Takumi and Amada Arrested?!

Two guards stood calmly at my doorstep. The woman wore a police uniform, while the man wore a clean black suit, dressed as an investigator. Their outfits looked legit.

“Takumi Hitaro, please come with us. We have some questions for you,” advised the man as he took out handcuffs from his inner suit pocket. This world lacked technology, but I was surprised they had handcuffs.

“Wait, hold on a minute,” I suggested, trying to buy time.

It wasn’t as if I were intentionally impersonating Mr. Satori. Everyone assumed I was him, even if I tried to convince them I wasn’t. I’m not the one at fault for resembling him. It’s just confidence!

The male investigator saw my plan and turned me around. He placed me in handcuffs and said, “Save your energy for the interrogation.”

As my plan failed, Amada overheard our conversation from her locked bedroom door. She tiredly opened her door in her pajamas and asked, “What’s happening outside?”

As she stared at the front door, she witnessed the officers handcuffing me. “What are you guys doing to Mr. Satori?” she shouted, alerting the officers.

“Are you one of his accomplices?” The man asked, his eyes fiercely locked onto Amada. The investigator gestured to the office with a nod of his head. “Take her with us.”

The woman nodded her head and headed towards Amada with handcuffs in hand.

I refused to let anyone falsely accused of a crime. Amada was a kind and good person. She couldn’t have done anything bad. She didn’t deserve to be arrested. I had to do something… But then again, why should I?! She’s the one who brought me into this world. It’s her fault that this is happening! It’s her fault!

“Officers, she’s the culprit, not me!” I announced, pointing the blame straight at Amada. I allowed the officer to enter the apartment and avoided eye contact with her.

Amada extended her arms as she pleaded with the officer approaching her. “Wait, wait, wait. I’m not a part of this!” She stumbled over her words as she thought of an excuse. “I-I, uh… just work here and umm… had to inspect something. Yeah, that’s it!”

“Lies!” I shouted. Amada and the officers looked back at me as I confessed. “Officers, she’s the culprit who brought me here. She’s the main person in this operation.”

“What!” Amada’s jaw dropped to the floor, shocked by me ratting her out. “Officers, he’s lying.”

“No, I’m not. Ask the landlord downstairs. We live in this apartment together, and she forced me to take on this role of being Mr. Satori!”

“Ma’am, come with me.” The officer advised as she turned Amada around and handcuffed her.

Amada whined and resisted her arrest. The officer escorted her out the door. As she walked towards me, she glared at me. “Why did you do that?”

I responded with a sinister grin. She should have known why I did that. “If I’m doing down, you’re coming down with me!”

“Alright, let’s take them away.” The investigator exclaimed. Luckily, they left Hinabe and Anojin alone. I would have felt guilty if she had been taken. She was innocent.

For Anojin, I’m just glad I have some time away from him. If he was here with us, he would have ranted about me dragging Amada with me. I didn’t think I had the tolerance to deal with him.

After putting us in cuffs, the officers closed my door and escorted us outside the building. This world didn’t have cars, so I wondered how we would arrive at the police station. Was it nearby or far away?

Luckily, as my eyes adjusted to the bright sun, we were blocked by a carriage powered by horses on leashes. I had seen these forms of transportation in RPG games, but I never would have thought I would be in one. This wasn’t as bad as I imagined.

The officers pushed us towards the carriage and forced us to enter it. Walls outlined the back of the vehicle with a roof, making it impossible to jump off. The front section had a separate spot for the driver to steer the horses, complete with a window behind their seats, so the officers could easily monitor us.

As we headed to the station, I sat on the bench and took the liberty of resting my eyes. On the other hand, Amada persistently fidgeted on the bench, trying to escape.

Of course, I was nervous. Questions clouded my brain. Were they going to torture me? How long will I be staying?

I could not do anything with my hands cuffed. I needed to make the most out of the situation. So, my only option was to rest.

I had two reasons to fall asleep. The first was to rest up before the interrogation. The other was not to listen to Amada’s continuous whining throughout the ride. She attempted to provoke me by shoving me or crying out my name. However, I immediately fell asleep.

…

Several hours later, we arrived at the station. After filing some paperwork, the officers escorted us to a private interrogation room.

When I regained my senses, I found myself strapped to a wooden chair. My clothes felt wet. As I raised my head, the investigator informed the female officer, “Not awake yet.” She followed his orders and threw a cold glass of water at me, forcing me to wake up. The cold water forced my body to shiver as it soaked my clothes. “Where am I?”

I looked to my right and saw Amada, tied to her chair as well. She sat there motionless, drained from all her fidgeting.

“Get her, too.” The man suggested. The freezing temperature jolted Amada’s body, giving her life. She came back to reality. Her eyes immediately scurried around the room in a panic like a stray cat. When she locked onto me, she asked me, “Where are we?”

“Looks like an interrogation room.”

She clicked her tongue away towards me as she snapped. “This is your fault! I’m stuck in here because of your stupidity!”

“My fault?! You’re the one who brought me here in the first place!”

Before our argument finished, we were splashed with more water.

The investigator faced us across a wooden table. The officer stiffly stood by his side, with her hands behind her back. She served him as a bodyguard.

The man leaned over the table, his head resting in his clasped hands. He had a pen and paper in front of him, with a glass of water beside him. He kept his composure and observed us carefully. His stare and concentration sent a chill down my spine as if he were graded on this performance.

“I don’t like their stares. Do it again.” He commanded the officer. We were splashed with ice-cold water once again.

“I’m awake.” I clarified, suggesting that they stop splashing water. Where was she getting all that water from?

“Stop splashing me!” Amada insisted. “You’re ruining my clothes. I just bought these pajamas.”

“Mhmm, she’s chatty. Splash her again.” This time, the woman only threw water at Amada.

Amada furrowed her eyebrows. “Why did you only throw it at me? Splash Mr. Satori! He’s here, too.”

The woman targeted Amada with another round of cold water.

“Stop calling me that,” I whispered to Amada in secret as she sat drenched. “You know I’m not Mr. Satori.”

She responded to me, whispering, “Learn to read the room, idiot! We need to get out of here!”

A vein popped on my neck as my body twitched from her name-calling. “Idiot?”

The man persisted with more water. “Again. Again. Again.”

The man repeated his command several times. During the last command, the woman changed from a glass to a bucket. They eventually stopped splashing once Amada and I shouted, “We’re awake!” at the same time.

He finally acknowledged we were awake and stopped the orders. He gave us time to catch our breath. We coughed up the water that went down the wrong side of our throat. While we recovered, the man explained the situation.

“I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Investigator Haruko. This woman is Officer Grada. Here in the interrogation room, the suspects are only allowed to answer my questions. If I feel like you are lying, you will be splashed by cold water until I hear a satisfying answer.”

“What about-” Amada tried to get clarification but was quickly splashed with cold water in the face.

The man continued his explanation. “I’m not a fighter. But I can still use magic. My magic allows me to verify if you are answering truthfully.

He unfolded his hands and showed us the piece of paper on the table. It had a single scribble drawn across the center.

“I used the spell on this paper. If you tell the truth, the line will not move, but if you lie, the line will spike instantly.”

So, this spell worked like a lie detector. I was surprised that something like that existed in this world. I suppose what they lacked in technology, they made up for with magic.

After explaining the situation to us, the investigator leaned in closer, clearing his voice. “Now then, shall we get started?”

…