Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

Minamoto Tamako was wearing a blue uniform, and with bread in her mouth, she jogged all the way to the police station, treating it like a morning exercise.

For some reason, as soon as she sat at her workstation, she felt drained, yawning incessantly, possibly because she had stayed up late taking notes last night.

Taking advantage of the fact that other colleagues hadn't arrived at the office yet, Minamoto Tamako secretly turned on the big computer, using her two fingers to tap the keyboard, searching online for information related to Tokyo elementary schools.

This morning, when she woke up, Taira Sakurako told her she planned to attend elementary school — but Sakurako didn't want to go to a special school, because Yukimura's sister probably wouldn't be at a special school.

Minamoto Tamako sent short messages to consult, but everyone else hadn't raised children, so they couldn't offer professional advice.

The only senior who had a daughter was Kazama Tatsuya, and his suggestion was 'absolutely don't send Sakurako to a special school'... Asahara Shoko once attended a special school, bullying other students with his partial blindness advantage. The environment in Japan's special schools is extremely poor.

Minamoto Tamako considered Chihime's fate and decided to take Senior Kazama's advice.

However, choosing a good regular school was very troublesome, first considering whether the school would accept Sakurako, then weighing tuition, faculty strength, school environment, and distance… She felt overwhelmed, craning her neck, clutching the mouse, and staring at the screen for a long time.

In 1991, Japan's internet was in its developmental infancy, with very limited information available online.

Academic institutions and researchers were beginning to use the internet for information exchange and sharing academic results. Certain specific industries or fields, such as computer technology and information technology, already had some professionals exchanging technical information online, sharing code snippets, discussing industry trends… But almost everything was in text, and it might take hours of browsing to see a single image.

Minamoto Tamako searched using basic communication boards, like newsgroups, which were similar to public discussion forums. Users could post messages and participate in discussions on various topics such as academia, technology, and hobbies. But they were relatively complex to use.

She watched for over half an hour, browsing and taking notes, then hearing footsteps outside the door, hurriedly shut down the computer and used a folder to fan it, allowing it to cool down quickly.

The big computer was a public device that well-funded police stations would buy a few of to impress. Older criminal police hardly ever touched it, and younger criminal police hadn't learned it either, so it just sat there collecting dust, which was a real waste. She might as well make use of it… Although not against the rules, she still felt guilty like she was misappropriating public resources.

"Why is it happening in Toshima District..."

"Very troublesome..."

Kinosaki Shoujin entered the room with a clerk, passing by the workstation and seeing Minamoto Tamako actually coming to work. He was first taken aback, then nodded as usual to greet, quickly heading into the office with the clerk.

Upon hearing about a troublesome new case, Minamoto Tamako instinctively pricked up her ears, moved her office chair, and leaned sideways to eavesdrop — the office had good soundproofing, but her hearing was even better.

"Is there a plan to establish a special investigation department?" The clerk's voice came through.

"No such intention, saying to keep a low profile, to handle it as usual, and ensure to find out the truth..." Chief Kikuchi's voice was somewhat agitated: "Seriously find something, then how to handle it?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" The clerk asked.

"I'd advise you not to have that kind of thought; if nothing's found, I can pretend I didn't see it, understand? Do you really think this is a good job? You eagerly help others, and others might not appreciate it!" Kinosaki Shoujin said.

"Eh... who will lead the case?" The clerk asked.

"No matter who it's given to, it won't be easy." Kinosaki Shoujin's voice sounded troubled.

Upon hearing this, Minamoto Tamako clenched her fist, thinking why not give it to me! Wouldn't it be easier if it were handed over to me?

She hadn't even passed her initial training yet!

Currently, Minamoto Tamako had not officially handled a criminal case as the lead; if things drag on, she might fail her initial training, ultimately being returned to her original role as a patrol police officer, which would mean being laughed at by Mr. Fu Jian for a lifetime!

Although chasing the real culprit behind the Heavenly Punishment and pursuing the Cat Island criminal was important, her dream of becoming a famous police chief was equally significant, and she must not neglect it!

If she reverted to a patrol officer, how could she continue investigating cases as a criminal police officer?

The conversation between the two inside gradually became quieter, as it got close to the official reporting time, colleagues started checking in for work one after another, and the office became noisy, leaving her unable to continue eavesdropping and having to honestly start working.

After a few days of unexcused absences, she expected to be swamped, but the accumulated documents had already been dealt with by others, and she only needed to coordinate with the archivist to handle the unfinished documents from yesterday.

Thank you for reading. This was brought to you by M|V|L*EMPYR.

Minamoto Tamako worked until noon, feeling like her energy and spirit had been depleted by the repetitive mechanical work.

She felt she wasn't suited for the position, but was too embarrassed to mention changing roles, so she quietly bought a bento for her lunch break, comparing the school information she wrote down and considering where Sakurako should go.

It seemed that just looking wouldn't work, and actually visiting was necessary.

