The backs of Paris's elegant buildings might be made hideous by outdoor air conditioning units, though | | | Shin Novel No.030
In Paris, the theft of air conditioners is on the rise.
At first, I didn't really feel it.
"Paris temperatures might exceed 50 degrees Celsius."
Talk like that is being broadcast as normal news.
Until a little while ago, that was a temperature that should have only appeared in science fiction.
In the first place, this is a city where the maximum temperature almost never exceeded 25 degrees.
They are scrambling to open public institutions equipped with air conditioning.
That includes art museums, and it seems their free admission is being welcomed by tourists.
When it gets hot, demand increases.
When demand increases, theft increases.
I thought that was all there was to it.
The nature of the damage was simple.
People posing as installation contractors enter the building, remove only the outdoor unit, and take it away.
The buildings in this city were not originally built to have air conditioning installed.
It is difficult to drill holes in stone walls.
There is also the issue of the landscape.
They cannot be installed on the street side.
Therefore, outdoor units are usually installed facing the courtyard.
As if to shove them into a place where they cannot be seen.
That's just how it is.
"It's just theft."
My boss said that.
He didn't even look up while flipping through documents.
"It's the same modus operandi, and it's probably for resale. Look at this heat. There are plenty of people who will buy them."
He wasn't wrong.
So I didn't say anything more.
I have a certain amount of confidence in my appearance.
Some of my colleagues always say the same thing when the heat gets intense.
When the temperature rises, women's clothes get thinner.
It's not bad, that kind of talk.
When they call my name,
sometimes they change the tone of their voice just a little.
It might be because of the name Eve.
Eve is already past wearing thin clothes, she's naked in the Garden of Eden, after all.
Whatever the reason, attracting attention itself is nothing special to me.
So, I don't think about it much.
It was the third case where I felt something was off.
They were all similar buildings with similar courtyards.
A closed space surrounded by stone.
Outdoor units are lined up there.
No, perhaps I should say they were lined up.
Even though they should have been stolen,
only some were left behind.
The way they were left looked strangely orderly.
At the fourth scene, I stopped in my tracks.
Along the courtyard wall, outdoor units were installed at equal intervals.
Even though old and new ones were mixed, their heights were aligned.
If someone told me it was a coincidence, that would be the end of it.
However, such coincidences kept happening.
"You're overthinking it."
My boss said.
"The arrangement is just a matter of convenience for the contractors. Besides, it's a fact that they are being stolen."
A fact, indeed.
The outdoor units are gone.
Damage has occurred.
There is a culprit.
That is enough.
At the fifth scene, I squatted down in front of one outdoor unit.
It didn't look like it had been removed.
Rather, it looked like it had been placed there.
There was a small engraving on the side.
It was a number.
At first, I thought it was a serial number.
However, I felt like I had seen that number somewhere before.
Within the same row,
it seemed to be engraved only on those in the same position.
That's what I felt.
I didn't report it.
It wouldn't be evidence, and I couldn't explain it.
The wind doesn't blow through the courtyard.
Surrounded by stone walls, only the heat remains there.
The courtyard, which might have been beautiful once, is now completely dried out.
It's not a place to stay for long.
Maybe that's why no one cares.
They weren't removed,
weren't they placed there?
That thought wouldn't leave my head.
Not stealing, but placing.
Even though they should be decreasing,
for some reason, they looked like they were becoming more orderly.
I took a picture of the engraving on the outdoor unit with my smartphone.
Then I left the scene.
In the photo, they looked more clearly orderly than in reality.
👉️Shin Novel Magazine
nvn