Fushimi Roku quickly adjusted his mindset; their relationship was not in an ideal state. Even if he wanted to live off a woman, he needed to become the ’Heavy Case Group Tiger’ first, so that the Yuzi Beast would obediently hand him the subsidiary gold card to swipe...
At present, Fushimi Roku looked nonchalant, pretending not to have heard anything, and followed along directly.
Ito Mayu frowned, vaguely sensing something bad. Fushimi Roku was indeed similar to Koizumi’s scumbag boyfriend. Now, he wasn’t making a stand, rejecting, or getting closer. He was acting dumb in front of everyone, clearly stringing Minamoto Tamako along!
Phooey, puffed-up man!
She had a good impression of Minamoto Tamako, thinking she was a good-hearted policewoman, always helping people in trouble she encountered on the road, even if it made her pant heavily on the way home, which showed her responsibility... How could such a good girl be blind and fancy such a pretty boy?
It’s not like she’s bad-looking either!
Ito Mayu and the town residents started gossiping, the village’s information network quickly operated, and everyone gathered to whisper about the progress of their relationship.
"Miss Tamako’s crush might really be that puffed-up guy..."
"What? Mr. Fu Jian is actually an M guy?"
"Ah, that makes sense, no wonder he’s so good at fighting..."
"His tricks are way too skilled, he might even have killed someone..."
"Tch, I bet he’s killed at least three people!"
"...I think at least ten as a base..."
"Twenty... his look screams murderer..."
"How about a hundred at least, right?"
Meanwhile, Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako met up with Taira Sakurako one after another.
Minamoto Tamako was still embarrassed, Sakurako had run away from home only to be caught, right at the gunpoint, as she pouted and criticized Sakurako for disappearing without permission, not answering the phone, and not leaving a note...
Before she finished speaking, Minamoto Tamako felt her tone was a bit harsh.
The current atmosphere was not suitable for educating children, moreover, her mood hadn’t calmed down, she might vent her anger on others, so she switched her words:
"It’s all Mr. Fu Jian’s fault for not setting a good example!"
Fushimi Roku felt inexplicable, what did a brat running away have to do with him?
He only heard Minamoto Tamako start muttering, once saying it was all because Mr. Fu Jian suddenly disappeared, setting a bad example for Taira Sakurako; then saying it was all Mr. Fu Jian’s fault for not educating his sister, not instilling the right sense of security in Sakurako... in the end, it was all Fushimi Roku’s fault!
Minus five points again!
Minamoto Tamako took out the White Notebook and noted "Mr. Fu Jian neglects his sister," feeling slightly better, and the tension from shouting at the cliff’s edge gradually wore off.
Fortunately, she was quick-witted and changed her tone in time, narrowly avoiding a major mishap!
Hmm, hopefully, no one noticed.
Minamoto Tamako silently gave herself a thumbs up in her heart and then urged Mr. Fu Jian to go down the mountain quickly to investigate the bonfire charred corpse case.
Fushimi Roku had his own considerations, to shake off this tagalong, he pushed Sakurako to the front as a shield: "Sakurako finally found her biological mother, are you going to drive her away now?"
Previously, Taira Sakurako also used him as a shield, so now it was even.
Upon hearing this, Minamoto Tamako was stunned for a moment, feeling that his words made sense, she indeed hadn’t considered Sakurako’s feelings—she had traveled all the way to Shizuoka Prefecture to find her family, only to learn of her mother’s death, at the very least, she should be allowed to mourn, right?
She wanted to observe Taira Sakurako’s expression, but unfortunately, the latter was wearing a mask, and nothing could be seen, she might be already very sad inside... Thinking of this, Minamoto Tamako carefully comforted her a few words, and then turned to point toward the stone pillar by the lighthouse.
"That is... Koizumi Mizuki’s grave."
Her voice was very light, as if worried about disturbing the one long at rest.
Taira Sakurako responded with an "Hmm," muffled through the mask.
The town residents parted in tacit understanding, leaving a path. As the sun rose over the sea, its golden light carpet fell on the stone pillar, and she walked forward, stepping on shadows, as sunlight gradually spread down from above her head.
The stone pillar was level with her waist, with wild grass swaying in the wind.
Taira Sakurako remained silent for a long time; she put down the cardboard box and sat down by the stone pillar.
The crowd felt it was inappropriate to disturb her, so they nudged and left. They gathered in the forest shrubbery and watched Taira Sakurako’s back from afar. Minamoto Tamako mingled among them and saw Taira Sakurako open the box and take out a scraper and a small trowel, which should be the tools she usually used to make Noh Masks.
Taira Sakurako leaned forward, like the world’s most focused craftsman, scraping off the moss on the tombstone, cleaning the dirt from above, chiseling the shaded engravings bit by bit, bringing those mottled, unreadable words back to light.
Minamoto Tamako was visibly moved, wanting to go up and help, but feared disturbing Sakurako, so she could only hide behind a tree and peek.
Just then, Fushimi Roku suddenly spoiled the mood, saying he was going down the mountain to investigate the crime scene.
Minamoto Tamako thought that he could’ve gone earlier or later, but he chose this moment, having no sense at all, making her want to deduct points again!
Of course, she wanted to clarify the bonfire charred corpse case, but she was also afraid Sakurako would disappear again and she needed to keep an eye on Sakurako, lest she run around, leaving her unable to do both, so she had to let Fushimi Roku go ahead—this guy was truly a mood spoiler, her eyes were almost tearing up, yet Mr. Fu Jian was acting indifferent.
When Mr. Fu Jian found out the truth of the case, she would directly check the case files herself, so as not to always have to ask the stupid assistant.
Yes, that’s right, that’s how it should be!
Having made her mind, Minamoto Tamako impatiently waved her hand, with an expression of ’off you go, little deer.’
Fushimi Roku pretended to remain carefree and walked away slowly. After four or five minutes, he glanced back, confirmed he was out of Minamoto Tamako’s sight, and immediately sprinted off.
It was 5 a.m., tourists weren’t awake yet, town residents were gathered at the cliff, and Hot Spring Street was quiet. Fushimi Roku sprinted into the village and stopped at the bonfire site.
The charred remains lay quietly amid the charcoal, surrounded by a heap of black ash, the scene was yet to be cleared, appearing particularly messy.
Fushimi Roku put on his gloves and took a deep breath.
Standing in front of the charred corpse, taking advantage of the dawn yet to brighten this street, he slowly closed his eyes, and reality receded like a tide.
He reconstructed the scene in his mind, the ground solidified into inky marble, the "Judicial Court" rose from the ground, and the stone pillars were inscribed with all the unsolved historical cases of humanity: Jack the Ripper’s knife, the blood dress from the Black Dahlia case, the eerie frames of Lan Ke’er’s elevator footage...
This time, he was not the judge but a defense attorney.
Minamoto Tamako, wearing a judge’s black robe, looked solemn, her right hand gripping a gavel, sitting above him and looking down on him.
"Court is in session!"