"Don't try to scare me, Tangze."
Eisuke Hondou looked at the seemingly meaningful smile on Tangze's face and quickly smiled back, completely unfazed by the somewhat dark aura Tangze was giving off.
"If you really were one of 'those people,' you wouldn't need to do anything. Just hearing me say that I was looking for my sister, who I'd been out of touch with for years and who looked a lot like Rena Mizunashi, would be enough to cause trouble. Since neither she nor I has come to harm, that means there's nothing untrustworthy about you."
Being cautious never meant doubting everyone, and after discovering Rena Mizunashi's new movements, his decision to come to Tokyo had already been a gamble in itself.
After all, he had never had good luck.
Tangze studied him carefully for a few seconds, curled his lip, and put away that ill-intentioned smile. "So certain, huh? You've got some nerve."
Even if Eisuke Hondou had not realized what exactly had happened to his family in the past, now that he had gotten in touch with Rena Mizunashi, he surely understood where the upheaval in his family had come from.
His sister and father had both worked in this dangerous field of intelligence. Even until his death, his father had been unable to leave his family a single message.
With so many concerns weighing on him, for Eisuke Hondou to figure out the crux of it overnight and then unhesitatingly seek out Tangze, the most "suspicious" person, required tremendous courage.
Especially when he had already found himself a way out.
"...You didn't deny what I said." Eisuke Hondou curled his lips into a victorious smile. "You really do know something, don't you?"
"More or less." Tangze used a vague phrase, then asked in return, "You've already contacted