This man, who called himself Ayami's secretary.
The same man who had once avoided his gaze, who had carried out orders without question, who had stood silently in the background like a shadow, helping Ayami as if it was his sole purpose in life.
The man stood before him, slightly trembling.
"I… I can't do this anymore," the man had said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You need to know the truth."
At first, Asahi hadn't believed him.
How could he? It sounded absurd.
But the secretary didn't stop.
Piece by piece, he laid everything out. He helped Asahi collect all the missing pieces of the puzzle and laid out the truth bare before him, in the form of undeniable evidence.
"The drugs were meant to keep you… compliant. To keep you from thinking too much," the man had confessed, hands shaking uncontrollably.
Asahi remembered the moment when he finally accepted the truth.
