The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

Next part is the last part

His father stayed silent expressionlessly for a while, and then said, “It doesn’t seem like he’s here today,” as though it was somebody else’s problem. He also said that he was “sure that he was around here, so he’ll probably turn up unexpectedly before long.”

“He’s a big fat liar…! He worked so much that he went nuts. Because of that, I thought if I had the stone, it could replace Milk! Because Milk is gone, Mom’s in the hospital! If things stay like this, she might get worse! That’s why! I have to protect everyone!”

With tears running down his white cheeks, Hajime-kun, as though he did something shameful, quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand and sniffled his small nose. I gave him a tissue box. He then quickly blew his nose and gave the used tissue back to me. He was a prince-like child; Prideful, deeply compassionate, and carried many things on his shoulders.

I didn’t think this child really wanted a gemstone. He also probably didn’t really believe from the bottom of his heart that a gemstone had the incredible power to protect his newborn baby brother.

I suspected that he just came here as a dig at his father for taking Milk away, and as a declaration of his determination to “work hard because I can’t trust you.”

I did understand those kinds of feelings a little. My mother Hiromi was divorced once. The reason was because of the domestic violence she received from my biological father. He was a hitting man. I had never once thought of him as “Dad.” I had never thought that, let alone when I was in elementary school. Distrust of one’s parents took root in even the smallest of children. Of course, I didn’t think Hajime-kun’s father, who bought this gemstone for him, was such a bad person.

The closer your relationship should be, the more indifference and hatred weighed on you. That was how it was.

Richard quietly stared at Hajime-kun for a while. Hajime-kun, without any timidity, bravely looked at the jeweler right in his eyes.

“Please. Please give me a good stone that is about the same as mine. I’m giving that stone to my brother. I’m not going to rely on my dad. I’m buying the stone for my brother. If I’m hungry, I’ll go to a restaurant, and if I need medicine, I’ll go to a pharmacy. If I need a gemstone, I’ll go to a jewelry store, so is it that weird when I ask for a stone? Is it no good?”

Richard shook his head. When Hajime-kun’s expression slackened, he lightly picked up the large cat’s eye from the table and placed it on his palm. The big stone Hajime-kun brought with him.

“I am asking one more time, are you seeking a chrysoberyl cat’s eye that is the same as this one?”

“Yes, I am. Is that difficult?”

Hajime-kun stared into Richard’s blue eyes with an expression that was serious to the utmost limit.

I didn’t think it was something he couldn’t procure. If there was a request, Richard would gather most stones. A customer, who once laughed as they said they wanted a star ruby, but thought it was impossible, gawked at the first-rate grains that were presented before their eyes two weeks later. He shouldn’t have meant that chrysoberyl cat’s eyes were the only things he couldn’t get.

But, that probably wasn’t what was being talked about now.

There were two options that came to mind. The course where he sent Hajime-kun away with “I understand, but I don’t have the stones today, so please come again.” I didn’t think he would come to the store a second time. Like that, this matter would come to its natural end. The other course was to admonish him with “Chrysoberyl cat’s eyes do not have such an immense protective power, so it is better for you to give up.” The mature, adult-like course. However, that was an act that would bluntly deal with the precious thing he believed in.

Would this store owner deal with a “customer” in that way?

After thinking for a while, Richard smiled gently.

“If what you are saying is that you need a stone that will protect your family adequately, I believe you have already obtained the perfect answer. Isn’t that stone alone enough?”

“Come on! How many times do you want me to say the same thing! This is mine, and my brother needs his own!”

“Hajime-sama, did your father truly tell you that stone is ‘only yours’?”

“…He said it will one day be mine.”

“Do you want to keep the protection the stone gives you all for yourself, and not share it with your brother?”

“That’s not true! But…”

Richard quietly waited for Hajime-kun’s words. At times like these, if it were me, I was afraid that I would have wanted to press him for an answer. Perhaps being good at knowing when to push or pull was not really limited to dealing with other adults.

Hajime-kun spoke with a stifled voice.

