After breakfast, Heiji suddenly realized they had no destination.
"Ai, where do you want to go?"
Ai looked at Heiji, her cool eyes gazing ahead. "Brother-in-law, can you take me to the place where my sister... left?"
Heiji paused and turned to look at Ai. Without a word, he stepped on the gas.
"That place is close to Tokyo Tower. I'll take you there to look around afterward."
Ai looked at Heiji. The morning sun shone on his face, giving it a trace of warmth.
She lowered her head slightly. "Brother-in-law, do you still hate my sister?"
"I can hear the indifference in your voice. Do you still hate her for breaking up with you?" Ai's cool voice trembled slightly.
Heiji was baffled. Was that indifference? It was just... not caring. After all, I'm really not this cool queen's brother-in-law.
He was being misunderstood again, and it felt like the misunderstanding was only getting deeper.
The silence in the car only confirmed Ai's suspicions. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she looked down, lost in thought.
The place where Akemi Miyano had "died" had long since burned to ashes. The warehouse was gone, leaving only an empty lot.
The black Mercedes-Benz SUV was parked quietly nearby. Heiji leaned against the car door while Ai stood a short distance away, letting the sun wash over her as she stared at the empty space.
"Brother-in-law, do you think the Organization will find me?"
Thinking of that dark place, a flash of fear appeared in Ai's eyes.
Heiji had been thinking about the bomb riddle. Hearing her words, he paused and collected himself. "No. The Black Organization will never be a threat to you."
Ai whipped her head around to look at him, a warmth in her eyes. But she shook her head. "Brother-in-law, this is a matter between them and me."
Heiji smiled faintly, leaning back against the car and looking up at the rising sun.
After a long time, Ai walked over.
"Brother-in-law, it's time to go."
Heiji came back to his senses and met Ai's cool gaze with a small smile.
"You know, you're pretty good at being a kid. You've got that cool queen vibe. It's very cute."
Ai's eyelids drooped. She pursed her lips, pushed past Heiji, and got into the car. "Brother-in-law, you'll never get a girlfriend acting like that."
Heiji was speechless.
On the way, Ai was the very definition of "cool," like a block of ice, giving off a 'do not approach' feeling.
But seeing that expression on a little girl's face was, in its own way, extremely cute.
Tokyo Tower was the second-tallest structure in Tokyo, a city landmark. It was mainly used for broadcasting, but it also had observation decks with views of the entire city.
Heiji parked the car, and he and Ai walked to the entrance.
It was a weekend, so it was very crowded and congested at the entrance.
"Please watch your children! Adults, please watch your children!"
Heiji felt a stare fixed on him. A staff member with a megaphone was looking at him with disapproval.
[Come on, she's not a real kid.]
Heiji was exasperated. But from the staff member's accusatory look, he knew that if he didn't "watch" Ai, the megaphone would follow them all day.
Ai was carefully trying to navigate the crowd when a large hand suddenly took hers.
"Brother-in-law?"
"Let's go. Don't get separated."
Heiji carefully protected Ai as they moved. The sound of the megaphone finally faded.
Ai let Heiji lead her. She occasionally glanced up at him, a flicker of emotion in her eyes, lost in thought.
They took the elevator up to the main observation deck. From here, you could see the entire city. It was the heart of Tokyo Tower.
Ai stood by the window, gazing at the houses and the ant-like flow of cars below.
"Brother-in-law, if we were giants, do you think we'd have to be so scared?"
Heiji paused, meeting Ai's somewhat lost gaze.
"Giants have their own sorrows. We just can't see them."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Heiji's mind. Giants?
"A four-legged giant rises from the ground..."
Ai looked at Heiji, confused.
After a moment of thought, a confident smile spread across Heiji's face.
"Ai, it looks like you're my lucky goddess."
Ai looked puzzled, but then a thought struck her. "Brother-in-law, did you solve the warning letter?"
"Half of it. But we're unlucky. It seems we've become the bomber's target."
Heiji gave a helpless smile. Now he couldn't just ignore it.
"Target?" Ai's eyes sharpened. She frowned and looked around. "Brother-in-law, the bomb is in Tokyo Tower?"
"'A silent roar spreading for miles' refers to the radio waves broadcast from the tower."
Heiji walked to the edge and looked down. As the sun rose higher, the tower's shadow grew.
"Ai, what time is it?"
Ai looked at her watch. "Nine-fifty."
Heiji's expression turned serious. He pulled Ai toward the elevator. "You go down first. I'll be right behind you."
Ai violently yanked her hand free, her eyes turning cold. "Are you planning to defuse the bomb yourself?"
She didn't even call him "brother-in-law."
Heiji nodded. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it quickly."
As a "mechanic," he didn't just know how to defuse bombs; he knew how to build them.
But Ai didn't believe him. "I'm not going."
Heiji frowned. "It's dangerous here. What if the bomber left a video monitor by the bomb? He could detonate it at any time. And we're running out of time."
"'When the distance from head to toe on the ground and in the sky is the same'..."
"It means when the sun's angle is 45 degrees to the tower's shadow," Ai analyzed quietly. "Which is around 10:20 AM. We have half an hour."
Heiji patter her head, but she smacked his hand away.
He didn't mind. "When the sun is at a 45-degree angle, the shadow's length will equal the tower's height, forming an isosceles triangle."
"At that time, it will 'ignite its inner fury.' 'Inner' means 'heart,' and the heart of Tokyo Tower is this observation deck..."
"The bomb is in the elevator," Ai said softly.
The only place to hide a bomb would be the elevator.
Heiji nodded. "So, you need to leave before it explodes."
Being a hero was never easy, but doing it every once in a while made other things more convenient.
"I'm not going."
But Ai still refused to leave.
"Why?"
Heiji was confused. The cool queen wasn't usually this unreasonable.
"I don't want to be alone again."
Ai stood there, her head down. In that moment, she seemed utterly desolate, as if she were the only person in the world, exuding a desperate loneliness.
Suddenly, a hand rested on her head.
"In that case, you can be my assistant."
---
There are 130 advanced chapters on Patreon, which I'm currently rewriting and polishing for a better reading experience. Thank you for your support and patience.
https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396