Side Story: Beneath the Bed

Side Story: Beneath the Bed

Side: None

Somewhere in a certain prefecture.

In a room at a business hotel near a train station, a man was looking around.

He had an unremarkable face and an average build. His slightly rumpled suit and drab-colored tie made him look like an ordinary salaryman on a business trip.

After a while, apparently satisfied, he sat down on the bed and made a call.

'Yes. Hello?'

"Hey, Tōmi-kun. It's Sato."

As the smiling man spoke, the woman on the other end of the phone let out a small sigh.

'Has your name changed again?'

"Yeah. Unlike you, I don't stand out, you see. They keep sending me from place to place."

'It's not like I enjoy standing out either.'

Sato laughed cheerfully at the dissatisfaction in her voice.

"Now, don't say that. In a sense, it's a weapon. Both conspicuous and inconspicuous looks can be useful, depending on how you use them."

'Yes, yes. So what do you want?'

Sato gave a wry smile at the exasperated way his subordinate responded.

"Well, I wanted to know how your investigation was going. Could you tell me a little about it?"

'...I submitted the report.'

"That only contains the facts. I want to hear your impressions as well."

'...Normally, you'd tell me not to write my impressions and to stick to the facts, wouldn't you?'

"We're a little different from ordinary civil servants. Besides, in a world like this, the word 'ordinary' isn't very reliable anymore."

'...I suppose you're right.'

Sato and Tōmi, the woman on the other end of the phone, were police officers.

They were officers of the Public Security Bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department.

"So. Will you tell me, Tōmi-kun?"

'...A small-scale spiritual disaster caused by skeletons. To be honest, the lack of casualties can only be called a "blessing in disguise" born from a string of good luck.'

Tōmi began to speak in halting bursts.

'By coincidence, the monsters that appeared were among the weaker varieties. By coincidence, the dungeon was small. By coincidence, there happened to be an exceptionally capable and good-natured candidate for adventurer there. Thanks to that, the spiritual disaster resulted in extremely few casualties. We were simply very lucky. Or perhaps I should call it misfortune in disguise.'

"In other words, you don't think there was anything going on behind that incident?"

'The investigation is ongoing, but that's how it seems to me. It's just that...

"Just that?"

'...There were some strange tire tracks.'

Sato tilted his head slightly at Tōmi's words.

"Tire tracks? Were they left by part of a chariot's 'Spirit Armament' or by some supernatural ability?"

'Probably not. Even if they were from a passenger car or a motorcycle, there wouldn't be anything particularly unusual about them.'

"But they caught your attention."

'...It's just a hunch. I have no evidence. I don't have a sensing-type supernatural ability, either, so I can't say for sure. There weren't many traces, so I couldn't identify the vehicle model.'

"No, no. Supernatural abilities may be convenient, but a detective's hunch is nothing to dismiss, Tōmi-kun."

'You think so?'

"By the way, were there any security cameras nearby?"

'No. The scene was in a shuttered shopping district. Most of the stores' security cameras had stopped operating. There wasn't much traffic there, either, so we couldn't count on dashcams.'

"That scene... There should have been an expressway interchange and a station a little way away. What about the cameras around there?"

'They didn't record anything suspicious. Apparently, the vehicle didn't pass that way.'

"...It certainly is strange. There are a lot of oddities to the case, including the possibility that the traces indicate that multiple skeletons were run over."

'Yes. There are very few large vehicles equipped with Spirit Armaments at present, so one would stand out considerably.'

Sato stroked his chin and wore a bold smile on his otherwise kindly face.

"Excellent. Tracking down the vehicle from the tire tracks is the police's job. Be sure to pursue that well-meaning hit-and-run driver."

'Hit-and-run...? If someone ran over a monster, what crime would that even constitute?'

"Who knows? I was just trying to sound cool, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't press the issue."

'Uh... okay.'

As her supervisor cackled, Tōmi replied in a weary voice.

'Anyway, what about you, Sato-san? How are things on your end?'

"Hmm. Overseas approaches to the girls who made a name for themselves in that incident in Tokyo have been increasing."

'Everyone wants talented Gifted people... Is that it?'

"That's right. Especially Gifted people from Japan."

Sato gave a small shrug.

"That information───the claim that 'Gifted people's talents differ greatly from country to country'───now appears to be certain."

'...Does it?'

"Compared not only with major powers such as America and China, but with countries all over the world, the ability values of Gifted people in Japan and Britain alone stand out."

What Sato had said had not yet been made public.

