Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

Minamoto Tamako sat across from the four people, just having served tea, and played host. She noticed Fushimi Roku peeking in and hurriedly waved at him, saying, "You're back just in time. Chief Kikuchi is here to see us for some reason."

As she spoke, she secretly gave Fushimi Roku a wink, forcefully blinking her right eye.

Fushimi Roku couldn't understand what she meant. They were not yet adept enough to understand each other's thoughts with just a glance, especially since he hadn't fully grasped the subtleties of Minamoto Tamako's thoughts to this day.

There was no need to ask; it was obvious that these four were here because of Uesugi Shion. If Minamoto Tamako started talking recklessly, she might inadvertently give something away. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and enter the living room, sitting down beside Minamoto Tamako.

Kinosaki Shoujin cleared his throat and turned to the bodyguard next to him to ask, "Will you ask the questions, or should I?"

"You go ahead." The bodyguard had no intention of meddling.

Kinosaki Shoujin nodded, then turned to look at Fushimi Roku, carefully considering his tone, and said, "Here's the thing, I'm here to ask where the two of you went today."

Fushimi Roku knew that Kinosaki Shoujin was asking knowingly, but still, he answered as such, "We took a trip to the National Mental and Neurological Medical Research Center Hospital... What's wrong?"

"What did you go to the hospital for?" Kinosaki Shoujin asked again.

"To investigate a case." Fushimi Roku answered as if it was the most natural thing.

"What case? As the head of the Criminal Division, how do I not know of any case involving the Uesugi family?" Kinosaki Shoujin intensified his tone.

"It was a police incident discovered on the spur of the moment; it happened suddenly and there was no time to report it," Fushimi Rokuki smoothly said: "I received an anonymous report that Uesugi Shion was involved in human trafficking, so, as a routine, I went to the hospital for questioning... Is there a problem with that?"

For the rare occurrence, Minamoto Tamako didn't expose his lie but nodded in agreement beside him.

Fushimi Roku was particularly surprised, feeling that Minamoto Tamako was acting a bit strange. To avoid Kinosaki Shoujin noticing any flaw, he refrained from looking back at Minamoto Tamako.

Kinosaki Shoujin was half-believing, half-doubting; he knew these two too well. Fushimi Roku was perpetually absent from duty; when he did go, he only slacked off. Generally, when receiving an anonymous report, he'd either push it onto juniors or pretend not to hear it, and he would never actively go to a hospital to question someone.

Yet he also felt that Fushimi Roku wasn't insane enough to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Uesugi family... He was sitting next to a young lady at that moment, who was naively nodding along, so why bother kidnapping another?

Wait, something is off.

Kinosaki Shoujin reconsidered, his gaze landing on Minamoto Tamako. This person always liked to meddle in both big and small matters, determined to get to the bottom of things. Maybe she received the anonymous report and then dragged Fushimi Roku to question together.

With that, it made sense.

It was probably just a misunderstanding.

But procedure still had to be followed. Kinosaki Shoujin explained his purpose, stating that three hours ago, the eldest daughter of the Uesugi went missing, and Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako happened to be the last witnesses to see her.

As per routine, they first needed to eliminate any suspicion, then ask if they had any eyewitness information. Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako were aware of these procedures, so he didn't waste much time, straightforwardly asking what the two did next.

Fushimi Roku continued to lie, claiming he was with Minamoto Tamako the whole time; after hearing a fire alarm, they both went downstairs one after the other on foot to return home to rest.

They both acted as alibis for each other, had no motive for committing a crime, and were public officials. In his mind, Kinosaki Shoujin ruled them out as suspects, then asked if Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako had seen Uesugi Shion afterward, to which both answered negatively.

Upon completing the questioning, Kinosaki Shoujin got up to leave. The bodyguard scrutinized Fushimi Roku for a moment but said nothing and left with Kinosaki Shoujin.

They needed to expedite the search for Uesugi Shion's whereabouts and had no time to dawdle there.

Fushimi Roku saw the four guests off, with his surprise reaching its peak—Minamoto Tamako actually helped him lie, something unprecedented!

What on earth had happened?

Could it be that Minamoto Tamako saw him kidnapping someone?

Fushimi Roku tried to maintain his composure, and after closing the door, turned back to find Minamoto Tamako looking at him with a smug expression, her smile having acquired a slightly mischievous quality.

"Hiss..."

He started to panic a little.