Chapter 71

Even when Usaku Saiki was interning, Instructor Onizuka didn't really relax.

Theoretically speaking, once the interns are released, the police academy won't pay much attention to each one individually. After all, things are usually done step by step, and nothing will generally happen.

But this year's class produced a guy like Shinryu Hanakawa, who was assigned to the Mobile Investigation Unit, a place with a high degree of unpredictability. Instructor Onizuka was handling his daily work at the police academy, but he was very unsure of himself and was always worried that he would suddenly receive a call asking him to pick up someone.

"Hagiwara, Kankawa didn't call you, right?"

"No."

"Why don't you call him?"

"...It's during work hours, isn't it a bit inappropriate to do this on the first day of work?"

I'm not a child anymore. I've only been at work for a few hours and I'm already getting a call from the teaching assistant. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if my colleagues found out?

Instructor Onizuka sighed.

He now feels as if he has finally found a foster home for his cat, which is not friendly at all and is very aggressive. He is very worried that the foster home will call him to complain or even return the cat.

Until the afternoon, no one called to complain, and Instructor Onizuka finally felt a little relieved. But just before he was about to leave work, he suddenly received a call from Captain Kikyo of the Mobile Investigation Team.

Damn it! How could he forget that the mobile search team is on duty 24 hours a day!

Instructor Onizuka reluctantly answered the phone: "Good evening, Kikyo."

He had some acquaintance with this captain, which is why he could address him by his last name and they had each other's private contact information.

Kenji Hagiwara immediately looked over.

The internship he arranged naturally included the fact that he knew who the current captain of Hanchuan Shenliu was, and upon hearing the surname, he immediately suspected it might be related to Hanchuan Shenliu.

“Mr. Onizuka,” Captain Kikyo said calmly, “I wanted to ask about the details of what happened to Hanekawa.”

Upon hearing that it was indeed about Suikawa Shinryu, Instructor Onizuka, noticing Hagiwara Kenji's gaze, simply turned on speakerphone and responded at the same time.

"Ah, isn't he with you now? He does have a bit of an accident-prone nature, but he doesn't do it on purpose. Accidents always seem to find him, and the Mobile Investigation Team is already on its way to an accident scene, so it shouldn't be a big problem, right? Besides, he's quick-witted and might be able to help. He's already the student with the highest crime-solving rate at our police academy..."

Captain Kikyo: "…………"

She only said one sentence: How guilty must Instructor Onizuka be to explain so much in one breath?!

Officer Shima, who listened to the phone call along with Captain Kikyo, realized that being in police academy isn't easy... and suddenly felt his blood pressure improve significantly.

People probably need comparisons.

After Instructor Onizuka finished his guilty explanation, Captain Kikyo calmly said, "He was indeed helpful. He solved a case today in less than an hour after he arrived."

"Oh!" Instructor Onizuka breathed a sigh of relief, his tone becoming much more relaxed. "That's good. It's alright, you can use him as you see fit. When we asked him about his preferences, he said he liked frontline work and didn't care if he didn't join the First Investigation Division, as long as he was on the front line. He was very dedicated..."

The silent Officer Shima looked rather grim: "…………"

No, I can't believe it. Just thinking about how Hanchuan Shenliu manipulates prisoners and easily breaks down their psychological defenses makes me feel completely uneasy about this answer.

Is it because frontline workers are more directly involved in crime scenes, allowing them to observe other people's methods and even manipulate and tease criminals, that they want to go to the frontline?

After Instructor Onizuka praised the man, Captain Kikyo said, "Kanakawa-kun is indeed very capable. Thank you for your contributions to our Mobile Investigation Team. However, some of Kanakawa-kun's behaviors make us feel uneasy. We would like to ask him if this has always been the case?"

Instructor Onizuka's heart sank, and he frantically began to give Kenji Hagiwara meaningful glances: "...Uh, go ahead and ask. My teaching assistant knows him better, and he's listening too."

I knew any phone calls involving Hanukawa Shinryu were bad news!!!

