Chapter 16: The Missing Person

On that day, an unusual request for a missing person investigation was brought to the detective agency. The clients were the parents of the man who had gone missing.

Masaya received the request form from Koyuki and gazed at Fuyuhiko, who was eager to get started.

“Well, where should we start the investigation?”

“First, let’s go to Matsuda-san’s apartment. I have the key.”

The missing person, Kozo Matsuda, was the same age as Masaya, thirty-two years old. He worked as a part-time delivery worker, and it had been a week since anyone had seen or heard from him.

The parents had received a call from the courier company where he worked part time, and they contacted the police and began searching. They filed a missing person report with the police, but given the current situation where tens of thousands of search requests are submitted every year, it was unlikely that a thorough search would be conducted.

Generally, the police only conduct searches when there is a possibility of a crime or in cases involving children or elderly individuals with dementia.

The two of them headed toward an old apartment nestled in a residential area. Ideally, they would have searched for clues in the presence of the missing person’s parents. However, it seemed that the parents were occupied with their work and couldn’t be present.

Inside the cramped apartment room, belongings were scattered everywhere. It appeared that tidiness and organization were unfamiliar concepts to the person who lived there.

“What a messy room. It reminds me of Senpai’s room back in college,” Fuyuhiko remarked.

“Shut up. I was too busy during those days to bother with cleaning,” Masaya replied.

During his student days, Masaya juggled multiple part-time jobs and had no time to spare for cleaning. Although, it was also a fact that he occasionally went out for drinks whenever he did have free time for cleaning.

“Oh, there’s a laptop here,” 

Fuyuhiko exclaimed as he discovered a laptop and turned it on.

“Hey, it’s not right to snoop around without permission.”

“Don’t worry. I have proper authorization from the parents,” 

The laptop that had been turned on prompted them to enter a password.

“Naturally, you anticipated the matter of the password, right?” 

Masaya asked Fuyuhiko, and the latter smirked and replied confidently,

“Senpai, don’t underestimate me. Do you think I’m such a thoughtful person?”

Masaya let out a sigh.

“It’s ‘thoughtless’; you’re using the wrong terms. Well, never mind. What about the password?”

“Well, based on the state of this room, it’s likely that the occupant is a careless person. I think there’s a high chance they chose a password randomly,” 

Impressed by Fuyuhiko’s detective-like deduction, Masaya asked, 

“So what’s the plan then?”

“In this world, there are well-known passwords that lazy individuals often use,”

Using his smartphone, Fuyuhiko searched for a list of risky passwords and began trying them out. As it turned out, the password in question matched the list’s top fifteenth password.

Fuyuhiko looked at Masaya with a smug expression. 

“See? I told you,” 

Seeing Fuyuhiko’s smug expression, Masaya felt a twinge of frustration. Fuyuhiko started investigating the data, looking into the emails and websites the person had used. Eventually, they discovered the identity of one of the person’s friends. It was someone named Momota, a fellow student from high school.

And so, Masaya directed his attention towards Kozo Matsuda’s SNS account (social networking service). It appeared that people were engaged in discussions about lucid dreams.

Even those who dreamed of the different world were joining the conversation. As Masaya delved into the content, a sense of unease crept over him. The individuals on social media seemed captivated by the topic without fully grasping its profound implications.

The existence of “magic essence” and “magic energy” as well as the concept of “true names”, had the potential to greatly change modern society. Professor Kanbara was actively researching these subjects, and the revelation of true names appeared to have a significant impact.

As Masaya pondered over this, Fuyuhiko seemed to have decided to go and talk to Momota, who was a friend of Kozo.

“For now, let’s go to Momota’s place,” 

“Sounds like a plan,” 

Fuyuhiko’s suggestion was reasonable, so Masaya agreed.

Momota’s residence was not far from Kozo’s apartment, and it was a house with a garden. However, even after ringing the doorbell, no one came out. It seemed like nobody was home.

Just as Masaya and Fuyuhiko were about to give up and return, two men approached them. Their piercing gazes exuded a menacing aura, immediately putting Masaya on high alert.

