Chapter 8. I have great respect for the police. ...
It looks like something suddenly happened to someone.
Because it was a street cafe, the unexpected situation attracted a considerable number of onlookers.
A curly-haired man wearing sunglasses, who had been sitting near them, reacted quickly and came to the side of the person who had fallen to the ground along with his chair, and knelt down to check on the person's condition.
The man quickly shook his head, having reached his conclusion: "He's dead."
These are such brief words, yet they convey an incredibly heavy truth.
The other two people at his table revealed themselves to be police officers and, with great courage, successfully maintained order before the scene completely descended into chaos due to this "accident".
Meanwhile, shortly after the person collapsed, Tsukino and Chiya promptly called the police.
After explaining the situation to the person on the other end of the phone and hanging up, he went to Wang Ma Xiaoji's side.
The purple-haired boy stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the corpse. When Tsukino and Chiya stopped beside him, he did not change his posture, as if he had not noticed Chiya's arrival at all.
He seemed to be talking to himself: "Oh dear, the murderer ran into three police officers right after committing the crime. He's not very lucky."
"However, since he has done such a thing, he must have been prepared to be searched by anyone and in whatever way he wanted."
"Even if it's not there, there's nothing we can do about it. If you dare to do something like this, you have to bear the consequences. Otherwise... wouldn't 'life' be too cheap?"
Tsukino and Chiya glanced at the corpse lying on the ground, but ultimately did not say anything like, "How can you be sure it was murder and not an accident?"
The three police officers were all very observant. In a short time, they confirmed that it was a murder based on some of the signs at the scene, and successfully narrowed down the suspects to three people.
Wangma Xiaoji, Tsukino, and Chiya are completely innocent bystanders. Although the police might ask them some questions to gather more clues since they happen to be at the scene of the crime, it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to leave if they strongly request to.
However, they clearly have no such intention.
"Are you all alright?"
After bringing order to the scene, one of the three police officers present, the one with slightly longer hair, came over to check on the two teenagers who had witnessed the body and whose age suggested they were still students.
"Would you like to sit down and rest for a while? You can leave after answering some questions."
After all, stumbling upon a murder scene during afternoon tea and witnessing the corpse so closely... normally speaking, isn't that a bit too much for a student?
...At least logically speaking, that should be the case?
Kenji Hagiwara, who was already exceptionally perceptive in reading people, quickly realized that things were not so simple.
The black-haired student remained indifferent, seemingly unconcerned about the murder: "Um, I'm fine, no problem."
The purple-haired student was calm and composed, a stark contrast to his companion's indifference... but perhaps a little too much: "I'm fine with it too! This is the first time I've ever witnessed the police solving a murder case in person~ It's so novel, because before, when I encountered the police, it was always a chase!"
Kenji Hagiwara repeated, still puzzled, "You're chasing me?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji affirmed, "That's right. The police chase me, and I chase them—it's so much fun! Because I'm the evil mastermind, situations like this, where I cooperate with the police, are rare."
Whose second child ran away?
When Kenji Hagiwara heard the beginning, he thought he had encountered some delinquent or a troublesome teenager wandering the streets late at night, but then he heard the phrase "evil leader"...
Wait a minute, the head of state?
Thinking about it, this child looks kind of familiar...
"'Ultimate Mastermind'?" Kenji Hagiwara quickly recalled the source of the boy's familiarity. "You're a student at Hope's Peak Academy?"
"Yes, it's me, no doubt about it. After all, anyone who dares to impersonate me has already been filled with cement and thrown into the river." Wang Ma Xiaoji readily admitted.
Kenji Hagiwara looked somewhat helpless: "Ohma-kun, it's not appropriate to say things like that in front of the police."
Although he recognized the boy in front of him as a Hope's Peak student who truly held the title of "Ultimate Mastermind," Kenji Hagiwara remained skeptical about the authenticity of the boy's self-proclaimed title of "Evil Mastermind."
Japan is a country where organized crime is legal, and this year's Hope's Peak Undergraduates even include a "Ultimate Yakuza." However, of course, the premise of official legal permission for organized crime is that it operates within the established laws. If the behavior of those involved in organized crime is egregious, then those who should be arrested will be arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned.
Under these circumstances, Wang Ma Xiaoji, who openly holds the title of "Ultimate High School Leader," may indeed be the head of some organization, but he probably hasn't done anything heinous or outrageous. Otherwise, he wouldn't be leisurely attending school right now but would be drinking tea in the police station...
...Although these associations and groups with gray or black characteristics may indeed inevitably engage in some disorderly behaviors in the shadows.