Kenji Hagiwara leaned close to the phone with a serious and worried expression: "Hello, Captain Kikyo, this is Kenji Hagiwara. What's wrong, Kanakawa-kun?"

"Wait a moment, I'll have his partner tell you. He's there and knows better than I do."

And so, the two people on the phone switched places to continue the conversation.

Instructor Onizuka waved his hand, telling Kenji Hagiwara to stay away from him. He didn't want to hear anything that would affect his heart health, and his hair was almost all gone.

Because Shinryu Sugakawa is prone to incidents, Instructor Onizuka, exhausted both physically and mentally, has made it his routine to wait for Kenji Hagiwara to finish listening before giving him a summary. Anyway, these things can't be hidden, so there's no need to worry about Kenji Hagiwara showing favoritism.

Kenji Hagiwara took the phone and went to the hallway: "Hello?"

"Hello, Assistant Instructor Hagiwara, this is Kazumi Shima. Shinryu Kazumi is currently in my group," Officer Shima said. "How much do you know about his situation?"

Kenji Hagiwara asked cautiously, "Which aspect are you referring to?"

"...Firstly, are you aware of the inappropriate attitude towards the prisoners?"

Hagihara Kenji: "..."

The word "first" is quite insightful; it feels like there are many more questions waiting for him... He's only been at work for half a day, what has Xiao Shenliu already done?!

"He can be a bit ruthless with prisoners," Kenji Hagiwara said tactfully, "but it's all for the sake of efficiency."

Hearing these words, which were full of accusations of protecting the criminal, Officer Shimo was greatly shocked: "Do you insist on defusing the bomb while it's being handled by the criminal, just for the sake of efficiency?"

Kenji Hagiwara was also shocked: "...??? When did this happen?"

"Just two days ago, a fired employee of the mall planted a bomb to get revenge on his manager. When I arrived at the scene, the perpetrator was crying uncontrollably and even had a phobia of the sound of a countdown clock. He couldn't even stand the sight of an electronic clock."

Kenji Hagiwara: "...Heh, I see. He did something like that. I really didn't know... Thank you for telling me, otherwise I would still be in the dark."

Because the Mobile Investigation Team's report was written at their station and then submitted, while Kanakawa Shinryu's statement was taken at the Metropolitan Police Department, the omissions in the statements created a time lag between the two, which prevented Matsuda Jinpei from noticing the problem.

Otherwise, Matsuda Jinpei wouldn't care how close he was to Samikawa Shinryu; he would definitely have said something much harsher than before.

Upon discovering that Kenji Hagiwara wasn't one to lie through his teeth, Inspector Shima breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, this happened a couple of days ago. He said he wanted to teach the criminal a lesson, and then today at the scene, he said again that he wanted to teach the criminal a lesson, so he helped the criminal improve his modus operandi, saying things like 'it's almost the perfect crime.' The criminal's mentality seems to have collapsed..."

Although Kenji Hagiwara was so angry that his head was buzzing, he still tried his best to defend himself in front of others. However, he was so angry that his usually quick-thinking mind was a little sluggish.

"Well, that's a bit much. Let him write a self-criticism. Some things really weren't appropriate to say. Maybe he's always been dragged into things as an innocent bystander, so his behavior is a bit too free, and he hasn't quite adjusted to being a police officer yet... Maybe he has OCD and can't stand some flaws in the methods. Smart people all have their quirks..."

Officer Shima: "...Let's leave it at that. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he talks less. Let's leave that aside for now and move on to another issue."

You could tell the teaching assistant was furious; he probably genuinely didn't know the truth before.

Sigh, if you can't keep making things up, you might as well stop. He could feel the pain the other person was going through as they racked their brains!

Being a teaching assistant is so tough, even a biological mother wouldn't be this hard!

Officer Shima felt a little sorry for Kenji Hagiwara, but when he thought about how he would be the one tormented for the next two months, he felt that he should feel sorry for himself more.

Moreover, he doesn't only have Kanakawa Shinryu here, but also Ibuki Ai, that guy who can't be kept in check...

