Mano was interested to hear Nakatsura's answer. She wanted to know why Nakatsura suspected his own friend.
"Just like Tsukamoto, this friend of mine is not the same as the friend I used to know. I suspect he is a different person." Nakatsura said.
"Please explain." Uda asked for a detailed explanation.
"I'm actually not that close to Nakaki," said Nakatsura.
"Nakaki?" Mano asked.
"We used to call him Nakaki," said Nakatsura. "Besides working in the same place, I have also lived in the same house as him. But I rarely spoke to him. There were ten of us at that time. Three people rarely socialized. Nakaki was one of them. When I pretended we were close friends, he didn't deny it at all. Isn't this really weird?"
"Maybe he just wanted to be polite," said Mano. "If there are people who think of us as friends, of course, other people will see us as rude people if we openly say that person is not our friend."
"You're right," said Nakatsura. "But even if he doesn't argue with words, we should be able to see from his expression."
"When we meet people we haven't seen in a long time, we may get carried away. Several times I met people who used to be my enemies. But because it's been so long, the joy of seeing those people again makes me forget I didn't like them before. There's even an inexplicable feeling of 'closeness,'" said Uda.
"Yeah, maybe yesterday he had that feeling when he saw me. But that's not the only thing that makes me suspicious."
"What else is there?" Mano asked.
"Because I wasn't close to him at all, so I almost never go to or come home from work with him. So we don't have any memorable things at all. So it would be strange if he could remember about the old man Tebashi Norio, the owner of the tea shop, who always grumbled when there were visitors who bought nothing at his shop, which was at a crossroads near the house we rented," said Nakatsura.
"Maybe he often visited the shop without your knowledge," said Mano.
"What shop did he frequent to visit?" Nakatsura asked.
"The tea shop at the crossroads near your house," said Mano.
"There was no tea shop at the crossroads near our house. In fact, it was our house that was at the crossroads. It's almost impossible for him to forget such a basic thing."
"Maybe he's a little confused by what you said yesterday. Not infrequently, we meet people who were wrong in remembering something. People could be confused in remembering two places that were close together."
"As I told you, there were no shops selling tea near our house. The shops around the house were drugstores and children's toy shops," said Nakatsura. He looked absolutely sure.
"Perhaps his mind was focused on the old man who owns the shop. So the details regarding the location of the shop, he's kind of forgotten." Mano is still trying to argue with Nakatsura.
"That's clearly unreasonable. The old man, Tebashi Norio, was not a shop owner at all. He was a retired post office employee. Mr. Tebashi was amiable. He often gave us food if he happened to be in front of his house when we passed. His house was right next to ours."
Mano was interested to hear Nakatsura's answer. She wanted to know why Nakatsura suspected his own friend.
"Just like Tsukamoto, this friend of mine is not the same as the friend I used to know. I suspect he is a different person." Nakatsura said.
"Please explain." Uda asked for a detailed explanation.
"I'm actually not that close to Nakaki," said Nakatsura.
"Nakaki?" Mano asked.
"We used to call him Nakaki," said Nakatsura. "Besides working in the same place, I have also lived in the same house as him. But I rarely spoke to him. There were ten of us at that time. Three people rarely socialized. Nakaki was one of them. When I pretended we were close friends, he didn't deny it at all. Isn't this really weird?"
"Maybe he just wanted to be polite," said Mano. "If there are people who think of us as friends, of course, other people will see us as rude people if we openly say that person is not our friend."
"You're right," said Nakatsura. "But even if he doesn't argue with words, we should be able to see from his expression."
"When we meet people we haven't seen in a long time, we may get carried away. Several times I met people who used to be my enemies. But because it's been so long, the joy of seeing those people again makes me forget I didn't like them before. There's even an inexplicable feeling of 'closeness,'" said Uda.
"Yeah, maybe yesterday he had that feeling when he saw me. But that's not the only thing that makes me suspicious."
"What else is there?" Mano asked.
"Because I wasn't close to him at all, so I almost never go to or come home from work with him. So we don't have any memorable things at all. So it would be strange if he could remember about the old man Tebashi Norio, the owner of the tea shop, who always grumbled when there were visitors who bought nothing at his shop, which was at a crossroads near the house we rented," said Nakatsura.
"Maybe he often visited the shop without your knowledge," said Mano.
"What shop did he frequent to visit?" Nakatsura asked.
"The tea shop at the crossroads near your house," said Mano.
"There was no tea shop at the crossroads near our house. In fact, it was our house that was at the crossroads. It's almost impossible for him to forget such a basic thing."
"Maybe he's a little confused by what you said yesterday. Not infrequently, we meet people who were wrong in remembering something. People could be confused in remembering two places that were close together."
"As I told you, there were no shops selling tea near our house. The shops around the house were drugstores and children's toy shops," said Nakatsura. He looked absolutely sure.
"Perhaps his mind was focused on the old man who owns the shop. So the details regarding the location of the shop, he's kind of forgotten." Mano is still trying to argue with Nakatsura.
"That's clearly unreasonable. The old man, Tebashi Norio, was not a shop owner at all. He was a retired post office employee. Mr. Tebashi was amiable. He often gave us food if he happened to be in front of his house when we passed. His house was right next to ours."
