer in the gray uniform, he froze as if struck by lightning.

Sakura had walked a considerable distance before realizing the footsteps behind him had stopped. Turning, he found Yuki standing motionless, lost in thought.

“Yuki?”

Sakura retraced his steps, reaching out to pat Yuki, but recalled the boy had just been discharged from the hospital yesterday and withdrew his hand, simply calling him to attention.

Startled by the sudden appearance of Sakura’s face, Yuki stammered, “Sa…Sakura Officer?”

Sakura tilted his head, examining Yuki with concern. “What’s wrong? Why are you spaced out all of a sudden?”

“No, nothing, just thinking, got distracted,” Yuki lied, and Sakura, still puzzled, waved him forward.

Yuki followed quickly, but glanced back at the corridor. In the darkness, only the emergency exit sign glowed green.

Other than that, it was dim, empty, and silent.

…Can I still trust Tsuburaya’s casting choices?