Chapter 42: The Brewery Scene "Scotland... or, the Ambush Guards...

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Fushimi Kyoji held his phone, his mind lingering on the screen where he hadn't received a reply from the person on the other end of the phone, thinking with a heavy heart.

Sure enough, it wasn't as easy as she thought.

The idea of ​​having Officer Zhu Fu to take the initiative to go to the program to look for his relatives and then find his missing brother fell through!

Is it because the player is currently on the Black side that the prerequisites for triggering the quest are missing?

There is no such task as "Help the brothers Zhufu Gaoming reunite" among the tasks to be accepted, only tasks like "Uncover the Japanese public security undercover in the organization".

From the beginning to the end, I can't see a single mission other than doing bad things.

Each and every item seemed like evidence for increasing the sentence in the future.

Extortion of public or private property: up to three years.

Stealing trade secrets: three to seven years.

Kidnapping another person, ten years to life imprisonment.

Fushimi Kyoji counted on his fingers the tasks he had completed so far.

There aren't enough hands and fingers.

“…” Fushimi Kyoji’s face looked solemn.

In that case...

The righteous Black Organization must defeat the evil Japanese police!

in addition……

Fushimi Kyoji lowered his phone slightly, revealing only his eyes, with the rest of his facial features still covered. He glanced hesitantly at the young man sitting not far away from him.

The young man with phoenix eyes and no stubble on his chin placed the bass on his legs and wiped the fingerboard and frets. It was a rare sight - before, he could only be seen servicing his gun.

She wasn't really sure.

Relations with Scotland seem to be getting... well, should I say getting better?

The way they get along doesn't seem to have changed much compared to the beginning.

However, it has been a long time since I felt the fear and reluctance to get close to the other person because of the gloomy feeling that followed him like a shadow.

Was it because they were getting to know each other better that she saw Scotland through a lens she wasn't aware of?

Sometimes quiet Scotland can occasionally give people a false sense of peace.

For example, now.

The young man, who was concentrating on maintaining the instrument in his hands with his eyes lowered, noticed the burning gaze that he could not ignore falling on his face. He turned his head slightly, and was not annoyed by being stared at for a long time. Instead, he took the initiative to look for the reason in himself.

"Am I disturbing you?"

The player shook his head.

Seeing her denial, Scotland probed further, "Or... do you want to play it?"

Considering that he might be embarrassed to refuse, he said as he passed the bass forward, until it was within reach.

Looking at the bass in front of him, Fushimi Kyoji still refused, and said with a bitter face: "I am very bad at string instruments."

"Will you?" Seeing how excited she was about the idea of ​​pretending to be a band as a disguise to the outside world, I thought she would be someone who loves music very much and is familiar with several instruments.

"That's why I'm so fascinated by bands, huh?" he grumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed to say so. He added, as if to make amends, "Well, it's not like I'm bad at all instruments. I played the piano a few times in music class at school, and it seemed pretty easy to me."

You only need to remember which keys you need to play next, without having to make different hand movements on the upper and lower sides like on string instruments.

"However, I haven't had the opportunity to take classes for a long time." The piano room caught fire and it took three months to rebuild before it could be used again.

Zhu Fujingguang was momentarily distracted, his lips moving slightly as he spoke, "...Is that so?"

"Uh-huh!"

With his hands propping up his face and looking at Scotland, Fushimi Kyoki was lost in thought as he tried to recall any musical instruments besides the piano. But after racking his brains for a long time, he asked uncertainly, "Can a whistle be considered a musical instrument?"

Without waiting for his response, he demonstrated it to Scotland.

But it looked like he was just puffing out his cheeks and blowing air.

Probably not.

If you insist on saying it is a musical instrument, since it doesn't require any equipment, it doesn't seem convincing.

"There's no sound," Scotland said.

"Hmm~"

She seemed to have been waiting for Scotland to say this. Her slightly curved green eyes flashed with obvious evil intentions, and the curve of her mouth could not be suppressed. "If you want to hear the whistle, Scotland needs to dress nicely and walk past me."

Are you... teasing him?

Scotland's eyes curved briefly as he watched her, a warm smile playing in them.

"Huh!? Such a dull reaction!"

Not seeing the expected reaction, Fushimi Kyoji sighed in disappointment.

He slumped facedown on the sofa, completely drained of energy, mumbling, "Shouldn't I have immediately smiled and said something like, 'I'm honored to be considered my ikemen by Fushimi-chan'?"

That sounds like how Hagiwara would react.

"Feel sorry?"

Scotland asked sincerely, "Do you need me to cooperate and say it again?"

"Eh... let's not do that. It feels like using one friend to eat another friend's meal replacement." Fushimi Kyoji's voice gradually became lower. He glanced at Amuro Toru walking over and greeted him lazily, "Bourbon——"

It doesn't seem to want to move under the sun, but I don't seem to notice it?

Even the sound became less crisp, like roasted marshmallows, with each word stuck together in a sticky mess.

"What are you talking about?" Amuro Toru nodded at her and sat down in a random empty seat close to the player and Scotland. His purple-gray eyes scanned their faces. "I hope I didn't miss anything."

"Nothing." Scotland withdrew his gaze from the player who had been drawn to him since Amuro's appearance, briefly skipping over the unimportant conversation and replying concisely, "We just happened to mention musical instruments and chatted a little longer."

