文字版 這一章的文字版——用於無障礙、螢幕閱讀器和搜尋。
A mild elderly man in a cardigan wants to return an object to the store: no receipt, no packaging, and — Kaito slowly realizes — it is not something the store has ever sold. But the man is completely certain and utterly reasonable, and Kaito cannot prove a negative. He escalates through increasingly elaborate attempts to establish where the object actually came from while Rin films and lobs unhelpful theories. In the end Kaito refunds it out of his own wallet just to make the paradox stop — and the man immediately tries to return the receipt.
第 1 頁
A complex six-panel page. Late night in the convenience store. A mild elderly man in a neat grey cardigan and round glasses walks up to the register and gently sets a ceramic garden gnome on the counter, asking to return it. Behind the counter, Kaito (name tag KAITO) stares flatly at the gnome with slow, dawning confusion. Rin (name tag RIN) glances over from her phone. OLD MAN: I'd like to return this. KAITO: We... don't sell those.
第 2 頁
A dense eight-panel page. Kaito (name tag KAITO) tries every method he can think of to work out where the ceramic garden gnome came from — scanning it with the barcode reader, checking under the counter, holding it up to the light. The mild elderly man stays serenely certain. Rin (name tag RIN) films it all, deadpan. One panel is a close-up of the gnome's placid bearded face. KAITO: When did you buy it? OLD MAN: Tuesday. RIN: Believe him.
第 3 頁
A dense multi-panel page. Kaito (name tag KAITO) taps at the register computer looking for any record of the ceramic garden gnome and finds nothing. He gestures around the store trying to explain that they never carried it. The mild elderly man calmly shakes his head, still smiling, unmoved. The gnome sits placidly on the counter. Rin (name tag RIN) watches, deadpan, behind her phone. KAITO: There's no record of it. OLD MAN: I'm quite sure.