Let’s not mention how dejected Fushimi Roku feels, Minamoto Tamako is actually quite excited and full of anticipation.
She has already planned her first move after reporting for duty: apologize to her superior and explain why the senior colleague who was supposed to pick her up didn’t return with her—compared to welcoming new recruits, that guy with the pompadour urgently needs to go to the hospital.
Speaking of which, the pompadour senior looks somewhat familiar, like she’s seen him somewhere before... Ah, now she remembers, he seems to be the driver who held an umbrella for Chief Kazama.
Unexpectedly running into someone she knows at her new workplace makes her even more eager to start her life as a patrol police officer.
However hard or exhausting, she’s not afraid and intends to make the most of every day!
Minamoto Tamako’s eyes sparkled, and the bunny policeman she was holding stood tall alongside her. She dragged her suitcase along, her small round-toed shoes stepping through puddles as if strutting proudly on a red carpet.
"Fushimi, why so downcast and lacking energy!" Leading the way, she turned back and urged, "Today is our first day on the job, let’s show some spirit!"
Fushimi Roku finally understood why Squidward disliked SpongeBob.
But since he’s here now, it’s a proper job at least, so he could only brace himself and stick it out for a while.
In truth, Fushimi had a hidden hope. If he could get along well with his superior, perhaps he could get a backdoor transfer to another leisurely patrol station... he had experience in bribing people, just needing to appeal to their tastes, and everything would be up for negotiation.
The two walked in single file, crossing the railroad and entering the district.
The light grew dimmer, the gaps between buildings were narrow, and the walls were covered in rough graffiti. A pungent smell of leaves permeated the air, and faint laughter could be heard, as if someone was having a party in a narrow alley.
Minamoto Tamako was oblivious, looking around as she walked, finding everything amazing, and marveled that this was Tokyo? It looked punk and fashionable!
She couldn’t let herself be underestimated in the big city, after all, she’d heard that quite a few Tokyoites looked down on people from Hokkaido, calling them hillbillies from the mountains... Minamoto recalled the disdainful attitude of that airport criminal police officer and thought he must have assumed she was just a country bumpkin easy to push around.
Seeing a punk guy with a face full of piercings passing by, Minamoto quietly warned, "Fushimi, don’t get shocked and awed, or people might say you’re unworldly."
Though she said this, once the punk guy had passed by, she herself sneaked a few more glances back at him.
They saw the punk guy, his hand in pocket, clear his throat, spit a thick glob on the ground, and casually stick a chewed piece of gum on a campaign poster, right on the face of the politician.
Wow, Tokyo people are something else, casually performing acts of art .
Minamoto was filled with awe.
The two walked straight along the street for a while until they saw the patrol police building sign at a corner. The small building was dilapidated, and the signboard was covered with what looked like scars from knife scratches. During broad daylight, there were only a few scattered passersby, walking with their heads down quickly, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
"It’s really secluded."
Minamoto sighed and began to climb the steps.
The patrol station door was tightly shut, and when she pushed on it, she found it was locked.
"Why is the station closed in the middle of the day?" She creased her small brows, "The seniors are quite lazy!"
Fushimi’s eyes lit up, criticizing, "What nonsense! The seniors must have a good reason for doing this. I think it’s quite reasonable for the station to not open during the day. This is called ruling by doing nothing, allowing the residents to be more at ease and making the community environment more harmonious... But, forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained."
Suddenly, he felt a sense of hope at the sight of another opportunity, rekindling the hope in his heart.
Speaking of which, with such poor public security, surely the patrol police too have let everything slide! Working for such little salary, why risk A life? Isn’t it better for everyone to close the door and draw a salary for doing nothing? He had seen plenty of such employed payroll-wasters in the past life, and always felt a tinge of envy for them, and now unexpectedly, this kind of fortune fell into his lap after reincarnation!
—— I’m determined to be a salary thief!
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of unlocking sounds came from behind the door, showing that someone was indeed on duty. Minamoto quickly placed the bunny policeman on her suitcase and stood at attention like a small soldier, hoping to leave a good impression on the seniors.
With a creak, the door slowly opened.
Through the crack in the door, they saw a weary face. It was none other than Kazama Tatsuya.
After not seeing him for six months, the once elite-looking Chief Kazama seemed like a different person. His beard was unkempt, hair disheveled, with eye bags so heavy they could crush mosquitoes. Fushimi and Minamoto almost didn’t recognize him at first glance.
Despite the shock, Minamoto didn’t forget to salute the superior, "Patrol Officer Minamoto Tamako, ID number TD035, reporting in!"
Kazama Tatsuya wasn’t surprised; he had received advance notice that the two were coming.
"No need to be so formal, come in." He brushed his hair back with both hands, trying to look a bit more presentable.
"Yes!" Minamoto replied loudly.
She dragged her suitcase into the front hall of the patrol station, scanning the messy interior, with piles of files and documents cluttering the reception desk, and noodle cups and energy booster bottles scattered around inside the office.
Kazama Tatsuya completed the formalities for the two, handing out uniforms, hats, belts, walkie-talkies, batons, handcuffs, and guns. After everything, he took a pen and casually tore a map stuck on a whiteboard, drawing a circle on it and said, "Tamako, you’re in charge of this area."
"Eh? So fast? Is there no preliminary training or introduction to the jurisdiction?" Minamoto was a bit nervous, worrying she wasn’t up to the task.
"As for introductions... your dorms are on the second floor, I and Watanabe live on the third floor, the station chief rents outside, nothing else is important... By the way, why didn’t Watanabe return with you?" Kazama Tatsuya asked, and before Minamoto could answer, he interrupted himself, "Never mind, it’s not important. Anyway, as you can see, there are only three officers on duty at this station, maintaining law and order itself is already a huge stretch, no time for training."
After speaking, he drew a much larger area on the map, about twice the size of Tamako’s part, "Officer Fushimi, you’re in charge of this area. If anyone complains about you, I will report to the station chief to deduct your salary."
Seeing Fushimi’s raised eyebrow, Kazama Tatsuya yawned and added, "Given we’ll be working together for quite a while from now on, let me be frank: I’m not picking on you, nor am I taking advantage of my senior status to make things difficult."
He then drew a large circle on the map, about three times the size of Fushimi’s area, "This is the area usually covered by me and Watanabe Shun, as you can see, we bear a heavy load."
After that, Kazama Tatsuya put the pen down, sat in a chair, and let out a long sigh, "Now that the official matters are done, let’s talk personal: I sincerely apologize to you here, for wrongly suspecting you and detaining you illegally. Whether or not you choose to forgive doesn’t matter, just don’t bring personal emotions into work."
Fushimi’s heart stirred slightly, he tested without showing any emotion, "Weren’t you convinced I was the real culprit? Why the sudden change?"
Kazama Tatsuya was silent for a moment, glanced at Minamoto Tamako, leaned back on his chair, and spoke softly, "Because that criminal who wrote ’Heavenly Punishment’, has killed someone else elsewhere before. I’ve investigated, and you have a solid alibi."