Chapter 17
After finishing the tasks assigned by the brewery, Usoppei Kijima enjoyed a very leisurely period.
After seeing his mission report, Gin and Vodka probably stopped expecting him to glean anything useful from his eyes and decided to just let him slack off, so they didn't contact him.
After thinking it over, Bo Yezhaiji realized that staying in an internet cafe was still inconvenient, and he figured the winery wouldn't contact him again anytime soon, so it was probably time for him to find a stable place to stay.
Company dorms, the Middle East, internet cafes, safe houses... Now that he's free, he really wants to live peacefully in his own house, so he'll have a place to put all the stuff he won in the lottery.
With the identity of Usoya Saiki, it's easy to buy a house and move in right away.
But given Han Chuan Shenliu's identity... he needs to be more careful. After all, the people who will most likely come to his house in the future are police officers. It would be unnecessary for him to be arrested because of the source of his funds.
As an orphan named Hanchuan Shenliu, he couldn't afford much money and could only rent. However, once the "behind-the-scenes halo" was activated, he went to a real estate agency, where they could only say that there were no suitable options.
Usakabe Saiki, who was shrouded in an aura of secrecy, asked, "Aren't there any haunted houses where people have died? I won't kill anyone in there."
The agent looked at him with a wary and cautious gaze: "...Sorry, not at the moment."
Bo Yezhai: "..."
System: [After constantly creating harm for others, the karmic retribution is finally coming.]
"At least I gained some suspicion points." Bo Yezaki said, trying to save face.
Bo Yezaki looked unwell, and coupled with Han Chuan Shenliu's gloomy demeanor, no one dared to talk to him on the street. Even those handing out flyers would go back into their shops to avoid him from afar.
"Why didn't I win the house prize in the lucky bag?" Usakabe asked, annoyed. "If you had just given me a house, none of this would have happened, would it?"
The system retorted: "Even if you win the house, how will you explain its source to the police? Isn't the reason you didn't use the money from the distillery to buy a house for your alternate account precisely because of this?"
Bo Yezhai pondered: [I can say that I owed money to loan sharks and didn't pay it back. When the debt collection company saw that I was unresponsive, they tried to get my family involved. After discovering that I was an orphan, they managed to find me a wealthy biological father. However, my biological father didn't like me and used a house to sever our parent-child relationship...]
System: [Why make things so complicated? Can't you just turn off the "behind-the-scenes halo" before contacting the agent?]
[That's something I only do when I have absolutely no other choice. After all, my acting is so terrible, and the "shadow effect" is my last resort. What if something happens while it's only off for a short while?]
Usui Saiki was a little frustrated, but felt things weren't beyond repair yet: "Maybe I should ask Hagiwara Kenji for help. With a police guarantor, renting a place shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Usakabe Saiki acted immediately, sending a help email to Hagiwara Kenji that same day.
Kenji Hagiwara was very helpful and replied immediately, saying that he happened to be on holiday the next day and could meet up. He also wanted to ask how the Metropolitan Police Department's police academy exams were going.
Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hagiwara Kenji typing away and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Another matchmaking event?"
“No, it’s Hanchuan-kun.” Kenji Hagiwara didn’t even look up. “He wants to rent an apartment, but he’s having problems with the agency and he’s hoping I can help him as a guarantor.”
Matsuda Jinpei frowned, a little worried that his childhood friend would be seen as a sucker by others: "...It seems like every time he comes to you, it's to get your help, even though he usually just disappears."
It's not that Hanchuan Shenliu is a bad person, but his way of dealing with people is a bit problematic. He's worried that Hagiwara Kenji will keep enduring because of the life-saving grace.
"Don't say that. If he finds out you said that, he'll definitely be too embarrassed to contact me again."
Kenji Hagiwara finally finished editing the email and sent it out, saying with a smile, "Given Hanukawa's personality, maybe he just doesn't want to bother me because there are other ways. Since he's already contacted me, he must have really encountered a problem that he can't solve... Besides, didn't I receive a gift from him last week?"
Matsuda Jinpei didn't think too much about it, but he felt that it was a bit inappropriate for Samikawa Shinryu to only appear when something happened. Now that he heard Hagiwara Kenji say this, he felt relieved.
Indeed, Hanchuan Shenliu doesn't seem to be good at interpersonal communication. Instead, he prefers to be self-reliant and may have been isolated. It's understandable that he might not handle the details of interpersonal relationships well.
Now that Hagi could see it clearly, he felt relieved.
And thinking about it carefully... Matsuda Jinpei probably understands why Samikawa Shinryu chose to ask Hagiwara Kenji for help.
After all, given Hanchuan Shenliu's demeanor, a police guarantee would be more credible...
Kenji Hagiwara thought so too, so he was quite optimistic and felt that the simple problem of renting a place could be solved quickly.
The next day, after meeting the person, Kenji Hagiwara enthusiastically offered to help them look at houses: "Which house have you chosen?"
Bo Yezaki confidently gave the address.
Kenji Hagiwara didn't quite grasp the situation at first, thinking it was great: "This location is good, it's convenient to buy things nearby, and the neighborhood used to be very safe, but there was a case here last month—"
His words suddenly stopped, and he looked hesitantly at Bo Yezhai, belatedly realizing what was going on.
Bo Yezaki calmly replied, "I know, the room I want to rent is the one where someone died."
Hagihara Kenji: "…………"
Bo Yezaki remained calm: "Haunted houses are cheaper, but harder to rent. It's good enough if we can rent one out at all. I didn't expect the agency to disagree. I guess they misunderstand me. If you use your brain, you'll know that even if I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't do it in my own rented house. Unfortunately, they probably won't listen to my explanation, so I'd like to ask you to be my guarantor."
