Chapter 176
Although Bourbon was angry enough to directly tell Usuha Izuki to get out of the car, since things had already reached this point, there was no meaning in offending people further, so he still endured it and drove him to the game store, then left without even saying goodbye.
When he arrived at the hotel, Bourbon also received a call from Vodka.
Vodka first thanked him for his self-sacrifice: "Botanist has left? Thanks to you, our atmosphere has suddenly returned to normal. Do you want to come back for drinks? There's still time."
Bourbon refused.
Forget about his current lack of mood—just the fact that Hagiwara Kenji might still be there meant he wouldn't go back no matter what.
What if he exposed something in front of the organization members?
Vodka wasn't sincerely inviting Bourbon back either. After symbolically offering some comfort, he very gossipy and curiously revealed his real purpose: "Did Botanist tell you something very important?"
Bourbon, who had already calmed down somewhat, instantly felt his emotions surge again.
He said through gritted teeth: "You also know that news."
Vodka: "Huh?"
"Rye is an FBI undercover agent."
"...Why is he still bringing this up? Just how much does he dislike Rye and Big Brother!"
Both Usuha Izuki and Bourbon had only mentioned Rye, but by the time it reached Vodka, he directly dragged Gin into it too: "Do you think having Rye cut his hair could prevent Big Brother from being implicated again? Botanist previously insisted on tying Big Brother and Rye together just because Rye resembles Big Brother. Ever since we didn't listen to him and let Rye join the organization too, it feels like he's been even more hostile toward Big Brother..."
Bourbon: "...You could try it."
Vodka's thought process had also become quite toxic—it was definitely all Usuha Izuki's fault.
Vodka was even feeling fortunate: "I knew he couldn't say anything useful. Good thing I wasn't fooled. I didn't expect that someone as smart as you, Bourbon, would actually..."
Bourbon felt like his knee had been shot with an arrow.
Damn it, if it weren't for knowing that Yarik really was an undercover agent, he wouldn't have fallen for this kind of trick normally...!
Hearing Bourbon's silence, Vodka knew he might have stepped on his sore spot, so he tactfully changed the subject, chatted for a few sentences, and hung up.
Although he was drinking, Vodka was actually quite busy—Gin's mission in three days needed a sniper, and he still had to help Big Brother contact someone.
Since they were talking about Rye, Vodka simply called Rye directly.
Unlike Chianti, who had been provoked by Usuha Izuki and was clamoring for vacation, Rye was a very straightforward person. With nothing on hand, when Vodka asked if he was available, he agreed.
"By the way," Vodka suggested, "would you consider cutting your hair?"
Rye: "...?"
This sick suggestion made Rye fall silent for a moment, then very naturally ask: "What did Botanist do this time?"
Anyway, when it came to strange things that didn't match the organization's style, guessing it was related to Usuha Izuki had about an 80% chance of being right.
Vodka: "Nothing much, he started saying you're FBI again."
"Where's the evidence?"
Vodka said in surprise: "After all this time, you still don't know he's never had evidence? He's just purely messing with you."
Rye very calmly deflected trouble: "He still hates Gin that much, huh."
Over the years, Rye had relied on this one trick to get by everywhere—whenever questioned, he'd say he resembled Gin, so Botanist looked unfavorably on him and spread rumors about him while also throwing dirty water on Gin.
Vodka sighed: "As long as you understand. Anyway, I'm just making the suggestion—think about it yourself."
Rye: "...Mm."
He definitely couldn't cut it—if he did, how would Gin serve as his shield?
After hanging up, Rye reflected on what he might have done recently to provoke Usuha Izuki.
They clearly hadn't seen each other in a long time... Was it because he didn't send New Year's greetings by email?
Or was this actually an extension of the last incident?
Thinking about what happened when they last met made Rye feel somewhat uneasy.
The last meeting was actually from last year. He, Bourbon, and Scotland were on a mission when Botanist suddenly said he was bored and wanted to come too—up to this point, everything was still fine.
Unexpectedly, his sister Sera Masumi recognized him on the road and followed all the way, transferring several times and still keeping up.
At that time, he had already met up with Scotland, and Bourbon and Botanist would arrive soon. He felt things would become very troublesome, so he could only quickly go buy tickets to get his sister to take the train back.
He was only gone about ten minutes buying tickets, but when he returned, the situation had already become quite bad.
Scotland's bass had been taken out and seemingly used to coax the child just now... but the bass case still contained sniper rifle parts lying there—he didn't know if his sister had noticed anything wrong.
More troublesome was Bourbon, who had actually started probing.
"Hm? This child is looking for her brother? What's your brother's name?"
Rye hurried forward to stop him.
"Alright, this child mistook someone... quickly get this child to leave, we still have business."
It was at this moment that Botanist arrived fashionably late.
"What's the situation? Your sister found you?" Botanist smiled. "Why are you rushing to send her away? It's rare to meet, so let's chat before she goes?"
Rye immediately felt alarms going off in his brain.
