So...
Akai Shuichi thought to himself, Either these two are putting on an act together for me, or Shitara Jukichi realized someone was following him and panicked. All he could think about was getting off at his destination as quickly as possible, so he anxiously asked me about the stops without considering whether his follower might overhear.
From what he had observed, Shitara Jukichi's earlier panic really did not seem feigned.
...But he could not underestimate the acting skills of a seventy-year-old man either. After living that long, he had had enough time to learn any skill.
After hesitating for a moment, Akai Shuichi decided to get off and see what was going on. The bus kept looping along this route, so it would not get away; he could always come back and find it. But the suddenly appearing Shitara Jukichi was an obvious anomaly.
A flurry of complex thoughts passed through his mind in an instant. He took out the item in his left trench coat pocket and glanced at it, then stood and walked toward the door.
Just as he was about to get off, a pale flash swept through the corner of his eye.
Akai Shuichi abruptly turned his head and saw someone at the other door who was about to board. The man folded up his umbrella, revealing light-colored hair and a pair of distinctive squinting eyes.
...Okiya Subaru!
...The Informant—or rather, former Informant—he had always wanted to contact but had worried was not the right time had actually run into him of his own accord now?
The word "coincidence" instantly filled Akai Shuichi's mind. Even he hesitated briefly. Setting aside the immense amount of information implied by Okiya Subaru's sudden appearance, the current moment alone presented him with two obvious options.
—Get off and pursue