“Excuse us, can we talk to you two for a moment?”

“What is it?”

The men took out their police badges from their inner pockets and showed them. They seemed to be detectives.

“Are you two acquainted with Momota?”

Masaya and Fuyuhiko denied it.

“We are detectives. We are searching for a friend of Momota.”

“Who is this friend?”

“A missing person named Kozo Matsuda.”

The detectives exchanged glances.

“On whose behalf are you conducting this search?”

“His parents.”

“…From now on, don’t meddle unnecessarily. Kozo Matsuda has become a crucial witness in a certain case. If you find out his whereabouts, please contact the police.”

The detectives left, leaving Masaya and Fuyuhiko behind. Right then, Fuyuhiko asked,

“What’s going on?”

“This means that Kozo did something,” Masaya replied.

“What did he do?”

“They didn’t tell us either, so I don’t know. But the only case that the police department seems to be investigating these days is an arson murder.

“Seriously… That’s dangerous. People have died in that case.”

The arson murder case had occurred in the business district, so there were many witnesses. According to their testimonies, something that resembled a fireball flew in through the window and ignited the place.

“It’s possible that someone threw a Molotov cocktail,” Fuyuhiko speculated. 

Masaya felt a sense of unease. Within the realm of Mana Art, there was a technique that involved the true name “flame”, which could enable similar actions.

“Should we decline this request?” 

Masaya suggested. But Fuyuhiko responded, 

“Wait. If we can find him before the police do, it would be great, right?”

“But he might be a murderer,” 

“He’s not a wanted fugitive; he’s just a crucial witness,” Fuyuhiko replied.

Masaya contemplated that this could potentially lead to big trouble.

“Alright then, let’s decide on our search strategy. I’ll look into Kozo from the perspective of him being the arsonist.”

“In that case, I’ll stake out Momota’s house.”

The two of them parted ways. Masaya headed to the business district by bus, waiting for the sun to set. There were rumors that the culprit might return to the scene. If they had specifically targeted someone working in the building they set on fire, there was a possibility of them causing another incident, especially considering that there were people hospitalized due to injuries and burns from that previous event.

“Oh, Senpai,” 

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Masaya while he was wandering aimlessly. When he turned around, he saw his junior colleague, Yamaguchi.

“Yamaguchi, on your way back from work?” Masaya asked.

“Yes, Senpai. What are you up to right now?” 

“Just some stuff,” 

The two of them entered a coffee shop, and Masaya asked Yamaguchi about what had happened at the company since he had quit abruptly, leaving his work behind.

“I took over the Tokyo Cleve Hotel project that you abandoned. I made a few adjustments based on the client’s requests, but overall, it was well received,” Yamaguchi said.

Upon hearing that, Masaya felt relieved.

“I see, that’s good to hear.”

“It’s not good at all. The Okinawa Karla Hotel project turned into a big mess.”

“That was Takada’s job.”

“But the design plans that were given to the client were for the resort hotel that Senpai was making in his free time, weren’t they?”

“Takada took them without permission and gave them to the client. There were issues with the structural calculations, so they needed significant revisions.”

Yamaguchi let out a sigh.

“No wonder… It seems like Takada Senpai was working on those revisions, but while we were dragging our feet, another company took the job. Director Karaki was furious and yelling about it.”

“Hmph, serves him right. What happened to Takada?”

“He’s been assigned to organize documents. He might become a target for layoffs.”

“Layoffs… Is the company in such a difficult situation that they have to resort to that?”

“It seems that the folks in the First Business Department messed something up with the New Zealand project. I’ve heard it will cost a huge amount of money to complete the job according to the contract. We’re running a deficit this fiscal year.”

As Masaya continued listening to the current state of the company, he began to think that quitting might have been a good decision on his part.

“By the way, what are you up to, Senpai?”

“Me? I’m a detective.”

“… D-detective? That’s quite a bold career change.”

Yamaguchi said with a half-stunned expression.

“It’s been tough, but it’s an interesting job.”

“Come to think of it, you’ve lost weight… No, your body looks more toned.”

“That’s because I have started working out,”