Side: Amahashi Kakeru

"Pardon the intrusion."

"Go ahead and sit, make yourselves comfortable."

Kitamura rose along with Aizawa-san and me, and all three of us gave our greetings. Horii-san's father took it in stride without making any odd face about it, and I felt a little relief at that.

"Day before yesterday must have been rough. No injuries since, I hope?"

For all the grandeur of the estate and the room, he had the air of an ordinary friend's father. If anything, he was the one looking out for us.

"No. Nothing in particular…"

"Ah, have some tea and sweets too. Before they go cold."

Kitamura was his usual self, but Aizawa-san seemed a little tense, and maybe I was too. Since he'd offered, I drank the black tea I'd left untouched until then.

"I went and met with the chairman today. This matter doesn't seem to be a simple one. I couldn't even get them to let me check the underground area, and while they apparently explained it as something from before the war, they didn't show me anything you could really call proof."

He'd waited until we'd settled before he explained, and if I took the story at face value, then it was about what I'd expected. There was even a chance he'd learned the truth but couldn't tell us.

Either way, no one here was going to come out and say there'd been a dungeon.

"Father, what about that creature?"

"That's the thing. That's the problem. I was told that if I wanted to know the truth, I'd need to be prepared for what that takes. It seems the government is involved in this somewhere. For now I just pulled back and came home."

A wry smile, maybe. From the look of Horii-san's father as he laughed a little awkwardly and told us the biggest concern in all this, I couldn't believe he was lying.

Well, I didn't have the kind of insight to see through people that far, so honestly I couldn't really say.

"Amahashi-kun, you're the only one who came into contact with that creature. I'll ask you straight. Is there any chance the creature you ran into was some kind of robot or doll? I'd like to know if it could have been a child in disguise with special-effects makeup or the like. I've had an acquaintance analyze that video going around the internet too, but nothing beats the opinion of someone who saw it for real."

It was a hard question to answer, but a perfectly reasonable one. Compared to the police and the school, who hadn't even asked me for any details, this was gentlemanly treatment, at least.

"What it was holding was a wooden club. The end had been shaved down to make a handle. Close to what people would call a cudgel. It was draped in rags and gave off a foul stench. I can't say whether it was special-effects makeup. I've never seen that sort of thing. But there was — call it killing intent, or hostility — there was that, and it didn't feel like it came at me as a joke. Also, from the feel of it when I kicked it and how it moved afterward, I don't think it was a robot."

All I could do was tell it like it was. In a case like this, half-baked lies don't do anyone any good. Of course, there were things I couldn't say, and I shouldn't answer what I wasn't asked.

"I see. Thank you for the clear answer. There were torches, no trace of burnt residue or soot fallen below them. No dust, and the air wasn't stale, as if it were air-conditioned. For the school to claim it doesn't know about this is unnatural."

Horii-san's father took notes on what I'd said while thinking it over together with what Horii-san had no doubt told him earlier.

"Best not to stir things up rashly."

Horii-san was deep in thought as well, but it was true — if we were going to act, it would take real resolve and preparation.

"Is it that dangerous?"

Maybe she'd gotten scared. Aizawa-san spoke up timidly.

"Honestly, I'd say the truth is that we don't know. But if you'll let me speak as an adult — exposing something someone is trying to hide takes a corresponding amount of resolve. If it were just the school and the chairman, that would be fine. I was a student of his myself, so I know him well. But I'm certain there's a government hand behind this matter."

There seemed to be conviction in those words. I didn't know the scale of it either, but at the very least, there was no mistaking that a state agency had a grasp on the dungeon. Horii-san's father's read had to be right.

"What do you all want to do? My own next move changes depending on that."

I was a little surprised, maybe. To put that question to classmates who, daughter's friends or not, he couldn't yet call all that close.

"There's a part of me that wants to know the truth, but when you put it as needing resolve…"

"I'd rather know whether the school is safe than know the truth."

Kitamura was on the curious side, but apparently he wasn't the type to crusade over something like this. For Aizawa-san, maybe the bigger thing was her unease about the school.

"I don't want that much either. This may be rude to say, but I don't think it's worth putting Horii-san's position at risk to do it."

He was the owner and president of a world-class corporation that represented Japan. If a man like him moved, things might move accordingly. But to put it another way, he was a man with that many ties. He carried the lives of his employees and affiliated companies and their families on his shoulders.

"Well, it's true that whether there's any benefit to you all in learning the truth is iffy. As for safety, the chairman said it should be all right. He wants us to watch the situation a little longer. He's not the kind of man to hide something that's actually dangerous."

Honestly, if someone had been hurt, it would have been a different story. With no one injured, then — really, what did we want?

It was right as we'd talked that far that Horii-san's father's face grew a little stern.

"Just so I've said it — the one thing you absolutely should not do is chase the truth thinking you'd like some hush money out of it. Against an opponent who can cover things up this neatly, there's no telling what they'd do. This is Japan, so I doubt anyone gets killed, but it's entirely possible they'd put pressure not just on you but on your families."

Kitamura's face went serious. This was directed at Kitamura and me. An adult's warning, no doubt. Aimed at kids who didn't know how frightening adults could be.

"Of course, that much is possible even as things stand. If anyone makes contact with you, or if something strikes you as off, talk to my daughter. In for a penny. I'll lend my strength. I do have a fair bit of social standing, after all. You're welcome to rely on me."

Those words were the most unexpected thing all day. There was a chance it was just lip service, but seeing how Horii-san showed no surprise, I figured this was simply the kind of man he always was.

"Thank you very much. Hearing you say that, we can live with some peace of mind."

Honestly, no exaggeration, I was relieved. I'd been a little worried about what they'd do with us, the ones who'd seen what they were covering up. If it were just me, I could probably manage somehow. I had my experience and strength as the Hero.

But if they came at it sideways and went after Kitamura or Aizawa-san, there was no telling how it would turn out for us either.

"You don't need to worry about it — or rather, you're the one who saved my daughter first, Amahashi-kun. Think of it as thanks for that. The gratitude's mine to give. If you hadn't been there, the girls would've been hurt at least a little."

"No, that was just a spur-of-the-moment thing…"

"Results are everything. Even if the other party hadn't been a creature. It's not unusual to freeze up even against a mugger. I can't say I could move the way you did. But if it's someone sneaking around targeting children, I have no intention of going easy."

I knew that trusting anyone too much was dangerous. But trusting was also something the world required.

Here, I figured I ought to lean on Horii-san's father's goodwill. For the sake of Pricia and the others, too, who had only just started a peaceful life.