Chapter 18
The system watched with satisfaction as Kenji Hagiwara's suspicion level soared, and began to lavish praise on Saiki Usaku.
[You're amazing! Because of the life-saving favor, Kenji Hagiwara's suspicion level was never too high. He's too rational and too considerate of others, always finding reasons to convince himself… You're too good! Don't be modest, your acting is superb!]
Usakabe Saiki modestly replied: "[It's alright, I was just truthfully describing the effect of the 'behind-the-scenes halo.']"
system:【……】
[Look at that real estate agent, he rejected me once, and today he came back with such dark circles under his eyes, it's like he hasn't slept at all... I really don't believe anyone who offends Han Chuan Shenliu can get a good night's sleep.]
System: […Alright, that's enough. I was just imagining your acting. Continue.]
Kenji Hagiwara had probably finally recovered, and while looking at Saiki Usui with an indescribable expression, he posed a soul-searching question.
"Do you think you can pass the interview with that answer? Is this how a police officer should answer?"
Kenji Hagiwara just wants to know how Shinryu Hachikawa's Japanese language teacher actually teaches.
Bo Ye Saiki knew, of course, that answer was definitely not acceptable, but this wasn't a proper interview, and he couldn't resist the urge to raise suspicion levels!
Most people might not like being misunderstood, and would feel wronged and want to explain themselves. But Usoya Saiki was in her element. Except when she was negotiating compensation with the system, she didn't seem to be very reluctant at all.
He even felt that the suspicion value system might be more suitable for him than the undercover system, and he actually benefited!
After all, his acting skills... well, I know that. It's easier to sow doubt than to gain someone's trust.
However, Usui Saiki also understands the importance of knowing when to stop and what sustainable profit-making is. Faced with Kenji Hagiwara's questioning, he answered very seriously.
"Because I didn't know how to answer, and it was Mr. Hagiwara who asked, I decided to just tell the truth and wait for Mr. Hagiwara to correct me—by the way, I also want to explain that I didn't threaten the agent; he just overthought things because he didn't sleep well."
Kenji Hagiwara: "...Well, I didn't misunderstand that..."
On the contrary, this deliberate explanation only confused him!
So, did a lot of people really want to kill you because you couldn't sleep well?!
The level of skepticism has fluctuated once again.
Because of the life-saving grace, Kenji Hagiwara had a very high initial level of goodwill towards Saiki Usaku, so the effect of the "behind-the-scenes halo" was much lighter. Kenji Hagiwara actually couldn't quite understand the mentality of others when facing Shinryu Samikawa.
Only when Usui Saiki deliberately says things that cause misunderstandings can the "behind-the-scenes halo" effect work normally on Hagiwara Kenji.
However, even if Kenji Hagiwara's wild imagination led him to believe that Saiki Usui might actually be the mastermind behind everything, and that rescuing people was just a side effect, a low-level operation he simply disliked by the bomber...
But when he thought about how some people, who seem scary, actually need police guarantees to rent a place, he calmed down, even felt a little amused, and also a little sorry for them.
However, Kenji Hagiwara felt that Shinryu Saikawa had said a little more than at the beginning.
When they first met, she barely said a word despite being misunderstood, but this time she went out of her way to explain, as if she was worried he might misunderstand...
Is it possible that Han Chuan Shenliu actually wants to be friends with him, but is just too shy?
After all, it doesn't matter how strangers misunderstand you, but it's when friends misunderstand you that you feel bad...
Kenji Hagiwara was silent for a moment, then mentally pieced together the logic, and considerately said, "Kanakawa-kun... well, Kanakawa-kun, please don't call me Hagiwara-san anymore, just call me by my name. We're not that many years apart, are we?"
Although Kenji Hagiwara was in high school while Saiki Usaba was still in elementary school, they were actually only a few years apart in age, especially since it was a fake identity and her age was misrepresented.
So Bo Yezaki didn't stand on ceremony: "Okay, second year of graduate school, you can just call me by my name."
"Then... Little Deep Current?"
Bo Yezaki nodded: "Okay."
