Ichijō Mirai: "?"
He pondered for a few seconds, looked at the screen of his cell phone to make sure he really did call the wrong number, and politely inquired, "Excuse me, may I ask what you just said?"
Is the Japanese Police in the late twentieth century so outrageous?
It's quite liberating.
If you add a little free and fresh sarcasm, it will be a perfect example of the son inheriting his father's ambition.
"Uh," the operator stuttered, obviously more nervous, before repeating through clenched teeth, "do you know sign language, sir?"
"I'm really sorry, because the accident happened in a busy area, causing a great impact, just ten minutes ago we dispatched most of the police force, may not be able to help in time to help a small child lost this kind of situation."
It's not unusual for the police to be unable to help a lost child because of a life-threatening emergency.
It's just that the subtext of 'if you know sign language, then you can help yourself, so the police don't have to come out' is very troubling. If you really know sign language, why would you call the police hotline?
Also, the operator is so nervous that his voice is tense, breathless, and weak.
Ichijō Mirai continued to listen without changing his expression.
"It will take some time for the police to come out," the operator explained, "and if you know sign language, uh,"
He stammered, "Of course, if you don't know sign language, the police will come out as soon as possible, but it will take some time, about two hours, so you can leave the child at the convenience store for now, and maybe the parents will look for him."
The phone was not on speakerphone, the sound was not very loud, the operator's background sound was a little messy, with rustling and other electromagnetic sounds, it sounded like the signal was not stable.
It was probably because the operator was recording the entire call, and late 20th century technology wasn't very good, so there was noise.
But it's more likely that...
Someone was listening.
Ichijō Mirai was used to having a dozen pairs of ears listening in on his conversations with the police when it seemed to be just two people.
But now, he's an ordinary resident calling the police for help.
Is the police operator in Japan so unreliable that he has a listener who listens to live calls?
Ichijō Mirai confirms in a gentle tone, without changing his expression, "Two hours?"
"It's a bit long, but the child's condition is stable enough to..."
There were distinct footsteps in the background, followed by a very low voice, "I'm back, Officer Kazami."
"I'm really sorry for the trouble, I remembered to bring the file, but I didn't realize that I forgot it in the conference room, I'm really sorry, hey? Are you already on the line?"
This was followed by Mr. Kazami's whispered reply, not answering how the file wasn't there, but only answering the last question, "Yes, I'll give it back to you after I finish this connection, it's not an emergency, it's just that there's a kid who's lost his way."
"It's not an emergency, it's just a lost child." It's true that the lost child wasn't an emergency, so the police officer, who had to leave for a moment, breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "You don't seem to have any experience in answering the phone, do you?"
Mr. Kazami: "I've got them listening in, and they'll alert me if I'm not answering, but... why is the light on?!"
They were communicating very quietly.
So small that if it were a normal person, they wouldn't be able to hear them, they would just explain the child's situation to themselves, and by the time they were done, the two officers would have finished whispering to each other.
Only ordinary people.
Ichijō Mirai heard it clearly, and said, "..."
Yes, yes.
No wonder Mr. Operator was so nervous, his voice was tense, no wonder he was saying such unsupportable things, no wonder he was being tapped.
...Why is the real police worse than the police in the game?
Ichijō Mirai had already seen how unreliable the police were, twice, in just one day.
So unreliable that he thought he could abscond for the rest of his life if he was only active in Japan, more easily than he could deal with Onidzuka Hachizo in the game.
"Ahem, I'm really sorry," Mr. Kazami spoke urgently to regain his volume, stuttering even more, "I'll contact the police as soon as I can."
He paused for a few seconds, as if he was looking at instructions, and quickly repeated the address Ichijō Mirai said, "Please wait, I have received instructions here, there are two
Ichijō Mirai: "."
"Three minutes?" He repeated, "OK, I'll hang up now."
Mr. Kazami breathed a huge sigh of relief, "Okay, okay!"
The phone hangs up.
Ichijō Mirai temporarily tamed the brick cell phone and typed out a line for the small child still staring at him: [Three minutes, police are on their way.]
He wasn't sure if the child, who couldn't speak, could read.
The child obediently looked at the cell phone screen.
She looked at it for two seconds, blinked, reached up and pointed to [Police] on the phone, then to Ichijō Mirai, and again made a sign under her chin with a big smile.
"Well," Ichijō Mirai nodded, "I contacted the police."
He put away his cell phone, opened the car door, and naturally picked up the teddy bear that the child had wedged between his legs, feeling it in his hand to make sure that there wasn't anything foreign inside, and that the child's clothes were neat and tidy, so that there was no place to hide a bomb or other dangerous item, before he really let his guard down.
The child didn't resist, but after meeting Ichijō Mirai's eyes at close range, she made a gesture of folding her hands and scratching her nose, and blushed.
This time, Ichijō Mirai recognized it as shyness.
He opened his hand in a gesture, picking up the child in slow motion before continuing to speak slowly, "I'll take you to the convenience store, whose location I reported to the police."
"In three minutes, the police will arrive and take you to your parents."
"Is your home in the neighborhood? No need to gesture, nod or shake your head."
The child reacts for a few seconds, clings to Ichijō Mirai's neck, shakes his head vigorously, and nods again.
Ichijō Mirai: "Not nearby, but not far?"
"Do you know anyone nearby?"
The child smiles brightly again, nods vigorously, and makes a shy gesture.
The first two times this shy gesture was made, it was to Ichijō Mirai.
Ichijō Mirai reasonably assumed, "A handsome male?"
When the child nodded repeatedly, he followed up with, "How long have you known him, more than a month nodding, less than a month shaking your head."
The child shook his head.
"Do your parents know him?"
Again the child shakes his head.
"Did he bring you here?"
The child nods, makes a few more gestures, and again smiles shyly, like a soft marshmallow, clean and harmless, and easy to fool.
Ichijō Mirai nodded, "OK, I see."
I'm going to make a special note to the police to tell the parents of this child that there are scoundrels abducting the child.
He had no intention of dealing directly with the police, so he carried the child to the convenience store and greeted Suzuki Sonoko, who was agonizing over what to say, and then the clerk at the front desk, briefly explaining what had happened.
The clerk, a woman in her thirties or forties, was shocked when she heard what happened: "Huh?"
Then he softened his heart and said, "What a lovely child, no wonder someone would deceive her. Don't worry, I will tell the police."
"She looks about the same age as my child."
The clerk carefully picked up the child, holding the six or seven year old in a standard position so that the child would not be uncomfortable, but the child was instantly anxious and reached out to make a few gestures.
Ichijō Mirai went through the motions of an adult touching a child's head and simply gave a perfunctory nod, "Don't be afraid, it's safe, the police will come."
He didn't have the softness of heart that adults have for children, and his attitude was flat, "I'm sorry, I don't know sign language."
I don't understand the sign language.
But...
Ichijō Mirai raised his hand, showed his pinky, and pushed his palm sideways, "Behave yourself until the police arrive, okay?"