"That was certainly a quick response time from the police," Stelle remarked.
"Alright, enough admiring. It's getting late; we should head back," Scotland said, bidding farewell to the Kudo family.
He then turned to Eri Kisaki, courteously asking if she needed a ride home.
Eri Kisaki declined, planning to return with Yukiko and the others.
"Sister Eri, Sister Yukiko, goodbye!" Stelle waved one last time to Eri Kisaki and Yukiko Kudo before leaving the restaurant with Scotland.
On the drive back, Scotland focused intently on the road, then brought up the restaurant incident casually. "Stelle, you didn't seem particularly scared when you saw the body just now?"
Stelle's expression was calm. "What's scary about a corpse? Bugs are the terrifying things, especially the ones that multiply!"
Scotland said, "I just heard you mention you're barely over a year old, so I thought you might be uncomfortable seeing something like that."
After a pause, Scotland continued, "Stelle, there's something I've been meaning to ask you: Have you ever killed anyone?"
Scotland wasn't sure what answer he wanted. He had previously avoided dwelling on this issue, knowing that Stelle fundamentally had no choice in the path laid out for her.
However, seeing Stelle allow the murder to unfold today, he recognized her subconscious indifference toward the victim's life.
This time was acceptable; the man himself wasn't innocent, and Stelle hadn't done anything, merely observing with cold detachment.
Scotland worried that if this continued, and Stelle remained in the Organization, she would grow even more callous toward human life. After all, avoiding killing within the Organization was nearly impossible.
"No," Stelle denied, shaking her head after a moment of thought. "I've never killed any 'pure-blood humans'!"
Scotland let out a slight breath of relief, assuming the word "pure-blood" was merely an odd adjective Stelle had used.
But soon, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes as he remembered they were now members of the Organization, and their future was not theirs to choose.
"Oh, right, Scotland. Inspector Megure reminded me to give a statement. Let's go tomorrow.
Once we're done with the statement, we can go find Hiroki and discuss our plan for setting up the company!"
Stelle was looking down, fiddling with her phone, seemingly texting someone, Scotland noted with a quick glance.
"That's fine," Scotland agreed. Because of Stelle, Gin had specifically told him that there were no missions recently and that he should keep a close eye on her. This further confirmed to Scotland just how vital Stelle was to the Organization.
"But who is Hiroki?" Another new name. Was this one related to Kafka too?
Stelle replied, "Hiroki is the friend I mentioned before—the one with great computer skills I met online. His full name is Sawada Hiroki. And just so you know, he's only seven years old."
Scotland raised an eyebrow. If Stelle wasn't exaggerating, then this child named Sawada Hiroki was likely a genius.
Scotland felt a pang of worry: Was it really wise to let such a talented child get involved with the Organization?
But there was little he could do. If he had just learned about the child and the child suddenly disappeared, suspicion would easily fall on him. For now, he decided to wait and observe the situation.
Looking at Stelle's somewhat smug smile, Scotland chuckled and replied, "I didn't realize your friend was only seven, Stelle. To have such outstanding computer skills at that age—he must truly be a genius."
"No! No!" Stelle raised her index finger and shook it. "Hiroki still has a long way to go! You need to be at least like Herta to truly be called a genius."