Although written as 深流, it is actually pronounced as 【静 (shizuka)】.
The cold river flows calmly, its still waters running deep.
Before meeting Shinryu Hagiwara, Kenji Hagiwara had never seen anyone whose temperament matched their name so perfectly.
He deliberately used a very affectionate way of addressing her, hoping to soften the aloofness of Hanchuan Shenliu that made people hesitant to approach her, and that hearing such a cute way of addressing her would change others' perception of Hanchuan Shenliu.
It highlights the cute contrast!
Even after Kenji Hagiwara uttered those words, he felt less fear and more relaxed towards Shinryu Hatsukawa—language truly has power!
With Kenji Hagiwara's help, after settling into his new home, Saiki Usuba seemed to have finally remembered social etiquette and invited Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda to his housewarming dinner.
Kenji Hagiwara had helped out before, so he was quite familiar with the place. Jinpei Matsuda, on the other hand, was visiting for the first time, so he took a good look around.
While Usui went to pour tea, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but say, "...the color of the edges of this tatami mat..."
Why does it look like it's stained with blood?
Kenji Hagiwara coughed and whispered, "I already told you it's a haunted house!"
Matsuda Jinpei had never rented a haunted house before, and he was deeply shocked: "These things stained with blood, they're not even replaced before being rented to the next person?"
Kenji Hagiwara said tactfully, "It has already been disinfected... Actually, you can exchange it if you want, but Fukaru said you don't need to exchange it, just use the same one on the other side, and directly cut the price down."
It means to save money.
When Han Chuan Shenliu said this, the agent's face turned even greener, and he even said something nonsensical like "the police can detect that the bloodstains are not from the same person."
Kenji Hagiwara felt sympathy, but didn't want to delve into what Hagiwara had imagined. He could only say that Shinryu Kagawa remained unfazed by such words and had no intention of taking it to heart, which showed his magnanimity.
However, Matsuda Jinpei's focus wasn't on the price; he simply repeated, with an uneasy expression, "Shinryu..."
How dare you call someone "hagi"!
Don't you think this name is completely out of place with Hanchuan Shenliu?!
Kenji Hagiwara certainly thought so too, but he pretended not to feel any awkwardness: "Isn't it cute? You can call me that too."
"No." Matsuda Jinpei gritted his teeth. "I think Hanukawa-kun is quite nice."
Unless he's teasing someone, he would never use a term like "XX-chan"! Otherwise, it wouldn't just be a matter of whether Hanakawa Shinryu feels awkward or not; he feels incredibly awkward himself!!!
"Moreover, the word 'cute' is put together with the word 'Hanchuan-kun'..." Matsuda Jinpei felt a chill.
He didn't have a problem with Han Chuan Shenliu; he just felt an overwhelming sense of incongruity!
“You know what ‘gap moe’ is, right? Gap moe.” Kenji Hagiwara insisted, “Shinryu is practically impenetrable, and his cute name is one of the few things we can get through… He seems to have no friends other than me. I hope he can make friends at the police academy, just like we did with the class monitor and the others.”
This is someone else's house after all, so we have to be careful what we say. Considering that those two guys might be doing something dangerous, like going undercover, Matsuda Jinpei held back his complaints and just took the opportunity to express his important thoughts.
"I think Han Chuan-kun is more suited to going undercover or something; whether he can make friends or not isn't that important."
"..." Kenji Hagiwara's lips twitched slightly. "I had considered that before, but Hanakawa-kun said he prefers going to crime scenes..."
Even Kenji Hagiwara, who has a high tolerance for Fukawa Shinryu, couldn't help but let his imagination run wild when he heard this answer.
The "halo of secrecy" is starting to take effect!
It's a person's freedom to choose what kind of job they like, and reasons like liking to solve cases are perfectly acceptable.
But the thought that it was Shinryu Suzumawa who said he liked going to crime scenes immediately cast a dark shadow over Shinryu Suzumawa in Kenji Hagiwara's mind.
Does he like blood? Or corpses? Is it possible that not replacing the blood-stained tatami mats isn't about saving money, but rather a personal preference?
