The staff member clutched the slip of paper with Officer Sato's phone number and froze for a moment. She hadn't expected an ordinary day to suddenly become so perilous.
She sighed, about to discuss things with the colleague beside her who was also watching the drama, hoping to drag her into it as well. But just then, the light suddenly dimmed, and a vast shadow fell over her.
The staff member turned around and jumped in fright. Three burly men had suddenly gathered before the counter, their expressions resentful and their presence oppressive, blocking the way like a massive dark cloud.
...Danger had appeared this quickly?! She, she wasn't ready yet!
The staff member hesitated between screaming, calling someone, and abandoning her post to run away. Before she could decide, the three burly men flipped their hands and drew something from their waists...
Police ID cards.
The staff member: "...?"
Police officers?
If these people were police officers, then what had those people muttering outside the window been?
Officer Oda, the leader, stared at the staff member, who looked like a startled bird, and said in a low voice, "These are our IDs. Tell me—what did those people say to you just now?"
"Well..."
The staff member was a little confused. She had thought those people were police officers. But now the real police, carrying police IDs, had appeared, and they were clearly on guard against the previous group...
Could it be different from what I thought? Could that group not have been police officers, but their opposite—a band of lawless criminals? The staff member rapidly sorted through the situation in her mind.
*But that can't be right. There were students, women, and even two children among them. No matter how I looked at them, they didn't seem like lawless