５．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ　Ｍａｒｃｈ　３０，　２０１９

There was another visitor at their table.
"Maruta-san and Kira-san?" They turned their heads in that direction when they heard a low but youthful voice.

A dark-skinned boy in a blue top and bottom jersey was standing next to the seat. He has short, freshly cut hair and brown cheeks with an upturned blush.
"We've been waiting for you. Please have a seat." Maruta then shifted his hips to make room for the new guest to sit.
Seeing Kira's wondering face, Maruta explained.
"He is a high school student working at the convenience store we visited earlier. Ten days ago he gave me an eyewitness report that 'Mont Blanc came to the store.' I sent him a message earlier, after we left the convenience store, asking if I could see him."
In the middle of listening to this, Kira said "Oh," as if he had reached a point.

"Thank you very much for coming all the way here at this late hour."
When Maruta turned to face the high school boy, he smiled shyly and said, "My house is near here, so it's not hard to come."
Maruta pressed the call button on the tabletop to add the order of 'Unlimited drinks' for him. "Grab whatever beverage you like."
"Can I have it?" The high school student just looked surprised.
"Of course, yes. You have the right to get some, since we invited you here."

The boy returned with a glass of Coke. Again, Maruta began with a common topic of conversation: "Is school out today?" He replied that he had come to this restaurant after club activities. When there is a break in the story, Maruta shifted the topic to something more formal.
"I don't mean to bother you by asking the same question over and over again, but you mentioned that Mont Blanc came to the convenience store where you work on the day of the incident?"
"Yes, he came."
"Was he alone?"
"Yes, he was."

The high school student looked Maruta straight in the eye at all times during the talk. In the face of his untainted sincerity, Maruta thought to himself that there must have been a time like this for him. Also, the nostalgia and the honesty almost made him chuckle a little under his breath.
"Were there any other members of the Tokyo Spread?" Maruta continued.
"No."
"Did Mont Blanc come by car?"

After all, like the female clerk earlier, after this question, looking away, the boy thought about it.
"He drove, I think." The boy had a blatant look of hesitation on his face.
"Do you remember if any of the other members were in the car there?"
"No, I don't remember that much. Sorry."
"No problem."

When Maruta tried to find the next question, the student said.
"I'm not sure if this is useful information."
"Please feel free to tell us anything."
"I think I saw Kirvy-san in the parking lot of this restaurant just the day of the incident."
"Did you see Kirvy?" Maruta raised his head to look at the boy's face.
Kira also asked, "After you saw Mont Blanc, did you also see Kirvy?"
"No, that is not what I mean." The boy waved his hands in front of his chest.

"You and the police watched the video of Mont Blanc after the incident."
"That's right. I didn't have a part-time job the day of the incident, so I didn't go to the convenience store. On my way home from school that day, I rode my bicycle down the street in front of this restaurant. I believe it was in the evening. It seems to me that Kirvy-san was in the car that was parked in the parking lot at that time. I just had a little bit of visibility, so I can't be sure."

Maruta asks without a pause. "What position in the car was the person you thought was Kirvy sitting in?"
"The driver's seat. There is a small reason to remember such a thing." The student caught his breath here.
Looking at him, Maruta said. "You are free to speak. We are listening to something very important right now, and we will not rush you."

"All right," The boy took a sip of Coke. "So the reason I remember it is that a large man was making strange movements in the driver's seat. That is who I thought was Kirvy-san."
Maruta and Kira waited with bated breath for his next word.
"Normally, we wouldn't care if there were people in a parked car. But I looked at the car, thinking, 'Oh, is that Kirvy of Tokyo Spread?' That's when I made eye contact with that large man in the driver's seat, and shortly thereafter he made a gesture as if to call out to the backseat. Naturally I, too, looked toward the back seat, having seen what was going on. But I didn't see anyone there but Kirvy-san."
"Hmm," Maruta snarled.
"That was the moment I saw as I rode my bicycle past here." The boy stopped saying here.

Paying the bill for the three of them, Maruta then walked out. Kira and the high school boy were waiting in the parking lot, lit by tall streetlights.
"Thank you for the foods and drinks." They bowed their heads to Maruta.
"It's okay. I'm glad because I got more than what I paid for."

Just before parting with the boy, Maruta was told the location of the 'car that apparently had 〈Kirvy〉 in it', among other things. As talking with the boy, Maruta heard a familiar and cheerful voice behind him.

"Hey Kazu, haven't we met since junior high school?"
That girl clerk and her friends were there. The girls and the boy, who seemed to be old acquaintances, began chatting in the parking lot at night. As Maruta was about to return to the car with Kira, he was approached by one of the high school girls.
"Excuse me, please be in a photo with us."
Maruta was handed one of the smartphones. The girl's words were directed to Kira alone. Surrounding Kira in a well-lit area, they posed happily, including peace signs. When Maruta captured one photo of the scene, a voice from the group asked for another. By doing as he was told, Maruta finally succeeded in ending his role as a cameraman who worked for free.

"It also takes effort to play with young people." Kira slid into the passenger seat.
"Youth is a wonderful thing." Maruta said expressionlessly. "Because it is a veil thick enough to cover the fragility of our human connections."