“…But, if it’s a stone that can truly protect people…even if Milk was gone, Mom would definitely not be in the hospital…I can’t a hundred percent trust a stone Dad bought. If I really need a stone to protect my family, then I have to find it!”

This was deep-rooted. I didn’t think it was something an outsider could resolve by saying this and that. Before I turned my eyes to him to ask him what we were going to do, the store owner began to talk again.

“Believing in something is very difficult. Human beings cannot know what anyone other than themselves are thinking, and it is also difficult to check the truth. However, there is only one thing that can be said to be certain. Hajime-sama, your father, without a doubt, treasures you from the bottom of his heart.”

“How do you know that! No way, if he really treasured me, he wouldn’t have lied to me and taken Milk away!”

“No matter how much of a wise man or philosopher one may be, it will always be difficult to convey a love that is like a constant wave. There may be various circumstances, and there may be many things that I do not understand. However, just as how you want to protect your precious family, I truly believe your family also wants to protect you. In all times and places, there is no one who would give protective charms to someone they do not care about.”

Richard’s voice sounded out like a gentle admonishment.

The store owner was not saying that a stone was just a stone.

However, he was also not stating definitively that stones held mysterious powers.

What he was merely reiterating was that stones captured people’s feelings. Humans were creatures who raised themselves in the direction they truly wished for, so stones helped with that. It seemed that the direction Hajime-kun was aiming for was already visible, at least to Richard. His small dark eyes were teary.

“…Saying things like that…You didn’t listen to what I was saying at all…With stuff like that, treasuring someone doesn’t mean anything at all…!”

Richard returned the stone back to its original place, and stretched out his hand to tousle the small head. This time, Hajime-kun seemed unable to hold his tears back as it dripped onto his lap.

I stood up, and then when I crouched down next to Hajime-kun, Richard glared at me briefly. It was as if he was saying “Are you thinking of meddling once again?” Yes, what about it?

“Hey, Hajime-kun, I have a suggestion, so will you hear me out for a little bit?”

“…What is it?”

“Let’s try talking to your dad one more time. You’re sure that he put Milk in a cage and took him away, so try talking to him. From what you’ve said just now, you still haven’t told your father that ‘I was a witness at the scene,’ right? Start talking to him from there. If you bargain by laying out everything on the table, most adults would understand. I can accompany you as a bodyguard.”

“Seigi.”

“I know how you feel. Tell it all to your dad. It’s better for you to tell him how much you’re suffering than to go out silently by yourself, Hajime-kun.”

“Seigi. Another cup of tea.”

“Don’t butt in! I’m trying to say something pretty good.”

“Big brother…you’re ruining it because you said something weird…”

“Oh, you were smiling just now, weren’t you? Big brother is happy when you’re smiling. No need to worry about me, being a university student means that I have a lot of time to spare.”

“We can’t meet if he’s already dead, right?! Big brother, you dummy! Milk isn’t that young! Maybe Dad took him away because he was about to die! Maybe he didn’t want to make Mom worry!”

Oh.

To think that…

…Those circumstances existed. I didn’t know.

What should I do?

The worst thing I could do was to throw the baton at Richard here and escape. Even if Milk was dead, that was completely separate from this. Wasn’t the dad trying to keep Hajime-kun from feeling sad? Perhaps he was already preparing a replacement cat. A new kitten that would come with his brother. No, that was also the worst. There shouldn’t be a “replacement” for such an irreplaceable and precious family member. Why was I letting my imagination run wild in such an awful direction in the first place? That’s right, I should just comfort Hajime-kun.

“That…that still hasn’t been decided yet! If there’s anything I can lend a hand with, I’ll help. If there’s something I can do, I’ll do anything! Okay, Hajime-kun?”

“A tissue, please. My nose is running.”

“Yes, at once.”

Like a footman who served the young master of a noble family, I put my knee on the floor and reverently presented the tissue box. When Hajime-kun was blowing his nose, the intercom rang. A customer?

“Seigi.”

With a cool face, the store owner pointed to the store’s entrance. He could have gone there himself. Even so, it was unusual for multiple customers to come at the same time. Even though there was no prior appointment.

