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Chapter 17
The real difficulty in letting Yamawashi see Scotland lay in the fact that the core issue was exactly what kind of Scotland Yamawashi wanted to see.
After thinking about it for many days, he still had no clue. Ultimately, Hiromitsu Morofushi couldn't understand why Yamawashi could go to such lengths for Scotland.
It wasn't that he didn't believe love could make a person act against their instincts, but whether one party was himself, or if it was a relationship formed without his knowledge, he truly found it baffling.
However, one thing was certain: he could not focus all of his attention on Yamawashi; he had many other important matters to attend to.
Rather than the difficulty of the request made to Yamawashi, the investigation regarding that French mercenary proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
Yamawashi simply let the mercenary go, which instead made it convenient for Public Security to invite him in for tea.
The mercenary's name was Alaya, a Frenchman, the younger brother of the captain of the Arnaud Squad that Yamawashi had once joined. He had known of such a person before but had never looked into him deeply, because by the time he went to France to investigate three years later, Alaya was already dead. It was unknown whether he had died during a specific mission or for some other reason; it was simply mentioned in passing by someone while investigating the Arnaud Squad.
He informed his colleagues in Public Security that they could use Yamawashi as bait, pretending that Public Security wanted to arrest him; an enemy of my enemy is my friend, Alaya recounted a story from the past.
When Yamawashi was a mercenary in his early years, he always took on missions alone, but there were always some missions that required multiple people working together to complete. Under the arrangement of a certain employer, Yamawashi and Arnaud Squad cooperated once. Arnaud admired Yamawashi greatly and warmly invited him to join the squad.
Initially, Yamawashi did not accept the invitation. It was only after about half a year of Arnaud's persistence that Yamawashi was willing to occasionally carry out missions with the squad as an external member. However, for most of the time, Yamawashi still acted alone, leaving no trace and never taking the initiative to contact the Arnaud Squad.
It took more than half a year for him to finally agree, even then, it wasn't a full acceptance. Thinking about how he and Yamawashi had only met three times before starting to live together, Hiromitsu Morofushi wondered if they were actually talking about the same person.
It was no wonder Yamawashi suspected he wasn't Scotland; sometimes, certain deviations could indeed make someone seem too inconsistent, as if they weren't the person themselves.
But people always change.
Coincidentally, during the interrogation, Alaya also said these words: "He has changed, or perhaps he's just too good at pretending.. He deceived everyone!"
Alaya and Yamawashi met at Arnaud's engagement ceremony. Arnaud's fiancée was also a member of the Arnaud Squad; they had announced that after their next mission, they would wash their hands of the business and leave the mercenary life behind for good. Everyone raised a glass together to toast them and spoke excitedly about their expectations for the future, while only Yamawashi sat there in silence.
Later, the Arnaud Squad was completely wiped out. Someone witnessed Yamawashi killing Arnaud with their own eyes, subsequently, Yamawashi joined the Organization, becoming the now-renowned Yamawashi.
Hiromitsu Morofushi listened to the conversation in the interrogation room through his earpiece, glanced at the figure on the balcony, typed a few words.
[He was asked why he was so certain it was Yamawashi's handiwork; although there were many rumors, he had not personally witnessed the scene of Yamawashi slaughtering his teammates.]
“It must be him, it can only be him!” The voice from the headset grew increasingly agitated, as if the image of the Frenchman collapsing and slamming his hands against the table were appearing before his eyes. "I recognize his blade; only that blade could leave such a thin wound on the heart.. The deaths of others might be explainable, but Arnaud.."
Amidst the chaotic narration, Hiromitsu Morofushi once again caught that awkward word.
He suddenly realized that it might be a name!
It was the pseudonym Yamawashi used when working as a mercenary, or perhaps even Yamawashi's real name.
It wasn't a French name, which was why it sounded so awkward when spoken, like the words were being scattered; he tried typing a few characters into his memo, but none of them felt quite right.
Haruka.. Asahi.. Sora.. Haru..
Glancing at a white hem out of the corner of his eye, he subconsciously turned off his phone's screen. Yamawashi, who had just been on the balcony, was actually standing right in front of him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, pretending nothing was wrong.
Yamawashi was wearing a plain white T-shirt again today, without saying a word, she simply frowned at him before quietly walking away after a moment.
Hiromitsu Morofushi rubbed his nose.
Yamawashi had been looking at him like this frequently lately. It wasn't the kind of subtle, casual glance from the past, nor was it the cold, scrutinizing gaze he received after Scotland, but rather she would suddenly appear before him, locking eyes with him at a safe distance without saying a word, as if she were trying to discern something from him.
Although he wasn't quite used to that kind of look, it was still better than facing a knife.
The interrogation on the Public Security side had ended, Hiromitsu Morofushi took off his headphones.
Having slaughtered an entire mercenary squad single-handedly, he believed Yamawashi had the strength to accomplish such a feat alone, but that did not mean he had concluded that Yamawashi was the one responsible for that incident years ago.
There is no evidence to prove that Yamawashi didn't do it; Yamawashi is the primary, if not the only, suspect, but there is also no evidence that can directly prove the facts are truly as the rumors say.
He had handled many complex cases and knew well that testimony was always one-sided, while the truth was often multifaceted, with different perspectives offering different views.
This is practically making excuses for Yamawashi; Hiromitsu Morofushi pressed the bridge of his nose.
The scales in his heart were tilting, inevitably so; in truth, he secretly hoped that Yamawashi had not done that.
