Chapter 17 – March 17, Sakurazaka Jin.

“Jin, did you order any delivery or something?”

“At this time of night, in the middle of nowhere? There’s no way any store would deliver here.”

Diya questions with a feigned expression, but there’s a hint of fear in her eyes.

It’s past midnight and in a place where encountering strangers is rare, someone visiting at this time of night is suspicious.

I recall seeing scenes like this in horror movies.

I rush to the intercom near the kitchen and bend down to confirm the face of the person on the screen.

The camera is located next to the gate, and the person’s appearance is perfectly visible.

A person wearing a black suit with long hair tied back. He has a sharp look in his eyes and a well-proportioned face. He seems to be about 190 centimeters tall.

The position of the decorations on the gate allows for a rough estimate of their height.

　I don’t recognize his face…

A handsome man in a black suit in the middle of the night… it’s suspicious.

“Who is this guy?”

“Let me see too,” said Diya, leaning over my shoulder to peer in.

“Oh, Ikeme…hmm! Wait, who’s this person?”

“Don’t shout in my ear! Do you happen to know him?”

Diya shakes her head vigorously from side to side, deep in thought, as if her head might come off.

“I almost remember who he is, but not quite. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…hmm.”

I can’t keep the other person waiting for an answer forever. I gathered my courage and pressed the call button on the intercom.

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“My apologies for calling so late. My name is Masasei Hinoyama.”

Saying that, she brings a business card closer to the camera.

It read “Karasuyama Private Detective Agency, Masasei Hinoyama.”

Karasuyama Private Detective Agency? That makes him sound suspicious.

“Oh! Mr. Hinoyama!”

“That voice belongs to Hanako–“

“Argh! Don’t call me by my real name!”

Diya screams at the top of her lungs, drowning out the other person’s voice.

This is why she was told not to shout in someone’s ear.

“My name is Diya. Got it? Repeat after me. Diya.”

Why are you speaking broken English?

“Oh, I’m sorry. Diya-san. Could you please explain my situation to Sakurazaka-san as well?”

He bows his head repeatedly through the camera.

He doesn’t seem like a bad person.

“Well, you see, this person is Mr. Hinoyama, a colleague of my uncle. He’s not a bad guy. We had a little trouble during my previous job as an idol, and he helped me out then.”

“I see. So there’s nothing to worry about…I guess.”

While saying that, I open an app on my smartphone.

I display the footage from the surveillance camera I had installed a few days ago with Iwaro-san’s help.

There’s no one around. There’s only one car that person arrived in.

It appears that no one is in the car, although it’s difficult to confirm because the angle only shows the window side.

“Since there’s no point in standing outside talking at this late hour, please come inside. I’ll unlock the gate.”

Although I still haven’t completely dispelled her suspicions, I don’t want to appear overly cautious and make Diya suspicious.

It’s important to respond without disturbing my  inner peace.

I went to the entrance to open the door, inviting Hinoyama inside.

From the video, it was not clear, but he has a well-proportioned physique with apparent muscles.

He is a bit shorter than Iwaro-san, but his slender build gives a completely different impression.

Hinoyama came to the living room, feeling sorry for the inconvenience.

“Long time no see. What brings you here at this late hour? And in such a remote place too.”

“Remote place? Please don’t be rude to the resident of Sakurazaka.”

“Don’t worry, I’m only reducing  Diya’s share of side dishes.”

“You do care!”

Despite Diya complaining, she responds with a smile.

It seems like Hinoyama’s relationship with her isn’t bad.

“Please have a seat on the couch over there. Would you like some coffee?”

“No thank you, I had a canned tea earlier.”

He declined, so I didn’t go to the kitchen and sat at the end of the L-shaped sofa.

They sat on the couch in the order of me, Diya, and Hinoyama from left to right.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I’m sorry to come so late at night. I actually have something urgent that I need to confirm. It’s not for Sakurazaka-san, but for you, Diya-san.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Diya, who was greedily eating the tea snacks she had offered for their sudden visitor, stopped moving.

“It’s about Senior Jinguichi.”

“Oh no… What did Uncle do this time?! Did he hit another client again? Or did he get into trouble with the police?”

Diya was shaking the person’s chest vigorously while scattering the sweets in her mouth.

From the way she spoke, her uncle seemed to be quite a reckless person.

“Calm down! Oh, the crumbs… it’s a mess!”

Since the conversation wasn’t progressing, I decided to separate the two.

“Ah, thank you. He didn’t do anything criminal. No matter what senior have a certain level of discretion. Besides, if he were to do something, he would do it in a way where he wouldn’t get caught.”

“Yeah, that’s true. There’s no way my uncle would get caught easily. That’s a relief.”

She  let out a sigh of relief, but the nature of her concern seemed odd.

In my mind, her uncle’s character was being built up as someone outrageous.

“Actually… I’m sorry. Sakurazaka-san, Can you excuse us for a moment? It’s about Diya-san’s family matters… cough.”

Hinoyama corrected himself, feeling the sharp gaze of Diya on him.

“I’m sorry for being inconsiderate. Please give me a call once the conversation is over.”

Since I didn’t want to meddle in someone else’s family affairs, I  decided to retreat quietly. As I climbed up the stairs and entered my room, I  started up his laptop. When I operated the mouse, I  could see the living room on the overlooking screen.

“What did her uncle do?”