Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

Minamoto Tamako felt a feverish heat all over her body, her fair skin flushed with a hot red tint. She was momentarily stunned, her heart racing at a hundred and eighty beats per minute, and only came back to her senses when the butler closed the door.

Ah, Mr. Fushimi was playing a couple act...

So, was what he said sincere or just a lie?

While Minamoto Tamako was utterly conflicted, Fushimi Roku in the drawing room was also enduring torment. He looked puzzled, staring at the coffee table, and softly asked, "Director Fujiwara, what do you mean by this?"

The coffee table was piled with cash, stacked into a small mountain, conservatively estimated at ten million yen.

It was rare for Fushimi Roku's thought process to align with Minamoto Tamako's. Usually, the next scene would be a clichéd drama where Director Fujiwara uses money to trample on his dignity, saying something like 'Give you ten million to leave the Kujo Family's heiress', 'How can a wild dog like you be worthy of a child of heaven'...

However, Director Fujiwara didn't mean that.

Whether the marriage was successful or not was irrelevant to him.

Facing Fushimi Roku's questioning, Director Fujiwara didn't speak; instead, he indicated with his eyes at the butler. The latter took out a metal detector, hoping Fushimi Roku would cooperate, as he wanted to frisk him to ensure their conversation wouldn't be eavesdropped on.

Fushimi Roku wanted to know what he was up to, stood up to cooperate, and after a complete search, the butler temporarily took his phone and casually closed the door.

Only two people were left sitting opposite each other in the drawing room.

Director Fujiwara wasn't in a hurry to speak. He patted the armrest and sighed, "I heard you've met my son a few times, so you must also know what he's like."

"Your son is pure-hearted; it's truly rare," Fushimi Roku said awkwardly.

"Haha, Miss Tamako is also pure-hearted, isn't she?" Director Fujiwara asked.

"Everyone has their own strengths, everyone has their own strengths." Fushimi Roku continued awkwardly playing along, sparring verbally in circles with him.

"So what are the strengths of Ah Homare?" Director Fujiwara showed no mercy to his son.

This indeed stumped Fushimi Roku. He racked his brains, going over the moments he spent with Fujiwara Homare since they met, and like someone constipated, squeezed out a sentence: "He... he is relatively principled."

"Hah!" Director Fujiwara seemed amused, chuckled once: "Is that considered a strength?"

"There aren't many principled people these days." Fushimi Roku spoke honestly.

Director Fujiwara sighed: "You're right, in my eyes, even though Ah Homare is incorrigible, untalented, and a rotten piece of wood, he is ultimately a child with principles... He's just an ordinary person born into the Fujiwara family, which is his misfortune." Alwa-y!s* r%e%ad$ at the so!urce*—&M+V@L$E@M%P^@Y-R.

Fushimi Roku thought, if Fujiwara Homare heard this, he didn't know what he would feel, given that Fujiwara Homare always prided himself as the eldest son of the Fujiwara family.

At the same time, he also realized why Fujiwara Homare was so obsessed with becoming a sage.

"How could a child who is so ordinary and plain like him resort to murder?" Director Fujiwara's tone finally changed, revealing deep exhaustion and confusion: "Mr. Fushimi, now that Miss Tamako is not present, could you honestly tell me, was the person really killed by him?"

Fushimi Roku himself hadn't figured out what was going on, so he naturally couldn't give a definitive answer; he could only say the case was still under investigation and many doubts remained unclear.

Director Fujiwara didn't want to hear such clichés; he pressed on: "In your opinion, how likely is it that Ah Homare committed murder?"

"I don't know."

"Then what are you doing as a criminal police officer?"

"Alright, since Director Fujiwara has brought it up to this point," Fushimi Roku shrugged: "Personally, I think it's unlikely he would willingly commit murder."

"You think so too, huh..." Director Fujiwara sighed: "I thought it was just me being too indulgent and unwilling to believe the truth."

Fushimi Roku got a mischievous thought and reminded him, "But the possibility of him committing murder is still very high... You know, there are often cases of manslaughter or impulsive murder."

"I know." Director Fujiwara nodded: "That's also why I decided to have a private conversation with you."

"Hmm?" Fushimi Roku raised an eyebrow.

"I hope you can ensure that Ah Homare is acquitted," Director Fujiwara's tone was exactly like those of the clients he had encountered in his previous life: "By any means necessary."

"It's not up to me to decide..."

"I will also have the lawyer defend his innocence."

"That might be tough..."

"I believe in your capability, Mr. Fushimi," Director Fujiwara didn't mention the word 'money' once, speaking only of his admiration for Fushimi Roku: "I can tell Miss Tamako listens to you."

"She is more stubborn than you think, not even Chief Kujo can do anything with her." Fushimi Roku tactfully refused.

"Then deceive her."

Director Fujiwara laid out the method Fushimi Roku always used: "Make her believe Ah Homare is innocent."

In that instant the words fell, a long-lost system prompt popped up before Fushimi Roku.

「Crime Commission Triggered」

「Mission Details: Help Fujiwara Homare clear his murder suspicion」

「Mission Reward: Enlightenment」

...

Fushimi Roku was momentarily stunned; this was the first time someone besides Minamoto Tamako had triggered a crime commission.

Usually, crime commission rewards were attribute points or skill points, if lucky, one could directly obtain special skills—but this time it was different, the mission reward was 'Enlightenment', which did not seem like a skill.

If he remembered correctly, 'Enlightenment' is a realm of Zen enlightenment.

Understanding one's true mind and seeing the indestructible true nature, is the realm of Zen enlightenment — speech cut off and mental behavior extinguished.

It sounded very powerful.

Fushimi Roku was a bit hesitant at the moment; he didn't really want to take on such a troublesome matter.

Besides, who could prove Fujiwara Homare was innocent? What if Fujiwara Homare was guilty? Wouldn't he then become an accomplice in helping a criminal evade judgment?

Though he killed often, he was like Fujiwara Homare, a person with principles.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Director Fujiwara added: "If it is successful, I am willing to represent the Fujiwara family to support you and Miss Tamako's marriage—surely Mr. Fushimi doesn't want to marry into the Kujo family and live a life under another's roof, right?"

"Indeed, I don't." Fushimi Roku said.

"I can make you worthy of Miss Tamako, on the wedding day, I will personally attend, wishing you both a lifelong blissful union." Director Fujiwara raised the stakes.

It's widely known that Fushimi Roku's principles are quite flexible.

"It sounds great, I'm embarrassed to refuse," he said with a smile: "But handling a case like this, it's all about fairness and justice... As long as it's confirmed that Fujiwara Homare is innocent, we certainly won't wrongly accuse a good person."

"That sounds like a rejection." Director Fujiwara said.

"No, no, no, my evaluation criteria are very lenient," Fushimi Roku said: "Please trust me, and trust your son's character a bit more."