Having betrayed comrades who had faced life and death together, he might also betray their partnership in the future; moreover, the bond between them was already tenuous, perhaps even less stable than the camaraderie within a mercenary squad.
He had no intention of getting married; he was only making an analogy. At the very least, he certainly couldn't invite Yamawashi to his engagement ceremony.
.. But the facts will not change because of personal bias.
The person involved knows exactly what happened.
Unexpectedly, while he was wondering how to ask Yamawashi for information, Yamawashi actually brought up the matter to him one night.
He was making the bed when Yamawashi pushed the door open and asked, "You kidnapped Alaya?"
He feigned ignorance. "Alaya?"
Yamawashi just looked at him expressionlessly. Hiromitsu Morofushi felt helpless, realizing there was nothing left to act out, so he simply admitted, "I arranged it. This is my job."
He observed Yamawashi's expression, uncertain as to what Yamawashi wanted by finding Alaya—to plead for mercy? To silence a witness? Or..
Are you going to settle the score with him?
Yamawashi did not answer that question and continued by asking, "You can ask me directly."
Hiromitsu Morofushi momentarily forgot that he was still making the bed, standing still with the bedsheet in his hands for two seconds. "If you are willing to tell me, I might consider releasing him early."
In fact, they hadn't planned on detaining Alaya for very long.
Regardless, this was a good opportunity to gather intelligence.
He said that you killed his brother when you were a mercenary, so that's why he became a mercenary—he wants to get revenge on you.
In the tranquility of the night, Hiromitsu Morofushi actually felt a flicker of tension.
I killed him.
A few light words brushed aside all selfish excuses, the smooth bedsheets in Hiromitsu Morofushi's hands developed several wrinkles.
Why did you do that? As far as I know, you've worked with that squad for a long time and there has never been any conflict between you.
Yamawashi remained silent once again.
“True, a killer doesn't need a motive for killing.” Hiromitsu Morofushi turned around and continued making the bed. “Public Security will send him back to France, then he can act once he has left the country.”
Because you seem to have some irrational fantasy about me.
Lying back-to-back in bed with the lights turned off, the words Yamawashi had said to Hiromitsu Morofushi surfaced in his mind.
Yamawashi only treated Scotland specially, that was all.
Friends, companions, partners—all of these can be severed; the only one Yamawashi cannot let go of is Scotland.
But the Scotland that held Yamawashi so captive was actually just a product of Yamawashi's imagination, did not exist in reality.
Rebirth is such a bizarre thing that no one would believe it even if it were told; Yamawashi would never know why he holds such unrealistic fantasies about "Yamawashi."
Similarly, he also didn't know what exactly Yamawashi saw in "Scotland," or why she was so special to "Scotland."
The answer might not be that important; the key is to make better use of this logic within the limited time available.
“Tomorrow, I will take you to see Scotland.”
He knew Yamawashi wasn't asleep.
Yamawashi never fell asleep before he did.
I believe you are a smart person. If you don't want anything to happen to him, then don't do anything unnecessary. I can give you five minutes to talk to him.
Yamawashi's voice sounded from behind: ".. Mhm."
To prevent Yamawashi from taking Scotland and escaping, to prevent Yamawashi from noticing anything suspicious at close range, Hiromitsu Morofushi arranged a special meeting location.
This is one of the Public Security's underground bases. He had once undergone undercover training here, since this base was now abandoned and out of use, it wouldn't matter even if the location were exposed.
What truly surprised him was that Yamawashi actually dared to lay down all his weapons and follow him alone into Public Security's territory.
To see Scotland with his own eyes, he had actually gone to such lengths.
After changing into a full set of clothes and placing a disguised bomb around his neck, Hiromitsu Morofushi closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. When he opened them again, his expression had already changed.
A moment later, the door opened.
The vast, empty space was deathly silent; one could hear an echo with every step taken. Aotsuki walked into the room as requested, but the moment his gaze landed on a familiar figure, he froze instantly.
“.. Scotland?”
That person showed no reaction. He realized that the glass wall separating them held a hidden secret. Seeing the telephone nearby, he walked over quickly and picked up the receiver.
“Scotland?”
The person on the other side of the glass wall was startled and suddenly turned around.
"Yamawashi?" a voice came through the receiver.
Scotland walked a few steps toward the glass wall, seemingly wanting to get closer to see more clearly. Aotsuki also wanted to move closer, but having just taken a step, he glanced at the receiver in his hand and had to give up.
Time was limited, he should make haste with his words, but the moment he truly saw Scotland, he remembered that he and Scotland were naturally more prone to silence and rarely communicated.
What is the order issued by the Organization?
Aotsuki froze for a moment.
Hiromitsu Morofushi stood before the tempered glass, meeting that stunned gaze directly, continued, "What does the Organization mean by this? Do they want you to save me, or do they want you to kill me?"
"You.." He heard Yamawashi's murmuring, even saw the white-knuckled fingertips gripping the receiver.
Hiromitsu Morofushi thought that this was the Scotland Yamawashi wanted to see.
Not harboring any unrealistic fantasies about Yamawashi, not experiencing a moment of hesitation because of Yamawashi, not believing that Yamawashi would compromise with Public Security for his sake..
A Scotland who had never been saved by Yamawashi at the cost of her life.
Chapter 18
The answer to that detective novel—tell it to me when you have time.
The five minutes obtained only by lowering his head in plea—in the end, Yamawashi only said this one sentence, once the time was up, he turned and left without any lingering attachment.