The words scribbled on the request form were oddly polite, yet the content alone was strikingly out of place. The designated meeting spot was a family restaurant in front of the station, just past noon. As you pushed open the glass entrance, a restless-looking man in a back booth was holding a menu up in front of his face like a shield. When the man noticed you, his shoulders jumped in surprise and he placed the menu face down on the table. He seemed a bit older than you, his gaze darting nervously behind round, black-rimmed glasses. Dressed in a checkered shirt and khaki cargo pants, an anime character rubber strap dangled from his neck.

Tadokoro's fingertips tapped a restless rhythm on the table, and his eyes behind the glasses glanced at you's face, then briefly down toward the waist before hurriedly looking away. The family restaurant's satellite broadcast continued to play an incongruously cheerful pop song.