On his way back, Kazuo suddenly received a call from Aoi.
As soon as he answered, Aoi's extremely anxious voice came from the other end:
"No, this is bad, Kazuo! Rice Shower, Rice Shower is missing!?"
"Huh!? What did you say?"
Kazuo didn't immediately grasp the meaning of her words.
He only heard Aoi frantically explaining: "I'm currently heading to the street patrol booth to inquire about the situation. Where are you right now, Kazuo!?"
"What happened!? I'm almost at Odaiba now. What exactly happened to Rice Shower?"
Kazuo heard her tone and realized the seriousness of the problem. Clearly, something must have happened during the time he wasn't at the store.
"It's a bit complicated," Aoi said anxiously, her voice interspersed with gasps, indicating she was currently running. "Rice Shower's mistake caused some losses for the store. Because of this, she might have been stimulated. I told her to relax in the staff lounge, but when I went back to the room, she was gone."
"My brother is currently contacting nearby businesses to see if anyone has seen her. Miko is staying at the store to watch it, and I'm planning to go to the police booth to inquire about the situation."
"Honestly, Rice Shower's emotions are a bit unstable right now, and it's getting dark. If we don't find her, I'm worried something might happen..."
"How could this be...!?
Kazuo gasped, his brows immediately furrowing, and he once again became serious and focused.
Realizing that this was no laughing matter, he immediately changed his state, his mind racing.
Especially at a time like this, he couldn't afford to be anxious; he had to calm down and think of a solution... "Aoi, let me ask you. Do you remember when you last saw Rice Shower?"
"Uh... about... twenty minutes ago? When Miko asked me to come out and introduce products to a customer... After I finished, when I went back, she wasn't there anymore..."
"Then neither of you saw her leave through the front door, right?"
"No. I was always keeping an eye on the back room; there's no way I would have missed it."
Aoi said with certainty.
"Okay... then Rice Shower must have left through the back door of the store... If I remember correctly from when I was moving goods earlier, there's only one street behind the back door. If she went out that way, she'd most likely be seen. Aoi, quickly contact the store manager and have him ask the businesses near the back door if they saw a girl with bangs covering her right eye."
"If it was within twenty minutes, she shouldn't have gone far. The walk from the back door to the station is at least fifteen minutes, so she should still be in Odaiba!"
"Aoi, you stay on standby at the patrol booth for now. In any case, go explain the situation. I'll be at Odaiba soon. I'll get off at the closest stop to the back street and turn back to look. Keep our phones open. Once you find Rice Shower, contact me immediately, okay!?"
Kazuo found the most reasonable solution in a very short time, and with his instructions, Aoi also seemed to find her backbone and quickly agreed.
"You contact your brother, and I'll be responsible for getting Rice Shower-classmate's parents' contact information from the school… Her parents should know where she might have gone."
His mind was spinning rapidly at this moment, practically coming up with all sorts of countermeasures.
However, Kazuo would only know exactly what happened once he found Rice Shower.
After hanging up the phone, Kazuo quickly found Hayakawa's number.
After a brief busy signal, the call was connected.
Kazuo quickly said, "I'm sorry! Is this Hayakawa?! I'm Asama, there's something I urgently need to ask of you. Yes, as a teacher, I'd like to know the phone number of Elementary School Division Rice Shower-classmate's parents. Could you please help me look it up… Yes, that's right, I need it now."
Sensing the urgency, Hayakawa also adopted a serious tone and, in her capacity as Secretary-General, said over the phone:
"Alright, I understand. I'll contact her homeroom teacher now; she should have the class roster. I'll email you the phone number shortly."
"Okay! Thank you for the trouble!"
With Hayakawa's help, in less than three minutes, Kazuo received an email from Hayakawa.
As he got off the train, Kazuo dialed the number.
The person who answered the call was a mother with a very young-sounding voice.
"Hello… May I ask who this is?"
"I apologize for disturbing you at this hour! May I ask if you are Rice Shower-classmate's parent?! I am a teacher from Tracen Academy, my name is Asama Kazutomi. Actually, starting yesterday, Rice Shower-classmate decided to work part-time at our friend's shop. But now there's a bit of a situation; she seems to be blaming herself because something went wrong, and we can't find her… I'm very sorry, this is my fault as her teacher. So, I wanted to ask you, do you know where she usually goes in such situations?"
Upon hearing this, the woman on the other end sighed faintly and said, "Rice Shower is a very sensitive child. She must be blaming herself for making a mistake… Asama-sensei, right? I'm sorry, I'm currently on a business trip in Hokkaido and have a meeting about to start… But if I'm not mistaken, when that child encounters such situations, she hides in the nearest park… Also, I'll contact my driver to come over; he can help me with this, okay?"
Kazuo was stunned. This should be Rice Shower's mother, but she seemed to be accustomed to such things and didn't appear as anxious as Kazuo and the others.
In fact—did she even think the meeting was more important at the moment…?
Kazuo felt a tightness in his chest, but he also knew the saying, "Every family has its own difficulties."
Forcibly taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kazuo agreed, saying, "Okay, I understand. Please send me your driver's phone number so I can contact him later."
After hanging up, Kazuo calmly continued to analyze. Rice Shower's situation might also be somewhat related to her family circumstances… However, her mother did provide an important piece of information.
A park near Odaiba, and the closest place to the shop… It could only be there, right?
Odaiba Seaside Park!!
When Kazuo rushed to the park, sure enough, he saw Rice Shower on a bench at a seaside viewing platform.
However, seeing her again made Kazuo show an extremely surprised expression.
He even somewhat dared not believe his eyes, as standing right beside Rice Shower at this moment were… "Xiao Hai Wan!? And… Daijin!? Why are you here?!"
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