I peered into the screen that showed the outside and knitted my brows. It was a man and woman who were acting strange. They were clinging to the door as though saying “hurry up and let us in.” Was this going to be okay?

I tried responding to them through the intercom.

“Yes, this is ‘Jewelry Étranger.’”

“Pardon us! We heard our Hajime visited here!”

It was the woman’s voice. Hajime-kun, who was hanging his head, looked up. I was also startled.

Richard calmly stood up from his sofa, unlocked the electric lock, and opened the door. Between the two who tumbled in, the woman’s stomach bulged out. Clearly, no matter how you looked at it, she was pregnant.

“Hajime! What are you doing here!”

“Mom, Dad…!”

Hajime-kun, who was embraced by his mother on the sofa, stiffened while still holding his tissue. The man in the suit, who politely closed the door, slowly approached them, and looked down at the two of them as he stood. His face was pale. He was probably worried. The mother looked to be in her mid-thirties, and the father looked close to forty. The pregnant lady had thrown on a hoodie over a one-piece dress that looked like pajamas. Wasn’t she in the hospital?

Hajime-kun stared in amazement at this unexpected happening.

“How…? Aren’t you at work?”

“I left early. I was surprised when I received the call from Richard-san. How did you know where this store was?”

“…The business card…”

“That should have been in the safe.”

The dad had a low voice. Hajime-kun hung his head with a start, and the jeweler stepped in.

“It has been some time since we last met, Yasaka-sama.”

“Richard-san, my apologies. I doubted my ears when I received that call.”

“I also doubted my eyes…”

I made a dubious face, and Richard lightly shrugged.

“This chrysoberyl cat’s eye was purchased by Yasaka-sama, so I was wondering if I wasn’t mistaken.”

Richard gave a polite bow. Was his long phone call back then to this Yasaka couple? Was this something that could be remembered with just a stone? Not even a ring or a pendant, just a loose stone.

After nodding and saying “Oh, I see,” Hajime-kun’s father knelt on the floor and met his son’s gaze.

“Hajime, there are a lot of things I want to ask you.”

“Isn’t it fine now, dear? Your face looks scary.”

“…Mom, what about your sickness? Didn’t you go to the hospital because you felt ill…?”

When his mother hugged him tightly, Hajime-kun’s tears began to flow again. I wanted to encourage his parents to ask just how he, who was earnestly apologizing, was prepared to come to this store. Valuables being taken from where they belonged wasn’t something to be praised, but I hoped they wouldn’t scold him too much. In fact, I could tell that to them.

That was what I was thinking, but judging from the present situation, were the main points already conveyed when Richard called them?

Hajime-kun repeatedly told his mother sorry as he cried.

“I thought I had to do something when Milk was gone…”

“Eh? Hajime, what do you mean?”

“Because! Our guardian deity is gone…!”

Even crying, Hajime-kun worked quite hard to speak. About how he became anxious because Milk was gone right after the stone that was Milk’s “replacement” came to his house. About how his dad deceived him even though he witnessed him taking Milk away. About how he thought he must protect his family.

Mr. Yasaka listened until the end with a still face.

Mrs. Yasaka, who was affected by Hajime and moved to tears, looked fixedly at her husband. Though it was a look that smacked of criticism quite a lot, Mr. Yasaka evaded it. Then, he stroked his son’s head and called his name.

“Right now, Milk cannot be left in the house. It will be difficult if he is there. That’s why I had the secretary at Dad’s architectural office look after him for a little while. He’s doing fine.”

“Liar! ‘It will be difficult if Milk is at home’?! It’s difficult when he’s not there!”

“It is because stray cats are not good for pregnant women.”

I knit my brows together at Richard’s back-up. Mr. Yasaka also nodded. Wait, I didn’t know that, but was that common knowledge? When I mouthed “explain” at him, the jeweler spoke slowly. It was probably so that Hajime-kun would also understand.

“Do you know about a parasite called toxoplasma? It is a protozoan that lives in stray cats, and when pregnant women touch it, it becomes the source of illness. I have heard that the riskiness of getting sick is very low, but someone might have judged that a half-stray cat like Milk should not be near your mother right now.”

