On the banks of the Tsutsumitsu River in Beika Town, the weather was sunny, and many children, supervised by their parents, were enjoying themselves. It was hard to imagine, given the beautiful scene, that a young girl had once taken her own life here.

Fujiwara Yu and Date Ko came here with a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

Ten years have passed since the case occurred. The probability of finding useful clues here is even lower than the probability of Fujiwara Yu taking consecutive vacations without working overtime.

The two came to the bridge arch of the Tsutsu River. There was a simple bed made of two pieces of cardboard in the corner. There must be a homeless person living here. The Coca-Cola bottle placed next to it was filled with light yellow liquid. It seemed that it was not for drinking, but for solving physiological problems.

Fujiwara Yuu walked around under the bridge for a while but didn't get any useful clues. He put his hands on his waist and looked at Date Kou. There was no one else around, so he just called out the long-lost name:

"Squad leader, why do you think the murderer targeted Saetsuki Saetsu? Did something happen here at that time?"

"How would I know? But I think this murderer is not committing a crime for the first time. He handled the body very calmly, and there was not even any trace left at the entire crime scene." Yi Dahang spread his hands and expressed his opinion.

Fujiwara Yu held his chin and thought for a while. It seemed that he had to re-investigate cases similar to those where the heart was pierced by an arrow. Maybe he could find information about the murderer, or maybe... the murderer was caught in other cases but did not confess to the crimes he committed previously.

Just as the two were about to leave, the cell phone in his trouser pocket rang. When he saw that the caller ID was Takagi Wataru, he had a bad feeling. A call at this time was most likely a case had occurred.

"Hey, Gao Mu, Brother Hang and I are outside. Please send me the location of the crime scene directly."

When Takagi Wataru heard Takashi Sosuke say this so skillfully, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He quickly rejected it:

"It's not that there's a case. No, I can't say there isn't one. Inspector, please hurry back to the Metropolitan Police Department for the press conference. There's a major case that requires a joint investigation with the police in Osaka and Kyoto!"

Big case?

Fujiwara Yuu thought about Ayanokouji Fumimaro's ambiguous words. It seemed that this was what he hadn't said directly. He gestured towards Date Kou and replied as he hurried towards the parking lot:

"Yeah, we'll be right back, about ten minutes."

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ida Ko noticed that Fujiwara Yu's expression was a little serious and asked.

"Well, they're setting up a joint investigation team. It's unclear what case they're investigating, but it involves Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. It's probably a serial murder case that spans multiple prefectures."

"Inter-county and serial? Ah... putting those two words together is a real headache." Yi Dahang touched the tip of his nose. He looked at his best friend's dark circles and said with a wry smile, "I hope it's not too difficult. Otherwise, I'm really worried that one day you'll die suddenly from the intense work while tracking down the murderer."

Fujiwara Yuu, who had fastened his seatbelt in the passenger seat, couldn't help but roll his eyes and said helplessly:

"Haha, thank you so much, squad leader. You don't say nice things, but you are very good at cursing people."

"I'm just concerned about your health. Seriously, after you finish this case, just rest at home and don't even think about going on a date, or you'll be working all year round."

"...I see. I can just weld myself to my bed during my vacation."

After the two returned to the Metropolitan Police Department, Takagi Wataru, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly took them to the lecture hall where the press conference was held. Seeing such a large group of reporters, it was obvious how difficult this case was.

Ida Hang estimated the number of reporters in his mind. He couldn't help but take a deep breath and sighed softly:

"Hiss, no way? There are over a hundred reporters here, what an exaggerated scene."

"I only hope that the murderer will surrender himself for the sake of my black circles." Fujiwara Yu stood aside with his half-moon eyes, speaking unrealistic fantasies.

"I'd rather believe that Matsuda will be single tomorrow than believe the murderer will surrender himself."

"...Don't act like Matsuda's chances of finding a partner are better than this."

If Jinpei Matsuda heard that his two bad friends were trying to diss his lack of popularity with the opposite sex in such an occasion, he would definitely get furious and tear their phones into pieces.

Megure Jusan, who was sitting behind the long table, spoke after confirming that everyone was present:

"According to the investigation, the five people who were murdered in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto have been confirmed to be members of the Genji Hotaru thief group."

Genji Hotaru? Is this strange Chuunibyou trending among these thieves these days? Just like that organization, they like to call each other by the names of liquors. Who knows if they'll run out of liquor names one day.

Shiratori Renzaburo, who was sitting next to him, said seriously:

"According to our current investigation, we have discovered that Genji Hotaru has been carrying out numerous thefts targeting prominent Buddhist statues and artworks, primarily in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, since 1918. All members of the group addressed each other as Yoshitsune's retainers, and each of them possessed a copy of the Yoshitsune Ki."

When Date Ko heard this, he leaned over to Fujiwara Yuu's ear and whispered:

"Hey, Fujiwara, isn't it a coincidence that the case we're investigating also happened in Heisei 3?"

"There were at least one million cases in 1918. Are you too sensitive?" Fujiwara Yu drooped his eyelids and looked drowsy. He didn't think there was any connection between the thieves' group and Saegusa Saegusa's case.

"That's true. The number of criminal investigations that occur every year is staggering." Ida Ko sighed. He really didn't know how long it would take for Japan's crime rate to drop. These days are becoming more and more hopeful.

Ayanokouji Fumimaro, who was sitting on the left, straightened his back and looked at the reporters in front of him, and said:

"The chief was Yoshitsune, and his subordinates included Benkei, Iseburo, and others, a total of eight people. Besides these three, the remaining five have been killed, and even the Yoshitsune Ki they were holding was taken away."

After receiving the instructions, the reporter who heard this raised his hand and asked:

"Do you have any clues about the murderer?"

"At present, we only know that the murderer is a master of kendo and archery. As for the three people who have not been killed yet, Yoshitsune, Benkei and Ise Saburo, their ages and genders are unknown." Otaki Goro, who was sitting on the right, explained.

A master of kendo and kyudo?

Date Kou couldn't help but look to the side. Noticing his best friend's gaze, Fujiwara Yuu looked speechless and cursed softly:

"Hey, what do you mean by that look? Do you think I'm the murderer?"

"Hahaha, don't be angry. I just subconsciously thought of you."

Fujiwara Yu rolled his eyes and didn't reply, but when he heard about the archery master, he was still a little concerned. After all, the murderer of Saegusa Sazuki was also good at archery, so it was inevitable that they would associate them together.

Forget it, I have to investigate this case anyway. I'll ask Inspector Megure for the details of the case later.