Yan sat down.
Akane Tsunemori sat down as well.
"Coffee?"
"Mm."
"Ah... all right."
"Though I say that, there isn't any choice besides coffee." Saiga spoke very casually, completely unlike the people she usually encountered. He seemed to enjoy considerable freedom. Akane Tsunemori picked up her cup and smelled the rich aroma of brewed coffee, which surprised her.
These were real coffee beans.
"Inspector Akane Tsunemori... are you from Chiba Prefecture?"
"Yes..."
"Your athletic ability isn't bad, but why is it... that you can't swim?"
"Cough...!" Akane Tsunemori nearly choked on her coffee. She was somewhat surprised that Saiga, whom she had just met, would say something like that.
"Your parents... are both still alive. They're worried that their only daughter won't find a partner. Naturally, they also opposed your joining the police. And your grandfather and grandmother..."
Saiga continued.
However, Akane Tsunemori's expression visibly changed after he mentioned her grandmother. She frowned slightly and awkwardly brushed her hair back.
"Your grandmother. She dotes on you. A very good old lady. People who spend long periods with the elderly during early childhood often grow up able to form good relationships with virtual-image artificial intelligences. That pattern applies to you as well, Miss Akane."
"Did you read my file?"
"A civilian couldn't possibly see an inspector's police file, could they?" Yan casually remarked from the side. He was more of an observer.
"Ah..."
"You haven't changed at all, Professor Saiga." Yan continued. After all, he had inherited all the memories and knew Saiga very well.
Though Akane Tsunemori felt a trace of discomfort, she quickly adjusted. What she felt now was more curiosity. How could Saiga, someone she had only just met, reveal so much information when it should have been impossible for him to investigate an inspector's file?
How had