"Even if I had my reasons, if I killed someone, would the police really let me off afterward?"
Sekiguchi Yoshio slumped onto a bench in the hospital lobby, despair filling his eyes. "Even if the police didn't hold me responsible... what would my friends and family think if they knew I had blood on my hands?"
"And my daughter..."
Torn with indecision, Sekiguchi Yoshio checked the time, then froze in horror: it was already 3:20 p.m. There were less than ten minutes left until the 3:30 deadline the robbers had given him.
"How did time pass so quickly?" Sekiguchi Yoshio's fingers began to tremble. He turned to look at the building outside the window, thoughts racing through his mind:
If I haven't done it in ten minutes, then just like they said, they'll push my daughter off the roof of the building across the street... No, I don't have time to hesitate!
Come to think of it, I only need to pull the trigger a few times. Close my eyes, open them, and it'll all be over. Besides, that person in the ward isn't some innocent patient—he's one of the robbers. Even if I kill him, there's nothing to feel guilty about.
With that thought, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the Cream Puff Box on his lap.
Just then, a child's voice spoke beside him. "Mister, don't do anything foolish, okay?"
"?!" Sekiguchi Yoshio jumped and abruptly turned to his right. Only then did he notice that a bespectacled little boy had appeared on the bench at some point—apparently one of the children who had just gone to visit Mr. Yamada.
"Don't look at me. Keep looking at the box in your hands." The Bespectacled Kid pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "Let me guess—someone is threatening you