Chapter 7

A few months later—

Just before he was about to leave work, Matsuda Jinpei received a call from his childhood friend.

"Jinpei, don't forget our date tonight!"

Matsuda Jinpei replied casually, "I won't forget. But you, don't forget to bring your thank-you gift."

"I brought it with me. I'll wait for you in the parking lot."

Two days ago, Kanakawa Shinryu, who had captured a bomber a few months ago and thus saved an entire bomb disposal team, suddenly contacted Hagiwara Kenji, saying he wanted to ask about becoming a police officer.

Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji both thought that this Samikawa Shinryu was just being polite and would just stay in their contact list forever, but they never expected him to actually send an email to inquire.

Both of them were somewhat shocked by the fact that Shinryu Hakawa seemed to be very serious about wanting to become a policeman.

They didn't know what they were so shocked about. The man hadn't even become a police officer yet, but he had already done a heroic deed, doing better than many active-duty police officers. However, recalling their impression of Han Chuan Shenliu, they felt a subtle sense of awkwardness when trying to dress him up in a police uniform.

Because many things couldn't be clearly explained via email, and to formally thank the other party for their previous help, Kenji Hagiwara decided to try inviting them out for dinner, and Shinryu Hatsukawa agreed.

As for why Kenji Hagiwara couldn't talk to Jinpei Matsuda directly, but could only do it by phone...

Because Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda's job duties were separated, meaning he was forbidden from defusing bombs and had to work with the newcomers step by step.

The reason, of course, was that he had taken off his bomb suit at the scene, which greatly angered the person in charge of the explosives disposal unit who had been optimistic about him and Matsuda Jinpei even before they graduated and had recruited them both. This incident made Hagiwara Kenji reflect on his actions.

This senior felt extremely guilty.

Normally, new recruits who have only graduated from police academy a month ago shouldn't be put into action so quickly. However, because he observed the performance of Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda during their time at the police academy and felt that their abilities were not a problem, he skipped some steps and directly assigned them to high-difficulty and high-risk tasks.

If it weren't for Kanakawa Shinryu stopping the bomber in time, Hagiwara Kenji would have died just one month after graduation. How could he not feel guilty?

Normally, if Kenji Hagiwara had just written a self-criticism, the matter might have been over. The problem was that the person in charge overheard Jinpei Matsuda talking to Kenji Hagiwara.

Faced with his childhood friend's lingering fear and complaints, Kenji Hagiwara, who usually has high emotional intelligence, accidentally said the wrong thing.

"Even if I were wearing a bomb suit, I'd still be dead at that distance..."

Head of Explosives Handling Team: "…………"

Almost died a horrible death and now they're making excuses?! That's incredibly rude!

So the person in charge, who was initially just feeling guilty and scared, suddenly became furious.

The person in charge also recalled the evaluation of Kenji Hagiwara from his police academy instructor, Onizuka, who said things like he didn't follow the rules much. So, he summed up all the grievances and sent Kenji Hagiwara to remedial classes.

It was only because Matsuda Jinpei performed well and didn't let the person in charge find any mistakes that he escaped a disaster, but he was still being closely watched.

After leaving get off work properly, Matsuda Jinpei found Hagiwara Kenji's car in the parking lot. On the way to their destination, they chatted and the topic came up.

"It's been several months already, are you still not allowed to continue defusing bombs?"

Kenji Hagiwara sighed, "New recruits should go through this process, but the situation is a bit complicated. It's probably because you agreed right away, while I agreed after some time. He seems to think I'm not suitable for the Mobile Squad and has talked to me several times..."

Matsuda Jinpei rested his chin on his hand, looking out the window at the scenery: "You joined the Explosives Handling Unit mainly because of me, right? Actually, you might be better off in the Criminal Investigation Department, since you're both in the Metropolitan Police Department anyway."

Kenji Hagiwara's keen observation skills and his charming social abilities seem more effective in the Criminal Investigation Department for finding clues and extracting information from relevant personnel.

Back when we were at the police academy, someone had hidden a bullet, and it was Kenji Hagiwara who found it.

"Do you want me to go to the Criminal Investigation Department?" Kenji Hagiwara keenly sensed the unspoken meaning in Jinpei Matsuda's words.

"The decision is still yours. I just feel that you don't need to stay because of me."

Even if Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji are close, they don't necessarily have to be tied together. Given Hagiwara Kenji's near-death experience and the subsequent ups and downs, Matsuda Jinpei now has some psychological trauma regarding Hagiwara Kenji continuing to defuse bombs.

Kenji Hagiwara was silent for a few seconds: "...Actually, my senior gave me another option as a buffer."

Matsuda Jinpei turned his head: "What?"

Kenji Hagiwara said with a strange expression, "My senior said that if I went back to the police academy as an assistant instructor, I might be able to see my own heart more clearly."

Matsuda Jinpei: "…………"

After a few seconds of silence in the car, Matsuda Jinpei suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! What's this? It's hilarious! Isn't this just a subtle way of telling you to reread it? You've only been out for a short time and you're already being rejected. What are you going to say about your instructors?!"

Kenji Hagiwara chuckled helplessly, "Stop laughing, I'm really troubled—ah, I see Kankawa-kun."

Matsuda Jinpei looked up and saw a figure wearing a black coat and a red scarf at the station not far away.

Strangely enough, despite the large number of people waiting at the station, a peculiar hollow circle formed only near the Hanchuan Fukami River.

