My Boss, A Clear And Perfect Beauty Who's An Elite Police Bureaucrat, Turns Out To Be My Sweet And Doting Childhood Friend Who Loves Me Dearly At Home. - Chapter 50

The Outcome of the Incident and Kana’s Confession (?)

While conducting checkpoints at different locations, Shinichi was listening to the radio, but there still seemed to be no clue as to the whereabouts of the suspects.

Shinichi and his team stopped passing vehicles and repeated the checks, but there were no particularly suspicious vehicles.

(If something happened to Maho…)

After all, he had reconnected with Maho, and they had reestablished a relationship as close as before.

There were still so many things he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to say.

If Maho returned safely, he would listen to any request she had, even the proposal of sharing a room, or anything else.

(So please come back safely, Maho.)

While wishing for this, Shinichi stopped a vehicle.

It was a large red wagon.

Shinichi approached the driver’s window. A young man in his early twenties was in the driver’s seat, wearing a black hoodie and showing noticeable stubble.

“Excuse me. Could I ask for a little cooperation…”

“Ah, sure. Seems there’s been some big incident, hasn’t there?”

The man spoke with an easygoing tone. Shinichi thought it would end without incident as usual, but then he noticed a young man and a young woman sitting in the back seat.

The man was a stranger, but the problem was the woman.

She was a slender woman in a suit, looking down and seemingly frightened. That beautiful woman was… Shinichi’s well-acquainted childhood friend.

“Ma-Maho?”

“Shinichi…!?”

Maho raised her voice and looked at Shinichi. Then, with a shocked expression, she cried out, “No! Shinichi…!” The next moment, the man in the back seat opened the door and jumped out, holding a shining silver knife in his hand.

In an instant, Shinichi grabbed the man and threw him down. But there was another man, the driver, who also had a blade and swung it around.

A scuffle ensued, and then a burning pain shot through Shinichi’s abdomen. He had been stabbed.

The man quickly pulled out the knife and tried to flee, but Shinichi somehow managed to take the knife away. He pinned the man to the ground.

The other man who had been thrown was secured by Maho. The section chief, who had arrived, helped secure the man as well.

They were somehow subdued.

As relief washed over him, Shinichi’s vision distorted, and he collapsed on the spot. Opening his hand, he saw copious amounts of blood on it.

(Ah, I see. This is my blood…)

As his consciousness faded, he heard Maho calling out desperately, “Shinichi! Hey, Shinichi!” but her voice was gradually becoming distant.

Eventually, Shinichi’s vision went completely dark.

☆

When he woke up next, he was lying in a hospital bed. The impersonal ceiling of the hospital room met his gaze.

A young nurse chuckled, “Oh, you’re awake.”

“What happened to me…?”

“You’re the detective who secured the man who attacked the cash transport vehicle, right?”

Shinichi seemed to have been stabbed and lost consciousness, then transported to the hospital. Although he had lost a lot of blood, luckily it had missed vital organs like his intestines.

It appeared he had undergone surgery, but his life was not in danger.

It also seemed that only about half a day had passed.

Next to the bed on a chair sat a young woman in a suit… a girl, Kana.

When she saw Shinichi, Kana gently took his hand and then tearfully smiled.

“Senpai… I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Sorry. It seems I worried you.”

“When I heard you had been stabbed and were seriously injured, even though you said you’d return safely…”

Her subsequent words turned into a tearful voice and couldn’t be heard. Shinichi gently stroked Kana’s beautiful hair.

As Kana wiped her tears with a finger, she smiled happily.

It seemed Kana had been sent from the workplace to stay by Shinichi’s side.

Doctors bustled in to examine him, followed by administrative procedures. When he asked about Maho, it turned out she had also been transported to the hospital as a precaution, but she had not been harmed and was safe.

Kana stayed with him the whole time.

He was told to rest and stay hospitalized for a while. His parents and sisters were on their way to Tokyo.

The questioning by the investigators would be considerate of his condition and would take place tomorrow or later. In any case, he felt reassured because the section chief was taking care of it.

When he returned to bed, Kana sat down on the chair again.

“I would like to stay by Senpai’s side if I could…”

There were restrictions on visiting hours, and the nurses would take care of him.

Shinichi smiled.

“You have work tomorrow too, so it’s okay for you to go home early.”

“Yes…”

While Kana said this, she stayed by Shinichi’s side until the last minute of visiting hours. Kana, who was usually high-spirited and talkative, sat quietly reading a paperback book, careful not to disturb Shinichi.

When Kana was quiet, she seemed like a peaceful literary girl.

As Shinichi was captivated by her grace, Kana turned to him and giggled.

“Could it be that you were captivated by me?”

“…Well, yeah.”

Unable to deny it, Shinichi nodded. Normally, it might have been considered harassment, but Kana’s face lit up.

“I am cute, after all.”

“Yes, you are.”

“If Senpai also thinks I’m cute, I’m happy. Um… Senpai.”

Kana suddenly became serious. Her sincere eyes were piercing straight through Shinichi.

“When I heard Senpai had been stabbed, I was really scared. I thought I might never see Senpai again, that I might not be able to tell you something important.”

Shinichi understood that feeling well. When he heard that Maho had been kidnapped, he too feared that he might never see Maho again.

Kana must have felt the same way.

“So, I thought… I have to say what’s important, even if it’s right this moment.”

“What do you mean…?”

Kana blushed, looking up at Shinichi with embarrassment.

Then, as if making up her mind, she opened her mouth.

“Senpai, I…”