"Ugh, my head hurts... I drank a little too much."
Early the next morning, Shimazaki Daiki hurried toward the Obama City Police Station not far from his home, his steps still unsteady from his hangover.
Along the way, quite a few tourists pointed at Shimazaki Daiki, covering their mouths as they snickered.
Was something wrong?
Following the passersby's gazes, Shimazaki Daiki took the police cap off his head.
Only then did he discover that, in his rush to leave home, he had grabbed the wrong hat. What he held was a bright green Mermaid Festival souvenir cap.
"Tch."
Shimazaki Daiki raised his arm to throw the green cap onto the ground, but then remembered people were watching him. Littering would be inappropriate, so he could only crumple it up and stuff it into his trouser pocket.
Through his connections with his father, the police chief, Shimazaki Daiki had secured a job at the Obama City Police Station.
His father could turn a blind eye to his usual sporadic attendance, but if he kept slacking off during the Mermaid Festival, when the police were short-staffed, even his father would lose his temper.
Just that morning, at eight, Shimazaki Daiki had impatiently switched off his phone alarm and opened his bleary eyes, only to discover he was already more than ten minutes late.
Without bothering to wash up, Shimazaki Daiki had pulled his police uniform from the wardrobe, thrown it on, grabbed a random cap, slapped it onto his head, and rushed out.
He had never expected to grab a green cap by mistake.
That was hardly a good omen.
Arriving at the Obama City Police Station with things weighing on his mind, Shimazaki Daiki was surprised to find unusually few people inside.
*Were there more tourists than in previous years, so