Chapter 104
Kenji Hagiwara looked at the email, scrolled down, and was stunned to find that it even included information about politicians.
What should he do now?
The Metropolitan Police Department has no jurisdiction over matters in the Kansai region! And how is he going to explain his source of information?
We definitely can't expose Xiao Shenliu. Otherwise, Xiao Shenliu's situation is already quite sensitive, and if he gets involved in this kind of thing, he will definitely be suspected. Moreover, if the other side finds out that it was Xiao Shenliu who exposed the information, Xiao Shenliu will also be in danger.
Even if he doesn't mention Xiao Shenliu, if someone with ulterior motives investigates, they will definitely suspect Xiao Shenliu, so it's best if he doesn't show his face himself.
Kenji Hagiwara went through all the police officers he knew in his mind and found that none of them were safe—and by safe, I mean they could get the information to the Kansai region without being implicated in the investigation of Shinryu Kagawa.
However, even though Xiao Shenliu had just been told by his senior that "you are not suitable to be a policeman," he still remembered to send that message back... As long as he is still in this world and has not completely fallen into darkness, he can rest assured.
Otherwise, Kenji Hagiwara was genuinely worried that while sweeping graves, Shinryu Samikawa would suddenly become enlightened, realizing that everyone dies eventually, and other people's opinions don't matter. If there's an easy path, why not choose the easy one...
"What's wrong? Do you have to work overtime?" Matsuda Jinpei, who was sitting opposite Hagiwara Kenji, looked up in confusion.
In Japan, Christmas is a holiday for young people, so they generally don't spend it with their families; instead, young people go out and have fun.
But for police officers, Christmas means they may have to work overtime frequently.
For example, something might be accidentally set on fire to create a festive atmosphere; lovers might have a fight and bleed; and some criminals like to choose such memorable days to cause trouble. So every time such a holiday comes around, the police have to be on high alert.
Matsuda Jinpei had been working overtime recently, and he was taking a break this time, otherwise he would definitely be working overtime now. So when he saw Hagiwara Kenji frowning while holding his phone, he subconsciously assumed that Hagiwara Kenji would also be called to work overtime.
However, as soon as he said it, Matsuda Jinpei realized what he meant: "Oh, you haven't officially started work yet."
"Yeah, the formalities aren't finished yet," Kenji Hagiwara replied absentmindedly, then stood up. "You keep eating, I'll go downstairs and buy two cans of wine."
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji grew up together, and judging from Hagiwara Kenji's state, it was clear that he wasn't simply there to buy alcohol.
But he didn't call him out on it; he just waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go ahead, bring me back a pack of cigarettes."
Kenji Hagiwara tossed out a message saying he'd be back later and hurriedly left.
Matsuda Jinpei stared at the television, wondering what was causing Hagiwara Kenji's unusual behavior.
He thought about it for a moment, and at first he felt that it was probably related to Shinryu Hagiwara—because Kenji Hagiwara was currently most worried about Shinryu Hagiwara.
But when he asked Shinryu Kagawa if he was going to work overtime on Christmas, Kenji Hagiwara said that Shinryu Kagawa was going to go back to sweep the graves... Sweeping the graves shouldn't cause any new problems, right?
It couldn't be that a body was found in the cemetery, and Shinryu Suzumikawa was made a suspect, so Kenji Hagiwara was called in to fill in. Besides, there was no reason to hide it from him. So, something must have happened at home? That shouldn't be the case either; he has a good relationship with the Hagiwara family, and they wouldn't hide it from him...
Matsuda Jinpei watched TV alone for two hours before Hagiwara Kenji finally returned.
"You took forever to buy this sake," Matsuda Jinpei remarked. "Did you buy it in Hokkaido?"
Kenji Hagiwara chuckled dryly twice: "Hahaha, something happened, but it's resolved now!"
Matsuda Jinpei stared at him for a few seconds, then reached out and tapped him, meaning, "I know you're hiding something from me, but I'll let it go this time."
No matter how good the relationship is, everyone has their own secrets. He doesn't necessarily want Kenji Hagiwara to tell him everything, as long as he's not treated like a fool.
Kenji Hagiwara coughed and placed the plastic bag containing cigarettes and alcohol on the table: "Let's drink, let's drink..."
Matsuda Jinpei took the contents of the bag out and found that the change was also in the plastic bag, which he placed on the table.
However, he picked up the receipt and glanced at it, subconsciously comparing it to the change in his mind: "It seems like I'm short 10 yen."
"It's okay." Kenji Hagiwara took off his coat and rubbed his frozen hands. "It's only 10 yen, don't worry about it."
Matsuda Jinpei seemed to be deep in thought.
After being out for so long, the change I received was a bunch of coins, and I was exactly 10 yen short...
Could it be that he went to a public phone booth to make a call?
However, these were all just guesses, and it might have been given to the beggar anyway. Therefore, although Matsuda Jinpei was a little suspicious, seeing that Hagiwara Kenji didn't seem willing to talk about it, he didn't ask any further.
Kenji Hagiwara sat back down in his seat, stared at the TV, and began to space out.
...Once he considered that he couldn't expose Han Chuan Shenliu, there wasn't much he could do. Besides, with a bunch of yakuza fighting each other, the local police should have noticed... Although he didn't know what the email meant, he had done his best.
