"About what Rena Mizunashi and the others were discussing just now... are you okay? Akemi was worried about you."
Hoshikawa Teru, who was fixing his hair, paused and turned to give Tangze an unreadable look.
He was not surprised that Akemi Miyano had told Tangze about it. As one of the only two minors in the troupe, although Hoshikawa Teru himself did not feel that he or Tangze were any different from the others, whether in what they did or how they thought, there was no stopping other people from seeing it differently.
What puzzled him was why Tangze had come specifically to talk to him about this.
"Ah, you mean the organization's experiments? Mm, I'm fine." Straightening his striped tie in the mirror, Hoshikawa Teru deftly adjusted and smoothed it as he answered casually, "It's just been a long time since I thought about those things. Hearing about them so suddenly, I was a little thrown off."
He was in the middle of the usual task of swapping identities with Tangze.
Tangze had taken Rena Mizunashi to Shibuya as Akechi Goro, so naturally, he had boarded the camper van as Akechi Goro as well. Following the usual rhythm, Tangze should next return to the café, briefly explain the situation to Tooru Amuro, and discuss what came next. That meant Akechi's identity had to be handed back to him.
What Tangze had said earlier was not an excuse. Akechi Goro had a meeting at the agency today, and even setting aside detective work, there were still various trivial matters to deal with.
Like giving an interview, heading over to receive a batch of supplies transferred from the laboratories, picking up newly requested weapons, and so on...
"I've never asked you about this in detail. I more or less understand the