Using connections in all sorts of places, he had investigated the ability values of Gifted people kept hidden by each country. That information, however, would probably be made public in another month or two.

A mere month. Yet a month nonetheless. Sato and the others were expected to figure out how to make use of that difference.

"Apparently, it has something to do with the flow of ley lines. Magic power supposedly flows through every part of the Earth to some degree, but the conditions at its outlets seem to vary."

'Was that what you mentioned before—the effect on the people living above them?'

"Yes. It's safe to assume that this changes the caliber of Gifted people. Yet because magic power itself flows through the land, there isn't much difference in the frequency of dungeon appearances or their danger levels."

For just an instant, Sato's eyes grew sharp.

"The average ability values of Gifted people in Japan and Britain are around '15,' with a fair number even higher than that. In the other countries, however, most people are around '12.' On top of that, they generally have only one supernatural ability, and many of those abilities are difficult to find a use for."

'...That's quite something.'

"There was already a great deal of poaching of exceptionally powerful Gifted people. But that's going to intensify from here on. Things are about to get busy, Tōmi-kun...!"

'............'

Tōmi remained silent for a while.

'...I'm already plenty busy, though. All the leave I would have gotten as an ordinary police officer has vanished.'

"...Things are about to get busy, Tōmi-kun!"

'Is that a death sentence?'

Neither Sato nor Tōmi could remember when either of them had last gone home.

That was how bad things had gotten, despite the Public Security Bureau's excellent memory.

'If you feel that way, then tell the honorable politicians to improve the treatment of Gifted people and adventurers!'

"Heh... You've watched too many movies, Tōmi-kun. Just because we're in Public Security doesn't mean we can confront politicians head-on. Think about it."

'Weren't you the one who said the word "ordinary" wasn't reliable?'

"I have no recollection of that."

'This guy...!'

Even over the phone, Tōmi could tell that her supervisor was wearing an unnecessarily sharp expression.

As she clenched her fist, Sato's gaze sharpened again.

"That's why I'll leave that matter to you."

'...Understood. It may take a little longer to prepare, but I'll make contact as soon as everything is ready.'

"Yes. I'm counting on you. Someone who appears to be a Gifted person from overseas has already made contact with him. He has a Japanese name, but his parents' whereabouts are strangely unclear. Prevent him from being poached and assess his character."

'Yes. ...There is just one thing I don't understand.'

"What is it?"

Over the phone, the two of them glared at each other for an instant.

'My age. Even for a cover, wouldn't claiming to be a high school student be a bit much?'

"Don't worry. If anything, you look like a child, so I'm more worried people will mistake you for an elementary schooler."

In an instant, a profoundly ridiculous atmosphere filled the room.

'No, no, no. Even if I'm falsifying my age, a college student is the limit. I'm twenty-eight this year.'

"Rest easy. Even the other members and I can't tell your real age at first glance. You look like a child no matter how you look at it. In modern parlance, you're what they call a legal loli."

'That's sexual harassment, you old bastard.'

"I'm not old! I'm not, I tell you... I'm not...!"

Sato quietly shed a tear.

He had the mental fortitude not to buckle in most predicaments, but the increasing hair loss and gray hair had crushed his spirit.

He was at the age when waking up to find hair on his pillow was frightening.

"I-I also plan to contact 'that organization' first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be going, then."

'Understood. Just don't leave too much hair in the hotel room.'

"Maybe I'll tell the higher-ups next time that my subordinate is bullying me...!"

'Yes, yes. Survive until then.'

"You too. Avoid an early death."

After ending the call, Sato let out a breath.

Then he took a pocket watch from inside his jacket.

To ensure that no one else would be harmed in the event of an emergency and to keep his real name from being discovered, he carried as few items connected to himself as possible.

But this was different.

Inside the opened lid was a message from his beloved family. It was a pocket watch his daughter, who had found a job at an ordinary company, had bought for him with her first paycheck.

After gazing at it, Sato began preparing for bed.

He carefully searched for listening devices and the like. He also checked for any magic, using a magic tool supplied by the government.

But...

"Huh?"

Something grabbed his foot.

The complete surprise did not stop Sato from reaching inside his jacket as he cried out, demonstrating his competence.

But the next moment, his body stopped moving. Not only his fingertips, but even his eyeballs, became as rigid as stone.

With a heavy thud, Sato was pulled down onto the floor and then sucked beneath the bed.

After the filthy sounds of wet chewing echoed for a while...

Sato emerged from beneath the bed.

With vacant eyes, he straightened his collar and headed for the washroom.

The gift from his daughter remained beneath the bed.