"He wasn't particularly clever, but he was indeed shrewd. If he put his effort in the right direction, he might have become someone worthwhile. Unfortunately, once someone had witnessed the extraordinary side of Cognitive Science, it was probably difficult for them to retain the proper reverence for ordinary psychology."
Incompetent but eager to play, and still wanting to take shortcuts—that was Tangze's assessment of Kihara River after synthesizing all the information.
What he didn't realize was that the long, dull proper path sometimes was the real shortcut, while so-called shortcuts only led people into complete detours.
"Anyway, for now, let's settle on 'mirror image' and 'jealousy' as the key terms. We should first see if we can investigate his Palace. I have a feeling there may be quite a few surprises in there..."
"Tangze, Tangze—"
"I'm here." Tangze answered, then quickly said to the person behind the glass door, "All right, I have something to deal with over here. You keep investigating."
Seeing him rise to leave, Hirotsugu Morofushi, seated behind the door on the other side with his hood up, stood as well and could not help calling out to him again. "Um, Tangze..."
Knowing what the other man was hesitating to say, Tangze took the initiative. "Don't worry, Hirofumi-senpai. I'll protect your brother, keep Irish occupied, and make sure the Organization doesn't notice him."
Hirotsugu Morofushi's concern was perfectly understandable.
Because their areas of activity and the members they had followed differed, Irish might not have known the former Scotch Whisky very well. But Hirotsugu Morofushi and Takagi Morofushi did indeed look quite alike.
The Organization certainly would not keep protecting the records of Scotch Whisky after confirming that he had been eliminated as an undercover agent. Otherwise, Tangze would not have been able to get the complete