Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

There are two cups and two toothbrushes in the bathroom, four or five towels, and three pairs of slippers; in the kitchen, there are two sets of utensils, one red and one blue, looking like a couple's dinnerware...

Hmm, it seems she is living with her boyfriend, and he just moved out not long ago.

Minamoto Tamako, biting her thumb, began to deduce.

Firstly, it's certain that Yoshikawa Ritsuo hasn't broken up with her boyfriend; otherwise, she would have thrown away all these household items or returned them to him. From this, we can further think, since they haven't broken up, why did the boyfriend suddenly move out?

It's certainly not just for a business trip or occasional separation; he has moved out completely. There are no men's clothes in the wardrobe, nor a second person's outdoor shoes in the shoe cabinet. And it's not just a case of occasional overnight stays; the squeezed-out toothpaste in the bathroom, the overly used soap, the indentations on the toilet seat—these traces are enough to prove that the boyfriend lived here long-term.

Minamoto Tamako has two guesses: one is that the girl's parents found out about the couple living together and drove the boyfriend out; the other is that they have reached the stage of discussing marriage, temporarily separating before marriage to avoid suspicion while meeting each other's parents...

Would a primary school teacher with a boyfriend go to a bar for a fling?

Minamoto Tamako found it hard to imagine a woman forcing herself on a stranger with a knife.

Of course, it's also possible that Yoshikawa Ritsuo is just that kind of carnivorous woman. As a criminal police officer, it's important not to have preconceived notions and only speak after thorough investigation.

Unfortunately, both of Yoshikawa Ritsuo's parents have passed away, and she has only a grandfather living in the countryside, who must know nothing about his granddaughter's life in Tokyo, so asking him would be useless.

Minamoto Tamako pondered, next starting from the deceased's social circle, first finding Yoshikawa Ritsuo's friends to confirm if she was living with her boyfriend, and to understand whether Yoshikawa Ritsuo had a similar prior record or any indiscreet behavior.

At the very least, it's essential to clarify whether the deceased had a motive for the crime. If not, then Lawyer Kikuta is just turning black into white and falsely accusing the deceased, which is extremely vile!

Minamoto Tamako checked again to ensure nothing was missed before leaving the apartment, calling the police station to help supplement the search procedures.

During her investigation, Fushimi Roku was not idle either; he chatted with Lawyer Kikuta about the environment in Japan's legal circles, as a quick study of Japan's legal 'local customs and practices', while also leveraging his social skills to turn an enemy into a friend, shaking hands and making peace with Lawyer Kikuta, acquiring a personal business card—if Fushimi Roku encounters any criminal cases in the future, he can get a ten percent discount by contacting him.

"Let's go! No time to chat, I have a new investigation direction!"

Minamoto Tamako pushed the wheelchair headlong, and Fushimi Roku didn't even have time to say goodbye before being whisked away quickly, leaving Lawyer Kikuta alone in the corridor, in disarray.

As the two rode the elevator downstairs, Minamoto Tamako briefly talked about her deductions and asked Fushimi Roku's opinion. The latter, leaning back in the chair, enjoying the automatic wheelchair, casually asked, "Where do you plan to find Yoshikawa Ritsuo's social circle?"

"Of course, we'll ask at her workplace!" Minamoto Tamako said eagerly.

"No way," Fushimi Roku pulled on her ahoge, applying a manual brake, "Absolutely not!"

Minamoto Tamako leaned forward and stopped, hitting Fushimi Roku's shoulder with her fist, freeing her ahoge. She halted at the street corner of the pedestrian circle and couldn't help but ask, "Why? What's suddenly gotten into you..."

"Did you forget? Yoshikawa Ritsuo works at Waseda Industrial Primary School." Fushimi Roku said.

"So what? Is Waseda Industrial Primary School something special..."

Saying this, Minamoto Tamako slapped her forehead and suddenly said, "Sakurako is going to study at that primary school, right?"

