11 Maybe He is Innocent?

"You haven't thought about this yet, have you?" Nick looks at me with disgust, feeling in his eyes. It almost seems like he is looking straight at a wastebasket that has no purpose or value.

It is just there to collect trash like myself.

I could not retaliate against his comment while conforming to his judgement. Roxane and I have never thought of anything upon reaching this far and ultimately face him. I just did not suspect that I would arrive at this conversation right now.

He feels like a boss of a game that is too laborious to accomplish. But, with the help of destiny (or, if you prefer calling it the Gamemaster) meeting us here, things have gone from worst to good. Unfortunately, that is not enough to shift the gameplay, as I confusingly stare at the boss (Nickson) with tears flowing in my eyes.

Well, not really. I am not crying presently. And I hope the surrounding people can envision the idea.

But I do not want to let him know I am flustering from his remark, while I promptly think of a comeback at the later split-second.

"I have!" I declare in a sputtering manner. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Please, Yuki. I do not have all day." He retorts back politely. However, that is not the case. Upon listening to his tone, all I can assume is his impatience and annoyance behind his words.

"How do you know my name?" I appeal, with my eyebrows rising in unison.

Nickson shows me his smartphone and opens the inbox of the message I sent him from way back two or three days ago. I do not know. I have already neglected about it.

Before I can even read the mail, I keenly stare at his modernistic phone cladded in obsidian and azure colour. It even has its own phone case that looks like a portable wallet where he can deposit his spare coins whenever he wants.

It is the newest model I have ever seen in my life since the mephone XXX. The fanciest phone ever existed in this golden time.

"But I haven't told you my name!" I refute, while rocking my head and averting my focus from the mobile device.

'I wish I could have that luxurious gadget,' I utter for the last time while trapping myself in a daydream where I spend my money, purchasing these things with the checks that I earn.

"You're Yuki, right?" He confirms my name to me, this time picking up the hard-bound light novel copies of my books.

There are the "Zombiz" and "Crime Legacy" packed all together. These volumes are not new to me since I already knew about them when I safeguarded his shoulder bag yesterday.

"This is you, isn't it?" He approaches me while pointing precisely at the part where I have placed my signature on the book.

"Yeah! What about it!" I return and push the novel away from my sight.

It is not because I hate seeing my book in plain sight, but to avoid discerning my awful signature with a heart right next to my name.

"If you have nothing to say, then I will bid you farewell, Yuki." Nickson attempts to conclude our conversation and makes his leave, but Roxanne snatches him away and pushes him in front of me.

"What are you doing?" He adds while fixing his stylish suit by flattening it with his bare hands.

Roxanne, the clueless girl as he is, pays his comment no mind and gently shoves me near him. She then leans near my ear and whispers.

"This is the part where you apprehend him."

I immediately pivot my head, and karate chops down her back multiple times until I hear squeaks and her outburst of laughter. This occurrence is usual for the two of us since we made it a habit when we were still kids. We do this every time someone does something risible to one of us during a serious conversation.

After reverting to our usual guise, we turn our face to the bewildering Nickson. He must have thought that we are a bunch of buffoons that know nothing about the world.

Well, he is right about that in more than many ways.

"What do you do with the earnings you made with the manga?" I forthrightly ask the recovering Nickson, trying to make sense out of the happenings.

He clears his throat and fixes his tie before answering my question.

"I give all of my income to the charities,"

"Sorry, I did not quite hear that." I tilt my head closer and request for him to repeat the phrase he had recently uttered.

"I said that I donate all the earnings to charities, foundling homes, and other foundations," He reiterates his sentence while fixing the temple of his glasses.

"Like, every single penny?"

"Not a yen wasted,"

A moment of quietness brims our surroundings, as I have nothing else to say about him. It is all that I want to hear since the time that I have been hunting him down for the past couple of days. I just need to find evidence if he is telling the truth.

Before I can even voice out my succeeding inquiry, his phone vibrates and rings inside his jacket. I can even discern the end fabrics of his suit, quaking intensely at every second.

It must have been annoying to feel that tremble every time someone calls at an unusual time like this.

"Can I take this for a second?" Nickson shows the phone, still ringing in his hands.

It is hard to determine who the caller is on his screen. But I don't plan on checking the caller since it is not my business and unrelated to me. I can only guess that he is talking to a relative of his during this time.

"Yeah. Sure."

"It is an important call."