"Ah, um, I understand..."
Kenji Hagiwara stuttered for once, which was quite rare for him.
No, why do you insist on emphasizing that even if you wanted to kill someone, you wouldn't do it in a rented apartment?!
If someone else said this, people might feel more at ease, but the fact that you said it makes people feel even more uneasy!
But after thinking about it, Kenji Hagiwara realized that he couldn't blame the other person.
Sigh, Hanchuan-kun is really bad at expressing himself! Besides, who would want to rent a haunted house if they had the money?
He really didn't need to boss people around; he should just help if he could!
With Kenji Hagiwara, an active-duty police officer, acting as guarantor, the seemingly responsible real estate agent finally relented and agreed to rent the property to Saiki Usuba.
Behind Usuha Saiki's back, the agent quietly asked Hagiwara Kenji, "Um, are you two really just friends?"
Kenji Hagiwara is often asked this kind of question.
The other party in the question is usually a girl, and the person asking is generally curious whether the two are dating.
In this situation, when suddenly asked if he was friends with Shinryu Kagawa, Kenji Hagiwara felt a strange sense of disorientation and almost said that he was female—fortunately, he reacted quickly and understood what the agent meant.
Kenji Hagiwara replied with a wry smile, "Yes, we really are friends. We met when he did something heroic, not in prison... He looks fierce, but he's really a good person."
The agent was finally relieved: "No, Mr. Hanchuan doesn't look fierce, he just..."
The agent didn't continue speaking.
He just looks dangerous.
The real estate agent needed to assist the police in handling murder cases that occurred in the houses he was responsible for. He had also seen murderers being identified and arrested on the spot. Some of those people were extremely vicious, some were cowards who were forced to explode, and some were people who unintentionally hurt others and were filled with remorse...
But none of these murderers were as terrifying as this man named Hanchuan Shenliu.
This handsome young man with dark blue hair and red eyes may not have had a drop of blood on his hands, but for some reason, he gives the impression that countless people have died because of him.
He might have just been sitting at the chessboard, gently moving the pieces, or he might have just been talking to someone and casually said a few words... Even if the deceased is dead, they will not know why they died.
He gives off a dangerous impression with a negative charm.
The agent, of course, believed he wouldn't kill someone in the rented apartment.
How could someone like that do anything himself? He shouldn't even be living in such a shabby house!
When the real estate agent discovered that Hanchuan Shenliu actually wanted to rent such an unworthy house, he became frightened, worried that this person might not genuinely want to live there, but was just trying to set up some kind of scheme using the house...
If he, as the agent, gets caught up in the fighting between the gods, losing his job would be a minor matter; losing his life would be a real injustice!
—Yes, the reason the agency refused to rent to him wasn't as simple as Bo Yezaki's fear that he would kill someone, but rather a convoluted and ridiculous story that even Bo Yezaki could only scoff at.
Fortunately, with the police as guarantors, the agent finally gained some confidence and quickly signed a contract with Usakata Saiki.
"Thank you. I probably wouldn't have been able to rent such a nice place without you." Usui thanked Hagiwara Kenji. "I'll treat you to dinner later."
Kenji Hagiwara didn't stand on ceremony. He felt that refusing someone's thanks might hurt their pride: "Sure, but I didn't do anything..."
Usakata Saiki insisted, "The fact that you're a police officer has already been a huge help."
"Haha..." Kenji Hagiwara laughed awkwardly, "If you become a policeman, you won't need my help anymore."
He had already inquired and found out that the person in charge of the interviews at the Metropolitan Police Department Police Academy this time was his instructor from the police academy, Onizuka.
Based on his understanding of Instructor Onizuka, the other party was not the type to judge people by their appearance. If Hanchuan Shenliu included his experience assisting the police in capturing a bomber in his resume, the chances of passing the test would increase.
...However, just to be on the safe side, he should still have a brief discussion with Instructor Onizuka about the impact of prejudice on people before the interview... He couldn't openly use connections, but he could still talk about that.
Sigh, if Hanchuan-kun just looks a bit fierce, that would be a good thing! Kojinpei is often said to be fierce too; those police officers who deal with yakuza groups, even with their fierce faces, don't have any problems getting accepted.
However, Han Chuan-kun inexplicably possesses the aura of a mastermind like Moriarty, and I have a feeling that the interviewer will be unable to resist asking some strange questions...
"Kankawa-kun," Kenji Hagiwara suddenly asked, "If during an interview, the interviewer asked you, 'If someone violates your rights, but the law cannot provide justice, what would you do?' How would you answer?"
"Is there something wrong with the law...?"
Kenji Hagiwara said with a headache, "You can't answer like that. Try a different answer. The question is, what are you planning to do?"
“Hmm…” Han Chuan Shenliu said calmly and in a gentle tone, “I won’t do anything. When he wants to kill me, I will be able to gather enough evidence.”
This answer was so bizarre that the hairs on the back of Kenji Hagiwara's neck stood on end: "Why would someone want to kill you?"
"Because no one can sleep soundly after offending me."
The young man's dark eyes were like a cursed red moon, dazzling with a cold and melancholic quality.
"Before he could drive himself insane, the only way he could end the nightmare was to kill me."
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Bo Ye: Did the real estate agent think I would kill someone in the rented apartment?
Real Estate Agent: How could it be something as lowly as murder? He must be planning something bigger, and renting out the apartment is just one part of it. Could I be caught in his scheme too...?
Thin leaves: 6
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By the way, the "Dark Aura" effect is continuous; that is, as long as you've seen Han Chuan, you'll still be affected by the Dark Aura when you think of him.
In this situation, Matsuda only showed up because Hagiwara needed his help, so his concern for his friend already demonstrates considerable mental fortitude and consideration for the life-saving debt.
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