After all, the underworld is the underworld, and no one would believe that forces like the Nine-Headed Dragon Group or the Tenseimu Group haven't been involved in some... terrible things.
However, whether Wang Ma Xiaoji is an evil mastermind or just someone who likes to talk big remains highly questionable.
However, based solely on their first impression, Kenji Hagiwara couldn't fully determine what kind of person this high school student with such problematic remarks was, nor could he simply label him guilty and take him to the police station for questioning based on just a few words.
These days, teenagers are really full of personality... Well, maybe that's part of youth. He and Jinpei were also considered very individualistic by many people when they were that age.
With a more important murder case to deal with, Kenji Hagiwara ended the brief conversation after confirming that the two students who witnessed the death scene were alright. He told them to come find him if they remembered anything unusual, and then went to see the three suspects.
A short while later, a police car drove up and parked on the side of the road, and several police officers got out of the car.
The investigation is gradually getting on track.
Because the focus of the case was mainly on the three suspects, the police only questioned Tsukino, Chiya, and Ouma Kokichi about some details.
This time, Wang Ma Xiaoji didn't tell any obviously absurd lies or deliberately spread misleading information. Although there were still some lapses in his speech from time to time, he answered the questions steadily.
The two stood aside, watching the police officers busy questioning the three suspects and investigating the scene.
“Ohma,” Tsukino and Chiya suddenly asked softly, “you don’t seem to dislike the police.”
"Huh? Did you always think I wouldn't like the police?" Ohma Kokichi tilted his head and asked in confusion, "Why? I just killed my brother and became the head of an evil secret society with about 10,000 members. Don't think so badly about my relationship with the police!"
Tsukino and Chiya: "Well, maybe it's because I watch too many police dramas, but I always feel that there's no connection between 'evil mastermind' and 'liking the police'."
"You might be surprised, but I really respect the police. Hmm... if we look at it from the perspective of catching bad guys, detectives are pretty much the same in essence."
Wang Ma Xiaoji laughed, casually tugging at the black and white checkered scarf hanging around his neck as he stared at the police questioning the suspect in the distance.
"They fight bad guys to protect the country, but sometimes they get attacked by civilians... So I've always wondered why people don't respect the police more?" (*)
"But now that I think about it, the guy in the Kujo family mansion was probably doing something similar that was thankless and exhausting, right? Hmm... thinking about it this way, there are quite a few respectable professions after all."
"...Huh, why isn't Kozuki Kazuya saying anything?"
“No, I was just thinking,” Tsukino and Chiya pondered, “Well, maybe you’ll like Mr. Mashita.”
"It's a name I've never heard of before. Who is it?"
"A former detective who is now working as a detective. Incidentally, there is some overlap in his detective work with that of the guy from Kujo House."
Wow, that's got all the essential elements!
The three police officers, who were on a rare weekend off, were surprisingly perceptive and had amazing reasoning abilities. They quickly found a flaw in the suspect's words and, together with the clues and tools they found, perfectly exposed the murderer who was still trying to struggle.
Having witnessed a thrilling mystery, Tsukino and Chiya knew that the incident they had stumbled upon was nearing its end, and logically, the next step should be the scene where the real culprit is escorted back to the Metropolitan Police Department.
However, if nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is about to happen.
Just when everything should have settled down, the murderer, who had previously seemed to have lost all strength and means, suddenly moved.
He pulled out a dagger that he had been keeping hidden close to his body and attempted to attack the nearest policeman who had his back to him.
The police officer with curly black hair reacted quickly and subdued the murderer in time, while another police officer who had previously spoken to Qianye and the other took the opportunity to snatch the dagger from the murderer's hand.
Fortunately, it was just a close call.
The dagger in the attacker's hand only managed to tear the fabric of the curly-haired police officer's shirt, exposing the skin near his waist to everyone's eyes. But compared to the injury, this minor incident seemed insignificant.
Originally, Tsukino and Chiya, along with Ohma Kokichi, had already planned to leave, but they all stopped in their tracks.
Tsukino and Chiya: "Could that be...?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Ah la la la..."
Life is full of coincidences and surprises.
Unexpectedly, they found a... "surprise" in this place today.
A note from the author:
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(*) Xiao Ji said something similar in the sockeye salmon group.
The "Kujo-kan guy" refers to Kazuo Yashiki, the protagonist of "Death Mark" and "Death Gnawing". The "Mr. Mashita" mentioned in the text is also a character from the same work.
The Tianmu Group is a secret society organization in "NG" (The Naughty Eyes). This is just a brief mention; it probably won't be discussed much in the main text.
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