“…Is that true…?”

“Yes. When Mom had her antibody test, the doctor at the hospital told us it would be safer to be separated from the cat for a while, just in case.”

Mr. Yasaka said without changing his expression too much. Behind an open-mouthed Hajime-kun, I was also stunned. If he had just explained that, Hajime-kun probably would have understood immediately. Why didn’t he tell him?

Hajime-kun seemed to have thought the same thing as me, as he pressed his dad with “Why?” Mr. Yasaka murmured with a mournful expression on his face.

“I was planning on returning him home soon in any case. I thought that if I explained, you might get worried and want to go see him. However, I didn’t have the time to take you.”

Hajime-kun looked like he still didn’t believe his dad. Once the roots of distrust grew all the way up to this point, it would be very difficult to dispel them.

With a strict face, Mr. Yasaka looked intently at Hajime-kun, who was glaring at him.

“Hajime, first of all, let me apologize. I’m sorry. Your dad didn’t notice very well that you became worried. It is truly my fault.”

“…It’s not your fault you’re busy, so you don’t have to apologize, Dad.”

“Hajime is always like this. You get worried when I’m busy, and you say ‘thank you for your hard work.’ You really are a good child. That’s why it’s even more painful for me that I didn’t realize you were lonely. I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for lying to you about Milk. I didn’t want you to feel sad. But, I made you feel even more sad.”

Mr. Yasaka didn’t seem to be skilled at the art of conversation like Richard. He merely put words together artlessly. I had a lot of guy friends like that. Not everyone could convey their feelings the way they wanted. However, it was unfair to try to get a kid to understand that much.

Mr. Yasaka’s gaze suddenly moved to the gemstone on the table. He picked it up and showed it to Hajime-kun.

“To think that you could open the dial lock…you’re amazing, Hajime. Were you surprised when you tried your birthday and it opened?”

Hajime-kun, looking like he was about to cry again, nodded vigorously. With a stifled voice, he said sorry and hung his head. It was fine now. Please forgive each other quickly. This kind of thing was bad for my heart. I was begging them. Mrs. Yasaka was also anxious. This also seemed bad for a pregnant woman’s stomach.

Mr. Yasaka spoke slowly until the very end.

“I believed this stone would have made you happy, so I discussed it with Kanako-san and bought it. That was all. I shouldn’t have said it was a ‘replacement.’ Of course, your dad is also working hard now, but I thought that when it seems that Milk, me, or your mom aren’t with you, it would become your strength. Just like the illness found in Milk, nobody knows what could happen when and where. But, if this stone brings you pain because of me, then shall I return it to Richard-san?”

“The stone…isn’t bad. There’s nothing bad about the stone…when Mom comes home, will I see Milk again?”

“Yes, you will.”

“…Thank goodness…”

It was the first time I was hearing it. Such a child-like sound from Hajime-kun.

As though relieved from the bottom of his heart, Hajime-kun threw his arms around his mom. Then, seeming to have remembered mine and Richard’s existence about ten seconds later, he hurriedly fixed his seated posture. I pretended I wasn’t watching, and Richard also turned away.

“By the way,” Mr. Yasaka murmured as though he just remembered something. “Did you ask Richard-san about this stone?”

Hajime widened his eyes and turned to the jeweler, who was behind him. Richard was watching the moving reunion of the family of three that was unfolding before his eyes from a moderate distance, while drinking iced royal milk tea.

He placed his glass on the table and then turned to Hajime-kun again.

“Chrysoberyl cat’s eyes, as you can see, come in many different colors, but there are preparations in particular for stones that are considered to be high-quality. The center line being beautiful and distinctly white. The color of the stone from the earth being gold like honey. We always call specimens like that ‘honey and milk.’ Do you get the meaning?”

“Honey, and milk…”

Hajime-kun widened his large eyes. Mrs. Yasaka laughed.

“Honey milk is your favorite, right?”

The small head nodded repeatedly. Yes, this stone certainly was perfect for the Yasaka family.