He's not a washing machine; throwing in one piece of clothing is the same as throwing in a pile, it's still the same... His mental energy has a limit!

Kenji Hagiwara recovered: "The other question is?"

"...Regarding his sense of justice." Officer Shimo donned a mask of anguish. "Is it acceptable for him to say he lacks a sense of justice? How did he pass the interview?"

Kenji Hagiwara was a little puzzled: "Why would he suddenly say that he has no sense of justice?"

Officer Shima paused for a moment: "Because I suspected that he did those things because he was acting out of a sense of justice, I said I hated guys who considered themselves righteous... and then he suddenly said that and told me not to worry. How could I not worry?"

Kenji Hagiwara breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, I see."

"...Why do you seem so indifferent? This should be a very serious issue, shouldn't it?"

"Because Hanchuan is actually quite quirky, he's probably just joking with you." Kenji Hagiwara put on a filter. "Don't be fooled by his always expressionless face, he's actually very lively inside and likes to tell corny jokes often. You'll get used to it."

Officer Shima: "...I don't think he's joking; he seems very serious."

"Because he's a deadpan comedian."

"So, is it a joke that he became a policeman because he knew a deceased policeman and wanted to understand the other person's thoughts?"

"Hmm? This is the first time I've heard this way of thinking."

Officer Shimo asked cautiously, "You must have asked him why he wanted to be a policeman during the interview, right? What was his answer?"

“…Because someone said he would eventually turn to crime, he wanted to prove that person wrong.” Kenji Hagiwara coughed. “Pretty inspiring, right?”

What an inspirational joke!

He thought the teaching assistant wouldn't lie through his teeth, but it turns out he was just stunned by anger!

Officer Shima then talked to Kenji Hagiwara for a full half hour, until Instructor Onizuka's phone ran out of battery before finally stopping.

Captain Kikyo has returned from her extra meal: "How was it? Did you ask everything you wanted to ask?"

"...I asked."

The phone call didn't solve any of the problems; instead, it increased his stress.

Saying everything is just a joke because of bad taste is really something, and the teaching assistant's attitude of shirking responsibility and refusing to accept a refund is too obvious!

Captain Kikyo: "What did they say at the police academy?"

"Let us trust Han Chuan without prejudice. We are police officers, and we should treat even criminals kindly and help them get back on the right track. We shouldn't be more harsh on police academy students," Officer Shima said dryly. "In short, we trust Han Chuan a lot, and we trust him too."

"...My main concern is whether his long-term frontline work might affect people's impression of the police."

Officer Shimo sighed: "It's up to you to decide whether to prioritize the crime-solving rate or the image of the police. Although I think this is something the police academy should consider, they've already given you a pass in the interview..."

Captain Kikyo remained silent for a long time, still somewhat reluctant: "...Let's see! As long as no one complains, it's fine!"

"Shima—there's a case!" Ibuki Ai shouted. "We should go!"

Officer Shimo responded and hurried over, still pondering the matter.

Work one day, rest three days, and spend most of your time in the car, so there shouldn't be any complaints in the short term...

...I think so?

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Bonus chapter! Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, but my birthday is still a week away lol.

Speaking of my birthday, because I had polyps removed, I still have to eat plain porridge for the next couple of days, gradually transitioning. Looking at the doctor's orders, I still can't eat whatever I want on my birthday… Waaah, I want to eat fried chicken and roasted lamb chops!

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It feels like Hagiwara and Shima are two cat owners exchanging cat-raising experiences.

And Shima still doesn't know that Hagiwara is a friend of Kankawa...

This chapter really makes you realize how difficult it is to raise Hagiwara's suspicion level.

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Instructor Onizuka: It's like finally finding a foster home for a cat that's not friendly at all and is very fierce. He's extremely worried that the foster home will complain to him or even return the cat.

Zhimo from the foster family: How did you raise him? How could you send him away like that? Don't you feel guilty?

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Captain Kikyo: I want to ask Hankawa...

Instructor Onizuka: Oh, he actually... (1000 words of explanation)

Captain Kikyo: ...This is too guilty.