Shuichi Akai, who had been sitting opposite them without any reaction to their conversation, paused slightly, raised his eyes and looked at Scotland silently and deeply without saying a word.

"So you're serious?" Amuro Toru nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze to the player. "Forming a proper band is no easy task."

It doesn't take much effort to fool passersby into thinking they are a band; all they need is a change of clothes and a bag of instruments—which doesn't even need to contain actual instruments.

If I really wanted to form a band, it would be completely different.

Although members of the organization are usually required to act low-key and not attract attention, it does not mean that they are so strict that they are not allowed to appear in the public eye.

People like Vermouth and Rena Mizunashi are active in the public eye.

"But isn't my role as your manager?" Amuro Toru failed to immediately understand what the player meant. "So...?"

Fushimi Kyoji asked seriously, "Don't managers just need to think about how to exploit the artists they are responsible for and wait for them to make a fortune?"

Those troublesome and difficult things are problems that other people need to consider.

“…”

The perfect smile on Amuro Toru's face seemed to freeze. "Although this is probably a real situation that happens in the workplace...it's a bit too direct."

"It reveals a very cruel social reality..." Scotland narrated calmly.

"Well, that's all." Amuro Toru clapped his hands, interrupting the previous topic with the noise, and said half-jokingly, "If you can convince Gin to let us take a three-month break without reason, I don't mind taking on the challenge of being the lead singer."

According to Bourbon, they might just be able to hold their first concert in the intensive care unit - and Gin, who sent them to the intensive care unit, will be the first audience member.

In order to avoid the player's three teammates being hunted down by Gin's grinning face, forget it...

Gin! You are the sinner who has prevented the Japanese music scene from regaining its glory!

Three superstars who had not yet made their mark in the music scene fell before they even rose.

It’s really a pity!

It seems that making money by relying on the reputation of Lei and others is easier than assassinating an important person.

This completely wastes their most obvious and irreplaceable advantage.

Sniper skills from hundreds of yards away?

Are you good at manipulating people's minds with words?

A clean and brutal killing method?

No!

It's their faces!

Although it is unclear why Rye, Bourbon, and Scotland joined the organization, we can basically rule out the option of doing it for money.

With that cheeky face, if he showed any sign of being short of money and looking down and out when passing by a male escort bar, he would be immediately pulled in.

In order to avoid being targeted by the model workers in the organization, the Whiskey Band had no choice but to disband in tears.

It's a bit of a pity...

This band, which has never performed together, still has a fan supporting them.

Fushimi Kyoji recalled the wise and calm face of Zhufushi Takaaki.

...It's really hard to connect the two together!

I even took a photo with them. Although they look very serious...

Fushimi Kyoki took out his camera and looked through the photos from that time.

The camera is a model that can print out stored photos at any time. The player operates it, and with a barely perceptible sound, the photos are spit out from the bottom bit by bit.

She lay on her back on the sofa, holding the camera in her hand. The printed photo fell with a "click", spun lightly left and right, and then directly covered the player's face.

I was staring at the photo in a daze, but the next second my vision was completely blocked, and everything in front of me was completely black.

Fushimi Kyoki fluttered around twice before he could react and sat up straight. Only then did he realize what was happening and pinched the photo paper with his hands to lift it away from his face.

As the distance increased, the face of the police officer with phoenix eyes, whose calm expression made his features look serious, gradually became clearer.

"Do you need help?" Scotland asked as a clear voice came from far away, standing in front of the player, his lowered gaze just meeting the raised eyes.

A pair of phoenix eyes that seemed to have been seen not long ago appeared before his eyes, filled with a gentle expression.

"Huh, huh?" The player blinked frequently, his brain still not understanding what was happening.

"……What's wrong?"

Not sure why the other person was reacting that way, his eyes switching back and forth between the photo in his hand and his face, Scotland asked in a slow voice.

The sense of vision is stronger!

Fushimi Kyoji could no longer consider the looks that Bourbon and Ley were giving him.

There's a big problem.

She remembered the content of [Intelligence Push].

Officer Moruobushi...my younger brother who I lost contact with after graduating from the police academy!

Could it be, eh——!?

"Scotland."

The pair of round pupils that seemed very focused when looking at people looked at him. She knelt on the sofa, looking up at him, holding a photo with obvious wrinkles due to the weight under her hand.

His gaze lingered there for less than a moment before shifting to the player who was calling him. He lowered his eyes to meet her gaze, and when he met those clear green eyes that seemed washed by water, and especially when he saw his own reflection in them, his heart moved for no reason.

It was only for a moment, and he quickly returned to normal, responding calmly and solemnly: "I'm here."

"Are you undercover?"

Zhu Fujingguang heard her ask this.

“…”

At that moment, many speculations flashed through Zhu Fu Jingguang's mind.

Why did you suddenly ask him this? Was his identity exposed?

Or is it another strange idea that has no beginning or end but makes people's heart tighten?

He should have refuted the unfounded suspicion immediately.

"Scotch whisky..."

She tilted her head, and the ends of her hair that had been sticking up on her shoulders fell down. Her green eyes, which were particularly clear in the bright environment, flashed with a pure confusion that was in line with her age.

The air around him seemed to have stopped along with time, as if the sound came from a long distance, freezing him inch by inch.

"Or should I call you... Officer Morobushi?"