Neither Scotland nor Bourbon had discovered that Sera Masumi was a girl, and Botanist wasn't here just now—how could he know so many details the moment he arrived...
Right, supposedly this guy had a knack for reading people... but because he pointed out undercover agents everywhere, Rye still couldn't figure out what level his people-reading skills actually were.
But before, he could still relax. After seeing family, Rye became inclined toward vigilance, even suspecting whether Sera Masumi's coincidental encounter with him today might have been orchestrated by someone.
To coax the child, Botanist even took off a bracelet and gave it to Sera Masumi: "Here, I'll give you this as a meeting gift. Go home now—shall I take you?"
Rye felt like his head was about to explode: "No need, just let her take the train herself."
That bracelet wouldn't have anything inappropriate installed in it, would it?
But he'd seen Botanist wearing this bracelet before—it should be for personal use. Would anyone install tracking devices or bugs in jewelry they use themselves?
With anyone else, maybe not, but with Botanist, he really didn't dare be certain of the answer.
Sera Masumi was still a child, and with so many people watching, he couldn't say anything. Botanist even volunteered to take Sera Masumi home, as if monitoring that he didn't do anything in private—this made him even more suspicious that there might be something wrong with that bracelet.
Sigh, he could only hope that Mother hadn't lost the vigilance from her days as an agent, and would check that bracelet more carefully after discovering Masumi had brought something extra home and hearing about what happened.
During the subsequent mission, Botanist, who hadn't gone to take the child home, would occasionally say things like "That really wasn't your sister?" "I saw she looked quite sad," "She's a middle schooler—she wouldn't mistake someone, right?"—making him agitated and distracted.
Bourbon also sarcastically cooperated with Botanist for once: "If she's your sister, just acknowledge it. What could we possibly do to your sister?"
"Sigh, don't mention it. Not only does he not acknowledge this sister, he doesn't acknowledge other sisters either." Botanist gradually began talking nonsense. "That's why I say he's like FBI—what a scumbag."
From that day on, Rye had prepared for his identity to be exposed, but even now, the organization still trusted him completely. Usuha Izuki apparently hadn't said anything—specifically, it seemed he hadn't mentioned encountering Sera Masumi to others.
Clearly, if he had reported it promptly, the organization might have been able to investigate and actually find something by following the leads, but after dragging it out this long, Usuha Izuki was still the same as always—just verbally saying he was FBI...
Why not use such a good opportunity? If their stances weren't opposed, even he would be anxious watching this! If their FBI trained someone like this, they'd fire them immediately!
After hanging up with Vodka, Rye couldn't help but hold his forehead.
He really hadn't expected that the biggest trouble with undercover work in an organization wouldn't be anything else, but trying to guess what a seemingly mentally ill guy was thinking.
Sigh, this bizarre undercover experience—no one would understand his feelings...
Usuha Izuki attended the organization gathering for ten minutes, and the smiles of everyone present transferred to his face, with even the absent Rye being mysteriously implicated and persecuted.
While he reaped rich rewards buying games and played them refreshingly, completely disregarding others' well-being.
Perhaps because of this incident, afterward Usuha Izuki never again received the treatment of organization members actively calling out to him on the street and inviting him to gatherings. If Usuha Izuki wanted to have fun, he could only actively seek people out.
However, Usuha Izuki wasn't always in the mood to make such a special trip just to farm a few suspicion values, so everyone in the organization lived peacefully for a long time.
No one asked where Botanist had disappeared to—everyone tactfully ignored this question.
Usuha Izuki was also happy to be a salaryman who didn't need to work overtime, playing games every day after work.
After organizing several group dates, Hagiwara Kenji finally felt tired too.
"I can't do it anymore, I need to relax too... Little Shinryu, do you want to go skiing?"
Usuha Izuki had no objections: "Where to?"
"Yamagata Prefecture, the Zao Onsen Ski Resort~ I've wanted to go for a long time. Let me ask if Little Jinpei is free."
Unfortunately, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit's rotation schedule was different from the Criminal Investigation Division, so Matsuda Jinpei couldn't go together this time.
"I won't go," said Matsuda Jinpei, who couldn't get leave. "I feel like whenever I travel with you guys, we always encounter cases. I'll stay and work shifts instead."
So ultimately, only Hagiwara Kenji and Usuha Izuki went to the ski resort.
Despite deliberately choosing a day when there supposedly wouldn't be many people, they still felt like they were in a sea of people when they arrived.
Especially so many students—according to the broadcast, it seemed two schools' middle school divisions had brought students skiing.
Hagiwara Kenji complained: "That's not all. I saw there's also a film crew over there, apparently here to shoot. Some fans found out about the schedule and followed along... We should have picked a different day."
Usuha Izuki: "No need to change—this is perfectly fine."
—Precisely choosing the day when Hattori Heiji and Kudo Shinichi came to the ski resort, Hagiwara Kenji was indeed one of the protagonists of the Police Academy arc! What amazing luck!