Hopefully, things will go smoothly for Xiao Shenliu, and he can return safely.
Christmas Eve passed peacefully, and Usoppei didn't cause any trouble in the middle of the night. He asked the front desk to give him a room, which happened to be next to the vodka.
The next day, when Usui woke up, Gin and Vodka had no idea how long they had been gone.
They hadn't planned to bring Usakabe Saiki, so they didn't bother to call him. However, Usakabe Saiki hadn't intended to work hard for someone else anyway. He slowly got up, rummaged through his trunk for a change of clothes, dressed himself up in a flashy new way, and then went to find food nearby.
There were many nice-looking roadside shops in Kansai, so he randomly picked one and went inside.
After ordering and waiting for the food to be served, Bo Yezaki noticed that someone seemed to be staring at him, so he looked to the side.
Because we were sitting in front of a table, which was a row of tables, two children sat a distance apart from each other. The boy had dark skin, and the girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and looked quite cute.
The boy was the one who kept staring at him.
After making eye contact with Usakata Saiki, the girl nodded apologetically to him, then carefully tugged at the boy next to her.
"Heiji, stop looking, it's so rude..."
The system exclaimed excitedly: [It's Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Toyama! Key characters! Given extra weight!!!]
Bo Yezaki's eyes lit up.
He didn't recognize him at first, but after Toyama Kazuha called out "Heiji," he realized who he was.
Heiji Hattori is still in elementary school, so it's understandable that he didn't recognize the person at first.
His original intention for this trip was to expand the market and acquire more human resources. He thought that getting to know more members of the organization would be good enough, but he didn't expect to have such an unexpected bonus!
So Bo Yezaki smiled and waved to the two children over there: "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?"
Kazuha Toyama blushed, embarrassed, and said, "I'm sorry..."
“Little sister, there’s no need to apologize. I was just asking.” Usakata Saiki looked at Hattori Heiji, “This…”
Hattori Heiji said, "Excuse me, but I think it's because you're wearing a haori under your trench coat, right? That's a very unusual way to wear it."
The wide sleeves of a haori are really cumbersome when tucked into a trench coat, so nobody usually wears it like that. You either change into normal clothes underneath or wear a special outfit to match a kimono on top.
"It's just a personal preference." Since they were already indoors, Bo Yezaki took off his trench coat, revealing a bunch of messy things underneath.
Hattori Heiji: "…………"
Yuanshan and Ye said firmly, "It's...it's quite pretty."
Usoppei looked at them with great interest and asked, "But is there anything wrong with this way of dressing?"
Hattori Heiji hesitated for a moment, then obediently replied, "Because there have been several serial murders here recently, and the victims were all wearing a haori, I can't help but pay a little attention when I see a haori..."
Bo Yezaki exclaimed, feigning ignorance, "Why are you, a little kid, always interested in this kind of thing?"
Heiji Hattori frowned: "There's nothing wrong with that, right? I'm going to be a detective someday."
Kazuha Toyama couldn't help but interject, "Heiji is amazing!"
"Oh?" Bo Ye Saiki tilted his head. "How amazing?"
Kazuha Toyama began to talk at length about what she had lost, how Heiji used deduction to find out where she had lost it, and how he helped her find it...
Hattori Heiji was a little embarrassed: "This is too simple, it's not really a deduction."
"Indeed, I can do this level of reasoning."
Kazuha Toyama's eyes widened: "Eh? Big brother can do deduction too?"
Usakabe Saiki nodded: "Yes, I'm very good. For example, this guy... Heiji-kun, isn't his name Hattori Heiji?"
Hattori Heiji was taken aback.
He didn't introduce himself, and Kazuha only called him Heiji... How could the other person guess his surname? Could it be that they already knew him?
Judging by his age, he didn't seem to be his father's colleague, but if he was a colleague's child... he'd never heard of anyone with a similar style before...
Because of the haori serial murder case, Hattori Heiji felt inexplicably uneasy when he looked at the haori on the other person's body, but he felt that it was not appropriate to do so in public, so he asked the question relatively calmly.
"How did you know? You can't just deduce something like that, can you?"
“Indeed, you can take it as something I discovered through investigation.” The silver-haired older brother tilted his head and smiled. “And me? What can you deduce from me?”
Hattori Heiji's unease intensified.
It's normal to know the name of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, but what kind of person would investigate even the family members of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief?
As if sensing something, Toyama Kazuha nervously grabbed Hattori Heiji's arm.
Hattori Heiji instinctively made a protective gesture, his sharp eyes fixed on the person opposite him: "You... still out at this hour means you either don't have a job, or your working hours are irregular... You're not short of money..."
The silver-haired older brother listened to Hattori Heiji's reasoning with a smile, and then asked a question.
"So, can you figure out what my job is?"
"……No."
Hattori Heiji's palms were a little sweaty. Even though the person opposite him was smiling and seemed very friendly, he inexplicably felt a sense of pressure: "What does big brother do?"
A butterfly, shimmering with red light, approaches Hattori Heiji on a black haori.
The silver-haired older brother bent down, leaned close to his ear, and whispered something.
"They do bad things."
Hattori Heiji's pupils suddenly contracted.
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