Roxanne and I grant him his time and let him take the call. I have already gotten my answer, so there is nothing more I can ask for from him.

"Thank you." Nickson slides the green button from his screen and answers the call.

Immediately right after, a subtle sound of a man echoes coming from its speaker. Judging from the tone of his voice, he may not be in a good mood.

"Yes, I understand."

"..."

"That is correct. I saw the papers yesterday, and I already have plans about what to do about-,"

"..."

"Yes. I see. I will be right there and see for myself."

"..."

After waiting for five minutes for his call, Nickson turns his attention to us and shyly scratches his hair.

"Mianhae, but I have to take my leave. I have urgent things to attend to." Nickson picks his bag and swivels around towards the busy road.

I want to pursue him to reschedule and continue where we have left from our conversation, but he is already far out from the streets.

Fortunately, this time, he didn't leave his shoulder bag on the ground for me to return it to him in our next meeting, unlike yesterday where I needed to search all around Tokyo, trying to guess his address or place.

I am kidding. I have no intentions to find Nickson despite losing his bag.

"And he's already gone," Roxanne tells the conspicuous scene and waves her hand.

The pair of us gaze at the hurrying cars driving from left to right with an intense speed no humans can match. Those exact vehicles obstruct the view from where we last saw Nickson crossing the road.

"What do we do next?" Roxanne curiously asks after achieving our goal.

"We have never gotten the chance to ask which charity or orphanage he donated his money," I append while resting my chin on my thumb, trying to strike a pose similar to the thinking man.

"What if we check the nearest orphanage?" Roxanne interposes. I imagine a light bulb popping up above her head as she explains his suggestion. "Himari or the kind lady may help us lead to those people who placed their donations."

It is the first time Roxanne has used her brain into something trivial and unrelated to her studies. She should be studious about the school, and not from these conditions.

"We will do just that," The orphanage is not that distant from where we are. It would take us around fifteen minutes or more to reach the building by foot if we want to travel soon.

Thus, we did and are heading off ahead of the park right now. Roxane and I do not want to waste any more time idling in the park, when we can meet with Himari and afterwards play the latest game online.

That is our plan for the rest of the evening, once we get back home.

"Oh, Big sister Yuki and Roxanne!" An adorable Japanese girl jumps out from the gate and rushes in our direction.

"Himari, what have you been up to?" I pinch and stretch her cheeks, forming a whacky expression on her face.

"I am eating Hai Hain!" She gives me a reply and shows me the snack Himari is munching inside her mouth.

It is a popular snack for young kids in Japan to use the original flavours of rice. The grub has a soft senbei (a type of Japanese rice cracker) that quickly melts inside the mouth. The Yasai Hai Han that comes in green packaging incorporates four green and yellow vegetables. Himari has the tomato flavoured snack written in front of the wrapper. It has no artificial flavouring, colouring and preservatives, and does not use allergen-specific raw materials, perfect for growing kids like Himari.

"Would you like some?" She offers me two sets of Hai Hain, while giving the other one to Roxanne.

She is such a thoughtful little girl.

"Thank you." I accept her present while giving the other one to my Roxy. I discern her eyes glowing bright red, with all the flames coating around her, showing her intense love for the snacks.

She loves snacks more than any meals in the world. If a stranger gives her something to eat-preferably a candy, she might take the bait and follow you around.

Whoever is planning to do that, I advise you not to even think about it in the slightest. It is for your own good. You would never want to be confined inside a room stuck with this woman.

"Ara~, you guys are here early?" The caretaker of the building appears at the door and sees us talking with Himari. She is already comfortable with us visiting their orphanage, and even thankful for our donations. It is the sole reason this foundling home stands because of our charity work.

"Yes!" Roxane and I respond to her call and motions our hand at the same time.

"What brings you, two young ladies, here in our orphanage?" The kind woman carefully descends the steps and approaches us with a beam. She even offers beverages-two cups of teas already prepared on the metallic tray.

"I am sorry for our intrusions, but can you show us the logbook of the people who gave their donations to this orphanage?"

"Oh, if I remember it correctly, there are only two people who have been helping us all this time, including you."

The lovely woman guides us inside their building and leads us to a room with a roundtable in the middle. This section of the orphanage also serves as their office, where they interact with the people interested in adopting stray kids like Himari.

"Here, dear." She hands over a thick journal that accounts for all the fistfuls of cash received by the foster home.

Right next to my name is the man who claimed to be the mangaka I just met a while ago.