Minamoto Tamako took out her phone, sent the relevant school information over, and suggested he take Sakurako to check out the schools in the next couple of days, treating it as a way to get out and unwind. Staying cooped up at home wouldn't do.

The latter, his leg still healing, naturally didn't want to walk around everywhere, and replied casually: "Why not let her draw lots, wherever it lands is the place".

Minamoto Tamako was furious, she didn't even eat, her thumbs flying over the keyboard, preparing to write a lengthy manifesto against the thief.

At this moment, the clerk poked his head out from the office and waved at her: "Officer Tamako, Chief Kikuchi needs to see you."

Minamoto Tamako's heart skipped a beat, her first reaction was that she'd been caught using the computer secretly.

Logically, her behavior didn't count as a violation, the police station regulations clearly stated that all officers were entitled to use office equipment... Otherwise, she would never touch a computer.

Chief Kikuchi shouldn't find this a cause to pick on her.

She put her pink flip phone back into her pocket, got up, and walked into the office, secretly pondering what Chief Kikuchi wanted with her... Could it be that he had finally discovered her shining point and wanted to entrust her with a challenging case to handle?!

Minamoto Tamako quickened her pace with expectations, but she was soon disappointed. Kinosaki Shoujin called her in to talk about Sakurako's allowance—the Nakagawara Police Station had also participated in the case earlier, part of the allowance was funded by the station, and various procedures had to be followed.

They were preparing to transfer the funds today, taking advantage of the lunch break, Minamoto Tamako was asked to confirm the bank balance.

Before leaving, Minamoto Tamako couldn't help but ask: "Um... Chief, when will I be able to take charge of a criminal case?"

Kinosaki Shoujin was taken aback, thinking to himself, what kind of trouble is this guy up to now?

Originally, he had placed Minamoto Tamako in an administrative position, with the intention of promoting her to a full-fledged criminal police officer at the end of the term, even without her handling cases, just to avoid hassle.

"Well... um... everyone acknowledges your abilities, you indeed qualify for the role of criminal police officer, but there are no suitable cases for you to lead right now... After you become official, the station will assign you to a group, then you'll consider investigating criminal cases."

Kinosaki Shoujin thought he had hinted clearly enough, one might say he was overtly suggesting it.

Unfortunately, Minamoto Tamako automatically ignored the latter part of the conversation, her 'hair-antenna lie detector' was triggered, capturing Chief Kikuchi's lie right away.

"How can there be no suitable cases... Didn't you encounter a challenging case this morning? I think I can give it a try!" Minamoto Tamako said courageously.

Although these words seemed a bit overconfident, she really didn't want to continue processing documents anymore—even reading case files seemed more meaningful than filing documents, which was just organizing formats, aligning neatly, confirming the page count, etc., all were mind-numbing repetitive tasks.

If she only wanted to earn money, she'd rather work at a convenience store.

"Who told you that?" Kinosaki Shoujin turned to look at the clerk.

"I, I heard it myself, no one told me." Minamoto Tamako replied honestly.

She wasn't eavesdropping at the door, she had simply heard it while sitting in her designated work area, not intentionally eavesdropping.

The clerk didn't look at Kinosaki Shoujin, he smiled at Minamoto Tamako and said, "Good timing, Chief Kikuchi is indeed troubled about whom to assign this case to..."

"Assign it to me!" Minamoto Tamako raised her hand and said, "I have great confidence!"

Kinosaki Shoujin told the clerk not to mess around, the latter whispered that since it was a business task, assigning the case to Minamoto Tamako was just right.

Kinosaki Shoujin still expressed opposition, but not as adamantly as before, he told Minamoto Tamako: "To lead a case as a trainee criminal officer requires accompaniment by a regular officer, and we don't have extra police manpower to support your investigation right now..."

Seeing potential, Minamoto Tamako spoke without thinking: "No problem! Mr. Fushimi happens to be back at work tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Kinosaki Shoujin and the clerk exchanged glances, the latter blinked and said, "This case is quite special, try to handle it quietly, don't report externally, even if it's successfully completed there won't be any benefits, the station won't commend or offer pay raises..."

"It's okay! Being able to handle a case is the best reward for me!" Minamoto Tamako stood at attention with a 'snap'.

"If that's the case..."

The clerk turned back and, seeing Kinosaki Shoujin nod in agreement, handed over the dossier: "Then you two will handle this case."

Minamoto Tamako's curiosity had long been piqued about what kind of case could be so tricky, that even the chief and clerk repeatedly emphasized it.

She was about to flip through it, but the clerk held her down: "Speaking of which, the suspect involved has some connection with you... hopes Officer Tamako will uphold fair and just principles during the investigation."

"No worries! Leave it to me! I'll definitely not abuse my power!"

Minamoto Tamako saluted the clerk before he finally let go, she hurriedly opened the dossier, quickly scanning the case details.

"This..."

She widened her eyes and raised her head abruptly: "Is this true? Fujiwara Section Chief... committed murder?"