(thud)
"That's right, Vermouth."
Akai Shuichi leaned back against the table and flicked ash from his cigarette. "Our target tonight was clearly Vermouth, but halfway through the investigation, Uzo suddenly appeared. I have a feeling that he and Vermouth are probably more than just colleagues—perhaps they're allies in some matter."
"..."
As those words fell, the living room briefly went silent.
The FBI agents opened their mouths, then closed them again as if they had no idea what to say.
—They had suffered repeated defeats in their investigations of Uzo. The frustration of seeing no light at the end of the tunnel could only barely be eased by the smooth progress they had made with Vermouth.
And according to their plan, if things continued at a normal pace, it would not be long before they tore the mask from the "Thousand-Faced Witch" and took her into custody.
But now... Mr. Akai was saying that this apple, which they were about to harvest, had been tied to an uncontrollable and dangerous thing?
The unpleasant image made them fall silent for a moment, instinctively wanting to refute it.
"Um..." One FBI agent spoke cautiously, offering a reasonable guess. "Could Uzo's appearance have had nothing to do with Vermouth? Maybe he only followed along because you took part in today's investigation."
As they remembered, since all their previous investigations had yielded nothing, Mr. Akai had decisively divided their team's work into two parts some time ago, so that they would not lose the watermelon while failing to pick up the sesame seeds.
Anything related to Uzo was handled by Mr. Akai alone.
Meanwhile, the investigation and possible capture of Vermouth had been entrusted to all the other FBI agents. After all, they had been doing that work for some time and were very