Or is it that, just like criminals enjoy returning to the scene of their crime to see their masterpieces, Shinryu Hanakawa is a crime appraiser who enjoys admiring other people's crimes?
Could it be that you're trying to get firsthand information to refine your plan and devise the perfect crime?
Kenji Hagiwara, whose ideas were led astray by the agent's vague mention of "Moriarty," gradually developed a more eccentric and unconventional style.
Like Matsuda Jinpei, who had never dealt with real estate agents, his imagination hadn't been infected; upon hearing this answer, his thoughts were at most—
Is he trying to appear at the scene more often, causing the public to misunderstand the police and affecting their reputation?
Both of them were good people. They would never say what they were thinking out loud, so as not to cause any bad consequences. After reason prevailed over the emotions caused by the "behind-the-scenes halo," they both silently apologized to Han Chuan Shenliu in their hearts.
It's going too far to make baseless assumptions about others like this...
When Bo Yezaki brewed some tea, he saw the level of suspicion rising rapidly, which made him quite happy.
[Leaving the tatami mats is the right thing to do. When we have the chance to hire some detectives, they'll definitely come up with even more ideas!]
system:【……】
It felt that the problem wasn't with the tatami mats...
Once Bo Yezaki and the others' suspicions subsided, they returned to the living room with the tray to serve tea to the guests.
Matsuda Jinpei looked at him and couldn't help but sigh.
What to do! Even if the interviewer is the enlightened instructor Onizuka, the more he learns about Shinryu Hatsukawa, the more he feels that Shinryu Hatsukawa's chances of passing are plummeting.
"Kankawa-kun, I think your interview needs some more cramming." Matsuda Jinpei said with a serious expression.
We can't hope that Instructor Onizuka suddenly went blind! There are two interviewers!!!
Sigh, if he doesn't pass, he'll have to find a job first. He should keep an eye out for jobs that Han Chuan Shenliu can do. If he has to vouch for someone, he'll definitely need the police again. If one isn't enough, he'll ask two. If two aren't enough, he'll ask the class monitor to vouch for him too...
Matsuda Jinpei prepared for the worst.
Kenji Hagiwara wasn't idle either.
After Hanchuan Shenliu's interview ended, he went directly to the police academy and subtly asked Instructor Onizuka if there were any noteworthy new recruits in this cohort.
"Are you already showing promising talents to your explosives handling class? Isn't that a bit too early?" Instructor Onizuka asked, looking surprised.
"No, I just heard that there's a rather special newcomer this time. He got first place in the written test, but everyone thinks he won't pass the interview. I'm a little curious."
"...Oh, you mean him...You're so popular, someone even told you this." Without even mentioning his name, Instructor Onizuka guessed who it was, his expression quite complicated. "How should I put it...I'm under a lot of pressure."
Kenji Hagiwara felt there was a chance; after all, if someone had refused, they had refused, and it would be more stressful to accept them: "Why do you say that?"
“I asked him why he wanted to be a policeman… He replied, ‘Because someone said I would turn to crime sooner or later, and I wanted to prove him wrong.’”
Then?
Before Kenji Hagiwara could ask any more questions, another interviewer next to him suddenly clutched his forehead in anguish and blurted out the answer.
"Do you understand? It's like the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts interviewing Hitler. There's a feeling of rejecting the person in front of you. Even if he doesn't turn around and start a world war, he'll still become a major threat to the police..."
Hagihara Kenji: "…………"
The agent only thought he resembled Moriarty, but the instructor immediately thought of Hitler?
—Hanchuan Shenliu's crime doesn't deserve this!
--------------------
Shizuka-chan (小深流) is a very cute nickname.
"Hanchuan Shenliu" is an exceptional name I came up with; just looking at the name evokes a scene and atmosphere.
.
Instructor: None of you family members understand, it feels like interviewing Hitler!
.
The backend system noticed that comments containing the word "Hitler" were being deleted. I appealed on his behalf, and you can use "[that man]" instead (...).
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
