4 4 I want to give back to the little girl (case thread)





 I returned to the Umineko Transport head office at around 8:30 p.m. and sat down in my desk chair, after Amana had tapped me on the shoulder to soothe me.

 Now, I'm glad I decided to give Amana a gift in return, but now I realize that giving a gift to a stranger's child is a difficult thing to do.

 For example, let's say I gave her a stuffed toy of some sort... Naturally, Amana's mother would ask who gave it to her.
 Amana-chan, who is in elementary school, would probably honestly say 'I got it from a delivery man'.
 At that moment, the case is established that 'someone unknown to them gave their daughter a gift'.

 It was a genuine thank-you for healing me, but it was so unworldly....

 Then how about some sweets?
 With this, if Amana-chan ate it, there would be no residue left behind.

 But the obstacle here, however, is that this is what we've been thanking her for.
 The same is true for the candy bars, and the same goes for the more expensive sweets, the latter of which take a long time to eat, and even if you do eat them, you won't get your dinner.

 If that happens, it's a problem in the end. 

 I don't know why we live in a world where it's so hard to give thanks.
 This is all because of the sins of people who have committed them in the past.

 Because of the actions of a few people, the fact that we have become a society in which even the good intentions of the people are questioned is really making me angry.

"........you know it's a crime to touch them, pedophile.......
Oh, they've been giving you a curse, Nagato.
'Whoa! 
What's the matter with you?

 As I was directing my resentment at the criminals in the world, I was approached by Sanya, who came back from a delivery late to me.
 I was surprised, but rather relieved that this guy was the one who spoke to me.

 If Amana-chan's presence was exposed at the wrong time, the worst thing that could happen is that they would change the delivery area.
 That's the last thing I want to do. 

So what the hell is bothering you?
Hmmmm....

 However, there's no way to get anywhere if I keep worrying about this alone.......

 
 You can't survive in this industry if you can't open up people's secrets to the public.

"Sanya, would you like to go for a drink afterwards?
Nice! We've got tomorrow off, so let's have a drink to celebrate!

 It's hard to talk about it here, and with that said, I decided to move to a new location.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 In a private room in an izakaya not far from the headquarters, me and Sanya relax with a beer in hand.

 Well, the alcohol after work is outstandingly soaked up...!
I'm only buying a round of drinks for the consultation, okay? You'll have to pay for the second round or a snack or something.
Hey, I know what you're talking about. So, what's the story?
Yeah, actually...

 When I've had enough to drink, Miya cuts in on me.
 I took a sip of my beer in response to his question, and then began to explain.

 I told him that I had met a girl named Amana-chan, who politely greeted the delivery man after he resigned, and that she had given me the strength to concentrate on my work, and that I wanted to thank her for her help, but it was difficult to do so due to various reasons, such as public opinion.

 After listening to the conversation, Miya looked up at the small amount of beer left in his mug and locked eyes with me.

"Police, let's go?
Hey, wait a minute. Didn't you hear what I said before?

 He came to me with a good smile and implicitly advised me to turn myself in.
 He was so ruthless that I couldn't help but feel like I was in a fight with him, but it couldn't be helped.

''No, no, no! You're dealing with an elementary schooler, and a first grader at that! I'm rather surprised, in fact, that the neighbors didn't call the cops on me!
'Yes, but! Though I realize I've overlooked that possibility myself now that you've told me! But I'm just treating him for his job, and he really just wants to thank me for it! I ain't thinking about groping or spitting on it or anything impure like that, I swear!

 If I was thinking about it, we wouldn't be discussing it like this!
 However, Sanya continued without a grin or loss of face.

'I see~. There were rumors that he was going out with that Maou-chan, but we haven't heard anything about it because Wa was a pedophile... No, first grade is roughly six or seven years old, so I guess a Heidi complex is appropriate.
"What are you trying to calmly label me as something I'm not? What did I do?
"I'm a claymage jee, why are you being healed by a little girl, you eeeeee! What's the difference! And of course you're jealous that your mother might be beautiful! You should be in charge, d*mn it!

 Is that what you really think?
 The tears were flowing from Sanya's eyes, probably due to her tear glands becoming brittle from the alcohol.
 Apparently it's very painful, but....

'No, it's impossible. I can't live without Amana-chan's healing.

I'm aware of that. But I don't regret it.
Let's do it. If you keep this up, you'll never get a girlfriend for the rest of your life, and you'll end up an unmarried virgin, right?
You're not the only one.
Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, but... Wait, wait, wait. I'm going off on a tangent.

 That's for sure.
 What's important isn't my public image, it's how I should thank Amana-chan.
 I've gone to the trouble of asking for advice, even though I've gone to the trouble of risking it, and I still haven't come up with a solution.

 As I was pondering again what to do, Miya came up with a suggestion.

''Well, why don't you just ask him directly instead of trying to surprise him?
For him?
Yeah. A schoolboy can tell you what he wants, right?
'I know it's like marinating in a juvenile mind but it's certainly the only way to go...'
If you're going to continue your relationship with this woman, you might as well get to know your mother. There is no doubt that they will be warned.
'G................ I know, I know....

 I listen to the nails in Miya's words, told with a nasty grin on my face, as if I'd received a heavy blow.
 After thanking Amana-chan, I'll ask her if I can see her mother.

 And so the consultation at the bar comes to an end for the time being.