At night, not a single person can be seen in the warehouse district.
On the streets of this district, Dazai and I were waiting for the taxi we had reserved earlier.
The lamps of oncoming and going railroad cars pulls elongating rays of light. Yellow-coloured shadows. Like silver ribbons. Diffusing red lights of brake lamps. The white headlights cut out the shadows of the buildings. The nightlights reflected on the cars' glass windows were like liquid, flowing into the distance in front of one's eyes.
The sea wind blows the clouds back and forth, the moonlight dropping black and white shadows on the harbour's road.
"What a pleasant kid." Dazai said while staring at the night sky.
"Letting the kid meet you was a failure on my part. I should've realized that nothing good will come out of it earlier."
"Senpai, can I ask one question?"
"What?"
"Why are you looking after Rokuzo?"
When I look at Dazai, he has a serious expression.
"I was wondering why you gave him a job. Things like going after missing people, I am sure even the agency can do that much. Even this instance, a conversation than can be done over the phone, you even go out of your way to get here."
I kept quiet. It's not an easy question to answer.
"It appeared just a little in the conversation, but does it have to do with the kid's father?"
I instantly looked at Dazai.
"So I got it right." Dazai looked at my face and laughed.
"...Rokuzo's father is an excellent policeman. However, he's dead."
Seeing no way out, I begin talking.
"Before, he worked together with the agency in pursuit of a criminal. Some kind of big shot criminal that destroyed facilities that belongs to the country and corporate businesses. No matter how frantically the police chase him down, it's like they couldn't get a firm grasp on his whereabouts."
"And that - is the Blue Flag Terrorism case?"
"That's right."
The police and the army were involved, it was a heinous case that shook the country into an uproar.
"At the end of the agency's pursuit, we were able to succeed in discovering his secret base and reported it to the city police."
"Well, isn't that a great accomplishment!" Dazai admires.
"Yes, it certainly was. However, at the time, the army, the public welfare office and the city police were working together, the chain of commands got mixed up and created confusion. Unfortunately, the criminal was able to sense danger because of this and barricaded himself in the secret base. He was carrying a lot of high-level explosives."
The memories come back. The angry roar of the city police from the telephone receiver. Order to arrest. Order to wait. The inconsistent instructions flying about.
"Because of the confusion in instructions, the only detectives that were able to rush towards the location quickly were a mere 5 people. The instructions given to them were breaking in and taking control... But in this kind of society, what can the criminal called the 'Blue King' who doesn't have a part in any special organizations or hold any ability do to 5 people?"