"Yes," Fushimi Roku said seriously with his arms crossed, "If we go interrogating like that, and the teachers and students see us, there's a chance Sakurako might be isolated once she gets into the school."

"Really? Isn't that a bit much?" Minamoto Tamako felt he was overthinking it.

"Of course it's not," Fushimi Roku said in the tone of someone who's experienced, "You don't realize how sensitive elementary schoolers' thoughts can be; as long as they are different from others, it's easy to become isolated."

"Were you ever isolated?" Minamoto Tamako asked instinctively.

Fushimi Roku waved his hand, boasting, "Impossible! I was a charmer from a young age, was the king of kids for six years in primary school, and even the female kindergarten teachers couldn't take their eyes off me..."

"Then how come you ended up being isolated in police school?" Minamoto Tamako mercilessly pointed out, "And everyone isolating you wasn't because of your special family background, right? They just thought you had a terrible personality and were hard to get along with."

Hearing this, Fushimi Roku was quite displeased. He thought, was that really isolation? It was clearly him isolating everyone else! He was a noble transmigrator, and if placed in fantasy or cultivation-themed web novels, he was like Fujiwara Homare, destined to become an immortal. How could he socialise with Japan's lower-level natives?

They belonged to different species, so naturally, communication was impossible!

But then again, truth be told, he wasn't completely isolated; at least, Minamoto Tamako had taken the initiative to befriend him, hadn't she?

"Then why did you always hang around me back then?" Fushimi Roku raised his head, just able to see Minamoto Tamako's chin, perhaps because she was just running too fast, her breaths were slightly rapid: "Everyone thought I had a terrible personality, yet you stuck to me?"

"Wh-who stuck to you? Nonsense! Watch out or I'll sue you for slander!" Minamoto Tamako's face turned a bit red.

"Could it be that you coveted my looks? Fell for me at first sight?" Fushimi Roku said shamelessly.

His tone was teasing, like friends joking around, but also like an unintentional probe.

Minamoto Tamako did not bother to discern the intent; she gripped the wheelchair handles tightly, her palms slightly sweaty: "Impossible... there are plenty of guys more handsome than you!"

"That's true."

Fushimi Roku never considered himself the most handsome in the world, perhaps just somewhere in the top ten of all mankind. No matter in his past life or the present one, he had borne the troubles of being a handsome man.

"Well, actually, I thought you were a strange person at the time," Minamoto Tamako scratched the tip of her nose with her finger and said apologetically, "The reason I took the initiative to talk to you was mainly because... um..."

"Because of what?" Fushimi Roku asked.

"Not important!" Minamoto Tamako said loudly, "That kind of thing isn't important! Right now, the most important thing is to investigate the case! How are we going to find Yoshikawa Ritsuo's friends to gather information?"

Seeing that she was unwilling to bring it up, Fushimi Roku didn't press further and instead said, "If you stamp another badge, I'll tell you."

"Don't be so unreasonable!" Minamoto Tamako glared at him, "It hasn't even been a day, and you've already got three stamps! What kind of talk is this?"

"How is it unreasonable? Aren't you the one stamping them? I didn't force you, did I? Or are you planning to intentionally prolong the stamping time, trying to keep me from collecting the super prize?" Fushimi Roku questioned.

Minamoto Tamako did think this way, because the redemption voucher was designed like that. As a plagiarist... uh, borrower, she naturally knew to find ways to interrupt the stamp process, ensuring Fushimi Roku was always just a little short of 22 days of continuous check-ins.

But such things couldn't be said openly; otherwise, the perfect life reward chart would lose its effectiveness.

"How... how could it be? I was just worried you were collecting stamps too easily, and didn't know to cherish..." Minamoto Tamako argued, and to prove her sincerity, she grudgingly stamped another badge on the reward chart, showing a fake smile, "See? Where there's contribution, there's reward! Now, speak up!"

"Ah indeed, Officer Tamako, getting things done fairly indeed."

Fushimi Roku praised sarcastically, then said, "Very simple, just call and arrange a meeting outside school."

"Huh?"

