Chapter 5.2

When the door opened, Hasegawa looked up. "Well, well. This is unusual."

It was the electronics shop's Katou. It wasn't that Katou coming to the shop was rare but today he had brought his son Yuusuke along. Hasegawa put out two glasses on the counter in front of the two seated at the counter. "You're together. Today is---Ah, it's Sunday, huh?"

The day of the week often slipped his mind. Creole didn't have set closed days. Since it was a shop opened originally as a hobby, so they planned to treat it as something they could close whenever it was a pain but Hasegawa enjoyed having the shop open more than he expected, so it was largely opened every day of the year. In the past the shopping district was habitually closed on Sundays as if it were only natural but lately there were more stores open on Sunday, and while before shops closed at five or six, this too was being slowly stretched out into later hours. This too may have been what they called a sign of the times perhaps.

"Yuusuke-kun, what'll it be?"

When asked, Yuusuke's eyes lowered as if shy. He'd always been a shy child. He was particularly reticent towards Hasegawa but since Hasegawa had lost his son, he was indiscriminately doting on little boys. He was always comparing them to his son, and in that remembering this and that, which may have been the reason. When he'd first lost him, remembering was sad but four years had passed and now nothing but nostalgia warmed his heart.

"Mm?" When pushed to decide Yuusuke responded 'ice cream' quietly. Katou smiled. "Yuusuke picked up someone's wallet today."

"Oh ho?"

"It seems it was a girl's, there was an ID card in it. He brought it to the police to turn it in and we were going to have ice cream as a reward, I said."

"I see. That's very good, Yuusuke-kun."

"But he wasn't there, the resident officer." Yuusuke said, making a troubled face as he looked up to his father.

"That's right," he nodded to his son before looking to Hasegawa. "Hasegawa-san, have you met the replacement resident officer?"

Nope, Hasegawa murmured. Takami-san died, and afterwards an officer named Sakaki took his place.

"About that? I have never seen him either. It's always vacant isn't it, the police substation."

"Isn't it. ...That's strange."

"Tashiro-san tried to peek in a couple of times though. Since the book shop is catty-corner from the police box. It looks like he isn't a very sociable person. Even calling out to him he doesn't reply, Tashiro-san was scowling."

"Heh...." Hasegawa offered out an especially large bowl of ice cream. "Even though you went through the trouble, it's a shame, isn't it?"

So he said with a smile to Yuusuke. Thank you, he said in a small voice. Watching over that with a smile, Katou said "I left a note and left the wallet on top of the desk, though. But, is it all right for him to never be there?"

"That's true. Well, it's a peaceful village, and Takami-san was also always saying he was bored, he was bored. But I'm not so sure now. If every time you go by, the resident officer isn't around, it's still a little worrysome, isn't it?"

Yes, Katou nodded.

"....The Kirishikis at Kanemasa are one example; the people moving in here lately seem to mostly be the withdrawn type, don't they?"

"You've said it. I've only heard rumors they've come, I've never seen them, it's been nothing but those types. It leaves a strange impression doesn't it, very much so."