Hanchuan Shenliu himself didn't seem to care, standing there casually looking at his phone, but this leisurely attitude made his behavior seem even more abnormal.

Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda both watched in silence for a while.

"...Kanchuan-kun, you really are the same as always."

"……yes."

His unconventional ways, as always, make him seem rather out of place in Japanese society.

Because it wasn't convenient to park there for too long, Matsuda Jinpei rolled down his window and called out to the other person, "Kankawa-kun! Over here!"

Hanchuan Shenliu turned his head, and his dark red eyes swept over calmly, making Matsuda Jinpei inexplicably think of flowing blood, causing him a slight discomfort.

Soon, Hanchuan Shenliu got into the car and sat in the back seat.

"Good evening."

"Good evening, Hanchuan-kun. It's nice to see you again."

When Kenji Hagiwara greeted him, he subconsciously glanced at the back row through the rearview mirror and had a strange feeling that he was escorting a prisoner.

He wasn't driving a police car!

To break the awkward feeling, Kenji Hagiwara lightly changed the subject: "Then let's do as I said before, go to a nice family restaurant, there's also an izakaya nearby, and if we have time after dinner, we can grab a drink... By the way, can you drink? I'm worried the bartender won't let you in."

Although Hanchuan Shenliu's demeanor is indeed very mature, if you remove the filter of the strange atmosphere, he actually has a very young and delicate face, making it difficult to judge whether he is over 20 years old and of legal drinking age.

Japan doesn't have ID cards or anything like that; identity is usually determined by driver's licenses, student IDs, and the like.

However, Kenji Hagiwara is just joking when he says this now, since it's not uncommon to see people with a youthful face; he only knows one.

"I brought my driver's license."

"That's good."

While driving, Kenji Hagiwara asked, "Speaking of which, where are you planning to apply, Hanukawa-kun?"

"...It used to be the Police Academy of the National Police Agency."

Han Chuan Shenliu frowned, his already cold face becoming even more imposing: "You scored very high on the written test, but failed the interview. I asked other people, and my answers were all normal."

Hagihara Kenji: "..."

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

When they heard that Hanchuan Shenliu had failed his interview, they actually felt a sense of unease.

After all, this person's demeanor really doesn't seem like that of a good person! He seems more like an undercover agent from some organization!

More open-minded interviewers might not judge a book by its cover, but many trust their intuition more. It's good enough if they don't immediately call someone to check if Shinryu Hanchuan is an undiscovered criminal…

Kenji Hagiwara managed to find some comforting words: "Well, the police academy at the National Police Agency, after all, is a professional program, so the difficulty is indeed very high..."

Out of their ears, the system grumbled: "Why didn't you just turn off the 'behind-the-scenes halo' and pass the interview? I went through all that trouble to fabricate your test materials, and you never even wanted to pass, did you?"

Ignoring the system's complaints, Usui Yasaki responded to Hagiwara Kenji: "So I wanted to improve myself, and I just remembered that I have your contact information, so I wanted to ask if you have any experience."

Kenji Hagiwara thought for a moment and then said, "Do you want to become a police officer in Tokyo? If so, I'm not very familiar with the police academy of the National Police Agency. Would you consider taking the entrance exam for the Metropolitan Police Department's police academy first? The atmosphere there is more open-minded, and if you want to be a professional, you can become a police officer first and then take the exam."

"A more open-minded atmosphere?"

Kenji Hagiwara couldn't explain it.

You can't exactly say that he can't help the police academy at the National Police Agency, but he can help the Metropolitan Police Department academy, letting the interviewer know that Shinryu Hanakawa is a good person willing to stand up for what's right, so they won't discriminate against him during the interview, can you?

He could only say with difficulty, "At least if you fail again this time, I can help you find out why."

Matsuda Jinpei maintained a high-quality silence.

If it were someone else, he would simply point out, "Because you don't have the demeanor of a good person, the interviewer judged you by your appearance," and he wouldn't care if people thought he was being rude.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it to the person who saved his childhood friend, and could only silently curse Kenji Hagiwara.

Don't make empty promises! If you can't say it now, do you think you can say it next time?!

Bo Yezaki pretended to ponder for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's try them all. I also think it's better not to take the exam for the same police academy again in the short term."

Kenji Hagiwara breathed a sigh of relief: "In that case, let's talk in detail about how to get into the Metropolitan Police Department Police Academy later."

That's enough, no need to worry about it anymore. If Hanchuan Shenliu can pass the exam, he can choose to go back to the police academy as a teaching assistant for half a year. We can consider it again after Hanchuan graduates.

I accepted being mocked by the instructors; I considered it repayment for Han Chuan Shenliu's life-saving grace...

He was genuinely worried about Han Chuan Shenliu.

I have a feeling that leaving him alone will only result in a bunch of colleagues swearing to find Han Chuan Shenliu and hiding some crime, and wanting to arrest him after graduation...

That's some pretty miserable job for a policeman!

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I can't go into detail about the Middle East part, it'll get censored, but I'll intersperse some of it later.

The inability to find application deadlines for these police academies directly serves the plot.

The Japanese police academy system works like this: if you apply to a police academy in Tokyo, your job assignment will be in Tokyo... It's a self-sufficient system, except for schools affiliated with the National Police Agency.

.

Instructor Onizuka, upon seeing Kenji Hagiwara return: ...It's fine if you come back, it'll teach you a lesson for not obeying orders.

When it was discovered that it was Onizuka, the instructor who had persuaded Sugikawa Shinryu to apply to his school: ...Let's have a good talk.