Volume 1 - CH 13

It takes a few seconds to walk down the red-carpeted hallway.

I almost bumped into Himekawa, who stopped suddenly, but it seemed I had arrived at her house.

There is a little space from the hallway to the front door, and a waist-high gate is attached to the front.

However, there is one thing that bothers me. The gate was already unlocked.

“Is anyone there?”

I ask Himekawa out of curiosity.

“Maybe the company is at home.”

There is no energy in her voice. Perhaps she was thinking of taking her luggage in without seeing anyone.

Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if the person who kicked her out was in the room first.

Perhaps he is in the room for work or something. But is it OK to enter without permission?

“You don’t mind if I get my stuff out if it’s today, do you?”

“That’s what I’ve been told”

Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this.

I don’t remember possessing the danger perception skill, but I felt something strange.

Himekawa opened the front door first and entered the house.

I followed Himekawa into the room, and at the entrance was a pair of men’s black loafers.

There was a pair of men’s black loafers in the doorway.

I followed Himekawa into the room and found a pair of men’s black loafers in the doorway.

There seems to be someone ahead of me.

“What are you doing here?”

A low male voice is heard from the back of the room.

He must be the owner of these shoes. A large man in a suit walks toward us from the door at the back of the room.

“I’m here to pick up my stuff.”

Himekawa replies fearfully, and the man stares at Himekawa with a hard look.

His eyes move to me and he glares at me too. What is he doing? This guy.

“Please pack your belongings as soon as possible. You will not be allowed in here tomorrow.”

After saying this, the man went back into the back room. His language was normal, but behind the smile on his face, I sensed something black.

It’s pretty scary… Is he really an ordinary office worker?

Himekawa enters a room at the end of the hallway.

I follow her and enter the same room.

“Hey, is that the guy who kicked Himekawa out yesterday?”

“Yes, he is.”

Himekawa packs her personal belongings, which she takes out, into cardboard boxes found in her room while organizing them.

For some reason, there are signs that the room has been rummaged through. Does the HR department go through personal belongings too?

A stuffed animal caught my eye unexpectedly.

It was a popular bear that you can get at arcade games.

“I know this one. It’s Cho-san the bear, right? You like it?”

Himekawa stops her hand and walks toward me.

She takes the stuffed bear and hands it to me.

“It was a gift.”

The bear in his hand is reasonably heavy. However, I have held the real one at a game center, and this bear felt heavier than that.

Is it an individual difference? I look at the bear intently. And then I noticed it.

Only one eye was a different color. What’s wrong? Did this bear series ever produce an odd eye or something?

“Himekawa, can I give this bear a little hug?”

With a slightly uncomfortable look in her eyes, Himekawa nodded.

I hugged the bear strongly. I hugged it so hard that it changed its shape.

I knew it. ……

“This bear is nice to hold”

Himekawa looks at me with a stern look. That look is very painful.

“I wonder if you could help me not to do that?”

“I’m sorry. I’m going to go see that person who was just here.”

I walk out of the room and knock on the room the man was in without Himekawa’s assistance.

“Excuse me! I’d like to ask you something!”

The man came out as soon as I knocked, not with a light knock, but with a forceful knock so that a gong sound was produced.

“You’re being very noisy. What can I do for you?”

A rough room with a briskly opened door.

Strangely polite language and an appearance that doesn’t match.

“Um, is there anything I shouldn’t take out?”

While talking to the man, I check the situation of the room that comes into view.

It is probably the room used by Himekawa’s father. Papers are scattered about, and the computer is still on.

The drawers of the cupboards have been opened, and the room looks as if it has been robbed by a thief.

“Feel free to bring any items not belonging to this room.”

“I understand. That’s the company badge on your chest, isn’t it?

“That’s right. All employees of Himekawa Sangyo wear this badge. Now, please pack your things quickly. We are busy with various things.”

The man closed the door as if to get rid of me and then left right in front of me.

I got what I came for. I should get back to Himekawa’s place as soon as possible.

I hurried back to Himekawa.

“Himekawa, come here!”

I take Himekawa’s arm and drive her into the corner of the room wall.

Then, I cover Himekawa with a kabedon.

“Wh-What are you doing!”

The surprised Himekawa is in my chest.

I move my face up to Himekawa’s shoulder and whisper in her ear.

“Be quiet for a minute. I have something important to tell you.”

“But so suddenly ……”

“Is there anything you definitely want to take out of this house?”

“Definitely? Let’s see, it’s the same cup and album my mother used to use, but that’s it?

“I’ll put that in and we’ll get out of here as soon as possible. Anything we can get somewhere else will have to wait.”

“What do you mean?”

“Two reasons. One, I think that bear has a bug or hidden camera or something in it. Two, that man is probably an enemy.”

Surprised, Himekawa’s face looks a little frightened.

She probably wouldn’t trust me if I told her something like this out of the blue. Even I was skeptical.

“Enemy. How do you know?”

“I looked in the room where Himekawa’s father used to sleep a while ago. He was looking for some documents. Maybe it was the person who framed Himekawa’s father.”

“N-No way. But it’s a company contracted house for me, and they want me out of here.”

“That’s also suspicious. Himekawa might be in danger if we stay here. Let’s get out of here.”

Himekawa’s cheeks are red and even her ears are red after being freed from the kabedon.

Anyone would have been overwhelmed with emotion if someone had talked to them like that. I would be nervous too.

Himekawa finishes packing her bag with a few tableware she brought from other rooms on top of the luggage in her room that is already in there, and an additional album from the bookshelf.

As we are about to leave, a man in the backroom calls out to us.

“You are not allowed in after tomorrow. I will take your room key.”

Himekawa hands the keys in her bag to the man and we leave the apartment early.

I hurry to the bus stop with Himekawa’s overstuffed Boston bag in my hand.

I don’t think we will ever come back here. I wonder what Himekawa is thinking as she keeps looking toward the top of the apartment building while waiting for the bus at the bus stop.

After leaving the apartment where she lived with her parents and the room where she still had memories of her mother, she didn’t shed a tear and looked to me as if she had made up her mind to do something.

TLN: Sorry for the lack of uploads the last 10 days or so. I hope I can pump out more releases now that I have some free time.