Minamoto Tamako said instinctively, "But I don't have the contact numbers of Waseda Industrial Primary School's teachers! And I don't even know which teacher has the best relationship with Yoshikawa Ritsuo..."

"I do." This is a sample from My Virtual Library Empire. Read the rest on M-VLEMPYR.

Fushimi Roku took out his phone from his pocket, speaking leisurely, "If you want me to help arrange the meeting, stamp another badge..."

Minamoto Tamako clenched her small fists tightly, "Don't push me; believe me, I can use the redemption voucher to make you slap yourself!"

Such a simple thing, tricking her out of one stamp was enough, but now he was getting more audacious and demanding another stamp; this was simply intolerable!

Fushimi Roku decided not to push his luck, to avoid Minamoto Tamako from exploding on the spot.

He called the hosting teacher from yesterday, first offering a few words of consolation, chatting about enrollment matters, and then casually mentioned needing some cooperation from the school's teachers for a few investigations, assuring the teacher it wouldn't take long, it's just a chat in a café, hoping the teacher wouldn't feel pressured, wouldn't spread rumors, and wouldn't let it affect the children's studies.

The hosting teacher quickly understood his meaning. But since it was after work hours, he couldn't interfere with other teachers' leisure time, so he provided Fushimi Roku with the contact numbers of teachers related to Yoshikawa Ritsuo, letting him contact them one by one himself.

Fushimi Roku wrote down a long list of phone numbers on a paper note, expressed gratitude multiple times to the hosting teacher, promised to treat him to dinner, and finally said, 'I'll rely on you to take good care of my family member Sakurako,' receiving a courteous reply before ending the call.

Seeing this, Minamoto Tamako was filled with emotion, observing Mr. Fujiwara's demeanor, not at all resembling Sakurako's brother, but rather like a father.

Speaking of which, with such a large age gap between brothers and sisters, how could they possibly quarrel like normal siblings?

Fushimi Roku didn't know what sort of nonsense Minamoto Tamako was thinking. He continued making calls, greeting several teachers, and casually asked which teacher had the best private relationship with Miss Yoshikawa, obtaining the desired information and arranging to primarily speak with that teacher.

The person in question didn't want police to visit their home, fearing neighbors would gossip, and asked if they could meet at a café instead, to which Fushimi Roku had no objections, giving the address and having Minamoto Tamako push him to the meeting.

Halfway there, Minamoto Tamako couldn't help asking, "Is Yoshikawa Ritsuo's friend male or female, might it be her boyfriend?"

"Female, you'll know when we get there." Fushimi Roku casually replied.

Minamoto Tamako was engrossed in the investigation and didn't want to waste words with Fushimi Roku. She pushed the wheelchair, and once they boarded the tram, Fushimi Roku shamelessly occupied the disabled seat.

The two hurried to the café to meet the deceased's friend.

The person was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, with a braided ponytail, dressed in a long dress, exuding a tranquil temperament. Seeing Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako arriving, she proactively waved, greeted them, and briefly introduced herself.

Her name was Doi Izuki, currently a first-year language teacher, and she had a good private relationship with Yoshikawa Ritsuo and often went shopping with her during vacations.

The three sat opposite each other, and Doi Izuki looked at Fushimi Roku longer, probably surprised that the investigating criminal police would be sitting in a wheelchair... it seemed being a civil servant nowadays wasn't easy.

Minamoto Tamako wasted no time by asking directly, pouring out her doubts, but received an unexpected answer:

"Promiscuity? Nymphomania? How is that possible! Ritsuo is the most innocent person I've ever met!"

Doi Izuki, in her shock, was exceptionally indignant, not even knowing why the female criminal police in front of her would ask such a question.

Minamoto Tamako felt like she had vaguely grasped a thread, quickly pressing on by asking, "So, Yoshikawa Ritsuo does have a boyfriend?"

"Um... well..."

Doi Izuki hesitated somewhat, "This is her personal matter, she always asked me to keep it confidential, but now it shouldn't matter anymore..."